Chapter 271
It wasn’t strange that Gu Ke-Wu was able to come chasing all the way to Bailu Town . The people who had visited Gu Ding-Shan in Baisui Garden’s study were people with standing and clout . They shared the same interests as Gu Ding-Shan and they could easily do what Gu Ding-Shan could not .
Sang Qing-Xin and Sang Yue-Yue’s disappearance was very strange to Gu Ding-Shan and Gu Ke-Wu, especially since Gu Ke-Wu had not known of their existence . This made Xia Lei an easy suspect for Gu Ding-Shan and Gu Ke-Wu, and this was how Gu Ke-Wu could rush to the military factory construction site in such a short amount of time .
In the forest behind the construction site, Xia Lei climbed up the mountain step by step . He had Sang Qing-Xin on his back and Sang Yue-Yue in his arms and their weight combined was over 50 kilograms . This weight was difficult to carry on flat ground, not to mention uphill .
“Let me carry the child . ” Annina had caught up with Xia Lei .
Xia Lei smiled wryly . “It’s fine . Let’s go . ”
Annina followed Xia Lei in his climb up wearing only slippers on her feet . It was tough for her . There were many shrubs in the forest and she’d not walked far before her soft skin was scratched in several places, drawing beads of blood; Xia Lei felt bad for her .
Xia Lei was not feeling good either - it was more tiring to carry a grown woman up a mountain than practice martial arts .
They climbed tens of metres higher before Xia Lei looked back at the military factory and stopped . “Annina, stay here and look after them . I’ll go down to take a look . ”
“You want to go down? No, no, no, I’m going with you . ” Annina grew nervous . She was not afraid with Xia Lei by her side but with him gone, the thought of facing the dark forest alone scared her .
Xia Lei put Sang Qing-Xin down, then took off his jacket and put it on Annina . “Don’t worry . I’ll be back in half an hour . ”
“Then… Hurry . ” Annina looked at him with wide eyes .
Xia Lei went back the way they’d come and slowly approached the construction site…
The men Gu Ke-Wu brought had taken control of the construction site . The wooden huts had been searched inside-out but the people they were looking for had vanished . Xia Lei had been one step ahead from start to end, and this made Gu Ke-Wu mad .
“Xia Lei! Get out here!” Gu Ke-Wu roared in anger in front of the wooden huts . His voice could be heard from afar .
Xia Lei did not move . He hid in the forest and took out his phone to take a picture of Gu Ke-Wu and the group of people next to him . His phone was able to pick up the phone signals close to the construction site and he sent the picture to Long Bing .
A bodyguard went up to Gu Ke-Wu and braced himself as he said, “Young Master Wu, we’ve searched the entire site . We did not find that punk and we didn’t find the mother and daughter either . What do we do?”
“Trash! You are all trash!” Gu Ke-Wu lashed out with a slap . The worsening situation made him lose it .
The bodyguard who’d been hit held his face but did not dare make a sound, nor let Gu Ke-Wu see the hate in his eyes .
“What are you all standing around for? Go search in the mountain!” screamed Gu Ke-Wu .
“The mountain? It's such a large area…” said a bodyguard worriedly, “Young Master Wu, we…”
“Shut up! Search!” Gu Ke-Wu went first and walked towards the forest .
He had lost control of his emotions but he was not stupid . Xia Lei’s car was still at the construction site and the sheets in the hut were still warm and had traces of a woman’s perfume . If Xia Lei had not gone into hiding in the mountain, then what? He flew?
The big group of bodyguards and National Guard followed Gu Ke-Wu up the mountain . No one was in favour of this but no one dared to ask Gu Ke-Wu to give up . He was like a barrel of explosives and could explode at any moment .
Xia Lei glanced at his phone; he’d received a message .
It was from Long Bing and it contained just two words: Hide well .
This message gave Xia Lei another message - no one was coming to help him tonight . It was a bitter pill to swallow but Xia Lei quickly understood why . Long Bing was moving Danny to another location right now and could not spare the time to help him here . Plus, Gu Ding-Shan’s friends would definitely keep a close watch on Bureau 101 and if Bureau 101 sent reinforcements, the situation would escalate and affect Long Bing’s task .
‘Forget it . Even if Bureau 101 sent reinforcements they won’t fight; they’ll just spar with words . It’s not good to inadvertently alert the enemy either . I’ll just let Gu Ke-Wu play in the forest . ’ Xia Lei made his decision and left his hiding spot . He climbed quickly in Annina’s direction .
Annina was hiding behind a tree trunk and she heard footsteps but no person . “Who’s that?” she asked nervously .
“It’s me . ” It was Xia Lei’s voice .
Annina let out a breath of relief and stepped out of her hiding place .
Xia Lei lifted Sang Qing-Xin again and over his shoulder as he said, “Take the child . We have to leave this place . ”
“Are we going further up?” Annina’s legs were weary .
“They’ve started searching the mountain . We have to go up and hide till morning,” said Xia Lei .
“All right . I’m not afraid with you by my side . ” Annina carried the still-sleeping Sang Yue-Yue in her arms and fell in behind Xia Lei . She climbed haltingly up the mountain .
Under the mountain, light after light from mobile phones swept the area . Gu Ke-Wu, his bodyguards and nearly 50 of the National Guard were searching for them on the mountain .
A bodyguard soon made a discovery . He plucked a piece of black lace from a branch and said excitedly, “Young Master Wu, you were right! That punk and his woman did come up the mountain! This is a piece of that woman’s underwear!”
Gu Ke-Wu strode over and snatched up the piece of lace to sniff it . “It is that woman’s perfume . Search the area! Find that punk!”
The group continued upward in their search .
More traces were soon found - pieces of lace, obvious footprints, broken branches and so on . Xia Lei had no way of avoiding these since he had to carry Sang Qing-Xin up the mountain . It was impossible for their added weight to not leave any footprints in the damp ground .
These discoveries excited Gu Ke-Wu and he seemed to see hope in catching up to Xia Lei .
“I must kill that punk when I catch him!” This was an opportunity, and Gu Ke-Wu was not worried at all about what trouble would come after if he killed Xia Lei . He had methods aplenty to shirk himself of the relation to Xia Lei . He could say that Xia Lei had a heart attack, or lost his way and fell off a cliff . There would be a big group of people to bear witness too, so who could do anything to him?
The thought of killing Xia Lei acted as a stimulant for Gu Ke-Wu, and his speed increased…
In the forest, Xia Lei was tired to the bone . He could go no further when he reached the halfway-mark . He put Sang Qing-Xin down and sat his butt on the ground . Annina was in no better shape and she plonked her butt on the grass .
The lights from mobile phones flashed here and there below them; they had drawn much closer .
“Damn it . Didn’t think they’d follow the tracks we left behind . ” Xia Lei frowned . “It’s difficult to lose them with our extra baggage . ”
Annina was out of breath . “I saw soldiers . They won’t do anything bad, will they? Maybe we don’t have to escape . Maybe we can talk to them . ”
Xia Lei laughed dryly . “You’re too naive . Have you forgotten how your own countrymen treated you? They work for the government too . ”
Annina shut her mouth; she remembered the two German special agents, her countrymen . If it hadn’t been for Xia Lei, she would not be here right now breathing the air of freedom but in Guantanamo prison being tortured .
Every country was made of its people and there were sure to be bad people no matter which belief system or morals it had . Take those of the National Guard chasing Xia Lei and Annina, for example . They were good people and were children of regular folk but the one whose orders they followed was not a good person .
“Let’s go . We can’t rest anymore . ” Xia Lei climbed to his feet, tired as can be, but he still hefted Sang Qing-Xin, prepared to put her over his shoulder .
“Why not wake her up? You’ll have an easier time if you do,” said Annina .
Xia Lei shook his head . “No . She will see those soldiers and think we are the bad guys, while those are the people trying to rescue her . We’ll be in big trouble if she calls out to them or hinders us . ”
“But…” Annina begun, then stopped . She was full of worry .
“We won’t be caught, believe me . Follow me . We’re going to where the ground is firm so they will lose our tracks and spend more time trying to figure out which direction we’d gone,” said Xia Lei .
Annina nodded and gathered Sang Yue-Yue in her arms .
The child slept very well - Sang Yue-Yue had made no signs of waking up .
Xia Lei led Annina to an area with rocky ground and few trees . This was going to be difficult, but he would welcome the light when he’d weathered the night .
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