Chapter 137: The Embroidery Needle

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The two of them quickly left the First Bureau building. Only after they had walked four or five kilometers did Zhang Xuner finally let out a long breath of relief. She had never imagined that after being captured by the First Bureau, she would actually make it out alive.

It was nothing short of a miracle—and the escape had gone astonishingly smoothly.

They were standing beneath a streetlamp at a bustling intersection.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said to Li Changqing.

“No need to thank me.” Li Changqing shook his head. “The mountains may change, but the rivers run forever. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday. Until then, farewell.”

He made as if to leave, but after taking two steps, he stopped.

“However, miss, I never did get your name. We both managed to escape the First Bureau alive, after all. You should at least tell me what you’re called.”

“Zhang Xuner,” she replied, then asked, “And may I know your name?”

“Li Bing.” Li Changqing gave a name off the cuff, but after a moment’s thought, he added, “Miss Zhang, are you one of Shen Yan’s people?”

“Hm?” Zhang Xuner looked startled. She had not expected him to know Shen Yan.

Shen Yan had always kept a low profile. Even when it came to the affairs of Jade Virtue Group, she or someone else usually appeared in public on his behalf. Very few people knew of him.

“You know my father?” Confusion appeared on Zhang Xuner’s face.

Li Changqing’s expression darkened. He nodded.

“Yes. But recently I heard that Shen Yan’s people have been searching everywhere for you. I never expected you to have been captured by the First Bureau.”

“I’ve heard that Shen Yan is suspicious by nature and quick-tempered. You’d better be careful when you go back.”

“After all, you were captured by the First Bureau and then managed to escape. Shen Yan may not believe a word of it. If he decides you were sent back as a spy by the First Bureau, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Zhang Xuner’s mood sank as well. She knew Shen Yan. He was amiable enough in ordinary circumstances, but whenever one of his subordinates made a mistake, his punishments were severe.

That was how he inspired fear throughout the entire monster organization and kept it under control.

What Li Bing had said made perfect sense.

Shen Yan was indeed suspicious by nature. If she returned just like this, things might not end well.

After thinking it over again and again, she asked, “Mr. Li, you’re clearly a perceptive man. Do you have any advice?”

“You’d better find somewhere to hide for a while and watch how things develop. Most importantly, don’t let Shen Yan’s people find you. That’s all I have to say. I have matters of my own to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”

With that, Li Changqing turned and walked away.

Zhang Xuner watched his back until he disappeared. After standing there lost in thought for some time, she hailed a taxi.

The car pulled over. Once she had climbed in, a driver named Hu Xiong grinned from behind the wheel.

“Where to, miss?”

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Zhang Xuner, weighed down by worry, answered slowly, “Zhoujing Street.”

“Right away.”

…

“Bastard.”

Zheng Pingchi lay on a stretcher, cursing under his breath.

A white sheet had been draped over him, mainly to preserve what little dignity he had left.

Before long, Zheng Pingchi was taken to the medical floor inside the First Bureau.

His injuries looked serious, but none had struck a vital point. Li Changqing knew that much very well.

Even so, he would certainly need some time to recover.

The injuries themselves were bearable. What truly humiliated him was the fact that the bastard had stripped him completely naked. When the members of the Seventh Group came in to carry him away, every one of them had to struggle to keep from laughing.

By then, people throughout the Seventh Group’s floor were whispering among themselves.

“I never knew the group leader was so… small.”

“Exactly. He always looks so tall and broad-shouldered.”

Although many members of the Seventh Group had not been present at the interrogation room, once they heard what had happened, they sought out the colleagues who had carried the stretcher.

“Is it true? Old Wang said he was the size of an embroidery needle?”

Li Changqing soon returned to the First Bureau building and made his way to the Seventh Group’s conference room.

The moment he entered, many people looked at him strangely.

The man certainly had nerve. Not only had he openly beaten Zheng Pingchi, he had stripped him naked afterward.

Li Changqing’s expression remained calm. From time to time, he even answered those strange looks with a smile. He strode into the conference room, where Bai Chuan and Tang Xiaoyu were seated.

“You really just let her go? You didn’t follow her?” Tang Xiaoyu could not help asking. “What if she really gets away?”

“If we cling to her now, we’ll arouse her suspicion.” Li Changqing shook his head. “Don’t worry. Old Hu is already following her. Besides, there’s a tracker sewn into the clothes we gave her. She won’t be able to get far for now. We can simply arrange another chance encounter.”

Bai Chuan asked in a low voice, “How are you planning to make her reveal the whereabouts of those unfinished monsters?”

“Simple.” Li Changqing’s gaze remained composed. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Have the Seventh Group capture two of Shen Yan’s subordinates as soon as possible.”

“Then have the Investigation Bureau arrange for Shen Qingdai to come here.”

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“Find a way to make Zhang Xuner reveal the whereabouts of those unfinished monsters herself.”

…

Zhang Xuner took a taxi to Zhoujing Street. After paying the fare and getting out, she wore a troubled expression as she hurried into the street.

Although Zhoujing Street had been developed into a tourist attraction, many old neighborhoods nearby had yet to be demolished.

Within the Maderon Special District, those buildings looked distinctly out of place amid the various high-rises.

Developers had once hoped to tear them down and build new structures, but the cost of relocation had been too high, and the plans had stalled.

After passing through Zhoujing Street, Zhang Xuner soon arrived in front of an old, aging apartment building.

Most of its residents were migrant workers who had come to Maderon Special District because the rent was cheap.

Children ran back and forth along the street, laughing and playing.

Zhang Xuner hurried into the building and climbed to the sixth floor.

She gently knocked on the door.

It opened soon afterward. An elderly man in his eighties stood there, his hair completely white. He was lame and leaned heavily on a cane.

“It’s Xuner!” he said in the northern accent of the Vermilion Bird Federation. “Come in, come in.”

“Grandpa, Grandma, I’ve come to see you.” Zhang Xuner smiled brightly.

An old woman sat on the sofa inside. Though she was blind, she became delighted upon hearing Zhang Xuner’s voice.

“Come in and sit down, come in and sit down.”

The two elderly people were named Huang Deshui and Liu Shuqin.

“Have you two been doing all right lately?” Zhang Xuner asked as she sat on the sofa. She was intimately familiar with everything in the apartment and began peeling apples for them.

“My legs are getting less useful by the day.” Huang Deshui shook his head and chuckled. “Oh, by the way, one of your colleagues came by a couple of days ago and brought us some fruit. They said they hadn’t seen you and were looking for you.”

Zhang Xuner’s expression stiffened slightly.

Shen Yan’s people had actually found this place?

She had always hidden the two elders well. How had Shen Yan learned about them?

Her heart sank, and her expression became strained.