The burning cattle shed lit up a small patch of sky behind her, but it made the darkness ahead seem even deeper.
Su Tong stumbled forward, confused and disoriented, completely unable to tell direction.
She had no idea that this accidental blaze had disturbed a tense standoff only a few hundred meters away.
A few hours earlier, Jiang Pinglu, the chief of Qingfeng Town Police Station, had been lying in the grass.
Beside him was Ma Daming, the militia captain from Yunshan Village, and further away were comrades from the county and provincial levels.
Ma Daming shifted his stiff body and leaned slightly toward Jiang Pinglu, whispering in the lowest possible voice:
“How much longer are we staying here? I can’t hold it anymore.”
Jiang Pinglu glared at him. Ma Daming then mouthed:
“Need to pee!”
Jiang Pinglu glanced into the distance. Not far away lay a young man in special tactical gear, completely still, almost blending into the night itself.
His exact position and rank had not been disclosed; everyone simply called him “Captain Qin.” All operations during this period were under his command.
The main task of this ambush was to rescue a hostage, and if possible, capture the fugitive holding the hostage.
For this mission, the police station and militia forces from several subordinate villages had all been mobilized.
Before setting out, Captain Qin had issued only one instruction: all actions must follow orders.
One mistake from anyone could cause the entire operation to fail, wasting all their efforts over the past days.
Thinking of this, Jiang Pinglu shot Ma Daming another hard glare, signaling with his lips:
“Hold it!”
Ma Daming wore a pained expression and was about to say something when he suddenly froze, his eyes fixed on the distance where a faint glow appeared.
Jiang Pinglu quickly turned his head. A fire had suddenly broken out about a hundred meters away, and it was growing brighter.
It looked like a house had been set ablaze, shining especially brightly in the night.
Everyone tensed up. At such a critical moment, was this fire a signal to the fugitive, or had the fugitive sensed danger and was probing?
This area lay on the border between Jiangping County and Jiangbei County. Ten miles west lay the mountains—bordering the Yangtze River, filled with cliffs, caves, and deep pools.
If a person escaped into those mountains, it would be like a fish entering the sea or a bird entering the forest—almost impossible to capture again.
Everyone lying in the grass turned their attention toward Captain Qin.
Qin Yi raised his head, also uncertain about the sudden fire.
Before they could react, however, they saw figures emerging in the glow of the flames, running toward them.
One person ran unsteadily in front, stumbling as if about to fall at any moment.
Two others chased behind, shouting and cursing. In the silent night, their voices carried clearly.
“Bitch! Stop right there! When I catch you, I’ll strip you naked and tie you to a tree! Call the whole village to come watch… trying to run from me? I’ll ruin you…”
Everyone frowned at the filthy language, but without orders, no one dared move.
Suddenly, Ma Daming shot up.
Jiang Pinglu pressed his head down immediately and hissed, “What are you doing?!”
“That’s Li Youshun from our village!”
Ma Daming glared. “He’s going to ruin the whole operation! I’ll go tie him up!”
“Shut up! Wait for orders!”
Jiang Pinglu lowered his voice sharply. He had already noticed Qin Yi glancing in their direction, and he couldn’t help feeling anxious.
These militia men had never received formal training. Being able to stay hidden this long was already impressive. He only hoped nothing would go wrong because of them.
Su Tong felt weak and dizzy, her legs giving out as she ran. She couldn’t keep this up much longer.
The two pursuers behind her were getting closer and closer. She simply didn’t have the stamina to outrun them.
The fire behind her grew brighter, casting flickering light over the surroundings. Ahead, she saw a vast patch of tall grass—taller than a person.
She twisted her body, trying to dive into the grass. In the darkness, she might still have a chance to lose them.
But before she could run far into it, an arm suddenly shot out from the side and yanked her in.
A man’s cold voice sounded in her ear as he pinned her from behind, arm locked around her neck.
“Don’t make a sound. One sound and I’ll kill you.”
Su Tong hadn’t expected anyone to be hiding in the grass at this hour. She froze immediately.
The two men chasing her didn’t hesitate and rushed straight into the grass.
The one called Shuanzi was in front. He vaguely saw Su Tong entangled with a man and immediately exploded in rage.
“Damn it! So that’s where this bitch ran off to! She’s got a man hiding here!”
Without hesitation, he charged forward.
Wang Lao’er, right behind him, also rushed in. Not willing to fall behind, he grabbed the man’s hair and started beating him.
The poor man—once a notorious criminal feared by the underworld, who had traveled thousands of miles to escape police pursuit and ranked high on the national most-wanted list—was suddenly tangled up with a couple of village thugs.
He had just been preparing to slip into the mountains and reach freedom, but these people had inexplicably dragged him into chaos.
He had heard the shouting outside earlier and assumed it was just villagers fighting over some petty, unspeakable matter. He never expected the woman to run straight into his hiding place.
Dealing with them would have taken only minutes, but what infuriated him was that after lying in ambush all night to avoid the police trap, these fools had now exposed him.
Just as he was about to endure another blow, he pushed the woman away and drew a dagger, preparing to finish them off one by one.
But before he could strike, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced his arm.
Qin Yi lowered his weapon and coldly ordered:
“Zhang Kui has appeared. Team One moves in for capture. Team Two spreads out and searches for Ma Liu. All targets to be taken alive. Priority is locating the child—child safety comes first.”
Ma Daming could no longer hold back. He rushed out in a single stride and shouted:
“Li Youshun! You damn fool, do you want to die?!”
Shuanzi and Wang Lao’er, hearing the gunshot, collapsed in terror.
They were used to acting like bullies in the village, but they had never seen anything like this. Hearing Ma Daming’s shout, Wang Lao’er felt like the sky was collapsing.
“Shu-shuanzi… I think… I think we’ve been found out. The police are here with Ma Dadan to arrest us…”