Chapter 31: Encounter with Train Robbers
Back to Song Kexing’s side.

“Old? Where’s an old person? All I see is a toad croaking in front of me.”

As soon as she said that, the older woman’s face darkened with fury.

She had always had large eyes with heavy bags underneath, and her sharply pointed skull had long earned her the mockery of looking like a frog.

It was only after she developed a fierce personality and became known for her unruly behavior that people stopped making fun of her to her face.

Who would have thought that this young man would dare to mock her so brazenly in public!

The surrounding laughter made her feel even more humiliated.

Her head buzzed with rage, and she slapped out at Song Kexing.

“You foul-mouthed brat! How dare you piss me off? I’ll beat you to death!”

Song Kexing caught the swinging hand and slapped her back without hesitation.

Smack!

The slap rang out crisply, stunning everyone watching the spectacle.

The old woman clutched her numb cheek and wailed:

“Waaah! Everyone come look! Someone’s bullying an elderly person! Is there no justice anymore?!”

But despite her dramatic cries, no one came to her aid.

Everyone had seen how shamelessly she’d been begging for food.

In this era, it was common to go hungry and lack warm clothes—asking for food was like asking for someone’s life. Who would willingly give theirs up?

The crowd wasn’t blind.

Seeing that no one was responding to her cries, the old woman began shouting for the train attendant, claiming she’d been assaulted and wanted the police involved.

Meanwhile, Song Kexing calmly gnawed on her steamed bun, clearly disinterested.

Soon, the attendant responsible for that train car arrived.

As soon as she saw someone of authority, the older woman started dramatically embellishing her story.

Thankfully, a kind bystander explained the situation, and the attendant finally understood what had actually happened.

Looking awkward, the attendant turned to Song Kexing and tried to mediate:

“Comrade, although the old lady was in the wrong, you did hit her. How about you just apologize so we can all move on?”

Song Kexing’s face remained cold. “I’m not apologizing. I was only acting in self-defense.”

If this hadn’t happened on a crowded train, she would’ve kicked the woman flying by now—there wouldn’t be so much back and forth.

“You see that attitude?! Even if he apologized, I wouldn’t accept it! What kind of person is this?!”

The older woman was energized again and began shouting:

“I don’t care! He slapped me! An apology isn’t enough—I want compensation! I demand a few steamed buns and some oranges!”

At that, everyone’s expressions turned strange.

Someone couldn’t hold back anymore: “Auntie, how can you even say that with a straight face? You were shamelessly begging, then you hit someone first and got smacked in return. Now you’re extorting them?”

Others chimed in: “Exactly. White steamed buns and oranges aren’t cheap these days. You’re asking for way too much.”

Seeing no one siding with her, the older woman sat on the floor and began slapping her thighs and wailing:

“Oh heavens! Everyone’s bullying an old woman like me… ahhh I don’t want to live anymore… just let me die…”

“What’s going on…”

Song Tian squeezed through the crowd, clutching a thermos, looking utterly confused.

The hot water room was in the rear, and she’d had to pass through several cars to get there.

Since the car was crowded, the round trip took nearly half an hour.

So she’d missed everything that had just happened.

Unfortunately, the older woman was sitting right in her path, and Song Tian didn’t have the nerve to ask her to move.

The attendant quickly stepped in:

“Auntie, please get up. You’re blocking the way. Other passengers can’t get through.”

“I don’t care! I’m not moving until this matter is resolved!”

The old woman flailed her arms, clearly intending to lie on the ground until she got her way.

The crowd could only shake their heads—there really were all kinds of people in this world.

Seeing Song Tian blocked outside, Song Kexing was just about to get up and drag the troublesome old woman away—

When suddenly, several fierce-looking men appeared from nowhere.

They grabbed the old woman, Song Tian, and the attendant, pressing knives to their necks.

“Don’t move, any of you!” one of them barked. “Or we’ll kill these women!”

The crowd immediately scattered in panic. At the junction between train cars, several uniformed and armed figures rushed in.

“Don’t be rash! Let’s talk this out—just release the hostages first!”

---

“Boss, we’ve got trouble!”

Fatty was munching on sunflower seeds and enjoying the show when things suddenly took a terrifying turn.

“I saw,” Yan Chen replied calmly, his dark eyes showing no emotion.

Fatty whispered, “Boss, should we help?”

Yan Chen: “No need. Let’s assess the situation first.”

“Alright, we’ll wait and see.”

Fatty sighed.

Both he and Yan Chen were former military. After retiring, they were assigned to the southern Hunan Province.

They’d just wanted to relax with a peaceful train ride—who knew something like this would happen so soon?

Apparently, fate didn’t want them to rest.

---

Clack–clack–clack–clack

Outside, the train clattered noisily along the tracks, but inside car No. 2, it had gone eerily quiet.

The once-boisterous older woman fell silent after having a knife pressed to her neck—like a duck with its beak clamped shut.

Her mouth may have shut, but her body couldn’t stop trembling.

The bandit holding her grew impatient and snarled:

“Don’t move, you old hag. What are you shaking for? If you keep trembling, I’ll gut you!”

That only made her tremble more. She was so scared she wet herself.

The urine splattered onto the bandit’s shoe, and he punched her in the head in disgust:

“You disgusting old bag! You peed on me! Do you have a death wish?!”

The old woman, terrified out of her wits, screamed:

“Aaaaah! Help! Officer, please help me!”

Her scream ratcheted up the tension in the train car.

The railway police crouched and moved in with hands on their guns, trying to de-escalate:

“Don’t hurt the hostages. Just tell us what you want—we’ll cooperate. Don’t resort to violence!”

The head bandit barked out his demand: “Arrange a car for us at the next station. Once we see it, we’ll let them go!”

The railway police quickly discussed among themselves. A veteran officer stepped forward:

“Alright, we agree to your terms.

There’s still 30 minutes to the next stop. Release two hostages now, and once we arrive and you see the car, release the third. How about it?”

One of the bandits shook his head. “Boss, no. If we release two and they screw us over with the last one, we’ll be in trouble.”

The lead bandit nodded. “He’s right. No. We’ll release only one hostage. Take it or leave it.”

The veteran officer had no choice but to agree. “Okay!”