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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred and One: A Meeting of Mountains and Waters
The crowd parted to make way as Cheng Long and Chen Zhao Zhou walked in side by side.
Jiang He and Jin Bo stood back to back, facing off against several men who had closed in around them. Each held a knife, staring down the dark muzzles of four or five guns.
"Weren't you the one who said there were no guards in the forest?" Jiang He muttered under his breath, "What are these? Have the saplings come to life?"
"It seems they've strengthened their defenses!" Jin Bo replied, frustration evident in his voice. Last time he had breezed through this place like it was unguarded, but now, before he even set foot outside the forest, he was being chased away.
"Can we cut through bullets? Let's talk to them," Jiang He said, a hint of worry creeping into his tone as he glanced back at his companion, fearing that in a moment of impulse he might charge forward with his knife. The men with guns were not like those young fellows from Air Raid Shelter; these were serious, burly men! If a shot were to accidentally go off, they would both end up full of holes.
Jin Bo remained silent, coldly observing Cheng Long, who stood with his arms crossed, his expression inscrutable.
Cheng Long's face was icy, though inside he felt a twinge of surprise. He was well aware of what lay beyond the protective barrier; to conserve manpower, he would occasionally send someone over there to stir things up and attract the wandering Zombies on the highway. If there were only a few, he would let them be; if there were too many, he would clear some out from behind the barrier to prevent the Horde from threatening it while still maintaining a watchful eye.
The two young men before him had evidently made their way through the Horde without alerting anyone inside.
"I advise you not to do anything foolish," Cheng Long cleared his throat and said, "Who sent you here?"
Old Timer was pushed into the crowd by several young people and was taken aback upon recognizing who had arrived. "Little Gold! What are you doing here?"
Chen Zhao Zhou silently glanced at him and exchanged a look with the men surrounding Jiang He.
"Uncle Pao?" Jin Bo turned upon seeing him. His gaze swept over to Zheng Qiutong, who was being pulled along by Old Timer.
"Qiu Tong, come back with me!"
Jiang He felt a chill run down his spine. Looking over, he saw Jin Bo already striding toward Zheng Qiutong, completely ignoring the large circle of people around them.
Zheng Qiutong stood dazed beside Old Timer, hesitating as she raised her arm when Jin Bo reached out.
"What’s going on here?" Old Timer asked in confusion.
"Something's happened, many people are injured, Qiu Tong has to come back with me to help!" Jin Bo shouldered past the two men blocking his way and grabbed Zheng Qiutong, ready to leave without even glancing at Cheng Long.
Jiang He was drenched in sweat, thinking, do you think this is your home?
Sure enough, Cheng Long voiced Jiang He's thoughts: "Do you think this is your home? You can come and go as you please?"
"I'm in a hurry, so get your people out of the way." Jin Bo seemed to have some confidence as he brandished his knife across his chest, not forgetting to call out to Jiang He, "Come on, why are you still standing there?"
"How the hell do we leave..." Jiang He swallowed hard, glanced at Cheng Long, and seeing that he didn't seem ready to explode, tentatively said, "Well, we can talk later." With that, he turned to leave.
Old Timer's face was frozen in shock as he looked between Jin Bo and Jiang He, his eyes wide: "How can you be with this guy!"
"We'll talk about it later," Jin Bo turned around and asked, "Aren't you coming, Uncle Pao?"
"This..."
"Oh right, I almost forgot." Jin Bo slapped his forehead and said, "No need to call for reinforcements anymore; it's fine now. We need to hurry back to help."
Old Timer was completely at a loss for words; his lips moved for a long time but he couldn't utter a single word.
Cheng Long looked at Jin Bo with interest and smiled, "So you're Jin Bo, huh?"
"Yeah, that's me." Jin Bo shot him a glance. "Are you the boss here?"
"Yes." Cheng Long nodded and pointed at the dazed Old Timer beside him. "He said Zheng Er asked me to help, but you say it's no longer needed. What does your Daliugou mean by that?"
"It means nothing; what happened before is in the past. It's fine now." Jin Bo paused and finally said something appropriate: "Sorry for bothering you. Once things settle down on our side, I'll come back and apologize."
"Oh?" Cheng Long raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So what you're saying is... when you need me, you'll come find me, but when you don't need me anymore, I can just be pushed aside?"
Jiang He sensed trouble; this clearly wasn't a friendly exchange. The looks from those around them were filled with mockery.
Jin Bo was thick-headed but even he caught the tone in Cheng Long's words. He immediately raised an eyebrow and said, " Jiang He, take Qiu Tong back quickly." With that, he pushed Zheng Qiutong toward him.
"Dammit, do you think I can just fly out of here?" Jiang He lamented, looking up at the clear blue sky, knowing that this trip was bound to cause trouble.
Cheng Long had lost interest in continuing the conversation. He chuckled lightly and turned away from the crowd, leaving behind a parting remark: "Shut it."
Just before Jin Bo could explode, Jiang He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around him, whispering in his ear, "Do you want to get your Uncle Two's daughter killed?"
Though Jin Bo's anger remained, he heeded Jiang He's warning and reluctantly set down his weapon.
Old Timer wanted to explain things to Cheng Long, but it was clear that Cheng Long had no intention of listening. After struggling for a moment, he found his arms pinned behind his back by several Soldiers.
These men were quite gentlemanly; they did not lay a hand on Zheng Qiutong but merely gestured for her to step aside.
Cheng Long took a few steps away, seemingly recalling something. He turned back and asked, "Miss, are you a doctor?"
"Yes..." Zheng Qiutong's pleading gaze sought Old Timer's help, but Old Timer and the others had already been escorted out of the crowd.
"Zhi Ping, take her to the injured," Cheng Long commanded before striding away.
The crowd quickly dispersed, chatting in small groups with expressions that suggested they were accustomed to such scenes.
Once most people had cleared from the street, Zeng Yadong pulled Su Lan out from a nearby courtyard.
"Why did you stop me?" Su Lan was both angry and annoyed. "That was Jiang He! Have you forgotten?"
"I only stopped you because I remembered!" Zeng Yadong pointed at Su Lan's forehead. "Don't you recall what you said when we came back? If Cheng Long finds out we've seen him, he'll definitely think we're spies!"
"What kind of logic is that?" Su Lan replied, exasperated. "They even gave us some medicine. Without that medicine, how would your benefactor have time to write a will?"
"It's not the same thing. Trust me, Su Su; I won't harm you." Zeng Yadong sighed and pulled her back toward their residence. "You shouldn't underestimate the mayor. He may seem friendly, but he's very shrewd and won't tolerate spies!"
"But I'm not a spy."
"Someone has to believe that!" Zeng Yadong felt his persuasive skills were lacking and patiently explained, "You're new here and don't understand the complexities between this place and the other two. Besides, it was just a brief encounter—was it really worth getting so worked up over?"
Su Lan was momentarily taken aback, but then she smiled.
Indeed, it was just a brief encounter; why should she care so much about Jiang He? Suddenly, Su Lan realized that the little boy was standing at the door, timidly waving at her.
Su Lan hesitated, knowing there were things she couldn't tell Zeng Yadong. She composed herself and gave a self-deprecating smile, saying, "Dong Dong, you're right. I was just being overly sensitive."
"Oh? Suddenly enlightened?" Zeng Yadong was confused; Su Lan's rapid change in demeanor didn't seem like the behavior of someone who had come to a profound realization.
Su Lan didn't elaborate further. She took the little boy's hand and walked into the living room, asking Zeng Yadong, "Can you get something for the child to eat?"
"I'll go check; we might still have some apples," Zeng Yadong shrugged and stepped outside.
Su Lan lifted the curtain and watched Zeng Yadong walk away before leading the little boy into the bedroom.
"Where's your mother? How did you end up here?" Su Lan couldn't quite articulate her feelings. When she first saw the little boy, she thought it was an illusion until he called her "Sister Lanlan," confirming that this was indeed the boy who loved to climb onto the radiator to look at the garden below—An Zheng's son.
When An Zheng's husband had his accident, Su Lan was still at Central Hospital. At that time, she held the position of assistant director and was quite familiar with An Zheng and her family. Since she didn't often go to the laboratory, she frequently helped An Zheng take care of her child, so they had developed a bond over time.
"I don't know." The little boy's clothes were covered in dirt, and there was a scab on his forehead from a scrape.
After several months apart, the boy had grown a bit taller. Although he still looked quite young, he seemed less timid and introverted compared to when he had been in the hospital.
"Tell me how you got here. How did you get separated from your mother?"
The little boy glanced at the door and whispered, "Sister Lanlan, I just saw Brother Jiang He. Can you take me to find him?"
"Ah?" Su Lan was stunned. Jiang He? An Zheng? The little boy actually knew Jiang He?
"Were you with Jiang He?"
"No, I was with my mom. Last night we were in the fields; Brother Jiang He and his group went to the Coal Mine. Then when we were about to leave, our car overturned." The little boy scratched his head as he recalled, "I woke up in the car; it was a sister and an uncle who brought me here."
Su Lan thought for a moment and understood what the little boy meant. She asked curiously, "Then how did you come back to find me?"
"I'm hungry..." The little boy said shyly, sticking out his tongue.
Su Lan couldn't help but smile as she hugged the little boy and gave him a kiss, realizing that it was Dong Dong's roasted chicken wings that had drawn him in.
"Wait here, sister will go get you some clean clothes. Later, you can tell me how you met Jiang He, and I'll find a way to take you to your mom, okay?"
"Okay."
In the small house by Fish Pond, Jiang He, Jin Bo, and Old Timer sat on the ground, exchanging glances like turtles staring at green beans.
This was a less than 20-square-meter Rough-Cast House, with no doors or windows. Aside from the cement debris scattered on the floor, there was nothing else.
The three of them were tied up like zongzi and thrown inside. In front of the door, two young men were sitting on stools, smoking cigarettes and playing poker, while a double-barreled shotgun lay beside them, leaving the three of them to languish inside.
Jin Bo told Old Timer about the reconciliation between the two groups, including the tragic events that followed, without holding anything back.
Old Timer remained silent for a long time before letting out a sigh.
"What are we going to do now?" Old Timer shifted his body against the cold wall. "This is troublesome. Little Gold, you were too reckless."
"What else could I have done? Go into town to hire a doctor?" Jin Bo replied indignantly, his hands bound behind his back rubbing against each other as he tried to loosen the ropes.
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