15 thugs
◎“The man behind you is our Master Qi.”◎
Song Chiyu never mentioned her marriage to anyone.
Everyone else was busy exploring the dugout and had no time to care about her personal affairs. The only mentor who spent every day with her was even less interested and treated her as if she didn't exist.
Although I sometimes feel lonely, most of the time I enjoy the peace and quiet.
She once thought that life would continue uneventfully, but she discovered that things here were not as simple as she had imagined. A week after she arrived, one of Zhao Qiu's students went missing on his way home from working overtime.
This student was the one who reminded Zhao Qiu about the new tire tracks on the road when they came to pick them up; he was the one who was driving.
When Zhao Qiu couldn't find the person, she immediately reported it to the police. However, the nearest police station was a four-hour drive away, and it was already midnight when the police arrived.
After a thorough search by the police, he was finally found in a pit three kilometers away from the ruins. He was so cold that he couldn't speak, and the police eventually brought him back wrapped in a blanket.
Song Chiyu was stunned.
They initially thought he had gotten lost and fallen in because it was dark and he couldn't see the way. However, judging from Zhao Qiu's and the other student's reactions, they felt that things weren't that simple.
The next day, before dawn, everyone in the dormitory was awakened by a loud crashing sound.
A tightly sealed woven bag was left at the doorway. Zheng Qiu went to open it, and a stench assaulted her nostrils. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the large yellow dog that usually guarded the construction site. It had been dead for who knows how long; its body had bled to death, leaving only a deep, blackened wound on its neck that hinted at the suffering it had endured. Zhao Qiu's other student, Chen Liang, went mad upon seeing this scene. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and rushed out.
Everyone, including Song Chiyu, was so frightened that they backed away repeatedly.
Zhao Qiu stopped him and snatched the knife from his hand: "What are you doing?"
"I'll fight them to the death!"
"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, with laws and police around, why would you fight them?" Zhao Qiu shouted urgently.
"Can the police do anything about them? They've only been in there a short time and they're already out again!" Shen Liang tried to snatch the knife from Zhao Qiu's hand again: "Xiao Zhang was clearly pushed in by them, but the police insist that there was only Xiao Zhang's footprint at the edge of the pit! This is murder!"
"Who are you calling murderer?" A young man with dyed red hair and a sleazy look walked out from behind the fence. "Let me tell you, you can be held legally responsible for talking nonsense."
"You—" Shen Liang was so angry that her blood boiled and her face turned red when she heard him still have the nerve to mention the law to her.
"Oh, so this intellectual's got a weapon?" The red-haired youth put his arm around the shoulder of the person next to him and asked knowingly, "Who are you going to chop with that knife?"
"I'll cut you down—" Shen Liang said as he charged forward.
“Hey,” the red-haired youth said, standing outside the door for a moment before addressing the three men with him, “Did you hear that? If anything happens to me, I’ll have to go to him.”
Chen Liang broke free from Zheng Qiu's arms and charged at the red-haired youth, but after only a few steps, he was kicked back by the youth in the chest.
"I saw it all. He attacked first. This was self-defense," the red-haired youth said, raising his hands innocently.
Song Chiyu realized that these people were no ordinary thugs, and that Shen Liang would only suffer if he continued to waste time with them.
He called over several colleagues to help the person into the house.
Zheng Qiu stepped forward and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
"What do you mean 'what do we want to do'?" the red-haired youth said with a grin. "Weren't you the ones who came at us with knives first? Did I lay a finger on them except in self-defense?"
"Which one are you talking about?" The red-haired youth's other three companions laughed knowingly.
Zheng Qiu rarely saw people with such low manners, and couldn't help but frown: "I want to talk to your person in charge."
"A person in charge?" The four men chuckled. The red-haired youth grinned and said, "We don't have a person in charge, we only have a boss."
"Then I need to talk to your leader."
"Master Hong?" The red-haired youth's smile vanished. "No time."
"So what exactly do you want to do here?" Zheng Qiu clenched his fists.
"Can't we come here to have fun?" The red-haired youth spread his arms wide. "What? Does your family own that place? You're not letting people come and have fun?"
"You can come and have fun, but you can't disturb our archaeological work."
"How did we disturb you?" the red-haired youth said. "We didn't go in, we didn't take anything from inside, and we didn't touch your people. It's you who called the police and arrested us without a word! Did we fuck your mother or your ancestors' graves?"
"You—" Zheng Qiu was also angered.
Song Chiyu realized that things couldn't continue like this, so she signaled to the others to take Zheng Qiu away and told several colleagues to close the door.
The four of them cooperated and followed Song Chiyu's action of closing the door, retreating step by step to the outside of the iron gate.
The red-haired youth, seeing that she was a stranger, said, "Oh, I've never seen this girl before."
Song Chiyu ignored him.
“Little sister,” he greeted her familiarly, “it’s not that we’re bullying them! They’re the ones who broke the rules first.”
Song Chiyu glared at him coldly, then called her other colleagues and left together.
**
Zhao Qiu knew she couldn't hide it any longer and had no choice but to tell the others the truth.
They didn't know what this group of people did, but they had been here before the group arrived. Initially, everyone was busy with their own things and kept to themselves, but after Zhao Qiu reported the situation to the cultural relics protection unit, things changed. When they couldn't find anything, they started causing trouble every few days.
"From what you're saying, they seem like antique dealers?" asked the boy who came with Song Chiyu.
Zhao Qiu waved his hand: "Ordinary antique dealers will at most sell you fakes. This group is different. When Shen Liang and I first arrived, we even saw a hunting rifle in their car."
So Zhao Qiu wasn't wrong to say they were poachers.
Did you call the police?
"I reported it, but it was no use. The person didn't steal anything, didn't enter the construction site, and didn't hurt anyone. Calling the police just means they'll be taken to the police station for questioning, and they'll be released in a few hours."
No one had ever seen anything like this before, and a brief silence fell over them.
The boy who came with Song Chiyu was more knowledgeable and thought for a moment: "I think they are antique dealers because one of them mentioned rules. This is a business that follows rules, so it can't be as simple as poaching."
"Then maybe they're tomb raiders?"
“Yes, there are rules to tomb raiding, but since you said you’ve already done it, there’s no reason for them to provoke us.” The boy analyzed, resting his chin on his hand. “They’re definitely not just looking for treasures here. This place is listed as a cultural relic site. Knowing there’s nothing left to find, there’s no reason for them to keep scrambling here.”
"So what exactly are they trying to do here?"
"We don't know, but as long as they're still here, we'll find out eventually."
"But we can't let them continue like this, can we?" another person said worriedly. "Today it's the dog, yesterday it was Xiao Zhang, what about tomorrow?"
"As long as you don't provoke them, nothing should happen to you," the boy said calmly.
"You make it sound so simple, how could there not be conflicts? Do you really believe they follow the rules? That's just something people like you are told."
yes.
These people are like ticking time bombs here; there's no way you can just avoid them.
At that moment, an inconspicuous boy raised his hand: "I think I know a solution."
Not only the others, but even Zheng Qiu's eyes lit up. "What method?"
"You guys..." the bespectacled boy hesitated, "Have you heard of the Southern Qin and Northern Qi?"
"What is that?" Not to mention the others, even Zheng Qiu looked blank.
“Well…” The boy was unsure whether he should say it, because it didn’t seem like something someone in his position should say. “There’s a rule in the antique world: the area south of the Huai River is under the Qin family’s jurisdiction, while the area beyond the Qinling Mountains is the Qi family’s territory. No matter what you encounter in this business, you can go to the Qi family for a solution.”
"Qi family? What Qi family?" The colleagues were completely confused.
The bespectacled boy had to continue explaining: "Well... there's this guy who everyone has to listen to. People in the industry call him the 'decision-maker.'"
"Where can we find him?" a colleague asked.
The boy adjusted his glasses and shook his head: "This is what my friend heard from his grandfather. It seems that the head of the Qi family is no longer involved in this business, and their influence is much less than before. In addition, this place is sparsely populated, and the Qi family might not even know about this place. Teacher Zheng, if you have any connections, you can have someone look for it. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse."
Zheng Qiu seemed to have taken it to heart.
He nodded.
Seeing that a solution had been found, the others breathed a sigh of relief. With work time fast approaching, everyone left to return to their dormitories to wash up.
Looking at the woven bag beside her, Song Chiyu couldn't bear to leave it, so she dragged it outside the workstation, dug a hole, and buried it.
She was drenched in sweat from the exertion, took a quick shower, and made it just in time for work.
She held a grudge against Qi Jia for what her colleague had said.
It must be one of the branches of Qi Yanzhou's family. No wonder he said the Qi family wouldn't do something so stingy; it turns out their ancestors were quite wealthy here.
She hesitated whether to call Qi Yanzhou to ask, but wouldn't that expose her? Given how much Li Li cared about her, upon hearing about such a dangerous situation, she would have flown over that very day to make her resign.
"What are you looking at instead of working, young lady?" the old master suddenly asked from behind her.
Song Chiyu was startled, "I..."
“I heard about what happened today. I saw you burying that dog. Let me tell you, don’t get involved in their business. Those people are not ordinary people. You’re just a girl and you can’t afford to get involved.”
After intensive study over this period, Song Chiyu was able to understand what he was saying.
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Uncle, do you know what they do?"
The experienced worker clearly knew what they did, but obviously didn't want to get involved.
"Don't worry about what I know, just don't get involved in this. And don't tell them these things, don't cause me any trouble."
Song Chiyu suddenly realized that this old craftsman was not as simple as he seemed. From the way he repaired things, she knew that he was not the kind of person who did museum restoration. She cautiously approached him and asked, "Uncle, do you know who the person in charge of the Qi family they are talking about is?"
"Who? Who else could it be?" The old master paused. "But don't worry about it. This is not something a girl like you should concern yourself with."
"I don't care, I'm curious."
What are you curious about?
"Because my husband's surname is Qi."
"What? Just because your husband's surname is Qi, does that mean you're part of the Qi family?" the old master scoffed. "That's why I don't bother talking to you laymen."
"What if he really does have some expertise in this area?" Song Chiyu's accent was unconsciously influenced by him.
The old master's disdain became more and more obvious: "Forget it, forget it. It's rare for me to talk to a girl like you. I've said what I needed to say. You can decide how to say it yourself."
Song Chiyu knew the old man meant well, so she thanked him sincerely. However, he was determined to ignore her, so she had no choice but to give up.
While she was pondering how to bring it up with Qi Yanzhou, Zheng Qiu had already made progress. That very evening, he excitedly told them that he had found the person in charge of the Qi family and would come to help them resolve the matter in a couple of days.
"Is it so easy to find someone to be in charge of the Qi family?" someone asked doubtfully.
“It’s hard for us to find him, but it’s easy for the higher-ups to find him.” Zheng Qiu said triumphantly, hands on his hips, “Don’t worry, he’ll be here in a couple of days.”
The crowd was skeptical, but no one asked any further questions.
Two days later, two black SUVs arrived. Just by looking at the logos on them, you could tell they were very valuable. Everyone went out into the yard to watch.
The person in the driver's seat got out of the car first and opened the back door.
However, the young man sitting in the back seat did not get off the car. His black windbreaker almost blended into the night, and his legs, which were casually crossed, were leaning against the back of the seat. He held the leather dog leash and coldly looked at Zheng Qiu in front of him: "Is this the person you hired?"
Zheng Qiu nodded and extended her hand warmly, "Hello, I am the team leader of this workstation, Zheng Qiu."
The young man didn't take it, but gestured for him to step back before getting out of the car with a black Rottweiler on a leash. Zheng Qiu wasn't startled by him, but he was so frightened by the dog behind him that he took three steps back.
The dog had a muzzle on and kept making low growling sounds.
The young man made no attempt to explain to them, asking, "Where are those people?"
Song Chiyu mingled in the crowd and unconsciously took a few steps back.
A female colleague whispered in her ear, "The person in charge of the Qi family has such a commanding presence, but doesn't he look too young?"
The young man gave her a cold look when he heard her speak.
The Rottweiler at her feet immediately barked in their direction, startling the little girl so much that she nearly fell to the ground. Song Chiyu caught her in time.
The driver next to her kindly reminded her, "Young lady, watch your words. Our Master Qi may look young, but he has quite a background."
"Excuse me, Mr. Qi," Zheng Qiu stepped in front of the young woman, "the young woman was praising you for being young and having a commanding presence. We can't find that group of people; only he contacted us?"
"So arrogant?" The young man lowered his head and lit a cigarette. The Rottweiler barked at him a few more times, but he seemed not to hear it and said, "Blackie."
"What's wrong, sir?" the driver immediately replied.
"Get in the car, we're looking for someone." The young man pulled the dog into the car, closed the door, and drove away.
Song Chiyu watched them leave.
They turned their headlights up to the maximum and drove recklessly across the Gobi Desert near the ruins; their cheers could be heard from a great distance.
"This Mr. Qi is something else," a male colleague remarked.
"Yes." The others nodded in agreement.
**
They didn't stay at the work station, but set up camp nearby. The two cars of people were like tourists, having a great time with several girls.
On the third day, the group of people finally showed up, and Zheng Qiu quickly found someone to bring over Master Qi.
The red-haired youth and his group had just gotten out of the van and hadn't even had a chance to cause trouble when they were surrounded by Master Qi's two SUVs and couldn't move.
The driver opened the door, got out of the car, and grabbed the red-haired youth by the collar.
The red-haired youth, unusually fearful, asked, "Who are you?"
"Who?" the driver sneered. "You dare to come to the Northwest to cause trouble? Don't you know who we are? Look, the man behind you is our Master Qi."
Master Qi did not show up.
The Rottweiler, standing by the car door, was the first to let out a low growl.
"Damn it—" The red-haired youth turned pale. He really was that guy's dog. He immediately explained, "Master Qi, it's not that we wanted to cause trouble. They broke the rules first."
"Did Master Qi come here to hear your explanation?" the driver chuckled.
"Master Qi, this is not our idea, it is Master Hong's idea."
"Master Hong?" The red-haired youth knew he had misspoke as soon as the driver repeated himself, and slapped himself hard across the face: "Uncle Hong."
"Then go back and tell your Uncle Hong that everyone here is under Master Qi's protection. Tell him to be smart and get lost." The driver suddenly yanked open the red-haired youth's collar, and the red-haired youth and the other three hurriedly ran to the van and left.
They sped away, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
Song Chiyu's colleagues clicked their tongues in amazement and said to the bespectacled boy who had initially made the suggestion, "Didn't you say that the Qi family's influence has diminished? I think this works quite well."
It works well.
But he always felt that there was something wrong with this Master Qi.
“But this Master Qi is not quite the same as the Master Qi I heard about,” the bespectacled boy said, frowning.
The Qi family he had heard about was very low-key, and most of the Qi family members had also begun to disappear without a trace. Except for some large donation ceremonies, they basically never showed up. The last time they came out was seven years ago, when they were asked by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to help track down a bronze artifact that was being smuggled out of the country from here.
However, most people at the scene did not listen to him.
He could only shut his mouth.
**
Zheng Qiu was overjoyed that the problem that had troubled her for so long could be resolved so easily with just a few words, and invited the other person to stay for dinner. Unexpectedly, the other person's driver beckoned her away: "Old Deng, is your thanks just empty words?"
Zheng Qiu was taken aback.
He rubbed his fingers together in front of Zheng Qiu.
Zheng Qiu immediately realized what was happening and used the few hundred yuan she had left.
The driver sneered, "Is that all? This trip will cost more than that."
"I still have some in my card, I'll go right away..."
"Hey, Blackie," Qi Ye in the car coldly interrupted, "Alright, let's go. Do I need that little bit of money?"
"So, you're just leaving?" Hei Zi said, quite unconvinced.
"Have I ever mistreated you for this little bit of money?" Master Qi glanced at the others: "Get in the car, let's go."
As the SUV drove away, the others at the workstation couldn't help but mutter, "Master Qi is a really nice guy, so why are his subordinates like that?"
"It's normal for them to ask for some money after coming all this way," said the boy who came with Song Chiyu.
It's normal.
It's just that their behavior is so unseemly. They boast so much, but they're still just ordinary people. It makes them seem particularly petty.
After Master Qi left, everyone thought the matter was over.
Unexpectedly, that evening, two vans surrounded their archaeological site. A man wearing a gold watch and gold chain stepped out, pulling up his trousers. Behind him, a red-haired youth pointed at Zheng Qiu and said, "Master Hong, these are the people they brought here."
**
Song Chiyu left work an hour later than usual today, but when she walked out of the restoration room, the courtyard was still deserted.
She went into the cafeteria and asked the auntie who was cooking, "Auntie, do you know where the others went?"
"I was just wondering the same thing. Why aren't they all coming home for dinner?" the aunt replied. "Even if they're working overtime, they should still come home for dinner first."
Song Chiyu walked into the courtyard and was about to shout at the archaeological site when she suddenly saw two vans parked near the site. The old master craftsman, who had already finished get off work, was squatting behind a saxaul tree, looking down.
Song Chiyu didn't mean to scare him, but she called out "Uncle" from afar. The old master was still startled and waved repeatedly, asking her to squat down as well.
"Why are you shouting so loudly?" the old master said displeased.
Song Chiyu wondered where she had raised her voice, but outwardly she didn't seem bothered. "Uncle, what are you doing squatting here?"
"Don't be fooled by the fact that we're surrounded down there!"
Did you call the police?
The experienced worker gave her a strange look. "They won't come if we call the police?"
“That’s true,” Song Chiyu thought for a moment, “but we can’t just squat here and do nothing.”
"Didn't Zheng Qiu invite Master Qi? How come these... people still dare to come?" the old master said, frowning.
Song Chiyu was equally curious, but if he couldn't figure it out, she was even more at a loss. Just as the two were racking their brains, a cloud of yellow sand suddenly rose in the distance, and a black SUV drove straight toward the archaeological site.
"It's that Master Qi's car!" Song Chiyu couldn't help but get excited.
"Master Qi?" The old master's tightly furrowed brows showed a hint of doubt.
Ignoring his suspicions, Song Chiyu crouched down and jogged forward to approach him.
"Come back! Come back!" The old man tried to call her, but it was too late; she had already run dozens of meters away in a flash.
When Song Chiyu was still a hundred meters away from the scene of the incident, Master Qi's car had already stopped.
She immediately sought refuge in a small sand dune.
Mr. Qi did not get out of the car, but instead rolled down the passenger window.
A muzzle-wearing Rottweiler poked its head out of the back seat window, and the people surrounding it instinctively took a step back. The red-haired youth leaned closer to the middle-aged man at the head of the group: "It really is Master Qi—"
"Fuck you, Master Qi!" Hong San glanced at the back seat of the SUV and immediately understood what was going on. He gave a wink to the people around him, and someone immediately reacted, stepped forward, opened the back door, and pulled the person out of the car.
Qi Ye's driver, Hei Zi, quickly got out of the car to stop them, shouting, "What are you doing—"
Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked against the car door.
Hong San stepped forward with a sneer: "Trying to pass yourself off as a hunter with a dead rat in your waistband? You're barely out of your teens and already daring to pretend to be a big shot? Give you a good beating—"
"Fuck your mother, Hong San," Master Qi pulled down the brim of his hat, "You dare to touch me and see what happens!"
"Oh, it really is our young Master Qi?" Hong San looked at the young man's face and said with amusement, "Our young Master Qi is truly chivalrous and righteous. He has a lot of shit on his own butt, but he still has the mood to wipe other people's butts."
"Hurry up and send them away." Young Master Qi said, looking rather uneasy, for some reason.
“Even if you didn’t come, Young Master Qi, we would definitely have made them leave. We wouldn’t dare to do something illegal or criminal.” Hong San looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a lamb and put his arm around his shoulder. “But you, Young Master Qi, why don’t you come back to Anxi with us?”
"Why would I go back to Anxi with you?" Young Master Qi said irritably, dodging his hand.
"Young Master Qi, do you know how much you're worth now?" Hong San held up one finger: "One hundred thousand. Enough for the brothers to work tirelessly and make a big score."
Young Master Qi's expression grew even stranger, perhaps realizing he was more dangerous than the others. "Hong San, you fucking get the hell out of here, or things will be different when my grandfather arrives. You don't need to offend my dad and my grandfather for 100,000 yuan, do you?"
Hong San looked him up and down with a half-smile.
Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Xiao Qi took the Rottweiler out of the car. The Rottweiler barked a low growl in front of him. Hong San stared at the dog, a forced smile on his face, and asked, "Does your second uncle know you brought his dog here?"
"Never mind that. No matter what, he's still my second uncle. He couldn't possibly have chopped off my foot. But it's you people who are hard to explain."
Hong San was surprised that the man had actually taken his joke to heart. He let out a cold laugh and smashed his phone at the man's face: "I'm giving you face by calling you Little Master Qi! You really think you're something special! If you have nothing to do, get the hell out of here!"
Hei Zi had been following Qi Zhannan for so long, and this was the first time he had ever seen someone who didn't take the Qi family seriously. He was stunned and remained silent for a long time.
Hong San pointed at Zheng Qiu on the other side: "What business is it of yours if my men are here? When you brought your men here to look for something before, did my men chase you away? And now you've caused this mess?"
“We didn’t…” Zheng Qiu tried to explain to him.
“Nothing? One minute you're calling the police, the next you're looking for people on the streets. What, you think I'm scared just because you brought these people here?” Hong San pointed at Zheng Qiu and said, “Anyone who doesn’t want me to have a good time, I’ll definitely not let them have a good time either.”
He then raised his head at Qi Zhannan and said, "Tie him up for me!"
"Damn it, Hong San, how dare you—" Before Qi Zhannan could finish speaking, his mouth was stuffed with a rag.
Zheng Qiu and the others all wanted to go and help, but were stopped by Hong San's men: "What do you think you're doing? Stand here!"
Seeing that the person was about to be tied up and taken away, Song Chiyu paced anxiously in circles.
Spotting the Rottweiler that kept chasing after the others, she suddenly had an idea. Taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, she quietly crept up to the van, then suddenly grabbed the Rottweiler's leash and shouted at the group of people who turned to look at her: "Don't move!"
When Hong San's men saw that she was a little girl leading a dog, they told them not to move and immediately laughed.
Hong San asked, "And who are you?"
“She was also one of their staff members.” The red-haired youth remembered her.
"Don't worry about who I am. If you touch him again, I'm going to take the dog's muzzle off. If it bites someone, don't blame me."
Hong San had been in this line of work for so long, and this was the first time he had ever seen someone call this vicious dog "little dog," and even fantasize that removing the muzzle would make the dog obedient.
"Then take it off and see if it bites you or me." Hong San completely disregarded her and gestured for the others to continue pulling Little Qi into the car.
Song Chiyu disregarded everything else and squatted down to begin untying the leather buckle behind the Rottweiler's neck.
Forcing himself to overcome his fear of its growling, he said, "Little dog, be good. I'm untying your rope now. It's up to you to save your owner."
"Don't unleash it—" Hei Zi cried out in terror. Qi Zhannan's "Master Qi" title was fake, but this dog was real! Otherwise, the red-haired youth wouldn't have backed away at the mere sight of the dog. This dog would bite anyone but Master Qi, and it would bite with deadly intent; otherwise, they wouldn't have muzzled it! If she were truly released, it would be the first to bite her, and this defenseless little girl might very well be killed.
"Ugh ugh ugh ugh—" Little Qi was also anxious and struggled to stop them, but the others held him down even harder.
Hong San, with an air of indifference, said with a half-smile, "Little girl, you'd better think this through. Don't end up getting bitten instead of saving the person—"
"Woof—" Before the words were finished, the Rottweiler, freed from its leash and muzzle, immediately displayed astonishing fighting power, leaping straight for Hong San's neck to bite.
With one bite, blood instantly appeared on Hong San's neck.
Hong San's men were terrified and rushed to stop him, but the dog bit Hong San's neck and wouldn't let go. Unable to restrain him, the others grabbed the hunting rifle from the back of the van. The red-haired youth panicked, "This is Master Qi's dog! If you really shoot it, we won't be any better off—"
"So we're just going to watch it bite someone to death?" Hong's men raised their guns and fired at the dog, but the shot missed and hit the sand beside them. The Rottweiler, far from being frightened, bit even harder.
Young Master Qi was completely panicked.
He couldn't afford to pay for either a human or a dog's life. He struggled to break free of the rag in his mouth and shouted, "Sang Biao, Sang Biao, stop biting! Someone's going to die!"
The Rottweiler ignored the warning and continued to growl as a warning.
Although Song Chiyu was initially stunned, she quickly regained her composure and shouted, "Let go! [Unclear text]"
The Rottweiler released its grip the moment it heard her command, returned to her side, and stood facing the crowd on all fours.
Young Master Qi was just as foolish as everyone else.
It actually listens to her.
Zheng Qiu was the first to regain his senses and had someone bring out a first-aid kit from the duty room at the archaeological site to stop Hong San's bleeding. Fortunately, it was stopped in time and his artery was not bitten through. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You should take him to the hospital quickly. It would be dangerous if his blood vessel ruptured."
Hong San had already fainted, whether from fright or from being bitten, it was unclear.
The others, having lost their leader, were at a loss for what to do. They looked around at each other in confusion, and the red-haired youth made the first decision: "Let's get Master Hong to the hospital first, and we'll talk about the rest when he wakes up!"
"But this dog—"
"You dare make Master Qi pay for his dog?" the red-haired youth said in a low voice. "We'll talk about everything after Master Hong wakes up!"
"And this young Master Qi—"
"Release them, release them, release them all!"
The two vans drove away one after the other, and only after watching their taillights disappear into the yellow sand did Song Chiyu collapse to the ground with a sigh of relief.
Qi Zhannan, who had fallen to the ground, glared at her and cursed, "You woman, you're really crazy, you know that—"
"Woof—" The Rottweiler stomped its paws on the ground and growled at him in a low voice.
Qi Zhannan trembled with fright and abruptly shut his mouth.
The Rottweiler growled and released its legs from the ground. After confirming that he was no longer a threat, it squatted down, wagged its tail, and whimpered at Song Chiyu in a low voice.
Qi Zhannan: "?"
Kuroko: "?"
You're a real scoundrel!
Just because this woman calls you a puppy doesn't mean you're a puppy.
Song Chiyu tentatively reached out and stroked the Rottweiler's head.
"Let me touch you, don't bite me."
The puppy didn't bite her; instead, it rubbed against her wrist.
Qi Zhannan: "..."
Kuroko: "..."
Although Zheng Qiu didn't understand what had happened, he breathed a sigh of relief that the person was finally gone, and then called on the others to untie Qi Zhannan.
Qi Zhannan was untied and immediately went to pick up the leash to put it on the Rottweiler. As soon as he got close, the big dog bared its teeth at him.
He looked at Song Chiyu: "Did you hide a sausage on your person?"
Otherwise, why would I listen to her for no reason?
Song Chiyu: "..."
Zheng Qiu stepped forward and interrupted, "Master Qi, it's getting late. Why don't you have dinner here and stay the night before you leave?"
Qi Zhannan lost face and said in an unfriendly tone, "Who wants to stay here? Hei Zi, let's go."
"We can't move. The fuel in the car was taken out by that group of people." Hei Zi said, inspecting the SUV.
"What?" Young Master Qi said irritably, "It's completely useless."
Now it's all right.
No matter how unwilling he was, he had to go to eat with them.
Song Chiyu tentatively put a leash on the Rottweiler.
The Rottweiler immediately lay down obediently on the ground, and Song Chiyu then realized that it was a girl with a bow collar around her neck, and was not a Sang Biao at all.
The puppy happily and playfully followed at her feet.
Qi Zhannan tried several times to take the leash from her, but was scared away by the big dog baring its teeth, so he could only follow behind and keep a close eye on her.
Seeing that he was staring at the person, Hei Zi sighed silently.
She lowered her voice and leaned closer to him, saying, "Master Qi, I know he's good-looking, but you can't just keep staring."
"What?" Little did he know that his mind wasn't on that at all. He just thought that the dog was heartless. He had been feeding and taking good care of it for the past few days, and it bared its teeth at him for a woman it had just met. Heartless, so heartless.
Just like his traitorous second uncle.
For a woman he'd never even met, they issued a kill order against him, which led to a lowlife like Hong San daring to kidnap him and take him back for commission. If this were before, would such a person have dared to lay a finger on him?
No wonder they say dogs resemble their owners.
The ancients were honest and did not deceive others.
"Look at the hand she's holding with Sang Biao's, she's wearing a wedding ring," Hei Zi kindly reminded her. "You always have this problem. You don't want the things your family has arranged for you, but you insist on coming all this way to like a married woman?"
"Get lost!" Young Master Qi was furious at the thought of this. If it weren't for that godforsaken blind date, would he have ended up like this? He couldn't go home, he couldn't enjoy his wealth, and now he was kidnapped in a place like this. He kicked Hei Zi's foot in annoyance: "Hurry up and have someone send some oil over. If my second uncle finds out what's going on here, he'll break my legs."
**
Qi Yanzhou was sitting at his desk in his office, having just taken off his glasses, when he received a call from Anxi.
He pinched the bridge of his high nose, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed it before calmly answering his constantly vibrating phone. "Hello?"
“Master Qi,” the person on the phone paused, “both Xiao Hua and Master Qi have been found.”
"Young Master Qi?" Qi Yanzhou thought for a moment before realizing, "Is that what you all usually call him?"
"There's nothing I can do, Qi Zhan... Young Master Qi... he likes it." The person on the phone said with difficulty.
He had no intention of making things difficult for the other person. "I understand, please continue."
"The good news is that they're together."
That means he was the one who took the dog.
Qi Yanzhou's expression remained as calm as ever: "And then?"
"The dog bit someone."
"You didn't bite him?" Qi Yanzhou's voice was unreadable, and the person on the other end didn't dare to speak for a moment. Qi Yanzhou took out a cigarette, put it between his lips, and spun the lighter's grinder, saying, "Where did you find him?"
"Located at the border of Suzhou and Xinjiang, it appears on the map to be in Xinping Township, surrounded by vast Gobi Desert."
"You even ran to the no-man's-land to avoid me?" Qi Yanzhou asked with a smile.
The man didn't dare deny it: "It's basically almost there."
"Hmm," Qi Yanzhou said, "Who did it bite?"
“Your fourth uncle’s men.”
"What are Fourth Uncle's men doing there?"
"I heard he was shopping over there when Little Qi set his dog on him and got bitten."
"He dares to release it?" Qi Yanzhou recalled how he usually avoided dogs and didn't say much: "Find a few people to keep an eye on it, and bring it back once you're sure it's him."
"good."
"Did you find out about Yuchi County, the place I asked you to inquire about?"
"I asked, and there is indeed such a place, but... they don't hold any training related to cultural relic restoration there, and there's no such person as Song Chiyu in the cultural heritage system there."
He was lying after all.
Qi Yanzhou wasn't surprised at all: "Okay, contact me again when you have any further news. Thank you for your help."
[Author's Note]
Poor Xiao Qi hasn't realized that the two women he "hates" are actually the same person [splitting] and he'll be overshadowed by this woman for a long time to come.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Master Qi will appear in the next chapter!
As usual, I'm sending out red envelopes!
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