Kapitel 34: Quick Pull Trigger

"Where is she?" Fan Qentian forcefully repeated.

"Why are you being so vague? Who did she kill? You're alive, and everyone else I know is doing well. I think I would have heard if someone I knew died," his tone was laced with impatience. For such a dire situation, his friend was dancing around the facts.

And it didn't help that the unpredictable Huan Mao was in the next room listening to everything. Xin Tuyong needed to decide the verdict quickly or he would be in a dangerous situation -- at least, a situation more dangerous than the current one.

"Gu Xiuhan, Er Tenglin, Luo Banyu. Ring a bell?" Er Tenglin sounded faintly familiar, but Xin Tuyong couldn't recall a face at the time. His confusion must have shown on his face because Fan Qentian continued, "Mu Nodo, Zhao Nana, Xin Beiguo, Fan Luozhi."

Xin Tuyong drew back in shock. Xin Beiguo? He had been out of contact with his uncle, but he never would have imagined that he was dead.

At this moment, Xin Tuyong realized just how estranged he was from his family. No one contacted him, and he never thought to reach out to them.

His chest stung with the pain of reality and in that split second of lost focus, he was brought to reality by Fan Qentian shouting his name and diving onto his side.

Xin Tuyong didn't hear the approach of Huan Mao until her arm was latched firmly around his throat and the barrel of her pistol flashed at Fan Qentian.

A bullet tore through his trouser leg, prompting a guttural scream from his chest that ricocheted through the house. Xin Tuyong had no time to react and only thrashed against Huan Mao's iron grip to no avail.

From the corner of his eye, Xin Tuyong caught Di Gaohun positioned like a statue near the staircase.

Huan Mao's anger was palpable as she spoke slowly through clenched teeth: "Fan Qentian, was it? Let me correct your misinformation. Er Tenglin was a traitor who sold the lives of his friends for pocket change. You think you're the only one experiencing losses?

"Er Tenglin was plotting to kill many people, including my family. You think he was a saint? Were you not told that he was trying to kill you, too?" Fan Qentian tensed as she continued, "Zhao Nana was a fruit of the same tree*. And don't even pretend you cared about your cousin.

"You framed him to make sure he would die. We had no choice but to kill, but it should have been you. Aren't you enjoying your position too much, Leader Fan**?"

She aimed her gun to his chest and he shivered, becoming unfocused in his blood.

"Huan Mao, don't kill him," Xin Tuyong spoke. He couldn't trust either of them, but didn't want his friend dead.

Nothing made sense anymore. He had to stop the violence.

Huan Mao hesitated at his words, and he continued, "We can still collect information. Don't kill him."

After a moment of silence, she relinquished her grip on his neck and lowered her gun. His pulse hammered violently and his fingers shook. He hid his trembling by crossing his arms.

With a great sigh of frustration, she turned to face Di Gaohun. "Please clean this up. I'm tired." He nodded from the shadows.

Xin Tuyong felt like a stone in a stream. Everything flowed past him while he was frozen in place.

He came to his senses and saw that Fan Qentian's glassy eyes had closed, but fluttered weakly beneath his lids.

Huan Mao was nowhere in sight, but Di Gaohun rushed from place to place, spraying and scrubbing at the blood in the house. The body of the person Fan Qentian brought with him was gone.

Hot tears dripped from his eyes as he ran to retrieve a blanket from his room. He wrapped his cold friend in the blanket and stopped Di Gaohun.

"Can you help me get him to the hospital?" Xin Tuyong asked him. His voice broke.

Di Gaohun ran a hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. "Huan Mao." He paused as if carefully choosing his words. "She's a doctor. Or at the very least, the equivalent. Ask her and she'll help you. It's the fastest thing to do."

That was the last thing Xin Tuyong wanted to hear, but nevertheless he thanked Di Gaohun and wiped the tears from his cheeks, setting off to look for her.

* "fruit of the same tree" means "a person of a similar nature"

** Fan Qentian is the head of a major syndicate.