Chapter 18
"We've been discovered."
He heard the girl's calm and hoarse voice, yet she showed no panic, as if she were merely stating a fact.
"Can you still walk?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She stifled a few coughs and said, "Stay close to me."
After speaking, the girl no longer looked weak and sickly. She moved nimbly through the forest.
He followed closely behind her. The tense atmosphere made him forget the unknown dangers, even stirring a strange sense of exhilaration. The two of them moved at a steady pace through the underbrush, with the kidnappers' curses and threats echoing behind them.
Escape—that was the word that flashed through his mind.
The girl's agile movements through the forest showed that this wasn't her first time in such terrain. Driven by sheer determination, the two of them began to outmaneuver the kidnappers.
Only two kidnappers gave chase; the man whose head the girl had injured was not among them.
The distance between them gradually narrowed. He gasped for breath, driven by tension and excitement. He could hear the girl's breathing growing heavier, yet her steps didn't falter for even a moment.
Suddenly, the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him into a thicket.
The moon hung high in the sky, and the occasional hoot of an owl added a layer of eeriness to the night.
"Hey! Are you okay?!" he instinctively held the girl lying on top of him, only to find she was drenched in sweat and burning with fever.
"Don't make a sound," the girl panted.
He could only hold this strange position.
"...We won't get out tonight..."
Upon hearing her words, he didn't feel disappointed. Or perhaps he simply hadn't expected them to make it out in their condition. This kind of situation, where they were prey and others the hunters, filled him with frustration but also helplessness.
Stripped of the Jiang family name, he was nothing. He had nothing.
For the first time, he came to this realization.
He remembered once going out with a group of rich kids, where one of them offended a certain financial magnate's son and was forced to kneel and beg for forgiveness. That magnate's son didn't let the matter go. The guy, pushed to the edge, cursed them all out and nearly committed suicide. He had coldly watched the whole thing unfold.
The insults were all about background and family. The aura of family prestige had indeed allowed people like them to live differently. But what if one day they lost all of that?
No one ever asked that question—because it seemed absurd to even consider.
He heard footsteps crunching on dead leaves, and the sound of branches snapping—drawing closer.
"Are we going to die here?" he asked.
"No." The girl's voice was weak but unwavering. "We'll get out safely."
Her warm breath was near his ear, somehow calming in the midst of the night.
The girl had never panicked—not from the beginning. She kept thinking about how to escape, even bringing him along. He had no doubt now that the kidnappers would really kill them.
"F\*ck! Where the hell did they go?!"
"Brother Biao, we should've killed that damn brat back then!"
"What's the use of saying that now?! We must find them before sunrise! Otherwise, everything we've done will be for nothing—and we'll bring the cops down on us!"
"Yes, Brother Biao!"
The rustling sounds grew louder, and the flashlight beam occasionally swept across his eyes. He held his breath, not daring to make a single sound.
They seemed certain the two were hiding nearby, combing the area inch by inch in a sweeping search.
The machetes in their hands were about to brush past his hiding spot.
"Give me the dagger."
He heard the girl's weak voice. Before he could react, the dagger hidden on him had already been taken.
"Hey, you..."
"Don't move. Stay here," the girl ordered hoarsely.
Then, she quietly crouched behind a tree, her eyes in the dark as sharp as blades.
The man drew closer, his machete almost touching the place where he was hiding.
Just then, the girl stepped out from behind the tree and stabbed the dagger into the man's back.
"Ahhh—!" The man's scream echoed sharply through the mountains.
The girl didn't stop. Her combat moves were fierce and ruthless, each strike like that of a trained assassin. The darkness gave her a great advantage. She stabbed the man's left shoulder, then his thigh, hard.
"Help! Brother Biao, help me!!"
The man screamed in agony.
He could see the girl's body swaying like a crumbling tower, clearly at her limit. He finally couldn't hold back and picked up a rock, smashing it over the man's head repeatedly until he lost consciousness—maybe even died—and didn't stop even then.
At that moment, the other kidnapper ran over, having heard the screams.
"Stop hitting him," the girl gasped hoarsely. "Pick up the machete. Throw the flashlight away."
Without asking questions, he did as she said—grabbed the machete, then hurled the flashlight as far as he could, before turning back to look at her.
The girl, still gripping the dagger, was leaning against a tree and panting. The man on the ground was motionless—it was unclear if he was unconscious or dead.
Then, Brother Biao—the one they called that—drew near.
"Little bro? Where are you? Little bro?" After calling out a few times, Brother Biao sensed something was wrong and stopped, not moving forward.
Maybe they hadn't expected the girl to be so fierce, having thought she was just some pampered rich girl—thus underestimating her.
Brother Biao seemed different from the other two, much more cautious.
The girl slid down the tree trunk to sit, the night hiding her expression, but he could tell she was close to collapsing.
Brother Biao made up his mind to go all in. His hesitation only lasted a moment before he began moving toward them again.
The long knife in his hand was clearly a martial arts weapon—he looked like someone who'd trained before.
The girl stood up again.
"Let me handle it," he couldn't help saying. "Don't push yourself. I'm not as good as you, but..."
"He's not like the other two idiots. On a normal day, I might have the upper hand," the girl interrupted, taking the long machete from him. "Right now, all we can do is leave it to fate."
"But you..."
Before he could finish, the girl was already standing opposite Brother Biao.
"Damn it! I must've been blind to fall for your little act, you stinking brat!" Brother Biao shouted, enraged.
The girl didn't respond, watching him warily.
Brother Biao hung the flashlight on a tree, illuminating a small patch of clearing.
The towering trees around them now looked especially cold and grim. The moon still hung in the sky, but dawn was nearing.
He'd once trained in self-defense with the family's bodyguards, but hadn't taken it seriously—just learning the flashy parts. Now, in a real-life fight, he was utterly useless.
It was painful and shameful that he had to be protected by a girl.
Watching the girl fight the man, the sheer contrast between them made him feel powerless and incompetent for the first time.
The girl used the trees to dodge the man's machete. The glint of the blade looked especially menacing in the night.
The sound of clashing weapons was piercing. It felt like a dream—three days ago, he never would've believed any of this.
The girl neared the hanging flashlight. With one flick, she broke it.
Darkness returned.
Human retinas don't adapt to the dark that quickly—suddenly, it felt like they were blind.
In that moment, the girl struck at the man's weapon-wielding hand, but missed.
Then came a scream.
"Ahhh—!!"
The girl paused, regaining her composure as she stood there, confused by what had just happened.
By then, the horizon had turned a faint shade of pale.
Dawn had come.
The morning glow spread across the sky, tinged with an eerie crimson.
He saw the girl's school uniform soaked with blood—it was unclear whether it was the man's or her own. Either way, it was jarring.
"That way leads to the cliff," she said with certainty after just a glance.
"Yes." He walked up to her and crouched down. "I'll carry you down the mountain."
"No," she said firmly. "We go up."
"Why?"
"Today is the day they make the exchange. Father isn't careless—he'll definitely send bodyguards to find me," the girl said calmly. "It's too far down the mountain. We don't have the strength to make it, and it would waste time."
"Alright. I'll carry you up."
The girl looked at him for a moment, realizing she truly couldn't go on alone. So she didn't refuse and climbed onto his back.
He carried her steadily. She, who had seemed so powerful, was light as a feather. Though he too was exhausted, an inexplicable strength pushed him forward—toward the summit.
As the girl had said, the summit wasn't far. In about twenty minutes, they reached the top.
There was a patch of flat ground covered in soft grass. He gently set the girl down, letting her lean against a rock, then propped her up against himself.
At that moment, the sun rose, gilding the horizon in gold.
The faint sunlight fell on her pale face, making her look even more fragile.
"It's the sunrise," she murmured.
"Want to sleep for a bit?" he asked softly, not realizing the tenderness in his own voice.
"No—I can't. If I fall asleep now, it'll be trouble." The girl stared into the distance, watching the sun rise.
"Then... I'll talk with you for a while?"
"Okay."
"How did they catch you?" The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted asking.
The girl's dark, calm eyes looked at him. She seemed to try to smile, just about to speak—
When suddenly, two helicopters appeared in the valley, circling as if searching for something. Soon, they headed their way.
"They're here," the girl sighed, her face breaking into a faint smile.
The two of them stepped into a more open area. The helicopters drew closer.
"By the way, I still don't know your name."
"Feng Jin."
"I'm Jiang..."