Chapter 221: Chapter 212: Exposed
North of the city, the North Mountain, near the Yanjing suburbs, is the tallest and most expansive of Yanjing’s four mountains. Ten years ago, the foot of North Mountain was designated as North Mountain Park. Beyond the halfway point, roads do lead upwards, but the area is surrounded by trees and jagged rocks, with few people venturing there. The dense forest at the top gives one the feeling of entering a primeval forest, proving that the Yanjing City Government’s environmental protection efforts for North Mountain have left this city with a piece of untouched land.
Moreover, many anonymous corpses have been discovered on North Mountain over the years, with few cases being solved. As time goes on, few dare to venture beyond halfway up the mountain at night, and even during the day, visitors are rare. A view of Yanjing from the halfway point is sufficient.
Apart from the forest reminiscent of primeval times, the only attraction worth seeing halfway up is the ancient temple near the summit. The temple has long been abandoned due to the scarcity of visitors, with the monks having left ten years ago.
Inside a firewood room of the ancient temple, under the moonlight, the figures of two women emerge: one lying down, the other crouching beside her. The lying woman’s face is pale, her lips purple. Despite the poor lighting, it’s evident upon careful inspection that the woman lying down is seriously injured.
These two women are Liang Feng and Xia Xue. Xia Xue arrived here an hour and a half ago. Back then, Liang Feng’s spirits were somewhat stable, but Liang Feng had sustained internal injuries and a knife wound on her arm, nearly to the bone. Xia Xue could only stop the bleeding on her arm and had no means to help with the internal injury.
During the past hour and a half, they were far from safe. Members of the Poison Dragon Gang searched the temple three times. Fortunately, Liang Feng was conscious at the time, and before the gang members got too close, they had sensed their presence and moved outside the temple, thus avoiding the gang’s search. However, the enemy seemed unwilling to give up.
"They’re coming again!" Liang Feng suddenly said, eyes closed tight. "Sister Xue, quickly, go outside!"
Xia Xue deeply trusted this warning. Every time Liang Feng spoke these words, within two minutes, three or four members of the Poison Dragon Gang would inevitably patrol the area.
"I’ve already called Xiao Lin, he’ll be here shortly!" Xia Xue said, moving a pile of straw aside to reveal a hole half as tall as a person, then carefully supported Liang Feng into it. Outside the tunnel was a different world, revealing distant glimpses of the Yanjing suburbs, speckled with starlight.
"Sister Xue..." Liang Feng said weakly, seemingly reproaching Xia Xue.
"Alright, don’t worry. When he arrives, I won’t let him scold you. In your current condition, calling the police won’t work, nor will an emergency call. Even if we evade these gangsters’ searches, if your injuries aren’t treated promptly, your life is at risk. If you lose your life, what is there to fear from Xiao Lin?" Xia Xue quietly scolded.
At this time, members of the Poison Dragon Gang were not far from the temple gates. In the deep forest, the silence was profound. Even Xia Xue could hear the faint footsteps, to say nothing of Liang Feng.
Liang Feng didn’t argue, knowing that Xia Xue was right. There was no point in hiding from Xiao Lin at this stage; she just really didn’t want Xiao Lin to know about tonight. She didn’t want him to find out about her past for fear of disgracing her deceased brother.
A soldier of the Dragon Soul, his sister descending into the criminal underworld?
Both fell silent, even lowering their breathing as much as possible. Thankfully, being on the mountain, the wind outside howled. Even if they made a little noise, unnoticed, it wouldn’t matter.
However, this time, the Poison Dragon Gang members didn’t leave as quickly as before. This time, there were no sounds of rummaging; the men seemed to be resting in the temple.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew through, and Liang Feng couldn’t help but shiver. Luckily, the wind was strong, making the trees outside rustle, and Liang Feng deliberately suppressed the sound of her shiver.
"I... I can’t hold on! So sleepy!" Liang Feng said weakly.
"Hold on... Don’t speak!" Xia Xue whispered in Liang Feng’s ear. Although the wind was strong outside and the sound wouldn’t travel inside, it was still better to be cautious.
Experiencing something like this for the first time, Xia Xue couldn’t help but feel scared.
However, even so, the Poison Dragon Gang members in the hall were alerted, especially their leader in a black suit, unmistakably the gang’s Military Advisor Li Nan and their top enforcer Cheng Fei.
Also, in the main hall of the broken temple, there weren’t just four members of the Poison Dragon Gang, but six. At this moment, Li Nan and Cheng Fei exchanged a glance, and Cheng Fei asked, "Lao Li, did you seem to hear some voices?"
"It seems I felt it!" Li Nan pondered for a moment before saying.
However, just then a gust of wind blew through, making the trees in the yard rustle, and even a broken branch fell into the courtyard, making a noise.
The Poison Dragon Gang members on the side quickly said, "Master Li, Master Cheng, our brothers have been in and out of this broken temple several times, searched inside and out, but haven’t found a trace of that woman!"
Originally, when Li Nan and Cheng Fei heard the sound of the falling branch, they thought the noise they heard was the sound of the broken branch outside. However, after hearing what this gang member said, Li Nan decisively ordered, "You two go to the left wing room, you two go to the right wing room. It’s autumn now, and since the other party is injured, if she spends the night on this mountain, we won’t need to find her, as she likely won’t survive. The only place she can hide, other than the pavilion on the mountain top, is this broken temple. If she isn’t inside, she must be nearby!"
Although the four members were unwilling, they didn’t dare disobey Li Nan. They had searched this temple inside and out and found no trace of the other party. It was hard for them to take a break, yet now they had to go searching again. This made them rather uncomfortable.
A couple of days ago, the Yanjing police seemed to have eaten something that made them launch a massive crackdown on gang members. Anyone with a record was invited to the station for tea. During this police operation in Yanjing, at least a hundred members of the Poison Dragon Gang were taken in, and those remaining were the gang’s most core members, usually acting according to the gang leader’s orders. Even Li Nan didn’t have the authority to mobilize them. However, Cheng Fei, because his skills were second only to the gang leader, had more sway over them than Li Nan.
"Does Master Li not trust our ability to get things done?" The leader of the four naturally felt disdain toward Li Nan. They had searched this temple inside and out three times and found no clues. Now Li Nan was talking to them in this manner, and the leader naturally felt displeased.
Li Nan frowned. He knew that the dozens of core disciples of the Poison Dragon Gang dispatched this time acted as Poison Dragon’s personal guards. Four small teams totaling forty-eight people: besides the captain of each team, only Poison Dragon could command them. However, this matter was of great importance, and Poison Dragon had authorized him to take charge of this search. Coldly, he said, "You don’t have to go, but if we don’t find the woman, don’t blame me for speaking the truth to the gang leader!"
The implication was clearly to shift the responsibility onto them.
"You’re waving around an empty authority! We’ve searched this temple inside and out three times and found nothing. It’s been just about fifteen minutes since we last searched!" The leader replied indignantly.
Li Nan realized he couldn’t command them, so he looked at Cheng Fei. Only Cheng Fei’s words might move them a bit. He said, "Cheng Fei, we both work for the gang leader. You know me best. Have you noticed anything strange just now?"
Hearing Li Nan’s words, Cheng Fei nodded. However, his tone toward the leader was different from Li Nan’s. He smiled and said to the leader, "Alright, I know you’ve had a tough day. If you find that woman, I’ll treat you all to a nice meal at the Marriott Hotel tomorrow!"
Cheng Fei’s words left the leader no room to refuse, and hearing Cheng Fei’s generosity, his attitude was naturally different from his attitude toward Li Nan. Grinning, he said, "Master Cheng, you really know how to treat us poor folks, unlike some people who wave authority around." Then he said to the other three members, "Brothers, let’s go search again, so nobody can say we’re lazy and tattle to the boss about us!"
"You..." Li Nan was furious, but he didn’t know how to respond. These people were core disciples of the Poison Dragon Gang, the gang’s personal guards, who earned their position alongside Poison Dragon. They only listened to Poison Dragon, and even Cheng Fei couldn’t fully command them. Li Nan felt extremely frustrated inside.
"Alright, Lao Li, these people have been with the gang leader from the start and rarely show up otherwise. This woman is crucial to the survival of the Poison Dragon Gang. Plus, with those hundred or so members taken into custody, the gang is short-staffed. Therefore, the gang leader sent his personal guards out. Even though the gang leader gave us authority, they have indeed searched a few times now. Asking them to go out again when they were about to rest is bound to cause some complaints." Cheng Fei advised.
Hearing Cheng Fei’s words, Li Nan couldn’t lose his temper and had to swallow his anger.
Afterward, the four of them headed to the left and right wing rooms of the temple to search one by one, while Li Nan and Cheng Fei walked out of the main hall to watch them search.
Suddenly, Li Nan pricked up his ears and looked towards the woodshed. At this moment, a Poison Dragon Gang member, after finishing his search and taking a few steps out, noticed some noise inside the woodshed. At the same time, Cheng Fei’s gaze also turned toward the woodshed.
"Inside!" Li Nan and Cheng Fei said almost simultaneously. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit to vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)