Chapter 8: Meeting Uncle Li Again

Neither Sun Xingye nor I had expected to run into the murderer directly. Earlier, when we got out of the car, we were in such a hurry that we hadn't brought any rope or anything useful to tie him up. If we didn't secure this guy properly, he would definitely escape as soon as he woke up. Thinking of this, I glanced at Sun Xingye, who was lying on the ground. He was clearly badly injured. We had to call the police and get him medical attention at the same time. I quickly scanned Sun Xingye with my eyes—he was wearing gray suit pants, which meant he must be wearing a belt. Without hesitation, I pulled out his belt and used it to tie up the murderer's hands and feet from behind, securing him tightly like a trussed-up pig. To make sure it was extra secure, I also took a shoelace from one of my sneakers and tightly bound the man's thumbs together. This way, unless he had a knife, it would be almost impossible for him to free himself. After making sure he was properly restrained, I finally felt at ease and helped Sun Xingye up, preparing to head back to where we had parked the car. During all this, the man in black had been silently watching me without saying a word. Honestly, I should have thanked him—after all, he had just saved my life. "Uh… thanks for earlier," I said awkwardly. "No need." "What?" The man in black repeated indifferently, "No need to thank me." After that, there was another long stretch of silence. In the eerie stillness of the bamboo forest, the only sound was my own labored breathing. The main issue was that Sun Xingye was too heavy. Although he hadn't completely lost consciousness, most of his weight was pressing down on me, and I was struggling to keep going. "Hey, brother, could you lend a hand? I'm seriously out of strength here!" I finally gave in and asked for help. The man in black glanced at me and said flatly, "Your body is too weak. You need more training. Just hold on a bit longer—we're almost at your car." His words made my heart skip a beat. It was clear now that he had been following me all along. Even though he had saved my life, I still wasn't sure whether I could fully trust him. I needed to stay on guard. Just when I thought I couldn't take another step, I finally saw Sun Xingye's pickup truck. In that instant, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground, completely drained. Seeing that I truly couldn't go on, the man in black finally stepped forward, took Sun Xingye from me, and helped him into the backseat of the truck. Then, he returned and helped me into the passenger seat. Once I was settled, I finally pulled out my phone and called the police. The officers didn't arrive until dawn. By then, I had already taken Sun Xingye to the hospital. The police found Sun Xingmei's body at the scene, along with the middle-aged man I had tied up like a dead pig. The case was quickly solved. The murderer was Bian Hailiang, the owner of the bamboo grove. On the day of the crime, he had been riding his motorcycle back from town when he saw Sun Xingmei walking alone on the road. He had malicious intentions and tricked her into believing they were going the same way, offering her a ride. Naïve and unsuspecting, Sun Xingmei fell for his lie. He took her to his bamboo grove, where he assaulted her. Then, afraid of being caught, he killed her to silence her… Bian Hailiang confessed to everything, and Sun Xingmei's family finally received some justice. After finishing my statement at the police station, I was surprised to find that the man in black was still there! Since I had promised him I wouldn't tell the police that he was the one who subdued the suspect, all the credit had naturally fallen to me. But from the doubtful looks the officers gave me, it was obvious they didn't believe that a bookish guy like me, who couldn't even kill a chicken, had managed to take down a strong, muscular murderer. In the end, I had no choice but to lie and say that Sun Xingye had fought the suspect first, exhausting him, before I managed to barely subdue him. After leaving the station, I saw that the man in black had no intention of leaving. So, I got straight to the point. "Why have you been following me?" "I was sent by someone." "Who?" "Li Zhenhai." Hearing that name, I immediately pulled out my phone and dialed Uncle Li's number. "Jinbao? How did things go?" Uncle Li's voice was calm and warm over the phone. Since he had been the one to introduce me to this job, I spoke politely. "Everything is more or less settled now. Thanks, Uncle Li." Uncle Li chuckled. "That's good. This was actually a favor for an old friend. I thought about it and figured you were the right person for the job, so I gave them your number. By the way, you didn't run into any danger, did you?" Hearing this, I smirked. This old fox definitely knew I'd be in danger, but at least he had the foresight to send someone to protect me. So, I couldn't really complain. "There was a bit of trouble, but thankfully, your guy arrived just in time." "That young man's name is Ding Yi. He's my apprentice. He's highly skilled, which is why I sent him to keep an eye on you. Once you wrap things up on your end, come back, and we'll talk in detail." After hanging up, I turned to the man beside me. "So, your name is Ding Yi?" "You're Zhang Jinbao." I sighed and shook my head. This guy really had a habit of dodging questions. Communicating with him was going to be a challenge. By the time we got back to the hotel, the sun was nearly up. I sneaked Ding Yi into my room—luckily, it had a standard double bed. I was so exhausted that I collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep. The next morning, I was startled to find someone else in bed with me. It took me a moment to remember who the handsome guy beside me was. To my surprise, he was still fast asleep, even though the sun was already high in the sky. At first, I didn't feel like getting up either. But soon, my stomach started growling, and I had no choice but to get up and find something to eat. On my way back, I received a call from Sun Xingye. He wanted to meet me—not just to thank me but also to give me the payment he had promised. The mention of money instantly lifted my spirits. We arranged to meet at a noodle shop near my hotel in the afternoon. When I returned to my room, I found that Ding Yi was gone. On the bed, he had left a note that read: "I'll pick you up tonight." I stared at the note for a long time. Pick me up tonight? This guy… leaving such a cryptic message! Now I had to stay here for another day just to see what he was up to. Well, whatever. I'd deal with it later. For now, I had a meeting with Sun Xingye to attend. At 2 PM, I arrived at the small noodle shop as planned. Sun Xingye had gotten there even earlier. The moment he saw me, he placed an envelope of cash on the table in front of me.