Chapter Ninety-Five: Night Thief

The Cross-Border Ghost Doctor

After nightfall, a drizzling spring rain began to fall, veiling River City in a hazy blur beneath the dark sky. Under the dim yellow streetlamps, the wind whipped the slanting threads of rain into soft, swaying strands, freely soaking the thirsty earth that had been parched for more than half a month.

At a quarter to one, a white van slowly rolled out of the gates of the Sixth Construction Company, then turned into the main road and quickly sped away. Kang Ning drove his jeep out from the shadows and followed at a distance. Only when the van stopped in front of the familiar Lamb Specialty Restaurant did he overtake it, make a U-turn a kilometer ahead, and glance toward the five people seated inside before driving on to East Prosperity Market.

Kang Ning parked his car beneath the trees about thirty meters to the left of the market, surveyed the surroundings, then pulled on a black ski mask that left only his eyes exposed. He got out, crossed the road through the rain, and went to the rear wall of the construction company. With a light leap he scaled the two-and-a-half-meter wall, raised half his head to check the area cautiously, then slipped over and dropped soundlessly onto the grass behind the transformer.

Just as he was about to rise and approach the office building, he caught sight of a man with a cigarette clamped in his mouth stepping out onto the third-floor balcony. The man unzipped his trousers and urinated off the side of the building. Kang Ning, dressed in a black tracksuit, remained motionless behind the utility pole that supported the transformer, silently thankful for his luck.

After the man went back inside, Kang Ning quickly made for the foot of the office building wall. He glanced at the guard, who was asleep at a table in front of the small guardhouse fifty meters away, then slipped at once into the corridor.

Step by step, he climbed to the third floor, where light spilled through the windows. Pressing himself against the glass, Kang Ning took out a small long-handled mirror, only two centimeters across, and used its reflection to observe the room inside. Seeing that only one person was in there, idly watching television, he thought for a moment, removed one of his sneakers, and tossed it casually to the side of the open door.

Hearing the sound, the man stood up in confusion and took several steps out the doorway, craning his head toward the direction of the noise. Kang Ning moved silently behind him, and at the instant the man began to turn his head, he struck fiercely at the vital point at the back of the man's head with the heel of his palm. The burly fellow fainted before he ever saw Kang Ning's face.

Kang Ning dragged him into the room, went out to retrieve his shoe and put it back on, then quickly returned to search the room. Five seconds later, he reached a row of iron filing cabinets, took out the set of keys he had prepared in advance, and calmly opened each cabinet door one by one.

Inside the second cabinet, Kang Ning saw the familiar blue duffel bag that his quarry had withdrawn from the bank at noon. Overjoyed, he took it out, set it on the table, and opened it. After glancing at the bundles of cash inside, he tied the mouth of the bag shut again, then turned back to the cabinet and removed a Type 54 pistol and a box of ammunition, tucking them into his jacket. He picked up the heavy money bag, walked to the door, and cautiously checked the outside in every direction. Then he left the third floor at once, returned to the foot of the rear courtyard wall a short while later, and threw the money bag over. With a nimble motion, he followed after it.

The moment Kang Ning landed, he grabbed the money bag from the ground and strode back through the empty rain to the jeep hidden in the shadows. He started the engine and drove a hundred meters before turning on the headlights, then quickly vanished into the dim street ahead.

As he passed the Lamb Specialty Restaurant, Kang Ning, now without his ski mask, saw that the white van was still parked there. He cast it a cold glance, then walked away without looking back.

About an hour later, Tank and his four men returned, picking their teeth as they came. When they entered and saw the man lying unconscious on the floor, all of them cried out in alarm and panicked at once. Tank looked up at the open filing cabinet, then rushed over. The one million in cash they had withdrawn that day, along with his own pistol, had already vanished without a trace. With pain like a knife in his heart, Tank strode to the unconscious man, crouched beside him, seized the burly fellow by the collar with one hand and yanked him upright, while the other hand delivered a flurry of sharp, resounding slaps. All the while, he cursed the man's entire female lineage in a fury.

The bloodied man was beaten awake, utterly unable to understand why his boss had given him such a merciless pounding. After hearing the urgent questions from the others around him, he finally managed to drag out a pitiful shred of memory.

"I heard a noise outside and went out to look. Then someone knocked me out."

"Who was it?"

The man wiped the blood from his face and shook his head, shouting in a voice so broken it was almost unrecognizable. "Brother Six, I didn't even see his shadow. He came from behind and..."

Tank did not let him finish. He slammed a heavy kick into the man's face. With a sharp crack, the man was hurled backward, the back of his head banging hard against the wall with a thud that made the whole room hum. He then went limp and collapsed to the floor, unconscious once more.

Tank shouted at his four underlings, "Damn you all to hell. Why the hell are you still standing there? Gather every last man we have, now. Do you want me to throw all of you out the window right this minute?"

The four men immediately sprang up and, like headless flies, began scrambling about. They seized the telephone on the table and the mobile phones in their pockets, frantically calling everyone they could reach.

The enraged Tank gradually calmed himself. He pulled out the phone at his waist and quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Third Brother... it's me, Little Six. I'm sorry, Third Brother. Our company was robbed just now. The one million we were preparing to send to you tomorrow, along with my little pistol, are both gone... Yes, yes, it's all my fault... I already told more than a hundred of my men to start searching through the night. If there aren't enough people, I beg you to send us three or five hundred more. Even if we have to turn Tear River upside down, I'll find that damn bastard... Yes, yes... I understand. We'll start checking every taxi at once... Yes, yes..."

Tank put away the phone and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Not daring to breathe too loudly, he hurried toward the stairwell.

Kang Ning parked the car, locked the garage door, glanced at the darkness all around, and then quickly left the silent courtyard. He slipped behind the residential compound where he lived, climbed the wall once more, and reentered the complex. Unnoticed by anyone, he followed the shadows of the apartment buildings and returned home safely.

After showering, feeling thoroughly pleased with himself, Kang Ning went into his bedroom. In the dim glow of the wall lamp, he smiled as he looked at the sweetly sleeping Meng Meng. He left a light kiss on her rosy lips, then slipped beneath the covers and closed his eyes in contentment.

Early the next morning, Kang Ning, dressed as usual in a dark blue tracksuit, went to the market to buy breakfast. He vaguely heard the stall owners whispering among themselves about the strange event from the previous night, when the gang had come out in full force. After paying, Kang Ning ran all the way back home. Once inside, he gently shut the front door, put the breakfast down in the kitchen, washed his hands, and went into the bedroom. There, beyond the pulled-back quilt, Meng Meng's alluring pale-pink body lay sprawled before his eyes. Too excited to wait even five seconds, Kang Ning stripped himself bare and sprang onto the bed in one sliding motion, wrapping Meng Meng tightly in his arms. Five minutes later, the entire room was softly echoing with Meng Meng's delighted cries.

Woken by those few sharp cries, Lu Jing clutched her stomach and wandered toward the bathroom. Passing by Kang Ning's bedroom door, she instinctively glanced inside, only to be instantly flushed with shame by the stunning scene on the bed. She stared, stunned, for more than a minute before finally reaching out to close the door softly. Pressing a hand to her pounding chest, she blushingly walked into the bathroom and shut the door hard behind her.

Sitting on the spotless Kyocera toilet, Lu Jing panted for breath. The image she could not erase from her mind made her unconsciously cover her burning face with both hands.