201 Injured Zhao Mingkun

 

I took a few steps forward to examine Zhao Mingkun. She held her waist and then looked up at me. In the dark, I couldn’t see where her wounds were, but I did smell the blood. I hurried over and saw that her face was covered in sweat. She gritted her teeth to tide over the pain. Her breathing was heavy, and her body trembled. I turned to examine her waist and slowly peeled back her hand. Then I saw the large gash on her shirt.

Blood was slowly leaking out from the wound. This meant that the wound didn’t cut her main artery, or the blood flow would be faster. However, the wound was still quite deep. I could see her flesh. It was about 20 cm long. While I examined the wound, Zhao Mingkun laid one hand on my shoulder, and her whole person dropped on me. Without even thinking, I removed my jacket and then my shirt. When I fell earlier, I dirtied my jacket, so naturally, it couldn’t be used as a bandage. But the shirt inside was clean. I folded the shirt into a square and pressed that against the wound. Then I used the sleeves to tie it around her slender waist.

Zhao Mingkun leaned against my shoulder, and she chuckled. “Kid, you react quite fast.”

For some reason, I was sad as if I couldn’t accept this situation. In my heart, Zhao Mingkun was a queen who could do anything. Be it intelligence or physique, she was much better than me. This weakened woman talking softly in my arms couldn’t be Zhao Mingkun.

“Can you still walk?” Putting the jacket back on, I tried to ask rationally.

Even though Zhao Mingkun was shaking, she said evenly, “This small wound is nothing. I’ve experienced worse.”

“What happened?” I asked.

After a silence, she said, “When I reached this place, I saw the killer run into a fork. I chased after them without much thought. But the killer was lying in ambush there. I had no idea where he found a knife. Thankfully I dodged at the last minute, or else I wouldn’t be talking to you now.”

My ankle was hurting but that was nothing compared to Zhao Mingkun’s pain. I also didn’t tell her about my sprain. I only moved my center of gravity to my other leg and slowly moved forward carrying Zhao Mingkun. Zhao Mingkun’s sweat dropped onto my hand but she said lightly, “I saw that man. He’s 1.7 metres tall, wearing all black. He has a crew cut, and his eyes have great spirit.”

“Is it really a man?” I asked.

Zhao Mingkun heard the hidden meaning in my question. “You guys suspect the killer is a woman?”

I shook my head. “Based on the witness statements, the killers have been both male and female.”

“We’ll talk about this further when we’re up there.” We had reached another sewer cap. But we had no idea where it would open to, a busy street or a bad alley. If it was a motorway, then we could be run over. I stopped and closed my eyes, and tried to listen to sounds coming from above.

Zhao Mingkun said, “Move ahead some more. Turn left after 20 meters, and there should be another exit.”

I frowned. “You know even that?”

Zhao Mingkun scoffed. “To escape the police, I have to remember all the passage above and below ground, or else I’d be dead several times already. I simply can’t move completely unaffected in the dark like the killer.” When Zhao Mingkun said that, I realized a problem. If the killer was a group, were there so many people who could move so freely in the dark? With the dexterity shown by the killer, they had to be underground for at least decades already. Were there so many such people at Dong Xing City?

We soon arrived at the location mentioned by Zhao Mingkun. There was indeed another sewer cap. I flipped up the cap and then looked around. We were in the middle of a small alley bookended by 2 larger streets. I crawled back down. Zhao Mingkun was wounded so she couldn’t climb. I pushed her from below and helped her up the ladder. After much maneuvering, we finally reached the surface.

I turned to study Zhao Mingkun. My shirt was already dyed red by blood. With each of her movement, her face would sweat. Zhao Mingkun opened her phone and pressed on it. She then said, “There is a motel not far away, and we’ll go there.” I held her and then told her, “Your wound is at least 10 cm long. You need to stop the bleeding immediately. You have to come with me to the hospital. You can’t possibly operate on yourself, can you?”

Zhao Mingkun’s face turned frosty. With one hand on the wall, her other arm hugged my neck. Her forehead leaned against mine, and our eyes were less than a few cm away. I could even see the patterns around her brown pupils. Her breath was light as it hit my face.

“Wu Meng, the most important thing in life is to remember one’s identity, no matter the situation and the danger.” Zhao Mingkun pressed against my forehead. “If I go the hospital, I’ll be dead for real, do you understand?” Zhao Mingkun’s voice was weak but her logic was firm. “Bring me to the motel and then purchase some bandage, thread, and needle from the convenience store. Also, buy some shirt buttons. Remember purchase cotton towels to make the bandage, don’t buy medical bandage.”

I understood why, she didn’t want others to realize she was injured. No wonder she was able to avoid Captain Zhao for so long. The more we dragged this out, the more danger Zhao Mingkun would be in. It was not the time to stand there and argue. I had no choice but to follow her orders. I removed my jacket. It had a smell but it was not wet. I placed it over Zhao Mingkun so that people wouldn’t see the blood on her body. We called a cab and headed towards the motel. On the way, Zhao Mingkun teased my half-naked body like everything was perfectly fine. But I knew she was doing this on purpose. As I expected, when we got down from the car, Zhao Mingkun grimaced from pain. Despite the pain, Zhao Mingkun put up a smile to chat with the motel boss. The motel didn’t require identification to open a room. I sent Zhao Mingkun to the room. She laid down and then said, “If you want to capture me now, there’s nothing I can do.” I ignored her and walked down.

“Oh? Going out to purchase condoms?” The boss smiled salaciously at me. “Youth is everything. You’ve sprained your ankle, but you still want to do it?” I smiled wordlessly.

I followed Zhao Mingkun’s instructions and arrived at the convenience store. The store did have cotton towels in stock. I touched it. It was thicker than a normal bandage, but it was still usable. I bought a box of needles and thread as well as buttons. When I left the store, my phone rang. The caller was Guan Zhenglin.

I was hesitant, I didn’t know whether to answer this call or not. I thought about it, and it had been at least 1 hour since we raced out from the factory, Guan Zhenglin and the rest must be worried. There was no signal in the sewer, which wouldn’t make them feel more assured. In the end, I answered the call as I moved to the motel.

“Wu Meng?” Guan Zhenglin sounded surprised, and it was followed by a sigh of relief. “Where have you been? We’ve called so many times, but it won’t connect. Do you know how worried I, we are? Are you alright? Where are you now?”

Guan Zhenglin fired off so many questions, I didn’t know which one to answer first. I eventually spoke. “When I was at the factory, I saw the killer escape. I didn’t have the time to inform the rest of you and chased after the killer. Unfortunately, while the killer could move freely in the darkness, I couldn’t, so the killer escaped again.’

Guan Zhenglin sighed. “The important thing is that you’re fine, Wu Meng. We can’t reach you for over an hour, I mean, we are so worried. You better come back to the factory, the English message has been found. It’s on the ground…”

I answered, “Okay, don’t worry. I just came up from the sewer. I’ll collect myself and then head back.”

“Okay.” Guan Zhenglin replied, “We’ll be waiting for you.” I was silent because I didn’t know what to say. I could feel the sincere concern Guan Zhenglin had for me but I also knew the history between Guan Zhenglin and Zhao Mingkun. Like Zhao Mingkun said, if I wanted to capture her now, she wouldn’t be able to escape.

What choice should I make?