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Coming back alive was an additional condition that Mo Qi proposed before departure.
Mo Xin nodded, and with just himself, a gun, and a car, he left home to go to Lugo to find Liang Quichi.
As his elder brother had predicted, the people in the Lugo area were quite hostile to outsiders for various reasons. Especially when they heard him inquiring about local armed forces, their attitude towards him turned even worse.
Mo Xin tried to gather information on the black market, but the people there were even more cautious. They didn’t want to have anything to do with a stranger like him who had no introduction.
Even though the price he offered was tempting, nothing was more important than life.
Days passed, and Mo Xin kept spinning his wheels in the same place. Occasionally, he would receive one or two pieces of information, and he would eagerly go to verify them, only to end up empty-handed in the end.
At that time, he didn’t know that Liang Qiuchi was in the mountainous rainforests of Lugo, expanding his territory and reorganizing his subordinates. He was just like a wandering soul without a home, roaming the streets all day long.
The one-month deadline came quickly, and Mo Xin hadn’t found any trace of Liang Qiuchi.
But the people sent by Mo Qi to fetch him found him immediately.
Mo Xin didn’t want to go back. He didn’t believe that a person could disappear without a trace like that.
Mo Qi had long anticipated this situation and directly ordered his men to stun Mo Xin, throw him into a car, and bring him back to Danga Province.
However, when Mo Xin woke up, he didn’t clamor to go back and continue searching for Liang Quichi. Instead, according to the agreement, he obediently stayed at home to recuperate.
After fully recovering, he returned to the Military Academy in San Lorenzo to continue his studies.
But this time when he returned, Liang Qiuchi’s photo had been removed from the school’s honor wall, and all the incident files mentioning his name had been destroyed.
Liang Qiuchi had become a taboo that everyone avoided mentioning.
Mo Xin stood in front of the publicity board, looking at Xiang Bei’s black and white photo hanging in the window, with flowers on the ground commemorating him, feeling even more empty inside.
He still remembered the last message he sent to Xiang Bei: “Is Liang Qiuchi training hard?”
Xiang Bei replied: “Buddy, I’m also working hard. Remember to treat me to a meal when you come back to school.”
Mo Xin dared not recall any more.
But since then, everyone in the school knew not to sit at the same table with Mo Xin for a meal because he would point to the two empty seats beside him and say, “Someone’s here,” even though no one had come to sit beside him from start to finish.
He became the weirdo of the school, even though he was already quite reclusive by nature. But after that incident, he became even more thoroughly strange.
He kept to himself, avoiding any unnecessary interaction with others, training rigorously, and scoring near perfect grades in every subject, enough to be on par with Liang Qiuchi from the past.
With extremely outstanding achievements, Mo Xin completed the five-year curriculum in just two years and obtained the qualification for early graduation.
After graduation, he immediately joined the army and went to the southern border of the federation to perform missions.
When his father heard the news, he couldn’t help but complain, “This kid, he didn’t even come home for a visit before going on a mission. Does he still have this home in his heart?”
Mo Qi, on the other hand, was not surprised. “Think about it, who is there on the southern border now?” He smiled and sighed, “Mo Xin hasn’t given up on finding out about Liang Qiuchi these past two years. As soon as there’s any movement, he rushes over.”
And indeed, that was the case.
At that time, Liang Qiuchi had not yet entered the high ranks of the Lugo Armed Forces. He was just a regular member who came to participate in a batch of drug smuggling transactions.
Due to some mishaps during the process, both buyers and sellers were stuck at the federation’s border, wrangling over the issue.
Upon hearing the news, Mo Xin immediately went to the southern border.
Taking advantage of the army’s standby time, he changed into civilian clothes and secretly sneaked into the abandoned factory.
The factory had a large ground area, and the workshops inside were winding and easy to get lost in. Mo Xin didn’t know Liang Qiuchi’s exact location, so he could only search slowly.
There were occasional sounds of conversation and footsteps around. Mo Xin’s heart was pounding rapidly, unsure if it was mostly due to nervousness or excitement about seeing the person he had missed for two years.
He treaded lightly, moving towards the direction where the voices were coming from. Suddenly, a faint smell of tobacco appeared behind him. Before he could react, a large hand covered his mouth.
“Don’t make a sound, follow me.”
The male voice whispered in Mo Xin’s ear, making his nose tingle with sourness.
It was Liang Qiuchi!
He wouldn’t have misheard, it must be him!
When the hand was removed, Mo Xin immediately turned around, only to see a tall and slender figure in the dim light.
He hurried to catch up, intending to grab his sleeve, but Liang Qiuchi suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind him.
A person approached them, whistling at Liang Qiuchi, “Liang, where are you going?”
“To the rooftop, to smoke a cigarette.” Liang Qiuchi tossed a bunch of keys to the man, “You guard here for a while.”
“No problem, you go ahead.” The man waved the keys, passing by them without any suspicion.
Liang Qiuchi let go of Mo Xin’s hand, and they walked side by side.
They didn’t encounter anyone else on the way, and after passing through a flight of stairs, they reached the rooftop.
The night sky was dark, covered with thick clouds, and the muffled sound of thunder rolled overhead. A cool breeze, carrying the chill of late autumn, swept by, alleviating some of the heaviness in the air.
“Qiuchi ge!” Mo Xin couldn’t contain his excitement any longer, and he rushed forward to hug Liang Qiuchi, his tone filled with grievance and longing. “Where have you been these past two years? I couldn’t find you no matter what.”
Liang Qiuchi hugged him back, gently patting his back as if comforting a child.
Mo Xin’s grip tightened, wishing he could envelop Liang Qiuchi in his arms. But then he heard a muffled groan from above.
Very faint, but tinged with a hint of pain.
He quickly let go of the embrace and nervously looked at Liang Qiuchi. “Are you injured?”
“It’s nothing, just a minor injury.” For Liang Qiuchi, getting injured was nothing out of the ordinary. He took a step back, allowing himself to scrutinize Mo Xin from head to toe, seeing that he seemed to have recovered quite well. “And you? Is the gunshot wound on your back causing any lingering effects?”
“I’m fine.”
Liang Qiuchi smiled, “That’s good.”
After two years apart, Mo Xin noticed a few more traces of maturity and fatigue in Liang Qiuchi’s handsome features. He couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat. “I saw the news about your family. Qiuchi ge, please accept my condolences.”
“It’s all in the past. Let’s not dwell on that.” Liang Qiuchi leaned on the rooftop railing, took out a lighter and a cigarette case from his pocket, and asked Mo Xin, “Do you smoke?”
Mo Xin shook his head, silently watching as Liang Qiuchi lit a cigarette.
“Want to give it a try?” Liang Qiuchi offered him the cigarette. After hesitating for a moment, Mo Xin leaned forward and took a puff of the damp cigarette butt.
Under Liang Qiuchi’s attentive gaze, Mo Xin took a deep drag and then coughed, his face turning red from being choked.
Liang Qiuchi chuckled and patted his back, telling him not to force himself.
In the swirling smoke, Mo Xin seemed to be transported back to the nights when they stood guard together. Back then, they would stand like this, and Liang Qiuchi was still just as gentle and considerate.
But as the smoke was dispersed by the wind, Mo Xin saw the irreparable brokenness and desolation in Liang Qiuchi.
He said, “Qiuchi ge, come with me.”
Liang Qiuchi looked at him, the flickering flame of the cigarette reflecting in his eyes.
“Let me finish this cigarette first,” Liang Qiuchi replied.
So Mo Xin obediently stood aside, silently watching him finish the cigarette.
Then, he heard Liang Qiuchi say to him, “Go back, Mo Xin, and don’t come looking for me again.”
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