Chapter 162: Fire

After making two phone calls, the night was already deep.

On the surface, it seemed that everyone's demands had been satisfied.

Once Zheng Shan transferred the money and they released the hostages, tonight's episode of "peaceful kidnapping" could come to an end.

Everyone relaxed, yawning continuously.

The only two people who remained seated were Liang Jinshang and the man with the burns.

"It's so late, you all should head back first. Leave me alone here," the scarred man said to the other men. "As soon as that bastard Zheng transfers the money, I'll forward it to you immediately."

"Brother He..." one of them persuaded, "We should stick with you. Can you handle three women all by yourself?"

The scarred man replied, "If you're worried I can't handle them, just give me a hand and tie them up before you leave... But I bet you aren't just worried about that, are you?"

The man who spoke looked sheepish.

The others also showed hesitation.

Flipping the lighter in his hand, the scarred man snorted with contempt, "Don't worry, I won't swallow all that money by myself. Besides, that money is useless to me now."

"I'm telling you to leave now out of pity, knowing you all have sick children at home. In case Zheng Shan plays dirty and actually calls the police, taking the fall by myself is better than all of us going down together!"

If "Brother He" hadn't taken the lead in this kidnapping, the other families would have simply resigned themselves to their bad luck.

Having followed his lead all along, they now felt a sense of fear upon hearing his analysis.

So they left as instructed.

Only Brother He and the three women remained.

It was hard to tell which remote mountain corner this was; it must have been an abandoned old house belonging to someone.

Dilapidated and hollow.

As the primary "hostage," Gong Xueyuan was naturally tied up securely and locked in the woodshed.

Gong Nian, still unconscious, was locked in with her for convenience's sake.

As for Liang Jinshang, whether she had been overlooked or mistakenly captured, no one had bothered to lock her up.

Brother He stood alone in the courtyard.

Liang Jinshang stood up from her chair, followed him, and said, "Brother He."

He hadn't expected Liang Jinshang to initiate a conversation. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"I'm still a little afraid," Liang Jinshang said ingratiatingly, "but you guys aren't really bad people."

Brother He let out a cold sneer, "I'm talking about this inhuman face of mine! Let alone a woman like you, even grown men are scared of me when I walk down the street. Ha!"

Liang Jinshang looked at that burned face.

In the dim moonlight, it did indeed look more grotesque and terrifying.

To say she wasn't afraid would be too fake, so she chose silence.

As if venting his pent-up grievances, Brother He continued on his own, "I used to be a lawyer. Not to mention a promising future, I was at least free from worries about food and clothing! This face of mine—I took on a pro bono public interest case and ended up being retaliated against and framed like this! Treatment used up all my money, I was burned to this ghost-like state, and I lost my job! Why couldn't they let me die instead of my son?!"

"Do you know what acute lymphoblastic leukemia is?! That son-of-a-bitch Zheng Shan promised to give the money, which was why my son killed off the last of his immune cells, just waiting for his money to do the transplant! If he wasn't going to give the money, why didn't he say so before we prepared for the transplant?! My son wouldn't have had to die so early!"

His raspy throat sounded as though it held a mouthful of shattered glass, every word dripping with blood and tears.

Liang Jinshang's spine chilled, and her heart ached unbearably.

If anyone had ever heard a ghost weeping, they would surely understand the feelings in her heart at that moment.

Brother He tilted his head back, weeping tears, and caught sight out of the corner of his eye of the woman beside him also repeatedly wiping the corners of her eyes.

Just then, Brother He's phone rang, chiming with several text message notifications.

Liang Jinshang could feel him let out a heavy sigh.

Then he lowered his head and operated something on his phone.

She guessed that perhaps Zheng Shan's money had arrived, and he was transferring it to the others.

True to his word, he didn't harbor the slightest shred of greed.

After finishing with his phone, Brother He looked up at Liang Jinshang and said in a rough voice, "Get out of here!"

"Leave?" Liang Jinshang glanced at the pitch-black surroundings.

She knew there were mountains and trees out there, but apart from sheer darkness, nothing could be seen.

At this hour, making her walk mountain roads, even if there were no insects, snakes, or wild beasts in the mountains, would still be extremely dangerous.

"Didn't you say... you'd let us go tomorrow morning?" Sensing something amiss, Liang Jinshang probed.

Brother He said fiercely, "Leave right now!"

"Go!" He reached out and gave Liang Jinshang a shove.

Liang Jinshang staggered back a few steps from the push.

His strength was great, and before she could resist, she was shoved out of the small courtyard.

"Scram!" He stood there, watching Liang Jinshang as she left.

Whether Liang Jinshang was being overly sensitive or not, she always felt that his voice sounded exceptionally hollow.

Like a person utterly disgusted with the world, devoid of any zest for life.

He turned to leave, and Liang Jinshang's gaze drifted to his back, finally landing on his hand.

He was still clutching that lighter.

"Brother He," Liang Jinshang called out to stop him.

He paused.

"If you chase me away, I have nowhere to sleep tonight," Liang Jinshang asked casually, "Do you have a cigarette? Give me one, to help me stay awake."

"No! I don't smoke." With those words, Brother He turned back into the courtyard.

Liang Jinshang walked outward a few steps, intending to find a place to rest first.

In fact, she hadn't walked far, and given her stamina, she shouldn't have felt tired.

Yet Liang Jinshang was already finding it hard to catch her breath.

Just a moment ago, Brother He had said he didn't smoke.

Yet all night long, he had clearly been toying with that lighter.

If "not smoking" wasn't a lie, Liang Jinshang could only think of one other possibility—

Gong Xueyuan was locked in the woodshed, and Brother He had never intended to let her out at all!

That was why he had chased all his accomplices away and even prepared to let her go.

Liang Jinshang dragged her feet as she walked out.

At the thought of Gong Xueyuan being burned alive, Liang Jinshang didn't want to hypocritically express a shred of sympathy; she didn't even feel fear.

She was thrilled! It was deeply gratifying!

If there was anyone to pity, she only pitied this man about to "sacrifice his life for righteousness."

The tragedy of his life had begun in a raging fire, and today he probably intended to end it in a raging fire as well.

As for Gong Nian... Liang Jinshang's mind was locked in a fierce internal battle of hesitation.

Should she save Gong Nian or not?

If she wanted to save her, she had to rush back right now.

Otherwise, once the fire grew larger, even if she wanted to save her, it would be impossible to risk her own life for Gong Nian's sake.

Liang Jinshang had a typical science-student mentality: reasons to save—one, two, three—because her conscience wouldn't allow it, because of Shang Yucheng. Finally, and most importantly, Liang Jinshang thought of the fact that she also had a younger sister.

If A-Qi were still alive, she should be about the same age as Gong Nian now.

Though her feelings for A-Qi were complex, since her mother had brought her into this world, she hoped A-Qi could live a good life.

And the only reason not to save—she was Gong Xueyuan's younger sister.

Was the identity of Gong Xueyuan's sister a crime worthy of death?

Before she had completely made up her mind, Liang Jinshang had already broken into a run.

However, before she had run more than a few steps, she saw a figure running frantically toward her.