Exchange

"Uncle... can I swap with them?"

As soon as these words were spoken, whether bandits, hostages, or onlookers, everyone's eyes went wide with disbelief. A moment later, Scarface and Triangle-eyed both laughed: "Ha, we've run into a real live Lei Feng today! What are you trying to do, kid? At your age you already know how to play the hero saving a beauty? No more moving!"

Jiaming stopped in his tracks. First he pointed at Zhang Yahan: "Because she's my sister." Then he pointed at Lingjing, hesitated for a long moment, and finally blushed as he said: "And she's my girlfriend. I can't let anything happen to them. So... Uncle, if you need hostages, I'll swap with them. Please..."

Though he deliberately mumbled the word "girlfriend," everyone still heard it clearly. Lingjing's eyes seemed to shine, and then she choked out: "Jiaming, don't come..."

But by now Jiaming was already walking forward. He moved slowly. The two bandits exchanged glances, clearly uncertain. At that moment, Huang Haoyun, who had been cowering on the side, plucked up his courage and said: "You, you wait. I'm from the Huang Family..."

"Don't come closer! You want to die!?" A child was one thing, an adult another entirely. As soon as Huang Haoyun spoke, the pistol in Scarface's hand immediately aimed at him, making him hastily raise both hands and dare not speak again. Meanwhile, Jiaming had already drawn near.

"Brother Dao," Triangle-eyed said, turning his head. "I say we just swap the one you've got for this kid. Having an adult along is bound to cause trouble."

"Hmph, what trouble could there be?" Scarface glanced at the woman in his grip, hesitating inwardly. In truth, he had another thought. By this pond, this older girl was the prettiest woman here. The two of them had stolen this money and planned to hide deep in the mountains for a while before coming out. If they had a woman along, life would be much more comfortable. As he considered this, Zhang Yahan, who had heard their words, said: "No, I won't swap!"

"The hell you think you get a say here!" Scarface shouted, pressing the gun muzzle against Jiaming's head and shoving Zhang Yahan aside. Jiaming took Lingjing's hand and said softly: "It's okay. Don't worry." Lingjing nodded with tears in her eyes: "I'm not scared..."

"Damn, first time in my life I've seen a hero, and it's a kid." Triangle-eyed sighed. Then the four of them began walking toward the mountain path. At that moment, Liu Huaisha rushed out from behind: "Let me swap with Lingjing!"

Before the two bandits could react, Jiaming shouted: "Shasha, stop! Go call the police to rescue us."

These words made the little girl freeze in place, sobbing quietly. Scarface patted Jiaming's shoulder: "Hey, you know a thing or two, don't you? Let me tell you, since we're doing this, we're not afraid of you calling the police. Go ahead and call!"

The four of them walked over ten meters, about to enter the woods, when Zhang Yahan suddenly dashed out again. As she drew near, Scarface raised his gun and aimed it at her forehead: "What the hell do you want now! You really want to die? Think I won't kill you!"

"I'm coming with you!" she said, trembling all over, but her eyes showed no weakness. "I can't let two children go with you. Either I swap with them, or take me along too!"

"What's going on today..." Scarface stared at her in disbelief. "Everyone wants to be a Lei Feng. If you come any closer, I'll shoot!"

"Shoot." Zhang Yahan was clearly in the midst of fierce inner turmoil, but she still followed the gun muzzle. "Either kill me, or take me. I can't let the children go with you..."

Jiaming looked at the gun aimed at Zhang Yahan, then at the hunting knife at Scarface's waist. If he acted now, he had a seventy percent chance of taking down Scarface before he could fire. But Lingjing was right beside him, and there were too many people here... After a moment's thought, he cursed: "Get lost, you stupid woman! Who asked you to save me? Go back and sleep with Huang Haoyun!"

At such crude insults, Zhang Yahan only glanced at him and said nothing. The crime of murder was far heavier than robbery and kidnapping, and Scarface didn't dare shoot lightly. He backed up a few steps, looked at the sky, and gritted his teeth: "Fine, you want to come along! Are those tents on the ground? Grab two of them!"

He was referring to the travel backpacks with tents lying on the ground. Zhang Yahan nodded, ran back, picked up Jiaming's and Lingjing's bags, then said to the crying Liu Huaisha: "Remember to call the police." As she turned, Huang Haoyun grabbed her hand: "Yahan, you can't go!"

"Get lost!" Yahan shook him off. "You're worse than a child!"

With that, she ran toward the four of them.

*********************************************************

By afternoon, clouds began to gather in the sky. Looking up, it seemed it might rain at any moment.

Five people moved through the mountain forest. Yahan carried a bag and walked in front, with Scarface behind her. Jiaming also carried a travel bag, holding Lingjing's hand as they walked in the middle, while Triangle-eyed with his short-barreled gun brought up the rear. As they advanced, Jiaming's heart itched with fury.

He really wanted to just abandon that self-righteous stupid woman! If it had been just him and Lingjing, there would have been plenty of chances along the way to take out these two bandits. Lingjing was young and close to him; after he showed his skills once, it would be easy to get her to keep quiet. But now with a stranger around, not only were the bandits more alert, but he'd have to act without letting Zhang Yahan notice. That meant the best time to strike would have to wait until night.

On the other hand, Lingjing, held by Jiaming's hand, felt a mix of confusion and sweetness in her heart. Though only thirteen, she had reached the age of budding romance. Every time she thought of what Jiaming had said, her little hands and cheeks felt hot and flushed. Yet amid her wandering thoughts, her worry about being kidnapped by the bandits actually lessened. Remembering the confidence and calm in Jiaming's voice when he said "It's okay," the little girl truly felt that as long as she was with Jiaming, nothing bad would happen. There was nothing to fear.

Among the five, the two bandits kept urging them to move faster. Yahan gradually lost her strength but still forced herself to keep up. Jiaming and Lingjing, who ran and exercised every day, had better stamina on the mountain paths than most adults. If they had wanted rescue, they should have slowed down to buy time, but Jiaming had no faith in the police at all, so he just kept pace unhurriedly. By later on, the two bandits actually felt some admiration for him and occasionally asked him questions. Jiaming naturally put on a timid act, sometimes answering with a tearful voice.

"Hey, still just a kid after all," Triangle-eyed said at dusk. "But even scared, he still followed. If my son had this kind of guts, I'd be satisfied. Don't worry, we're just after money. As long as we can escape, we won't kill anyone."

Jiaming thought to himself, Then you can be satisfied all you want. Your son's about to become an orphan. But aloud he said: "If you want money, why not just go after Sister Yahan? Her family is the Jianghai Zhang Family. They're loaded. A few tens of thousands is nothing to them."

At these words, both bandits froze. Zhang Yahan turned back, her face pale. Jiaming frantically waved his hands, pretending he had slipped up: "Ah, I... I... I was just talking. Not... not..."

"Ha, didn't think we'd caught a big shot!" Triangle-eyed stared at Zhang Yahan, eyes gleaming.

Scarface nodded, then turned back: "From what you said, she's not your real sister, huh."

Jiaming answered: "Sworn sister." A loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky, and then, raindrops as big as beans poured down.

Section 8: The Swap

Section 8: The Swap