Although the Guard Team had no official connection to the Merchant Association, if they wanted to live steady, comfortable lives and earn a little extra on the side, they had to stay on good terms with the Merchant Association. So when it came to these money gods, they avoided offending them whenever possible.
And the wallet contained more than just identification and an elder's certificate. It even held the deed for the anonymous purchase of this courtyard. Ordinary people could not obtain something unregistered like that.
The two searchers exchanged glances, more or less figuring out what was going on here.
They immediately returned the wallet to Ji Qinglin with ingratiating smiles and explained, "We only came in to check because we were concerned for the residents' safety. We hope Elder won't take offense at the disturbance."
Ji Qinglin put on an expression of anger mixed with helpless resignation and waved his hand.
"I understand, but you absolutely must not tell anyone else that I came here."
"Rest assured a hundred times over. Please, carry on, carry on!"
As they spoke, the two hurriedly backed out. Before leaving, they even helped shut the door.
Standing at the bedroom door and confirming that the two had left the courtyard, Ji Qinglin and the Red-Eyed Girl on the bed finally let out sighs of relief.
But the Red-Eyed Girl seemed to recall how she had just been "humiliated." Her pretty face flushed crimson, and her pair of exquisite red eyes still glared furiously at Ji Qinglin.
Ji Qinglin, on the other hand, felt no psychological burden whatsoever. Pulling on his pants, he said, "Hey, don't look at me like that. It was a last resort just now. Could you have thought of any other way?"
Though the Red-Eyed Girl was full of anger, she knew he was right and could only snap back.
"So you had to reach out?"
"If you'd cried out earlier, would I have needed to reach out?"
"Couldn't you have pinched somewhere else? Pervert!"
"This is my home. Between the two of us, who's the thief? Do you need me to call the Guard Team in here to judge who's right?"
She had no ground to stand on with any of his arguments. Enraged, the Red-Eyed Girl reached for the pistol she had hidden beneath the pillow, intending to scare this shameless bastard and at least make him apologize.
But when she felt around, she discovered that beneath the pillow was empty.
Ji Qinglin fastened his belt and lifted a corner of the blanket nearest him.
"Looking for this?"
A silver-white pistol lay beneath the blanket.
Startled, the Red-Eyed Girl hurriedly reached for the bomb at her waist. Ji Qinglin picked up the pistol and waved his hand.
"Don't get so worked up. Calm down. I just secretly took out your gun because I was worried you'd tear down the bridge after crossing the river. If I truly meant you harm, you'd already have died under my gun on that bed."
Hmm, why did that sound so strange?
Though he had taken her pistol, Ji Qinglin did not take any countermeasures. He was unsure what exactly was going on with the bomb at the Red-Eyed Girl's waist. If it could be controlled by thought or was connected to her heart, he would definitely be dragged down with her as a cushion.
He still believed that less trouble was better than more, so he intended to handle this matter quietly.
The Red-Eyed Girl cautiously touched her belt. "Then what do you want?"
"What do you mean, what do I want? This is my home. I should be asking what you, the one who broke in, want."
"I only want to stay the night and tend to my injuries. I'll leave during the day."
Ji Qinglin nodded.
"Staying the night isn't impossible, but you have to tell me who you are and why the guards are chasing you. Otherwise, I won't feel safe letting you stay here."
The Red-Eyed Girl snorted coldly.
"Knowing who I am won't do you any good."
Leaning against the doorway, Ji Qinglin analyzed, "Under normal circumstances, Guard Team members get off work on time. There are only two possibilities for them to still be out patrolling at this hour: either some major accident happened, or a wealthy company or Merchant Association paid to hire them.
"Judging by how casual those two were just now, it doesn't seem like anything major happened. They were probably helping a company or Merchant Association look for someone. Seeing a Merchant Association elder, they didn't say anything else, so the party they're helping should be a company. In other words, you're someone some company is looking for.
"From your somewhat forceful tone and habits, you're probably a minor leader. Either you offended the company and defected, or you infiltrated a rival company and got discovered, or—"
The Red-Eyed Girl had not expected the man before her to infer so much from so little information. Though only the first part was correct, it was still unbelievable. More importantly, he was staring at her as he spoke, clearly trying to confirm his guesses by reading her reaction. She interrupted, "You should know that the less you know, the safer you are."
Ji Qinglin had no objection to that, so he did not continue guessing.
But the Red-Eyed Girl asked in return.
"Are you an elder of the Xin Dong Street Merchant Association?"
Ji Qinglin naturally did not want to expose his identity either. Shrugging, he said, "Do you think a Merchant Association elder would live in a place like this? The documents in the wallet are forged. They just make it easier to get things done in the old city of Xin Dong Street."
The Red-Eyed Girl thought that made sense. Leaving aside the fact that he was far too young, what merchant elder would live alone in a place like this?
Ji Qinglin said nothing more. He walked to the bed and prepared to lift the blanket.
The Red-Eyed Girl hurriedly grabbed the blanket. "What are you doing?!"
"Hey, I only have one set of bedding in this house. It's already generous enough that I agreed to give you somewhere to lie down, and now you're planning to let the dove occupy the magpie's nest?"
Before the girl could retort.
Knock, knock—
Two crisp raps sounded from outside the bedroom's wooden door, as though someone were knocking.
Before Ji Qinglin could react, the girl had already flung the blanket over him, covered him, and pulled him beneath it. Once again, she placed Ji Qinglin's body in front of her and resumed their previous pose.
This time, however, Ji Qinglin was neither nervous nor prepared to cooperate. Instead, he let out a snort of laughter.
Seeing the man in front of her laughing, the Red-Eyed Girl looked tense, but she still whispered.
"What are you laughing at?"
Ji Qinglin did not answer. He climbed out of bed, went to the door, and opened the wooden door.
The heartless Coal Boss, who had immediately fled the moment he sensed something amiss in the bedroom, flew in from outside and landed steadily on Ji Qinglin's shoulder.
Seeing that it was only a crow, the Red-Eyed Girl finally relaxed. But remembering how quickly and voluntarily she had cooperated just now, only to be laughed at by this man, she felt both embarrassed and angry.
Ji Qinglin pretended not to notice. As he picked up his short-sleeved shirt from the floor, he prepared to toss the Red-Eyed Girl's clothes and pants to her as well. But when he picked them up, he noticed several gray spots the size of fingertips on the pants, with small holes in the centers. He immediately asked, "Did your leg get hit by an Electromagnetic Soul Severing Needle?"
The Electromagnetic Soul Severing Needle attacked the nerves at the point of impact through fired fine needles, temporarily paralyzing that part of the target's body and rendering it unusable for a period of time.
Because its effects were obvious, it required no drugs, and it left no aftereffects, it was used by the security personnel of many companies.
Ji Qinglin thought, no wonder she took off her pants. She had probably wanted her leg to recover directly as soon as possible after pulling out the needle.
Having just been taken advantage of, how could the Red-Eyed Girl dare admit that one of her legs could not move? Don't even think about getting any crooked ideas again. She immediately replied warily.
"No! Give me my clothes!"
Ji Qinglin tossed the clothes over, then took something resembling a lighter from his tool bag and said with feigned regret.
"Then that's truly a pity. I happened to be carrying a Nerve Perception Restorer with me. Since that isn't the case, forget it."
With that, he picked up his tool bag and walked out on his own.
"Hm? Hey! Don't!"
The author was gradually letting themself go.
Before you continue