Officer Chen called. The moment Xiang Kun answered, he was bombarded with questions. First, Officer Chen wanted to confirm whether the person Xiang Kun had seen really was the wanted suspect. Xiang Kun couldn't explain that he'd identified him by his scent, so he couldn't be too certain in his response. All he could say was that he was almost sure.
More importantly, after the man had exchanged a glance with him, he'd actually run.
When Officer Chen heard that Xiang Kun was chasing the suspect, he grew anxious again. He told Xiang Kun not to do anything rash and said their people would arrive soon. Xiang Kun absolutely wasn't to try to arrest the man himself. The suspect was vicious and might be carrying a prohibited weapon. He was extremely dangerous.
"Don't worry, I won't play the hero. I'll just keep an eye on him and wait for you to arrive. You know where I am, right? I've shared my location with you on WeChat..."
As he spoke with Officer Chen on the phone, Xiang Kun walked calmly down the street, following the scent of the blond man.
In fact, when the blond man ran at full speed and exerted himself so strenuously, his scent grew stronger, making it easier for Xiang Kun to track him.
So Xiang Kun didn't feel much urgency as he followed behind. In a city chase, the winner wasn't always the one who covered the most ground in a straight line. Just because the other man ran a hundred meters first didn't mean Xiang Kun had to run a hundred meters to catch up. The man might weave through the streets, thinking he'd shaken Xiang Kun, while Xiang Kun simply pinpointed his location and took a shortcut, arriving after covering just twenty meters.
Xiang Kun stopped and looked at the narrow passageway ahead. It ran between two buildings, but perhaps because of renovations or illegal construction, the buildings had been left far too close together, making the passage feel cramped and dark. There were even puddles on the ground. Most people would never think of going in unless they had no other choice.
But Xiang Kun knew the blond man was hiding in that narrow passageway.
He moved the phone away from his ear for a moment and listened carefully. From inside the passageway, he clearly heard heavy breathing. The man had obviously exhausted himself in that mad dash. Normally, someone breathing that heavily wouldn't have to worry about being heard from this far away, especially with the bustling crowds and traffic on the street. But he'd run into Xiang Kun.
And even if he could hold his breath, he couldn't hide his scent.
Xiang Kun glanced around, then gave Officer Chen the street name and the names of the shops on either side of the passageway. With his location shared on WeChat as well, he was sure the police would find him soon.
Honestly, Xiang Kun didn't understand what the blond man planned to do by hiding in there. Was he waiting for Xiang Kun to give up and assume he'd gone far away, so he could come out and leave?
Whatever the man was thinking, Xiang Kun would just stand guard and wait for the police. With both scent and sound keeping the man pinned down, there was no fear of him slipping away by some other route.
Although Xiang Kun was fairly confident he could subdue the blond man himself, he didn't want to. Showing off too many of his unusual abilities could easily attract unwanted attention.
But Xiang Kun had barely been standing there for a few seconds when an irritated voice sounded behind him. "Hey! Baldy! Who were you cursing at just now?"
A little over an hour earlier.
Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er were having a meal at a restaurant that specialized in salads.
"What about that 'Saitama-sensei'? Weren't you supposed to go hiking with him this weekend? Have you two been in touch to settle on a time and place? We're leaving the day after tomorrow, aren't we?" Yang Zhen'er suddenly asked her friend, who was sitting across from her.
But after Yang Zhen'er fired off all those questions, Tang Baona didn't say a word. She just focused on her food.
After years of friendship, Yang Zhen'er naturally knew what that meant. She raised an eyebrow. "No way. You haven't been in touch at all since that day, have you?"
Tang Baona rolled her eyes. "What would we even talk about? There's nothing to chat about."
"That bald guy really is... so unappreciative! No wonder he's still single!" Yang Zhen'er fumed.
Tang Baona sighed. She actually regretted sending Xiang Kun those WeChat messages after running into him downstairs at the gym that day. But she'd already sent them. What could she do now?
Still, she couldn't admit it. "We're just ordinary friends. Do you chat all the time with every friend you have? I'll confirm the time with him tonight and see if we should pick him up. Oh, Zhen'er, don't give him a hard time when we see him. He hasn't done anything wrong."
"An ordinary friend after a blind date? Fine, fine. I'll stop talking." Yang Zhen'er took out her phone and started scrolling through Weibo.
A little while later, Yang Zhen'er held out her phone to her friend. "Nana, look at this bald guy. Doesn't he look like your 'Saitama-sensei'? Look at that flying kick! His flip-flop even went flying..."
Tang Baona had just finished eating. She took the phone and watched the video. Its title had the feel of an urban legend:
"Real Chinese Kung Fu in Action—A Reclusive Martial Monk in the City Sees Injustice and Takes Down an Armed Criminal in Two Moves!"
The video showed a bald man in a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops. He launched a flying kick at an armed criminal, then charged forward and punched him, supposedly "killing" him. It was very short, only a few seconds, but undeniably thrilling. Although the camera was a little far away, the footage was no less impressive than an ordinary action movie.
The video Yang Zhen'er had found was naturally the one a resident in a nearby building had filmed when Xiang Kun intervened to stop the couple downstairs from being attacked. The original video was longer and included footage of the couple being stabbed, making it much more graphic. This version had cut that part out and started with Xiang Kun charging in with a flying kick. With that title, it really could make people think the bald man in shorts was a martial monk.
"That really does look like Sai... I mean, Mr. Xiang," Tang Baona suddenly said after watching it several times.
Yang Zhen'er froze for a moment, then took her phone back and watched the video again. "No way..." When she'd said the man looked like Xiang Kun, she'd only been making a casual remark because he was bald. She hadn't seriously considered the possibility.
Tang Baona was already looking something up on her own phone as she spoke. "Remember what he was wearing when we ran into him downstairs at the gym? A tank top and shorts, just like in the video."
Then Tang Baona turned her phone toward Yang Zhen'er. "This happened on the same day we saw him downstairs at the gym last week, and it was right here in our city. Look, this is the news report from back then."
Yang Zhen'er stared at the news report and the full video, then looked up in astonishment. "Nana, could 'Saitama-sensei' really be a martial monk?"
"Monk, my foot..."
"Hehe, we have to invite him on the hike this weekend. I'm going to 'interview' him properly."
The two joked around as they left the restaurant and headed to the gym for a yoga class. There was still plenty of time, so they decided to stroll around the street first, each holding a cup of juice as they walked.
They were chatting when Tang Baona suddenly froze. Pointing at a bald man up ahead in a tank top and shorts, a sports bag slung over his shoulder as he looked down at his phone, she said, "Mr. Xiang?"
"Whoa, what are the odds?" Yang Zhen'er said, pleased to see him. She and Tang Baona walked toward Xiang Kun and called out, "Mr. Xiang!"
But Xiang Kun didn't turn around and notice them until they were right in front of him, as though they'd startled him.
Yang Zhen'er was rather unhappy with that reaction. In a mildly reproachful tone, she asked, "Mr. Xiang, who are you messaging? We've been calling you for ages. How come you didn't hear us?" As she spoke, she glanced toward the screen of Xiang Kun's phone.
But at that moment, Xiang Kun suddenly swore, "Damn it!" making her jump. Then he left them with a quick "I'll get in touch later" and turned to walk away.
Before you continue