A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 984 Ouyang Bao Comes to the Door

Just then, Xiao Huang pushed open the door and came in, followed by five burly men, each with their shirts open, revealing short knives at their waists. "Brother Xing, we've brought the man." The scarred man at the head of the group clasped his hands in a fist and fist salute. "Mr. Wu, we know the rules. We're paid to do our job, and we won't cause any trouble."

Wu Mingqiang stood up, took out a cloth bag from his pocket, inside were twenty silver dollars: "This is the deposit, and I'll give you another thirty after the person is rescued."

Scarface weighed the silver dollar in his hand, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes: "Mr. Wu is straightforward! If the matter isn't settled, there's no charge!"

Long Xing tapped the table: "Remember, only save people, don't kill anyone, especially don't touch Ouyang Bao's people—we're here to 'rescue people,' not 'make enemies.'"

Wu Mingqiang nodded: "Understood." He glanced at Acheng, "Let's go."

The group filed downstairs, and Scarface approached Wu Mingqiang: "Mr. Wu, I'm familiar with the Hung Hom warehouse area. There's a dog hole in the back wall that you can crawl through."

Wu Mingqiang hummed in agreement, and without stopping, the group gradually disappeared around the street corner.

After lunch, Gui'er still hadn't seen Wu Mingqiang return, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Dingxiang said worriedly, "They went out early this morning, why haven't they come back yet? Miss, do you think something might have happened to them?"

Gui'er wasn't sure either, but she couldn't go out right now. She could only comfort her, saying, "No, Brother Wu and Brother Cheng are so skilled. If we're with them, we'll only be a burden. If they act on their own, they'll definitely be fine."

Ah Si came out of the room and saw that the two of them looked worried, so he said, "If you're worried, I'll go and find them."

Gui'er waved her hand and said, "Fourth Brother, your hand is already like this, so don't go out. By the way, let me change your dressing."

After changing the medicine, A-Si said to Dingxiang and Gui'er, "You two stay inside and rest for a while. I'll go downstairs to keep watch."

Dingxiang said, "Brother Qiang said that no one around here knows us, so it should be safe."

Ah Si smiled and said, "I'll go check if the door is closed properly. Don't worry, I'll be up in a bit."

Gui'er sat by the window reading the newspaper. To avoid overthinking, she even read through the advertisements.

The wall clock ticked away, and when she looked up, she realized that Ah Si had been downstairs for quite some time and still hadn't come back up.

"Dingxiang, go and see what's wrong with Brother Si." Gui'er put down the newspaper, her unease returning.

Dingxiang responded and went downstairs. A moment later, she rushed back, her face filled with anxiety: "Miss, Fourth Brother isn't here! The door downstairs is locked tight, though."

Gui'er thought for a moment and realized that A Si must have gone to find Wu Mingqiang and A Cheng. She said helplessly, "He must have gone to find Brother Wu and the others. Let's just wait here."

"How can this man be so disobedient!" Dingxiang was both angry and anxious. "His hand injury hasn't healed yet. What if he runs into Ouyang Bao's men when he goes out? Besides, there's no man in this house. We're left here, and we're so worried."

She hesitated for a moment: "Should I... go look for him?"

"No." Gui'er immediately stopped her. "Brother Wu said before he left that no one is allowed to go out. If we go out now, what if we run into trouble? Wouldn't that just make things worse?" She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. "Brother Si has been in the martial arts world for so many years and knows what he's doing. We girls are all defenseless. If we go out and get caught by their claws, it will only cause trouble. Let's just wait here until Brother Wu and the others come back and then we'll make a plan."

The two remained silent, listening to the sounds outside. The shouts of vendors packing up their stalls drifted from the alley, and the distant jingle of rickshaw bells could be heard, but no familiar footsteps could be heard.

Time passed by, and before they knew it, it was evening. Their street became lively, with people greeting each other on their way home from work, cooking, and the aroma of rice and dishes wafting through the air.

Dingxiang sighed and said, "I don't know when they'll be back, so I'd better start cooking."

Gui'er nodded. He was genuinely uneasy. They had been gone for too long; had they not reached an agreement, or had they agreed and immediately taken action, which was why they were late in returning?

"Click-clack, knock-knock." The sound of a lock being opened and a few knocks came from upstairs.

"It must be them coming back, I'm going to go see!" Dingxiang happily ran downstairs.

Gui'er breathed a slight sigh of relief. She quickly stood up, walked to the door, and asked with a smile, "Dingxiang, is it Brother Wu or Brother Si?"

“It’s me, Miss Sha.” Ouyang Bao’s voice came from the first floor.

Gui'er froze, and instinctively wanted to turn around and go back into the house to get her pistol.

"Don't move. I heard you have a good relationship with this personal maid. You don't want anything to happen to her, do you?" Ouyang Bao said calmly.

Gui'er peeked down and saw Dingxiang being held at gunpoint by two of Ouyang Bao's men, trembling and unable to speak.

"Detective Ouyang, we are law-abiding citizens. I don't know what I, a maid, have done to deserve being pointed at by a policeman?"

“Miss Sha is still as eloquent and composed as ever. I admire you more and more.” Ouyang Bao said, beckoning to his subordinates.

The two men, each holding a loaded gun, cautiously made their way upstairs. They looked Gui'er up and down to make sure she wasn't carrying any weapons, then walked past her and went upstairs. They searched every room, and one of them came out and said to Ouyang Bao, "Boss, there's no one in the room, just the two women."

Ouyang Bao gestured with his eyes towards the third floor, and another subordinate quickly went upstairs and came down a moment later, saying, "That's the attic, and there's no one there."

"You two take this servant and keep watch downstairs. The rest of you should be scattered throughout the alley. There should be a few men living with them. Those men are quite skilled, so be careful."

"Understood, Brother Leopard." Upon hearing this, he immediately took Dingxiang away, and the others also left the room.

"Miss Sha, we can finally be alone together. I've been waiting for this opportunity for so long." Ouyang Bao was relieved. He took a step forward, pinched Gui'er's cheek, and said through gritted teeth.

Gui'er quickly took a step back to avoid his groping hand, and said with a smile, "What does Detective Ouyang want with me? I've always been law-abiding, I don't think I've reached the point where the police need to find me."

“Miss Sha, you are a smart woman, and I know you come from a wealthy family. I don’t want to resort to violence. To be honest, if it were a woman from a humble family, I would sleep with her and that would be it, without necessarily giving her a title. But you are different, and I still want to respect you.”