After I dealt with Su Jialiang and left, I heard the sound of the door being locked again. I leaned back in my chair, let out a long sigh, and then picked up my cigarette case.
At this moment, Song Laosan also came over: "Xiao Duan, you're not really going to tell Su Gouzi the formula for the ancient glue, or other counterfeiting methods, are you?"
"Tell me your ass. That ancient formula glue was something I made up. If I didn't come up with something that Su Gouzi would be interested in, how could that bastard have given us a whole night to do so quietly?"
I took a deep drag on my cigarette: "Looks like I was right. Su Gouzi is a casting expert, and his skill in replicating bronze artifacts is unparalleled. With the rapid advancements in technology these days, Su Gouzi's rust-removing techniques are clearly outdated, which is why he's so interested in us. We have to get out of here before dawn, otherwise we won't have anything to show for it tomorrow, and Su Gouzi definitely won't be so friendly then."
"One night? That's a bit difficult!"
Song Laosan gestured with the piece of iron in his hand: "With just this thing, you can't even loosen the screws on the windowsill."
"Use bed sheets."
I observed the room for a moment: "Wrap the two railings with a sheet, then wrap the other end around a stick. By rotating it, we can deform the railings and use that opportunity to crawl out."
After thinking for a moment, Song Laosan poured all the water from the kettle onto the bed sheet to increase its resilience. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the people outside were not paying attention, he began to damage the railing. I, on the other hand, pretended to be writing and lay on the table to keep watch for him.
"Ding-dong!"
Half an hour later, I suddenly heard the sound of an iron rod hitting the ground behind me. It was a loud noise that startled me.
At this moment, the guards outside the door also shone their flashlights into the house.
Seeing this, I immediately went to the window to block his view: "Hey! Open the door, I need to go to the bathroom!"
The young man outside was drawn to my attention: "We were ordered not to open this door; you have to take care of it inside!"
I glared at him and yelled, "What kind of talk is that? If I poop in the house, how am I supposed to sleep at night?"
The young man replied impatiently, "This is not my problem. Either you take care of it inside, or you'll have to hold it in! I don't have a key, and yelling at me won't help."
At this moment, Song Laosan also came over to my side and tried to persuade me, while making an "ok" gesture: "Xiao Duan, that's enough, don't argue with them. This young man is right. You're just making things difficult for him by making such a request!"
I rolled my eyes: "Seriously! Then turn off the light!"
Old Song chimed in, asking, "Why turn off the lights?"
"Nonsense! Would you want people watching you when you poop?"
While Song Laosan and I were whispering to each other, we turned off the lights. Song Laosan then led me to the back window in the dark and whispered, "One of the railings is broken. The two of us can barely squeeze through. I just checked, and the wall behind the factory is about three meters high. It shouldn't be difficult to climb up."
"Walk!"
I nodded, walked to the window, and was the first to crawl through the railing.
The office where the Su family imprisoned us was less than two meters away from the courtyard wall, and behind it was full of weeds and all sorts of junk.
Song Laosan quickly followed me out and said, "You can climb up by stepping on my shoulders. As long as you run into the factory across the street, you'll have a chance to escape. Once you're out, remember to try to contact the Qing family. They will guarantee your safety."
I sensed something was off about Song Laosan's words, so I frowned and asked, "What do you mean? Aren't you coming with me?"
Song Laosan shook his head: "I can't leave. Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan are still being held captive by the Su family. I have to rescue them."
Upon hearing this, I felt a surge of resentment: "Song Laosan, don't forget we're teammates! We're both in dire straits right now, and you still want to save others?"
Do you think I'm trying to curry favor with the other two schools?
Song Laosan seemed to realize that the question was somewhat inappropriate, and answered himself, "You guessed right, my going to rescue people did indeed have the appearance of currying favor with the Qu and Wei families. Although I'm cooperating with you now, I'm still a member of the Four Gates, and I have no enmity with the other two families. The Four Gates' ancestral motto boils down to just two words: unity! Today, the people from the other two gates are in danger, and I can't just stand by and watch them die. This is doing myself a favor, and it's also helping you! I hope that when we're in trouble in the future, they can lend a helping hand too. You understand what I mean, right?"
I remained silent.
Seeing this, Song Laosan leaned against the wall and patted his shoulder: "We only have five minutes, otherwise things will get complicated once the guards outside realize what's happening. You go first!"
I thought for a moment, then waved my hand and refused: "Forget it, I'll go with you! The reason you're safe is because I have what Su Gouzi wants. If I run away and you get caught, we're all finished! Let's go!"
Song Laosan looked at me in surprise: "You really want to stay?"
I countered, "Otherwise what?"
Song Laosan gave a thumbs up: "In terms of magnanimity and spirit, Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan are no match for you! If we are all going to leave, we must first take care of the guard in front of us, go around and knock him out! You stay here to distract him, and I will go and do my job."
I nodded, but still didn't say anything.
The reason I stayed was not really to save people, but because I didn't trust Song Laosan.
If he really wanted to help, he could have left with me and spoken to the Wei family, instead of choosing to stay behind to rescue people when I hadn't finished my task.
If he succeeds, it would be tantamount to releasing Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan back into the game, forcing them to compete with me in finding Duan Jinyan's whereabouts. This would undoubtedly be a huge blow to me.
After all, when we were robbing the musician's tomb, a group of unidentified people attacked us.
If Song Laosan really had affairs with those people, then those mysterious people were probably from the other two sects.
Although I don't trust him, if I want to continue doing business in Luoyang, I still need to rely on the Qing family's connections, so I can't ignore Song Laosan as the middleman.
After much thought, I realized that it would be safest for me to be with him, as this would at least ensure that he wouldn't make any private agreements with the other two groups.
I was even thinking about whether I should find an opportunity to set them up and have the Su family completely detain Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan so that they wouldn't interfere with my plan to find Duan Jinyan.
As I was thinking about what I needed to do, I vaguely noticed a figure appear at the window in front of the office, and I immediately shook the railing of the back window.
Hearing the noise, the guard in front turned around alertly and shone his flashlight into the room. Before he could see what was inside, Song Laosan rushed forward and knocked him to the ground with a brick.
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