Chapter 103: Hostages

Haozi noticed that Yu Xiangnian looked a bit pale, likely from being out in the rain for so long.

He didn’t joke around anymore and said seriously, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”

Yu Xiangnian said, “Give it to me first.”

Not long after, Haozi returned with a tape recorder.

Yu Xiangnian opened it and saw the tape inside, intact.

Just then, Li Guo was wheeled out of the treatment room, and they all went to his ward together.

Yu Xiangnian asked the doctor about Li Guo’s condition, and upon confirming that his injuries weren’t life-threatening, she felt relieved.

She instructed Haozi and Li Guo not to let anyone know that Li Guo was still alive and told Haozi to find two people to guard Li Guo.

Once Li Guo was resting, the three of them left the ward.

Yu Xiangnian said to Cheng Jingmo, “Give me the money you have.”

Cheng Jingmo pulled out the money from his jacket pocket, which looked like about sixteen or seventeen yuan.

Yu Xiangnian also took out five ten-yuan notes from her pants pocket, which were her recent manuscript fees from the publishing house.

All the money was soaked and limp.

She handed all the money to Haozi, “This is for Li Guo’s medical expenses. If it’s not enough, I’ll give more next time.”

“Don’t!” Haozi, looking uncomfortable, tried to give the money back, “I was just joking with you. I can’t really take your money.”

“Besides, Li Guo got over seventy yuan from Ding Yunfei last time. After paying thirty yuan for the hospital deposit, the rest should be enough,” Haozi added.

Yu Xiangnian said earnestly, “Keep it, consider it as nutrition and compensation for lost work. Thank you for your help this time!”

When Yu Xiangnian and Cheng Jingmo got home, it was already 2 a.m.

The rain hadn’t stopped, and they were both drenched from head to toe.

Yu Xiangnian looked pale, possibly from the cold, and even her usually rosy lips were colorless, and her eyes were dim.

Her wet hair clung to her scalp, and her thin clothes stuck to her body, highlighting her curves.

Cheng Jingmo quickly prepared a bath for Yu Xiangnian and took a cold shower himself.

He didn’t feel cold!

After they both cleaned up, Yu Xiangnian turned on the tape recorder.

Cheng Jingmo had anticipated that Ding Yunfei would scout the mulberry grove in advance, so he had hidden the recorder in a concealed spot covered with leaves a day earlier.

When Li Guo reached the designated spot, he only needed to turn on the recorder.

They listened to the entire conversation between Ding Yunfei and Li Guo, hearing the sound of the knife piercing the skin and Ding Yunfei’s words, “You forced me to do this.”

Yu Xiangnian seemed to visualize Ding Yunfei’s twisted, deranged face, and her recently recovered complexion turned pale again.

Cheng Jingmo noticed Yu Xiangnian’s distress, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

“Yu Xiangnian, I’m sorry,” he said solemnly.

If he had caught Ding Yunfei, Yu Xiangnian wouldn’t be so scared now.

Yu Xiangnian had gone from initial anger and fear to accepting the reality and being scared.

She said without much emotion, “What are you apologizing for? It’s not like you didn’t want to catch him. Who could have predicted Wu Xiaomin would suddenly show up and crash into you?”

Cheng Jingmo lowered his eyes, his expression darkening.

Wu Xiaomin crashing into him had only delayed him for a moment, but it was her grabbing him that wasted enough time for Ding Yunfei to disappear into the rain.

Cheng Jingmo said, “You shouldn’t go out for a while.”

“Okay.”

Before Ding Yunfei was caught, Yu Xiangnian didn’t plan on leaving the house; she didn’t want to die.

“Tomorrow, hand over the evidence to the military and have them arrest him,” she said.

Previously, they suspected Ding Yunfei but had no evidence and thus didn’t report it to the military. Now, with evidence in hand, Ding Yunfei would be arrested by the military and tried in a military court.

Yu Xiangnian hid out for a week, not stepping outside even once. From Cheng Jingmo, she learned that the military had assigned special personnel to handle the case, but there was still no news of Ding Yunfei.

Yu Xiangnian was anxious but helpless. Without modern technologies like tracking, facial recognition, or advanced investigative tools, it was easy for Ding Yunfei to disguise himself and evade capture. He could have even left Nancheng.

One morning, while Yu Xiangnian was at home translating, the door was suddenly thrown open. Haozi, covered in blood, rushed in and grabbed Yu Xiangnian’s hand without a word.

Yu Xiangnian, startled, asked, “What are you doing?”

“Brother Ping is dying! Hurry!”

Haozi, pedaling his bike furiously while explaining to Yu Xiangnian, said that Brother Ping had been escorting Xiao Jie to school since Yu Xiangnian dared not leave the house. That morning, while taking Rui Rui and Xiao Jie to school, Ding Yunfei had appeared out of nowhere and tried to kidnap the children. Brother Ping, fighting to protect the kids, was stabbed three times by Ding Yunfei. He was severely injured and unconscious when brought to the hospital. Old He had sent Haozi to get Yu Xiangnian to perform the surgery.

Yu Xiangnian broke out in a cold sweat, “What about the children?”

“They were taken!” Haozi panted.

“Did he leave any message?” she asked.

“No.”

Yu Xiangnian feared Ding Yunfei’s ruthlessness but reassured herself that he wanted to force her to come out. Until she appeared, Ding Yunfei would keep the children as hostages and not harm them. Saving Brother Ping’s life was the priority.

When Yu Xiangnian arrived at the hospital, Old He had prepared everything, waiting for her to disinfect and change before going into surgery. Brother Ping was critically injured; anyone else would have died from a ruptured heart. But her heart was positioned on the left side, giving her a chance of survival as Ding Yunfei’s knife had narrowly missed her heart.

The surgery took three hours. As soon as Yu Xiangnian left the operating room, Haozi handed her a letter.

“An hour ago, a child delivered this, saying it had to be given to you.”

Yu Xiangnian felt a bad premonition as she took and opened the letter. It was from Ding Yunfei, demanding she go alone to the cliff by three o’clock. If she called for help, the children would be killed. For every five minutes she was late, one child would die.

After reading the letter, Yu Xiangnian’s face turned pale.

Haozi saw the letter’s contents and, though furious, remained calm. “I’ll go with you! I have plenty of people to call on!”

Yu Xiangnian glanced at her watch; it was already 2:30 p.m. She had been to the cliff before, and it normally took about an hour to get there. She couldn’t afford any delay.

“Haozi, give me the bike. I need you to do something for me!”