Chapter 1067 Refusing Extortion

A low voice came from afar: “Xu.”

Xu Chunliang looked up and saw a man in grey clothes holding Su Qing hostage amidst the ruins. Su Qing’s face was pale, and Ru Xue’s slender neck was pressed against the man’s dagger.

Xu Chunliang did not make eye contact with Su Qing but stared at the assassin with disdain: “When did the Life-taking Sect fall to such a level that you need to rely on taking hostages to preserve your lives?”

“Enough with the talk, a life for a life, trade her life for the person inside.”

Xu Chunliang said, “Aren’t you afraid of dying yourself?”

The man in grey said, “You have no choice, release the person, and once we’re safe, we’ll naturally release her.”

Xu Chunliang chuckled: “Quite a cunning plan you have; you’ve set me up twice, and now you’ve kidnapped my friend.”

The man in grey, thinking he had Xu Chunliang’s weak point, ordered with confidence: “Release! I’ll count to five, five! Four! Three!”

Xu Chunliang moved towards him step by step. The man in grey pressed the blade harder against Su Qing’s neck. The sharp blade cut into her delicate skin, and a trickle of blood slid down her snow-white neck, a striking contrast of red and white.

The man in grey said, “Two…” Suddenly, he ran out of breath, his vision went black, and he collapsed straight down with a thud.

Xu Chunliang felt disdain; if it weren’t for Su Qing’s safety, he wouldn’t have bothered to use poison.

Stunned, Su Qing didn’t know what happened and, after being freed, ran desperately towards Xu Chunliang, throwing herself into his arms and holding him tightly.

Xu Chunliang softly said, “Are you okay?”

Su Qing shook her head: “We were just trying to rescue people, but…” Her vision went black, and suddenly she lost consciousness as if entering a dream, for Xu Chunliang had pressed her Sleeping Point.

“As long as you’re okay.”

Xu Chunliang glanced at the unconscious man in grey. He hated being threatened the most; did they really think capturing Su Qing would make him yield? Dream on!

Xu Chunliang temporarily placed Su Qing aside, grabbed the man in grey and pressed his Numbness Point, waking him up. Seeing Xu Chunliang and the semi-lying Su Qing not far away, the man in grey realized the situation was dire and trembled, saying: “Do you know who we are?”

Xu Chunliang said calmly, “Assassins from the Life-taking Sect, doing bloody work for a few pieces of silver.”

“You know that yet you won’t let me go.”

Xu Chunliang smiled: “Since you chose this deadly path, you should always be prepared to lose your life. You seem a bit scared?”

The man in grey said, “Do you know that the person inside is our Young Sect Leader? If you kill him, you and your family and friends won’t have a moment of peace for the rest of your lives.”

Xu Chunliang sighed: “What you said makes me more inclined to eradicate you completely, this earthquake came at the right time, don’t you think?”

“You…”

“Your original plan was to use this earthquake to kill me, then create the illusion I died accidentally during rescue efforts, right?”

The man in grey realized the gravity of the situation and hurriedly said, “I admit, we were blind. If you let us go, I can guarantee the Life-taking Sect will never bother you again.”

Xu Chunliang said, “I know the rules of the Life-taking Sect, and the best way to end this matter is through divine intervention.”

“Divine…”

Xu Chunliang lifted the man in grey’s body and tossed him into the hole like he was discarding trash. The young assassin’s desperate wails came from within as the bodies of his companions completely blocked his escape route.

Before Xu Chunliang could seal the hole, another aftershock hit, causing the ruins to collapse violently again. The space where the three assassins hid completely caved in, and the cries of the young assassin could no longer be heard.

Chunliang sighed, “The will of heaven cannot be defied.” He picked up Su Qing and walked towards the open space. The female assassin watched Xu Chunliang pass by her, her gaze filled with fear and unwillingness. Her life force was finally drained by the heavy section of the floor on her body. Xu Chunliang picked up several weapons and tossed them all into the small river next to the school.

When Su Qing woke up, she found herself lying in Xu Chunliang’s arms; everyone else was gone. She reached out to touch Xu Chunliang’s face, making sure she wasn’t dreaming, and hugged Xu Chunliang’s neck, nestled in his arms, and burst into tears of joy, “Chunliang, I knew you would come for me, and you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Xu Chunliang wiped away her tears, “Silly girl, you can’t escape. I’ll find you even if you go to the ends of the earth.”

With tears, Su Qing said, “I never thought of running. I’ve made up my mind to be with you for this lifetime. Even if you drive me away, I won’t leave.” She recalled everything that had happened before, still terrified, asking, “That person, where is the person who threatened me?”

Xū Chunliang had earlier tapped into her acupoint because he didn’t want her to see him take action. He said indifferently, “Escaped.”

With Xu Chunliang by her side, Su Qing’s frightened and helpless heart instantly calmed down. She told Xu Chunliang that their interview team consisted of four people. Just now, they heard that there were still children at Fushan Primary School who hadn’t managed to escape in time, so they came to help with the rescue. But when they arrived, they searched separately and didn’t see any children; instead, they encountered an aftershock.

When Su Qing planned to reunite with her colleagues, she met the man in gray. The person immediately recognized her. Su Qing initially thought the man in gray was also a trapped victim, but she didn’t expect he had come specifically for her. .

Xu Chunliang had now figured out the whole situation. It should be the Life-taking Sect people who deliberately released fake information to lure Su Qing’s news reporting team here.

They first set a trap with three assassins to assassinate Xu Chunliang and captivate Su Qing as a precautionary measure. Mainly because they witnessed Xu Chunliang counter-kill the two masters Wang Wenxiang and Fang Cheng with absolute strength. That’s why they were so cautious.

It can be said that this assassination plan by the Life-taking Sect’s killers was almost perfect. Unfortunately, they encountered Xu Chunliang. The four people thought their assassination was flawless but were ultimately easily counter-killed by Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang pointed to the distance where Su Qing’s colleague’s body was because the death was too tragic. He didn’t mind Su Qing identifying it up close.

Rain stopped, but Su Qing’s tears couldn’t stop flowing. Of the four who came together, one person had been confirmed dead, and two others were missing. These were her colleagues and partners she saw day after day. Thinking about the joyful scenes everyone shared in the past, she became even more sad. For the first time, Su Qing began to doubt her choice of work.

Xu Chunliang observed the mountain slope behind the primary school. The recent aftershock caused another partial collapse of the rocky slope. Some fallen rocks rolled into the school’s yard, and there could still be a chance of a future landslide.

Xu Chunliang suggested leaving here as soon as possible. During the time Su Qing was unconscious, he had moved a large tree to build a temporary bridge over the river.

Su Qing had strong balancing skills. Without relying on Xu Chunliang, she crossed this temporary makeshift bridge.

Back at the town’s central square, there she met another female colleague of Su Qing’s. Having survived the disaster, the two embraced and cried intensely upon seeing each other.

At this moment, some good news started arriving. The rescue center learned of the situation in Fushan Town. They dispatched a unit of soldiers. In a short time, they erected a bridge, quickly transferring the trapped disaster survivors.

With the strengthening of rescue efforts, more and more facilities began to be restored. Communication also began to return to normal. Xu Chunliang received a call from Director Chang Baoqing, inquiring about his current situation.

The news that Xu Chunliang went to rescue Ye Changyuan had already reached Chang Baoqing. Everyone knew it was Xu Chunliang who climbed down the Hundred Feet Cliff and carried Ye Changyuan’s body out before the mudslide erupted. But later, Xu Chunliang didn’t return to the rescue base but instead went to Fushan Town on his own.

Chang Baoqing made this call for two reasons: first, to confirm Xu Chunliang was safe, and second, to inform him that Director Ye’s family had arrived in Juzhou, requesting to meet him.

Xu Chunliang instructed Su Qing briefly, telling her to leave the quake zone as soon as possible. Su Qing also received notification from station leadership. Because of the fatalities among them, station leadership faced significant pressure and requested all staff still in the quake zone return to safety promptly. This was also the directive from higher authorities, and further reporting on the quake zone would be conducted jointly by local television and CCTV.

Xu Chunliang personally escorted Su Qing onto the army’s rescue truck. Standing on the truck, Su Qing waved tearfully to him. Only when Xu Chunliang was almost out of sight did she muster the courage to shout loudly, “Chunliang, you must come back safely. I’m waiting for you.”

Lin Sijin and Ye Changquan, after discussing, decided not to immediately notify the family of this tragic news. Lin Sijin traveled first with the inspection team members’ families to Juzhou. Upon arrival, she learned that aside from Ye Changyuan’s body being carried out by Xu Chunliang, the other bodies remained in a helicopter wreck unable to be transferred due to the mudslide.

Currently, the rescue team has determined the helicopter’s location. Whether they can find the other members’ bodies, and how many bodies they can find, is still uncertain.

Lin Sijin faced Ye Changyuan’s body alone, without shedding tears. She had already cried all the way. Only losing something makes one appreciate it. A phrase seemingly hackneyed to her now proved true for her.

While organizing Ye Changyuan’s remains, she discovered his hair roots were completely white. She recalled before they parted ways, Ye Changyuan’s hair was still jet-black. She couldn’t believe that in such a short few years, his hair had turned completely white. Looking at Ye Changyuan’s almost close but unreachable face, recalling his voice and laughter from the past, Lin Sijin’s heart was repeatedly tormented by bitterness and regret, “Changyuan, you are just a prideful sufferer in peace…” Her nose turned sour; wasn’t she the same?

She knew part of Ye Changyuan’s white hair must have been because of her. She reached out to gently stroke Ye Changyuan’s now cold face and softly said, “You can let go of everything now. Go in peace. I’ll take care of our daughter. With dad, I’ll fulfill my duties…” She seemed to hear Ye Changyuan saying something.

Bowing down, her ear close to his lips, she struggled to listen. After a while, she nodded, grasping Ye Changyuan’s hand tightly, her voice trembling, “Fear not, we won’t get divorced…”