Chapter 6 Help from Fellow Villagers
"Hey buddy! Help!!"
That shout, thick with a Northeastern accent and filled with panic, pierced through the damp night air of Kowloon's dark alleyways.
The burly man gripping his arm was jolted by the shock.
The burly man was taken aback at first, then his eyes suddenly lit up!
"Oh my god! It really is someone from our hometown?!" The burly man was so excited he almost spat in Fang Che's face. He pulled Fang Che, along with the "giant accessory" on his shoulder, into the room. "Come in quickly! Hurry up!"
"Bang!"
The wooden door was slammed shut just before the pursuers arrived, cutting off the flashlight beams and shouts from outside.
Inside the door was a kitchen filled with clutter, permeated with the smells of fish and sweat.
The lighting was dim, with only a small light bulb in the corner.
Fang Che slid down the door panel and sat on the ground, panting heavily.
The excruciating pain in his ankle made him grimace and break out in a cold sweat.
Li Hanzhou, whom he carried in, seemed to relax a bit after the door closed. He groaned and completely lost his strength, with most of his weight falling on Fang Che.
"My goodness..." Fang Che was almost breathless from being pressed down, his face flushed red. He tried to push away the "muscular mountain" on top of him in vain. "Brother Li... could you... move your butt a little? I... am about to pass away..."
Only then did the burly man, Cheng Tieniu, realize that the man Fang Che was carrying on his shoulder was covered in blood and had a weak breath.
He was startled and hurriedly asked, "What happened to this guy? Is he seriously injured?"
He came over to help the person up.
"Don't touch him!" Although Fang Che was also near death, he still remembered Li Hanzhou's injury. "His right abdomen... it might be a gunshot wound. Don't move him!"
Upon hearing "gunshot wound," Cheng Tieniu's expression changed. His gaze swept over Li Hanzhou's pale yet sharp face, then looked at Fang Che's incredibly beautiful face, which was now filled with anxiety and dishevelment. He seemed to understand something.
"Got it! Time for a lifesaver!" Cheng Tieniu slapped his thigh, demonstrating the reliability of a true Northeasterner in a critical moment. "You wait here!"
He turned around and crawled into the pile of clutter. After rummaging through it, he dragged out a huge seafood crate with wheels and threw a few frozen ribbonfish inside aside.
"Come on! Put this brother up here! Let's put him on a 'mobile hospital bed'!" Cheng Tieniu called to Fang Che.
Fang Che looked at the large box that smelled of the sea and his lips twitched.
Let the future king of Hong Kong's underground... lie in a seafood transport box?
The scene was too beautiful for him to imagine.
But the situation is beyond our control right now; survival is the priority, and image... can wait.
The two laboriously moved the unconscious Li Hanzhou into the box.
Li Hanzhou was tall, but he had to bend his legs, making the scene both comical and heartbreaking.
"Tiezi, do you have a place to hide people? Is it safe?" Fang Che asked, panting.
"Yes! Follow me!" Cheng Tieniu pulled on the rope of the box, gesturing for Fang Che to follow. "I have a small warehouse behind me; you usually can't find it there!"
He pulled the "mobile hospital bed" Boss Li along, leading the limping Fang Che through a narrow passage and into a smaller but relatively safe warehouse.
After closing the door, Cheng Tieniu moved a cargo box to block the entrance, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, it's safe here for now." He wiped his sweat and looked at Fang Che, "Young man, what's your name? Why are you in such a disheveled state? And this gentleman..."
He pointed to Li Hanzhou in the box.
"My name is Fang Che!" Fang Che said immediately, then pointed to Li Hanzhou, his tone tinged with pride, "This is my older brother, Li Hanzhou!"
“Li Hanzhou?” Cheng Tieniu scratched his buzz cut. “That name sounds familiar…” He suddenly widened his eyes. “Holy crap! Li Hanzhou from the Heyitang in Temple Street?!”
“Yes! It’s him!” Fang Che nodded, then his face fell. “But now we’ve been tricked. Brother Li is seriously injured, and the gang can’t go back…”
Cheng Tieniu looked at Fang Che's tearful appearance, then at Li Hanzhou, who was unconscious in the box but whose aura was still undeniable, and a sense of righteousness and heroism welled up in his heart.
"Stop saying anything!" Cheng Tieniu waved his hand. "Since you call me Tiezi, you're one of us! Boss Li is a real man! You guys stay here! I, Cheng Tieniu, will protect my fellow villagers and heroes, no problem!"
Fang Che was so moved that he almost cried.
Since his transmigration, apart from Li Hanzhou's unpredictable "appreciation" and even his knife-to-neck attitude, he has finally felt the pure warmth from his fellow villager!
"Tiezi!!" Fang Che grasped Cheng Tieniu's rough hand, his voice choked with emotion, "From now on, you're my brother! Once Brother Li recovers, I'll definitely repay you handsomely!"
"Hey! No need to thank me!" Cheng Tieniu smiled sheepishly, then became serious again. "The most important thing right now is to treat the wound! I have some hemostatic powder and gauze to tide me over for now! But for a gunshot wound... we still need to find a trustworthy doctor!"
Fang Che nodded repeatedly, watching Cheng Tieniu rummage through the medicine, and felt half relieved.
It's so nice to have someone from my hometown!
But before he could fully relax, his heart clenched again when his gaze swept over Li Hanzhou on the "seafood box bed".
Li Hanzhou was pale, his breathing was weak, and his black vest was almost soaked with blood...
Fang Che bit his lip, enduring the pain in his ankle, and moved to the side of the box, carefully reaching out to touch Li Hanzhou's forehead.
Just as the fingertips were about to touch the skin—
A large hand suddenly gripped his wrist! The force was so great that it almost crushed bones!
"Hiss—" Fang Che hissed in pain.
Suddenly, Li Hanzhou, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes. There was no confusion in his phoenix eyes, only the sharpness and cold vigilance of a hawk, staring intently at him!
What are you doing?
Fang Che was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. He stammered, "I...I didn't mean to do anything! I just wanted to see if you had a fever..."
Li Hanzhou's eyes remained wary as he scanned the unfamiliar surroundings, finally settling on Cheng Tieniu, a kind-looking but robust man holding medicine beside him.
"Who is he?" Li Hanzhou asked Fang Che, his eyes still cold.
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