Chapter 29: Bandits!
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
Carrying the container with the pig’s blood, Bei Feng stepped into the old mansion with heavy steps. Bai Xiang was already awake and sitting on the front door’s threshold, a sad expression on his face as he stared blankly into the sky. It was impossible to fathom his thoughts.
“Bai Xiang, do you know how to cook?” Bei Feng hollered in greeting and asked.
“I do! But, it’s not tasty…” Bai Xiang replied with some embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, just go and make us some breakfast.”
Bei Feng did not believe that it was possible to make any horrible-tasting food with ingredients of such high quality. Even if all he did was to boil the meat in plain water, it would still taste reasonably good.
“En,” Bai Xiang nodded his head and went into the kitchen. Soon, the noisy clanking sounds of him cooking drifted out of the kitchen.
Bei Feng carried the tub of pig’s blood toward the Banyan tree and set it near the Vampiric Vine. As he removed the lid, the pungent smell of blood emanated out of the tub in an instant.
The Vampiric Vine, which was initially motionless, quickly stirred in excitement. With a sway of its body, dozens of roots shot out of the ground and dipped into the tub.
“Ji ji!”
Waves after waves of fresh blood could be observed travelling up the pulsating roots as it circulated within the Vampiric Vine’s main body.
In but a short moment, the Vampiric Vine seemed to have become much larger. By the time the entire tub of pig’s blood was fully absorbed, the Vampiric Vine, which was initially as thick as an infant’s fist, had become as thick as an adult’s wrist!
A few more creeping branches had been produced, stretching outward in all four directions in a domineering fashion.
“Isn’t it growing way too quickly? Wait, how come it’s only growing more branches! Where are the flowers?” Bei Feng felt a little disappointed when he saw that there was no indication of even the smallest flower bud appearing on the Vampiric Vine.
“Hello? Who is this?” Right as the Vampiric Vine was done eating, Bei Feng’s cell phone rang.
“It’s me.”
Just two simple words. Bei Feng was able to determine who the caller was with just those two simple words. However, this made him even more unsure of how to answer.
After a brief moment of awkward silence, Bei Feng finally opened his mouth and asked, “Oh. Is something the matter?”
“I’m getting married in two days time, at Chengdu. I hope to have you here for my wedding…” Zhou Xiao Wan also fell into silence for a moment before she hesitatingly said.
“En. I’ll be there on that day. Is there anything else?” Bei Feng took a deep breath and answered calmly.
“You… no. I’ll send you the address later,” Zhou Xiao Wan seemed like she had something to say, but was unable to.
“En.”
Bei Feng ended the call, a slight melancholy in his heart.
Zhou Xiao Wan was Bei Feng’s girlfriend before his accident. If everything had proceeded smoothly, perhaps he would even have a son running around his ankles and calling him daddy by now.
At that time, when they learned of Bei Feng’s injuries, Zhou Xiao Wan’s parents had immediately retracted all marriage arrangements. After a round of ‘well-meaning advice’ from her friends, she had ultimately decided to leave Bei Feng.
Right now, Bei Feng felt a complicated emotion surging in his heart. Although he did not have any feelings of hate or detestation for her, it was also true that he did not hold any good feelings for her as well.
Leaving in that sort of situation, although it was understandable from a stranger’s point of view, it was not a good feeling for Bei Feng who experienced it firsthand.
‘Chengdu Sunworld Dynasty Hotel? Looks like she found a pretty well-to-do guy…’ Bei Feng stared silently at the message on his phone and thought gloomily.
Sunworld Dynasty Hotel was a five-star restaurant. Hosting a wedding at a restaurant like that was definitely not something Zhou Xiao Wan’s family could afford. Therefore, it must’ve been the groom’s family at work.
Bei Feng put away his mobile phone with a light sigh and called Bai Xiang over. Before he left, he wanted to inform Bai Xiang to, as much as possible, keep his distance from the Vampiric Vine. Bei Feng also instructed Bai Xiang to go to the butcher’s every morning and bring back a tub of pig’s blood and leave it near the Banyan tree.
After that, he picked up the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod to try his luck at his daily Myriad Heavens Fishing attempt before he left. Despite sitting patiently beside the Ancient Well for a long time, Bei Feng finally had no choice but to give up and keep the fishing rod after failing to catch anything within the time limit. As he did not have any guests to entertain and there was only Bai Xiang other than him in the old mansion, Bei Feng decided to set off for Chengdu earlier. After quickly changing his clothes, he stepped out of the old mansion.
The journey from Qingcheng to Chengdu actually required only a few hours. Bei Feng soon arrived at the bus station, a small backpack slung over his shoulders.
Qingcheng was surrounded by a multitude of mountains, causing the bus’s route to twist and turn continuously as it travelled on the traffic-filled narrow road around the mountains. This was a road often taken by the local buses to avoid the road tolls.
Bei Feng leaned against the window as Qingcheng Mountain’s vast scenery spread out before his eyes.
***
Lin Jia was a student of a university in Chengdu. Right now, she was on her way back to her hometown for the study break. She had actually failed to buy a train ticket and was left with little choice but to take the bus.
The weather was hot and humid, and the interior of the bus was filled with an old, musky smell. As for the air conditioner in this old bus, it had already fallen into disrepair a long time ago!
Even so, Lin Jia somehow could not feel the heat of the afternoon sun at all! Waves of refreshing, chilly air were steadily emanating from a certain spot and lingering in the area around her. The strange thing was that if she left that seat, she would immediately be met with a wave of hot and dry air!
‘It’s so cool beside this person…’
Lin Jia’s eyes were like stars in the night sky as they sparkled brightly. With this person around, there was no need for an air conditioner even during the hot summer!
“AH!”
Lin Jia was about to use some excuse to approach Bei Feng when a terrified shout came from the driver’s seat.
“Huh?” Bei Feng turned away from the window and looked toward the source of the commotion.
“This is a hold-up! Nobody move! All of you better behave yourselves! Don’t try anything stupid!”
A few men had boarded the bus and were currently standing near its front, shouting while brandishing their switchblades at the passengers.
“Listen up! Drive the bus to that side road now! The bus belongs to the company, but your life belongs to you! There’s no need for anybody to get hurt!” A savage-looking man sporting a crew cut pointed his blade at the bus driver’s throat as he demanded.
“Ok, ok! I’ll follow everything you say! Just don’t hurt me!”
The middle-aged bus driver cried out in panic. He had originally planned to somehow stall for time and find a chance to call the police. However, he seemed to have wised up to the situation after he heard the bandit’s words.
‘He’s right, the bus is not even mine! There’s no reason for me to risk my little life for somebody else’s property!’
As soon as this thought took root in his mind, the bus driver discarded all thoughts of resistance as he followed the bandit’s instructions and drove the bus off the main road and onto the side road.
“All of you had better not try anything funny! Put your hands where I can see them! I’ll kill whoever dares to call the cops! Don’t worry, as long as you cooperate with us, we will definitely not harm you. We only seek wealth and have no interest in taking your lives! Don’t resist us if you know what’s good for you!”
Another bandit hollered threateningly at the passengers. If anyone was even slightly too slow in following his instructions, he would shower that person with punches and kicks.
Bei Feng felt his heart sink as the bus went further and further down the isolated road.
Situations like this seemed to be something that only appeared on the news. He never imagined that he would actually end up in such a situation himself!
“Stop the bus! Pull over to the side now!”
“Zi!”
The bus immediately screeched to a halt as the bus driver slammed on the brakes at the instruction of the savage-looking man.
“Form a line and get off the bus, one by one! Hurry up! I don’t want to see anyone dilly-dallying!”
A few tall and muscular men pushed and shoved violently as they herded the passengers out of the bus.
One young man took a furtive glance at his surroundings as he stepped off the bus, a single bead of sweat rolling down his collar. Suddenly, without any hesitation, he turned around and fled in the opposite direction!
‘Hmph! What a bunch of idiots! You dare to come out and rob people with skills like that?! Don’t you even know how to tie a rope around your hostages? So unprofessional. Heh. I’ll immediately call the police after I escape. We’ll see how you brainless bandits are going to escape from the long arm of the law at that time!’ Wu Xiao Neng thought in disdain as he ran.
“Peng!”
“AHH!”
The loud bang of a gunshot rang out in the still air. Immediately after, a wave of anxious screams and cries rose from the crowd as they watched the young man who was fleeing at his top speed suddenly drop to the ground.
‘They… actually have guns!’
Regret flashed through his mind as Wu Xiao Neng laid in a pool of his own blood, clutching his chest. It was the peak of summer, but Wu Xiao Neng shivered violently as his world strangely became colder and colder. His vision gradually grew dark as life and blood flowed steadily out of his wound…
“Shut your mouths! This is the result of refusing to cooperate! Didn’t we ask very nicely for your cooperation just now? Why do people refuse to listen!” A cruel-looking man lowered the gun in his hand, turned around and reproached the crying passengers in annoyance.
‘This is becoming really troublesome…’ Chen Ya scrunched his eyebrows. He didn’t know what he should do. In a situation where the other party had both guns and hostages, even Chen Ya did not dare to make any reckless moves.
Chen Ya was actually a special forces police officer from Chengdu. He had gone on a leave and was on his way back to his hometown to visit his parents. For a trip like that, he naturally did not have the clearance to bring his firearms along. Who would have thought that he would end up in such a situation!
“Listen carefully, when I come by with the bag later on, I want you to put all your cash and valuables into the bag. After that, you will transfer all the money in your card to my account. Don’t try to resist. Otherwise… you all can see that guy over there right?” Liu Yan stroked the gun nonchalantly as he instructed in an icy tone.
‘These people are definitely not regular bandits! They are desperate and dangerous people who would not hesitate to do any kind of evil!’
Bei Feng looked at the group of bandits who were still carrying on with their business as though nothing had happened, seemingly unaffected by the corpse lying on the road. People with twisted minds like that couldn’t be treated as simple, regular thugs!
