Chapter 264 - 258: Bones
"Hello, Captain Deng. Has our request for assistance been approved yet?"
Deng Jin listened patiently. He then turned to ask his colleagues to verify the situation and check if any Hua Country ships were stalled at sea.
"Officer Lu Xingye, I understand what you’re saying. If the approval comes through, we will do our best to assist you."
"Alright. Thank you." Lu Xingye hung up the phone. Staring at the red dot on the screen in front of him, he clenched his fists nervously.
He had no idea how Jiang Li was doing. The latest intel confirmed that she had indeed encountered the maritime patrol. He wondered if things were going smoothly for her and if she could hold out until their people arrived.
Meanwhile, Jiang Li reported her status to Wu Ming and the others every day. At the same time, she didn’t forget to check on Kun Sha.
Kun Sha had gone into cardiac arrest several times, but he was resuscitated each time. He didn’t even have the strength to bite his own tongue to end it all. Death had become an unattainable luxury.
By the third day, his anger had faded, replaced by desperate pleas for Jiang Li to let him go.
"Jiang Li, I was wrong. I’m worse than an animal. I deserve a thousand deaths. Just... give me a quick end, please."
Kun Sha stared at his reflection in the mirror, wishing he were dead. After just a few days, he looked neither man nor ghost. He never thought he would see the day he ended up like this.
Jiang Li spared him a patronizing glance. "Now you know you were wrong? It’s too late."
"Jiang Li, don’t you want to know where Shao Zhenhua’s remains are? Let me go, and I can tell you. And... Zhu Yan. Don’t you want to know?" Kun Sha looked up at her with great effort, a glimmer of hope in his raspy voice.
Jiang Li raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "Oh? Tell me then. Where?"
"COUGH, COUGH! Didn’t you say you’d take me across the border? Spare my life, and I’ll take you..." Kun Sha abruptly stopped mid-sentence, staring at Jiang Li nervously.
Had he said something wrong again?
"I can spare your life, but taking you across the border is impossible. They’re just remains; I have plenty of ways to find them. You, on the other hand, might just have to suffer a bit more."
"COUGH, COUGH! I-I’ll talk! Just stop!" Kun Sha begged, his voice as thin as a thread. "At the place where I live... the outhouse is... Ugh!"
Kun Sha’s eyes rolled back from the agonizing pain, and he passed out once more.
Anger surged across Jiang Li’s face as she glared at him, her eyes brimming with murderous intent.
They were already dead. Why did he have to desecrate them like this?
"Jiang Li!" Fu Lan suddenly pushed the door open and grabbed her hand. "The higher-ups have arrived. That’s enough."
Fu Lan stared at the sharp blade in Jiang Li’s hand. If she had been a second later, Jiang Li would have struck. If she were caught doing that right now, the nature of the entire situation would change.
𝓯𝕣𝑒ℯ𝘸𝖊𝐛𝓃𝗈𝕧𝘦ℓ.𝖈𝕠𝕞
Fu Lan instructed Peng Yueji to take down the mirror hanging above. Fortunately, over the past few days, Jiang Li had only resorted to verbal provocation and hadn’t actually done anything physical. Otherwise, Fu Lan really wouldn’t know how to explain it to her superiors.
Listening to Fu Lan, Jiang Li retracted the knife. A flurry of footsteps echoed from behind as a group of criminal investigators rushed into the room.
One of them stepped forward to check on Kun Sha, who was lying on the bed. "He’s still breathing." The officer then looked at her and offered a crisp salute. "Hello, Miss Jiang. You can return with us."
Jiang Li looked at them. "Kun Sha buried the remains of Shao Zhenhua and the others at his own home. I need to go there."
The officer’s expression turned grave. He glanced at Kun Sha before stepping outside to coordinate. When he returned, he said, "Miss Jiang, you can leave this matter to us. Your safety is the top priority, and we need to escort Kun Sha back as quickly as possible."
Jiang Li stared at them flatly. "Oh, I see. Well, I’m going over there as a tourist. I won’t be going back with you."
"Forget it. If she wants to go, let her go," a voice crackled through the officer’s walkie-talkie.
They had no choice but to take Kun Sha and leave first. As Kun Sha was being transferred, he groggily opened his eyes and shot a glance in Jiang Li’s direction. Being taken away meant he no longer had to face her, which should have been a cause for celebration, yet a deep sense of unease lingered in his heart.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiang Li still had something up her sleeve.
Jiang Li turned to Fu Lan. "I want to go over there. Can you help me?"
"Jiang Li, that place is crawling with all sorts of dangerous characters. It’s not safe for you to go alone."
"I know. I’m just making a quick trip. I’ll be back soon."
Jiang Li gazed into the distance. She couldn’t possibly tell them that Kun Sha had built an outhouse over their remains. Shao Zhenhua and Zhu Yan probably wouldn’t want their compatriots to see them in such a state either.
Her breathing grew ragged, and her fists clenched tight.
Left with no other option, Fu Lan flagged down a passing ship to take her across.
When Lu Xingye finally had a moment of downtime to check Jiang Li’s location again, he saw that she had crossed the border.
He wondered why she was going over there when Kun Sha was already being brought back.
Lu Xingye pulled out his phone and called Huo Qing. "Brother Huo, what’s going on? Why hasn’t Jiang Li come back?"
"Ah, I just found out myself. When our people went to pick them up, Jiang Li mentioned that the remains of Shao Zhenhua and the others were at Kun Sha’s house. Then she immediately claimed she was just going there as a tourist. In the end, they had no choice but to let her go." After explaining, Huo Qing couldn’t help but add, "Xingye, honestly, you guys have been working with Jiang Li for so long. Why haven’t you officially recruited her yet?"
Right now, Jiang Li was like a wild horse that had slipped its reins; there was absolutely no controlling her.
"Brother Huo, what Jiang Li wants to do is her own business. If she doesn’t want to join, she doesn’t want to. Even if she’s not a police officer, it’s not like she hasn’t been helping out every step of the way. She hasn’t slacked off at all."
Besides, their line of work was bound by endless rules and red tape. It was perfectly understandable why Jiang Li wouldn’t agree to join them.
"Look at you getting all defensive. I can’t even say a word about her! What’s so bad about being a cop? The benefits are pretty good," Huo Qing grumbled. If they didn’t take advantage of their close working relationship to recruit her now, he’d be the one crying when Jiang Li ended up joining some other police department.
"You’re just spouting nonsense. I’m not wasting my breath on you," Lu Xingye said, hanging up the phone immediately.
As soon as Jiang Li disembarked from the ship, she saw a call coming in from Lu Xingye.
"Hey, Jiang Li. Did something happen along the way?" Lu Xingye paced back and forth anxiously. If it were just about recovering remains, Jiang Li wouldn’t be acting this impulsively.
"Nothing’s wrong. I just figured that since I’m already here, I might as well take a look," Jiang Li replied, noticing the probing gazes from the people around her. "I’ll be careful and stay safe."
"Alright. Make sure you keep a close eye on your ID and documents; don’t lose them. If anything happens, you can ask Deng Jin for help. He’s with Interpol, so he won’t just leave you hanging." Lu Xingye wished he could have gone with her. Being so far away just left him feeling unsettled.
"Mhm, I know. I already read through some travel guides before coming. How is Sister Xingchen doing now?" Jiang Li smoothly changed the subject.
Lu Xingye sighed, his gaze dropping to the floor in distress. "She doesn’t have any major issues anymore, but she still has nightmares."
That memory had been a massive blow to her. Even though they had stopped it in time, it had still inflicted a certain degree of psychological trauma.
Jiang Li pursed her lips, a flash of guilt in her eyes. "Wu Ming’s talismans are very effective. I’ll ask her to draw a couple for Sister Xingchen."
"Thank you." Hearing the slight pause in her voice, Lu Xingye knew she was blaming herself again.
In truth, it wasn’t her fault. This kind of thing was unavoidable. Even if she hadn’t been involved, Kun Sha would have found someone else to enact his revenge on. Moreover, she had done everything in her power to save the situation.
Before he could voice these thoughts, Jiang Li’s voice came through the receiver, and the call abruptly ended.
On Jiang Li’s end, someone had suddenly yanked at her bag. She grabbed the strap with lightning-fast reflexes and said into the phone, "I’ve got something to handle. Hanging up now," before cutting the line.