Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The two walked through the kitchen. Reinitz pushed open the kitchen door and looked around. The kitchen door faced the backyard. The night sky was clear with a bright moon but no stars. There were occasional caw caw sounds from the crows in the woods that permeated the night.
It looked like there were people all over the front and back yards. At this time, there were two stealthy people coming inside from the backyard fence, but they fell into the trap with a big thud.
Reinitz held Gu Nianzhi’s hand. While running forward, he pretty much dragged her along with him. His motorcycle was parked right by the backyard fence, not far from where the two men in the trap were. As they ran toward the motorcycle, Reinitz kicked the wooden door with one foot and threw it down the trap.
Ahh! The two men in the trap screamed while shooting blindly up at them. Of course, carelessly firing their guns like that wasn’t very effective.
Gu Nianzhi hadn’t even had the time to enjoy the predicament those men were in when Reinitz put a big helmet on her. Reinitz put his travel bag on Gu Nianzhi’s back, then hopped on the motorcycle. He turned to her and solemnly said, “We’re leaving right now. Hold on tightly to me.”
The normally gentle man suddenly showed a side of resoluteness. Gu Nianzhi naturally listened to his directive, followed behind him, and hopped onto the motorcycle with both arms around his waist. Reinitz could feel the area around his waist where she was holding onto him. It was burning hot. His eyes dimmed as he stepped on the gas. The motorcycle made a loud noise, and a bunch of startled crows filled the night sky.
“What’s that noise?!” The people that had gotten in from the front yard and the backyard were all startled. When they came to their senses, they saw a motorcycle rushing toward the mountain road in a flash. The light on the motorcycle made a long, curvy line. In a short time, it had gone a long distance.
“What happened?! Did they escape?!”
“Maybe it’s a diversion.”
“Yeah! Don’t know if they left or if they are still here!”
The men in black talked among themselves and decided to divide into two groups. Most of them chased after the motorcycle, while a small number decided to set the cabin on fire.
Gu Nianzhi held onto Reinitz’s waist firmly and pressed herself against his broad back. The motorcycle moved as swiftly as the wind and as quickly as lightning on a rugged, uneven mountain road. They were constantly jolted because the road was so bumpy. She could feel the wind blowing past her ears, even though she was wearing a helmet. When she looked up, she suddenly realized he had given her his helmet because Reinitz didn’t have a helmet on.
She was moved.
She wanted to return the kindness to the people that always protected her and were good to her.
Reinitz had both hands on the motorcycle’s handlebars. All his attention was on hitting the accelerator. Without a helmet on, he could hear the pursuers getting closer and closer from behind. Those people were also on motorcycles. In the beginning, it had been the sound of motorcycles coming to an abrupt stop that woke him and Gu Nianzhi up.
If at this time someone had been standing halfway up the hill, they would see from this side of the Alps’ narrow mountain road, a scene of motorcycles moving madly forward with four motorcycles in pursuit of one.
The motorcycles’ long, arch-like light converged into a river of motorcycle headlights. The people on the vehicles looked like boats floating in a river that was swaying back and forth. It appeared as though the ship would capsize if one were not careful.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Several bullets grazed the ground near Gu Nianzhi and their motorcycle, kicking up a lot of dust.
“They are shooting at us!” Gu Nianzhi’s trembling voice warned Reinitz.
“Hold on tightly to me! Take out the gun! Get ready to shoot!” Reinity said as he looked back at Gu Nianzhi, then he quickly turned his head back to the front.
Gu Nianzhi had already had the gun in her hand for a while. The moment Reinitz told her to shoot, she turned her body right away and calmly aimed at the nearest wheel of the motorcycle that was pursuing them. She leveled her arm, put weight on her wrist, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Gu Nianzhi’s marksmanship was very accurate. It only took one shot to burst the nearest motorcycle’s tire.
Boom!
That motorcycle suddenly lost balance and went down the hill. The person on the motorcycle jumped off in a hurry in order to avoid the same fate as the motorcycle. However, the person was seriously wounded. The person hugged their legs as they rolled downhill with the motorcycle. The motorcycle that was closest to them was out. The three motorcycles in the back had become Gu Nianzhi’s next targets.
Reinitz heard the noise. He took a look and was completely dumbfounded. He never thought this young girl’s marksmanship could be that good. He turned his head back and took a deep breath as he hit the accelerator again.
Seeing that the person on the motorcycle they were pursuing had such precise marksmanship, the three motorcycles behind them changed their path at once. On the narrow mountain road, they drove in zigzags while displaying all kinds of motorcycle driving skills.
Gu Nianzhi was dazzled, because this time, she would not be as lucky. She shot several times, but none hit her targets. Seeing that their strategy worked, the people on the motorcycles behind them became happy. The tables had turned. The people on the three motorcycles behind them started shooting at Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi was starting to worry and said to Reinitz, “Could you slow down a bit? I can’t hit them.”
Reinitz leaned in as he listened, at the same time keeping his right hand on the motorcycle. His put his left hand out and said, “Give me the gun.”
“Don’t you need to drive?” Gu Nianzhi said. She was a bit uneasy. It was not a big deal that she hadn’t hit them, but if Reinitz wasn’t focused while driving, they would have the same fate as the motorcycle that went down the hill.
“It’s ok, give me the gun,” Reinitz said as he steadily reached for her hand. “Hurry.”
Gu Nianzhi had no choice but to hand the gun over. Reinitz didn’t turn his head. He turned his body slightly and listened to the sound of the motorcycles behind him, as if he were trying to locate the sound. He raised his left arm and turned his wrist sideways. There was a loud and clear sound.
Boom!
The motorcycle behind them exploded with a huge noise, and it suddenly flipped over. The people on the motorcycle didn’t have time to get off. They were thrust forward by the inertia and were swung forward from the motorcycle.
Immediately after, two gunshots went off, and the two men who had just been thrown off the motorcycle were shot in the head. They rolled down the slope with their motorcycles.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Under the bright moonlight, the ideal German beauty was no longer kind but had a hint of apathy and callousness. His marksmanship was second to Huo Shaoheng’s only by a little bit, and he was stronger than anyone she’d ever met.
There were two more motorcycles left. Seeing how skillful the person in front of them was, they didn’t dare get too close and deliberately kept their distance. However, they started firing at Gu Nianzhi and Reinitz more intensely. No matter how fast Reinitz went, he couldn’t outrun bullets. He couldn’t retract his arms fast enough and got his skin grazed.
“Hold the gun,” Reinitz said as he stopped shooting and put the gun back in Gu Nianzhi’s hands. “There’s a cliff up ahead. Hold on tight. I’m going to lure them there.”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart was crying bitterly, but she had no choice. At this time, she could only put her trust in Reinitz. After all, didn’t he have great marksmanship?
Reinitz had both hands on the motorcycle’s handlebars, and then he braked. The motorcycles behind them were suddenly taken aback. They were getting closer and closer to them as they hit the accelerator violently. They increased their speed while simultaneously firing.
Reinitz was very skillful with his motorcycle and drove in a figure-eight to confuse the people behind them and their line of vision. When they felt that their target was within reach, Reinitz again hit the accelerator violently. The motorcycle let out a roar and immediately sped forward. The motorcycles behind them instinctively hit their accelerators, too, and followed them intensely.
Reinitz could hear the motorcycles getting closer and closer, and he pushed the accelerator all the way. He held the handlebars tightly, and turned sharply to the left with all his might while his leg hit the ground to slow their momentum. The motorcycle made a 90 degree turn.
Gu Nianzhi was behind Reinitz when she was astounded to see the 90 degree sharp mountain road. It was actually a death road, because to the left was an upward slope, and to the right was a cliff. If one didn’t know the road well and was going that fast, one would fall, even in broad daylight.
Her heart went into her throat as the motorcycle naturally slowed down at the sharp turn. Reinitz turned his body and hugged her. He then hit the accelerator and jumped back, grabbing her as he threw himself to the left hillside.
There were a lot of vines on the hillside. Reinitz held onto the nearest vine trying to stop falling any further. Gu Nianzhi held onto Reinitz’s lapel tightly, shutting her eyes, not daring to look.
The people chasing her on the two motorcycles didn’t know what had happened and were surprised to see the motorcycle they were chasing had disappeared after the turn. They violently stepped on the accelerator only to realize it was a 90 degree turn when they got near it. They felt something was not right, but it was too late.
They fiercely stepped on the brake, but the turn was not only sharp, it was also narrow. The cliff on the right was close to them, and before they knew it, they were already falling off the cliff with their motorcycles.
Reinitz firmly held Gu Nianzhi’s head close to his chest, using his body to shield her. One hand was on the vine, and the other held Gu Nianzhi. The two of them hung onto the side of the hill with vines. It was not as dangerous as the last time Gu Nianzhi had tumbled down the cliff.
With much effort, they had finally gotten rid of the the two motorcycles that were chasing them. They could finally catch their breath. Reinitz kissed Gu Nianzhi’s hair and gently said, “It’s over, Cereus. It’s over.”
Gu Nianzhi opened her eyes slowly and looked around. They were hanging on a hillside with vines and big leaves everywhere. The leaves rustled as the wind blew. Luckily, this hill was more level than the hill she came from, or else they wouldn’t have been able to hold on and would’ve fallen down long ago.
Gu Nianzhi poked her head out and asked in a soft voice, “Where is this?”
“We can get out of here from this road.” Reinitz rolled his shoulders and was about to continue speaking when his brows suddenly furrowed, and his eyes shifted toward the direction they came from. He stood still for a while and didn’t speak for quite some time.
It was strange to Gu Nianzhi to see Reinitz stop talking so abruptly, so she looked at him and followed his line of sight. She was immediately taken aback. She saw Reinitz’s beautiful cabin on fire with sparks flying. Helicopters were circling back and forth in the night sky, spraying white foam on the fire. Although it was far away, it wasn’t difficult to spot it because the fire was so bright.
Gu Nianzhi’s heart sank, and she almost cried. “It’s all my fault! Mother Hanna! She… She…” If anything happened to Mother Hanna because of her, she would never forgive herself.
Reinitz held her to his chest tightly and spoke in a low voice that was different from his usual gentle voice. He suppressed his feelings and whispered, “It’s all right. Mother Hanna is ok.”
“How do you know?” Tears were already starting to flow. “It is such a big fire. Some of those people who were after me must have stayed behind and split into two groups.”
“Because the helicopter is a ranger aircraft, and they came to put out the fire. When we left, Mother Hanna was already hiding in the basement. It has water and another exit,” Reinitz said calmly. His voice was very gentle, but the truth was, he wasn’t sure, either. However, he had to say it that way to calm Gu Nianzhi down. His heart that was normally cold and hard started hurting at the sight of her hurting.
“Really?” Gu Nianzhi said as she wiped her tears away. “Should we go back and take a look?”
“I suspect they have backup and that those people who want to kill you are still there. We can’t go back.”
“But your mother…” Gu Nianzhi was extremely sorry. “I’m so sorry, Reinitz. I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t say whether you should or shouldn’t,” Reinitz cut her off and continued, “since it has already happened, there’s no such thing as should or shouldn’t have.” He lowered his head and looked at Gu Nianzhi intensely with his azure eyes that had a trace of penetrating black. Reinitz’s expression was like glacier water, gentle but also extremely cold.
Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes. “What are we going to do? What are you going to do? What about Mother Hanna?”
Reinitz thought for a moment and tugged at the vines. “Let’s go up. There’s a shortcut on the mountain. It can take us out of here.”
“Ah? Really?” Gu Nianzhi quickly opened her eyes. Her big black eyes looked at Reinitz as if they could speak. They didn’t have a motorcycle, and something might’ve happened to Mother Hanna. Gu Nianzhi’s spirit got hit hard again, but hearing that there was a shortcut out of there, she pulled herself together.
“Uh huh, I’ll take you up there.” Reinitz’s right hand held onto Gu Nianzhi’s waist tightly. While using his left hand to pull the vine with all his strength, he stepped on the rocks below him. They climbed a short distance upward.
Gu Nianzhi was uneasy and said, “Reinitz, let me go. Let me climb up myself.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Reinitz wouldn’t let her go. “I’ll get you up there. Trust me.”
Gu Nianzhi could only keep her mouth shut and concentrate all her attention on Reinitz as he climbed up. The two climbed from the middle of the night until daybreak. They reached the top of the hill when the sky had turned gray in the early dawn.
Indeed, there was a secret road. It wasn’t paved. It probably came about when the locals there walked over it. It was full of weeds, and there were lantern-like wild flowers waving on the side of the road.
Reinitz finally let go of Gu Nianzhi and laid on the grassy ground next to the road as he gasped for breath. No matter how strong a person was, carrying a grown woman up a mountain in the middle of the night would exhaust them. Gu Nianzhi knew that he must be tired. She moved to his side and sat with her legs crossed and asked in a low voice, “Reinitz, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?”
With his eyes closed, Reinitz shook his head, but said, “You have my travel bag on your back. There’s two unopened bottles of water in it.”
Gu Nianzhi felt around the bag with her hands and found two bottles of water. However, she didn’t drink any. There were two people. They should save it until they needed it the most or when they were the most thirsty.
Seeing that Gu Nianzhi was not saying anything, Reinitz opened one of his eyes. “Why aren’t you drinking?”
“I’m not thirsty.” Gu Nianzhi said as she shook her head. “I didn’t do as much as you.”
Reinitz opened his other eye. His blue eyes stared at Gu Nianzhi, and she saw the gentlest smile like that of sunlight warming up the water under the glacier. Gu Nianzhi looked away and looked in the direction of Mother Hanna’s cabin and muttered, “The fire’s out. There’s only white smoke left. Mother Hanna is ok, right?”
Reinitz remained silent for a while. After resting at the top of the hill for a short time, Reinitz got up and said to Gu Nianzhi, “If we take this road, it’ll only take two days to reach the next town.”
Gu Nianzhi put her palms together and said to the sky, “Thank you, God.” She looked at Reinitz and solemnly said, “Thank you, Reinitz. When I’m back home, I’ll definitely reward you generously.”
Reinitz looked at her for a moment and wanted to say, Do you think I risk my life for you for the purpose of getting a generous reward? But looking at Gu Nianzhi’s innocent black eyes, he didn’t say a thing and just smiled helplessly. “Let’s go.” He grabbed the traveling bag from Gu Nianzhi’s back, put it on his own back, and walked forward with his face hidden.
Gu Nianzhi followed behind, hands clasped under the habit, occasionally looking in the direction of Mother Hanna’s cabin.
Reinitz turned to talk to her and seeing that she was still worried about Mother Hanna, said, “When we are at the next town, I’ll call the forest rangers’ base, and we’ll know what happened to Mother Hanna.”
“Yeah, we must do that.” Gu Nianzhi was very prudent. “If she needs special treatment, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Reinitz regarded her with a profound look. “You make it sound like your family runs a big hospital.”
“My family doesn’t run one, but I’ll try really hard to find a good doctor,” Gu Nianzhi said seriously. “For Mother Hanna, I’ll try my best.”
Reinitz said, “Uh huh,” and then didn’t say a word afterward.
After taking a few quick steps, she turned her head and said, “Really. Let me know whatever request you may have. Don’t let Mother Hanna suffer… Ah. Oh my goodness!” She didn’t think the grass on the mountain would be so slippery. Gu Nianzhi carelessly stepped on a particularly slippery patch of grass, and her whole body lunged forward.
