Chapter 85: 85, Mr. Zhang

When leaving, Ren Xiaosu made it very clear to Yan Liuyuan: if Xiao Yujie was still taking care of him at that time, take her along; if she had already left with money, then Yan Liuyuan should hide himself!

Do not harbor any illusions—if there is even the slightest disturbance, leave immediately!

In Ren Xiaosu’s view, no matter how great the matter, it is not as important as one’s life. Having a gun by one’s side is always better than having none.

Ren Xiaosu himself longed to bring the gun into Jingshan, but compared to his own safety concerns, he felt it was safer to leave the gun with Yan Liuyuan.

Yet neither Yan Liuyuan nor Ren Xiaosu had anticipated that Yan Liuyuan would run into trouble the moment he took the gun.

At this moment, Yan Liuyuan was not worried about himself, for he believed the place Ren Xiaosu had prepared for him must be very safe, and he also believed Ren Xiaosu would surely come back for him.

What he worried about was Ren Xiaosu.

Having once been fortunate, Yan Liuyuan had repeatedly suffered backlash, so he understood well that such backlash... was not merely about falling ill.

Yan Liuyuan looked toward the direction of Jingshan, his brows tightly knit. He knew this must mean Ren Xiaosu was in grave danger.

This was the hand of fate, this was the cause and effect of the backlash after making a wish!

“Ren Xiaosu…” Yan Liuyuan’s heart was heavy. The two brothers, in times of crisis, had always been in perfect sync—each first worrying about the other’s safety rather than their own.

“Miss Xiao Yujie, come with me,” Yan Liuyuan turned and entered the house, taking two sets of clothes and preparing to head outside the school. Xiao Yujie did not ask where they were going; she tucked the money from the floorboard cracks into her pocket and followed behind.

But at this moment, Zhang Jinglin blocked his way. Zhang Jinglin sighed and said, “It’s unsafe on the wilderness now—you don’t need to escape. I’ll handle this.”

“You’ll handle it?” Yan Liuyuan did not understand what Zhang Jinglin meant. As he spoke, he tried to struggle free from Zhang Jinglin’s grip, only to find Zhang Jinglin stronger than he had imagined, unable to break free.

Zhang Jinglin said, “The wolf pack has already returned here. The place Ren Xiaosu prepared for you may be very hidden, but it cannot escape the wolves’ keen sense of smell. Ren Xiaosu probably never expected the wolves to return so quickly.”

At this moment, Yan Liuyuan felt some doubt—why would Zhang Jinglin know the wolves had returned? There had been no sightings of the wolf pack in the settlement at all, not even a whisper of news.

At this time, the gate of the Barrier slowly lifted. Before long, Zhang Jinglin and the others heard footsteps. It seemed the gunshot had also alerted the Barrier, and the private military soldiers emerged!

The settlement erupted into chaos. The commotion in the night woke all the refugees, who climbed out and stood in the streets, watching the movements toward the school, some even daring to walk this way.

Zhang Jinglin waited quietly. Before long, someone kicked open the school’s large door. Wang Chengyang, leading a team of private military soldiers, walked in. He surveyed the five corpses on the ground, then looked at Zhang Jinglin. At this point, the gun was already in Zhang Jinglin’s hand.

Wang Chengyang smiled and said, “This gun is indeed the one that kid Ren Xiaosu took. I’ve thought about it carefully—there’s only one person in this settlement who has both the opportunity and the nerve to steal a gun, and that’s him.”

Zhang Jinglin and Yan Liuyuan remained silent. Xiao Yujie anxiously looked at Zhang Jinglin, as if worried he might not be able to handle the current situation.

Wang Fugui rushed in, his clothes disheveled and in a sorry state. He humbly smiled at Wang Chengyang and said, “General, there must be some misunderstanding!”

“No misunderstanding,” Wang Chengyang shook his head. “I’m certain now—Wang Dongyang was killed by Ren Xiaosu.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Fugui immediately pulled out a stack of money from his pocket, intending to shove it into Wang Chengyang’s hands. “You and Wang Dongyang weren’t that close, were you? Whether Wang Dongyang was killed by Ren Xiaosu or not, let’s discuss this further…”

“Hahaha,” Wang Chengyang laughed and pushed Wang Fugui away. “Do you think I’m like the others in the Barrier, blinded by money? Take them all away—I want to see how Ren Xiaosu explains this when he returns!”

When he said this, the pushed-aside Wang Fugui tried to approach again, only for Wang Chengyang to draw the pistol at his waist and press it against Wang Fugui’s forehead. “I told you to stay away. Do you understand?”

But suddenly, he froze, for he saw Zhang Jinglin pull out a certificate from his pocket. Zhang Jinglin said, “Take this into the Barrier and have Luo Pangzi come see me.”

Wang Chengyang looked at Zhang Jinglin in bewilderment, for his tone was too calm. In the area near Barrier 113, anyone daring enough to call Luo Boss by his nickname was probably only Zhang Jinglin in Wang Chengyang’s memory.

Zhang Jinglin did not explain what the certificate was. Wang Chengyang had noticed Zhang Jinglin before and found him unusual, but he had never probed deeply. In fact, Zhang Jinglin was not particularly unusual, and he had little to do with him.

But now it was different—he found himself drawn into Zhang Jinglin’s identity mystery.

Thus, Wang Chengyang was even hesitant to take the red-covered certificate Zhang Jinglin held. The certificate seemed old, its cover already somewhat damaged.

Zhang Jinglin threw the certificate to Wang Chengyang. “Go on, give it to him. He’ll understand. This is no longer something you can handle.”

“You watch them,” Wang Chengyang said to the private military soldiers beside him. This matter was too sensitive to delegate to others; he had to go to the Barrier himself to find Luo Boss.

But he feared being deceived. Given Wang Chengyang’s meticulous nature, it was necessary to leave soldiers to guard Zhang Jinglin and Yan Liuyuan.

Xiao Yujie worriedly looked at Zhang Jinglin. “Mr. Zhang, nothing will happen, will it?”

Zhang Jinglin waved his hand. “Don’t worry. They wouldn’t dare do anything to me.”

Yan Liuyuan whispered from the side, “Sir, I’m sorry.”

If he hadn’t fired the gun, Zhang Jinglin wouldn’t have had to reveal his identity.

Zhang Jinglin glanced at him and sighed. “You did nothing wrong. It’s this world that’s wrong. And I should thank you—you were trying to save me just now.”

In Zhang Jinglin’s eyes, Yan Liuyuan had done nothing wrong. If he hadn’t fired the gun just now, the fates of Xiao Yujie and Yan Liuyuan would have been dire, and Zhang Jinglin himself would have been no better off, for he was merely an ordinary teacher.

Had Yan Liuyuan’s wealth been exposed? No.

Had Yan Liuyuan killed the wrong person? No.

Zhang Jinglin suddenly realized Yan Liuyuan was very much like Ren Xiaosu in some ways—his ruthlessness, his cold detachment when facing enemies, his wariness toward this world.

Before, Zhang Jinglin had thought Ren Xiaosu’s ways were not good, but somehow, after spending more time with him, he came to believe that Ren Xiaosu was more human than most people in this world.

The words might sound a bit awkward, but that was how Zhang Jinglin felt.