Zhang Shutong was first stunned, but his body immediately reacted. He took a quick step forward, about to call for everyone to rush over and seize the gun.
But who could have anticipated—with a muffled thud, the girl's seemingly casual kick exploded with incomparable power. The man's body instantly flew backward like a kite with its string cut, his body tilting back, feet leaving the ground—
Lu Qinglian immediately shifted her footwork. Her airborne foot quickly touched ground, then her ankle twisted. The sole of her shoe made a teeth-grinding friction sound against the dirt road as it drove her entire body to suddenly exert force!
The girl's other leg followed immediately. She turned and kicked backward, striking the long gun with perfect precision.
Bang bang—two kicks in the blink of an eye. The first kick knocked down the man, the second kicked away the weapon. In the next second, the man in the baseball cap, along with his gun, had been sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the dirt road behind him.
Dust flew everywhere. The girl calmly retracted her leg, her long robe falling to her side.
"..."
The evening of December 5th, 2012.
Zhang Shutong and his friends encountered a man with a gun.
The man had taken his classmate hostage.
Then the man went flying.
Zhang Shutong and the others were all dumbstruck. If one were to use a popular phrase with a strong sense of the era to describe their state, it would be—
"Me and my little friends are all shocked."
—It wasn't until the man's intermittent groans and curses sounded from the ground that the few of them snapped back to reality. Qingyi rushed over and gave him a hand chop. Ruoping ran to Lu Qinglian's side, urgently asking if she was alright. Du Kang followed beside them as well.
Zhang Shutong went to pick up the long gun not far away. Only when he held the gun in his arms did his heart finally settle.
Just in those few moments, he'd already broken out in a cold sweat. Now with the night wind blowing, he only felt his back turn cold.
Really, there won't be any more accidents, right?
The experience of this evening could be described as full of twists and turns—first the patrolling police, the bald guy electrofishing, and now this man with a gun. Each one more dangerous than the last... He pinched the bridge of his nose and couldn't help but glance at Lu Qinglian.
Ruoping was supporting her shoulder, asking this and that with a look of amazement and admiration. The other girl would sometimes nod her chin slightly, sometimes shake her head, just as always.
It was as if what she'd just kicked away wasn't an armed criminal, but the shuttlecock that girls loved to play with most.
Thinking back to that kick just now, Zhang Shutong still felt a sense of unreality.
He'd known before that Lu Qinglian was a mysterious person, but this was a bit too exaggerated. Was this girl really a temple keeper at that Green Snake Temple and not at Shaolin Temple?
When he was in high school, he'd actually practiced self-defense techniques for a while. After all, you couldn't save the world without some martial arts skills. Though by the end he was only a bit stronger than ordinary people, he still had basic discernment.
The girl's two kicks just now—whether in reaction, power, or accuracy—were all top-notch. Forget his high school self; even himself eight years later wouldn't be enough for Lu Qinglian to fight with just one hand.
Compared to fighting ability, Zhang Shutong was better at using his brain. He felt his mind was still controllable, but combat power wasn't something you could have just by saying so.
Now was the time to use his brain.
"Shutong, come take a look at this," Qingyi called from the side.
He walked over and saw that the other had found a burlap sack. Fine sounds were coming from inside, like it contained a few chickens.
Zhang Shutong first felt through the bag, then the two of them shifted positions and made full preparations before opening the bag mouth and shining a flashlight inside. It really was close relatives of chickens—
Inside the bag lay two half-dead large birds. Their beautiful yellow feathers had long since become listless. The two exchanged glances, confirming their suspicions.
"Yellow Ibises?" Qingyi asked hesitantly.
"Should be. I've only seen specimens," Zhang Shutong said, prying apart the birds' crests with a frown. "Didn't they say these were almost extinct? Those two are pretty capable to have found them."
This type of bird was a species unique to the island. He forgot what level of protected animal they were nationally, but getting caught with them would really mean a few years in prison.
"No wonder that bald guy pulled out a knife..."
"Electrofishing was just incidental for them. Look at this gun," Zhang Shutong picked up the long gun. He'd only been interested in cold weapons before and hadn't studied guns as much as Qingyi. "Air gun?"
"Yeah, let me see... Oh, it's even PCP. Pretty advanced." Qingyi took it and examined it, almost wanting to strike an aiming pose. "This thing has serious killing power... So they really were here to poach?"
"Yeah, just two poachers, and we happened to run into them," Zhang Shutong sighed. "But look, the birds aren't dead. They must have shot something else too."
Of course, this matter wasn't something the few of them could worry about. They'd hand it over to the police in a bit.
Zhang Shutong continued his analysis:
"So what Du Kang saw at that time was this baseball cap guy. They were two people from the start. Baseball cap went west, and that bald guy came over later."
Qingyi slapped his thigh upon hearing this:
"I knew it! My fault, my fault. Actually, we heard the bald guy on the phone saying something about students, not being seen, and so on. At that time I thought he'd seen Du Kang, but turns out it wasn't him who saw Du Kang..."
"But this baseball cap guy, reminding him," Zhang Shutong picked up his words.
"Ah..." Qingyi felt somewhat self-reproachful.
Zhang Shutong patted his shoulder with a few words of comfort, then called Du Kang over to ask about his earlier experience. He roughly pieced together the whole thing:
First, there was no such thing as "being surrounded."
The poachers had always been two people—baseball cap in front, baldy behind. It was just that baseball cap later doubled back from the west and happened to run into Ruoping and the others.
At that time, the three of them had gotten onto the dirt road. After learning that what the bald guy had buried was fish and not a person, their hearts relaxed. Plus the smell down there was unpleasant, so they deliberately went farther away.
On the other side, that baseball cap man went to meet up with his companion. When he got nearby and didn't find his partner, he happened to see three students instead.
At that time, Ruoping was closest to him. By the time they discovered him, the man had already raised his gun and taken her hostage.
Then the three of them were herded at gunpoint to the fish pond. Originally Ruoping didn't want to expose Zhang Shutong and the other's presence, but they were talking somewhat loudly down below—anyone who wasn't deaf could hear them. So the man prepared to wait for the rabbit by the tree stump.
At this point the hostage was still Ruoping, but for some reason the baseball cap guy—probably seeing Lu Qinglian in her long robe with restricted movement, maybe thinking this girl looked easy to bully—had a brain fart and swapped the two, laying the groundwork for the bang bang two kicks that followed.
After waiting only a few minutes, Zhang Shutong and Qingyi came up. After a few seconds of standoff, baseball cap was KO'd by Lu Qinglian's kick—
Speaking of this, Ruoping only then remembered her phone and immediately picked it up with heartache. Fortunately it wasn't broken, just knocked open. These days phone back covers could basically all be removed, and they were mostly plastic, not too fragile.
—But that didn't stop Ruoping from kicking the baseball cap guy's crotch twice, making several boys' hearts turn cold watching.
After calling the police again, they sat exhausted on the curb. Thinking back on tonight's experiences, they felt some lingering fear.
The few of them looked at each other, all able to see the others' bright eyes in the night. Not knowing who poked whom, someone couldn't help but laugh, and they started joking around again.
Qingyi was playing with the air gun. He'd always only seen them in magazines and had never touched a real one. Thinking that the air gun would be confiscated soon, he suddenly felt reluctant.
Du Kang loved courting death the most. Taking advantage of sitting far from Ruoping, he said weren't you scared to tears just now, oh how embarrassing, even sticking out his tongue to make a face.
Ruoping immediately stood up saying I'll make you cry too, about to go pinch his ear. Du Kang cried for mercy, saying don't forget I saved your life in the reed marsh.
Ruoping pursed her lips, saying that was the frog who saved you, if there's thanks it's to the frog...
Then someone brought up whether they should write about tonight's events in their next Chinese exam essay. There happened to be four of them. Starting from fishing, each person would write one section, just writing their own experience.
And since Ruoping's Chinese was always excellent, her essays were always used as model compositions in various classes—no worry about no one discovering it. Pieced together it would be a complete story, absolutely thrilling.
Besides, after hanging around for four years they'd finally become upperclassmen. How could they not harvest some admiring gazes from underclassmen? After graduation they could also leave behind a legend.
Talking about this, everyone immediately got excited and started discussing the division of labor on the spot.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, why not build you three a statue? Add me in, and the four of us standing at the school gate would definitely be more impressive than Gu Qiumian's dad.
Besides, he had major objections. Those three had plenty of things to write about—me catching frogs in the reed marsh, me getting scared to tears in the reed marsh, me tying fishing line in the reed marsh... a wide range of topics.
All he could write was "On Why Apple Phones Have No Signal," but argumentative essays weren't popular in middle school. This was inherently disadvantaged.
It was really cold. Zhang Shutong sneezed and hurriedly turned his head, but saw in the distance, at the end of the road, red and blue lights flashing.
The police siren sounded.
The police had finally arrived.
...
The island's police car was a pickup truck. A policeman got out and was just about to ask who called the police when the few of them shifted their butts aside, revealing the two unconscious men behind them, shocking him badly.
They then threw their bicycles in the truck bed and squeezed on top to go to the police station to give statements.
Halfway through, that Officer Xiong came back. Seeing Du Kang, he was about to glare, but was held back by a colleague. The two lowered their heads and said something.
When he raised his head again, he held it in for a long time, his face turning red. Finally he just patted Du Kang's shoulder, acting as if he hadn't seen anything, and left.
—Who told Du Kang to wipe his fishing rod right in front of him? The toilet paper in his hand was nearly wiped through, wiped with such momentum and flair.
Ruoping was even smiling beside him asking:
"Oh my, aren't you tired from wiping? Want to drink some water? I see this spot isn't clean yet. Why does it look so black? Oh, the fishing rod was originally black. Never mind, keep wiping..."
They really put on quite a show, but since the few of them had done good, not only did they have to endure it, they had to give praise and send a banner of commendation to the school.
Turns out those two poachers were repeat offenders. Only after interrogation did they learn that it wasn't just those two birds—this time these two had done a big job. They'd also killed a bunch of foxes, badgers, pangolins and such, all placed in their car not far from where they were fishing.
As for why they buried the fish, it was because they'd put dead fish in the car and the bald guy forgot about them. The fish rotted and stank from being covered up.
At the same time, another matter became clear—why the last time around tonight, when they were fishing, they hadn't encountered the electrofishing people. Turns out it was also related to Du Kang. When he was moving the stool, he ran into baseball cap guy, who got worried and went back with baldy to take a look.
An expert was then invited to the police station—actually someone who castrated chickens, but with no more ferries this late, they had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
For a time there was chaos and commotion.
Ruoping's mother also came. Du Kang and Qingyi just called home to report they were safe, saying they'd be back soon. The boys on the island were just like this—used to running wild. As long as they didn't stay out all night, their families didn't worry too much.
After everything was finally done, they yawned their way out of the police station. The time had reached past nine o'clock.
The homes of the other three were all in the north—not by coincidence, but because the residential area was just that one section.
Only Zhang Shutong was an exception. His home was in the east. Because his parents had been transferred here for work and had no need to build a house, the family of three currently lived in the employee dormitory building built by Gu Qiumian's father.
But though it was called a dormitory building, the conditions were actually similar to a three-bedroom, two-living-room commercial apartment—a full ninety square meters.
Normally they'd separate like this too—three people going one way, Zhang Shutong going his own way, everyone going to their own homes to find their own moms. But this time there was a variable—what about Lu Qinglian?
Only then did Zhang Shutong belatedly remember something. Green Snake Mountain was also in the east. The two of them seemed to be going the same way. Otherwise how would he know about that small shop at the mountain's foot? Though the mountain's location was farther east than his own home.
Ruoping then said he absolutely must see Lu Qinglian home before going back himself. It was so dangerous this late at night—he couldn't let a girl walk alone. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, if we go back together, it's not me protecting her but her protecting me.
But that was just a joke. There was nothing to hesitate about in such small matters, so he nodded in agreement.
This time Du Kang also learned his lesson. He didn't get jealous or cling to go along. He just solemnly patted Zhang Shutong's shoulder, saying you two be careful on the road, making Zhang Shutong feel he'd made considerable progress.
After settling things, everyone waved goodbye.
Zhang Shutong was so sleepy his eyelids were fighting. At this point he didn't care about any propriety between men and women. Getting Lu Qinglian home quickly was the priority. He was about to pat his bicycle to have her get on, only to realize there was no seat in back—he'd long since modified it into a box.
No wonder that Du Kang kid was so straightforward...
But the police station wasn't too far from the mountain. The small island itself wasn't big—otherwise why call it a small island?
Five kilometers north to south, about 2.5 kilometers east to west, total area approximately 9 square kilometers. The island's permanent population was about 8,000 people. Even so, it was already the largest inland island in northern China.
Besides, the police station wasn't at the westernmost point, so walking from here to the mountain would take at most 20 minutes.
Zhang Shutong then pushed his bike with Lu Qinglian walking beside him. The two passed through the urban area.
The so-called urban area was just a tofu block pieced together from a few main streets—department stores, restaurants, mobile phone service centers, supermarkets and such. The signs didn't light up. The only light source was street lamps. The island's residents also had no nightlife. Looking around, the street lamps on both sides painted the asphalt road surface yellow.
A small shop still had its lights on. Zhang Shutong asked Lu Qinglian if she wanted water. The girl shook her head, so the two continued forward.
"Your family must be worried?" Zhang Shutong only now remembered she had no phone and hadn't notified anyone after all this time.
"It's fine. She knows I went out tonight."
The "she" from her mouth should refer to her grandmother. He'd heard Du Kang mention at the funeral that these years Lu Qinglian had depended on her grandmother.
But where were her parents?
Also, he remembered Du Kang saying at that time that before Lu Qinglian died, her grandmother had already passed away. In probably a few more years, the girl would be all alone.
But Zhang Shutong didn't want to pry into other people's family matters. The words came to his lips, but he only said:
"If there's anything inconvenient in the future, you can contact the few of us."
Actually he didn't need to remind her. After this evening, Lu Qinglian was probably viewed as a comrade-in-arms by Ruoping and the others.
Better to chat about something lighter:
"When did you tell your grandmother?" Zhang Shutong asked casually. "After school?"
"At noon."
At noon?
But weren't you still not back at school then, sweeping snow at the temple?
Your grandmother had prophetic knowledge, knowing you'd go out at night?
Seems like she just doesn't want to talk about it.
Zhang Shutong understood this sentence as a signal that she didn't want to discuss family.
Immediately after, he thought of another question that had puzzled him for a long time:
"So what exactly did you come out for tonight?" Zhang Shutong asked curiously.
Before the girl could speak, he jumped in first:
"Don't tell me it was to fight crime."
"You can temporarily understand it that way."
The girl replied flatly.
Zhang Shutong shrugged and stopped talking.
If he asked this question again he'd... he hadn't thought of what yet, but he definitely wouldn't ask anymore.
The two walked side by side for a stretch. Zhang Shutong thought of another puzzle:
"Your skills are so impressive, why did you hide at that time?"
Hearing this, the girl stopped. She turned around, looked directly into Zhang Shutong's eyes, and said calmly:
"Because of you..."