Chapter 201: Zhao Mingkun’s Injury

I hurried over in a few quick steps and looked at Zhao Mingkun. She had a hand pressed to her waist, then lifted her face to look at me. In the pitch black, I couldn’t make out exactly where she’d been hurt, but the metallic scent of blood hit my nose. I knew she was bleeding.

I rushed closer and saw sweat beading across her face. She was biting down, fighting through pain so intense her breath came heavy and her body trembled. I immediately checked the hand pressed to her side, gently prying it away. That’s when I saw her clothes slashed open, a long gash running across.

Blood seeped slowly from the wound. The slow trickle meant the artery hadn’t been hit, but the cut was deep—at least ten centimeters long and hard to look at.

As I checked the wound, Zhao Mingkun threw an arm over my shoulder and leaned most of her weight on me. There was no time to hesitate—I stripped off my jacket and shirt, then yanked off my inner T-shirt.

My jacket had been dirtied earlier when I fell, caked with sewer filth—definitely no good for bandaging. But my T-shirt was clean. I folded it into a thick square, pressed it to her wound, and wrapped the sleeves tightly around her slender waist to hold it in place.

Resting on my shoulder, Zhao Mingkun somehow managed a smile. “Not bad, you’re quicker on the draw than I expected.”

An odd wave of sadness surged in my chest. The sight of Zhao Mingkun like this felt all wrong. In my mind she’d always been untouchable—a queen who could do anything, twice as clever and capable as I was. The woman leaning softly on my shoulder now, her voice gentle, barely felt like the same person.

“Can you walk?” I slipped my shirt and jacket back on, trying to stifle that emotion and keep my voice steady. “Do you think you can still move?”

Zhao Mingkun braced herself on me. Though her body shivered, she kept her tone light. “This little scratch is nothing. I’ve taken wounds a lot worse than this before and lived to tell. This? Piece of cake.”

“What happened? How did you get hurt like this?” I asked.

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “When I chased him here, the killer had just reached a fork in the tunnel. I didn’t think twice and followed. I didn’t realize he’d set up an ambush. Suddenly there was a machete in his hand—no idea where it came from. Lucky I dodged fast, or I wouldn’t be talking to you now.”

My own foot was throbbing, but compared to what Zhao Mingkun was going through it hardly mattered. I didn’t mention it. Instead, I shifted my weight to the other foot and kept moving forward with her leaning on me.

Sweat from her face dripped down onto my hand, but she still tried to act casual. “I got a good look at him—a guy, maybe one-seventy tall in black with a buzz cut. Eyes sharp as a hawk.”

“You’re sure it was a man?” I asked.

She caught my meaning and replied, “Did you all think the killer was a woman?”

I shook my head. “From what we’ve gathered, some say it’s a man, some a woman. The descriptions are all over the place.”

“Let’s talk up there.” Two dots of light shone down above us—that was another manhole cover. But where did it lead? Was it a busy street or a quiet back lane, or worse, a road with cars flying by?

I stopped, closed my eyes, and tried to listen for sounds above.

Zhao Mingkun spoke up, “Keep going. Twenty meters ahead, left turn—there should be a manhole there.”

I frowned at her. “How do you know that?”

She gave a sharp little snort. “If you want to avoid getting caught, you’d better remember every passage both up top and down here. Otherwise, I’d have died a dozen times already. Only difference is, I can’t move in the dark like the killer can.”

Her words made something click in my mind. If there are multiple killers, can all of them really move so easily in pitch darkness? If the killer is totally unaffected by the lack of light, that means they’ve spent years—maybe decades—living in darkness. Are there really that many people in Dongxing City who grew up in the shadows?

Thinking about it, we made it to the spot Zhao Mingkun described.

Sure enough, there was a manhole up ahead.

I climbed out first, lifting off the cover, and checked my surroundings. We were in the middle of a narrow alley, bordered by two streets with the occasional car passing by. Once I had the cover up, I climbed back down to help Zhao Mingkun—she was too hurt to make it up alone. I got under her, pushing her leg and hauling her up with all I had.

It took real effort, but we finally made it aboveground.

I glanced at Zhao Mingkun. My black T-shirt was now soaked red, clinging to me with every move. Every time she shifted, sweat beaded on her brow and I could tell how much pain she was in. Zhao Mingkun took out her phone, pressed it a few times, and said, “There’s a motel not far from here. We’ll go there.”

Still supporting her, I turned and said, “Your wound is at least ten centimeters long. If we don’t get you stitched up and stop the bleeding, you’re going to bleed out. Let’s get to the hospital. Or were you planning to operate on yourself?”

Zhao Mingkun suddenly went cold. She pressed a hand to the wall and hooked the other around my neck. Maybe the pain got to her—she pressed her forehead to mine, our eyes so close I could see the patterns surrounding her brown pupils.

She spoke in a low, airy voice and her breath brushed my skin, setting my thoughts adrift.

“Wu Meng, the most important thing is to remember who you are. No matter where you are, no matter how tired you feel or how close to death, you have to know your place.” She pressed our foreheads together harder. “If I go to the hospital, that’s the real death sentence for me. Got it?”

Her tone left no room for argument and commanded absolute authority. “Take me to that motel. Buy some bandage towels and thread from the supermarket nearby. And while you’re at it, pick up a few shirt buttons. They sell bandage towels nowadays—don’t buy medical gauze.”

I immediately understood. She didn’t want anyone to suspect an injury. No wonder she’s managed to go so long without getting caught by Team Leader Shao and the rest.

The longer this dragged out, the worse her wound would get. It wasn’t the time to stand around chatting. Since Zhao Mingkun gave the orders, I could only do as she said.

I shook out my jacket—it didn’t smell great but nothing too strong or wet. I draped it over Zhao Mingkun and zipped it up so no one could see my blood-soaked T-shirt beneath. No one would be the wiser.

We hailed a cab and headed for the motel. Zhao Mingkun acted as if nothing was wrong, but I knew she was forcing it. When we got out, she held back her pain in front of the owner, cracking jokes like she hadn’t a care in the world.

The motel didn’t even ask for an ID. I got her onto the bed. She lay down, gritting her teeth. “If you want to arrest me now, I’m really not in any shape to run.”

I ignored her joke and headed downstairs.

Following her instructions, I went to the supermarket.

They really did sell bandage towels—thicker than regular gauze and looked up to the task. I bought a sewing kit too, and a few shirt buttons for good measure.

As I left the supermarket and hurried back to the motel, my phone suddenly rang. It was Guan Zengbin calling.

I hesitated, unsure if I should pick up. We’d been out here for over an hour, and Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin must be worried sick. There’d been no signal in the sewers, so they couldn’t reach me. They were probably at their wits’ end by now.

After a moment’s thought, I answered and started walking back toward the motel.

“Wu Meng?” Guan Zengbin sounded shocked, then let out a relieved chuckle. “Where the heck did you go? We’ve been trying to reach you forever. Do you know how worried we were? Is everything all right? Where are you now?”

His barrage of questions left me unsure where to even start. I finally said, “Back on the shop floor, I figured out the killer’s method and escape route. Didn’t have time to let you know—I ran after him right away. Too bad in the dark, I was useless. The killer, though, didn’t have any trouble at all.”

“So the killer got away,” I finished with a sigh.

Guan Zengbin sighed, too, and tried to comfort me. “As long as you’re okay, Wu Meng. We were so worried when you vanished for over an hour. Come back soon. We’re still at the factory. The English letters showed up again on the ground…”

“Got it. Don’t worry. I just made it out of the sewers. As soon as I wrap things up, I’ll head right back.”

“Alright,” Guan Zengbin sounded much calmer. “We’ll wait for you.”

I fell quiet, at a loss for words.

I could feel that Guan Zengbin’s concern for me was genuine. But I also knew about the old grudge between her and Zhao Mingkun.

Just like Zhao Mingkun said, if I arrested her now, there’s no way she could escape.

What should I do?