Chapter Ninety-Seven: Xiao Lin Is Injured

With his left hand pressing down the brim of his cap and his right hand bent so that his middle and ring fingers pinched a razor blade, Liu Yidao closed in on Xiao Lin step by step. Xiao Lin, meanwhile, was chatting with Wang Yuqing. The station exit was noisy and crowded, and he never noticed the man approaching him from behind.

By the time Liu Yidao reached Xiao Lin’s back, a feral glint had risen in his eyes. His right hand flashed downward toward Xiao Lin’s lower left ribs. There was only a silver flicker, then a ripping sound as Xiao Lin’s coat was slit open in a long gash, revealing the sweatshirt beneath. Without pausing, Liu Yidao slashed again and again. In the space of a few seconds he had struck four or five times, and the clothing over Xiao Lin’s lower left ribs was already torn to shreds. One of the cuts had even grazed the flesh, leaving faint traces of blood.

When Liu Yidao made the first cut, Xiao Lin did not notice. The surroundings were far too loud, with people coming and going in a constant stream; how could he have known that someone behind him meant him harm? But the next few blows made him feel it. Xiao Lin twisted sharply at the waist, leaping left at the same time, and in one nimble motion drew Wang Yuqing behind him. Even then, he did not forget to shield her.

His hand brushed his lower left ribs. He felt flesh beneath his fingers, and a dampness there. Looking down, he saw that the clothing at his ribs had been completely ripped open, and a thin, crimson line was showing through the torn skin. Only then did he understand that he had been attacked.

Liu Yidao had not expected Xiao Lin to react so quickly. He had intended to land another slash and cripple this insolent boy, yet Xiao Lin had dodged him in an instant. Still, the old hand merely paused for a moment. A man seasoned by the underworld would never give his prey much time to recover. He sprang forward at once, the blade gripped between his fingers cutting toward Xiao Lin’s lower ribs with a flash of cold light. It was so swift that it was even faster than Hu Ge, the brawler Xiao Lin had once fought, by several degrees. But that was only natural. Hu Ge was, at most, just a slightly tougher thug. Liu Yidao was different. He was the real thing. His viciousness would likely surpass even two men like Hu Ge.

At that speed, Xiao Lin had no chance of avoiding it. More than that, Wang Yuqing was still behind him; he could not dodge even if he wanted to. Helplessly, Xiao Lin raised his left arm to block.

The razor blade struck precisely along his left arm and tore a huge rent in his coat.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?" Xiao Lin shouted.

Because Liu Yidao had pulled his cap low, Xiao Lin did not recognize the man attacking him. But Liu Yidao did not answer. Seeing that Xiao Lin had used his arm to block, he did not stop; with a flick of his fingers, the blade swept toward Xiao Lin’s lower ribs from another angle. This time Xiao Lin could not evade. He could only twist his body as much as possible, but even that was not enough to avoid the blade entirely. He felt a sudden chill at his ribs, followed by a burst of searing pain, and his body staggered at once.

Seeing that he had landed the blow, Liu Yidao’s mouth curled upward and his heart swelled with satisfaction. So, boy, no more arrogance? Fallen into Liu’s hands now, have you? He wanted to strike again and widen the damage.

But in the instant of his smugness, his hand slowed by a fraction. Xiao Lin seized that chance, biting down on the pain and driving a difficult flying kick into Liu Yidao’s right wrist. Liu Yidao truly was an old hand, though. If it had been anyone else, that kick would have sent the blade flying from his grip long ago. Yet Liu Yidao merely stepped back once, the razor still clamped tight between his fingers.

After that difficult kick, Xiao Lin could no longer bear the pain. He clutched the wound and bent over, his face going deathly pale in an instant, sweat beading on his forehead. The hand pressed over the injury was quickly stained red with blood. It sounds like a lot, but in truth, from the moment Liu Yidao struck until Xiao Lin bent down, only forty or fifty seconds had passed. Only then did Wang Yuqing finally come to her senses. At first glance she saw blood surging from Xiao Lin’s ribs, and she went white with fright, letting out a shrill scream: "Help!"

A woman’s scream is naturally sharper than a man’s, so Wang Yuqing’s cry drew everyone nearby. Several people closest to them had already seen the injured Xiao Lin and were hurrying over.

Liu Yidao cursed his misfortune under his breath. So many people were already gathering around. If he did not run now, he might not get away at all. Experienced thieves always planned their escape before they made a move. Seeing that there was no opening left, Liu Yidao could only fling out a vicious parting threat. "Consider yourself lucky, kid."

Then he pressed down the brim of his cap and vanished swiftly into the sea of people.

Wang Yuqing did not even notice him anymore. She held the barely conscious Xiao Lin in her arms, crying until her beautiful face was drenched with tears. By then many of the people who had heard her cries had already surrounded them. Seeing the situation, they immediately called emergency services. A few kindhearted women even produced clean towels to help press on Xiao Lin’s wound and stop the bleeding.

"Waaah... Xiao Lin, don’t... don’t scare me... waaah... what happened to you?" Wang Yuqing saw that the color had drained completely from Xiao Lin’s face, and she was so frightened that she could barely speak properly. Tears fell one by one onto Xiao Lin’s cheek.

By then Xiao Lin’s consciousness was already hazy. In his dazed state he heard Wang Yuqing calling to him and felt something wet moving across his face. With difficulty, he opened his eyes and saw Wang Yuqing’s face streaked with tears, like a little cat’s. He even managed a weak grin. "Why are you crying? I’m fine. Look how ugly you get when you cry."

The moment he finished speaking, his head sagged, and he fainted.

Soon after, the wail of the ambulance sounded, and everyone hurriedly carried Xiao Lin onto the vehicle.

The Eastern Sea City Traditional Medicine Hospital was thick with the smell of disinfectant alcohol, sharp enough to make one sneeze. Xiao Lin had a dream. In it, Wang Yuqing stood before him in a white wedding dress, smiling sweetly and brightly. Just as he was walking toward her, overflowing with happiness, another young man suddenly appeared beside her, and Wang Yuqing placed her hand in that man’s palm. Xiao Lin cried out anxiously, "Yuqing, I’m here!"

"What's wrong? Xiao Lin, you’re awake?" A voice tinged with tears came to his ear. Xiao Lin opened his eyes and saw, at first glance, a lovely face wet with tear tracks. Overcome with emotion, he reached out and cupped her face. "Yuqing, don’t leave me."

"Idiot, how could I bear to leave you?" Wang Yuqing replied, a faint blush crossing her cheeks at his muddled words upon waking. "How do you feel now?"

Only then did Xiao Lin realize that his lower ribs were still throbbing faintly. He looked around and saw that he was in a room with white walls, while several patients nearby were receiving intravenous drips. He finally understood that he was in a hospital and let out a breath of relief, just about to ask something, when a plump nurse saw that he was awake and came over.

"You woke up awfully fast. Strong body, eh? If someone else had lost that much blood, they’d have been asleep for four or five hours. I didn’t expect you to wake up in just over an hour."

"Miss Nurse, how is he? Nothing serious, right?" Wang Yuqing asked anxiously the moment the nurse arrived.

"He’s fine. Just a superficial wound. The blade grazed a blood vessel, so he lost a bit too much blood. The wound has already been bandaged, and I just gave him an injection. He can go home after resting a little longer. Right, when you get back, make sure he eats more blood-nourishing food."

Hearing this, Wang Yuqing finally relaxed a little. When she had seen Xiao Lin collapse, she had been terrified.

"Though, I’m curious how you managed it. The blood vessels around the lower ribs are small and hard to find. You really were unlucky; to get hit in one of the hardest-to-find places like that," the plump nurse said with a light laugh, teasing him while looking at Xiao Lin on the bed.

Xiao Lin let out two dry laughs and said nothing.

"All right then. When you’re discharged later, don’t forget to pay. Call me if you need anything." Seeing that Xiao Lin remained silent, the nurse did not press further. She waved a hand, said this to Xiao Lin, and left the room.

"By the way, Xiao Lin, who was that man who hit you? Why did he attack us?" Wang Yuqing asked, thinking of the person who had kept his cap pulled low while attacking them.

Hearing her question, Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes slightly. He thought of the faint words he had heard before blacking out: kid, consider yourself lucky.

"If I’m not mistaken, the man who attacked us was that swindler we ran into at the station in Qiqihar City."

Xiao Lin paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Heh, I really underestimated him. Seems he isn’t just some ordinary con man. He never lets a slight go unanswered, and he strikes viciously. If I hadn’t been quick-witted, that blow might have kept me down for ten days or half a month. Still, Yuqing, your shout at the end saved us. Otherwise the consequences would have been much worse."

Thinking of the attacker’s skills, Xiao Lin now felt a lingering chill.

"That swindler?" Wang Yuqing covered her mouth in alarm. "Then should we call the police? Let the officers catch that bad man."

"Not yet. Let’s go in a couple of days. My injuries aren’t serious, and besides, everyone at home already knows we’re coming back today. If we go to the police station now, we’ll waste a lot of time again. I don’t want my mother to know about this." After thinking it over, Xiao Lin decided not to file a report for the time being. He also knew full well that the man was almost certainly a habitual offender; even if they did report it, there was no guarantee he would be caught.

"All right." Wang Yuqing nodded. She would listen to Xiao Lin.

"Hey, Yuqing, bring me my suitcase. I’ll take out a few clothes. It’s very late already, so let’s hurry home. Otherwise the family will start worrying."

"Ah, lie down a little longer. You just got hurt," Wang Yuqing said anxiously.

"It’s fine. This little injury is nothing."

In the end, Wang Yuqing could not win against him. She fetched his clothes, and after Xiao Lin had dressed, the two of them paid the medical bill and took a few boxes of medicine before preparing to go home. And Xiao Lin really was as he had said: he walked as normally as ever, showing no sign at all that he had been injured.