As a major general wielding real military power, Lu Xun still had quite a few fiercely loyal former subordinates who remained ready to carry out his orders, even after he had been imprisoned.
It had not been difficult to predict that Lu Xun would be transferred to the Underground Shen’gang Prison. Consequently, a small number of his trusted subordinates had arrived in the underground district ahead of time to scout the area and lie low.
Duoban Francis, former communications adjutant to Alliance Major General Lu Xun, was one of them.
That morning, Lu Xun had been transferred from the surface district’s tribunal to Shen’gang Prison. Taking advantage of his connections within the military police, Duoban had successfully disguised himself and infiltrated the large escort convoy. He had then seized an opportunity to approach his superior.
The orders he received from Lu Xun were simple.
“Maintain radio silence.”
“Make the usual arrangements for your wife and daughter.”
“Xiao Pei will leave the labor reform center in ten days. Have An Chong go and pick him up.”
Duoban’s wife and daughter had originally been sent to the underground city as a means of persecution by his political enemies. However, considering that he would be accompanying the major general underground for several years to come, Duoban had decided to turn the situation to his advantage and use this opportunity to bring his family underground, where he could protect them.
To prevent any unexpected complications, he hadn’t informed his wife of this plan beforehand.
“Xiao Pei” referred to Lu Pei. In Duoban’s impression, he was a handsome playboy who was always getting himself into trouble.
Military officers who had risen through the ranks were unlikely to hold someone like Lu Pei in particularly high regard. Of course, they still maintained a basic level of respect for him, since he was their superior’s younger biological brother.
Whenever Major General Lu Xun occasionally mentioned him, his usually stern and indifferent face would invariably reveal a trace of irritation or helplessness. It seemed that he had little desire to discipline his youngest brother and only did so because he felt obligated to take responsibility for him.
Nevertheless, Duoban believed that his superior genuinely cared a great deal about his younger brother.
The evidence was that Lu Xun had specifically instructed another capable adjutant to pick Lu Pei up and make arrangements for his future life.
At the same time, however, Lu Xun hadn’t asked a single question about the prison sentences handed down to their biological parents or which prisons they would be transferred to.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, exactly according to Lu Xun’s arrangements.
However, nobody had told Duoban why, when he went to the labor reform center to visit his wife, Ruby, the person who appeared before him was Lu Pei’s face.
Duoban: “…”
Lu Pei: “…”
Separated by a pane of glass, the two stared at each other. One was utterly shocked, while the other looked as though his soul were about to leave his body.
“You…” Duoban stared at him in astonishment. “Why are you…”
“Uncle, have a cigarette.”
Lu Pei slipped a roll of banknotes behind a cigarette packet and passed it to the security guard.
The guard understood immediately. With a knowing smile, he switched off the surveillance camera and gave them some privacy.
The door closed.
Duoban was so shocked that he could barely speak.
“Young Master, shouldn’t you be undergoing educational rehabilitation in the Egret District?! Why are you here?!”
Lu Pei wailed, “Where’s Lu Xun?! Tell him to come and rescue me immediately! Otherwise, I’ll really kill myself right here in front of him!!”
After both of them had finished shouting, they gradually calmed down and exchanged information.
Lu Pei recognized Duoban’s face. He had seen him from a distance several times before but he hadn’t known his surname or anything else about him.
Out of a moment of goodwill, Lu Pei had accidentally caused a misunderstanding by switching identities with the man’s wife.
He had thought he was merely doing someone a small favor.
Who would have expected that he would end up digging his own grave in the process?
Ha… What a ridiculous mess.
Lu Pei asked, “Do you have any explosives on you? Bullets, a pistol, any kind of firearm will do.”
Duoban replied, “No, Young Master. Everyone entering through the main entrance has to undergo a full security inspection.”
“Can you get them for me within two hours? Have them smuggled in through another route.”
“Other things might be possible but preparing explosives won’t be that quick…” Duoban looked at him with suspicion written all over his face. “What are you planning to do?”
“It’s a long story…”
Lu Pei buried his face in his hands, rubbed it vigorously several times and let out a sorrowful sigh.
“Why did you have to show up at exactly this moment?! A little earlier or a little later would both have been fine!”
“I’m sorry, Young Master.” Duoban could hear the complaint in his words but he still answered in his usual methodical manner. “Earlier, I was escorting the major general. If I had arrived any later, Zhou Zu would have reached the mine and I would have needed to avoid drawing attention. This particular time, neither too early nor too late, was the most suitable opportunity.”
Lu Pei asked, “Who is Zhou Zu?”
Duoban gave him a brief explanation. There were two major powers in the underground district and Zhou Zu was the leader of one of them. He was also Brother Mammoth’s immediate superior, a figure comparable to a godfather in the criminal underworld.
“He’s called Zhou Zu…” Lu Pei murmured.
This was the man who had saved Yuan Que from being held accountable by the politicians on the surface.
And tonight, this very person would be coming to the mine to meet Brother Mammoth.
“Have you run into some trouble?” Duoban asked. “What exactly is the situation? Is it serious? Do you need me to pass a message to the major general? …However, the major general is already at Shen’gang Prison. It will take some time for a message to reach him.”
By the time Duoban informed Lu Xun and brought reinforcements, Lu Pei would probably already be dead.
Staying alive is so damn difficult!
Lu Pei ruffled his hair until it was a complete mess. A few minutes later, he sighed and spoke in a hollow, forlorn voice. “Please pass this message along for me: Lu Xun, you still owe me ten rice puddings. Don’t forget to pay your debt.”
“If I happen to die, burn them for me in front of my grave.”
…….
Outside the reception room, Ren Yao was blocking the entrance with four of his underlings.
“That little slut Ruby has been lying to me this whole time!” Ren Yao said furiously. “He already has a husband yet he still wants to seduce Brother Mammoth! He’s deceived me over and over again and even his oath on his family’s honor was a complete lie!”
His underling, Zuo Feng, immediately chimed in, “Thank goodness Brother Yao is smart. Otherwise, he really would have fooled you!”
“When he comes out, you two hold him down.” Ren Yao toyed with the military knife in his hand, jealousy burning in his eyes. “First, I’ll slash up his face. Then I’ll break all four of his limbs so he won’t be able to seduce anyone ever again.”
The group waited outside the reception room.
The designated visiting time was fifteen minutes. Things weren’t enforced quite so strictly in the underground district but even so, more than half an hour passed and the door remained closed.
“Go inside and take a look,” Ren Yao ordered.
Zuo Feng opened the door and looked inside in surprise. “Boss, there’s nobody here!”
“Did he escape?!” Ren Yao barked. “Everyone, go look for him! There’s no way he could have gotten out in such a short time!”
The group hurried away to search.
Meanwhile, Lu Pei, who had been crouching behind the curtains with his back hunched, cautiously stuck one foot out.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps…
“Brother Yao, he’s over there!” Zuo Feng suddenly roared.
Lu Pei: “!!!”
Lu Pei immediately took off running for his life!
A classic movie style pursuit scene was now unfolding in real life, with Lu Pei playing the unfortunate protagonist. As he ran, he desperately tried to create obstacles for the people chasing him.
Bicycles? He pushed an entire row of them over!
Trash cans along the road? He kicked them straight onto their sides!
“You can’t get away!” the people behind him shouted.
Lu Pei sprinted up a flight of stairs but halfway up, he suddenly came to his senses.
He had returned to the men’s dormitory building. There were plenty of Brother Mammoth’s underlings living on the floors above.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the stairwell. It was already too late to turn back.
Lu Pei dashed along the corridor. The second floor housed the bathhouse and the public changing lockers were located on the outer side.
He glanced to the side as he ran.
…Huh?
Yuan Que?!
Yuan Que was changing his clothes.
The dormitory only supplied hot water after eight in the evening. It wasn’t that late yet and with the winter temperatures so low, nobody wanted to take a cold shower at this hour.
Consequently, Yuan Que was the only person in the bathing area.
At this decisive moment, when his survival hung in the balance, Lu Pei stared at Yuan Que and blinked.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that single instant.
He decided…
To take a gamble.
Lu Pei twisted his body, forcibly changing the direction of the foot he had already swung forward and rushed toward Yuan Que.
More precisely, he rushed toward the changing locker directly in front of the other man and promptly squeezed himself inside.
Yuan Que: “?”
Lu Pei clenched both hands into fists, pressed them beneath his chin, tilted his head slightly upward and put on his most pitiful, vulnerable expression.
“Help me,” he said.
“…” Yuan Que’s brows immediately furrowed, as though those words made him deeply uncomfortable. He even took a step backward.
A few seconds later, a series of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by several confused voices.
“Where the hell did that little slut go?”
“Did he run upstairs or downstairs?”
“Fuck…”
“Yuan Que? What are you doing here?” Zuo Feng asked. “Did you see someone run past just now? Where did he go?”
The person in question was currently hiding inside the changing locker right in front of Yuan Que. He had wrapped both arms around his knees and was biting his lower lip.
His hair was damp with sweat and the tip of his nose had turned pink from the heat. His eyes were moist as well and he gazed at Yuan Que with an imploring look that seemed as soft and clinging as a drizzle.
Yuan Que shifted his gaze away. He looked neither at Zuo Feng nor at Lu Pei.
Lu Pei swallowed nervously. His heart pounded so hard against his ribs that he almost imagined the metal panels of the locker vibrating with every beat.
Then Yuan Que answered in a flat, indifferent voice.
“I don’t know.”
…He had won the gamble.
Lu Pei quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone knew what Yuan Que was like, so Zuo Feng didn’t suspect anything. Ren Yao ordered another underling to go upstairs and gather a few more people. He was determined to turn the entire place upside down if necessary to find that little slut Ruby.
A moment later, the footsteps and curses gradually faded into the distance.
“Thank you, Yuan Que,” Lu Pei whispered.
The other man replied, “Move aside.”
“Thank you for being willing to help…”
Yuan Que interrupted him. “I’m not helping you.”
He had no intention of assisting a surface dweller but he didn’t want to side with Ren Yao either. Both parties were equally unpleasant in his eyes. His response just now had merely meant that his scale of disgust had tilted slightly toward the other side.
“I know. I’m not that conceited,” Lu Pei said with a smile.
Ren Yao had mobilized his underlings to search everywhere for him. The situation was still far from safe yet the surface dweller sounded remarkably relaxed and cheerful.
Was he simply too simple minded to understand the danger, or was he naturally optimistic?
Yuan Que glanced at him and discovered that Lu Pei was actually smiling.
The outer corners of his eyes were particularly striking and his eyelashes curled upward like the flick of an eyeliner brush.
Those foxlike eyes were now staring directly at him without blinking.
“Yuan Que,” Lu Pei said, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “I’m certain we’ll become friends.”
Yuan Que: “You’re extremely conceited. Move aside.”
“Sorry about that!”
Lu Pei wriggled out of the locker, stretching his stiff joints after being cramped inside for so long. He waved at Yuan Que and said, “Bye, Yuan Que. See you later!”
Yuan Que had absolutely no desire to see him again.
He unhurriedly put on his jacket, carefully wrapped his hand wraps around his hands in several layers and picked up the shoulder bag from inside the locker.
Something felt wrong.
The bag was too light.
He checked its contents and quickly discovered that something was indeed missing.
His most frequently used dagger.
…
“Brother Yao, he’s here!”
“Where?!”
“Over here, in the southeast corner!”
“Hold him down!”
Ren Yao rushed to the southeastern corner of the mine.
Two of his underlings had seized Lu Pei and were holding his arms firmly behind his back as though they were escorting a criminal.
“You ran around for so long but you still ended up in my hands, Ruby,” Ren Yao said with a cold sneer.
Lu Pei greeted him awkwardly. “Hi, Sister in law. What a coincidence…”
“Little slut!”
Ren Yao slammed a vicious punch into the right side of Lu Pei’s face.
The blow sent Lu Pei’s head snapping sideways, leaving his ears ringing.
After taking a moment to recover, Lu Pei slowly turned his head back and said with sudden realization, “So this is what it feels like to get beaten up?”
The spot where Ren Yao had punched him turned red almost immediately. Against his fair skin, the faint crimson mark stood out clearly. Paired with his completely unconcerned expression, it gave him a surprisingly beautiful yet disheveled appearance.
“Enjoying yourself?” Ren Yao asked with a sinister grin. “Just wait. I’ll make sure you enjoy it to your heart’s content in a moment.”
Lu Pei had been staying at the labor reform center for over a month and his hair had grown somewhat long. Ren Yao grabbed him by the hair and dragged him toward the mountain.
“Oww, oww, that hurts! Can’t I just walk by myself? I’ll walk on my own, I’ll walk!” Lu Pei shouted.
It really did hurt. He felt as though his scalp was about to be ripped off.
He tightly gripped the enhancement serum Lu Xun had left him. With just a little more pressure, the needle hidden in the center of the button would pierce his skin.
Since Ren Yao was dragging him by the hair, Zuo Feng had let go of him. The other underling who had been restraining him was burly in appearance but wasn’t using much strength and Ren Yao himself could hardly be described as physically imposing.
Lu Pei quietly slipped the button shaped injection back into the inner layer of his sleeve.
“Oww, that hurts! That really hurts…”
Lu Pei continued to yelp and complain all the way up the steep slope as Ren Yao dragged him toward the top of a nearby mountain.
The mine mound was roughly as tall as a three or four story building. One side consisted of an almost completely vertical cliff, while the other side connected to two steep slopes that workers could climb.
Ren Yao gave him a forceful shove.
Lu Pei stumbled forward and nearly fell.
After struggling desperately, he finally managed to brace himself against the ground and stabilize his body just before the cliff’s edge.
The other underling released him as well.
Nobody was restraining Lu Pei anymore. However, his fingers were only a centimeter away from the edge and he could clearly see the terrain on this side of the mountain.
The cliff face was almost perfectly vertical. If someone fell from here, only a mountain goat would have any chance of finding a foothold or a way to break its fall.
“You said it yourself. If you ever broke your oath, I could kill you and you wouldn’t resist,” Ren Yao said coldly. “Now it’s time for you to keep your promise.”
Lu Pei tried to explain, “Although you probably won’t believe me, I really don’t like men…”
“Shut up!”
Ren Yao flicked open the blade of his knife and slashed it through the air twice before advancing toward Lu Pei.
“That clever mouth of yours and that seductive face must have fooled quite a few people, haven’t they?”
Lu Pei stammered, “N no, no, no! Let’s talk this out properly, Sister in law…”
Ren Yao had no intention of giving him any opportunity to defend himself. The tip of the blade shot straight toward Lu Pei’s cheek!
But at that very instant, Lu Pei bent forward first and kicked Ren Yao hard in the shin.
The force of the kick sent Ren Yao pitching forward. Taking advantage of his momentum, Lu Pei twisted sideways, grabbed Ren Yao’s clothes and used every ounce of strength he possessed to shove him forward with all his might!
Ren Yao immediately fell in front of Lu Pei, his arms hanging over empty space. The small knife slipped from his hand and fell off the cliff.
The situation had reversed so quickly that Ren Yao barely had time to blink before he realized that he was now the one who would fall to his death if he moved even slightly.
His face filled with disbelief.
“You… No…”
The few underlings stood frozen, treating the situation as a deadly emergency but none of them dared to approach.
“Let go of Brother Yao!”
“Don’t rush,” Lu Pei said, grabbing Ren Yao by the collar. “I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself to your heart’s content in a moment, Sister in law.”
“How dare you?!” Realizing the danger he was in, Ren Yao cursed in terror. “If you lay a hand on me, Brother Mammoth will kill you! He absolutely will!”
“To hell with that.” Lu Pei smiled. “I only have one older brother and even he wouldn’t dare say he’d kill me.”
He kicked Ren Yao straight off the cliff.
The moment he lost his footing and began to fall, Ren Yao let out a heart wrenching scream.
“AAAAAH!!!”
A loud crash rang out.
BANG!!
A body hit the ground.
The underlings were stunned.
A fall from a height of three or four stories wasn’t necessarily enough to kill someone outright. Ren Yao’s body twitched on the ground as he cursed and groaned in pain but he was hurting so badly that he couldn’t produce anything close to the loud screams he had let out earlier.
The underlings exchanged bewildered glances.
“What are you standing around for? Go save him,” Lu Pei said. “If he dies, won’t Brother Mammoth make all of you join him in the grave?”
“Fuck!” the underlings cursed.
The men hurriedly rushed down the mountain. However, after taking only a few steps, Zuo Feng deliberately stopped and said, “You guys go downstairs and get Brother Yao to the medical room. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on this brat to make sure he doesn’t escape.”
…
By the time Yuan Que arrived at the mountain, Ren Yao was lying in a pool of blood, cursing weakly and struggling to speak through his pain.
“I’m going to kill him… Nobody touch him… Don’t touch him… I’ll kill him with my own hands… I’ll chop his head off…”
“Don’t worry, Brother Yao! Zuo Feng is keeping an eye on him up there! There’s absolutely no way he’ll escape again.”
Two underlings brought over a medical stretcher and carefully transferred Ren Yao’s body onto it.
After a quick examination, they found no knife wounds on Ren Yao’s body.
Had Lu Pei intended to commit murder or frame someone else?
Then why had he stolen Yuan Que’s dagger?
Yuan Que felt somewhat puzzled. He raised his head and looked into the distance, where he could see the surface dweller sitting cross legged on the edge of the cliff.
He couldn’t be bothered to retrace his steps along the several sloping paths, so he simply climbed straight up the vertical cliff face with his bare hands.
By the time he reached the top, Lu Pei was chatting with Zuo Feng.
“That rice pudding was really delicious but you can’t just leave it in the refrigerator to chill. Before eating it, you have to put it in the freezer for ten minutes. After ten minutes, take it out and it’ll be sweeter, colder and wonderfully refreshing without being cloying at all. Ah, I really miss it…”
Zuo Feng, meanwhile, remained completely silent, glaring at him with undisguised hatred.
“Surface dweller.”
Yuan Que’s voice suddenly came from behind Lu Pei, frightening him so badly that he nearly jumped out of his skin.
“My god!” Lu Pei exclaimed in shock. “How did you get up here? This side is practically vertical… Did you climb all the way up?!”
Was there any reason to take such an unconventional route?!
Yuan Que said, “Give it back.”
Lu Pei immediately responded, “Oh, right, right.”
He took the dagger out from where he had hidden it against his chest. The tip had been wrapped in several layers of gauze. Being a polite person, he held the weapon by the blade and extended it horizontally toward Yuan Que, offering him the handle.
“Here.”
“Why?” Yuan Que asked expressionlessly.
Why had Lu Pei stolen his dagger?
Upon hearing the question, Lu Pei suddenly rotated his wrist, seemingly intending to reverse his grip and hold the dagger by its handle.
Yuan Que reacted with lightning speed. He raised his hand first and pressed his palm down over Lu Pei’s hand, stopping him before he could complete the movement.
“Because…”
Lu Pei lowered his shoulders and leaned forward. His slightly long, snowy white hair swayed down his back.
The tip of his nose stopped just in front of Yuan Que’s. The warm air of their breathing was clearly perceptible between them.
The gesture resembled a mermaid lying across a reef, lifting her head to offer someone a kiss.
Yuan Que’s breathing briefly faltered.
He immediately turned his head away, instinctively alert, putting a little distance between them.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier that I’d see you later?” Lu Pei asked, biting his lip as he smiled brightly. “Look at that. We’ve met again, Yuan Que.”
Their cheeks were so close that, from Zuo Feng’s perspective and from the viewpoint of the underlings standing at the foot of the mountain, the two men looked almost as though they were kissing.
At the same time, Yuan Que’s palm completely covered Lu Pei’s hand. Although he had only done so to stop Lu Pei’s movement with the dagger, from a distance, the gesture looked exactly like their fingers were interlocked.
It was an open and brazen display of flirtation.
“You shameless adulterous bastards!” Zuo Feng pointed at them, utterly shocked. “You two are in this together!!!”
“Take both of them to Brother Mammoth!”