Chapter 182 Don’t Leave Anymore
At four o’clock in the morning, Fu Yansheng, via rideshare car, arrived at Hongbin Creek. He told the driver to stop when he was about two kilometers away from the location. He called Xiao Qian. “Where are you?”
“Almost there. In about 10 minutes.” Xiao Qian said.
“I’ll send you my location. Meet up with me here.”
After hanging up the phone, Fu Yansheng, sitting in the car, looked out, surveying the area and comparing it to the map. There were farm houses and rustic houses everywhere he looked. But beyond this area, towards the rear, were the plastics and dye factories.
Fu Yansheng remembered that the kidnappers hadn’t come from this direction to get to the factory. Rather, they used Tongbing Road which was right in front of the two factories. However, that side was almost devoid of any structures. If a car were to arrive in the middle of the night, it would immediately grab the attention of people in the area.
In case the kidnappers were keeping watch near the factories, going through the rear would be safer while they searched. That way too, they wouldn’t easily beat the grass and scare the snakes.
Xiao Qian arrived soon after and the two met under a streetlamp on the side of the road. Fu Yansheng saw that the other party only brought a police dog with him.
Fu Yansheng was dumbfounded. “Why are you the only one who came?”
Xiao Qian pointed to the police dog beside him and said, “This doesn’t count?”
Fu Yansheng: “Why didn’t you bring a few people with you?”
Xiao Qian said angrily, “I’m not even supposed to be involved in this incident. That I was able to borrow a dog for you is already not bad. Were you expecting their local police task force to follow my instructions? Find the victims first and then we’ll talk about it!”
Fu Yansheng frowned. “Fine, let’s go find them now.”
“Wait,” Xiao Qian stopped him, “Do you have any of your wife’s personal belongings on you? Let the dog have a sniff of it first.”
Fu Yansheng: “…”
Fu Yansheng crouched down. “Let it smell me.”
Xiao Qian: “???”
Fu Yansheng explained: “I used the same cologne as he did. We separated just fifteen hours ago. Before that, we were pretty much stuck together for an entire day and night. These clothes… probably still smell of him.”
Xiao Qian: “…”
Fu Yansheng had already memorized the nearby terrain and the specific locations of the two factories.
The police dog sniffed Fu Yansheng. Then the two of them led it quietly through the residential area.
At this hour, almost every house here in the countryside had their doors closed. The further north they went, the more desolate their surroundings. As they approached the factories, they saw that there wasn’t even a single street light within a 500 meter radius
Fu Yansheng had just checked while he’d been in the car and learned that because of the change in the land’s use classification, the two factories have been reclaimed by the county government and were basically abandoned.
The surroundings were deserted; it was an excellent place to hide the hostages. If the kidnappers really had hidden them here and Qi Yu and the other one were in a state where they couldn’t speak, they wouldn’t be so easy to find.
While they were still quite a distance from the target location, Fu Yansheng quietly asked Xiao Qian, “You said just now that the local police had already searched this area? What time? How did they do the search?”
Xiao Qian: “At about two in the morning. At that time, I had just met the people from the Xingshi Municipal Bureau. I heard that they weren’t sure whether the hostages were in danger, so they made a quite search of this area. Later, they saw that the tracker had moved to the gas station in the southern part of Xingshi so they headed there.”
Fu Yansheng: “Did they bring the dog?”
Xiao Qian: “It’s because they didn’t bring one that I brought it. It’s the middle of the night, if I hadn’t brought one, I’d find jacksh*t.”
It took the two of them 30 minutes to reach the back of the factory on foot. The pungent smell of chemical raw materials was all around them. Fu Yansheng frowned. Such a strong smell was going be a great hindrance to the police dog’s search.
Xiao Qian suggested that they split up and search, sending a signal through phone every five minutes. If something was wrong, they were to immediately return to the meeting point.
Fu Yansheng agreed. After that, Xiao Qian took the police dog with him towards the dye factory. Fu Yansheng went to explore the plastic factory alone. There was a huge breach in the fence on the south side of the plastics factory. Seeing that there was no one around, Fu Yansheng proceeded inside.
There are three large rooms in the factory and Fu Yansheng proceeded slowly, sticking close to the wall. It was so quiet around him that he stopped every two steps to look around and listen to what was happening nearby.
When he was near the second room, his mobile phone buzzed slight. Fu Yansheng took cover in a hidden corner before taking it out to have a look. He saw that Xiao Qian had sent him a message: “I just walked around from the dye factory. Someone’s napping in plastics factory’s guard booth. Probably one of the kidnappers. Where are you? How’s things on your end?
There was even someone dozing off in the guard booth of an abandoned factory in the middle of the night! ?
Fu Yansheng knew that he had made the right bet. He quickly replied, “I’ve already gotten in but I’m still searching.”
Xiao Qian: “Make sure not to be seen. I’ll make another search of the perimeter!”
Fu Yansheng forced his spirits up and made sure to be more careful. After another half hour, he moved to the large room on the side farthest east.
It might be because it had been abandoned for a long time, the windows on the west side of the building were all broken. Fu Yansheng was just approaching the window when he heard a voice coming from inside.
He stopped and listened for a couple of seconds. He was beyond ecstatic to hear the familiar voice.
Fu Yansheng took out his phone with trembling hands and quickly sent a message to Xiao Qian. “They’re here!”
Xiao Qian immediately asked, “How are they doing?”
The building had two floors. Fu Yansheng tried to look in through the broken window on the first floor but it was pit black and he could only hear them but he couldn’t see anyone.
He replied to Xiao Qian: “I can’t see them but both of them are awake.”
Xiao Qian: “Awake means they’re safe for the time being. Since the hostages are inside, I guess the kidnappers are also inside. It’s risky to rescue them alone. We’ll have to call the police team to come over. Stay where you are and stay hidden. If there’s any change, contact me immediately.”
Fu Yansheng replied “ok”. He turned off his phone, leaned his back against the wall and waited quietly.
Qi Yu seemed to be talking to Zhang Chengxuan. In the early hours of the morning, their voices echoed faintly in the empty factory building, drifting out of the window and reaching Fu Yansheng’s ears.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Those conversations sounded like the heart-to-heart of two young men but in fact, it was a life and death battle of wits.
Me Tjcrtfcu gfmlafv Hl Te’r cjwf bnfg jcv bnfg lc tlr tfjga, mieamtlcu atf qtbcf lc bcf tjcv jcv atf batfg gbiifv alutais lcab j olra lc tlr qbmxfa…
***
Ca 5:50, j afjw bo qijlcmibatfr qbilmfwfc, ifv ys Wljb Hljc, delfais jqqgbjmtfv atf qijralmr ojmabgs ogbw atf gbeaf atfs tjv ajxfc fjgilfg. Ktfs kfgf qijcclcu ab mibrf lc bc atfw ogbw atgff rlvfr, gbealcu jii atf xlvcjqqfgr atfs mbeiv rff.
Unlike when Xiao Qian and Fu Yansheng had snuck in earlier, the approach of a team of special police officers made a lot of noise in this quiet morning.
Zhao Qiang, who was on guard in the factory where Qi Yu and the others were located, heard the sound and immediately woke up from his doze. He was about to go out to have a look but was distracted by the conversation between Qi Yu and Zhang Chengxuan upstairs.
At this time, Qi Yu had just persuaded Zhang Chengxuan to leave a way out for himself. Zhang Chengxuan pondered for a moment and whispered, “But I haven’t had much contact with my second uncle’s friends and I don’t know which middleman he contacted… …”
“Damn your noise!” A scolding shout suddenly came from below, “What are you two talking about! Just shut the f*ck up!”
Qi Yu was shocked; it was only then that he realized there was a kidnapper guarding here. Judging by the voice, it was the rough guy who had just searched for his pendant.
Zhang Chengxuan, off to one side, had already been convinced by Qi Yu. As though he had come to some sort of decision, he called to the person below, “Dage, who asked you to have be kidnapped? Can you give him a call. If there’s anything you want, you can have him tell my dad…”
Zhao Qiang scolded, “Just shut up, don’t make trouble for me!”
Zhang Chengxuan said, sounding pitiful, “Dage, my hands hurt and my stomach hurts too. Please, can’t you make an exception? Whatever you want, my dad will definitely give it to you. Please let me go…”
Zhao Qiang stepped up, grabbed Zhang Chengxuan and gave him punches to the face. The sound of those punches was so deafening in the empty factory building that Qi Yu’s scalp tingled.
“I told you to shut up, didn’t you hear me? You must be looking for a beating!” Zhao Qiang threw Zhang Chengxuan back to the ground and kicked him. He then took out his mobile phone and made a call, “Lao San, these two bastards are awake again! Get more of that knockout drug over here!”
Some of the kidnappers had driven out that night, leading the police away. They were somewhat more relaxed for the rest of the night.
The man called “Lao San” was woken up by his phone call and came out of the guard booth in a daze. Just as he yawned, not even fully away yet, he was suddenly attacked by two special police officers from behind.
The whole thing had taken only ten second. He only had time to let out a cry.
Zhao Qiang was shocked when he heard the sound from outside and he hurriedly ran down. But just as he had gone down two steps, he vigilantly backed up and called Lao San.
Lao San’s phone went unanswered. Zhao Qiang realized that something was wrong, so he quickly called another person. As soon as the call connected, he said anxiously, “Master Hong! Looks like we’ve been found!”
When Qi Yu heard “found”, he immediately realized that the sound outside just now must have been the police coming to their rescue. Hope rekindled in his heart.
Qi Yu had no idea what Zhao Qiang heard from the other end of the phone but his breathing suddenly became hurried. “Master Hong! Master Hong?”
He called out twice. Zhang Chengxuan, hearing him call ‘Master Hong’ and immediately interrupted, “Dage, can you tell Master Hong to talk to Zhang Youfa and ask my dad to give you double the money and let us free?”
Zhao Qiang was suddenly provoked and angrily approached Zhang Chengxuan, kicking him hard. “Sangmenxing! You still have the face to say double? Do you know how much Zhang Youfa owes Master Hong? Ten times wouldn’t be enough! Your cheap dad won’t give out even a single cent. He already gave you away to us as a hostage! Master Hong said the task can’t be completed and the Zhang Family won’t have any money to redeem you bastards! So run your mouth! Just go and f*cking run your mouth!”
Qi Yu was blindfolded, so he couldn’t see anything. He could only hear the kidnapper’s cursing, kicking and beating and Zhang Chengxuan’s screams.
Qi Yu was trembling all over. Zhang Chengxuan had said that the kidnappers shouldn’t be after their lives. Hearing what the kidnapper had just said, Qi Yu had a realization. — the Zhang Family didn’t ask Zhang Chengxuan to cooperate with this performance at all.
Zhang Youfa owed Master Hong money and they had to win the cooperation with New Bird before they could get the funds from Lin Huan to repay the debt!
This was a chain set. Zhang Chengxuan was just a pawn in one of the links; no one cared whether he lived or died!
The police laying in wait outside, heard the sounds coming from inside and reported to their captain. “Sounds from inside indicate that a hostage is being abused. Asking for instructions.”
“Is there threat to life?”
“Not sure. The kidnapper and hostages are both on the second floor platform. There are obstruction in the way so we can’t see them clearly.”
“Use an aerial drone to take a picture of the situation through the second floor window. Have the negotiator prepare to negotiate with the kidnappers…”
…
Zhao Qiang suddenly heard another noise from outside. He lost interest in beating Zhang Chengxuan. He looked around and took out a knife from the back pocket of his pants.
Zhang Chengxuan cried out instinctively, “Help… help…”
The kidnapper felt uneasy because of his cry for help. He stabbed with his knife. “Shut up! I’ll kill both of you all if you keep making noise!”
Qi Yu heard Zhang Chengxuan’s heart-wrenching scream. With a sob, he suddenly fell silent.
Quickly after, something touched his neck. It was sticky and smelled of blood. Like snake, it licked the skin over his artery.
…It’s a knife.
A bloody knife!
Qi Yu’s body stiffened. He didn’t dare move an inch. Wave after wave of cold sweat broke out and quickly soaked his collar.
Beside them, Zhang Chengxuan had already lost his voice, only the kidnapper’s heavy breathing and his own heart beating remained.
The drone happened to capture the scene where the kidnapper held the knife against Qi Yu’s neck. When the police saw it, he let out a “F*ck”. Fu Yansheng, who was had been watching beside him, grew even paler, his hands clenched into fists. Seeing him like this, Xiao Qian put a hand on his shoulder, afraid that he might momentarily lose all reason and rush in there to confront the kidnapper.
The police quickly sent the photo of the kidnappers back to the city bureau. Before ten minutes were up, they sent back a response.
The kidnapper’s name was Zhao Mingqiang, born in 1976. He was from He County in Shan Province. Ten years ago, he ran after committing robbery and murder in Guang Province. He was wanted for two counts of murder. Judging from his appearance and body shape, this was undoubtedly the same person…
What!? Two counts of murders!?
“The hostages are in life-threatening danger! Get the sniper in position and take him out. The rest of you, get ready to charge in!”
…
Qi Yu couldn’t see anyone and he had absolutely no clue if Zhang Chengxuan had been killed. At this moment, the only thing he could feel was the shadow of death shrouding his body.
When the knife pressed against his neck, for a second, he thought he was going to die by lingchi.
He thought he was about to die.
He suddenly thought of his parents and his younger brother Qi Feng.
Their family was back together. If he died, his dad would be inconsolable…
His mom was even pregnant. What effect would this kind of blow have on the baby…
And Xiao Feng, that idiot. If he dies, that guy would no longer be free to do whatever he wants. Before, when he asked him to take his place in the office for a few days, he already acted like it would be the death of if. If he were to be asked to help their dad do these things for the rest of his life, that kid would probably cry.
…
He thought of Fu Yansheng; of how they hugged each other to so tightly last night, of the reluctant look in Fu Yansheng’s when he looked back at him at the airport…
They had only just separated. He had already been looking forward to their next meeting.
He suddenly felt so overwhelmed with regret that he never asked Fu Yansheng to stay. His life had been so short; maybe he should have been a little more willful so that he wouldn’t have been lonely.
If-if he could see Fu Yansheng again…
…
……Don’t!
Qi Yu shook his head and broke free from the imaginings of his death!
The instinct to survive made him rack his brains to find a feasible way out — the police were still outside. They weren’t just going to sit around and wait like this. He had to buy for time, get the kidnapper to calm down first and give the police a chance to rescue him.
“Dage…” Qi Yu thought that the kidnapper might be afraid of him alarming the police outside, so he tried his best to speak in a quiet voice, “How much does your Master Hong want in total? I’ll give…”
Zhao Qiang squeezed his neck hard and said, agitated, “Give, my ass! I’m already exposed!”
Qi Yu remembered that the kidnapper had called Master Hong and how he’d mentioned that “Master Hong said that the task can’t be completed”. This situation had probably thrown the kidnapper into confusion.
That’s right. Once he’s caught by the police, not only would he himself not be able to escape the law, he might even implicate ‘Master Hong’, completely deviating from the Zhang Family’s original intention of earning a heap ton of money with little effort.
That call with Master Hong was the reason why he’d lost control of his anger!
Qi Yu whispered, “Then, I’ll be the one to give you money. You already have me and my dad will give you as much money as you want.”
Zhao Qiang was stunned and asked, “Give me?”
Qi Yu: “Yes, will ten million do? Just call my dad and he’ll have it ready right away…”
Zhao Qiang’s curiosity was piqued by what Qi Yu said. “Prepare how?”
Qi Yu said, “You can have it in cash, US dollars, or gold. However you want it is fine. We can even open an account for you abroad and transfer all the money there. We’ll charter a plane for you to leave China. The Chinese police can’t reach you there. You’ll be able to spend your money however you want…”
Zhao Qiang hesitated for a moment. Seeming to have found the proposal very tempting, he took out his mobile phone from his trousers pocket and said fiercely, “Tell me your dad’s phone number!”
Qi Yu was very cooperative. “1386608XXXX, my dad’s name is Qi Yuancheng and he’s the chairman of the Siyuan Group. You can tell him that you have me or you have me talk to him.”
Zhao Qiang was holding Qi Yu in one hand, the phone in the other. With his attention divided, he started dialing the number. Suddenly, something diagonally towards his and a bullet lodged through his shoulder with a thud.
With a whimper, he took two steps back and he dropped his phone.
“Move out!” Instantly, several black-clothed special police officers broke through the windows on either sides of the factory’s second floor, heading straight towards the platform.
The kidnapper was only partially injured. Upon seeing this, he struggled to get up and wanted to run, but there was no way to retreat. Before he could be caught, he shouted furiously at Qi Yu, “You dare trick me! Go to hell!”
At this time, Fu Yansheng, Xiao Qian and the others had already rushed in from the main entrance. They were immediately met with the sight of kidnapper pouncing on Qi Yu, push him, along with the chair, off the platform.
Qi Yu flew off the platform, heading towards the floor, face down.
“Qi Yu—”
As he was falling, he heard someone calling his name. Fu Yansheng’s image flashed in Qi Yu’s mind. In his heart, he thought he was about to die. Unexpectedly, he actually heard that person’s voice at such a time.
At this moment of lightning spark, a black shadow flew over from the side, knocking him along with the chair, sideways to the ground.
The chair instantly fell apart. It was immediately follow by someone rushing to his side and shouting, “Xiao Qian! Come and help me turn on the lights!”
Qi Yu was in pain from being the collision. He thought he was hallucinating.
Someone approached and mumbled by his side, “You’re a civilian investigator, how can you rush faster than a special policeman like me…”
The cloth covering the eyes was untied first. Qi Yu frowned, making use of the light to slowly see make out the outline of the person in front of him.
This was unimaginable. It was really Fu Yansheng…!
Qi Yu had thought before that Fu Yansheng would find out that there was a problem with his tracker. He would know that he had been kidnapped and he would find a way to rescue him from a distance.
His guess was that it would be Ye Qinru who would first bring the police to find him, or maybe his parents or maybe even Xu Jing. Never had he ever expected that Fu Yansheng would be the first one to appear before him!
This man had just returned to the Shencheng a few hours ago. How could he be here when he’d been so far away?
With the Xiao Qian’s help, Fu Yansheng quickly untied the ropes around Qi Yu’s hands and feet. He pulled off that was hanging off him and had him lay flat on the ground. He then gripped his hand and asked anxiously, “Where are you hurt? Can you hear me?”
Qi Yu opened his mouth to call out the other’s name but he couldn’t make a sound.
The faint light of early morning was seeping in from outside. Fu Yansheng was still wearing the coat he had bought for him. Kneeling down on one knee before him, with the light behind him; it was as if he’d come here on a cloud…
So tall and lofty. And so unreal.
The lighting in the factory wasn’t very good. Even with the light from the mobile phone, it was still difficult to see clearly. Fu Yansheng looked at him up and down, not knowing where he was hurt. He worried kept asking after his condition. He then turned to the person beside him and asked, “Is the ambulance here yet?”
Xiao Qian: “We’ve already called for one! It should be on its way!”
Fu Yansheng touched Qi Yu’s forehead with his other hand. “Baby, don’t just look at me. Say something…”
The man’s voice was trembling, and so did his hands as he touched him.
Qi Yu gave a belated “en”, trying to give the other some reaction. However, as soon as he moved, there was a piercing pain in his left arm.
The pain spread to his chest, making his eyes go dim. Qi Yu gasped and Fu Yansheng immediately crouched down in fright. He said in a trembling voice, “Where does it hurt?”
Qi Yu said weakly, “Left shoulder…”
Fu Yansheng: “Does your back or neck hurt?”
Qi Yu forced himself to relax. He tried to move a little. He said with a frown. “It’s fine…”
Maybe a part of the chair had cushioned his fall, protecting part of his body instead. Fu Yansheng breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyebrows were still furrowed tight, fearing that Qi Yu may have internal injuries that could readily be seen. He quickly urged, “Don’t move. Let’s wait for the ambulance.”
The special police had already subdued the kidnapper upstairs and the voices outside were starting to become noisy. Qi Yu heard someone using the walkie-talkie and there was a police officer making a call to explain the situation.
The surroundings brightened little by little and Qi Yu could feel everything around him. Thinking back on what had just happened, he felt like he had had a long nightmare.
He didn’t have the heart to concern himself about anything else. He just looked at Fu Yansheng and said, voice hoarse, “Why are you here?”
“Ever since your position left Jiangzhen, I’d been trying to find a way to come here. We spent all night searching for you…” Fu Yansheng grabbed Qi Yu’s movable right hand and put it on his lips, his eyes brimming with tenderness and relief at him having survived this disaster. “I’m sorry, I was a little late. You must have been so scared…”
Qi Yu’s numb limbs were slowly regaining feeling. He gripped Fu Yansheng’s hand back. Looking at the string of jade beads on the other’s wrist, he said, voice filled with emotion, “It’s already good enough that you were able to come…”
The sounds of cars and sirens were getting closer. Someone shouted from outside. “The ambulance is here!”
A paramedic ran in first to survey the situation. After hearing Fu Yansheng’s recounting of Qi Yu’s fall, he decided to have him carried out.
Qi Yu, feeling that he could manage, shook his head and propped himself up with his right hand.
Fu Yansheng was startled upon seeing this. He quickly said, “don’t move” and then reached out to scoop him up, carefully carrying him in his arms.
Qi Yu’s breathing stalled. He had this inexplicable feeling like this scene overlapped with the one that happened fourteen years ago. This strange memory almost made him forget the pain in his body.
On that day, that uncle who had worn this same string of jade beads, had carried him out just like this.
Fourteen years later, it was Fu Yansheng, taking him through the dust, through the ruins, towards the rosy light of dawn, as though rescuing him completely from that endless nightmare.
There were many people outside and Qi Yu worried faces one after another — Ye Qinru, Xu Jing, even his parents who had just arrived. They all came.
Qi Yu put his head on Fu Yansheng’s shoulder and called softly, “Fu Yansheng…”
“…Hm?” Fu Yansheng’s voice sounded close to his ears. Every move he made made Qi Yu truly feel his presence.
Qi Yu stared at him intently and asked in a voice that only two of them could hear, “Since you’re here now… in the future, can you not leave anymore?”
Fu Yansheng tightened his arms around him. He looked down at him and replied, “Okay.”
The author has something to say: [Little Theater]
Xiao Qian: Let the dog smell your wife’s personal belongings.
Fu Yansheng: Smell me.
Xiao Qian: ? ? ? Are you sick?
————
Fu Yansheng: They’re here!
Xiao Qian: ? ? ? How are you even be better than a dog?
————
People eating melon seeds: Why did the kidnapper only beat Zhang Chengxuan and not Qi Yu?
Author: Can’t.
People who eat melons: Who can’t?
Author: I can’t, I can’t bear it…
Translator’s note: This was an extra long chapter but I didn’t want to cut it into two since this is the last chapter of the main story. We have 5 more chapters of extras which I will start releasing next week. That means there won’t be any more releases for this week. orz
But I hope you all enjoyed this story and I hope you’re all looking forward to the extras! =) See you all next week.
What a dramatic ending! Thanks very much for your amazing translation efforts!
I am so sad it’s ending 😢
One of my favourite novels definitely ❤️
I was listening to the audio drama last time, it’s awesome hope it gets translated 😁
I love this story so much! I like how it came full circle. Thank you so much translator! Can’t wait for the extras 😍💫
WAIT SO ITS ENDING JUST LIKE THAT?? WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUC-
NOO THIS CANT BE IM GONNA CRY 😭 😭 😭
+1
+1
Oh my god I can’t believe it’s coming to an end 😭 I’ve loved having these little updates throughout my week and thank you for providing us with this absolutely amazing story ❣🥰
This has been such a journey, thank you so much for translating ❤️❤️❤️
thanks for the chapter!
Omg I laughed at author san not bearing to have QiYu beat up 😂
We all can’t bear it dear author….
Xiao Qian ah, because Fu dage is his wife’s belonging ma.. Don’t be confused hehe