Chapter 49 His Woman, He Believes
It was the village party secretary's extremely anxious voice.
Zhao Wenchang looked at the woman he had just put in his arms with a helpless expression: "I knew those people wouldn't give in so easily."
The door opened, and the village secretary rushed in, panting, his face full of panic: "Su Huai... Su Huai has run away with more than a dozen educated youths!"
Jiang Wanqiu was somewhat surprised. She knew Su Huai would die, but she had never seen her so single-mindedly head down the path to death, with no one able to stop her.
However, the absconding of more than a dozen educated youths is a serious matter. If they can't be brought back, the responsible cadres in the village will definitely face severe punishment.
"Don't panic."
Zhao Wenchang told the anxious person to calm down first.
He turned to the woman beside him and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Su Huai is another hidden rat."
Zhao Wenchang said no more, and after getting dressed, he said to the village secretary, "Uncle, immediately gather all the able-bodied men in the village, take your hunting rifles and torches, and come with me into the mountains. There are many of them, and they're a big target; they won't go far!"
"Hey! Good!" The village secretary seemed to have found his pillar of support. He wiped his face and hurriedly ran out to call for help.
The mountain wind at night howled like a knife.
Zhao Wenchang led more than twenty villagers, each with a torch, to gather at the village entrance.
“They’re going to the border, and there’s only one way: over that mountain and along the Black River,” an old hunter said, pointing to the dark outline of the mountains in the distance. “But there are so many ravines and gullies in those mountains. If you go into one of them, it’s pitch black, like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
If we wait until daytime, that group of people will probably have vanished long ago.
Zhao Wenchang's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
He turned and walked towards the remaining group of educated youth who were being guarded, and asked coldly, "Does anyone know which way they ran off to?"
The educated youth were trembling with fear, their heads bowed low, and no one dared to utter a sound.
Just then, a clear female voice rang out.
"Cadre Zhao, I know!"
Everyone turned to look, and it was Liu Shengnan who had spoken.
She stepped out of the crowd, her face showing a mixture of anxiety and righteousness: "Su Huai tried to win me over before, saying that as long as I followed them, I could live a good life 'outside'. She mentioned a shortcut to me, saying it was close and secluded."
Zhao Wenchang's gaze lingered on her face for two seconds.
He felt something was wrong.
But time was of the essence, and he had no other choice. Besides, this woman had spoken up for Wanqiu before, so she didn't seem like a bad person.
He nodded in a deep voice: "Okay, lead the way."
Holding torches, the group followed Liu Shengnan as she trudged into the dark forest.
Jiang Wanqiu also followed behind the group. She was worried about Zhao Wenchang, so she secretly followed him out.
Su Huai could not possibly be a spy.
Jiang Wanqiu was almost certain.
With Su Huai's limited intelligence, aside from jealousy and gossip, she couldn't do anything that required any brainpower. Her final fate also proved that she was nothing more than a pawn being used.
So, who is the person who is truly hiding...?
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the back of Liu Shengnan, who was walking at the front.
Something's not right.
The mountain road was rugged, with several forks in the road, requiring even seasoned hunters to stop and check their direction.
But Liu Shengnan did not hesitate at all from beginning to end.
She was having such a smooth journey, as if she had walked this road a thousand times before.
She quietly sidled up to Zhao Wenchang, and when no one was looking, she quickly reached out and scratched his broad palm, saying urgently in a voice only the two of them could hear, "There's something wrong with her!"
Zhao Wenchang paused, turning his head to look at the woman who had suddenly appeared.
He believed it instantly.
He trusts his woman.
Zhao Wenchang nodded calmly, tightened his grip on the shotgun, and gave a subtle signal to the two militiamen behind him.
The group walked another mile and came to a narrow mountain pass.
With steep stone walls on both sides and only a narrow passage three or four meters wide in the middle, it was an excellent ambush location.
Liu Shengnan stopped and turned around, smiling, "Officer Zhao, once we get past this mountain pass, we should catch up soon!"
She smiled broadly, just as she had on the train.
But the moment she finished speaking—
"Bang!"
A muffled gunshot suddenly rang out from the dense forest opposite the mountain pass!
With a flash of light, the villager walking next to Zhao Wenchang groaned, a burst of blood erupted from his chest, and he fell straight backward!
"There's an ambush! Take cover!"
Zhao Wenchang's roar mingled with the villagers' screams.
The scene instantly descended into chaos!
In that split second, Liu Shengnan suddenly turned around, her face no longer showing any cheerfulness, but only a ferocious killing intent!
She pulled out a dark Type 54 pistol from the lining of her cotton-padded coat, the muzzle gleaming with a cold light, and pointed it straight at Zhao Wenchang's heart!
"Go to hell!"
She screamed and pulled the trigger without hesitation!
The moment the gun fired, Zhao Wenchang's body reacted before his brain did.
It was an instinct etched into his bones, honed through countless battles. He rolled sideways, almost skimming the ground, as fast as a cheetah.
"laugh--"
The scorching bullet grazed past his cotton-padded coat, leaving a burnt smell, and embedded itself hard in the stone wall behind him, scattering a few sparks.
The whole process took only a blink of an eye.
Before anyone could react to the shock, Zhao Wenchang had already knelt on one knee, holding the old-fashioned hunting rifle steadily, its dark muzzle pointed at Liu Shengnan, whose face was filled with astonishment after missing her shot.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Liu Shengnan let out a shrill scream, and a cloud of blood mist exploded from her right arm, which was gripping the pistol. The Type 54 pistol flew out of her hand and landed with a clatter on the gravel a few meters away.
Zhao Wenchang rushed forward and kicked the still screaming woman to the ground. He picked up the pistol from the ground, turned around, and pressed the muzzle against her temple.
He lifted Liu Shengnan off the ground, using her as a human shield in front of him. His sharp gaze swept across the dark forest opposite, and he warned in a cold voice, "Get out here, all of you! Three seconds, or I'll shoot her dead!"
His roar carried a bloodthirsty aura, silencing the previously chaotic villagers.
The dense forest was quiet, save for the mournful sound of the wind.
Despite the excruciating pain and her face covered in cold sweat, Liu Shengnan gritted her teeth and roared, "Don't worry about me! Shoot! Kill Zhao Wenchang!"
Zhao Wenchang tightened his grip, the cold muzzle of the gun grinding against her temple, and said, word by word, "It seems you're not that important to them. I'll count to three."
"three!"
"two!"
Just as he was about to shout "One," another flame lit up in the dense forest opposite.
"Bang!"
The third shot rang out.
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