Chapter 512: Preparing to Go to A Tai
Chapter 512: Chapter 512: Preparing to Go to A Tai
Gu Xinsheng answered the phone before the second ring. As he listened to the report on the other end, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Su Qing had astonishingly sharp hearing. The phones of this era didn’t have great soundproofing, so she naturally heard every word clearly. Her hands, resting on her knees, clenched into tight fists.
’Those bastards!’
Gu Xinsheng hung up, his expression grim as he looked at Su Qing. "The latest news is that Captain Qiao from Chuncheng and another officer from his bureau were attacked by criminals. They were injured and poisoned and are now in the hospital in critical condition. An officer in Guangcheng was also attacked, but thankfully, his injuries aren’t serious. However, the captain from Sanshui Town who went into the mountains with us was attacked and killed."
"Moreover," Gu Xinsheng said, "the three robbers who attacked Qiao Wensong and the other officer were caught and taken to the station, but they all committed suicide in the holding cells that same night."
"Leaving no loose ends!" Su Qing took a deep breath. ’This is exactly how death-sworn fanatics operate.’
"Exactly," Gu Xinsheng agreed. "It was the same in Guang City. The person they caught there also committed suicide."
"It seems this really is related to last year’s cleanup operation," Su Qing said with a frown. ’How could I not have thought of this sooner?’
’If I had, would everyone have been more vigilant? Would the officer from Sanshui Town at least have been spared?’
"Qingqing, don’t blame yourself for this," Gu Xinsheng said quickly. "It looks like there’s someone behind the Xiangcheng Gangs. Since the case involved the Xiangcheng Gang, the Xiangcheng Police Station was primarily in charge. They closed the case without digging up the people backing the gangs. None of us expected there was a hidden mastermind behind it all. I suspect it’s highly likely that officers at the Xiangcheng Police Station have been attacked as well."
A moment later, the phone rang again.
Just as he’d predicted, an officer from the Xiangcheng Police Station had been shot on the street and died from his injuries.
Hearing this, Su Qing pressed her lips together tightly. After a long moment, she said, "Uncle Gu, I need to go to Chuncheng. I want to visit Qiao Wensong."
Su Qing had met Qiao Wensong a few times and now considered him a friend. She couldn’t just sit by knowing he was poisoned and in critical condition. She wanted to go to Chuncheng. If the experts they called in couldn’t cure him, she had her own methods. She could secretly heal Qiao Wensong’s injuries later.
"Experts have already been sent to Chuncheng. Don’t worry," Gu Xinsheng said quickly.
"I still want to go see for myself," Su Qing insisted. "Uncle Gu, I’ve met Captain Qiao a few times. We’re friends. Now that he’s been so badly injured, I have to go see him, no matter what."
"But you have classes at school."
"I’ll take a leave of absence," Su Qing said. "My memory is pretty good. I’ll have my cousin take notes for me, and I’ll catch up quickly."
Gu Xinsheng remembered how Su Qing had been away for two months last semester, yet managed to catch up on everything within a week of her return. Not only did she catch up, but she also scored first in her grade. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I’ll help you request leave from your teacher. As long as they approve it, you can go to Chuncheng."
"Thank you, Uncle Gu," Su Qing said with a smile.
"But you still have to tell your uncle and your grandpa about this," Gu Xinsheng added.
"Yes, of course," Su Qing nodded.
That evening, after returning to Mr. Li’s home, Su Qing and Gu Xinsheng told Mr. Li and Li Fenghuo everything about Qiao Wensong and the others. They also mentioned Su Qing’s plan to go to Chuncheng.
"Also," Su Qing said after a moment’s thought, deciding to voice her other idea, "I want to take this opportunity to make a trip to A Tai."
"What!" The three men—Mr. Li, Li Fenghuo, and Gu Xinsheng—all stared at Su Qing in astonishment. "Qingqing, you want to go to A Tai?"
"Yes," Su Qing confirmed with a nod. "I had someone look into it and found Master Zhang’s whereabouts. He’s in A Tai right now."
"He actually fled to A Tai." Li Fenghuo pondered for a moment. "That makes this an international case. No. Even if you have some skills, it’s too dangerous for you to go to A Tai alone. This should be left for the police to handle."
Even knowing Su Qing had the ability to control plants, Li Fenghuo still felt it was too dangerous for her to go alone and refused to agree to her trip to A Tai.
"Uncle, the police can’t intervene in this," Su Qing said. "These aren’t ordinary people. Even the most skilled police officers can’t fight against Feng Shui Masters. If their mysterious and unpredictable methods are used on normal people, they’re completely defenseless."
"That’s still a no." Mr. Li and Gu Xinsheng also disagreed. "You’re still just one person. If that Master Zhang went to A Tai, it must be their main base of operations. There are bound to be a lot of them. If they’re all people like Master Zhang, how could you possibly handle them by yourself?"
"I can do it," Su Qing insisted. "Grandpa, don’t forget about my abilities."
"You can’t fight an army alone, don’t you understand?" Mr. Li said with a frown.
"He’s right," Li Fenghuo and Gu Xinsheng added. "No matter what, it’s too dangerous for you to go alone. We need to think this through carefully."
"If we take too long to plan, I’m afraid they’ll just make more moves," Su Qing argued. "We already know of several people who have been attacked. There were so many people who went into the mountains that day. If they send more people after us, we’ll never be able to defend against all of them. The most direct and effective method right now is to cut them off at the source."
"But..." The three men were still worried about Su Qing’s safety.
Before Mr. Li could finish, Su Qing smiled and said, "Grandpa, Uncle, Uncle Gu, you all know that I can control plants."
The three men nodded.
Su Qing smiled again. "Actually, there’s another ability I have that I haven’t told you about."
Li Fenghuo asked in surprise, "What ability?"
All three men stared at Su Qing in shock. Good heavens, being able to control plants was already astonishing enough. But this girl still had other abilities she hadn’t told them about!
"I actually have a Domain," Su Qing said.
Mr. Li asked curiously, "What’s a Domain?"
Su Qing thought for a moment and explained, "You can think of it as a controllable area. Basically, with me at the center, I can completely nullify any attacks against me within a certain range."
Good heavens!
After hearing Su Qing’s explanation, the three men’s eyes went wide. They stared at Su Qing, speechless for a long moment. They felt as if they were listening to a fairy tale.
After a while, Mr. Li finally asked tentatively, "You can nullify *all* attacks?"