Chapter Twenty-Six: Offering Myself Is No Loss

Chapter 26: Even Offering Myself Would Not Be Too Much

Qin Wan’er finally snapped out of her daze, quickly stood up, and searched around for Qiu Yan’s figure. Narrowing her eyes, she demanded of Xu Yun, “And who exactly is this Qiu Yan?”

“She’s the same as me,” Xu Yun replied, still grinning broadly.

Qin Wan’er snorted, “How am I supposed to know what kind of person you are?”

“Take a guess. Anyway, I’m not a bad guy,” Xu Yun said with a helpless smile. He had no other way to help Qiu Yan conceal her identity as an assassin.

At that moment, the sound of sirens erupted. Several police cars came roaring in, doors slammed, and a flurry of footsteps followed. Clearly, someone had heard the gunshots and called the police, which was why so many officers and special agents had arrived.

“Oh, Officer Qin! I can never repay your immense kindness! If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead by now!” Xu Yun suddenly threw his arms around Qin Wan’er, sobbing as he whispered in her ear, “The credit is yours—I don’t want any trouble.”

“As if I care about such useless credit!” Qin Wan’er’s face turned bright red as Xu Yun collapsed against her chest. “Get up! Don’t think you can take advantage of me just because of this!”

Damn, it’s just a little advantage, isn’t it? After all, she saved my life—offering myself to her wouldn’t be too much!

Liu Guangming, having heard about the shooting, personally led dozens of police and special agents to the scene. When he saw Qin Wan’er, he was taken aback. “Qin Wan’er? Don’t tell me you fired the shot!”

“Chief... I...” For a moment, Qin Wan’er was at a loss for words.

Xu Yun, still sniffling, grabbed Liu Guangming’s hand and cried, “Sir, you must give a commendation to the brave Comrade Qin Wan’er! She shot and killed an infamous villain!”

The armed officers gathered around the corpse all gasped. Someone couldn’t help but exclaim, “Chief Liu! This is the nation’s most wanted A-level criminal—the assassin known as Hawk, Gong You!”

At these words, Liu Guangming’s expression changed instantly. He rushed over to confirm the deceased’s identity and exclaimed, “Comrade Qin Wan’er, you’ve performed a great service! Just this afternoon, provincial headquarters informed us that someone resembling Hawk, Gong You, was spotted in Hedong City. I can’t believe you caught him so quickly!”

Xu Yun shot Qin Wan’er a secret smile, but she looked confused. What kind of credit was this? If Xu Yun hadn’t risked his life to shield her from that bullet, she’d probably be the one lying on the ground now.

Dozens of police officers looked at Qin Wan’er with admiration and praise, marveling that the famed “iron rose” of Wenhui District had taken down even a villain like Hawk, Gong You. It filled the men with a sense of shame.

“Chief Liu, I’ll leave things here to you. I’m taking him to the hospital first! If he hadn’t helped me just now, I wouldn’t have succeeded...” Qin Wan’er had no mind for credit—Xu Yun’s injury was her main concern.

Only then did Liu Guangming notice someone was hurt. He nodded quickly, “I’ll have Xiao Wu drive you!”

“No need, I prefer motorcycles!” Xu Yun grinned, thinking he could hold her tight while riding—unlike in a car.

Qin Wan’er didn’t have time to worry about such things. She didn’t mind where Xu Yun held her, as long as he was comfortable. She told him to hold on, then sped off toward the nearest city hospital.

Fortunately, Xu Yun’s wound wasn’t serious—just a graze. Otherwise, Qin Wan’er would have no idea how to atone for her guilt.

After a quick bandaging, the bleeding stopped. Xu Yun grimaced for a while but soon got used to the sting of the ointment on his skin.

He was lucky that the young nurse, Xu Wenya, was so pretty and shapely—or he’d have given up on the bandaging entirely. The hemostatic medicine was mediocre at best; even after slathering it on thick, it hadn’t worked miracles.

“Qin Wan’er, you actually dared to open fire on an A-level fugitive. Pretty gutsy,” Xu Yun remarked coolly. “Did you think about the consequences?”

“What consequences?” Qin Wan’er was stunned. When she fired, her only thought had been to prevent the criminal from escaping. How could she have known her shot would kill such an infamous wanted man?

Xu Yun smiled slightly. “The bird that sticks its head out gets shot first. If you don’t want trouble, you’d better keep a low profile. Killing Gong You might bring you fame, but it’ll also bring you a lot more trouble. Personally, I think life is more important than reputation.”

“I get what you mean. Do I look like the showy type to you?” Qin Wan’er understood Xu Yun’s good intentions. Someone like Gong You was bound to have dangerous friends, and if word got out, she’d be in for unnecessary trouble. “I’ll talk to the boss about it.”

“Hah, so you’re not just a pretty face after all.” Xu Yun burst out laughing.

Qin Wan’er shot him a glare, about to retort, when her phone rang.

It was the station calling. She stepped out to take the call. Chief Liu told her to hurry back and write a report—this was the biggest case the Hedong City police had ever cracked.

All the department’s leaders were paying close attention; rumor had it that Director Chen himself had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the forensics department and identify the body.

This was the perfect opportunity for Qin Wan’er to relay Xu Yun’s advice to the station: keep the matter as quiet as possible.

Actually, there was no need to worry. The Hedong City police chief, Chen Wei, was a very prudent man. He knew exactly what kind of person Gong You was. The criminal underworld had its share of ruthless characters. If word got out, Gong You’s cronies were sure to come seeking revenge.

Even if Qin Wan’er hadn’t said anything, Chen Wei would have ordered the matter handled discreetly: internal commendations only, with a total media blackout.

When Qin Wan’er finished the call and returned to the ER, Xu Yun was nowhere to be seen. She hurriedly asked the nurse, Xu Wenya, “Where did he go?!”

“He... he said he had something urgent and left first,” Xu Wenya replied, blushing, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Qin Wan’er was speechless. Damn it! What did Xu Yun give that girl? Was it really so hard to come to the station and write a report? Was it really that much trouble?

By the time Xu Yun returned to the herbal restaurant, the police were gone. The killing of Gong You would probably keep them up all night in meetings.

Qiu Yan was waiting for him outside.

“So you finished that quickly?” Xu Yun was surprised. The Vicious Fox certainly handled cleanup with remarkable skill. Qin Hu’s fate upstairs was probably the same as the wildcat’s yesterday.

“The bodies are taken care of, but this is a problem,” Qiu Yan frowned, holding out her right hand. In her palm were three dark red chips, the size and shape of cellphone SIM cards. “With these around, they’ll track this place down again soon.”

Xu Yun frowned. Damn, that’s a headache. If he had to deal with these people every day, he’d never get any sleep.

Qiu Yan understood how tricky things were. “Next time, it’ll probably be someone even scarier than Gong You...”

Though she didn’t say it, she was already preparing to leave with Guoguo. She’d thought Guoguo would be safe here, and she could recover in peace, but it looked like that was all over now.

“So what will you do?” Xu Yun knew what was on her mind, but wanted to hear it from her.

“Leave this place,” Qiu Yan replied firmly, hiding nothing from Xu Yun. Even if leaving meant death, she would get Guoguo to safety.

“You really think running is the best of the Thirty-Six Stratagems?” Xu Yun gave a helpless smile. Qiu Yan was truly not one for subtlety.

Qiu Yan was silent. What else could she do?

“It’s just three tracking chips,” Xu Yun said, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Instead of leaving yourself, why not send ‘them’ away?”

Qiu Yan looked up in sudden realization. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

Xu Yun pointed southeast. “Hedong Airport’s that way. Check if there are any flights to South America or Africa. If not, Europe will do. Let ‘them’ go on a trip.”

The icy Qiu Yan broke into a dazzling smile. “I understand now.”

Xu Yun knew she could handle it easily. Just slip the chips into the pockets of a few foreigners heading home, and the trouble would be gone for good.

Qiu Yan wasted no time and quickly headed for the airport.

...

After watching Qiu Yan leave, Xu Yun returned to the second floor of the herbal restaurant. He noticed Ruan Qingshuang’s room was open and the light was on, so he walked over quietly.

Ruan Qingshuang was sitting on the bed, keeping watch over Guoguo. She couldn’t sleep until Xu Yun returned. After an hour of quiet, she’d more or less calmed her earlier fears. Seeing Xu Yun back, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But then her worry returned as she saw the bandages on Xu Yun’s shoulder. She looked at him with deep concern. “Your wound...”

“It’s just a scratch, nothing serious,” Xu Yun said, putting a finger to his lips, worried about waking Guoguo.

Ruan Qingshuang glanced at Guoguo, tucked the covers around her, then stepped outside and closed the door.

Xu Yun sat on the living room sofa. Ruan Qingshuang poured him a cup of hot water and asked quietly, “How can it be nothing? That was a gunshot wound! What did the doctor say? Do you need to be hospitalized? Why did you come back by yourself?”

“The doctor said my skin’s thick—I could take a grenade and still be fine,” Xu Yun joked, patting his left shoulder with a bright, lively expression, as if nothing were wrong.

Ruan Qingshuang frowned, grabbing his hand as he patted his shoulder. “Are you crazy? You’re hurt that badly and you still mess around!”

Xu Yun grinned, surprised at how charming Ruan Qingshuang looked when she was angry. “Uh, it’s my right shoulder that’s injured...”

“You can still joke at a time like this!” Ruan Qingshuang was both amused and exasperated by Xu Yun. At last, she couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Qiu Yan?”