CJLTNS Chapter 25

“What are you doing here? Hand over whatever you’ve stolen!”

The leader stood about 1.7 meters tall, around fifty years old, gaunt and wiry. Compared with the hulking men beside him, he looked like a dried, shriveled mushroom.

Quietly, Jiang Chong clenched his fists and shifted his body to shield Yu Xin. “Police business. Put down your weapons.”

The “mushroom” sneered. “Police? Real police don’t steal. Who the hell are you really?”

Outnumbered, retreat was the wisest choice. Jiang Chong pulled Yu Xin back toward the courtyard. Suddenly, a baseball bat swung at his head. Jiang Chong stepped back just in time, the whoosh of the bat slicing past his ear.

With a powerful kick, Jiang Chong drove his foot into a man’s stomach. The burly man flew backward, crashing into a rack of canvases by the courtyard wall, collapsing with a groan of pain.

That single strike was like a spark falling into hot oil—the entire courtyard erupted into chaos. The rest of the men surged forward toward Yu Xin and Jiang Chong.

One came at Yu Xin with a steel rod, whistling through the air. Yu Xin sidestepped and drove a kick into his ankle, sending the man sprawling to the ground.

Meanwhile, a flash of cold steel—someone lunged at Jiang Chong with a dagger aimed straight at his heart. He twisted aside at the last instant, the blade grazing his clothes. Seizing his attacker’s shoulders, Jiang Chong gave a brutal wrench. With a sickening crack, the man collapsed, his arm grotesquely twisted and broken.

“Yu Xin, there are too many of them. In a moment, you go back inside the house and escape through the window.”

Just now, that dagger had come within a centimeter of Jiang Chong’s heart. When Yu Xin saw it, he felt as if his breath had stopped. Jiang Chong’s chest had already been grazed by one knife wound—he couldn’t afford another.

Panting heavily, Yuxin was momentarily distracted, and in that instant someone seized his left arm. Yu Xin grabbed a painting stand nearby and smashed it down on the man’s head. The old easel instantly shattered into pieces.

Jiang Chong was grabbed from behind by a burly man, but he quickly staggered back a few steps and then threw his weight backward, slamming the man beneath him. The brute howled in pain, clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground.

Fighting and retreating at the same time, Jiang Chong and Yu Xin backed up beneath the eaves. Five or six men already lay groaning in pain on the ground. With his underlings falling one after another, “Tea Tree Mushroom’s” face grew darker and darker. He waved his hand sharply: “Don’t let them get away!”

Whsshh! A dagger sliced through the air straight at Yu Xin’s back. Jiang Chong was already holding off most of the attackers; his hands were locked by others, leaving him no way to free himself.

The blade drew nearer and nearer. Yu Xin twisted sideways to dodge, but the dagger slashed across his left arm, blood instantly soaking half of it red.

With a powerful shove, Jiang Chong slammed two attackers into the wall. Fighting as he went, he dragged Yu Xin toward the house. They reached the window, Jiang Chong kicked aside a painting stand at the wall, then threw himself forward, clutching Yu Xin in as they crashed through the glass.

Bang! The glass shattered. Jiang Chong and Yu Xin tumbled out of the room and disappeared into the trees.

The ground beneath their feet was blanketed with thick layers of fallen leaves and moss. Jiang Chong and Yu Xin stumbled through the forest, step by uneven step. In the silence, the only sounds were the startled flutter of birds from the branches and the pounding of their footsteps mixed with ragged breaths.

Sweat trickled down Jiang Chong’s forehead. His lungs felt wrung dry, every trace of oxygen squeezed to the limit. Yu Xin tasted iron in his mouth, as though he were biting rust. Behind them, faint beams of flashlights flickered through the trees. Yu Xin dragged in a breath, and it tore at his throat like a blade.

Branches and twigs whipped against his face with a soft swish-swish, stinging his skin. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath him. A violent rush of weightlessness hit, as though the world itself had lost its balance.

Yu Xin reached out blindly, clutching at nothing but a few crumbling leaves. A dull thud rang out, and pain exploded in his ankle. His vision went black.

The man at his side dropped out of sight. Jiang Chong, on instinct, reached back to grab him, but his fingers brushed only the ends of Yu Xin’s hair before he too plunged into the darkness after him.

Another muffled thud followed just seconds later.

Jiang Chong came to first, panic surging through him. He scrambled to his feet, calling out, “Yu Xin! Yu Xin!”

“I… I’m here!”

The faint moan came from his right. Jiang Chong fumbled at his pocket, pulled out his phone, and switched on the flashlight. The pale beam revealed their surroundings.

They had fallen into a pit—likely one dug by villagers. It was more than five meters deep, its walls slick with mud, the floor cushioned with damp leaves and soil.

“Yu Xin, are you okay?”

Jiang Chong turned the light on him and froze. Yu Xin’s body was streaked with blood, his lips chalk-white, sweat soaking his face. Jiang Chong tore off his own shirt and quickly wrapped the gash on Yu Xin’s arm.

Yu Xin shook his head, gasping. “My ankle… it’s twisted.”

After binding his arm, Jiang Chong checked his ankle. The skin was swollen red, but the bone felt intact—likely just a dislocated joint.

“Someone’s coming!”

Yu Xin suddenly snatched the phone from his hand and snapped the light off. Darkness swallowed them once again.

Seconds later, the crunch of footsteps filtered down from above. Pressed close together, both men held their breath.

A sudden shaft of light cut down through the pit, freezing their bodies rigid. Then, just as quickly, it shifted away.

Minutes passed. The footsteps faded, fainter and fainter, until silence returned. Slowly, their bodies loosened, tension ebbing away.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out,” Jiang Chong whispered.

He flicked the phone back on, only to find there was no signal. Anxiety gnawed at him—Yu Xin was bleeding, weakening. He scanned the muddy walls, searching for a way.

The rain from the past days had left the pit slick and treacherous. There was nowhere to grip. Twice he tried climbing, twice he slid back down, helpless. With Yu Xin injured, escape seemed impossible.

“Jiang Chong, Jiang Chong!”

He rushed back to him. “I’m here. What is it?”

Yu Xin shook his head faintly. “Don’t try anymore. Even if we get out, they might still be waiting for us.”

Blood still seeped from his arm, lips drained of color from the loss. Jiang Chong cupped his face, voice steady though his heart twisted. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here.”

But Yu Xin wasn’t afraid. In the past six years, he had faced dangers far worse than this—and always alone. This time was different. This time, Jiang Chong was with him.

Yu Xin clasped Jiang Chong’s fingers. His hands were broad and warm, just like the man himself. As long as Jiang Chong was there, Yu Xin felt at ease.

“I have a way.”

Under the dim glow of the phone, Yu Xin opened his mouth wide. At the far back, one of his molars had a black cavity the size of a soybean. He stuck his finger inside, dug around, and soon pulled out a small black object.

“This is a satellite tracker. I made a deal with Xing Kai—if I don’t call him by four, he’ll come looking for me with a team.”

The darkness pressed in, carrying the mingled stench of rotting leaves and blood. Jiang Chong wrapped Yu Xin in his arms, his fingers brushing the sweat-soaked strands of hair on his forehead. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to it.

The moonlight was clear tonight, and the stars were bright, yet all of it was hidden by the dense weave of branches. When Jiang Chong looked up, there was only endless darkness.

Yu Xin’s life was full of mysteries, as shadowed and unreadable as the night itself. But for the first time, Jiang Chong didn’t want to ask. He only wanted to hold Yu Xin close. No matter what he chose to do in the future, no matter which road he walked, Jiang Chong would never again let him face it alone.

Warmth lingered on his forehead. In the dark, the corners of Yu Xin’s lips and eyes tilted upward in a faint smile—if Jiang Chong could see, he would catch that sly, foxlike look that was Yu Xin’s trademark.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly swept over Yu Xin. He longed for sleep. Soon, Jiang Chong heard his breathing deepen into a steady rhythm. Jiang Chong shifted slightly, careful, so that Yu Xin could rest more comfortably.

“No!”

Yu Xin jolted upright, gasping hard, his fingers clutching Jiang Chong’s clothes in a death grip.

It was already five o’clock. The sky had turned a deep shade of blue, light beginning to seep faintly through the forest canopy. Jiang Chong looked at Yu Xin’s bloodless face, slick with sweat, and touched the back of his head. “A nightmare?”

Yu Xin raised his eyes briefly, then nodded. “I dreamed of my father.”

He had lost his father young, growing up relying only on Yu Huai. His father had died in front of his eyes, struck down in a car accident. Jiang Chong knew that moment was something Yu Xin could never erase.

Kneeling before him, Jiang Chong wrapped his arms around Yu Xin. “From now on, you have me. Don’t be afraid.”

The image of Yu Huai’s death haunted Yu Xin constantly, a recurring nightmare that tore him awake, leaving him sitting alone through the long hours till dawn.

But being cherished—being cared for—felt good. In that brief moment just now, Yu Xin suddenly understood: love, even if mountains and seas lie in between, even if time wears it thin, will never truly change.

Once they got out of here, Yu Xin wanted to give Jiang Chong his answer—everything from his past, all of it laid bare.

“Yu Xin! Yu Xin!”

A voice suddenly called down from above. It was Xing Kai. Yu Xin immediately shouted back, “I’m here!”

Moments later, the weeds overhead were pulled apart, revealing Xing Kai’s face. “Damn, you’re down there? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Oh—Officer Jiang is with you too.”

“What took you so long?”

As he lowered the rope he’d brought, Xing Kai explained, “Don’t even mention it. I waited until four for your call—when you didn’t make it, I drove out right away. But this mountain’s too big. I went the wrong way halfway through. Took me forever to find you.”

He tied the other end of the rope to a tree. Jiang Chong gave it a tug to test it, then bent down, scooped Yu Xin onto his shoulder with one arm, and began to climb up step by step, gripping the rope tightly with the other hand.

“Yu Xin, how did you end up like this? Damn, damn, if anything happens to you on my watch, Scarface is going to tear me apart. Come on, let’s get you to the hospital right now.”

---

Two hours later, Yu Xin was lying on a bed in Kangzhou People’s Hospital. Duan Zhao cleaned the wounds on his arm while scolding, “One night out, and you manage to end up like this?”

Blood loss had drained all color from Yu Xin’s face, leaving it deathly pale, covered in scratches from branches and leaves. Duan Zhao wanted to tease him but couldn’t bring himself to do it. “If you can’t smile, don’t force it. Get some rest. Once your wounds are dressed, we’ll take you for a CT scan of your ankle.”

Yu Xin’s arms and legs were both injured. Compared to him, Jiang Chong’s condition was much better—just a few scrapes. After the nurse disinfected and treated them, he was fit to leave.

The fake painting factory had been too brazen. The men they’d run into the night before had clearly meant to kill. On the way to the hospital, Jiang Chong had already called Ma Pingchuan, ordering him to lead a team and secure the factory.

Before leaving the hospital, Jiang Chong went to check on Yu Xin. He was lying on the bed while a nurse wrapped his ankle. Fortunately, the bone was intact—just some cartilage damage. He would need bed rest to recover.

Reluctantly, Jiang Chong left for the city bureau. By then, all the people from the fake painting factory had already been brought in.