Chapter 135: Rescue
Chapter 135: Rescue
This was supposed to be a calm collection exhibition, far from any disturbance. The visitors were either social celebrities or people from the collecting world.
Such an occasion should never have seen such violence, and no one had realized that a thug had taken a little girl hostage.
At that moment, most of the ordinary people present were completely stunned.
The security guards of the “Lan City” Art Museum, along with the staff who noticed something wrong from the monitors, were also at a loss. They never expected such an incident to happen right under their noses.
On the scene, many people screamed, but no one had the ability to handle such a sudden event.
“Everyone stay where you are! Get back!”
Ariyama Masahiko looked fierce. He shouted wildly, his eyes wide open, and waved the knife in his hand to scare away anyone trying to get close.
The little girl held in his arm had a bloody cut on her cheek, and blood kept seeping out.
She cried loudly in fear, and blood splattered onto her colorful dress.
“Please, I beg you, don’t hurt my daughter.”
A woman in a long dress let out a heart-wrenching scream from the crowd.
“We will find a way to get you any amount of money you want.”
The young couple pleaded with him, their faces pale.
“Shut up, all of you! Bring Sakuya to me now, or she will die.”
A sense of anxiety filled Ariyama Masahiko’s mind, and his heart was filled with his own delusions.
(Sakuya must have been tricked by that bad man. An innocent girl like her could easily be fooled by a man’s sweet words. Absolutely not, I can’t let her pure self be tainted by a man. I must save her.)
“Haha, hahaha—!”
I will use my own hands to save that lovely angel.
His eyes were bloodshot, and deep within their dark depths, a crazed light shone.
…
The maid Diana gave a bitter smile. “So, what should we do? Miss Sakuya, if this continues, it might cause a lot of trouble.”
Who could have expected Ariyama Masahiko to cause such a scene?
She had indeed guessed something like this might happen, but she never thought he would lose control at this moment.
Sakuya spoke with a cold expression. “From the very beginning, I didn’t have much expectation of him.”
Her attitude was unexpectedly cold, but the young lady had always been indifferent to things that didn’t interest her. Ariyama Masahiko’s situation was naturally predictable.
While she was talking with the young lady, a figure approached from behind. As his footsteps drew near, he took Sakuya Sakuya’s right hand.
“Sakuya, come with me for a moment.”
The person was Fang Jing. He had also noticed that Ariyama Masahiko had taken a little girl hostage.
So, he quickly pulled her toward Ariyama Masahiko.
“Well, Nishizuka, you’re really bold.”
She glanced at her held hand. His fingers slipped between hers, almost like their hands were intertwined.
“Bold? I think so too,” he moved behind her and whispered, “Later, cover for me. Ariyama’s attention will be on you. Just a moment is all I need. Go!”
He gave her a push, and they stepped out of the crowd, one after the other.
The man, who had looked frantic, now showed an expression of wild joy.
“You finally came to see me.”
“…”
Only then did Sakuya realize that Nishizuka had brought her in front of Ariyama Masahiko.
“Alright, just walk slowly toward him. Count from one to five… Go!”
He pressed her shoulder lightly. Sakuya Sakuya pouted slightly, looking a bit unhappy.
“Great, Sakuya, you finally came to see me.”
Even an outsider could see that Ariyama Masahiko had completely lost his mind. He seemed delusional, his lips curling into a strange smile as he let out an odd laugh.
“One!”
Though unhappy, Sakuya Sakuya began counting softly.
“Two!”
With each number, she took a step forward, while Fang Jing stood behind her.
“Three!” “Four!”—”Five!”
The next moment, a shadow flashed past from behind her, moving like a ghost. It vanished into the air as if it had never been there.
It was an illusion for those nearby. For Ariyama Masahiko, standing opposite Sakuya Sakuya, it felt like a cold breeze had swept by. He couldn’t perceive the swift movement, not even a blur.
This was the secret technique “Sickle Foot” from the Huanzang Style Cloud Dragon Willow. This footwork could evade a person’s blind spots like an illusion, creating the effect of instantaneous disappearance.
He felt nothing!
Ariyama Masahiko realized nothing. His eyes went blank, his pupils dull, and his mind shut down like a power outage. He fell to the ground with a thud, stiff as a log.
Fang Jing’s speed was, of course, unmatched. In the blink of an eye, he knocked out Ariyama Masahiko and rescued the frightened little girl.
Only then did the watching crowd let out a sigh of relief and relax.
The next moment, someone started clapping, and soon the nearby guests joined in.
Fang Jing merely nodded modestly and walked away from the crowd.
“Please wait…”
As he tried to leave, someone stopped him.
“Thank you so much for what you did just now!”
“Yes! We don’t even know what to say.”
The little girl’s parents rushed over to hug their child. They bowed to him repeatedly, expressing their gratitude.
“There’s no need to be so polite!”
“No, no, we are truly grateful. My surname is Iwabuchi. May I ask your name…”
“My name is Nishizuka Tsukasa.”
“Well, Nishizuka, please take this business card.”
The husband, who called himself “Iwabuchi,” handed over a card earnestly. He hoped to find a chance to thank him properly, then left with his wife and injured daughter in an ambulance.
Fang Jing didn’t think much of it and casually took the card.
After finally sending off the family of three, Sayaka also came over to join the commotion.
She had been nearby and witnessed Ariyama Masahiko’s outburst.
“That was amazing, Nishizuka!”
Sayaka stood behind him and lightly punched his shoulder.
“I never knew you practiced martial arts, but that was really dangerous just now…”
In Sayaka’s view, the situation had been extremely risky, and Fang Jing had probably just been lucky to prevent the crisis.
“But you were way too reckless. In a situation like that, if you had made one wrong move, you could have been seriously injured.”
Fang Jing could only smile wryly. If he hadn’t been confident, he wouldn’t have taken such a risk. Since he decided to act, he was sure of success. However, it wasn’t the right place to say that.
“Sayaka, you shouldn’t blame Nishizuka anymore. There aren’t many young people nowadays who dare to stand up like him.”
“That’s right. I also want to thank Mr. Nishizuka. Without his brave rescue, this exhibition might have ended in tragedy.”
Sayaka’s father Hatakena Gensai and the event organizer, Ms. Sukiko, walked over together.
Hatakena Gensai and Ms. Sukiko were probably old acquaintances. They weren’t present when the incident happened and rushed over after receiving the news.
During the earlier hostage situation, the police arrived late after receiving a phone call.
Before they came, the hostage situation was already resolved.
Sakuya and her maid Diana were being questioned because they were involved in the incident.
The police handled the matter quite actively but also very cautiously, as many guests at the event were influential figures in the city.
Thinking of this, Fang Jing felt a bit sorry for Ariyama Masahiko, who caused this troublesome case. His days ahead wouldn’t be easy.
“I’m really sorry, Ms. Sukiko. Because of me, the collection exhibition you hosted encountered such trouble…”
After the police finished questioning, Sakuya Sakuya and the blonde maid visited again to meet Ms. Sukiko, the “host.”
“Miss Sakuya, please don’t say that. It was the oversight of the on-site management staff. You can’t blame yourself for it. Besides, you were one of the victims too.”
The plump lady smiled slightly.
“I just hope this exhibition didn’t disappoint the guests too much. If there’s a chance in the future, I’d like to invite everyone to hold a similar event again. I also hope Miss Sakuya will visit once more.”
“If there’s an opportunity, I will definitely come.”
Sakuya Sakuya fully displayed the aura of a well-bred young lady. Wearing a long skirt, she slightly bent her knees, lifted the edge of her skirt, and bowed her head with a smile.
“Goodbye, everyone.”
She turned her face sideways and silently mouthed a sentence only Fang Jing could see, without making a sound.
But Fang Jing only needed a glance to understand what she meant—”See you at school, Nishizuka.”
Fang Jing frowned. He had a bad feeling that Ariyama Masahiko’s strange behavior might be connected to this woman.
————————
“What are you thinking about, Nishizuka?”
Hatanaka Sayaka was driving her red luxury sports car, preparing to take him home.
Fang Jing skipped the final gathering because he found it troublesome. He excused himself by saying he wasn’t feeling well and planned to go back.
Hatakena Gensai didn’t mind too much. Considering what had just happened, he worried Fang Jing might be traumatized or have psychological issues, so he told Sayaka to take Fang Jing home early.
“By the way, was that crazy man a teacher at your school?”
Sayaka’s curiosity was piqued.
“He kept shouting the name ‘Sakuya’—could it be that girl from earlier…”
“Probably! But Sayaka, I’m not close with that ‘top student of the year.’ Asking me about her is useless.”
Fang Jing didn’t want to waste time on this topic.
Sayaka wasn’t ready to give up easily. She kept pressing him about it, unusually interested in such gossip.
Just then, the car sped past the roadside. Fang Jing accidentally saw someone limping into a nearby alley.
Vroom!
Several motorcycles sped over from the other side of the road, almost crashing into the sports car.
Sayaka was so startled she nearly hit the gas instead of the brake.
The tires screeched against the pavement, and eventually, the car stopped halfway.
“Shit!”
Sayaka couldn’t help but curse. She turned her head and saw a group dressed like Bōsōzoku disappearing around the street corner amid roaring engine noises, their taillights already out of sight.
“Madmen, they’re all madmen.”
Fang Jing, sitting in the passenger seat, had a gloomy look in his eyes. He remembered—during the brief moment when the car was speeding past, the limping man darting into the alley was clearly his senior Xuan Zao from the Shaolin Temple Boxing Dojo.