Chapter 1640: Chapter 1640: Has he... hurt you?
In the dilapidated house.
Xiaoliang was dealing with the person watching over Lin Qiushu. The latter was carelessly fiddling with a knife, the shiny blade glinting under the moonlight with a dazzling reflection.
"Excuse... excuse me..." Xiaoliang, holding a bottle of alcohol, peered through bleary eyes, intending to pass by the man.
"Excuse your mother’s head, you drunkard!" the man cursed immediately, "Scram, scram, scram! Do you even know where you are?"
"Who the hell are you cursing... I..." Before Xiaoliang could finish, he raised the bottle in his hand and smashed it towards the man’s head.
The man dodged swiftly, kicking Xiaoliang’s legs out from under him and attempted to stab him with the knife he was holding.
Just then, a dark figure shot by, and before the man could evade, he took a fierce kick straight to the chest.
The force was so great that his whole body went flying, crashing into the precarious back wall.
A loud rumble followed as the unstable wall collapsed. Amidst the dust, the man staggered to his feet, clutching his bleeding forehead, but before he could speak, a hefty kick struck him down again. Directly after, his arm was twisted behind him, and with a snapping sound, he let out a scream of agony.
"Tie him up, take him away!" Qin Jian’s command was simple yet delivered with a force that brooked no resistance.
Xiaoliang rolled over and got up from the ground, pulling out handcuffs from around his waist. He clicked them on the man’s wrists and, grabbing his collar, yanked him to his feet: "Move!"
Lin Qiushu witnessed the whole scene, her tears welling up in excitement: "Commander Qin, you came to save me! Thank you, thank you so much!"
Qin Jian, looking at Lin Qiushu’s state, also felt a tug at his heart.
In these few days, she seemed to have transformed into someone else—her clothes dirty and disheveled, her complexion sallow. Her eyes, once always shining with laughter when she spoke, were now brimming with tears.
She looked as pitiful as one could possibly be!
Qin Jian knelt down and drew a dagger from his boot, cutting the ropes binding her in one swift motion. As their eyes met in mid-air, Qin Jian hesitated for a few seconds before asking the question: "Are you alright? Did he... did he harm you?"
"No," Lin Qiushu shook her head, "he was after money. Giving him money was enough. But... but my situation was very dangerous, I even worried whether I could still be alive to see tomorrow’s sun."
"No need to fear now. You are rescued, come with me!" Qin Jian stood up, reaching out his hand to her.
Lin Qiushu extended her hand to him, but upon trying to stand, found her legs numb from sitting too long on the ground and unable to support her, causing her to fall forward.
Qin Jian reached out to catch her: "Sit down, I’ll help get your circulation going!"
"No need, I can walk! Just slowly, to let the blood flow properly again..."
Qin Jian was escorting Lin Qiushu out, but gunfire had already broken out nearby; a confrontation seemed to have ensued between two groups. However, Qin Jian couldn’t be distracted by that—his primary mission was to bring Lin Qiushu to a safe place first.
"Move! Follow behind me, we need to get out of here," Qin Jian instructed.
"Okay."
The two proceeded one after the other. Not far into their escape, Qin Jian heard footsteps from behind. Sensing that something wasn’t right, he quickly turned around.
There stood Wang Jiu behind him, gun in hand, his arm tightly clamping Lin Qiushu’s neck, while his other hand pointed the gun at Lin Qiushu’s temple.