He Yunqin opened his eyes; the first things that came into view were two blurred faces. In truth, he still wasn’t fully conscious, but from their voices and the outlines of their faces, it wasn’t hard to tell they were Yu Chongyi and Wang Bide.

Seeing him wake, the two of them simultaneously showed expressions of overwhelming joy.

He didn’t know how long they’d been calling him. Affected by the sound of the explosion, his mind and ears still buzzed even now; his body felt as though every bone had been shaken loose — the slightest movement brought a piercing pain. His memory seemed to have gaps, going blank now and then.

Amid the chaos, there was one joyful thing slowly clearing from vague to distinct — no, more than joyful, for him and her, it was simply a matter of tremendous fortune.

Wary of the danger not yet passed, he didn’t dare let that happiness run wild through his limbs, more afraid still that it might all be his own hallucination — he wouldn’t even bring himself to ask Yu Chongyi to confirm it again. Straining to move his eyes, he saw that they were still in front of Peiying Primary School — compared to before, the gate area had become ruins and rubble, wreckage filling his view.

His leg must have been badly injured; he tried to sit up, but moving proved extremely difficult. Fortunately, this effort helped him recall fragments from before he’d passed out — he remembered that at the time he’d had no time to think, since the schoolyard was empty, and the moment he’d wrested the clothing from the child, he’d thrown it into the yard with all his strength. Luckily the courtyard wall and trees had blocked much of the blast, keeping it from spreading too widely — but because the school gate’s iron door had been shaken askew, a broken length of rebar had flown off and struck him squarely in the leg—

“Where are Ruide and the others?” Remembering the task of transporting the gold, he ignored his own injuries and struggled to rise. Only when he spoke did he realize his ears felt muffled, his own voice sounding distant even to himself.

“Same as you — they passed out. We called for a long while and couldn’t wake them.” Wang Bide and Yu Chongyi worked together to help him sit up. “This explosion came too suddenly. Our people — some dead, some wounded, the survivors in no state to defend. I’m worried Xiang Qisheng’s forces might come to seize the gold, so we had no choice but to wake you.”

Xiang Qisheng? He Yunqin’s reaction to the name was still sluggish. Looking around, he saw many people lying scattered on the ground — most had already regained consciousness, while the rest remained motionless, including Ruide and Yu Rui, making it hard for a moment to tell whether they were still alive.

He Yunqin’s heart sank. Fixing his eyes on those still figures, he realized that Wang Bide, in checking the casualties, had mistakenly counted some of the already-eliminated enemy forces among their own side. This gave him some relief, but even so, the number of their own fallen would be no fewer than two.

Fortunately, at this moment, Ruide and Yu Rui both let out pained groans, gradually showing signs of regaining consciousness.

He Yunqin had no time to grieve for their fallen comrades — the gold was still on the truck, and they had to leave this place as quickly as possible. Supported by Yu Chongyi and Wang Bide as he sat up, he said to Old Liu, who was nearest, “Old Liu, please check on Ruide’s condition. Bide says enemy forces are on their way — we need to withdraw as fast as possible. If Ruide comes to, we’ll still need his international status to get the gold out.”

Old Liu wasn’t badly hurt; hearing this, he braced himself up with his arm. Once standing, he pressed a hand to his chest, steadied himself for a moment, then stumbled over to Ruide, crouched down, and examined him closely. Just as he was about to speak, Ruide suddenly coughed violently. Once the coughing subsided, he waved a hand and said with difficulty, “I’m fine.” Everyone let out a breath of relief.

With arrangements made, Yu Chongyi helped move the wounded, along with the bodies of the fallen comrades, into the truck. Wang Bide, meanwhile, laid the still-unconscious Afu in the back seat of his own car — though knocked out by the blast, thanks to He Yunqin having shielded him, the child had luckily escaped injury.

While moving him, Wang Bide thought to himself that a child’s eardrums weren’t as sturdy as an adult’s — after what Afu had just been through, there was no telling if there’d be lingering effects.

He was alone in the world himself, no better off, in truth, than these two orphans. Yet once he’d settled everything and turned to look at the two children’s chubby sleeping faces, a wave of tenderness rose up in him unbidden.

The commoners who had earlier collected relief grain had, under Old Liu’s arrangement, gathered on the hillside. After the explosion, many had fled in panic; now, apart from a few very elderly and frail ones, hardly anyone remained.

Before departing, Wang Bide said to He Yunqin and the others, “Xiang Qisheng is very likely one of the enemy’s men. When we see him later, everyone must not let their guard down.”

He Yunqin, his leg injured and unable to move, lay on the floor of the truck bed. Hearing this, he said nothing for the moment, while the others all showed surprise — even several experienced elders looked doubtful.

Of everyone present, only Yu Rui, likely still shaken by what had just happened, seemed considerably more composed. Hearing this, though he had admired Mr. Xiang greatly right up until that day, he also knew well how skilled the enemy could be at disguise, and didn’t find it absurd at all — he only frowned, thinking it over silently.

Several of the younger members looked at Wang Bide, saying in disbelieving tones, “Xiang Qisheng may be pedantic and extreme, but he’s genuinely a member of another patriotic organization. Although he wasn’t involved in this search for the gold, Mr. Xiang has planned several patriotic actions before — his stance should be firmer than anyone’s. Isn’t Inspector Wang mistaken? This man shouldn’t be one of the enemy’s agents at all.”

Seeing even Old Liu looking at him with doubt, Wang Bide grew anxious, hastening to lay out the evidence he had — but there was too little time to allow for a lengthy explanation.

Fortunately, He Yunqin had already had an inkling of this earlier and said, “These are special times, and it involves a huge amount of gold. Let’s all proceed as previously discussed — no matter how trustworthy the other side may appear, we mustn’t let our guard down. However skillfully they may be disguised, if we run into them on the road, remember to adapt as needed.”

Everyone nodded.

Even speaking still hurt Ruide’s chest; he only stuck his arm out from the driver’s cab and knocked twice on the side of the truck, signaling they were about to depart.

Wang Bide and Yu Chongyi got into the car and followed behind the truck.

Just then, several gunshots rang out from a distant block. Everyone tensed, hastily drawing their weapons, listening intently — the sound was very far off, and didn’t seem to come from the road to the school, but rather, as they’d suspected earlier, from around the Pearl Nightclub, the other suspected hiding place.

Old Liu suddenly remembered something from before, drawing his gun. “The Duan brothers seemed to be wandering around that area.”

Someone, loading their gun, chimed in, “We told them to leave and they wouldn’t. Well, this settles it — they’ve probably run into enemy forces.”

“Since the enemy has come nearby, we’re bound to run into them too before long. As Brother He just said, no matter what we see, we’ll just proceed carefully.”

Everyone, while staying on guard, quietly felt a measure of relief — the gold was already in their hands; they no longer had to dig defensively as before. Whichever faction caught up with them, the fighting to come would carry far fewer scruples than before. Besides, perhaps Wang Bide was right — if Xiang Qisheng really was an enemy agent, they’d already prepared for it in advance. All told, for them, victory was only one step away.

Seeing He Yunqin fail to return for so long, He Mengmei and Mrs. He had long since sensed that this time was different from before.

Their younger son had always been steady; if he hadn’t returned on time, it must be because he’d run into something urgent outside. Both of them were anxious to the extreme, but fearing that if word got out it would bring trouble to their son, on the surface one continued overseeing the relocation of the Shanghai factories, while the other took charge of packing up the He household’s belongings — yet privately, they had already sent out countless groups of people to search everywhere for He Yunqin’s whereabouts.

Mrs. Yu had, for the time being, settled in at the He mansion. To look after Hongdou, her guest room had simply been arranged nearby on the second floor, but worrying over Yu Chongyi and He Yunqin’s safety, she had stayed the entire day and night in her daughter and son-in-law’s room. Watching Hongdou go out again and again to make phone calls, only to come back disappointed each time, as a mother, her heart ached even more than Hongdou’s.

Hongdou had waited at home from morning until dusk, growing more restless by the hour. Not to mention He Yunqin — even her brother and Wang Bide hadn’t returned. Her stomach felt as though a stone pressed on it; she hadn’t been able to eat all day, forcing herself to swallow bites only out of concern for her own health.

Nothing was more agonizing than pure, endless waiting. By the second half of the night, with still no news, though Hongdou still held firm in her convictions, her body couldn’t take it anymore — what little she’d managed to eat at dinner, she threw up entirely.

Mrs. He, already deeply worried about her son, couldn’t be bothered to sleep either. She had the servants stay up through the night cooking a light, easily digestible porridge, paired with appetizing side dishes, and personally brought it, along with attendants, to Hongdou’s room, gently urging, “Good child, if you keep this up your body won’t be able to bear it. You must eat something, no matter what.”

Mrs. Yu had also been trying to think of ways to whet Hongdou’s appetite; seeing that Hongdou’s mother-in-law had already thought of it first, she was moved, and hurriedly pulled Mrs. He to sit down, then personally picked up the bowl and spoon to feed her daughter.

Looking up to meet her mother’s and mother-in-law’s concerned gazes, Hongdou took several deep breaths, forcing down her turbulent emotions, telling herself: even returning from the North District would take several hours — it had only been a day and a night; no news was surely good news.

She forced a smile and took the bowl. “Mother, no need to feed me, I’ll do it myself. I’ll go to sleep once I’m done eating. Mother-in-law, Mother, you should both rest early too.”

In front of her mother-in-law and mother, she forced herself to finish an entire bowl of porridge, and to set their minds at ease, even deliberately turned the empty bowl upside down to show them.

Mrs. Yu and Mrs. He, both deeply troubled at heart, hadn’t expected Hongdou to show such a childlike side; they couldn’t help but laugh, and with that laughter, the worry weighing on their hearts eased somewhat too.

Mrs. He said a few more words, offering repeated reminders, before finally returning to her room.

Mrs. Yu, determined to look after Hongdou, refused to leave.

Under her mother’s watch, Hongdou obediently got into bed, pulling the covers up to her chest, trying to relax — but the moment she closed her eyes, familiar figures immediately surfaced in her mind.

She worried for them, worried until every nerve was strung as tight as a bowstring.

Because she longed so desperately to see He Yunqin, though eager to fall asleep, his afterimage lingered before her eyes, refusing to fade. Half-asleep, half-awake, he drew closer and closer to her — his eyebrows, his ink-black eyes, his lips… so vivid that she nearly forgot the two of them were still apart.

Out of deep attachment, though knowing it was only an illusion, she finally raised her hand to gently trace his brow and eyes.

Slowly, the emotions weighing on her heart eased somewhat, and the furrow between her brows gradually smoothed out.

Thanks to this mental relaxation, even her stomach settled considerably. Before she knew it, she slipped slowly into a deep, dark sleep.

Having gone two nights without proper sleep, she had nearly exhausted all her strength in advance; once she fell asleep this time, she didn’t wake until past nine the next morning.

Outside in the corridor it was extremely noisy — someone was talking, she wasn’t sure who. She meant to get up, but the moment she moved she felt exceedingly weary, and lay among the bedding for a while without rising.

Just as she lay in a daze, the bedroom door suddenly opened, footsteps approaching from a distance, along with her mother’s voice, unable to hide its excitement: “Hongdou, Hongdou, Yunqin and your brother are back.”

There was a slight nasal quality to her voice as she spoke, clearly from tears of joy.

Hongdou sat bolt upright, freezing for only a second before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. Not caring that she was still in her nightgown, she strode forward, about to run outside.

Mrs. Yu hastily stopped her daughter. “Your father-in-law and your eldest brother-in-law are both downstairs. You can’t go out like this — you need to at least change your clothes.”

Hongdou asked, her heart in her throat, “Are they all right? Why isn’t He Yunqin coming up?” Her heart was a mix of confusion and joy, as if all the joy of a lifetime had converged in that single moment of hearing the news.

Without waiting for her mother’s answer, she hastily changed her clothes and hurried downstairs. At this moment, only seeing He Yunqin with her own eyes, hearing his voice with her own ears, could ease the longing that filled her entire chest.

Mrs. Yu hurried after her daughter. “Your brother and Inspector Wang are both fine. Yunqin’s leg was injured — he was carried back on a stretcher just now. He should have gone straight to the hospital for Dr. Cheng to clean and treat the wound, but he was so worried about you, he insisted on seeing you first no matter what.”

Hearing the words “injured,” Hongdou’s heart sank at once — but within a second, it lifted again. As long as he’d come back safely, what did an injury matter.

She reached the corridor at top speed; halfway there she heard a servant calling for Duan Mingyi to take a phone call — it seemed the two Duan young masters had been injured, and Duan Mingyi needed to go back to her family home.

Her mind full of He Yunqin, she didn’t pause even for a moment. Reaching the top of the stairs, she looked down — sure enough, there was a stretcher in the living room.

He Yunqin lay on it, talking with his father. His expression was calm, but his eyes kept watch on the direction from which she’d appear.

Their eyes met, and her own eyes reddened.

He was back. Not a dream, not an illusory bubble. He had truly come back.

She hurried downstairs.

Everyone in the living room looked at her, everyone smiling through tears, everyone urging her to slow her steps.

Only he said nothing, simply opening his arms wide, gazing at her quietly, with a smile.

Eyes brimming with tears, she walked quickly toward him, reached him, crouched down, let out a choked sob, and threw herself into his embrace with all her strength.

As her sweet fragrance drew close, he wrapped her tightly, wordlessly, into his arms. So many words rushed to his lips at once, yet not one could he say — in the end he simply closed his eyes, lowering his head to kiss the crown of her hair. My love, my wife, my Hongdou. I’m back.

Author’s Note: I originally planned to combine two chapters into one release, same as yesterday. I just happened to finish writing one this morning, so I’ll post it first. I have things to do during the day, so the second update probably won’t be until after 10:30 tonight.