Chapter 50: Racing Down the Old Road

Having returned to her true self, Zhou Mei stepped out of the wedding planning company, glanced back at the building, and sighed, “Who could have guessed that my first ever entrance into a wedding company’s doors would result in such a spectacle? I can’t help but wonder if my own wedding will ever be as grand as today.”

“That shouldn’t be hard, right? It’s just thirty-eight hundred,” Lin Xiaosu remarked.

“Thirty-eight hundred is nothing, of course. But today, at Ao Shi Jewelry, the way they spent millions without batting an eye—that’s an eternal dream,” Zhou Mei replied. “Right, Ruolan?”

Miao Ruolan smiled gently, “I don’t have such dreams. To me, spending millions on things like that is just foolish. I honestly believe that if I ever had to act like those rich people, I wouldn’t last a single day.”

“Fine, fine, you’re so lofty,” Zhou Mei shot her a look. “Whoever’s the most virtuous is buying lunch!”

“Why should I pay? I helped you with your case and didn’t charge a penny. You should treat us!”

“All right, all right! My cousin runs a country-style inn just beyond the East Gate—let’s go eat there and make her give us a free meal!” Zhou Mei pressed the accelerator, and the car sped out of the city, heading for Clearwater Villa.

At the same time, chaos had broken out in the county town.

The provincial department had just wrapped up an emergency meeting, convened at lightning speed.

All four main leaders of the county committee, police officers from across the province, road administration, and the entire judicial system attended.

There was only one agenda: the May 16th Major Case.

The directive was immediate action, a dedicated task force, and no upper limit—everyone involved was to be arrested!

The task force had already been formed and officers dispatched. The entire region’s roads were sealed off, armed police deployed!

Those who once shook Fengcheng to its core with a single stomp were now being rounded up one by one.

Police cars from every department arrived; everyone was on edge.

No one knew who in their own office would be taken until the person was dragged out and gone—only then did they realize that person was finished.

One after another, in batches...

Only Clearwater Villa, outside the city, remained calm and peaceful.

Simple home-cooked dishes filled the table.

Zhou Mei kept an eye on the news in the group chat.

Her cheeks remained flushed.

The May 16th Major Case had shaken the entire province.

She had been involved from start to finish—indeed, she was always on the front line. When the time came for commendations, she would surely earn a twinkling police star...

Suddenly, a new message flashed across the screen.

Zhou Mei’s expression changed dramatically.

“What happened?” Lin Xiaosu asked.

“Four of the Five Tigers have been captured. Only the leader, Tiger Brother, managed to escape. He broke out of Jinhe Villa, killed three people, and is heading north along the Jinhe River!”

“To the north of the Jinhe River—it’s mountains!” Miao Ruolan’s heart skipped a beat.

Yes, the north was mountainous. He was heading into the hills to hide.

With a vicious murderer like him, once he entered such complex terrain, finding him would be extremely difficult—and even if they found him, subduing him would be harder still. Tiger Brother was no ordinary man.

“Jinhe Villa is only ten miles from here!” Lin Xiaosu said. “Let’s go after him!”

“Exactly! We might be the closest to him right now... Let’s go!” Zhou Mei dashed out of Clearwater Villa, jumped into the car, and with a roar, sped towards Jinhe Villa.

Five minutes after Zhou Mei’s car left, two police cruisers arrived, with Captain Zhang inside.

He had rushed over from the county as soon as he got the urgent news, but he was still five minutes behind.

Zhou Mei was driving at her absolute limit.

Lin Xiaosu’s Heavenly Eye was already open; from a distance, he spotted a police car parked at the entrance to Jinhe Villa, and even saw traces of blood by the roadside.

Zhou Mei shouted, “Which way should we go?”

There were two roads ahead of Jinhe Villa, both leading into the mountains. One was newly built and clearly in better condition, with a bridge spanning a gorge ahead, leading to Dingxi Province.

The old road, on the other hand, cut through the mountains.

For a moment, she wasn’t sure which Tiger Brother would choose.

Lin Xiaosu said, “The old road!”

Zhou Mei had been speeding towards the new road, but at his words, she wrenched the steering wheel sharply, narrowly missing a large stone, and veered towards the old road.

Miao Ruolan’s face went pale.

With road conditions like this, driving so fast...

If they crashed, perhaps she and Lin Xiaosu could react in time, but she herself would be in real danger.

There was little traffic on the old road, countless fallen leaves making it look rather neglected.

The car sped by, leaves flying. Up ahead, an old ox started and turned abruptly, nearly dragging the elderly farmer leading it into the ditch.

Yes, this was already a rural scene.

Luckily, thanks to the recent road improvement project, the pavement was still reasonably smooth—after all, it was government money, and everyone made sure to spend it.

Ten, twenty, forty miles—the closer they got to Jingshan, the more anxious Zhou Mei became, as she saw no sign that another vehicle had passed.

Had she made a mistake?

If she was wrong, they would lose the trail.

The provincial meeting had just been held, but the search was still limited to the province. Even if Dingxi Province had been notified, their response would lag. If Tiger Brother seized this window and crossed into Dingxi, switched cars and vanished into the crowd, catching him would be next to impossible.

She suddenly felt she was wrong—if she were Tiger Brother, she’d take the new road for a quicker escape into Dingxi. Why did she trust him?

He’d never even encountered Tiger Brother up close. Even if his nose was sharper than a police dog’s, he couldn’t possibly sniff him out.

Just then, Lin Xiaosu lifted his gaze. “There!”

Zhou Mei looked up and saw a car on the mountain road above—a Land Leopard.

A Land Leopard: large, powerful, with excellent off-road performance.

Tiger Brother’s favorite ride.

The vehicle had just crossed the center line of the winding mountain road above.

Her car was still at the bottom of the mountain.

The straight-line distance was at most seven hundred meters, but in reality, the two cars were more than ten kilometers apart.

Worst of all, the mountain road made speed impossible.

Even a veteran driver would have to be careful; one wrong move and the car would tumble down, and their lives would be out of their hands.

“Zhou Mei, let me drive!” Lin Xiaosu said.

She hesitated. How good was his driving really? If she couldn’t go fast here, could he?

“If you drive, you’ll never catch him!” Lin Xiaosu said. “Stop the car!”

The car screeched to a halt.

Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei switched places.

Even after switching, Zhou Mei’s heart pounded.

Miao Ruolan spoke up, “Xiaosu, didn’t you never get a driver’s license?”

Damn!

Zhou Mei’s heart leapt into her throat. He didn’t even have a license, and now he was holding the wheel. My God, I must be insane...

“Licenses are just pieces of paper,” Lin Xiaosu replied, flooring the accelerator. The car shot forward.

A sharp bend loomed ahead.

He spun the wheel, the car hugging the cliff as it flew around the curve. Both women screamed.

From then on, they had no words to describe what happened...

Lin Xiaosu’s driving was hair-raising, every second seemingly on the verge of disaster, yet each time he steered them safely through. Their backs were slick with sweat, and as soon as one heart-stopping moment passed, another appeared.

Zhou Mei clung to the seatbelt, eyes locked on the dizzying cliffs whirling past, not daring to let out a breath.

Even Miao Ruolan, usually calm, was tense.

But soon, she felt a strange sense of reassurance. For all the thrill, Lin Xiaosu’s expression remained utterly composed.

It was this calmness that soothed her.

At some point, he even rolled down his window, letting the wind whip his hair, lending his face a look of serene ease, as though he were strolling leisurely despite the raging storm.

Gazing at his tranquil face, Miao Ruolan’s mind wandered...

Back to that morning just past...

That word, “husband”—he might not remember, but she did.

She remembered the flutter in her heart at that moment.

Above, the Land Leopard roared past overhead on the mountain road.

The distance between them had halved!

Tiger Brother in the Land Leopard also spotted the car below. His face, beneath his bristling beard, turned ashen.

“Boss, that’s Zhou Mei’s car!”

“Zhou Mei! She and that Lin family bastard drove us into this corner,” another man spat.

“Chasing us in that piece of junk? Let’s finish them off!”

Tiger Brother’s voice was cold, “The next bend—stop and set a trap!”

The trap was quickly set, and the Land Leopard sped off again.

The delay allowed Lin Xiaosu to close the gap further. Three minutes after the Land Leopard had gone, his small car tore around the same bend.

Just as they rounded the corner, Zhou Mei screamed, “Roadblock!”

Two massive boulders lay in the road ahead.

The placement was treacherous; from this side of the bend, they were invisible. Only once you rounded the corner would you see them right in front of you. At this speed, there was no way to avoid a crash, and a collision would send the car plunging into the chasm below.

By the time Zhou Mei shouted, it was too late to steer clear.

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

Yet Lin Xiaosu flicked the steering wheel ever so slightly.

With a jolt, the left wheel hit one of the boulders. The impact sent the car half airborne, but miraculously, that very bump sent the car skimming sideways, squeezing through the narrow gap—less than two meters—between the stones.

Up on the mountain road, Tiger Brother’s eyes widened. Damn, is that even possible?

“Was that pure luck, or is his driving really that good?” the two men in the back seat exchanged stunned looks.

“Doesn’t matter... Boss, give me the gun—I’ll take him out!” one of them shouted.

“Sanzi, you’re up!” Tiger Brother handed a pistol to his loyal brother.

The car pulled over ahead.

Sanzi got out.

Lin Xiaosu saw none of this.

But as they rounded the next bend above, a figure suddenly appeared ahead.

A black pistol raised—the instant Lin Xiaosu’s car emerged from the turn, the man fired.

The shot was dead-on.

Aimed right at Lin Xiaosu’s head.