tacit agreement
The setting sun, like blood, burned the entire sky red. Qingcheng and Gao Junxiao darted into the narrow alley, their disordered footsteps growing ever closer.
Bang, bang, bang... Gunshots rang out, and the two hurriedly retreated around the corner. Gao Junxiao protected her behind him, fighting and retreating at the same time.
Click, the magazine was emptied, Qingcheng was shoved hard, Gao Junxiao hurriedly reloaded, and shouted sharply, "Run!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than seven or eight burly men rushed up at once. Gao Junxiao could no longer care about her. He dodged a punch, then twisted the man's arm behind his back and gave it a hard twist. Ah, a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the alley.
Quickly scanning the items in the alley, Qingcheng swallowed her words of refusal. She suddenly turned around and pushed over a bundle of bamboo poles. As soon as the enemy's operation was halted, a kerosene lamp with a flame fell from above and hit them. Instantly, wails, roars, curses, and the sound of bamboo poles exploding all blended together.
Knowing the surrounding roads, Qingcheng nimbly navigated the alleyways, gradually distancing herself from the assassins. Their target was her; splitting up the pursuers would reduce the pressure on Axiao.
She ran for an unknown amount of time before her legs gave way, and Qingcheng collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. Large beads of sweat dripped onto the concrete, and a sharp pain pierced her chest. She had no idea which deity she had offended; why would someone want to assassinate her in the middle of the street? This was the public concession!
The dim streetlights flickered and illuminated the alley. Qingcheng caught her breath for a moment, then staggered to her feet to observe her surroundings. It was an unfamiliar, quiet alley. Flower pots and rags were piled haphazardly on the sink. The area beyond the streetlights was shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to distinguish east from west or left from right.
She couldn't help but worry about Ah Xiao's situation. Should she go back to find him? Suddenly, a strong killing intent came from behind her. Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat, and she swung the flowerpot at the person who came.
Bang! The bullet grazed the wall, exploding in a spark, and the gun was flung into a dark corner.
The moment the flowerpot slipped from her hand, she took off running. She hadn't run more than a few steps when a hand covered in blue veins gripped her neck, her head slammed heavily against the wall, the ringing in her ears drowning out all other sounds, a warm stream sliding down her cheek, and her body collapsed to the ground, numbness followed by excruciating pain.
In the darkness, she couldn't see the assassin's face, only the sound of cold footsteps approaching, like a hunter admiring his prey in a trap, unhurried and calm. Qingcheng's heart was in her throat, but she would never give up until the very last moment. She drew a small knife from her sleeve and, by the dim moonlight, plunged it into the enemy's instep.
A wail pierced the night sky. The attacker seemed to have not expected this move. With a roar, he pulled out a bloodstained dagger and lunged at Qingcheng. Qingcheng rolled over, dissipating his force. The assassin was about to stab again, but the tip of the dagger was deeply embedded in the crack of the stone slab and could not be pulled out.
A good opportunity! Qingcheng tried to get up using all four limbs, but the assassin pressed her down first. In the struggle, her neck was firmly held in place. She managed to squeeze out the words through her teeth: "Who sent you? I have to die knowing why."
Unfortunately, the assassin ignored her and gradually increased the pressure on her fingers. Qingcheng found it increasingly difficult to breathe. She tried to pull away the hand that was gripping her neck, but she was not strong enough. She kicked her legs wildly, but there was nothing she could use for leverage.
Blood blurred her vision, and Qingcheng was already exhausted. Her consciousness seemed to be sucked away by the darkness bit by bit. Cough cough, help, help... At the critical moment, a sound of something cutting through the air came and kicked the assassin over like lightning.
Suddenly, her neck relaxed, and a familiar back blocked her way. In an instant, Qingcheng's head was slightly lifted and then fell onto a soft spot, where warmth still lingered and a comforting scent remained.
"You did it?" Gao Junxiao's suppressed tremor rang out. Qingcheng knew he was angry, and a warmth welled up in her heart. But... Brother, did you really have to pretend like that? What time is it? Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, you should find out who the mastermind is.
The assassin sneered in response and threw a heavy punch with lightning speed. The sound of the punch echoed in the air. It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Qingcheng's head hurt even more, so she simply closed her eyes and lay down. "Go ahead and hit me. If you want a man to stop arguing, the rooster will stop crowing."
The shadows in the darkness twisted and shifted, as if two invisible hands were tearing at space, trying to create a hole.
Snap! Qingcheng heard a clear sound of bones breaking and exclaimed in a hoarse voice, "Save them alive!"
The next second, the assassin knelt down in front of her with a thud, one arm twisted unnaturally, his resentful eyes shooting straight at Qingcheng, clearly unwilling to cooperate.
"I won't let you get away with this," the assassin threatened even as he faced death.
Before he could finish speaking, Gao Junxiao stomped on the assassin's head and roared, "You little brat, behave yourself and answer my questions. If you say another word, I'll break your other hand too."
With her strength slightly restored, Qingcheng struggled to support her weak body. She suddenly remembered something and, to prevent other enemies from tracking her out, she had to immediately destroy any traces of her escape. She leaned close to Gao Junxiao's ear and whispered, "My throat hurts, you interrogate him. I'll clean up the mess."
"Okay~ I scanned the outside area when I came. Check the alley again, but don't go too far!" Gao Junxiao took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her eyes, his eyes filled with deep worry.
"Stop nagging." Kiyosumi snatched the handkerchief and pressed it against her wound, then stumbled into the darkness.
Immediately, the sounds of fists hitting flesh and screams echoed in the darkness. Qingcheng pinched her itchy ears. Everyone has their own expertise; men are better at physical labor.
The silvery moonlight shone on Qingcheng. She circled the ground to make sure there were no traces left behind before her tense nerves finally relaxed.
There was a pile of ceramic shards ahead, the very one Qingcheng had thrown earlier. The gun should be nearby too. Following her instincts, Qingcheng slipped into the pitch-black alley, kneeling on one knee and rubbing her fingers incessantly on the ground.
Suddenly, her fingertips felt a heat; there was a hard object. Could it be the hot barrel of a gun? Unable to contain her excitement, Qingcheng quickly brushed off the dust and carefully picked it up to determine its shape. It was indeed a gun.
She took it under the streetlight to disassemble it and check the model. Wow, it had a three-color caliber barrel, and even the bullets were genuine German-made! The serial number on the gun had been ground off, so it was most likely a stolen gun. This kind of gun was popular with the military, police, spies, and detectives, making it a very broad target.
However, imported bullets are ridiculously expensive, costing a dollar for just five. With so many people, each of them needs a three-flower gun with at least ten bullets, and they even have silencers. Who can afford such a lavish expense?
"Well, did you confess?" Qingcheng walked over to Gao Junxiao's side, glanced at the human-shaped "mud" on the ground, and felt a faint pain in her trachea from being pinched. Qingcheng couldn't help but narrow her eyes and spat inwardly, "Pah, serves him right!"
"That dog is tough and thick-skinned, it exhausted me." Gao Junxiao said seriously as he turned his shoulders, "This trip needs extra money."
Knowing he was joking, Qingcheng patted Gao Junxiao's shoulder generously: "I have to add it. I'll give you a tip when we get back."
"Really." Gao Junxiao's smile vanished abruptly when his gaze fell on Qingcheng's neck. He kicked the assassin in the stomach, who groaned and passed out. Gao Junxiao then kicked him twice more before stopping. "Sent by Zhang Jiuren. He doesn't want you to attend tomorrow's thousand-person conference."
"My aunt assigned me on short notice, how come the news spread so quickly?" Qingcheng was worried that there was a traitor in her master's residence, which would be very dangerous.
Gao Junxiao put his hands on his hips and snorted: "Ren Tan rented the shop opposite Aunt Xia in advance, planning to break into the White Tiger Hall at night to carry out an assassination. However, today they saw the doctor going in and out of the White Tiger Hall, so they beat up the doctor who was seeing patients. They learned that Aunt Xia would not be attending the meeting, but you are here. On the surface, you are the second-in-command, so they have changed their target to you."
Strange, Mr. Zhang recently lost a huge sum of money while trying to trade stocks, so he's in a hurry to expand his business and raise funds. The election hasn't even started yet, and he's already filled the hole.
However, if he could really fill that huge hole, he would indeed be ruthless. He was afraid that the centrists would vote for Sister Gui. If fewer people voted for Sister Gui, then he would appear to have more votes.
"Oh, so you're acting strangely today too. Did you get some information that you didn't tell me?" Qingcheng raised her eyebrows and scrutinized the man.
Gao Junxiao shrugged noncommittally: "It's no secret that you like to go to dangerous places. If I hadn't been with you, you would have been dead long ago. And you're still standing here questioning me. I'm heartbroken~ You have to give me an extra tip, no, two extra tips to soothe my wounded heart."
This guy is getting more and more cocky. Qingcheng tapped Gao Junxiao's forehead: "Add your head my foot. They probably won't let this go. I can't go home today. I'll get a hotel room. Tomorrow I'll call a car and go straight to Jingwu Gate."
"Ahem, tell me?" Gao Junxiao cleared his throat, unable to hide his anticipation.
"Is there anyone else here?" Kiyosumi stepped over the "muddy ground," picked up her coat from the ground, and threw it at the man.
Catching the clothes, Gao Junxiao was as happy as if he had caught a bridal bouquet. He shook the coat and put it on. He naturally put his arm around Qingcheng's waist and said, "Let's go. Let me see the wound in a more prominent place. If the cut is too big, I'll have to go to the hospital to get stitches."
The memory of getting stitches suddenly surfaced, and Qingcheng shuddered, protesting, "Why go to the hospital? It's okay, I just washed up. Oh, don't tilt my head."
"So what if it's crooked? We'll have to take it off later anyway," Gao Junxiao said with a smile.
"You didn't think I only booked one room, did you? Two rooms!" Qingcheng grabbed Gao Junxiao's ear and shouted.
"Two rooms it is, don't be so loud, be careful with your voice, I'll be heartbroken if you lose your voice." Gao Junxiao covered his ears, his face full of regret.
While they were bickering, a beam of white light shone over. Gao Junxiao quickly covered Qingcheng's eyes and led her to the wall.
Thump, sizzle—
Was there a car accident? Qingcheng's eyes adjusted to the white light and slowly opened. A police car was parked in the middle of the road. A face leaned out from the passenger seat, and a familiar voice came: "Brother Gao, what are you doing here?"
"Mr. Wu, you've run someone over. Let's check under the car first," Gao Junxiao said, trying to shift the blame.
Upon hearing this, Master Wu hurriedly pushed open the car door and got out. He tentatively pulled up the arm that was sticking out of the car, but as soon as he let go, the arm went limp and fell to the ground. It was probably dead.
Why did Master Wu suddenly appear? Even the driver was a well-known gossip in the neighborhood. Qingcheng nudged Gao Junxiao with her elbow and looked around warily. Gao Junxiao pushed her behind him, clasped his hands and said, "Master Wu, we're brothers, I'll pretend I didn't see anything. Until we meet again."
Old Wu frowned and shook his head, squatting by the car and rambling incoherently: "This...this...how could he be sleeping in the middle of the road?"
The two had walked about ten steps when they were suddenly called to a stop.
"Wait." Master Wu changed his dejected state and raised his head with a sinister look. "You can leave, Mr. Xia, stay."
"Master Wu, what do you mean by that? We were just passing by and didn't see anything." Gao Junxiao pretended not to understand.
Hehe, Master Wu's smile became even more sinister, his eyes flashing with cold light. Suddenly, Master Wu whistled, and footsteps came from all directions.
In less than three seconds, all the passageways were blocked, and guns were pointed at her. Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine and subconsciously gripped Gao Junxiao's clothes tightly. Who were these guys?
Master Wu stood up, dusted off his trousers, and approached Gao Junxiao step by step, saying earnestly, "Take my advice, don't get involved in the Green Gang's internal affairs. The waters run deep in there."
"I don't care how deep the water is, I only know that I accepted a commission from an elder friend of the family to protect my young master." Gao Junxiao reached out to stop Master Wu, not giving an inch.
Master Wu stared intently at Gao Junxiao, or rather, he was looking through Gao Junxiao at Qingcheng behind him.
The two remained silent for about a minute before Wu Ye spoke again: "Brother, you're overthinking it. We received news from our jurisdiction that Mr. Xia was attacked by thugs in the street, so we came here to protect him."
"You didn't come when you should have, and now that you're finally here, all your guns are pointed at the person you're protecting. Your police station's protection methods are quite advanced. I've learned something new," Gao Junxiao said sarcastically. On the surface, he appeared calm and collected, but deep down, his heart was pounding like crazy.
The other side had a large number of people and there was no way to avoid it. Qingcheng swallowed and said in a humble but not arrogant manner, "Now that things have come to this, we don't want to call the police. I don't know where I offended Mr. Zhang of Rentan. If Master Wu is willing to mediate and clear up the misunderstanding for the sake of our fellow disciples, our family will be able to make peace, and Master Wu will also gain a favor from my White Tiger Hall."
"That sounds good, but unfortunately I'm not familiar with Mr. Zhang. I'm just a lowly police superintendent," Master Wu politely declined.
With a jolt of surprise, Qingcheng realized whose henchman Master Wu was. She turned to the side, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Master Wu, if Sister Gui wants to win tomorrow's election, she doesn't need to go to such great lengths. My business still relies on Sister Gui. As long as Sister Gui tells me who to vote for, I will vote for them."
Master Wu's eyes brightened slightly, and he returned the bow: "Mr. Xia is indeed intelligent. Madam would like to invite you to her residence for a gathering, to have some tea and a meal. You can discuss the specifics yourselves; I know nothing about it."
A bad feeling welled up in her heart, and Qingcheng shrank back behind Gao Junxiao. Could it be that Sister Gui didn't want to seize the throne, but wanted something else? But what did she have that was worth her going to such lengths?
"Wait a minute." Gao Junxiao blocked Master Wu's path. "If it's just a small gathering for tea, why not have Mr. Xia bring bodyguards? Isn't this a trap?"
Faced with the questioning, Master Wu scratched his head in frustration and earnestly advised, "They didn't invite you, so what's the point of you going there? Don't get involved in this mess, okay? You don't want there to be only one bride and groom at the wedding, do you?"
He brought up the very thing he didn't want to talk about, and Gao Junxiao's muscles tensed up immediately: "I want to go too."
"Don't go!" Master Wu grabbed Gao Junxiao's hand and sternly ordered his men, "Lock him up. Release him at midnight tomorrow."
"You've detained military and political officials without cause; do you want to quit your job as police superintendent?" Gao Junxiao roared, his fierce appearance deterring anyone from approaching.
"I suspect you of murder and disposing of the body, staging it as a car accident. Please cooperate with our investigation." With a legitimate reason, Master Wu waved his hand, and two men with unfriendly expressions grabbed Gao Junxiao's shoulders.
"The public concession is not your personal fiefdom." Gao Junxiao's forehead veins bulged as he suddenly broke free from the restraints, snatched the police officer's service pistol, and pointed it at Master Wu.
In an instant, dozens of gun barrels turned towards Gao Junxiao. Gao Junxiao didn't seem to care: "Young Master, you go first."
"If I leave, what will you do?" Seeing the situation getting out of control, Qingcheng rushed forward and pressed down on Gao Junxiao's gun-wielding arm, signaling him to calm down with her eyes: "Peace brings wealth, peace brings wealth! Give me the gun."
Gao Junxiao was so concerned that he lost his composure. Their eyes met, and a wave of bitterness washed over him. Qingcheng believed that he would protect her even if it meant facing a mountain of corpses and a sea of fire, but now was not the time to be reckless.
After a moment of eye contact, Gao Junxiao's eyes went vacant, as if a part of his soul had been taken away. He fell silent and obediently let Qingcheng remove his gun.
Qingcheng casually returned the service pistol to the police officer beside her, then turned to Master Wu and said, "We're all brothers, so don't let things get out of hand. I'll go with you for a meal; it's just Sister Gui doing me a favor."
"I'm glad Mr. Xia understands what I mean. I'll personally see you off." Master Wu politely gestured for you to proceed.
"Wait a minute, let me talk to him." Qingcheng dragged Gao Junxiao away in front of everyone and stepped into the flower bed next to him. Master Wu's face darkened slightly, but he suppressed his temper and did not follow.
"What's the situation between you and that Sister Gui?" Gao Junxiao asked first.
"I don't know." Qingcheng asked Gao Junxiao in a low voice, "When did I become so popular? She has everything I have except for voting rights."
"Young Master, I've never even seen her face, how can I analyze this?" Gao Junxiao gasped. "Hiss, could she have taken a liking to you? You always smell so good, even mosquitoes love to bite you. If all else fails, you should just give in to her."
"Bullshit! What else could you possibly have in your head besides a bunch of nonsense? Believe me or not, I'll shoot you." Qingcheng pinched his waist in anger.
Gao Junxiao's dark eyes flickered for a moment, then quickly returned to normal: "My head is tough; not every gun can penetrate it."
“The guns are different, but the bullets are all the same. One shot leaves a hole, two shots leave two holes. It’s not like it’s a gold bar, why would I be so stingy with its money?” Qingcheng deliberately turned her back and quickly wrote two names in his palm.
"You're not stingy at all? Even your bodyguard fees were paid by Aunt Xia. I suspect you don't have anything of value to protect yourself." Gao Junxiao's clenched fist trembled along with his voice.
“We may not have the money, but we have connections. You have to be willing to use those connections you have; otherwise, they’ll just become dead cards. If you want to make them work, you have to go out and make connections, offer people something they can’t refuse, and reciprocate. Then it won’t just be gold bars flowing into cookie tins,” Qingcheng said earnestly.
"You make it sound so easy," Gao Junxiao uttered through gritted teeth, seemingly struggling to hold back his words.
"You have to give it a try. Just because others can't do it doesn't mean you can't. With Inspector Gao standing there, who wouldn't give you some respect?" Qingcheng blinked encouragingly.
The two whispered among themselves for a while, until Old Wu's patience ran out, and he interrupted loudly, "Mr. Xia, it's almost time. Don't force me to use force!"
She subconsciously looked around and saw a circle of armed police officers surrounding the small flower bed.
Qingcheng wanted to try again: "Master Wu, I'll go with you, please don't make things difficult for him. Mr. Gao is just keeping his promise, he has no preconceived notions. Let him go home."
Master Wu resolutely refused: "No, our meeting tomorrow is extremely important, and we must not let irrelevant people disrupt it. However, he is my brother, so he will only be detained for one day. Apart from his freedom, I will try my best to meet his other requests, so don't worry."
"Mr. Gao, don't worry about your aunt. I'll explain for you. See you later." Qingcheng grasped Gao Junxiao's hand, feeling the pull on her fingertips. She forcefully pulled her hand back, turned around, and got into the police car.
The police car sped away, and Gao Junxiao stood there, momentarily dazed, still clutching Qingcheng's hair clip in his hand.
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