Chapter 120: Swift Movement Under the Night

When they arrived home, Ming Dai was urged by Zhou Sinian to enter the space.

She wanted to check Zhou Sinian’s wound first—he had scraped himself while fighting earlier. However, Zhou Sinian fetched the small first-aid kit himself and cleaned the wound, telling Ming Dai to go and cook instead.

It seemed he was truly hungry.

Ming Dai used the remaining half of the grilled fish to make a chicken broth-flavored dish. She also cooked a pot of rice and prepared a sour fish ball soup.

As she sipped the soup, she watched Zhou Sinian devouring his food. It confirmed her suspicion—he was indeed starving.

“Zhou Sinian, was it that man named Wang Defa who brought people to capture you?”

Zhou Sinian chewed his food in silence, then nodded. His eyes flashed with hostility, clearly recalling an unpleasant memory.

Seeing this, Ming Dai didn’t press him further and let him eat in peace.

After finishing the meal, Zhou Sinian offered to wash the dishes, but Ming Dai stopped him and placed the dishes into the dishwasher instead.

“Your hands shouldn’t touch water for now to avoid infection.”

Zhou Sinian obediently listened. He then went to the fridge, took out two servings of fruit juice, and handed one to Ming Dai before heading to the courtyard to bask in the sun.

Ming Dai recalled the way Zhou Sinian had fought earlier—one punch per opponent, effortlessly handling seven or eight grown men. Once again, she felt that partnering with him had been a wise decision.

She continued asking about the details of Wang Defa’s attempt to capture him. “Do you remember who you hit that led to your capture?”

Zhou Sinian bit on the straw of his juice and thought for a moment. His face scrunched up as he pinched the skin on his forehead, creating deep wrinkles. “That ugly old man—you’ve seen him before. I even hit him last time.”

Ming Dai: Thank you! That was truly an unforgettable level of ugliness!

“Alright, alright! Let go of your face already!”

Ming Dai thought back. Based on that description, the only person who fit was Pan Xiazi, the man they had encountered while repairing the reservoir. His face looked aged, and his loose skin made him appear rather unsightly.

“Why did you hit him back then?”

Zhou Sinian frowned. “He accused me of setting fire to the grain, but he was the one who did it!”

Ming Dai frowned. “Why would he set fire to the grain? He’s the brigade leader. If people starve because the grain was burned, the commune will hold him accountable.”

Zhou Sinian shook his head. “I don’t know either. I saw him fighting with someone—he even made them cry. So I threw a corn cob at him.

When they saw me, they stopped fighting. The other person ran away, and I wanted to leave too, but that ugly old man wouldn’t let me go. He asked what I saw, so I told him I saw him fighting with someone.”

At this point, Zhou Sinian slammed his cup onto the table in frustration. “Then he set the granary on fire and ran outside, shouting that I was the one who burned it! I was furious—he was lying! I didn’t burn the granary! But no one believed me, and they even tried to beat me! So I had no choice but to fight them all!”

Ming Dai was equally outraged. This was a blatant setup!

Was there something wrong with this Pan Xiazi? Even if Zhou Sinian saw him fighting, why would he need to burn down the granary to frame him?

Unless… there was more to the fight than just a simple brawl!

A sudden realization struck Ming Dai. She glanced at Zhou Sinian, who was still fuming. “Hey, Zhou Sinian, was the person fighting Pan Xiazi a man or a woman?”

“A woman.”

As expected!

“When they were fighting, was there anything unusual about it?”

Zhou Sinian looked at Ming Dai with clear, innocent eyes, utterly confused. “Yes. They were fighting without clothes on. That was really strange. Fighting without clothes makes it easier to get hurt.

And that woman—when the ugly old man hit her, she kept clinging to him and crying miserably!”

He then looked at Ming Dai with genuine curiosity. “Ming Dai, why would people take off their clothes to fight?”

Ming Dai: ………

She really didn’t want to know.

That disgusting old toad! So that’s what he was up to!

Clearing her throat, Ming Dai threw the question back at him. “I don’t know, maybe… they like to fight that way. But you’re a good kid, so don’t learn from them, okay?”

Zhou Sinian scoffed in disdain and shook his head. “I would never. That’s way too ugly!”

Ming Dai nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that Zhou Sinian had been framed because he accidentally caught Pan Xiazi in the act of having an affair.

No wonder the last time Zhou Sinian hit him, he didn’t even dare to make a sound before running away.

He had likely wanted to use this false charge to get rid of Zhou Sinian.

Since the commune failed to convict him, the problem must have arisen at the county level.

As for the commune director—anyone who could raise a person like Wang Defa probably wasn’t any better. Fortunately, Ming Dai hadn’t rushed to approach him yet.

The trail had gone cold again, and Ming Dai felt a bit discouraged.

Zhou Sinian blinked at the cup in Ming Dai’s hand. She had been holding it the whole time but hadn’t taken a sip.

Understanding his intent, Ming Dai handed it over. Zhou Sinian happily took it, inserted his own straw, and began drinking noisily.

Forget it. She would take things slowly. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before Zhou Sinian regained his memories on his own.

Watching him clutch the cup in his hands, an idea suddenly came to Ming Dai.

“Zhou Sinian, let me teach you how to fight.”

Zhou Sinian slurped his juice, looking at her with an expression that clearly showed his skepticism. He obviously didn’t take her seriously.

Ming Dai chuckled and slowly reached out, placing her hand gently on Zhou Sinian’s arm before pressing down lightly.

In an instant, half of Zhou Sinian’s body went numb, and his left arm dropped uncontrollably.

He set his cup down with his right hand, shaking his left arm in alarm, but it remained lifeless and unresponsive.

Ming Dai smirked triumphantly. “Well? Pretty impressive, right?”

Zhou Sinian looked at her with newfound admiration. “Ming Dai, you’re amazing! Quick, help me fix it—I can’t move it!”

Ming Dai reached out and pressed on his arm again for a moment. Slowly, the feeling returned, and Zhou Sinian regained control of his limb.

After making sure his arm was fine, Zhou Sinian slowly backed away and sat on the chair farthest from Ming Dai.

Ming Dai sat in her seat, smiling as she curled a finger at him. “Want to learn?”

Zhou Sinian was immediately tempted. He eagerly scooted back over and spoke obediently, “I want to learn! Ming Dai, teach me!”

The big wolf dog had taken the bait!

Even though Ming Dai was practically useless when it came to direct combat, she had her own ways of protecting herself.

She had an exceptional talent for recognizing acupuncture points and using needles with precision!

According to her grandfather, she was a genius in this field!

She knew exactly which pressure points would cause numbness, pain, or even death. After all, her grandfather’s family had built their reputation on acupuncture techniques.

Zhou Sinian had likely learned some martial arts-based pressure point techniques in the past, but compared to medical knowledge, those were far less precise.

If she could teach Zhou Sinian to master the body’s critical pressure points, he wouldn’t have to rely solely on brute force in fights.

Besides, she was also worried that Zhou Sinian might lose control and accidentally kill someone. There was a huge difference between beating someone up and killing them. Even if someone wanted to protect Zhou Sinian, they might not be able to if he went too far. And given the current uncertain situation, she couldn’t afford to take any risks.

So before dinner, Ming Dai started teaching Zhou Sinian, using his body as a demonstration model.

Some of the points were truly painful—even someone as resilient as Zhou Sinian couldn’t help but shed reflexive tears and take sharp breaths to distract himself from the pain.

Fortunately, Zhou Sinian was a quick learner. Just as Ming Dai was getting into the lesson, he had already memorized all the key pressure points and could accurately identify them.

Zhou Sinian: Failure wasn’t an option! Ming Dai’s expression clearly showed that she wanted to go through it all again!

Ming Dai did want to go through it again. For one, she was itching to practice. It had been a while since she last used these skills, and now that she had started, she didn’t want to stop. So she decided to give Zhou Sinian a full-body massage to improve his circulation.

The other reason?

Who could possibly stop when a big, tearful wolfdog of a man softly whispered, “Lighter… please don’t…”

The contrast was just too adorable!

She finally understood why so many women loved little wolfdogs.

That contrast alone was enough to melt anyone’s heart!

Feeling completely satisfied, Ming Dai finally withdrew her hands.

Zhou Sinian jumped off the massage bed like a startled rabbit and bolted into his room, refusing to come out until it was time for dinner.

Ming Dai laughed for quite a while at his reaction, only stopping when Zhou Sinian, embarrassed and angry, looked ready to lose his temper. That was when she finally forced the grin off her face.

Because the brigade leader had taken Wang Defa and his men to the commune, Ming Dai was worried that he would come back looking for them. So that night, she decided to sleep outside the space.

She waited for a long time, but no one knocked on the door. Feeling drowsy, she called Zhou Sinian to wash up, and the two of them went to their separate sleeping areas.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Sinian suddenly opened his eyes. He slipped out of the warm bed, put on his clothes, and quietly moved closer to the wooden partition wall. After confirming that the person on the other side was sound asleep, he carefully opened the door and stepped out.

He went to the storage room, retrieved the dog sled, and carried it with light footsteps.

After setting the sled outside, he went back in and locked the door from the inside.

Glancing once more at Ming Dai’s quiet window in the darkness, he then turned around, jumped out, and grabbed the sled. In the pitch-black night, he sped toward the mountains.

Before long, the howls of wolves echoed through the forest.

It was a cloudy night, with no moonlight to reflect off the snow, making the landscape appear even more eerie.

On the main road leading from Liujiawan to the commune, the sound of panting beasts and the swift movement of the sled broke the silence.

One man and six wolves pulled the sled forward at full speed, their destination clear.

The snowy ground was especially slippery at night, allowing them to reach the commune quickly.

Zhou Sinian skillfully maneuvered through the empty streets, turning into a small alley in no time.

Next to the alley stood the only two-story building with its lights still on.

After hiding the sled, he shot a warning glance at the wolves. Seeing them obediently roll onto their backs in submission, he leaped onto the lower wall of the alley and easily climbed to the second floor.

This was the only hospital in the commune. Since Wang Defa was often beaten by him, he usually ended up here. Zhou Sinian had come many times and was familiar with the layout.

He pried open a window and climbed into an empty room.

Like a phantom, he moved silently through the hospital, carefully searching for his target.

Before long, he heard low, hoarse groans and curses coming from one of the patient rooms.

Wang Defa cursed loudly, his voice full of rage and resentment.

“Damn it! That lunatic knocked out my teeth! Just wait, once I recover, I’ll put a bullet through him!”

“That damn fat fool! Couldn’t even get me a woman properly! Just wait till I’m better! That wretched woman, she better be ready for me!”

Zhou Sinian stood outside the door, listening. The more he heard, the filthier Wang Defa’s words became, and his expression grew colder.

Slowly, he reached for the military dagger at his waist, drawing it out in silence. Then, with a gentle push, he opened the wooden door of the hospital room and stepped in without a sound.

Wang Defa, still cursing, suddenly felt a chilling presence wash over him. A shiver ran down his spine. Just as he was about to look up, a dark shadow loomed over his head.