The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Not long after, the man carrying the canvas bag finished checking out and hurriedly came out.

He didn't linger in the town, nor did he head towards the station. Instead, he lowered his head and quickly walked into another narrower and more dilapidated street next to the inn.

Yang Shuisheng immediately followed silently, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far, using the cover of the night and the street clutter to appear like a ghost.

The other person seemed very wary, glancing back every now and then as he walked, but Yang Shuisheng's tracking skills and night vision were far superior to his, and he was never discovered.

After many twists and turns, Zhang Qiang squeezed through the back door of a small hotel whose signboard was almost completely fallen off.

Yang Shuisheng did not rush in. He went around to the side of the hotel and found a window with a broken wall through which light shone. He held his breath and listened intently.

Two men's voices came from inside the house. One of them was the man who had just gone in, and the other's voice was hoarse and filled with pain.

"Qiangzi, have you brought everything back?" the hoarse voice asked.

"We got it back, just a few tattered clothes. We checked out of the hotel." Qiangzi's voice was filled with lingering fear and urgency. "Old Li, how's your leg? Can you walk? We have to get out of here quickly, we can't stay in this godforsaken place any longer."

"Damn it, it hurts like hell!" Old Li cursed in a hoarse voice. "That night, when I was chasing that bastard Zhao Hu, I fell down that steep slope and almost broke my leg."

"If you hadn't found me later and carried me back, I would have died in the mountains."

"I've been lying down for the past few days and my bones feel so weak. I can walk, but I can't walk fast."

"As long as we can leave! We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning and take the earliest bus back to the provincial capital." Zhang Qiang lowered his voice, his tone fearful. "This mission is a complete disaster. We didn't catch the guy, and one of our brothers died. We almost got ourselves arrested. And as for Brother Cai... I don't know how to explain this to him."

"Explain my ass!" Old Li seemed even more agitated. "The little money that guy surnamed Cai gave us isn't even enough to buy medicine. Besides, that peasant surnamed Zhao is too ruthless; he even dared to bite back!"

"And that night in the woods was really weird. I still get chills when I think about it. There must be something unclean in those mountains. I don't want to stay in this lousy place for another day."

"Alright, that's enough." Zhang Qiang seemed more cautious. "We'll leave before dawn tomorrow. Let's get out of here first, and then we'll see what Brother Cai decides when we get back to the provincial capital."

"Go to sleep now and get some rest."

The sound of rustling as someone lay down came from inside the room, then the lights went out, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two people.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shuisheng already had a plan in mind.

It seems that the information they registered is true; one is named Zhang Qiang, and the other is named Li Guohua.

One of them has injured his leg, and the other is terrified and is planning to run away tomorrow.

The "Brother Cai" they mentioned is likely one of the masterminds behind the scenes.

He didn't wait any longer. He grabbed a rag from the clothesline next to him and covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Then he walked to the broken window that let in some air and tapped it three times rhythmically with his knuckles, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Knock knock knock".

The room fell into a deathly silence; even breathing stopped.

"Who is it?" Zhang Qiang's wary voice came from behind.

Yang Shuisheng didn't answer, and knocked three more times, this time with a little more force.

A flurry of noise came from inside the room, as if the two of them had gotten out of bed, accompanied by Li Guohua's suppressed groans of pain.

"Who's outside? Speak!" Zhang Qiang's voice trembled as he approached the door.

Yang Shuisheng took half a step back and pressed himself against the wall next to the door.

"Squeak—"

The wooden door was opened a crack, and Zhang Qiang's nervous face peeked out, looking around.

Seizing the opportunity, Yang Shuisheng exerted his strength, slamming his shoulder hard against the door.

"Bang!"

The door was flung open, and Zhang Qiang, caught off guard, was hit in the face by the door panel. He screamed and staggered backward.

Yang Shuisheng quickly rushed into the house, slammed the door shut, and bolted it shut.

The lights were off inside; only a faint light shone in from the window.

Li Guohua was hopping on one leg, trying to reach for the dagger beside his pillow, when he saw a dark figure burst through the door and was so frightened that he dared not move.

Yang Shuisheng didn't give them any time to react. In a flash, he was already in front of Li Guohua and punched the side of his injured knee.

"ah--"

Li Guohua let out a pig-like scream, clutched his leg and rolled to the ground, convulsing in pain, unable to stand up again.

"Go to hell!"

At this moment, Zhang Qiang, who was dizzy from being hit by the door, struggled to get up, pulled out a dagger from his waist, and shouted as he stabbed at Yang Shuisheng in the back.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Yang Shuisheng easily dodged to the side, while simultaneously thrusting his elbow backward, slamming it into Zhang Qiang's chest.

"Ugh!" Zhang Qiang groaned, the dagger slipped from his hand, and he curled up, clutching his chest, his face deathly pale, struggling to breathe.

It only took a few seconds from ramming the door to knocking the two people down.

The two men were completely powerless against Yang Shuisheng.

Yang Shuisheng walked to the wall, found the pull rope, and turned on the dim light bulb in the room.

In the dim light, Zhang Qiang and Li Guohua lay sprawled on the ground, one clutching his chest and gasping for breath, the other clutching his broken leg and wailing. They both stared in terror at the masked, terrifyingly skilled uninvited guest.

"Who sent you?" Yang Shuisheng asked, his voice deliberately lowered, sounding hoarse and cold. "Speak! Why do you want Lin Wan dead?"

Zhang Qiang and Li Guohua exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other's eyes, but neither dared to speak first.

"Not going to talk?" Yang Shuisheng walked to Old Li's side, raised his foot, and seemingly casually stepped on Old Li's injured leg bone, slowly applying pressure.

"ah--"

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It was Brother Cai, it was Brother Cai Jinwen who sent us!" Li Guohua was in so much pain that he almost fainted, and he shouted hoarsely, no longer caring about anything else.

"Cai Jinwen? Who is he, and why is he targeting Lin Wan?" Yang Shuisheng loosened his grip slightly and continued to press for answers.

"I...we don't know either." Zhang Qiang clutched his chest, looking dejected. "We're just doing our jobs for money. All we know is that Brother Cai works for Hongfa Group and has some connections in the provincial capital. He often gives us some less-than-clean jobs."

"He's the one who contacted us this time. He gave us photos and money, and told us to come to the Daliang Mountains area to find this woman named Lin Wan. He said he wanted to see her alive or dead."

"We really don't know anything else, we're just errand runners."

Hongfa Group? Cai Jinwen?

Yang Shuisheng memorized these two names.

Could it be that the enemy Lin Wan's family has offended is this Hongfa Group?

"Where in the provincial capital is Cai Jinwen? How can I contact him?" Yang Shuisheng continued to ask.

"We usually meet him at a billiards hall called 'Old Place' in the west of the city. If he needs something, he sends someone to call us."

"How dare we, small fry, ask where we live?" Zhang Qiang quickly replied, afraid of getting beaten up if he spoke too slowly.

Yang Shuisheng stared into the eyes of the two men, seeing their fearful expressions, which seemed genuine, and knew that he probably wouldn't be able to get any more information out of them.

To put it bluntly, these two are indeed just the lowest-level staff.

He stopped asking questions and tapped an acupoint on the side of each of their necks. Zhang Qiang and Li Guohua fainted without even uttering a sound, their eyes rolling back.

Yang Shuisheng tore off his face mask, found a sturdy hemp rope in the room, and tied the two unconscious men back to back together, binding them tightly.

Then, he carried the two men, each weighing over 200 pounds combined, on his shoulders as easily as carrying sacks.

Leaving the small hotel, he avoided the main road and continued to walk through the dark alleys, heading back towards Masanjia.

When Yang Shuisheng knocked on Ma San's door again, he saw Yang Shuisheng return, along with two more large men tied up like dumplings on his shoulders. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his mouth was agape enough to fit an egg.

"Brother Yang... Brother Yang, what are you doing again...?" Ma San was so frightened that his tongue was tied in knots. He pointed at the two new goods and could not speak properly.

"Bang! Bang!" Yang Shuisheng threw the two men into the corner, piling them together with the sack that had previously contained Zhao Hu.

Now, three living people were piled up in the corner of the small room, which looked rather eerie.

"Keep an eye on them together." Yang Shuisheng said succinctly, pointing to the two newcomers, "Don't send them to the police station yet."

"Huh? You're not delivering again?" Ma San was dumbfounded. He looked at the sack, then at the two people who were tied up, and felt extremely miserable.

What kind of mess is this?!

A murderer and two unidentified thugs were stuffed into his house.

If this is discovered, he'll be in deep trouble no matter what.

"Well, I won't see you off yet. I have my own plans." Yang Shuisheng said, taking out a hundred-yuan bill and slapping it into Ma San's hand. "This hundred yuan is for your trouble and to keep quiet."

"Keep a close eye on him. Don't let anything go wrong. If word gets out, or he escapes..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his cold gaze sent a chill down Ma San's spine. He quickly clutched the hundred yuan tightly in his hand, patted his chest, and assured him, "Brother Yang, don't worry, I, Ma San, will risk my life to keep an eye on him for you."

"Not even a fly can get out of here."

One hundred yuan is enough for a hoodlum like Ma San to live comfortably for many days.

"Remember what you said." Yang Shuisheng glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

As he walked out of the alley, Yang Shuisheng stretched and yawned. He had been up to something for most of the night, first arresting Zhao Hu and taking his confession, and now arresting two more people from the city. He had also unexpectedly learned about Cai Jinwen and the Hongfa Group. Overall, the results were pretty good.

However, as he walked out of town and passed the street corner where Xu Xiuxia's house was, he subconsciously glanced at it.

The light was still on in Xu Xiuxia's window!

The dim light shone through the paper window, standing out starkly in the quiet of the night.

It's so late, how come she's still not asleep?

Yang Shuisheng's heart stirred slightly.

I recalled the awkward and ambiguous scene when I brought her home a few nights ago, and her suppressed breathing when she was alone at home.

My feet moved involuntarily toward the window with the light on, and I quietly moved a little closer.

He wanted to see what Xu Xiuxia was doing alone in the house so late at night.