Translator-Lucyferase
Editor-Alysia
The situation in the lobby was chaotic. Everyone was running in panic, pushing others and trying to get out, except for Sun Yongren, who was like a cannonball thrown through the crowd, flying in the opposite direction. He has never run so fast before.
Chen Yu Zhi’s physical strength was far less than Sun Yongren’s, and yet he was almost on par with Sun Yongren as he rushed upstairs right behind him. When he finally reached the third floor, he was completely out of breath. His heart was beating like a drum, and he had to stop to catch his breath.
He gasped while grasping his knees, and Jiang Yue Lou’s words immediately echoed in his ears. “This is a life or death situation; you just pretended not to see it.” Worried, he quickly stood up and started running again.
Chen Yu Zhi and Sun Yongren finally reached the room, only to witness that the entire living room of their suite was blown to pieces. The furniture was destroyed, and all the glass windows shattered; only the curtains, which were being blown by the night wind, remained.
They found Song Rong, kneeling in the rubble, trying to open a fallen wardrobe. Sun Yongren and Chen Yu Zhi rushed eagerly forward to help him.
“Where is the Boss?” Sun Yongren shouted.
“After you had just left, the Boss asked me to go and check on Ms. Cheng as he was worried about her.”
Song Rong burst out, “I just went down to the second floor when the room exploded.”
Chen Yu Zhi forced himself to calm down, checked the room, and felt a little relieved, “There are no bloodstains on the ground which means he is not injured. He probably managed to escape, or he was taken away.”
Sun Yongren and Song Rong also calmed down, “He shouldn’t have gone far, let’s split up and try to find him.”
The two rushed out, and Chen Yu Zhi followed them and was about to leave the room, suddenly someone grabbed his arm. He was startled, but when he looked back at the one who was holding him, it was Jiang Yue Lou!
Jiang Yue Lou’s face was stained with dust and had two fresh bruises on his face, but his body was intact with no serious injuries. He was simply standing there in front of him, alive. Chen Yu Zhi heaved a sigh of relief, but what he wanted to say was blocked in his throat. Unable to say anything, he just tightly grasped Jiang Yue Lou’s arm.
Seeing Chen Yu Zhi’s relief face, Jiang Yue Lou’s handsome face showed a slight smile, and all the hard feelings between them disappeared instantly.
Sun Yongren and Song Rong turned their heads when they heard noises coming from the room and shouted in surprise, “Boss! Boss!”
Jiang Yue Lou stopped them, “We can’t stay here, let’s go.”
“There must be someone watching downstairs,” Chen Yu Zhi said, “We cannot go out like this.”
Jiang Yue Lou nodded, “Let’s make a bigger ruckus than this one.”
Within a few minutes after the explosion, the third floor was caught on fire again: spreading a thick black smoke into the hotel. On the second floor, some wires short-circuited, igniting the curtains and causing a new fire. The police, in despair, called for more reinforcements and enacted martial law. The crowd grew bigger near the hotel as more curious people gathered to watch, making it difficult for the fire trucks to access the hotel.
Outside, Ying Hou No, one of Lucas’ henchmen, and his lackeys scattered among the crowd, checking all people walking around the hotel trying to Jiang Yue Lou and his gang.
The back door of the kitchen was opened due to the fire, allowing the workers to safely exit the hotel. Jiang Yue Lou dressed as a chef, Chen Yu Zhi as a doorman, and Song Rong and Sun Yongren as waiters; all rushed out of the hotel door with the hotel staff. They all bowed their heads, trying to avoid the sight of the police and the people who were after them.
Everyone’s face was obscured by black smoke preventing Ying Hou No and his men from recognizing Jiang Yue Lou’s face.
Jiang Yue Lou’s team strayed away from the hotel. They quickly removed their disguise and turned into a small alley.
“Boss, this is bad. We only stayed for half an hour, and Lucas already knew where we were.”
Song Rong said, “He probably has an informer in every hotel in Hong Kong.”
Sun Yongren scratched his head, “Maybe someone here is a whistleblower? Sun Heming, this traitor is already dead, but…”
He glanced at Chen Yu Zhi and shook his head after thinking about it. Jiang Yue Lou gave him a stern look and kicked him in the back, “If it was him, do you think we could have escaped just now?”
Sun Yongren looked at Song Rong, who seemed to agree with his Boss. Sun Yongren muttered under his beaten head, “I just was just saying that…”
Jiang Yue Lou sounded serious again, “But Song Rong is right. We cannot stay in any hotel anymore. I’m afraid they will know right away no matter where we stay.”
“What should we do now? We cannot sleep in the street…” Sun Yongren said embarrassedly.
Chen Yu Zhi suddenly said, “Let’s go to my place.”
Everyone stopped and looked at Chen Yu Zhi. It was late at night already. A crescent moon hung on the edge of the sky with a faint light reflecting on his fair face. His eyes were clear and calm, brighter than the stars.
Jiang Yue Lou’s heart was moved; a smile appeared on his face, “Are you sure? Aren’t you afraid of being dragged down by me?”
“I’ve been dragged down by you already, and it’s better than dragging other people into it.”
Chen Yu Zhi glanced at him, “But my place is small. So please don’t expect too much.”
Finally, the fire in the Jinchao Hotel has been extinguished by firefighters. Ying Hou No and his men have been looking around all night but found no one. He was infuriated and was staring at the trembling person in front of him; ferociously. A person dressed up as a waiter tremblingly explained, “I swear, I saw him enter the room before sending the bomb. I don’t know how he managed to escape…”
Only one word burst out between the gritted teeth of Ying Hou No, “Useless.”
He grabbed the waiter’s clothes, pressed a dagger to his heart, and stabbed him. The man widened his eyes in shock and fell to the ground, with blood slipping out from the corner of his mouth. The other subordinates glanced at each other, their faces expressionless. Such bloody scenes have long been commonplace for them.
Chen Yu Zhi’s apartment was a tiny, cramped space with just one room and one bathroom. There was a narrow single bed against the wall, as well as a small couch, a small desk, and a chair. His books and medical notes were carefully arranged on the table.
But even if it was neatly arranged, with four big men standing in such a small house, moving around freely was impossible, forget about moving around, there was almost no room for just to stay still.
Chen Yu Zhi sighed, “I did say that the place was small.”
Sun Yongren looked around, “How can the four of us stay here unless we hang one of us on the wall…Ouch!” Jiang Yue Lou kicked him in the ass before he finished speaking.
“I think it’s perfect,” Jiang Yue Lou sat on the bed with a satisfied expression, and waved like a master, “Why are you still standing? Sit.”
Chen Yu Zhi sat on the only chair in front of the desk. Song Rong leaned against the cabinet. Sun Yongren looked around but couldn’t find a seat, so he leaned against the door.
“It seems like tonight, I will have to fall asleep standing up.”
But seeing Jiang Yue Lou’s stern face he didn’t complain more and quickly changed the topic, “Boss, I was wondering. How did you figure out the explosion? How did you escape?”
Jiang Yue Lou’s eyes darkened. This time he escaped death not because of his keen sense of observation but simply by luck. Jiang Yue Lou was frustrated after Chen Yu Zhi accused him of ignoring the lives of others. To prove Chen Yu Zhi misunderstood him, Jiang Yue Lou roared at Song Rong and ordered him to check on Ms. Cheng immediately. As soon as Song Rong left, someone knocked on the door. Jiang Yue Lou, still frustrated, though it was just Sun Yongren who was back and started to scream after him, but no one answered.
Although Jiang Yue Lou has a fierce and rough personality, he is still cautious and meticulous. He quietly went over and opened the door to see that there was only a dining car outside with a smell of gunpowder!
He immediately understood that something was wrong, quickly slammed the door, and rushed back into the room. As soon as he reached the bedroom, he heard a loud noise, and the entire living room was blown to pieces.
“Amitabha Buddha,” Sun Yongren gratefully patted his forehead,“Hopefully for me, I went to send off Dr. Chen. Otherwise, you would probably be fine, but I would have been blown into pieces.”
Song Rong interrupted him, “Stop talking nonsense and let’s talk business.”He turned to Jiang Yue Lou, “Boss, what should we do next?”
Jiang Yue Lou scratched his hair, looked at everyone, and said with a sullen face, “We have been here for a few days, and still haven’t figured out whether Lucas is round or flat. We have also suffered such a big loss. The next step, of course, is to catch him and get revenge.”
Both Song Rong and Sun Yongren listened attentively, but Chen Yu Zhi suddenly interrupted them, “It’s already late, you should discuss tomorrow. And I want to check your wound.”
Song Rong glanced at Chen Yu Zhi, stood up, and said to Sun Yongren, “Let’s go out and get some food first.”
Sun Yongren looked at Jiang Yue Lou, nodded when he saw his face and left with Song Rong.
Only Jiang Yue Lou and Chen Yu Zhi were left in the room. Chen Yu Zhi silently helped Jiang Yue Lou take off his coat, the blood had already dyed his shirt red. Chen Yu Zhi picked up the scissors in the medical kit.
“Is your shirt expensive?”
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.
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Jiang Yue Lou seemed to feel his emotions and explained, “I was probably hit by debris during the explosion. It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t hurt?” Chen Yu Zhi gently lifted the gauze with tweezers.
“Will you have to suture me without anesthetic again?” Jiang Yue Lou chuckled teasingly, “You are something. At first, I thought you were cold-hearted but later found out that you are very kind, polite to others, and that you will always try your best to heal even those who should not be saved. Now, I know you are kind-hearted, but we are constantly at odds. Why are you so cruel to me alone? Am I worse than those bad guys?”
Chen Yu Zhi used cotton wool to clean his wounds and was taken aback when he heard those words. He has always been gentle and polite, rarely been angry with anyone, and will never try to get revenge for himself. So why did he behave so differently with Jiang Yue Lou? Was it because of his sister? He decided not to reply and changed the subject.
“I was thinking about something. It took about 20 minutes for Sun Heming to call them until they arrived at Miss Cheng’s apartment. Converted into a distance, it should be about 30 miles.”
Jiang Yue Lou was taken aback by Chen Yu Zhi’s words. After a while, he finally asked with a serious face, “I saw a trace of red clay on their car. Is there any place with red clay around 30 miles?”
Chen Yu Zhi thought for a while, “I don’t know much about Hong Kong, but when I was posting the flyers, I saw a red land in the park near Yuanchun Road.”
The next morning, Chen Yu Zhi went to work early. Jiang Yue Lou, Sun Yongren, and Song Rong sat around the table, eating breakfast and having a meeting. Song Rong chewed the siu mai* with a serious expression. Sun Yongren was happily drank the salty soy milk.
“This salty soy milk is so delicious,” Sun Yongren smacked his lips, and took another barbecued pork bun, “I have to say, this Dr. Chen is nice!”
Jiang Yue Lou squinted at him: “Just a bowl of salty soy milk and you’re bought?”
Sun Yongren replied, “He also invited us to stay at his place.”
Song Rong interrupted him, “Boss, judging from the explosion last night, Sun Heming should not be the only one who had colluded with Lucas. They should have other accomplices in Jingcheng.”
Jiang Yue Lou nodded, “I agree, so before we can find out who he is, we have to cut off all contact with Jingcheng.”
Sun Yongren was worried, “So it’s only three cobblers against them?” He looked at Jiang Yue Lou’s eyes and immediately changed his words, “Two cobblers and one Zhuge Liang*.”
Jiang Yue Lou took a sip of soy milk, “Only a few people are fine, sometimes quality is better than quantity”.
“I smelled high-quality pure opium on the dock that day. This batch of goods is first processed in Hong Kong before being transported to various places. The profit must be more than ten-fold. We shouldn’t underestimate him. Lucas has been operating such a huge business chain for so many years without exposing himself.”
Song Rong nodded, “Then what should we do now?”
“Looking at the number of people they sent after us last night, his organization is quite large. Therefore, their base has to be big to be able to accommodate so many people. The entrance of the building needs to be discreet for them to move freely. In this case, the only suspicious places are near Yuanchun Road and Shengdetang. I also suspect that Lucas has to visit the important places operated by him from time to time. If we combine all this information while investigating, we should be able to find his identity.”
Song Rong understood instantly and nodded in agreement. But Sun Yongren was still at loss. Jiang Yue Lou gave him a blank look and explained, “The locations where Lucas might appear; include docks, warehouses, bars, and…”
“Shengde Church?”
“That’s right,” Jiang Yue Lou said, “We will act separately. Investigate all the people who will appear in these places in the next few days, and then think, the people who would appear in these places are most likely to be…”
Sun Yongren, Song Rong said in unison, “Lucas.”
The two of them looked at each other, feeling energetic.
On the campus of the Women’s Church School, several female students were gathering around the bulletin board. There are front pages of newspapers posted on it, as well as campus event posters.
A student sighed, “There is mostly only bad news these days.”
Another said, “I mean, just yesterday, there were gunfights and explosions near the Jianbo Hotel.”
Chu Ran was just passing by when she heard these comments. She slowed down and walked towards the newspaper column. A newspaper reported the bombing of the Jinchao Hotel with a photo of the hotel taken after the explosion.
Chu Ran instinctively felt that this matter had something to do with Bai Qing, and couldn’t help but feel a little worried. She turned back and squeezed into the crowd and hurried away. Jianbo Hotel was not far from the school. Chu Ran walked fast, sweating a lot in this late autumn. She saw the room where the explosion occurred from a distance. The glass of the windows shattered, exposing a black hole. Chu Ran was horrified when she saw it. She was just about to walk over when she saw a few policemen walking out of the hall, stopping at the door, and started to talk. She decided to avoid them and turned around to walk to a few stalls across the street where shopkeepers were discussing the incident.
Chu Ran pretended to buy fruit and stopped in front of a vendor and casually asked, “What happened here?”
The vendor excitedly said with gestures, “Oh, miss, you didn’t read the newspaper, it made the headlines. Last night around midnight one of the guest rooms of the Jinchao Hotel exploded. I was moving oranges at that time, and then Boom! Oh! Oh! I was so scared that I dropped all the oranges, and they rolled all over the floor…”
Chu Ran interrupted him, “Are there any casualties?”
The vendor scratched his head, “That I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem to be right?”
He turned to the vendor next to him, “Yes, I didn’t see the police carrying people out.”
Chu Ran felt a little relieved. She didn’t continue to listen to the vendors and left. She decided to go to the Shandetang Clinic to meet Chen Yu Zhi and ask for more information.
At this time at the clinic, Chen Yu Zhi was standing at the front desk with an apologetic expression, listening to Dr. Qiu’s complaint.
Dr. Qiu was quite dissatisfied, “Dr. Chen, I let you work here and agreed to help you because I thought you were sincere and honest, and also because you came here to look after your sister. You usually work hard. So how can you disappear all day yesterday without letting me know? Several patients were asking after you, causing a delay. Even if you want to quit your job, you shouldn’t have disappeared like this without checking with me.”
Chen Yu Zhi bowed apologetically, “Dr. Qiu, I’m sorry. I was unwell yesterday, so I went home directly. You should deduct my salary.”
He was so sincere and humble that Doctor Qiu didn’t want to scold him anymore. Chen Yuzhi has only been here for a few days, but because of his medical skills, his kindness, and his handsome face, the patients and even his wife were very fond of him. Doctor Qiu was a little jealous and took the opportunity to attack him. Seeing that he honestly admitted his mistake, Dr. Qiu decided to let it go and waved him to leave, “There will be no holidays for you this month, please be more careful next time.”
Chen Yu Zhi sighed, and as soon as he changed his clothes and was about to start working, Chu Ran appeared at the door.
At the same time, at Jingcheng Police Station. Bai Jinbo was worried and asked his secretary anxiously, “What did you just say? Did we lose contact with Jiang Yue Lou?”
The Secretary reported, “Yes. Chief Jiang never called the bureau since he arrived in Hong Kong. The last call was made by Constable Sun, who asked Wang Laosi for information about a certain Chen Yu Zhi.”
Bai Jinbo thought silently, with worry in his eyes.
The Secretary continued, “There is more. Section Chief Jin seems to be suspicious about the mission. He already asked Section Chief Qian several times about what weapons and ammunition Mr. Jiang received to perform his official duties before he left.”
Bai Jinbo frowned and said, “Keep everything confidential, and don’t say a word to anyone.”
“Yes sir.”
Bai Jinbo picked up the calendar on the table and drew a mark on the next Wednesday.
He sighed, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep it for too long. At the meeting, next Wednesday, all the chiefs of the police station, and the captains of the various teams of the city defense department would have to attend. If he is not back by then, we will have to find a reason for Jiang Yue Lou’s absence.”
“Do you want me to send him back up?”
Bai Jinbo was silent for a moment, and whispered a word, “No.”
The Secretary was confused, and Bai Jinbo continued, “We don’t know what is the situation in Hong Kong. We have to be careful, if we act too hastily we may directly expose his whereabouts. Besides, Yue Lou has already made a lot of enemies, and many people can’t wait to step on him and watch him fail. Our actions may fall in the eyes of these people and instead put him in a more dangerous situation.”
The Secretary nodded, somewhat helpless.
“If Yue Lou doesn’t show up before next Wednesday, we will think again.”
Bai Jinbo added, “If it happens, I will personally ask Zhang Jun Bai to speak with Mayor Cai on the behalf of Yue Lou.”
On the grass of the tennis court, Financial Secretary Zhan Jun Bai and Zhao Jingming, Section Chief of the General Administration of Customs were playing tennis. Both were wearing modified sportswear. Zhao Jingming was good at tennis, but Zhan Jun Bai was even better. He already lost several times against Zhan Jun Bai.
Zhao Jingming stopped panting and waved his hands on his knees, “I’m done, I cannot play anymore, Director Zhan is really good, I cannot compete with you”
Zhan Junbai also sweated slightly and said with a smile, “Section Chief Zhao is too humble…”
Qiu Ming, Zhan Jun Bai’s secretary, held a white towel and handed it over. Zhan Jun Bai handed the golf club to Qiu Ming, took the white towel and wiped his forehead and fingers slowly, and handed it back to Qiu Ming. Qiu Ming took the golf club and the towel and withdrew.
Zhan Jun Bai and Zhao Jingming were seated outdoors under umbrellas. The tea had been poured, and the slight fragment of the drink was spreading in the air.
Zhan Jun Bai took a sip from his teacup, and looked at the distant scenery leisurely, “How is the preparation of your new store in Yanghang going on?”
“Director Zhan is concerned, we are still working on it.”
Zhan Jun smiled whitely, ” Section Chief Zhao hands are full. The customs work is going smoothly, and the business of the foreign company is also growing day by day.”
Zhao Jingming also smiled quite comfortably, “My small business is not much compared to yours, it’s not worth mentioning.”
“But you have to take care of your official duties now, can you still handle the branch’s business by yourself?”
Zhao Jingming shook his head, “My sister Mo Qing will soon return from studying abroad, she will take care of it. It is her dowry.”
Zhan Junbai couldn’t help but smile, “You are a good brother. Time is flying so fast. It’s already been three years since Mo Qing left, and I’m sure she has grown into a mature and confident woman.”
“Yeah, but I wonder if her temper has calmed down.”
“Impossible!”
The two looked at each other and laughed. Zhao Jingming’s younger sister, Zhao Moqing, has been spoiled since she was a child. Zhan Jun Bai and the Zhao family have known each other for a long time, and both regard her as their sister.
Zhao Jingming put down his teacup and seemed to remember something, “It’s been a long time since the last time I saw Jiang Yue Lou. I’m wondering what he’s doing right now.”
Zhan Jun Bai shook his head, “I have been told he was busy with official business, but I don’t know more about it.”
Zhao Jingming breathed a sigh of relief, “This Jiang Yue Lou, it’s not bad when is not around.”
Zhan Junbai glanced at him and smiled knowingly, “Is this ship already back?”
“Yes, it will arrive at the port the day after tomorrow. I also specially sent someone to bring a Swiss watch. When the ship arrives at the pier, I will send it to you right away.”
Zhan Jun Bai sighed, “Brother Zhao, I’m not scolding you. You’d better declare taxes honestly per the declaration form of imported goods. Every time you bring a few extra goods Jiang Yue Lou comes after you, why bother?”
Zhao Jingming was slightly unconvinced, “Whoever does business wants to make extra profit. I am well-behaved. I declare taxes in a regular manner and purchase goods in a regular manner. The few watches I bring are nothing more than personal use or gifts. Even the tax bureau turned a blinded eye on me. But this Jiang Yue Lou said that the scope of anti-smuggling also includes goods, and he has to come to the customs for personal investigation. He is really like a dog sticking his nose everywhere.”
Zhan Jun Bai laughed, “You, it’s not the first time you have to deal with him. He’s righteous to death and is strict in anti-narcotics and anti-smuggling. Those watches of yours look inconspicuous, the prices are extremely expensive, and I am sure you have a lot of them in your cargo. Are you sure Jiang Yue Lou will not trouble you with this?”
Zhao Jingming took a bit of anger, “Director Zhan, I know you admire him, but I am not breaking the law. Everyone is doing the same, but this Jiang Yue Lou is so righteous. The whole world is turbulent and muddy. Jiang Yue Lou should understand. I think he will hit the wall sooner or later.”
Zhan Jun Bai smiled, “It’s okay, we should stop talking about him. Brother Zhao, please drink your tea.”
Zhao Jingming picked up the cup on the table, and the two of them continued to discuss together, sipping their fragrant tea.
Chu Ran was working in the Blue Café but she couldn’t stay focused, and even the foreman had to reprimand her several times. She was still thinking about her conversation with Chen Yu Zhi. His words were still echoing in her head, “Yes, the explosion was targeting Bai Qing, but don’t worry he is okay.”
Chen Yu Zhi also added, “For your safety, it’s better not to contact him again.”
“Is he… from the government?” Seeing Chen Yu Zhi’s expression, Chu Ran knew that she had guessed it right, “His way of doing things is different from ordinary people. I don’t think he is a bad person.”
“He is indeed not a bad person.” Chen Yu Zhi lowered his eyes, “But some good people cause more trouble than bad people.”
“The coffee is going to be cold,” Ali whispered in her ear, awakening Chu Ran from her thoughts.
She came back to her senses and walked over to the only customer in the coffee. It was an English gentleman in his sixties, with silver hair and a great presence.
“I’m sorry I made you wait.” Chu Ran said apologetically.
The old man shook his head, smiled politely at her, and continued to read the newspaper in his hand.
Chu Ran returned to her place. She was immersed in her thoughts again. Bai Qing is a member of the government. What is he doing in Hong Kong? Why does he have a conflict with foreigners? Few people in the government now have this courage, he is truly a lonely hero.
When she came back to her senses, the old gentleman in the corner had already left, leaving a nice tip for her.
Shengde Church is located near Fifth Avenue and is a Western-style church. At this time the sky was getting dark, and the Baroque buildings stood in the quiet night. The multicolored glazed windows showed a little light. The music of the pipe organ was coming from the church, and some foreigners were going in and out from time to time.
A car stopped. Ying Hou No and a few men got out of the car. He was about to walk into the church when he suddenly felt like someone was watching him and looked back at the hotel behind him. The lights on the second floor of the hotel were dark, and some rooms had curtains. Ying Hou No looked at it for a moment and didn’t notice anything unusual, so he led her men into Shengde Hall.
On the second floor of the hotel, behind a window, Jiang Yue Lou slowly opened the curtains. With the camera in his hand, he looked sideways near the entrance of the Shengde Church.
The bathroom of Chen Yu Zhi was very small. Song Rong temporarily used it as a dark room, and he was developing photos with Sun Yongren. Under the dim red light, several photos were immersed in the developer: the locations of the entrance of Shengdetang, the dock, a blue coffee shop, and a warehouse near the pier. There were also many people in those photos.
Song Rong picked up the photo with tweezers, and the image gradually became clear. Sun Yongren clipped the washed photos one by one on the hanging rope.
“Look at this,” Song Rong pointed to one of the photos and showed it to Sun Yongren.
Sun Yongren leaned over to look at the photo. It was the body of a man, with a tattoo on his open chest.
“I took this near to the pier,” Song Rong said, “Time was tight, and I didn’t get a chance to see what the tattoo was exactly.”
The body was swollen and deformed when it was picked up from the water. The fishermen nearby shook their heads and sighed, saying that the world has not been peaceful recently and those bad things always happened. The police arrived very quickly this time, and Song Rong only had time to take two photos. The tattoo on the man’s chest seemed familiar to him as if he had seen it somewhere before.
“It looks like a bull’s head,” Sun Yongren tilted his head and looked more carefully, “Or maybe a horse’s head…”
After hearing those words, Song Rong immediately remembered. In Jingcheng, he had seen this tattoo on someone in prison, and that person was Wang Meng.
The two looked at each other, “Jimmatang!”
Sun Yongren slapped his head, but he did not expect that his move was too big to knock off the glass bottle aside, making a crisp sound.
In the small single room, Chen Yu Zhi was seated at the table reading a book and taking notes. Jiang Yue Lou was leaning on the sofa, meditating with his eyes closed. The sound from the bathroom interrupted his thoughts and Jiang Yue Lou opened his eyes.
“I didn’t know that developing photos could make such a big noise. Sun Yongren, it’s you again!”
After a second of silence, Sun Yongren shouted, “This time it is Song Rong!”
Jiang Yue Lou shook his head, too lazy to reply. Chen Yu Zhi seemed to hear nothing and continued to study seriously.
His attitude made Jiang Yue Lou curious, so he got up and walked behind Chen Yu Zhi and looked at his book with a sneering smile. But he was surprised to find that it was a Japanese medical textbook.
“Japanese?” He grabbed the book and looked at it closer, “Did you study in Japan?”
Chen Yu Zhi did not answer and took his book back from Jiang Yue Lou.
“If you can study abroad these days, your family should not be too bad. So how did you end up here?” Jiang Yue Lou said while looking around this simple small room.
Chen Yu Zhi sighed, “I was born in troubled times. The day is rich, the day is poor. In those days times, it’s already not easy to survive let alone being rich and successful”
Jiang Yue Lou waited for a long time but nothing more came. Looking down, he saw that Chen Yu Zhi was immersed in his book again, and was reading it intently.
“That’s it?” He was really curious now, “Don’t you plan to tell me your story?”
Chen Yu Zhi turned to another page, “There are so many sorrows in the world, nothing more than birth and death. What do you want me to add?”
His tone was indifferent, but what he said was very sad and miserable and touched Jiang Yue Lou’s mind letting him be shocked for a while.
“There are so many sad things in the world, nothing more than birth and death…”
Jiang Yue Lou was smacked by these words which left a bitter taste in his mouth. Those memories that he was unwilling to recall suddenly emerged from the abyss and seized him firmly. This small room shrouded in orange lights suddenly became bleak and desolate. In this dark place, he could hear a woman weeping lingeringly. Scolding, beating, begging.
“You can’t take it… this is the tuition for An’er!”
“No? Do you want me to beat you to death?!”
“Father! Don’t beat her! Please don’t beat her! Father–!”
“Ah? Where are you going with An’er? Please don’t touch him! Stop! Don’t touch him!”
“If you don’t give me the money, I’d have to sell my son! You come back here!”
“No! Don’t sell my son! Take the money! Take it all! Ah-God! What did I do? This family is over! He wants to sell his son for smoking! Oh! Ho ho ho—”
The arguing and crying became louder and louder, giving him a headache. Jiang Yue Lou held his forehead, breathing more and more heavily.
As the light changed in front of him, he suddenly opened his eyes and found himself standing in a more spacious but darker room. Someone was pulling his arm hard, almost dragging him down. Jiang Yue Lou raised his head and saw the face of a middle-aged man, with a crazy hideous face, his eyes were flushed, his face was pale, half-human and half-ghost, the man gasped hard, and the exhaled heat sprayed on his face. There was a strange sweet smell in the stench.
The smell of opium.
Chen Yu Zhi read two more pages of the book before he raised his head and was surprised to find that Jiang Yuelou was still standing by his side.
His eyes were gloomy and low, his breathing was short, and he seemed to be in a state of wandering. Chen Yu Zhi quickly figured out that something was wrong with Jiang Yue Lou. A little worried he raised his hand to touch his arm.
“Jiang Yue Lou, what’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Yue Lou shook his head vigorously. Knowing that he was about to fall into an emotional episode again, he tried his best to free himself from the memory. Someone was calling him, his voice was gentle and calm. Jiang Yue Lou closed his eyes vigorously, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in Chen Yu Zhi’s small but cozy and simple room.
“Are you okay?” Chen Yu Zhi sat on the table, and looked up at him, with his hand still on his elbow. The young doctor frowned slightly, his expression was a little worried.
Jiang Yue Lou took a deep breath. His five senses were still a little confused, and he couldn’t tell where he was. The quarrel between his father and his mother continued in his mind, his mother was weeping helplessly, and his father’s crazy face approached him, yelling that he’ll sell him for a piece of opium. Jiang Yue Lou propped one hand on the corner of the table and the other hand on his forehead. His head felt like it was about to split.
“Jiang Yue Lou?”
“Do not touch me!”
Jiang Yue Lou suddenly threw off Chen Yu Zhi’s hand and shouted in a low voice.
Chen Yu Zhi was unprepared and fell back in his chair. He didn’t know why Jiang Yue Lou was suddenly angry, but he understood that he was emotionally unstable, “What’s the matter with you? Are you uncomfortable?”
The furious mood made Jiang Yue Lou uneasy. Every time it happened, he would jump everywhere, wishing to destroy everything in front of him like a torrent of rain. When it happened, even if Sun Yongren and Song Rong were standing in front of him, he would punch them. Of course, Chen Yu Zhi didn’t know what Jiang Yue Lou was thinking. He stood up and tried to hold Jiang Yuelou again, “Sit down first and try to calm down.”
The young doctor’s voice was gentle and caring, making Jiang Yue Lou barely able to keep a trace of clarity. He couldn’t longer stay here. Jiang Yue Lou pushed Chen Yu Zhi away, opened the door abruptly, and strode out.
Jiang Yue Lou’s footsteps drifted away. The night wind poured in from the open door, causing Chen Yu Zhi to shiver. Jiang Yue Lou’s sudden change of mind was really strange. Like he was a different person. Thinking about him running in the street in this state of mind made Chen Yu Zhi worried and distressed. Without thinking to inform Sun Yongren and Song Rong, Chen Yu Zhi hurried out to chase after him.
.
There was a sound of the door closing, Song Rong and Sun Yongren walked out and saw that the living room was empty, they couldn’t help looking at each other.
Song Rong hesitated, “Where did they go? Going out for a walk so late…”
“They can’t! There has been a curfew on the street these past two days.”
Sun Yongren touched his bare head, “That’s it, “that” problem must have happened again.”
Song Rong walked outside without saying a word, “Hurry up, we have to bring him back! It would be a mess if a policeman found him before us.”
Sun Yongren also understood, and ran out quickly, complaining as he was running,
“What happened? He was fine just now. Hurry up! I’m scared that if he loses this temper Doctor Chen will not survive.”
When Chen Yu Zhi arrived downstairs, Jiang Yue Lou had already disappeared. He decided to walk and search in the alley. Because of shootings and bombings, Hong Kong has imposed a curfew since yesterday, and the streets were empty. Chen Yu Zhi touched his pocket. There was a permit for practicing medicine at night in his wallet, which could be used as proof if he was arrested by the police.
The street light near him was broken, and there was an orange spot in the dark alleyway as if someone was smoking. Chen Yu Zhi walked over slowly and tentatively shouted, “Jiang Yue Lou?”
The person sneered and walked out of the dark shadows, but there were two gangsters with malicious thoughts flashing in their eyes.
Chen Yu Zhi’s fighting skills were not good, so he lowered his head and tried to run away. One of the gangsters shook suddenly and jumped in front of him, blocking his way.
“Hey, don’t run.”
Chen Yu Zhi turned his head and looked behind him. Another gangster stood in there, spit out the cigarette butt in his mouth, and dangled the knife from his waist.
Chen Yu Zhi sighed in his heart. In recent years, Hong Kong’s economy has been depressed and the number of unemployed people has increased. Many young people like this who have no skills have gone astray. It was really sad. He raised his head and looked directly at the bully in front of him.
“What do you want?”
He was so calm that it made the two little gangsters a little surprised. The one with the knife went one step further, “Boy give me your money, and my buddy will let you go.”
Chen Yu Zhi wanted to get out so he nodded, took out the wallet from his pocket, took out all the cash, and handed it to the gangsters. One of them took the money and put it in his pocket. The other was still looking at him and was a little bit skeptical, “This kid doesn’t seem that worried, maybe because there is a more valuable thing hidden on him. I think we should check.”
“Yes,” the other person also nodded, “You, search him.”
Chen Yu Zhi frowned. He was really worried about Jiang Yue Lou, and wanted to find him quickly, so he added in a hurry, “I already gave you all my money. I am worried about finding my friend, could you please help me find him?”
“Friend? What kind of friend are you looking for in the middle of the night? Are you looking for a man or woman?”
The gangster with the knife grinned and looked at Chen Yu Zhi while raising the tip of the knife in his hand to pick Chen Yu Zhi’s chin.
“Look at this fancy boy, he is so impatient, is he looking for a concubine?”
Chen Yu Zhi was furious, clenched his fists, and wanted to fight. Before he could make a move, Jiang Yue Lou suddenly flashed in the darkness, restraining the bastard from behind, grabbing the knife with one hand, and twisting his arm mercilessly with the other. With a click, that arm twisted at a strange angle. A scream cut through the silence.
Chen Yu Zhi was stunned. The accomplice was also shocked for a moment, then took out a sharp knife and rushed over.
“Be careful, behind you!” Chen Yu Zhi shouted.
Jiang Yue Lou turned around, twisted the man’s wrist, folded his hand holding the knife, and inserted it into the gangster’s shoulder. The sound of the dagger entering the flesh was particularly crippling in the silent night.
The two gangsters were shaken and realized that they had encountered a hard nail. They looked at each other and turned around and tried to run away. However, Jiang Yuelou seemed to have no common sense of “don’t chase the poor,” and so he chased up and kicked the slowest gangster.
The man fell to the ground, screaming and holding his broken leg. Jiang Yue Lou grabbed the man and started to punch his face over and over again.
Chen Yu Zhi finally came back to his senses and tried to stop Jiang Yue Lou, “Stop! This person cannot hurt you anymore. If we don’t leave, the police will come.”
Jiang Yue Lou seemed to hear nothing and continued to punch the man’s face coldly, with blood splashing with each punch. There was no expression on Jiang Yue Lou’s face as if what he was beating was just a piece of rotten meat.
“Enough! Stop!” Chen Yu Zhi rushed to grab Jiang Yue Lou’s arm, “He has been punished enough, stop!”
Jiang Yue Lou’s arm was pulled, and in anger, he returned his hand and gave Chen Yu Zhi an elbow, knocking him away. Chen Yu Zhi hit the wall backward and felt like he was hit by a heavy hammer in his chest, and was unable to breathe for a while. He felt the sweet smell of blood in his mouth. Once again, he rushed to hold Jiang Yue Lou’s arm, “Jiang…Yue Lou…”
Jiang Yue Lou raised his fist again and was about to hit Chen Yu Zhi when he turned his head and saw him. The rumbling noise in his ears suddenly stopped, and the blood-red in front of his eyes faded. Jiang Yue Lou’s gaze shifted from Chen Yu Zhi’s eyes to his hands clutching his arms, and then got back to his face again. Chen Yu Zhi was also watching him, his eyes full of anxiety and disapproval.
His face was pale and he was breathing heavily. A trace of blood was still hanging on the corner of his mouth. He was injured because of Jiang Yue Lou but his eyes were not afraid and he didn’t try to run away.
He was still firm and unshakable. “Stop it.” Chen Yu Zhi said, “You went too far.”
Sanity slowly returned to Jiang Yue Lou’s mind. He let go and threw the dead fish-like punk on the ground. Chen Yu Zhi squatted on the ground and began to check the man’s condition.
“I, I am not…” Jiang Yue Lou tried to say something: “You…he…”
Chen Yu Zhi took off his coat, folded it and tucked it behind the man’s head, and turned his face to the side to prevent him from being choked by the blood in his mouth and nose. Then he said, “This man will not die. His companions will come for him in a while. Let’s go. We have violated the curfew.”
Chen Yu Zhi stood up, almost fell because of his injury, but fortunately, he managed to hold on to the wall. Jiang Yue Lou instinctively stretched out his hand, trying to help him, but Chen Yu Zhi ignored him, took a deep breath, and walked towards the home.
Jiang Yue Lou looked at his slightly rickety and thin back and wanted to say something, but in the end, just silently followed behind.
Aiyah I should stop now, it’s just that I don’t remember the last time I liked a character as much as I’ve liked him for a really long time🙆
Jiang Yue Lou and his doctor really embody their killer and healer characteristics so well but I can also see why they would actually end up together. They both aim to achieve the same thing, it’s just that the method of execution is incredibly different and often times clash…however this is also easily resolvable by just communicating
Completely agree with you Zhan Jun Bai is a great character! One of the best “villain” saw in a novel or in a drama! And as you said he’s a very capable and very intelligent man and despite what he did we can still empathize with him and understand him which prove it’s a really well written character and make him more interesting to follow that just a simple dumb evil guy!
And as you said he is very good looking that helps!😍
And true also our CP are really meant to each other, just a little more communication and they’ll be perfect but their bickering are so cute!!!!