Only then did Zhang Shengli notice Shen Dafu, who was tied up on the ground. His steps came to a sudden halt. He turned to look at Gu Xiao, his face full of confusion.
“Comrade, this is…?”
Before Gu Xiao could speak, Shen Dafu hurriedly cried out to plead his case.
“Village head, I came to see my daughter, and then I was tied up by them. Please explain it clearly to the comrades!”
Zhang Shengli frowned and stepped closer. When he saw the blood on Shen Dafu’s leg and the traffickers being escorted behind him, he was just about to speak when Gu Xiao suddenly lifted his gaze. His eyes were sharp as blades as he stared straight at Zhang Shengli.
“Village head, do you know him?”
“Yes, yes, I do,” Zhang Shengli replied quickly. “Comrade, listen to me—he’s not a human trafficker. He’s a member of our village commune, his name is Shen Dafu.”
Shen Dafu?
With that kind of character, he still wants to be ‘Da-fu’—he’ll be poor his whole life.
Thinking of Shen Nian—a young girl, pretty, living all alone halfway up the mountain, and nearly killed by her own parents—Gu Xiao felt a surge of anger boil up inside him.
“If he’s not a trafficker, then the two of them are murderers. When I was undercover watching these traffickers, I clearly heard you husband and wife plotting to strangle a lunatic. Could it be that the person you wanted to strangle was Shen Nian?”
Hearing this, Shen Dafu’s eyes darted away, not daring to meet Gu Xiao’s gaze.
Zhang Shengli frowned as he listened. This couple really were pieces of work—but why use such a method?
Quietly and unnoticed, a packet of rat poison, or pushing her into the river to drown—wouldn’t it all be the same?
Zhang Shengli put on a conciliatory smile, pulled out a cigarette, and offered one to Gu Xiao.
“Comrade, he’s just got a foul mouth. Don’t worry, I guarantee he doesn’t have the guts to actually do it. Besides, his daughter Shen—she’s crazy. Every time he goes out to look for her, he talks like this, but every single time he brings the child back safe and sound. The whole village can testify to that. Otherwise, he would’ve strangled that child long ago.”
The people beside Zhang Shengli also chimed in.
“Yes, yes, that’s true.”
Only then did Gu Xiao say, “Take him away.”
As he spoke, he remembered the woman who had come up with the rotten idea and pointed toward the distance ahead.
“Oh right—just now there was a female comrade who seemed to have rolled down over there. You should go take a look.”
As soon as Gu Xiao finished speaking, Shen Dafu panicked. He struggled to stand up, only to realize the pain in his leg was so severe he couldn’t even get to his feet.
Gu Xiao shot Lu Chen a look, and Lu Chen untied the rope binding Shen Dafu’s wrists.
Just who exactly was this Shen Nian?
Old Gu was clearly venting his anger on her behalf.
Old Gu really was something—no sooner had one peach blossom passed than another came along.
Zhang Shengli found it all irritating. That big pit up ahead was a manure pit. Wang Dahua really seemed to have some strange fate with filth this month—every few days she had to get covered in it.
Looking again at Shen Dafu, who couldn’t even stand, Zhang Shengli felt uneasy.
That shot—why did it have to hit his leg? It would’ve been better if it had hit his head, sending him straight to meet his ancestors once and for all. Now he was just causing more trouble for the commune members. This family was truly a headache.
“You few, go over there and take a look. See if she’s still alive. If she is, hurry up and get her out.”
The village’s strong men all looked disgusted. In the end, it was Gu Xiao who carried over a bamboo pole, had Wang Dahua cling to it, and pulled her up.
When the flashlight shone on her, her entire body was smeared with fermented fertilizer, giving off a stench so foul it was overwhelming.
Zhang Shengli waved a hand in front of his nose in disgust. This family was full of oddballs. Bringing such a stinking wife home—even after washing her clean, who could stomach her?
Wang Dahua felt an overwhelming urge to hang herself on the spot.
Oh merciful heavens!
Why was her life so bitter?
The stench was more than Zhang Shengli could bear. He sidestepped away and said apologetically to Gu Xiao and the police officers, “Comrades, I’m really sorry to have caused you so much trouble. If there’s nothing else, I’ll have people carry Shen Dafu down the mountain first.”
Gu Xiao nodded. Zhang Shengli left with the villagers carrying Shen Dafu, while Wang Dahua followed behind them, wailing as she went.
Gu Xiao glanced toward the direction of the village. She should be asleep by now, right?
Tomorrow morning, he would come to pick her up.
He then looked back at the traffickers in front of the thatched hut and said to Captain Zhao, “Captain Zhao, we’ll head out too. Thanks for your hard work tonight.”
“You’re far too polite, Commander Gu. We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”
Gu Xiao didn’t say anything more. Together with Lu Chen, he led his men away along another path behind the mountain.
At dawn, as soon as Gu Xiao returned to the compound, he headed straight for the political commissar’s office.
He knocked carefully on the door. A voice came from inside.
“Come in!”
Before entering, Gu Xiao took a deep breath, then pushed the door open.
The moment he stepped inside, the office was thick with smoke, making his eyes sting so badly he could barely open them.
The man sitting behind the desk saw his face—and his battered appearance—and, in a fury, grabbed a book from the desk and hurled it at him.
The book struck him squarely in his injured spot. Gu Xiao sucked in a sharp breath and let out a muffled groan.
“You little bastard, you still know how to come back? Do you know that because of you, the entire regiment hasn’t slept for two nights?”
Gu Xiao stood straight without saying a word. The political commissar was nearly beside himself with rage.
A twenty-four-year-old young man, with such immature thinking—he had truly believed Gu Xiao had violated discipline for the sake of a woman.
Fortunately, he had been risking his life to serve the people. Otherwise, the commissar really would’ve been driven mad with anger.
The political commissar stepped forward. His anger had already been vented, the scolding delivered. Just as he was about to say a few kinder words, he noticed the white shirt Gu Xiao was wearing—its chest soaked red with blood.
“You’re injured?”
“I was shot.”
“What?! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
The political commissar’s shout startled Lu Chen and Zhao Yi, who had been eavesdropping outside the door.
“Quick—someone come!”
The two of them rushed in.
The political commissar roared, “Drag this brat to the infirmary right now! Get him treated immediately—don’t let him die!”
The two snapped to attention and saluted.
“Yes, sir!”
Gu Xiao stepped out first, the two following closely behind.
All three went to the infirmary. When the medic saw Gu Xiao return, covered in injuries, he wanted to say a few words of concern. But seeing Gu Xiao’s dark, grim expression—like the Black Yama—he swallowed the words back down.
“Fortunately the bullet missed anything vital. Otherwise it would’ve been truly dangerous. But Commander Gu, you really are bold—removing the bullet yourself.”
Lu Chen and Zhao Yi exchanged glances.
This guy was insane, wasn’t he?
Gu Xiao said nothing. It had been Shen Nian who helped remove the bullet.
He had passed out then, burning with fever, barely conscious—he only remembered intense pain in his chest.
That girl… she really was full of surprises.
After prescribing anti-inflammatory medicine, the medic handed it to Gu Xiao. Lu Chen and Zhao Yi followed him out, flanking him like guardian deities.
Gu Xiao stopped. “You two don’t need to follow me. I’m going back to shower and sleep.”
He hadn’t changed his trousers in two days—he felt like he was about to start smelling himself.
Once back, Gu Xiao washed up, lay down, and fell asleep immediately.
In the same dormitory, Lu Chen worried he might be dead, so he reached out and tested Gu Xiao’s breathing.
Thankfully—still breathing.
Gu Xiao slept soundly through the night, without a single dream, until dawn.
After breakfast, he picked up a few buns from the canteen, went to the political commissar to file a report and get a vehicle, then drove toward Ping’an Village.
Sunlight streamed through the car window onto him. The wound in his chest still throbbed faintly, but the smile at the corner of his lips simply couldn’t be hidden.