Unexpectedly, this aunt was so kind-hearted. Chen Zikun and Xia Xiaoqing looked at each other in dismay, while Yao Yilei was stunned into silence, unable to utter a word despite her usual quick wit.

  "Hurry up, don't let that useless son of mine catch you again." The old woman urged, turning around and leaving the cowshed. Yao Yire woke up like a dream, pulled her legs and ran out, Chen Zikun also came out from behind the haystack, saying: "Xia Xiaoqing, take her away first, I still have something to do."

  "Be careful." Xia Xiaoqing whispered, supporting Yao Yire as they walked out the door into the courtyard. The sound of the gate being opened was loud, and the military advisor inside shouted: "Who!"

  "The old lady is out splashing water." The old woman hastily stuffed it in and said, how could General Wu be deceived by anyone? He limped out of the door and saw someone standing in the courtyard, smiling at him: "General Wu, you're safe and sound."

  This man was Chen Zikong, standing in the courtyard with his horse and sword, like a heavenly soldier descending from the sky. Military advisor Su Qingyan took a deep breath and just wanted to run away, but Chen Zikong patted the gun at his waist and said: "What, want to try brother's marksmanship?"

  Su Qingyan didn't dare move anymore, gritting his teeth and saying: "What do you want to do!"

  Chen Zikun gestured for Xia Xiaoqing to escort Yao Yire out the door, while coldly smiling and saying: "You've reached your doorstep, aren't you going to invite me in for a sit?"

  "Please!" Su Qingyan was also bold, with a wave of his hand making a welcoming gesture. Chen Zikong stepped forward and entered the house. As soon as he went in, he felt a gust of wind behind his head. His body flashed to the side, and a sharp axe chopped down against his scalp - it was Heifeng!

  Heavily injured Black Wind was Chen Zikun's opponent and was instantly subdued, with the muzzle pressed against his temple on the table.

  An old woman walked into the house and asked: "Erhei, we have guests at home again?"

  "Hei Feng replied: 'Mother, another friend has come, we just met.'"

  Chen Zikun held Black Wind's arm with one hand and waved his gun with the other, gesturing for Su Qingyan to sit down. With a gentle smile, he asked: "Auntie, my surname is Chen, I'm a friend of your son's. It's so late, I've come to add trouble, sorry about that."

  The old woman said: "Don't be polite, it's not easy for anyone to go out and about. I can tell from your accent that you're not a local."

  "Ah, old lady, your ears are really sharp. I'm not a local, I'm from outside the pass." Chen Zikun was chatting and laughing with the old woman, but the gun in his hand was still pointing at her son. This scene was truly unbelievable.

  "This son of mine, had a bad temper since he was young, liked to take revenge for others. At the age of 15, he killed someone at the fair and was supposed to be executed, but luckily the Emperor granted amnesty, sparing his life. He spent several years in prison and after coming out, our lives were never peaceful again. Every day, he would go out and fight and kill... I've cried my eyes blind for him..."

  The old woman chattered on and on, talking about everyday family matters, speaking of the dark wind that sighed endlessly, silently shedding tears.

  "All right, you chat, I'll go see if the pot is boiling." The old woman moved her feet and left.

  "Chen's surname, I'll go with you. Don't implicate my mother." Hei Feng knew he was beaten this time and admitted defeat.

  Su Qing silently piled the gold bars on the table and said, "We are not as skilled as others, we admit defeat, all the gold bars are here, please do us a favor."

  Chen Zikong thought for a moment and said: "I want the money, I also want the person."

  Su Qingyan suddenly stood up, his face pale, with a mind to fight, but he was not Chen Zikong's opponent at all, and had to sit down again with hatred.

  "Hei Feng was indeed ruthless: 'Brother, you're cruel, I don't want to fall into the hands of the government, so let's end this.'"

  Chen Zikong said: "Alright, I'll give you a quick and painful one."

  He then used a box-shaped cannon to press against Heifeng's temple and pulled the trigger.

  The black wind does not change color, and the neck is beheaded.

  A loud "crack" sound, it was just an empty gun.

  Chen Zikun dropped the box and said with a cannon-like tone: "You are already dead in my hands."

  Hei Feng's expression was shocked, Su Qingyan was overjoyed.

  "These gold bars, consider them as consolation money for those dead souls under your hands. Don't meet me again in the future." Chen Zikun said and left, only hearing the voices of conversation in the courtyard.

  "His brother, eat first and then go."

  "No, auntie, I still have things to attend to, take care of yourself."

  The footsteps gradually faded away, and both Hei Feng and Su Qingyan let out a sigh of relief.

  ……

  Yao Yile rode a donkey, with Yao Yile leading it. They walked out of the village in the moonlight, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Before long, Chen Zikun caught up with them. Xia Xiaoqing asked him: "Where are the bandits?"

  "It's been taken care of by me." Chen Zikun said with ease.

  The topic of murder, everyone didn't want to discuss it much. In the dark night, in the northern countryside, they hurried along the road, when suddenly a train whistle sounded from afar, a train roared southward from the north, Chen Zikun gazed at the train for a long time and let out a sigh.

  Proceeding forward, a group of people and horses suddenly appeared in the dark, Chen Zikun hastily hid Yao Yilei and Xia Xiaoqing in the bushes. When the other party approached, Xia Xiaoqing only discovered that her father was among them, and then they met each other.

  It was the water police led by Xu Guodong and Xia Shifu who came, following the marks left by Xia Xiaoqing to search for them. After dark, they moved slowly and only met them now.

  "Isn't this Chen Shaoshuai?" Xu Guodong recognized Chen Zikun at a glance, and hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands. He then turned to see Yao Yire and asked in a hurry, "Is this Miss Yao?"

  After confirmation, Xu Guodong was overjoyed and said to the police: "Brothers, Miss Yao has been rescued by Chen Xiaoxia, but the thief is still nearby, let's all cheer up!"

  It's impossible to rush back to Beijing at this point. Not to mention the danger on the road, even if I made it, the city gate wouldn't be open anyway, what a waste.

  Then, the water police held guns to protect Yao Yire and others, and set off overnight to a nearby town. After half an hour's journey, they arrived at Daxing County Town. The county town had already closed its gate in the middle of the night. Xu Guodong, although a policeman, could not control the ground in the county town, so he arranged for Miss Yao to stay in an inn outside the city.

  Upscale inns and restaurants are all in the city, while outside the city there are only low-end shops, so-called "chicken feather shops" which are actually large common rooms with a thick layer of chicken feathers on the kang for warmth during cold weather, accommodation fees are very low, just a few copper coins can get you through the night.

  A group of armed police burst into a small inn at night, frightening the owner. After learning they were just looking for lodging, he hastily vacated his own room, boiled some eggs, prepared a basin of hot water for Miss Yao to wash her face, and served a meal. He also cooked a large pot of noodles for the police officers' midnight snack.

  That night, Xia Qing accompanied Yao Yile and stayed, the police were stationed outside, not daring to be slightly slack.

  A sleepless night.

  ……

  Beijing, Yao Gongguan, Yao Cichang did not sleep all night. In the middle of the night, he received news that the river police had exchanged fire with kidnappers on the Yongding River and killed several people, but there was no news about his daughter, which made him even more worried.

  The ashtray was filled with cigarette butts, Yao Zicong's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was full of worry. His wife had been so grief-stricken that she had to be hospitalized, their daughter was gone, and now his wife had fallen ill again - this family was finished.

  He had already put the greatest pressure on the police department, garrison command and infantry headquarters, believing that Wu Bingxiang and Li Changtai would also work together to handle this case. However, the inefficiency and incompetence of the military and police authorities were well known to Yao Zicong, and this time his daughter might be in grave danger.

  The phone suddenly rang, and Yao Cizhang jumped up with a start. He subconsciously turned his head to glance at the clock on the wall, which read 7:00.

  "Is there any news?"

  The other side was taken aback, and immediately said in Japanese: "Director Yao, I am Yamamoto of the Japanese delegation. I hope you will not be absent from today's meeting. The Shandong Railway issue needs to be resolved urgently."

  "Damn it!" Yao Cizhang couldn't help but get furious and slammed down the phone.

  The phone rang again, and Yao Cizhang was furious. He grabbed the receiver, ready to scold someone, but heard a cheerful voice: "I'm Old Wu, congratulations Yao Cizhang, your daughter has been rescued safely and is being escorted back to Beijing by my police personnel!"

  "Great, where is he? I'll go pick him up."

  "I've just arrived from Daxing."

  Yao Cizhang slammed down the phone, grabbed his coat and went out, waking up the driver and the captain of the guard, with three cars, a row of road protection soldiers, majestically leaving Yongdingmen Gate, rushing to Daxing.

  At dawn, Xu Guodong led his men into the city of Daxing County and contacted the local police station. He borrowed a small sedan chair and had Miss Yao carried towards Beijing. The head of the Daxing County Police Station led his subordinates to escort them all the way until they met the motorcade sent by Yao Zilong to pick up his daughter outside the city of Beijing.

  Seeing his daughter again, it felt like a century had passed. Yao Zicong carefully examined his daughter, her hair was messy, her face was dirty, and there was a big bump on her head. She was wearing a coarse linen garment of a peasant. His daughter had never suffered such hardships from childhood to adulthood.

  Yao's father, Yao Cizhang, was so worried that he shed tears on the spot. He ordered someone to help his daughter into the car and then shook hands with each of the police officers present, thanking them warmly: "Brothers, you have worked hard, come to my house later to receive a reward."

  The water police were overjoyed, their waists straightened up, and Xu Guodong was even more ecstatic. This time they had cracked a big case, and promotion and wealth were a certainty.

  The car drove straight to Xiehe Hospital. Yao Yilei leaned against the window, looking for Chen Zikun's figure, but it was already gone.

  ……

  Shi Zong Ma Street, Hou Zhai Alley, Lin's residence. A large iron lock hangs on the gate. Looking through the gap between the doors, it is a mess inside, and you can see how hastily the owner left.

  Chen Zikong jumped over the wall and wandered around in the empty courtyard, occasionally walking to the door of the west wing, gazing at the carved window lattice. Lin Wenjing seemed to still be sitting at her desk, propping up her cheek, staring blankly at her mother's photo...

  He heard a sigh from the bottom of his heart, first love, and it ended without even starting.

  Back on the bustling streets, the vendors were still shouting "candied hawthorn ~~" as they carried their loads of grass, while rickshaws whizzed by with a clear ringing of their bells. Everything seemed to be just like before, but Chen Zikun's heart felt empty in one corner.