Chapter 99 'The Safe House Has Been Exposed'
In the afternoon, the safe house turned into a craft site.
Fang Che gave the instructions, with Li Hanzhou and Qi helping out.
Flour is mixed with chili peppers, mashed, and put into plastic bags. These bags are then hung on door frames and windowsills, with ropes tied to the doorknobs. When the door is opened, the chili powder will spill out.
"What's the use of this?" Li Hanzhou frowned.
"It's so spicy it hurts my eyes," Fang Che said. "How can you aim with your face covered in chili powder?"
He nodded at seven, agreeing that it made sense.
The motorcycle battery was removed, and the wires were laid in the grass under the yard wall and covered with fallen leaves.
“The voltage isn’t high,” Fang Che explained, “but it’s enough to make someone numb for a while. Once they stop, we’ll have a chance.”
A thin layer of cooking oil was poured onto the back door steps.
Why is that?
"I slipped," Fang Che said. "It was dark and windy; if you stepped on it, you'd fall right away."
Qi's lips twitched.
Li Hanzhou sighed, "A-Che, you used to do this?"
"No way," Fang Che laughed. "I just love watching 'Tunnel Warfare,' and I learned a few moves from it. And..."
He found several empty tin cans, tied them with rope, and hung them on the wire mesh of the courtyard wall.
"When the wind blows, it makes a jingling sound, which can serve as an alarm."
Qi looked at the bottles, remained silent for a moment, and then uttered two words: "Clever."
Fang Che's tail was practically wagging: "Seventh Brother praised me!"
Looking at the two of them, Li Hanzhou suddenly felt that they looked a bit like... a family of three?
He dismissed the thought.
By the time everything was arranged, it was already dark.
The three of them gathered in the living room on the first floor, turned off the lights, and left only a small nightlight on.
Li Hanzhou checked the gun and loaded it.
The movements were very practiced.
Qi gripped the dagger, its blade gleaming in the darkness.
He ran his fingers over the engravings on the hilt of the knife, carving one mark for each person he killed.
It's now densely packed.
Fang Che had no weapon, he was carrying a frying pan.
“You…” Li Hanzhou hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
"A frying pan is a weapon too!" Fang Che waved it twice. "It can stop bullets!"
Qi didn't understand the origin of "stopping bullets," but nodded: "That makes sense."
Li Hanzhou didn't say anything more.
Time passed little by little.
At ten o'clock at night, the wind picked up outside, the coconut leaves rustled, and the canned food jars occasionally bumped against each other.
At eleven o'clock, a dog barked in the distance, but it quickly fell silent again.
At midnight, all was quiet.
Fang Che leaned against Li Hanzhou, his eyelids heavy.
His back injury was so painful that he was mentally exhausted, but he persevered and didn't sleep.
“Brother Li,” he whispered, “if you’re free tonight, how about we make dumplings tomorrow? There’s still some ground meat in the fridge…”
"Okay." Li Hanzhou hugged him tighter. "Sleep for a while. I'm here."
Fang Che shook his head: "I won't sleep, I'll stay with you."
Qi sat opposite, with his eyes closed.
Listen carefully to every sound outside.
He recalled many such nights.
Lurk, wait, kill.
But this time, he has to protect people.
This feeling is unfamiliar.
One o'clock in the morning.
"Crack".
The very faint sound of a branch snapping.
Qi opened his eyes.
Li Hanzhou tensed up at the same time.
Fang Che also woke up and gripped the frying pan tightly.
They've arrived.
In the coconut grove, five dark figures crept toward the villa.
The leader was bald with a scar on his face; he was the one whose wrist had been broken by Qi yesterday.
He was still alive, his wrist in a cast, and his other hand holding a gun.
"Are you sure this is the place?" the bald man asked in a low voice.
“Confirmed,” the skinny man next to him said. “Old Chen’s car drove this way. This house belongs to his cousin.”
The bald man grinned maliciously: "Li Hanzhou, Seven, and that little one... Young Master Jiang said to capture the little one alive, and leave the other two dead or alive."
The five of them reached the outside of the courtyard wall.
The bald man gestured, two people climbed over the wall, and three people went through the main entrance.
The person who had just climbed over the wall landed, and then slipped—
"Splash!" "Splash!"
The two fell into the bushes, their ankles going numb!
"There's electricity!"
Electric current is not fatal, but it can cause sluggishness and numbness throughout the body.
The bald man reached the entrance from the main gate.
He listened for a moment, but there was no response. He then gently pushed the door open.
"Splash!"
The plastic bag broke, and the chili powder spilled out!
"Cough! What—"
The bald man's eyes stung, and snot and tears streamed down his face.
The two people behind them also covered their faces and coughed.
Right now.
The villa door suddenly burst open, and Li Hanzhou rushed out, smashing the bald man's temple with the butt of his rifle!
The bald man fell to the ground.
Qi darted out from the side, slashing one man's throat with a dagger and then smashing another man's nose with a backhand elbow strike.
The movements were quick and silent.
But two other people came around from the backyard, heard the noise, and broke in through the window!
"Bang!"
The glass is broken.
The two jumped into the living room and bumped into Fang Che, who was carrying a frying pan.
Moonlight streamed in through the broken window, illuminating the boy's pale face and gleaming eyes.
"Oh, you're here?" Fang Che grinned. "You could have just come in through the front door, why did you have to jump out the window?"
The assassin was taken aback.
The next second, Fang Che swung the frying pan and smashed it down!
"clang!"
The bottom of the pot hit the cleaver, sending sparks flying.
Fang Che's hand went numb, but he didn't back down. He raised his foot and kicked at the other person's knee!
He had a back injury and lacked strength.
The assassin withstood the attack, but the machete came crashing down again!
"A-Che!" Li Hanzhou called from outside the door.
Fang Che dodged to the side, the blade grazing his shoulder, tearing his clothes and leaving a bloody gash.
Another assassin pounced from the side, his dagger aimed straight for his abdomen—
The location of the old injury.
Fang Che's pupils suddenly contracted.
There's no escaping it.
"puff."
The sound of a knife cutting into flesh.
Seven stood in front of him.
The dagger pierced Qi's shoulder, precisely where he had been shot yesterday and whose wounds had just been stitched up today.
The stitches broke open, and blood gushed out.
Qi grunted, grabbed the other person's wrist with his backhand, and twisted it!
"Crack!"
The sound of the wrist bone cracking was exceptionally clear in the silence.
Qi snatched the dagger and, without hesitation, plunged it into the opponent's heart.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
Fang Che froze, staring blankly at the blood gushing from Qi's shoulder.
"Seventh Brother..."
"It's alright." Qi's voice was steady as he drew his dagger and looked at the last assassin.
Seeing his companions fall, the assassin turned to run, but was knocked unconscious by Li Hanzhou from behind with the butt of his rifle.
The battle is over.
Five people, three dead, two unconscious.
The yard smelled of blood and the pungent odor of chili powder.
Li Hanzhou hurried over and first checked Fang Che: "Where are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Fang Che's voice trembled. "Seventh Brother, he..."
Li Hanzhou looked at Qi.
Qi leaned against the wall, his face pale, blood still flowing from the wound on his shoulder.
Old wounds piled upon new ones; anyone else would have collapsed long ago, but he still stands, his back straight.
"Come inside." Li Hanzhou helped him up. "It needs to be sewn back on."
The living room was a complete mess.
Li Hanzhou treated Qi's wounds, while Fang Che helped from the side, his hands trembling violently.
The dagger was deeply embedded, almost piercing through.
When Li Hanzhou cleaned it with alcohol, the veins on Qi's forehead bulged, but he didn't make a sound, only gripping the sofa tightly.
"He needs stitches," Li Hanzhou said. "We have a suture kit, but no anesthetic."
"Sew," Qi said.
Fang Che felt a lump in his throat and grasped Qi's hand.
Qi's hands were cold, her palms were covered in calluses and fresh wounds.
Fang Che held on very tightly.
"Seventh Brother," he choked up, "please bear with it..."
Qi glanced at him and suddenly said, "If you die, my barbecue will be gone."
Fang Che was stunned: "...Just for this?"
Qi turned her face away: "Mm."
Fang Che burst into tears, laughing and crying at the same time: "Seventh Brother, you really are... When we get back to Hong Kong, I'll grill for you every day until you throw up!"
Qi smiled slightly and said softly, "Okay."
Li Hanzhou threaded the needle and began to sew.
The needle pierced through the skin and flesh, Qi's body tensed, and his fingers sank into the sofa.
Fang Che held his hand, feeling as if the grip was so strong it felt like it could crush his bones.
But he didn't let go.
Twenty stitches.
When he finished sewing, Li Hanzhou's forehead was covered in sweat.
Qi's clothes were soaked, but his eyes were clear, and he even nodded to Li Hanzhou.
Thanks.
Li Hanzhou didn't answer, but continued packing his medical kit. Suddenly, he asked, "Why did you take the knife for him?"
Seven silences.
The only sounds in the living room were the wind outside the window and the faint barking of a dog in the distance.
After a long while, Qi finally whispered:
"He made me feel like a human being."
He paused, his voice even softer:
“I used to be a dog, but now… I want to be your shield.”
These words were spoken to Fang Che.
Fang Che burst into tears: "Seventh Brother, you're not a dog, you're my brother."
Qi looked at him for a long time, then nodded.
Li Hanzhou stood aside, watching the two of them.
The jealousy and wariness in my heart suddenly dissipated.
He walked over and patted Qi on the uninjured side of his shoulder.
“Once you’re healed, I’ll teach you how to use a gun,” Li Hanzhou said. “What you lack is modern warfare tactics. The era of cold weapons is over.”
Qi looked up and met Li Hanzhou's eyes.
The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, and a tacit understanding was reached in the bloody air.
"Okay," Qi said.
As dawn approached, Zhou Wenxuan's men arrived.
Old Chen led a team to clean up the scene and dispose of the bodies.
Old Chen's expression was complicated when he saw the chili powder traps and wires.
"This was all...Fang Che's idea?"
"Hmm." Li Hanzhou smiled slightly. "Very effective."
Old Chen shook his head: "Jiang Kun sent second-rate men this time, he won't do it again next time. The safe house has been exposed, you need to find another place."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com