Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 46: Chapter 14: Crimson Manhunt (Part 2)

So he followed in his best friend’s footsteps. As Zhang Shutong walked past the man, he shot him one last glance.

’Just as I thought. A disfigured, bald man.’

’Wait...’

’Bald...’

’Bald... head?’

Zhang Shutong froze mid-step. He rushed over to the man, but instead of looking at the man himself, he quickly scanned the items that had been confiscated from him. A collection of common objects was laid out on the ground.

"What’s wrong? You thought of something?"

Qingyi called back over his shoulder.

"Was he like this when you first found him?" Zhang Shutong’s words began to quicken unconsciously. "And are you sure this is everything you found on him? You didn’t miss anything?"

"Of course. His Swiss Army knife fell into the reeds just now, and I was the one who fished it out. So, what did you notice?" Qingyi asked, confused.

A sudden chill ran through him in the night wind. He stared into Qingyi’s eyes and said, word by word:

"Then... what about the baseball cap Du Kang saw?"

Qingyi froze.

"Th-that can’t be right. The woven bag and everything else matches... Hold on, I’ll call him down and ask..."

With that, the two of them hurried up the dirt slope. Before they even reached the top, they saw Du Kang standing on the path. Qingyi immediately started to complain.

"Why aren’t you hanging with us? What are you doing over there with the girls? I have something to ask you. Come down here and take a look..."

But before he could finish, Zhang Shutong yanked him back. He instinctively glanced back, only to see that Shutong’s gaze was nailed to Du Kang’s face.

Meng Qingyi followed his gaze and froze as well. Du Kang no longer wore his usual cheerful grin. Instead, he was forcing an expression that looked more painful than tears.

The young man’s voice squeezed out from between his clenched teeth.

"Shutong, they... there’s more than one of them..."

...

"They... there’s more than one of them..."

The words had barely left his lips when the blinding glare of a flashlight flooded their vision. Zhang Shutong immediately pulled Qingyi down, his eyes aching from the sudden flash. For a long moment, his sight was nothing but a white blur. He turned his face away, squinting hard, and managed to make out the scene before him.

On the empty dirt path...

Behind Du Kang stood Ruoping, her eyes red from crying.

Behind Ruoping was Lu Qinglian.

And behind Lu Qinglian...

...was a tall, thin man wearing a baseball cap.

The man lowered the flashlight and gave a cold, humorless smile.

"So you’re all finally here. There’s no one else, is there?"

He had a Fu Manchu mustache on his upper lip, making him look like a sinister snake.

Zhang Shutong’s mind went blank for a second, his once-relaxed nerves instantly snapping taut.

’This is a bad spot. We’re on the low ground, they’re on the high ground. We can’t let them take us all out at once.’ He was just about to shove Qingyi down the slope when the man roared.

"Don’t move! Hands in the air!"

Before he could react, the man raised something. Zhang Shutong’s eyes focused, and his heart sank to the pit of his stomach—

The man was holding a long gun.

The muzzle was pressed against the back of Lu Qinglian’s head. He let go of Qingyi’s shirt and slowly raised his hands.

"That’s it. Throw everything in your hands on the ground, then get in line up here..."

The man’s Fu Manchu mustache twitched as he spoke.

Zhang Shutong did as the man said, deliberately dragging his feet. He glanced at the two smashed phones on the ground. ’Those must be Ruoping’s and Du Kang’s...’ His mind raced, searching for a way out.

’So the call to the police must have failed from the start. That’s why this guy is so brazen. But he probably doesn’t know I called them beforehand. Maybe I can use that to my advantage...’

’But there’s no telling when the police will find this place. What if he gets desperate and does something drastic?’

’Why did Lu Qinglian have to be the one they grabbed? Out of all of us, she’s the easiest to control.’ Zhang Shutong hadn’t forgotten she was wearing a long robe, which would make it difficult for her to run. ’If she senses trouble and tries to flee, all he has to do is grab that robe, and she’s completely stuck.’

’So, I need to stall for as long as possible, wait for the police. If I get a chance, I could try to grab... No, forget it. No matter what, I have to guarantee Lu Qinglian’s safety first...’

A chaotic torrent of thoughts flashed through his mind. Anxiety and restlessness welled up in his chest, but he forced it all down.

Zhang Shutong took a deep breath and slowly began to move, but the man seemed to see right through his intentions.

"Trying to stall for time, are you? Get in front of me, all of you!" He pointed at Du Kang and Ruoping. "You two, go carry Wang Kang up here. And no funny business!"

Ruoping and Du Kang hesitated, but the man bellowed again.

"Go!"

As he spoke, he jabbed the muzzle of the gun hard against Lu Qinglian’s head—

In that instant, time seemed to freeze.

The moonlit night grew dim.

The cold wind howled, the world desolate and silent.

Raw, savage malice washed over them like a tidal wave.

Ruoping had seemingly closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.

Du Kang fought back his rage, his jaw clenched tight.

Qingyi turned his back and subtly slid his phone down the slope.

In that moment, it seemed even the wind held its breath.

And then, Zhang Shutong saw the girl, Lu Qinglian, furrow her brow.

The expected sound of metal striking bone never came. Lu Qinglian merely tilted her head slightly, her delicate face still a mask of indifference.

The next moment, as the man’s face twisted in a mask of shocked fury...

...the girl moved.

She dropped into a low stance, twisting her waist, turning her body, and raising her leg.

Her black hair and cyan robe, coiled with potential energy, whipped into motion as one.

Beneath the swirling fabric of her robe, in a single fleeting glimpse, the girl’s long, slender leg shot out like a cannonball—

ROCKETING toward the man’s chest!