Chapter 48: Clarify Things Clearly

Boss Zhou’s head was wrapped in bandages, though no one knew what injury he had suffered. Blood stained both the bandages and his collar. His face was pale, and even his lips were drained of color. He looked terribly weak.

A needle was taped to the back of his left hand, with a transparent plastic tube running from it to the bottle of medicine hanging beside the bed. Clear fluid dripped steadily through the line.

Cheng Xiangru saw Boss Zhou slowly raise his right hand. He hurried forward and clasped it in both of his own. “Uncle Zhou, don’t move.”

Boss Zhou’s voice was hoarse, his lips trembling as he spoke through a sob. “Child, where did you go? I thought… I thought you…”

“Uncle Zhou, I’m fine. I really am. Look at me—I’m standing right here, aren’t I?” Seeing Boss Zhou in such a state pained Cheng Xiangru deeply.

Boss Zhou closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “As long as you’re all right. As long as you’re all right.”

His voice was soft and gentle, as though he were comforting Cheng Xiangru—or perhaps himself.

“Tell me where you went after you left, will you? I had Little Tan and the others search everywhere for you, but they couldn’t find you. I was truly worried.” Boss Zhou kept his eyes closed, and his voice grew weaker and weaker, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.

Cheng Xiangru nodded lightly. “All right. I’ll tell you…”

He told Boss Zhou that after leaving, he had followed the directions on his phone and run back the way he had come. Halfway there, he encountered a car and flagged it down. The driver was a kind and warmhearted young woman who took him back to the county town. But it was far too late by then, so he had spent the night there.

During the day, he had searched all over town and finally bought a tire pump. Then he had asked the young woman to drive him back. But when he arrived, the black SUV was gone. All he found was Chen Shangke, covered in injuries and unconscious on the ground.

So he had brought Chen Shangke back to the county and taken him to the county hospital for treatment. Unexpectedly, he had run into Tan Cheng there and learned that Boss Zhou was also in the hospital.

Boss Zhou listened in silence, never opening his eyes or showing any reaction. Only after Cheng Xiangru finished speaking anxiously did he slowly open his eyes. There was a hint of reproach in his voice.

“That girl is no ordinary person. Why did she help you? What is she really after? Where does she come from? Do you know any of that? Child, how can you trust strangers so easily?”

At those words, Cheng Xiangru’s heart gave a sudden lurch. He had never imagined that Boss Zhou’s eyes were so sharp that he could see at a glance that Leng Ying was unusual.

That, however, was not what made Cheng Xiangru most uneasy. He and Leng Ying had returned the previous night, and they had even taken special care to hide the minivan. If Tan Cheng and the others had discovered it in the meantime and told Boss Zhou, his lie would be exposed at once. There was no way he could explain where he had been for that entire day and night.

But now that he had brought the conversation this far, Cheng Xiangru could only grit his teeth and continue patching up the story.

“I paid her a lot of money, so she was willing to help me. Uncle Zhou, don’t read too much into it. She really is a good person…”

Boss Zhou shook his head faintly. “That isn’t what I mean. I can smell it on both you and her—the scent of Immortal Water. There’s a foul stench covering it, but the smell of Immortal Water can never be completely concealed. Child, is there something you’re hiding from me?”

Cold sweat broke out across Cheng Xiangru’s back, but he forced an expression of surprise onto his face. “What is Immortal Water? I told you, her car smelled awful, so she sprayed some perfume inside. Is that perfume called Immortal Water?”

For reasons of his own, Boss Zhou did not press the matter. Instead, he changed the subject. “Lin Xiaqi and Zhulov were injured as well, but not seriously. Gao Zhuang was a traitor. He was the one who harmed us. Sigh… How is Shangke?”

“He… he’s still in the car!” Cheng Xiangru suddenly remembered the poor man and immediately grew anxious. “Uncle Zhou, get some rest. I’m going to look after Brother Chen.”

Boss Zhou slowly closed his eyes again and gave a faint nod without saying another word.

Cheng Xiangru quietly left the room. Outside, he found Leng Ying standing at the door with the two people who had been inside earlier, the three of them watching one another in silence. Tan Cheng was nowhere to be seen.

“How did it go?” Leng Ying asked, stepping forward.

“Uncle Zhou is resting,” Cheng Xiangru said in a low voice. “I need to hurry and save Brother Chen.”

He nodded to the other two, then quickly headed outside with Leng Ying.

It was not until they entered the elevator that Leng Ying asked, “What did you two talk about? Why is your forehead covered in sweat?”

Cheng Xiangru told her everything that had passed between him and Boss Zhou. After listening, Leng Ying frowned.

“Is that goateed man a dog? He can smell all that? This could be troublesome.”

Leng Ying intended to stay by Cheng Xiangru’s side no matter what and accompany him in his search for Cheng Zhifeng. But now that Boss Zhou had recognized the scent of Immortal Water, she would have to carefully fabricate an identity for herself.

This was no simple matter.

“Perhaps we should tell him the truth? Uncle Zhou isn’t a bad person,” Cheng Xiangru suggested weakly.

Leng Ying shot him a sidelong glance and said irritably, “I still can’t determine the goateed man’s true purpose in looking for your father. If you foolishly tell him the truth, you’ll be giving me away.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Cheng Xiangru genuinely had no idea.

“Don’t worry about it,” Leng Ying said calmly. “Take care of whatever needs doing. I’ll think of something to say.”

Just then, the elevator reached the first floor.

The doors opened slowly, and Cheng Xiangru saw Tan Cheng waiting outside, a phone clenched in his hand. He had probably just finished calling the men who were still searching all over for Cheng Xiangru and telling them to return.

“Why are you coming down? How’s the boss?” Tan Cheng asked anxiously.

Cheng Xiangru stepped out of the elevator. “Uncle Zhou is resting. Brother Tan, I need a favor. Brother Chen is still in the car.”

“All right, all right!”

Tan Cheng asked no questions. He followed Cheng Xiangru to the car, helped carry the unconscious Chen Shangke out, and stayed with them until Chen Shangke had been taken into the emergency room.

Only after a doctor informed them that Chen Shangke had regained consciousness and that his family should go complete the hospitalization procedures did Cheng Xiangru finally relax.

Chen Shangke looked awful, but most of his injuries were superficial. He had lost consciousness because his body had been pushed far beyond its limits. With the proper injections and medication at the hospital, he should recover before long.

Cheng Xiangru kept busy throughout the night. Just before dawn, he saw Boss Zhou’s men returning one after another—more than a dozen of them in all—which put him considerably at ease.

With so many people on their side, they would have nothing to fear even if they encountered Gao Zhuang’s group again.

Under normal circumstances, Cheng Xiangru was exhausted enough to collapse and should have found somewhere to rest with Leng Ying.

But Leng Ying disagreed.

“Now is the perfect time to clear up a few things,” she told him. “The people involved aren’t together, so if we question them now, we’re more likely to uncover the truth. We should start with the Strange-Laughing Pervert.”

Indeed, although Cheng Xiangru had always followed Boss Zhou’s instructions, the events of the past two days were riddled with questions.

Who had let the air out of the car tires? Why had Boss Zhou deliberately sent him away alone? What was Gao Zhuang’s group really about? And what had happened while Cheng Xiangru was gone?

Cheng Xiangru did not hesitate. He immediately decided to follow Leng Ying’s advice and question Chen Shangke first.