Chapter 121: The Weak Hero vs. The Cheating Villain
Chapter 121: The Weak Hero vs. The Cheating Villain
Boom!
Countless tiny sounds flooded into his ears. It felt like a tide rushing into a reservoir — Li Zian’s head was that reservoir. Every sound within a hundred-meter radius was under his control.
Liu Jun was sneaking toward the back door of the Small Western-style House. He deliberately kept his footsteps extremely light, but they sounded very clear in Li Zian’s ears, each step like a book dropping to the ground.
The wind flowed through the air, southwest direction, about seven or eight meters per second — just a gentle breeze.
A dog lay in its kennel in the distance, whimpering through its nostrils. It might have just been acting up and barking a few times earlier.
Dozens of mosquitoes flew around, looking for prey. Eight of them had already spotted him and were flying toward him from the east, south, and west, about fifteen meters, ten meters, and around seven or eight meters away respectively. This was probably because he had sweated during his two earlier runs on the River Embankment; otherwise, the mosquitoes wouldn’t have found him so quickly.
Many other insects chirped in the grass and fields.
Li Zian focused his attention on the lit window on the second floor, and his brain processed sounds with a specific purpose.
Liu Jun was picking the lock, using something like a wire tool.
That Square-Faced guy really was talented.
Someone was talking in the room upstairs.
“Where’s the bag you bought me?” It was Hong Baohui’s voice, sounding impatient.
“Wait a moment, I’ll show you. Don’t rush,” a man’s voice said. “Earlier on the phone, you said the police knocked on your door. Tell me again, what did they ask you?”
Li Zian’s heart stirred: It was still that voice, and hearing it more clearly now, the synthesized sound feel was even more obvious, and it was closer to the voice in that audio file!
Additionally, judging by the voice characteristics, the age was probably similar to the missing Huang Bo’s — at least in his fifties.
“Why are you being so naggy?” Hong Baohui sounded a bit annoyed. “Didn’t I already tell you? They didn’t ask much. They just asked me my name, where I work, and then told me there was an injury case in our area, and the suspect had run over to our neighborhood to hide.”
“Did they first ask your name and where you work, and then say there was an injury case in your area?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Don’t question it. Just tell me.”
“They first mentioned that someone had injured someone, then asked if I had seen a suspect with triangular eyes and a pockmarked face.”
The man fell silent for a moment before speaking: “Usually, when the police question someone, they ask about your situation — what you do, your name, where you work, and so on. They wouldn’t start by telling you what happened unless they wanted to emphasize the incident.”
Li Zian couldn’t help but admire this guy a bit.
Earlier, he had also heard Liu Jun and the female police officer talking with Hong Baohui, but he hadn’t thought of these details. And this guy just asked about the order of the police questioning and grew suspicious!
“What’s wrong with you tonight? Are you possessed? You’re talking so weirdly. Stop babbling and quickly show me the bag.”
Li Zian sighed inwardly: Ah, greedy woman, don’t you know you’re in a very dangerous situation?
The man sighed: “Baohui, these two years you’ve been with me, you’ve taken good care of me, and I like you a lot, but…”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“I originally planned to take you with me in a couple of days. I thought I wouldn’t be discovered — I still had two days to make arrangements — but you called tonight saying the police came to see you. I have to leave, tonight.”
“Where are you going? What does that have to do with the police coming to see me?” Hong Baohui asked curiously.
Li Zian sighed inwardly again: This woman’s intelligence is really worrisome.
Liu Jun was tiptoeing through the Living Room downstairs.
“I’m going to the United States.”
“Do you have relatives there?”
“Sort of. More reliable than relatives,” the man said.
“Then you have to take me with you,” Hong Baohui laughed, very happily, feeling like her sweetheart was a treasure of an old man.
“No, you have to go somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“Heaven.”
“Ugh, you old fool, saying that is unlucky,” Hong Baohui pretended to be angry. “Quickly show me the bag to calm me down, otherwise I won’t take care of you tonight.”
Liu Jun was tiptoeing up the stairs.
Li Zian thought to himself: “Hurry up! Someone’s about to be killed upstairs and you’re still dawdling. Do you think you’re in a movie?”
“I killed someone,” the man said.
“Chen Dafu, why are you joking in the middle of the night?”
Chen Dafu?
Li Zian froze slightly. He had always thought the man talking to Hong Baohui was the missing Huang Bo. Suddenly it became Chen Dafu — that felt abrupt. But he quickly realized: Huang Bo stole the artifacts and disappeared; how could he still use his real name? Chen Dafu — this must be the fake name he was using.
“I killed my friend of several decades,” the man’s voice was sinister.
“Chen Dafu, don’t… don’t scare me. I’m very timid…”
Li Zian’s heart stirred: Killing a friend of decades — wasn’t that Ma Fuquan?
“Baohui, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to kill you either, but you know I’m still alive, so I can’t leave you behind.”
“What nonsense are you talking? If you weren’t still alive, would you be dead? Y-you… don’t come closer!” Hong Baohui stepped back, her voice full of fear.
“Don’t be afraid. It won’t hurt much. It’ll be over quickly,” the man moved closer to Hong Baohui.
“No… Mmph!” Hong Baohui’s voice cut off abruptly; clearly her neck had been grabbed.
Li Zian grew anxious: A life is almost at stake, what is Liu Jun still doing hiding behind the door?
Right at that moment, a firecracker-like door-kicking sound burst into his ears, followed immediately by Liu Jun’s shout: “Police! Don’t move!”
Such classic lines!
Li Zian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had no connection with that Hong Baohui, she was still a human life after all.
“You bitch! You actually brought the police to catch me!”
“Let her go!” Liu Jun roared.
Although Li Zian wasn’t in that room, he could infer the situation inside from the sounds he heard.
At that moment, Square-Faced was pointing his gun at “Chen Dafu,” while the latter had his arm around Hong Baohui’s neck, hiding behind her.
“Don’t shoot,” Li Zian silently prayed.
Bang!
The sudden noise that burst into his ears was like a Hand Grenade exploding. Li Zian instinctively covered his ears. In that instant, a person suddenly crashed through the second-floor window and fell into the Backyard.
Li Zian uncovered his ears. That thunderous noise wasn’t a gunshot — it was the sound of someone breaking through the window.
What happened in the room?
Li Zian sprang to his feet, stepped back twice, and looked up at the second-floor window.
The second-floor window was shattered, and someone was standing in the window opening.
It was a man in his fifties, tall and thin, with a long, narrow face, short hair, graying temples, triangular eyes, and a sinister gaze.
Li Zian was dumbfounded.
He had thought the situation that just occurred was the heroic Squad Leader Liu, with overwhelming force, kicking the man out of the second floor to save the hostage Hong Baohui. He never expected the one kicked down was Liu Jun.
This turn of events was truly unexpected.
Was the hero representing justice just too weak?
Or… had this villain cheated?
The man standing at the second-floor window also saw Li Zian.
Their eyes met.
Li Zian suddenly remembered what Liu Jun had said, and instinctively opened his mouth to call the other police officers for help. But before he could utter a sound, the man in the window suddenly leaped, landing with a thud in the Backyard.
Are old men all this fierce nowadays?
“Someone, help!” Li Zian shouted.
A figure flashed over the wall. The man who had just jumped into the Backyard suddenly vaulted over the wall and kicked toward Li Zian’s head.
Li Zian instinctively leaned back, avoiding the kick aimed at his face. At the same time, he hooked his right foot, kicking toward the man’s back.
Thump!
The kick landed.
The person who was kicked didn’t react, but Li Zian, who delivered the kick, opened his mouth wide — he felt like he had kicked not a human back, but solid rock!
However, the man’s body still lost balance from Li Zian’s kick. When he landed, he stumbled and nearly fell.
The man turned around.
Li Zian also retracted his leg, twisted his waist, and faced the man.
Their eyes met again.
“Who are you?” The man’s voice was frighteningly gloomy.
“Huang Bo?” Li Zian said.
A flicker of surprise shone in the man’s eyes. He suddenly lunged forward, throwing a punch at Li Zian’s chest.
Li Zian spread the fingers of his right hand wide, grabbing toward the man’s fist.
Branch-Breaking Boxing!
The man’s fist slammed into Li Zian’s palm.
Li Zian intended to grab the man’s fist and then push it in the opposite joint direction, using Zhenqi to severely injure the man’s wrist bone. However, the moment the man’s fist struck his palm, a tremendous impact force surged from the man’s fist. Li Zian’s wrist bone immediately felt a tearing pain, his fingers wouldn’t obey him at all — forget grabbing the man’s fist, he couldn’t even make a fist!
The man twisted sideways and kicked Li Zian in the abdomen.
Li Zian let out a muffled groan, his whole body flying backward. Excruciating pain churned in his abdomen; a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying it several meters away.
Li Zian landed heavily on the ground.
Now he finally understood: He had misunderstood Liu Jun. With this guy’s skills, even he was beaten helpless — how could an ordinary police officer be a match?
It wasn’t that the hero was too weak.
The villain really was cheating.
Severe pain was suppressed by Zhenqi. Li Zian straightened his back and leaped up from the ground. Sure, he was fighting hard — even getting beaten badly — but after all, he was the one with the Great Sluggish Cauldron attached, his whole body medicine. He could even put his cut hand in boiling water without a problem; what did a few hits matter?
“Huh?” The man let out a surprised sound, and immediately after, he suddenly launched forward. In a few sprinting steps, he leaped using momentum, kicking toward Li Zian’s chest.
Li Zian wanted to dodge, but the man was too fast. By the time he thought of dodging, the leg was already at his chest. He didn’t dodge either, but thrust his chest forward to meet that large foot, while simultaneously punching toward the man’s crotch.
Wham!
Thud!
Amid the different impact sounds that rang out simultaneously, Li Zian’s body flew backward again, spitting another mouthful of blood several meters away, then slammed into the perimeter wall. The wall shook, and several cracks appeared beneath his back!