Winter Returns

Chapter 15 Because of you

Zhang Shutong was stunned at first, but his body reacted immediately. He took a step forward and was about to call the others to rush over and seize the gun.
Unexpectedly, with a muffled thud, the girl's seemingly casual kick unleashed unparalleled power, sending the man's body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, his feet leaving the ground—

Lu Qinglian immediately changed her footing, her foot landing quickly in mid-air. Then, she twisted her ankle, the sole of her shoe making a teeth-grinding friction sound on the dirt road, and suddenly exerted force throughout her body!
The girl's other leg followed immediately; she turned and kicked backward, striking the spear with perfect accuracy.

In the blink of an eye, two kicks were delivered: the first kick knocked the man down, and the second kicked the weapon away. The next second, the man in the baseball cap was sent flying, gun and all, crashing heavily onto the dirt road behind him.
Amidst the rising dust, the young woman calmly withdrew her leg, her long robe falling to her side.

"..."

On the evening of December 5, 2012;

Zhang Shutong and his friends encountered a man with a gun.

The man kidnapped his classmate;
Then the man flew away.

Zhang Shutong and the others were all dumbfounded. If one were to describe their state using a currently popular, yet very dated, phrase, it would be—

My friends and I were all stunned.

—Until the man's intermittent groans and curses echoed from the ground;
Before they could react, Qingyi rushed forward and delivered a chop to the other person's neck; Ruoping ran to Lu Qinglian and hurriedly asked if she was alright, with Du Kang following behind.

Zhang Shutong went to a nearby spot, picked up the spear, and held it in his arms before his heart finally settled.

In just a short while, he had broken out in a cold sweat, and now, with the night breeze blowing, he felt a chill down his back.

Really, there won't be any more unexpected events, right?
The night's events could be best described as full of twists and turns. First, there was the patrolling police, then the bald man fishing with electricity, and finally this man with a gun—each one more dangerous than the last… He pinched the bridge of his nose and couldn't help but glance at Lu Qinglian.

Ruoping was holding her shoulder, asking her all sorts of questions, looking both surprised and admiring. The other woman would sometimes gently nod her chin, and sometimes shake her head, just like always.

It seems that what was kicked away just now wasn't a thug with a gun, but a shuttlecock that girls love to play with;
Recalling that kick just now, Zhang Shutong still felt a sense of unreality.

He knew Lu Qinglian was a mysterious person before, but this was too exaggerated. Was this girl really a temple keeper at some Green Snake Temple instead of Shaolin Temple?

He did practice self-defense for a while when he was in high school. You can't save the world without some martial arts skills. Although he was only slightly stronger than the average person in the end, he still had basic eyesight.

The girl's two kicks were superb in terms of reaction, strength, and accuracy. Not to mention him in high school, even he eight years later wouldn't be able to beat Lu Qinglian with one hand.

Compared to his legs, Zhang Shutong was better at using his brain. He felt that he could control his brain, but physical strength was something that couldn't be acquired just by looking at it.

Now it's time to use your brain.

"Shutong, come and take a look at this," Qingyi called out from the side.

He went over to take a look and found that the other party had found a snakeskin bag, and there were faint noises coming from inside, like it contained a few chickens.

Zhang Shutong first felt the bag through its surface. The two then shifted positions, fully prepared, opened the bag, and shone a flashlight inside. It really was a close relative of a chicken—

Inside the bag lay two large, half-dead birds, their once beautiful yellow feathers now withered and droopy. They looked at each other, confirming their suspicions.

"Yellow ibis?" Qingyi asked hesitantly.

"Probably, I've only ever seen specimens." Zhang Shutong pulled aside the crests of the two birds, frowning. "Weren't they supposed to be almost extinct? It's amazing that they were able to find them."

This bird is a species unique to the island. I forgot which level of national protection it is, but if you catch it, you'll really be locked up for several years.

"No wonder that bald guy pulled out a knife..."

“Electric fishing is just a side effect for them. Now look at this gun,” Zhang Shutong picked up the long gun. He used to be only interested in cold weapons, and his research on guns was not as good as Qingyi’s. “An air rifle?”

"Hmm, let me see... Wow, it's PCP, pretty advanced." Qingyi took it and examined it for a moment, almost striking a aiming pose. "This thing is incredibly lethal... So they really came to poach?"

“Yes, it was just two poachers, and we ran into them.” Zhang Shutong sighed. “But look, the bird isn’t dead, so it must have shot something else.”

Of course, this is not something they can worry about; they can hand it over to the police later.

Zhang Shutong then analyzed:
"So what Du Kang saw at the time was the baseball cap. There were two of them at first. The one in the baseball cap went west, and the bald one came later."

Upon hearing this, Qingyi slapped his thigh:
"I said, it's my fault, it's my fault. Actually, we heard Baldy on the phone, talking about students and not being seen, and I thought he had seen Du Kang, but it turned out he wasn't the one who saw Du Kang..."

“It’s this baseball cap that’s reminding him,” Zhang Shutong continued.

"Sigh..." Qingyi felt a little guilty.

Zhang Shutong patted him on the shoulder, offered a few words of comfort, and then called Du Kang over to inquire about what had just happened. He had a general idea of ​​what had happened:
First of all, there was no such thing as being "surrounded" by others.

The poachers always came in pairs, one in the baseball cap in front and the other bald. However, the one in the baseball cap later turned back from the west and happened to run into Ruoping and the others.

When the three of them got onto the dirt road, they were relieved to find out that the bald man had buried fish instead of people. They also disliked the smell down there, so they deliberately ran a little further away.
Meanwhile, the man in the baseball cap went to meet up with his companions, but when he got nearby, he didn't find his companions, but he did see three students.
Ruoping was closest to him at the time, and by the time she noticed him, the man had already drawn his gun and taken her hostage.

Then the three of them were herded to the fishpond by the man with a gun. Originally, Ruoping did not want to expose the presence of Zhang Shutong and the other person, but the two of them were talking loudly down below, which could be heard by anyone who was not deaf. So the man decided to wait for them to come to him.
At this point, the hostage was still Ruoping, but the person in the baseball cap, for some reason, probably saw that Lu Qinglian was in a long robe and had difficulty moving around, or maybe thought that the girl looked easy to bully, and in a moment of madness, switched the two of them, foreshadowing the two thuds that followed.

Within minutes, Zhang Shutong and Qingyi arrived. After a few seconds of confrontation, Lu Qinglian kicked Zhang Shutong, knocking him out.

At this point, Ruoping remembered her phone and picked it up with a pained expression. Fortunately, it wasn't broken, just cracked. These days, most phone back covers can be removed, and they're mostly plastic, so they're not too hard to break.

—But that didn’t stop Ruoping from kicking the boy in the crotch of the baseball cap twice, sending a chill down the spines of the boys.

They called the police again, and they sat on the curb, exhausted, still shaken by what they had experienced that night.
The group looked at each other, each able to see the other's eyes shining in the night. Someone poked someone else, and someone couldn't help but laugh, so they started chatting and laughing again.

Qingyi was playing with an air gun. He had only ever looked at them in magazines and had never touched a real one. The thought that the air gun would be confiscated soon made him feel a little reluctant.
Du Kang loved to court death. Taking advantage of being sitting far away from Ruoping, he said, "Were you scared to tears just now? Oh, how embarrassing!" He even stuck out his tongue and made a face.
Ruoping immediately stood up and said, "I think you're going to cry too," and was about to grab the other person's ear when Du Kang begged for mercy, saying, "Don't forget I saved your life in the reeds."
Ruoping pouted and said that it was the frog that saved them, so she should thank the frog...

Then someone suggested that they write about what happened tonight in their composition for the next Chinese exam. There were four of them, so they each wrote a paragraph about their own experience, starting from fishing.
Furthermore, because Ruoping's Chinese language skills have always been excellent, she can always be used as a model essay in various classes. There is no worry that no one will notice her. When pieced together, it forms a complete story that is absolutely thrilling.

Besides, they've spent four years here and are now senior students. How can they not gain some admiring glances from the younger students? They can leave behind a legend after graduation.

At this point, the group became excited and immediately wanted to discuss the division of labor.

Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Why don't we build a statue for the three of you? Add me to it, and the four of us would stand at the school gate. That would definitely be more impressive than Gu Qiumian's dad."

Moreover, he had a lot of opinions. These three people could write a lot: I caught frogs in the reeds, I was scared to tears in the reeds, I tied fishing lines in the reeds... the subject matter was wide-ranging.
I could only write "Why Apple Phones Have No Signal," but argumentative essays weren't popular in junior high school, so I was at a disadvantage from the start.

It was really cold. Zhang Shutong sneezed and quickly turned his head, only to see red and blue lights flashing at the end of the road in the distance.

The sirens blared; the police had finally arrived.

……

The island's police car was a pickup truck. A policeman got out and was about to ask who had called the police when several people moved aside, revealing two unconscious men behind them, which startled the policeman.

They threw the bicycle into the back of the bike and squeezed on top of it to go to the police station to give their statements.

Halfway through, the police officer surnamed Xiong returned. He was about to glare at Du Kang when he saw him, but his colleague pulled him back, and the two whispered something to each other.
When the other person looked up again, he held his breath for a long time, his face turning red. Finally, he patted Du Kang on the shoulder and left as if he hadn't seen anything.

—Who told Du Kang to wipe his fishing rod in front of everyone? He almost tore the tissue paper in his hand while wiping it, but he did it with such style and flair.
Ruoping, still smiling, asked:
"Oh dear, are you tired from scrubbing? Do you want a drink of water? I see this isn't clean enough, it looks so black. Oh, the fishing rod was originally black. It's okay, I'll scrub it a bit more..."

They really got a good show off, but since they had done a good job, not only did we have to tolerate it, but we also had to praise them and send them a banner to the school.

It turned out that the two poachers were repeat offenders. After interrogation, it was learned that they had done more than just those two birds. This time, they had also killed a bunch of foxes, badgers, pangolins, and other animals, and put them in their car, not far from where they were fishing.
As for why the fish were buried, it was because the dead fish were left in the car and the bald man forgot about them, so the fish started to rot.

At the same time, they also realized something else: why they didn't encounter anyone electrofishing last night. It was also related to Du Kang. He met the man in the baseball cap while moving a stool, and the man in the baseball cap was worried, so he and the bald man went back to check.

An expert was then invited to the police station—actually, it was a castrated chicken, but it was so late that there were no more ferries running, so they had no choice but to try anything as a last resort.

There was chaos for a while.

Ruoping's mother also came. Dukang and Qingyi just called home to let them know they were safe and said they would be back soon. That's how boys on the island are; they're used to being wild. As long as they don't stay out all night, their families aren't too worried.

After they finished everything, they yawned and left the police station. It was past nine o'clock.

The other three people all live in the north, which is not a coincidence, but because there is only one residential area there.
Zhang Shutong is the only exception. His family lives in the east. Since his parents were transferred to work in the area, there was no need for them to build a house. The three of them now live in the staff dormitory building built by Gu's father.
Although it's called a dormitory building, the conditions are actually similar to a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, a full ninety square meters.

Normally, they would part ways like this before, with the three of them going one side and Zhang Shutong going the other, and everyone going home to their own mothers—but this time there's an added variable, what will Lu Qinglian do?
Zhang Shutong then belatedly remembered something: Green Snake Mountain was also to the east, and the two seemed to be going the same way. Otherwise, how would he know about the small shop at the foot of the mountain, even though the mountain was located further east than his home?

Ruoping insisted that he take Lu Qinglian home before going back himself, as it was dangerous late at night and he shouldn't let a girl walk alone at night. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Let's go back together. It's not me protecting her, it's more like she's protecting me."
But it was just a joke, and there was no need to hesitate over such a small matter, so he nodded and agreed.

This time, Du Kang learned his lesson. He wasn't jealous or pestering Zhang Shutong to go with him. He just patted Zhang Shutong's shoulder solemnly and said, "Be careful on the road." This made Zhang Shutong feel that he had made great progress.

After discussing the matter, the group waved goodbye.

Zhang Shutong was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping. At this moment, he didn't care about the proper distance between men and women. The important thing was to get Lu Qinglian back as soon as possible. He wanted to pat the bicycle so that she could get on, but he found that there was no seat on the back. He had already modified it into a box.

No wonder Du Kang was so decisive...

However, the police station isn't far from the mountain. The island itself isn't very big; otherwise, it wouldn't be called an island.

It is 5 kilometers long from north to south and about 2.5 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of ​​about 9 square kilometers. The island has a permanent population of about 8000 people, which is still the largest inland island in northern China.

Besides, the police station isn't on the far west side, so it's a 20-minute walk from here to the mountain.

Zhang Shutong pushed the bike, with Lu Qinglian following beside him, and the two of them drove through the city.

The so-called urban area is just a block of tofu made up of a few main streets. Department stores, restaurants, mobile phone stores, supermarkets and the like have signs that don't light up. The only light source is the streetlights. The island's residents don't have a nightlife. Looking around, the streetlights on both sides turn the asphalt road yellow.

A small shop was still lit up. Zhang Shutong asked Qinglian if she wanted some water, but the girl shook her head, so the two continued on their way.

"Your family must be worried, right?" Zhang Shutong then realized that she didn't have a cell phone and hadn't been able to contact them for so long.

"It's okay, she knows I go out at night."

The "she" the other person was referring to should be his grandmother. He had heard Du Kang say at the funeral that Lu Qinglian and his grandmother had depended on each other for many years.

But where are her parents?

Also, I remember Du Kang saying that Lu Qinglian's grandmother had passed away before she died, and that the girl would probably be all alone in a few years.

But Zhang Shutong didn't want to get involved in other people's family affairs, so he simply said:
"If you encounter any inconvenience in the future, please give us your contact information."

Actually, he didn't need to remind her. After that night, Lu Qinglian was probably regarded as a comrade-in-arms by Ruoping and the others.

Let's talk about something lighter:
"When did you tell your grandma?" Zhang Shutong asked casually, "When you got out of school?"

"noon."

noon?

Weren't you still shoveling snow at the temple back then, before you went back to school?
Did your grandma have some kind of premonition that you would go out at night?
It seems like they just don't want to talk about it anymore.

Zhang Shutong interpreted this as a signal that he didn't want to talk about his family.

Then, another question that had puzzled him for a long time came to mind:

"So what exactly did you come here for tonight?" Zhang Shutong asked curiously.

Before the girl could speak, he interrupted her:

"Don't tell me it's to fight criminals."

"You can understand it that way for now."

The girl replied calmly.

Zhang Shutong shrugged and remained silent.

If you ask him that question again, he... hasn't thought about it yet, but he definitely won't ask it again.

The two walked side by side for a while, and Zhang Shutong remembered another question:
"If you're so skilled, why did you hide back then?"

The girl stopped in her tracks upon hearing this. She turned around, looked directly into Zhang Shutong's eyes, and calmly said:

"because of you……"

Sorry for breaking my promise. I've finished writing 10,000 words, but I'm not satisfied with the second half. I'll revise it and post it this afternoon or evening.

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(End of this chapter)