Xu Mingli lay on the ground, feeling both pain and fear, his mind buzzing.
He never expected that this scarred hoodlum would actually know Xu Xinghe and be so protective of her!
What a coincidence that he found someone like that!
The scarred man raised his foot and kicked again, this time hitting Xu Mingli in the waist. The pain made him curl up into a ball, like a shrimp waiting to be slaughtered.
He showed no sign of stopping, landing each foot on Xu Mingli's back and arms with force.
He already disliked Xu Mingli, and now that he knew the kid was going to harm Xu Xinghe, he was even more furious!
He is in such good health now, all thanks to Xu Xinghe!
"Speak! Who told you to lay a hand on Miss Xu?" The scarred man grabbed Xu Mingli's hair and lifted his face. "Did someone instruct you? If you don't tell me, I'll break your legs today!"
Xu Mingli was dizzy and disoriented from the beating, the taste of blood filling his mouth. "No one ordered me to do this... I did it myself..."
Seeing that he wasn't telling the truth, the scarred man became even angrier and his gaze swept over the cloth wrapped around Xu Mingli's face.
The cloth covered half of his face, clearly indicating that he was deliberately hiding his true identity.
"You cowardly little thing, I'd like to see what you really look like, daring to go against Miss Xu!"
He reached out to tear the cloth, but before his fingers could even touch it, Xu Mingli suddenly went berserk, jerked his head up, and bit his wrist, his teeth digging deep into his flesh.
"Ah! You dare bite me!" The scarred man roared in pain and instinctively let go.
A ring of teeth marks was clearly visible on his wrist, with beads of blood still seeping out.
Xu Mingli seized the opportunity to get up, ignoring the pain all over his body, and ran into the depths of the alley. His half-crippled right arm swung behind him as he stumbled and almost fell several times, but he didn't dare to look back.
He absolutely cannot reveal his appearance!
Otherwise, we're doomed!
"Stop! You stop right there!" The scarred man, clutching his bleeding wrist, chased after him in a fit of rage.
Xu Mingli ran fast and hurriedly, and he even went into the narrow alleys.
The alleyways twisted and turned, and the scarred man chased him for two blocks. After turning a corner, all that remained was an empty alley, and Xu Mingli was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn it! You're pretty fast!" He panted heavily, kicking a roadside stone hard. The stone rolled a long way and hit the wall with a dull thud. "Damn it, don't let me find you! Otherwise, I'll kill you, you bastard!"
After returning to the bathhouse, the scarred man didn't go back to play cards; instead, he went straight to the backyard.
Inside the house.
Old Hei was leisurely drinking tea.
Because of Xu Xinghe, his health is very good, and he has been busy trying to conceive recently.
There's still no news about her getting pregnant. I hope God will give her a son to carry on the family line, otherwise she'll die with regrets.
His daughter is good, but she is naturally too soft-hearted and is not suitable to take over the work he is doing now, let alone manage the people under her.
"Brother, I need to talk to you about something." The scarred man pushed open the door, placed the money and photos given to him by Xu Mingli on the table, his face still looking rather unpleasant. He casually covered the wound on his wrist with a strip of cloth to avoid being seen and embarrassed.
Old Hei glanced at the things on the table, then looked at his wrist, frowning. "What happened? Did you get into a fight?"
"It wasn't a fight, I ran into some idiot!" The scarred man recounted the whole story. "That kid actually made up a lie, saying he was Miss Xu's ex-fiancé, dumped and holding a grudge. If I didn't know Miss Xu and what kind of person she was, I would have been fooled by him!"
Her fiancé is clearly a military officer in the region; he's probably the one who's betraying her and she's the one trying to climb the ranks!
Old Hei picked up the photo and looked at it, tapping his fingers lightly on the table with a deep look in his eyes. "Xu Xinghe... it seems someone wants to harm her. Maybe the person we couldn't find before is him. It's good that you didn't agree. This money is yours, so take it back."
"Hehe, thanks, brother." The scarred man immediately stuffed the money back into his pocket, waiting to buy his wife a Dacron shirt when he got back. Lots of people were buying those now; they were fashionable!
"By the way, brother, do you think this kid might send someone else to target Miss Xu? Should we give Miss Xu a heads-up beforehand?"
Old Hei nodded. "Okay, have someone pass on a message tomorrow."
...
The May sunlight streamed through the window curtains, gently illuminating Xu Xinghe's book.
She kept flipping through the pages, occasionally pausing to jot down key points in her notebook.
In a few days, she plans to find some common medicinal herbs to cultivate and test her abilities.
It is often said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.
Moreover, the weather in Black Province is warming up, which allows for the cultivation of many varieties.
A few clear birdsongs drifted in from outside the window, and everything seemed peaceful and serene.
Xu Xinghe was engrossed in reading when there was a knock on the door.
She went to open the door and found that it was the soldier on duty that day. "Comrade Xu, a comrade is looking for you. He said he wants to say a few words to you. He is at the entrance of the military department right now. It seems to be related to books on traditional Chinese medicine."
Books on Traditional Chinese Medicine?
It seems she hasn't bought any books lately, nor has she mailed any back from Shanghai.
Moreover, Jiang Linchuan has already bought her a lot, which is more than enough.
As she walked to the entrance of the military headquarters, she saw a man wearing glasses standing not far away. He was dressed in a clean gray jacket and looked refined and cultured. He didn't seem to be a member of the military or a villager she knew.
"Hello, Comrade Xu Xinghe." The bespectacled man spoke first, his tone gentle. "My surname is Lin, and I'm Lao Hei's subordinate, in charge of the accounts. I'm here today on behalf of my boss to pass on a message to you, so that no one sees Scarface and the others and misunderstands, causing you any trouble."
"Old Hei?" Xu Xinghe was taken aback for a moment before remembering who it was. He hadn't expected him to come so suddenly. However, he had to admit, he was quite thoughtful, knowing to find a suitable person to relay the message. "May I ask what he has to say?"
The man's expression turned serious, and he lowered his voice to avoid being overheard. "Here's what happened. Yesterday afternoon, a man approached Scarface, wanting to pay him to kidnap you. Scarface knew you, so naturally he refused and even taught the man a lesson. After hearing about this, I thought I should tell you so you can be more careful and prevent that man from holding a grudge and hiring someone else to target you."
When Xu Xinghe heard the word "kidnapping," his heart sank. He had already returned to Heilongjiang Province, yet someone still wanted to kidnap him.
She hasn't offended anyone here, so why would anyone want to do something so cruel to her?
Could it be because of Jiang Linchuan?
Xu Xinghe frowned deeply. "Could you tell me in detail? What did that person say when he looked for Scarface?"
The man pushed up his glasses. "That man told Scarface that he was your fiancé, and you were about to get married, but you fell in love with a military officer. He was furious and wanted to kidnap you to make you apologize to him. But Scarface knows that's definitely a lie. You're not that kind of person. He just made up an excuse to get Scarface to do something for him."
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