Shen Nian lay squeezed together with Li Hong and her two children, unable to sleep. In the hazy darkness, she faintly heard sounds near the base of the courtyard wall, as if something had fallen to the ground.
She wondered how Gu Xiao was doing—he was still injured.
Exhausted from the day’s toil, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
On Gu Xiao’s side, a group of people in military uniforms soon appeared, accompanied by several others in standard uniforms from the county police station.
Lu Chen walked over to Gu Xiao with a broad grin. Seeing that Gu Xiao was wearing a woman’s garment, he couldn’t help bursting out laughing and even reached out to tug at it.
“I say, Commander Gu, where did you pick up a woman’s clothes like this? It can’t even cover your muscles. If some young girl saw you like this, wouldn’t her eyes light right up?”
Gu Xiao lowered his head and glanced at the clothes on himself again.
Really?
Then why hadn’t she reacted that way at all? Instead, she had laughed just as carefree as Lu Chen.
Could it be that she hadn’t even seen him as a man?
Seeing Gu Xiao lost in thought, Lu Chen waved a hand in front of his face.
“Hey, Old Gu, what are you thinking about? Let me tell you, you’d better be mentally prepared. The political commissar thought you’d deserted for a woman. He’s been so furious these past two days that he hasn’t slept a wink—his blood pressure nearly shot through the roof. Luckily the police station sent word that you’d gone after human traffickers. Otherwise, when you got back, you’d really be in for it.”
Gu Xiao snapped back to his senses and looked at Lu Chen’s clothes.
“Enough nonsense. Hurry up and take off your shirt so I can wear it first. Do I look like the kind of person who’d desert?”
As he spoke, Gu Xiao reached out and started unbuttoning Lu Chen’s uniform.
Lu Chen chuckled. Indeed, he wasn’t.
“Hey, hey, hey—don’t do that. If someone sees us, they’ll think there’s something going on between us. I’ll take it off myself, alright?”
Lu Chen removed his uniform jacket, then took off the white shirt underneath and handed it to Gu Xiao.
When Gu Xiao pulled off the tight clothes he’d been wearing, Lu Chen finally noticed his injury.
His expression tightened. “How did you get hurt?”
“It’s nothing. First, have your people help the police tie up those four inside.”
Lu Chen pointed at Shen Dafu, who was bound at the doorway. “What about him?”
“I don’t know who he is either. Have someone go to the village and bring their village head here. Have him bring a few people along. There’s also someone who fell into the pit up ahead—he should still be alive.”
Not knowing the full situation, Lu Chen couldn’t help cursing, “Damn these animals. When we followed the signal you left and got there, two girls had already been sold to another village as wives, and two younger kids had their legs broken.
“These beasts—born of mothers and raised by fathers—how can they do something like this?”
“What about the other children?” Gu Xiao asked.
“The others are safe. The police station is helping them find their families.”
“That’s good.”
Lu Chen ordered people to head down the mountain to fetch the village head.
Shen Dafu was awakened by the sound of footsteps and voices. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw more than a dozen people in military uniforms shining flashlights and escorting the four men out of the house.
He opened his mouth, only then realizing it had been stuffed shut. His eyes filled with joy as he struggled, making muffled “mmph” sounds.
Gu Xiao had already changed into Lu Chen’s white shirt, sleeves rolled halfway up. He walked over, squatted in front of Shen Dafu, and pulled the filthy rag from his mouth.
Shen Dafu immediately began to sob in grievance.
“Comrade, you’ve finally come! Please save me—those people have guns!”
Gu Xiao, of course, knew he was Shen Nian’s father, but he deliberately pretended not to know.
A father like this—who had wanted to kill his own daughter with his own hands—was he even human?
In a cold voice, Gu Xiao said, “How do you prove you’re not in league with them?”
Shen Dafu swallowed nervously, his voice trembling. “Comrade, I really am a villager from the settlement at the foot of the mountain. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask around in the village.”
Gu Xiao’s gaze was icy, filled with contempt from the depths of his heart. He despised men like this—unable to manage their families, unable even to feed their own children.
“Stay here for now. If you really are from this village, the village head will be here shortly. Once he confirms your identity, we’ll untie you.”
Shen Dafu was badly frightened. At this moment, he didn’t even notice that he’d been shot in the thigh.
A police officer walked over to Gu Xiao and spoke politely.
“Hello, Commander Gu. I’m from the police station—my name is Zhao Guoqiang. Thank you so much this time. We never imagined there were so many human traffickers in our county.”
“It’s nothing. As long as the children were saved.”
Gu Xiao had originally been heading to the county on official business, but halfway there he ran into human traffickers kidnapping children and followed them.
That pursuit led him to discover their hideout.
Taking advantage of the situation, he rescued several children, only to find that the gang had another hideout as well.
There, at the next location, his cover was blown while rescuing children. The traffickers opened fire at the kids. In the split second, he shielded a child and took a bullet himself.
After saving the children, he had no intention of letting the traffickers escape. If he did, how many more children would be abducted?
Gu Xiao scribbled a note and stuffed it into a child’s hand, telling him to run to the police station at once.
At the time, he hadn’t held much hope. All he could do was pursue while leaving signals behind. Passing through a reed marsh, his wound became infected and he lost all strength, forcing him to hide there.
Back at the unit, he had inexplicably gone missing. The political commissar thought he’d deserted and sent people searching for two days.
In the end, it was the police station that contacted the unit.
Both sides were extremely anxious, waiting for Gu Xiao’s news. That night, they finally saw the military signal flare.
So a large group hurried over.
The police officer said, “Commander Gu, when you head back tonight, we’ll need to trouble you to come by the police station early tomorrow morning to record a statement.”
“No problem. But this time, catching the traffickers, we really have to thank someone. Her name is Shen Nian. Without her cooperation, I wouldn’t have been able to capture these traffickers.”
Shen Nian?
Captain Zhao was puzzled—why did the name sound so familiar?
Soon, he smiled. “Alright, alright. Then we’ll have her come along to give a statement too. By the way, where is she?”
“She was badly frightened, so I had her return to the village first. I’ll pick her up tomorrow morning and bring her to the station.”
“That works. Since these four have been caught, we’ll head out first.”
“Wait a moment. My men have already gone to fetch the village head from the foot of the mountain. Once they arrive and confirm this person’s identity, you can proceed.”
Only then did Captain Zhao’s gaze fall on Shen Dafu.
“Alright, we’ll wait.”
At this moment, Shen Dafu was still thinking: since when did Shen Nian start helping PLA comrades as cover?
What could a fool like her possibly do?
Soon, lights appeared from the foot of the mountain. Zhang Shengli led several sturdy men from the village, iron shovels in hand, charging up the slope.
When Shen Dafu saw Zhang Shengli, tears streamed down his face.
“Village head, save me! I’ve been wronged!”