"Gu Zheng! We're jumping down!"

Before long, they heard the lock turn, and a man pushed the door open, carrying an enamel mug.

The warehouse was dimly lit.

Before he could make out what was inside, Song Ning raised the wrench high and smashed it into the back of his head.

As he fell, she covered his mouth and dragged him aside.

Then Song Ning told Zhou Yunzhi, "Cry! Cry loudly!"

Zhou Yunzhi shot Song Ning a look, but had no choice but to burst into loud sobs...

"Let go of me-you can't do this-let me go!"

Song Ning peered through the gap in the door, watching to see whether one man would come over or two.

She figured that if both came, she could ambush one and probably take the other down too.

But one of the men outside was cooking noodles in an aluminum pot. He said to the other:

"Go take a look. That bastard's getting horny again! One of those women belongs to that Gu fellow. She's off-limits!"

The other man sauntered over with a laugh. "You have to admit, those two are real beauties. I'd be itching for a taste myself!"

When he stepped through the door, Song Ning used the same trick and knocked him out too.

The iron wrench was heavy enough that a blow to the back of the head would leave a man half-dead, if not permanently disabled.

After tying both men's hands and feet, Song Ning tipped her chin at Zhou Yunzhi. "Keep crying!"

Zhou Yunzhi refused.

"Why don't you cry? All you do is order me around!"

Song Ning smiled. "Aren't you the star performer? You're the professional! Unless..."

She lifted the wrench and pointed to the corner beside the door. "You'd rather stand here instead?"

Zhou Yunzhi rolled her eyes and started sobbing and screaming again:

"Get away! All of you, get away! I'll fight you to the death-"

Hearing the commotion inside, the man outside abandoned his noodles.

"What's going on? Are they getting serious in there?"

When he pushed the door open, Song Ning raised the wrench for the third time.

Once again, she took him down with a single blow!

That was all of them!

Then she grabbed Zhou Yunzhi. "Run! We have to get out before the others come back!"

They ran out of the warehouse and found themselves in a courtyard enclosed by high walls, at least two or three meters tall.

The sheet-metal gate was locked from the outside and wouldn't budge.

Song Ning led Zhou Yunzhi around the courtyard and finally found two trees in a corner, close to the wall.

"Climb the tree! The wall's too high! We can climb onto it from the branches!"

Zhou Yunzhi was technically a female soldier.

But the Arts and Culture Troupe was nothing like a regular military unit, and she had no particular physical skills.

Seeing Zhou Yunzhi stand there without moving, Song Ning wrapped her arms around a tree and scrambled up in a few quick movements.

She hooked her legs around a branch and reached down for Zhou Yunzhi.

Zhou Yunzhi said, "You really are from the countryside! You're certainly good at climbing trees!"

Song Ning said, "If you're not coming up, I'm leaving without you!"

Only then did Zhou Yunzhi reluctantly reach out her hand.

The sky had begun to darken.

Gu Zheng waved a hand, and a squad of fully armed soldiers behind him silently surrounded the warehouse.

"Boss! Something's happening over there!"

Gu Zheng looked in the direction Han Xiao was pointing...

At one corner of the wall, branches swayed, and two figures appeared on top of the wall, one after the other.

He looked closer, and his chest tightened.

His heart leaped into his throat.

"First squad, secure the perimeter-"

"Second squad, infiltrate-"

Gu Zheng issued his orders as he ran toward the foot of the wall.

Song Ning had finally managed to haul Zhou Yunzhi from the branches onto the wall.

Then she saw several people running out from the side, and alarm stirred in her chest.

Fortunately, someone below soon called out quietly:

"Be careful!"

Only when she heard Gu Zheng's voice did Song Ning relax.

Zhou Yunzhi's nerves had been stretched taut for so long that the moment they relaxed, she burst into tears.

"G-Gu Zheng! What took you so long? I was so scared!"

"Jump! One at a time! We'll catch you!"

Gu Zheng called up to them.

The soldiers who had followed him also held out their arms.

Song Ning told Zhou Yunzhi, "If you're scared, close your eyes and just jump!"

Zhou Yunzhi kept looking down, her hands and legs trembling, unable to bring herself to move.

Song Ning knew Gu Zheng and his men must have another plan, since they hadn't broken down the gate.

They couldn't stay on top of the wall forever.

"Then I'll jump first! I'll show you how!"

But Zhou Yunzhi clung to her. "N-no! I'll be even more scared to jump if you leave me alone!"

"Then we'll go together!"

"W-wait! I'm not ready!"

"Zhou Yunzhi, if you don't jump now, you'll be target practice when those men come back!"

Song Ning shouted down, "Gu Zheng! We're jumping down!"

With that, she pulled Zhou Yunzhi with her and leaped.

Gu Zheng held out both arms and stepped forward, catching Song Ning securely against his chest.

The impact from that height drove Gu Zheng back several steps before he regained his footing.

Looking down at Song Ning in his arms, he asked:

"Are you both all right?"

Song Ning nodded. "We're fine!"

Beside them, two soldiers caught Zhou Yunzhi, but she had little experience jumping off walls and knocked one of them straight to the ground.

She had watched Gu Zheng step forward to catch Song Ning, and felt terribly wronged.

It was bad enough that he'd caught Song Ning instead of her, but he hadn't even let go of her right away!

In the end, Song Ning climbed out of Gu Zheng's arms herself and looked over.

"Zhou Yunzhi, are you all right?"

Zhou Yunzhi gritted her teeth and shook her head, waiting for Gu Zheng to come over and comfort her.

Instead, Gu Zheng merely glanced her way and said:

"Good, you're all right! Get out of here, quickly!"

He turned and ordered the others to escort them away.

Then he waved his hand and led a squad of soldiers around the corner of the wall, disappearing without looking back.

He didn't spare them another glance.

Tears instantly welled in Zhou Yunzhi's eyes.

She pushed away the soldier who tried to help her and got up on her own.

When she looked at Song Ning again, something unreadable had entered her gaze.

Ge Liang was a somewhat notorious gangster, but he wasn't a local.

He was an underling of He Biao, the gang boss Gu Zheng had previously arrested.

Having traveled all the way to Rong City, he couldn't stir up trouble that easily.

So even when he decided to kidnap someone, he couldn't pull off anything particularly big.

Fortunately, the two women he'd kidnapped could save themselves, and Gu Zheng and his men arrived in time. The kidnapping was quietly brought to an end.

Gu Zheng left the scene undisturbed. After having his men deal with the three inside, he stationed them around the perimeter to wait for their quarry.

He wanted to find out whether this plot was merely Ge Liang acting on impulse, or whether someone else was behind him.

Song Ning didn't know Ge Liang, much less He Biao.

She had only heard of Pan TuozI and had no idea whether he had any connection to those two.

But the soldiers protected the country and kept their assigned area safe, so arresting a few gangsters was perfectly normal.

Those matters weren't hers to worry about.

Some soldiers escorted Song Ning and Zhou Yunzhi back first.

It was already dark when Song Ning returned to the Guesthouse, and only then did she remember that she hadn't been able to give Elder Zhou his acupuncture treatment that afternoon.

Then she thought of Zhou Yunzhi and wondered whether they had told Elder Zhou what had happened.

Sure enough, a little later, Han Xiao came to the Guesthouse to see her.

He explained that they had further plans regarding the incident, and it would be best not to speak of it.

Elder Zhou already knew what had happened and wanted her to rest for a few days.

If she needed him to explain things to Lu Changqing, he could go and speak to him too.

Song Ning couldn't help asking:

"You want me to rest for a few days... is that because of your operation?"