Bai Jin darted swiftly into the room. A shadowy figure immediately lunged toward her. The figure clearly had no desire to engage in a prolonged fight; after striking out with a few rapid moves, it tried to slip past Bai Jin and escape.

Bai Jin would never give her the chance to flee. In an instant, the muzzle of her gun snapped up, aimed directly at the figure’s head. “Don’t move.”

Faced with the cold, unyielding muzzle, the figure knew there was no running. She turned her head around with an air of indifference.

When Bai Jin made out the other person’s features, she could not help but be stunned. The words practically leapt from her lips: “How is it you?”

~~

“Sister-in-law, are you tired?” In the Military Police Division, Gu Zhen sat with his eyes shot through with red veins, looking over at Yan Qing, who was bent over a microscope examining samples.

Gu Zhen had always considered himself someone who could endure hardship, but after these past two days, even he was beginning to struggle. Yan Qing, being a woman with less physical strength and stamina, should have fared worse than him — yet somehow she seemed even more energetic.

“Go get some sleep. I’ll handle things here.” Yan Qing kept her eyes fixed on the microscope. “Rest up, and then come back and take over for me.”

“I’ll sleep for a bit then.” Gu Zhen felt he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes. He removed his mask and gloves and walked over to a nearby table, intending to doze off right there.

Just as he sat down, a commotion erupted outside. Gu Zhen craned his neck with a hint of irritation. “What’s all the noise out there? Don’t tell me it’s family members again. These family members, really — whatever they have to say, can’t they just say it calmly? We only want to give them justice, but every time it’s like we’re the ones who did the killing.”

Yan Qing remained focused on the microscope in front of her. Whatever was happening outside seemed to have nothing to do with her.

“Sister-in-law.” At that moment, Shi Cheng suddenly ran in. “Sister-in-law, this is bad — they’re saying from above that you’re to be taken away.”

“Which ‘above’?” Gu Zhen’s drowsiness vanished at once. His eyes went wide. “Our Military Police Division has no one above us. Who has the authority to come into our territory and take someone?”

Yan Qing also removed her mask and looked at Shi Cheng. “Who is it?”

“They presented a letter bearing the Commander’s personal seal, saying they’ve come to take Sister-in-law to the Military Intelligence Bureau.” Shi Cheng said anxiously. “With the Commander’s seal on it, we can’t disobey — so I had to come find Sister-in-law first to think of a way.”

Yan Qing stood up. “Who has come?”

“I don’t recognize them.” Shi Cheng said. “There are over a dozen of them, with one person leading the group.”

The Military Intelligence Bureau did not ordinarily handle criminal cases. Only matters that threatened the government or endangered the security of the land would be sent to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

She was merely a suspect, and it hadn’t even been confirmed that she’d killed anyone. Even if she truly had killed someone, the person she’d killed had no connection to the government. There was no reason for her to be taken to a place like the Military Intelligence Bureau.

“Let me go out and take a look.” Yan Qing stripped off her gloves and moved to head outside.

“No.” Gu Zhen and Shi Cheng blocked the doorway at the same time. “Sister-in-law, you can’t go out. If you go out, they really will take you away. This isn’t our territory — if something happens to you, how do we answer to Seventh Brother? We made a promise to Seventh Brother: if anything happens to you, we’ll go see him with our heads.”

“But they have the Commander’s seal. You can’t openly defy the Commander’s orders.”

Shi Cheng clenched his jaw. “I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll take a few brothers and hold them off. If I’m held responsible afterward, I’ll do a few years in prison. After all, it was Seventh Brother who pulled me back from the wrong path back then. If it weren’t for him, who knows where I’d be now.”

Shi Cheng’s gaze burned bright as he looked over. “Forget a few years in prison — even if it costs me my life, I will protect Sister-in-law. I absolutely will not let anyone harm you.”

“Captain Shi is right.” The light reflected off Gu Zhen’s glasses as his round face set with stubborn determination. “I stand with Captain Shi. Every person in our Military Police Division stands with Sister-in-law. If they want to force their way through, they’ll have to get past us first.”

Yan Qing looked at the two tall, powerfully built men before her, listening to the impassioned words that poured from the depths of their hearts. Her eyes grew moist.

They were the fine soldiers Shi Ting had trained. She had no doubt they would charge into battle for her when she needed them.

But for that very reason, she could not drag them down into this. The ones behind all of this were targeting her and Shi Ting. She could not implicate them.

At that moment, the commotion outside grew even more fierce. The situation was clearly spinning out of control.

“This is the Commander’s order. Do you dare to refuse to hand over the person?”

The voices had made their way from outside directly into the main hall of the Military Police Division. This made Shi Cheng furious. “Those miserable wretches — I’ll fight them to the death.”

“Captain Shi.” Yan Qing called him back. “How many people does the Military Police Division have here right now?”

“Today there are two cases — almost everyone has gone to the scenes. Bai Jin hasn’t come back from the Yan Family yet.” Shi Cheng said with frustration. “If everyone were here, they’d never be this brazen.”

Yan Qing said, “I’ve been here for two days, and in all that time they never thought to take me away. Why would they suddenly think of it now? Bai Jin is at the Yan Family investigating today — she must have found some kind of lead, or perhaps she’s already caught the real perpetrator.”

“Bai Jin caught the killer?” Shi Cheng was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful news!”

Yan Qing shook her head. “The fact that they’re so desperate and impatient right now means that Bai Jin must have gotten results on her end. So they want to move quickly and make me… disappear.”

Before the true killer was caught, making her ‘commit suicide out of guilt’ would be a solution that worked on every front. By the time the real culprit was arrested, no one would care anymore.

Since they couldn’t move against her inside the Military Police Division, they wanted to transfer her to territory they could control.

These people had the Commander’s seal in their hands. Whether the Commander had personally affixed it, or whether there was some other explanation, was uncertain.

After all, the Commander now did whatever Qian Lan asked of him. Forget affixing a seal — if she wanted to kill someone, he wouldn’t hesitate.

And the director of this Military Intelligence Bureau was Sun Qiang — Sun Qiang, who was Sun Changyou’s father, from the Sun Family that had once sought to marry Shi Yutong.

On the surface, the Sun Family appeared to neither side with Shi Guang nor with Shi Ting. But now, through this affair, Yan Qing understood that the Sun Family had long since chosen their camp — they stood with Shi Guang.

Shi Guang, Qian Lan…

So the ones plotting behind the scenes were indeed these two.

Several thoughts flashed through Yan Qing’s mind as she sorted out the full sequence of events. There was just one thing she still didn’t know: who was the killer concealed within the Yan Mansion?

Bang! Bang!

As the noise and commotion drew closer and closer, Yan Qing seemed to hear the sound of someone crashing to the ground. Just as Shi Cheng was about to go out and look, a group of people appeared at the door of the interrogation room.

Yan Qing recognized the one leading the group — it was Zuo Liang, a trusted aide of Shi Guang.

“Seventh Young Madam.” Zuo Liang was polite in his words but cold in his gaze. “We had to pass through so many checkpoints just to see Seventh Young Madam.”

“This is the Military Police Division.” Shi Cheng said without courtesy. “Is this a place where demons and monsters like yourselves can come and go as you please?”

Zuo Liang let out a cold laugh and raised the document in his hand. “Open your dog eyes and look clearly — this bears the Commander’s seal. This is the Commander’s order. Anyone who dares to defy it will be dealt with according to military law.”

The Military Police Division fell directly under the Commander’s personal jurisdiction. Above Shi Ting, there was only the Commander. So for the Military Police Division, the Commander’s seal was indeed the highest authority.

“Captain Shi.” Yan Qing said. “I’ll go with them.”

In this situation, with their limited numbers, Shi Cheng and the others could only lose if it came to a real confrontation. Moreover, Yan Qing had no desire to see them put themselves in danger for her sake.

Besides, Zuo Liang was Shi Guang’s man. Whatever Shi Guang’s feelings toward her — whether love or hatred — he would not want to kill her so quickly. She still had time and the chance to wait for Shi Ting to return.

“No.” Shi Cheng was a stubborn one. His tall, powerfully built frame stepped in front of Yan Qing like an impenetrable wall. “If you want to take her, you’ll have to step over my corpse first.”

“Step over mine too.” Gu Zhen was from the forensics division, without the martial arts skills that Shi Cheng and the others possessed, but he stepped up to stand beside Shi Cheng without a moment’s hesitation.

“And mine.”

“And mine.”

One by one, the remaining personnel of the Military Police Division lined up shoulder to shoulder with Shi Cheng. They formed a human wall, steady and unyielding, sheltering Yan Qing safely behind them from the danger beyond.

Yan Qing looked at the wall of people before her. Her eyes grew moist, and the emotion swelling in her chest spread without limit.

“Very well — you dare to openly defy the Commander’s orders.” The corner of Zuo Liang’s mouth curved upward. “The Commander has given the order: all who obstruct shall be dealt with according to military law. Since you’re all choosing to die, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

At Zuo Liang’s command, his men immediately charged forward.

Shi Cheng took a bring-it-on stance, grabbing the man who charged at him and slamming him to the ground.

The space inside the Military Police Division was already cramped, and with dozens of people tangled up in a fight, all that could be heard was the sound of tables and chairs crashing to the floor.

Yan Qing knew the scene was beyond anyone’s control. She could only retreat toward the back and stay out of the way.

She was deeply worried about the safety of the Military Police Division personnel but felt powerless to do anything. Without any martial arts training, she was of no use at all.

In the chaos, she caught sight of Zuo Liang charging at the front of the crowd. At some point, a weapon had appeared in his hand. When Yan Qing saw the shape of that weapon, her eyes went wide.

She moved a few steps to the side, trying to get a clearer look through the crowd, but Zuo Liang was moving too fast — she had to keep shifting to keep him in sight.

She had known that Zuo Liang, having stayed at Shi Guang’s side, must have had some real skill. She just hadn’t expected his fighting ability to be this formidable.

If she were to name someone in the Military Police Division who could match him, it would probably only be Shi Ting or Zheng Yun.

Shi Cheng faced off against Zuo Liang and quickly fell at a disadvantage. Zuo Liang’s weapon stabbed into his shoulder, and blood immediately began to flow.

“Captain Shi!” Yan Qing called out in alarm.

The Military Police Division had few people to begin with, and now they were completely outnumbered. Yet everyone fought with a resolve to the death. Even with a wound to his left shoulder, Shi Cheng continued to fight with blood streaming down his arm.

Yan Qing had just moved to check on Shi Cheng’s wound when a shadow flashed before her. Without her noticing, Zuo Liang had arrived directly in front of her.

$$$$

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The tension rang through the air — what was to be done at this moment?

That’s right — none other than that person, riding upon radiant, colorful clouds, arriving in a blaze of peerless, unparalleled brilliance.

Yes, you’ve guessed correctly. That person was none other than…

Eighth Brother!

Qing Qing, wait just a moment — Eighth Brother’s tricycle has run out of fuel. Once he fills the tank, he’ll be right there.