Chapter 154: The Hero Rescues the Beauty
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Zhang Rui crept over quietly. As he drew closer, he discovered that the vehicle was actually Yang Jiaojiao’s white Golf.
Damn it!
She really was here.
Beyond the reeds, in an open clearing, two young men were sitting on rocks around a large pot, preparing dinner. Nearby, a skinned kid goat hung from an iron rack.
About ten paces behind them stood three green canvas tents, pressed tightly together. Zhang Rui concluded that Jiaojiao was very likely hiding inside one of them.
As for which tent, he had no way of knowing yet. But that did not trouble him.
Zhang Rui backed away and concealed himself among the reeds, circling around the perimeter. Before long, he had reached the rear of the tents.
Whoosh!
The dagger he carried flashed from his hand. With a slight curl of his lips, Zhang Rui slashed open the tent in one stroke and thrust his head inside to look.
No one.
He moved on to the next tent. Still no one.
Unease began to drum in Zhang Rui’s heart. Could Jiaojiao not be here after all?
Just then, he heard the conversation of the two men in front of the tents.
“What does that little woman look like? We spent all night watching the equipment in the village yesterday and never got a chance to see her.”
The speaker was a fat man with a face covered in stubble. His voice was lecherous.
“Go take a look. She’s tied up in the tent on the east side! I saw her this morning when I went in to get the pickaxe handle. She’s really beautiful! Too bad Brother Fa warned us repeatedly that we’re not allowed to touch her. Seems she’s the daughter of some high-ranking city official.”
The other young man was bald, with a face full of pockmarks.
“Damn, then I definitely have to take a look! He said we can’t touch her, not that we can’t look, right?”
As he spoke, the fat man got to his feet and headed toward the third tent.
Through the gap between the tents, Zhang Rui saw the fat man staggering toward him. He thought to himself, So you’re volunteering to come straight to me? Let’s see how I deal with you.
With that, Zhang Rui slashed through the last tent. A second stroke tore a gaping hole in the canvas.
He ducked inside and immediately saw Yang Jiaojiao tied to a wooden post. Her expression was dull and vacant. She was probably exhausted from struggling all night and had drifted into a hazy rest.
As if hearing Zhang Rui rush in, Jiaojiao suddenly raised her head. When she saw him standing before her with his gleaming dagger, she was so excited that she nearly cried out.
Zhang Rui hurriedly raised a finger to his lips and whispered, “Don’t make a sound. Someone’s coming.”
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Zhang Rui quickly hid behind the tent flap. At that moment, a lazy yawn came from the entrance, followed by the fat man stepping inside.
He did not notice Zhang Rui behind the door at all. The moment he saw Jiaojiao, his lecherous eyes narrowed, and he grinned.
“Well, well! You really are a great beauty. Let your old man have a feel.”
The fat man had no intention of listening to Brother Fa’s orders. If there was a beauty in front of him, why couldn’t he touch her? As long as he did not go too far, what harm was there in feeling her up?
Jiaojiao’s mouth was sealed with tape, but after struggling through the night, it had begun to peel loose. When she saw the disgusting fat man, she immediately began to whimper and cry out.
Rubbing his two fat hands together, the man laughed. “What are you crying for? This is a godforsaken place. Who’s going to hear you? Come on, let Grandpa feel that tender little face.”
As he spoke, the fat man really did lean forward to touch her.
Boom!
Just as Jiaojiao squeezed her eyes shut in terror, a powerful kick slammed into the fat man’s head. His entire body was sent flying and crashed heavily into the bunk bed inside the tent, overturning the whole thing.
The fat man’s lower back felt as though it had snapped. He crouched on the ground, afraid to move, and howled like a slaughtered pig.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!”
He could no longer form coherent words, repeating only those curses.
Zhang Rui flicked his dagger, slicing through the ropes binding Jiaojiao in a single stroke.
Jiaojiao broke free and immediately threw her arms around him.
Everything felt like a dream. Zhang Rui had descended into her nightmare like a heavenly guardian, yet this seemingly unreal scene was truly happening.
“You really came. I thought you weren’t going to save me.”
Jiaojiao had not slept at all since the previous night. The dark circles beneath her eyes were swollen, and just moments before, she had been hazily imagining that Zhang Rui might come to rescue her. She had never expected him to actually arrive.
“How could I not? You were taken from my place. Of course I wasn’t going to leave you alone.”
As he spoke, Zhang Rui looked her over carefully and asked, “Did they do anything to you?”
“No. They only tried to frighten me.”
Jiaojiao angrily picked up a stool from the ground and raised it, intending to smash it down on the fat man, who was still groaning.
“This is for bullying me!”
Whoosh!
Zhang Rui snatched the stool away and brought it down directly against the fat man’s lower abdomen.
The fat man let out a shriek, his body nearly springing off the ground. He grimaced and panted in agony.
Zhang Rui’s blow had landed with deadly precision. Three ribs on the right side had been broken, though he had deliberately held back. If he truly wanted to cripple the man, the slightest increase in force would have driven the broken ribs into his lungs, leaving him wishing for death.
Hearing the screams, the other henchman rushed in from outside carrying a firewood club. Zhang Rui felled him with a single punch.
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“Get up! Who are you people? Why did you kidnap her?”
Zhang Rui hauled the thin man up from the ground, but the moment he did, one punch knocked him unconscious.
The man was far too weak to withstand a blow. He was the weakest of Bighead’s men, which was why he and the fat man had been assigned to stay behind, guard the camp, and prepare meals.
As for the fat man, after screaming for a while, he too passed out.
“Those two useless fools. If I’d known, I would have held back a little more.”
Shaking his head helplessly, Zhang Rui led Jiaojiao out of the tent and walked toward the white Golf.
!!!
At the Used-Car Dealership.
Guo Tao came roaring up in an Audi Q7. Inside the dealership’s office, the owner was engaged in an animated conversation with the buyers, Jiang Shunfa and Zhang Cong.
Zhang Cong said resentfully, “Brother Fa, why are you so obsessed with the Q7? Our Q7 was stolen, and you still want to get another one.”
“What do you know? That car is impressive. Besides, I want to show Zhang Rui and all those people who looked down on your Brother Fa that I’ve made a comeback. Buying a Q7 is nothing. The reason we’re buying a used one is that it’s only a temporary measure, just to keep up appearances. Once we land that big contract with the work crew and make some real money, I’ll switch straight to a Rolls-Royce. When that happens, I’ll give the Q7 to you.”
Jiang Shunfa gripped his leather pouch, looking every inch the nouveau riche.
“Brother Fa is brilliant. You really know how to enjoy life.”
The moment Zhang Cong heard that the car would be given to him, his grin stretched from ear to ear.
Just then, the dealership owner spotted the Q7 arriving through the doors and windows.
“The seller is here,” he hurriedly said.
Jiang Shunfa and Zhang Cong excitedly looked outside. Then they froze.
Wasn’t that their license plate?
A closer look revealed that the man getting out of the vehicle was Guo Tao—the same man who had accompanied Zhang Rui the last time they raided Jiang Shunfa’s company.
“Damn! What are the odds?”
Seeing that Guo Tao was alone, Jiang Shunfa said, “Boss, just tell him the buyer had something come up and left, then ask him to complete the purchase on my behalf. I’ll give you the money.”
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