Chapter 120: Racing Through the Night

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When they got home, Zhou Sinian urged Ming Dai to enter the space.

She wanted to examine the wound on his hand first. He had scraped it while beating those men earlier, but Zhou Sinian fetched the first-aid kit himself and cleaned the injury, telling Ming Dai to go and prepare dinner.

Judging by the way he acted, he really was hungry.

Ming Dai cooked the remaining half of the grilled fish with chicken sauce, steamed a pot of white rice, and made another pot of fish balls in sour broth.

As Ming Dai sipped her soup and watched Zhou Sinian wolf down his food, she became certain that he truly had been starving.

“Zhou Sinian, was it that man named Wang Defa who brought people to capture you?”

Zhou Sinian chewed the food in his mouth without speaking. He nodded, a murderous glint appearing in his eyes. Clearly, it was not a pleasant memory.

Ming Dai did not question him further and let him eat in peace.

After dinner, Zhou Sinian tried to wash the dishes, but Ming Dai stopped him and put them in the dishwasher.

“Don’t let your hands touch water for the time being. We need to prevent the wound from becoming infected.”

Zhou Sinian obediently listened. He went to the refrigerator, took out two cartons of juice, and brought one for each of them. Then they went out into the yard to bask in the sun.

Recalling the way Zhou Sinian had fought earlier—one punch per man, facing seven or eight strong young men without the slightest pressure—Ming Dai once again marveled at how wise she had been to ask him to join her.

She continued asking about the details of Wang Defa’s attempt to capture him. “Do you remember who you beat up that got you arrested?”

Zhou Sinian bit down on the straw in his cup. After thinking for a moment, he scrunched up his face and pinched the skin on his forehead into wrinkles.

“That ugly old man. You’ve seen him too. I beat him up last time.”

Ming Dai thought, Thank you. He really is unbelievably ugly!

“All right, all right! Let go of your forehead!”

Ming Dai recalled the men she had seen before. The only one who fit that description was Pan Hezi, whom they had encountered while repairing the reservoir. He looked much older than his years, had sagging skin, and was indeed ugly enough to qualify.

“Why did you hit him?”

Zhou Sinian frowned. “He said I set fire to the grain. But he was the one who burned it!”

Ming Dai frowned as well. “Why would he burn the grain? He was the brigade captain. If the village lost its food and people starved to death, the commune would hold him responsible.”

Zhou Sinian shook his head. “I don’t know either. I saw him fighting with someone, and he even made that person cry, so I picked up an ear of corn and threw it at him.

“When they saw me, they stopped fighting. The other person ran away, and I wanted to leave too, but the ugly old man wouldn’t let me go. He asked what I had seen, so I told him I had seen him fighting with someone.”

At this point, Zhou Sinian angrily set his cup on the table.

“Then he set fire to the granary and ran outside shouting that I had burned it down. I was furious! He was lying! I didn’t burn the granary! But those people wouldn’t listen to me. They even tried to beat me up, so I had no choice but to beat them all instead!”

Ming Dai was furious too. This was obviously a frame-up!

Was Pan Hezi insane? Even if Zhou Sinian had seen him fighting with someone, he did not need to burn down the granary and pin the blame on him!

Unless there had been more than just a fight between those two—unless something else was going on.

A sudden thought flashed through Ming Dai’s mind. She looked at the still-angry Zhou Sinian.

“By the way, Zhou Sinian, was the person fighting Pan Hezi a man or a woman?”

“A woman!”

Just as she thought.

“Was there anything unusual about the way they were fighting?”

Zhou Sinian looked at Ming Dai with clear, puzzled eyes.

“Yes. They were fighting without any clothes on. That’s very strange. It’s easy to get hurt if you fight without clothes.

“And that woman—when the ugly old man hit her, she still clung to him and wouldn’t let go. She cried terribly!

“Ming Dai, why would anyone take off all their clothes to fight?”

Ming Dai was speechless.

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Ming Dai made it clear that she really did not want to know.

That toad certainly had an adventurous love life!

Clearing her throat, Ming Dai tossed the question back to him. “I don’t know. Maybe they liked fighting that way. You’re a good boy, so don’t imitate them, all right?”

Zhou Sinian shook his head disdainfully. “I’d never do that. It’s too ugly!”

Ming Dai nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that Zhou Sinian had stumbled upon Pan Hezi committing adultery, which was why he had been framed.

No wonder that time Zhou Sinian beat him up, Pan Hezi had fled without even daring to make a sound.

He must have wanted to use the accusation to have Zhou Sinian sent away.

The commune’s attempt had failed. The problem must have arisen at the county level.

As for the commune director, anyone capable of raising a degenerate like Wang Defa could hardly be a good person himself. Ming Dai was fortunate that she had not rushed to the commune to make contact with him.

The trail had gone cold again, and Ming Dai felt somewhat discouraged.

Zhou Sinian blinked at the cup in Ming Dai’s hand. She had been holding it the entire time without taking a sip.

Understanding what he wanted, Ming Dai handed it over. Zhou Sinian happily took it, inserted his own straw, and slurped at the juice.

Never mind. They could take things slowly. Perhaps Zhou Sinian would regain his memory on his own before long!

Looking at the hand he had wrapped around the cup, Ming Dai suddenly came up with an idea.

“Zhou Sinian, I’ll teach you how to fight.”

Zhou Sinian slurped his juice and looked at her with an expression that clearly said he wanted to speak but did not know how. He obviously looked down on her.

Ming Dai gave a quiet laugh, then slowly reached out and placed her hand on his arm. She pressed lightly.

Half of Zhou Sinian’s body instantly went numb, and his left arm drooped helplessly at his side.

He set down the cup in his right hand and shook his unresponsive left arm in alarm, but it remained limp and numb.

Ming Dai spoke smugly. “Well? Not bad, right?”

Zhou Sinian looked at her with admiration. “Ming Dai, you’re amazing! Hurry and take a look at it. I can’t move it!”

Ming Dai reached out and pressed his arm again for a while. Only then did sensation slowly return to it.

After confirming that his arm was fine, Zhou Sinian cautiously backed away and sat in the chair farthest from Ming Dai.

Ming Dai remained in her seat, smiling as she crooked a finger at him. “Do you want to learn?”

At once, Zhou Sinian was tempted. He hurriedly came back and sat down beside her again, speaking obediently.

“I want to learn! Teach me, Ming Dai!”

The big wolfhound had taken the bait!

Although Ming Dai was utterly useless when it came to fistfights, she had her own way of protecting herself.

She was exceptionally skilled at identifying acupoints and using needles.

As her grandfather often said, she was a genius in that field!

She knew exactly which acupoints would cause numbness or pain when pressed—and which could even kill. After all, her maternal grandfather’s family had built its reputation on acupuncture.

Zhou Sinian had probably learned some of this before, but the acupoints used in martial arts differed from those taught in medicine and were far less precise.

If she could teach Zhou Sinian all the vital acupoints of the human body, he would not need to meet every opponent with his fists.

Besides, she was worried that Zhou Sinian might lose control and kill someone. There was a tremendous difference between beating someone and killing them. Even if someone was willing to protect Zhou Sinian, they might not be able to save him. With the situation still unclear, they could not afford to gamble on any possibility.

Thus, before dinner, Ming Dai taught Zhou Sinian while demonstrating on his body.

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Some places truly hurt. Even someone as tough as Zhou Sinian could not help shedding involuntary tears, repeatedly drawing sharp breaths to distract himself.

Fortunately, Zhou Sinian was a quick learner. Before Ming Dai had had her fill of teaching, he had successfully mastered all the important acupoints and could identify them with precision.

Zhou Sinian thought, There’s no way I can refuse! Judging by Ming Dai’s expression, she looks as if she wants to do it all over again!

Ming Dai really did want to do it again. Partly, she was eager to practice—she had not worked with her hands in a long time, and once she started, she found it difficult to stop. In the end, she gave Zhou Sinian a complete massage to improve his circulation.

And partly because—who could possibly stop after hearing a teary-eyed big wolfhound plead, “Please be gentler. Don’t…”?

The contrast was simply too adorable!

At last, she understood why so many women liked younger men with a wolfish air.

That contrast alone was enough to melt anyone’s heart!

Ming Dai finally stopped, completely satisfied. Zhou Sinian sprang off the massage bed like a startled rabbit and hid in his own room. He did not emerge until dinner, making Ming Dai laugh again and again. Only when Zhou Sinian became so embarrassed and angry that he threatened to lose his temper did she finally force down the corners of her mouth, which had nearly reached her ears.

Because the brigade captain had taken Wang Defa and the others to the commune, Ming Dai was afraid he might return and come looking for them. So that night, they slept outside the space.

They waited for a long time, but no sound came from the door. Ming Dai grew sleepy, called Zhou Sinian to wash up, and then the two of them went to bed separately.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Sinian suddenly opened his eyes on the heated brick bed. He climbed out from beneath the warm covers, put on his clothes, and approached the wooden partition wall. After confirming that the person on the other side was fast asleep, he quietly opened the door and slipped outside.

He found the dog sled in the storage room and carried it out as softly as he could.

After opening the door and positioning the sled, he went back inside and locked the door from within.

He glanced at Ming Dai’s silent window in the darkness, then turned and leaped out. Pulling the sled behind him, he sped toward the mountains.

Before long, waves of wolves’ howls echoed through the hills.

The sky was overcast that night, and without moonlight reflecting off it, the snowy landscape looked especially eerie.

Along the main road from Willow Bay to the commune, the panting breaths of the animals and the rushing sound of the sled rang out in the darkness.

One man and six wolves raced toward the commune, their destination unmistakable.

The snow-covered road was slick at night, but they soon reached the commune.

Zhou Sinian guided the sled through the empty streets and quickly turned into a narrow alley.

Beside the alley stood the only two-story building with its lights on.

After hiding the sled, Zhou Sinian gave the wolf king a warning glance. When the wolves obediently rolled over and exposed their bellies, he used the low wall beside the alley to climb effortlessly onto the roof of the two-story building.

This was the only hospital in the commune. Wang Defa had been beaten badly enough that he was almost always treated here, and Zhou Sinian had come many times before. He knew the place well.

He pried open a window and climbed into an empty room.

Like a ghost, he moved through the wards, carefully searching for his target.

Before long, low, hoarse moans and curses coming from one of the rooms caught his attention.

“Damn it! That lunatic knocked my teeth out! Just wait! Once I recover, I’ll shoot you dead!

“Damn that fat bastard! He couldn’t even bring me a woman! Just wait until I get better! And that bitch—she’d better watch herself!”

Zhou Sinian listened from outside the door for a while. The words coming from inside grew filthier, and his expression grew colder.

Slowly, he drew a military dagger from his waist, gently pushed open the wooden ward door, and slipped inside without a sound.

Wang Defa, still cursing, suddenly felt a chill sweep over him. He shuddered and was just about to raise his head when a shadow fell over him.