Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Wen Tangtang copied Nan Mu and rappelled downward.
It had looked simple when he did it, but once it was her turn, she realized the move was nowhere near as easy as it seemed.
First, it was hard to precisely control when to stop. Second, she didn’t have enough arm strength and couldn’t support herself all the way down to the target spot.
Fortunately, before she came down, she had listened to Nan Mu and tied the other end of the rope around her waist. So even when her hands lost their strength, the rope at her waist caught her. But in that instant, the rope swung violently, and she went with it, slamming bodily into the wall. Her elbow went numb with pain on the spot.
“Wen Tangtang! Tang Tang?!”
She vaguely heard Wen Xin calling from above. Even though the pain was unbearable, she could only grit her teeth and force out a reply. “I’m fine.”
She looked around and found that the second-floor air conditioner unit was close by. If she stretched her toes, she could touch it, but there was no way she could stand steadily on it.
She wanted to swing onto it, too, but the rope around her waist kept pulling her back. Yet if she untied it first, her arm strength wouldn’t be enough to let her swing over.
In the end, she could only give up on the idea of jumping from the outdoor unit and chose to use a lighter to burn through the fabric around her waist.
The moment she fell, her heart leapt into her throat. Thankfully, it was a close call but not a disaster-she landed right in the middle of the stacked quilts and pillows.
However, before she could even catch her breath, she saw a burly man charge out of the house.
Only when watching from up close could she truly realize how fierce Nan Mu was in a fight. His punches were swift, fast as lightning, cutting through the air with gusts of force as they struck straight at his opponent’s vital points.
After the other man took a heavy blow and dropped his guard, Nan Mu immediately spun around, sweeping out with one leg and whipping him to the ground.
If Wen Xin had moves like that yesterday, the two of them wouldn’t have been handcuffed in the bathroom for an entire day and night…
===
They successfully shook off Old Cai and the others. Following the route from Nan Mu’s memory, the group retraced their steps. However, just as they were about to reach the narrow path they had used to come in, a jumble of footsteps suddenly came from beyond the gate, shattering the quiet atmosphere.
At that exact moment, Nan Mu’s phone vibrated. It was a message from Wen Miao: Director Wu has brought people to the entrance.
“What do we do?” Wen Tangtang and Wen Xin both looked at Nan Mu at the same time, their eyes full of hope as they waited for his decision.
Nan Mu tilted his head, listening to the movement outside. He calmly analyzed the situation and said, “Judging from the sound outside, there should be quite a few of them.”
“Yeah…” Wen Xin looked at Nan Mu worriedly, then conveniently gave the muscles on his arm a squeeze. “Can you still fight?”
A vein at Nan Mu’s temple gave a faint twitch. His icy gaze landed on Wen Xin’s hand on his arm, a chill seeping through his eyes.
Wen Xin gave an awkward laugh and sensibly withdrew his hand in silence.
Nan Mu lowered his head to check the time, then pondered for a moment. “You two go out. Run for as long as you can. The more chaos you cause, the better.”
Wen Xin was bewildered. “?”
Wen Tangtang’s eyes went wide. “!”
Wen Tangtang said, “What do you mean? If we go out… we’ll definitely get caught!”
Nan Mu replied calmly, “I know. That’s why all you need to do is run. If you do get caught, don’t resist. Just yell for help as loudly as you can.”
Wen Xin panicked. “I… I only squeezed your arm once. You don’t have to treat your buddy like this, do you?! Are you seriously abandoning us?”
Nan Mu let out a low laugh. “Since when were you and I buddies?”
Wen Xin: “!!!”
Damn it! Sure enough, when disaster struck, everyone flew their separate ways! He had turned his back on him instantly.
Wen Xin muttered bitterly under his breath, “When we get back, I’m not letting our Wen Miao be with you anymore.”
Nan Mu’s ears were sharp, and he heard every word. He sneered. “You’ll have to make it back alive first.”
Wen Xin sucked in a cold breath. “You actually want me dead?!”
Nan Mu swept him a glance and, speechless, shoved him toward the outside. “You won’t die! Now get lost! And remember, don’t tell anyone I was here. If Old Cai brings me up, just say you don’t know anything. Say you escaped on your own.”
Wen Xin moved his arms and legs a little. “I haven’t eaten all day… I can’t run at all.”
Wen Tangtang frowned as she looked between the two of them, who seemed to be speaking in riddles. Unable to take it anymore, she scratched her head, her tone full of confusion. “No, what exactly do you two mean right now? Are you saying… you’re not saving us for the moment?”
Nan Mu reached out and patted Wen Tangtang on the shoulder, his eyes filled with pity.
Wen Tangtang: “?” Why was he looking at her with pity?
Nan Mu’s gaze drifted as he coughed twice. “Your savior will show up in a bit. But before your savior appears, you’d better run fast. The sooner you get caught, the longer you’ll be bullied… After all, Wen Xin will probably run faster than you.”
Wen Tangtang’s eyes nearly split with rage as she glared at Wen Xin.
But before she could react, Nan Mu shoved both of them out. Then, right in front of their eyes, he took a few easy steps, sprang forward, and flipped himself up onto the top of the wall.
Wen Xin’s jaw dropped in shock. “?”
Was it that easy to get up there? He felt like he might still be worth saving.
Wen Tangtang’s eyes also widened in disbelief. “?”
Was it that easy to get up there? Then what would it have cost him to lend her a hand and pull her up too?
Nan Mu vaulted over the wall and vanished from their sight. And at that exact moment, a roar suddenly rang out behind them. “Those two are here! Hurry, grab them!”
Wen Tangtang instinctively turned her head and met Wen Xin’s eyes. In that instant, it was as though they understood each other perfectly, a silent tacit agreement forming between them. Then, without the slightest hesitation, both of them turned their backs on each other and shot off like arrows loosed from a bow, sprinting in two different directions.
Wen Tangtang plunged straight into the woods. By sheer dumb luck, she somehow miraculously found the little path leading out.
Maybe everyone had gone in to catch them, because there was actually no one guarding the path. She had managed to slip through a gap.
But the people chasing her weren’t idiots either. Once she lost the cover of the trees, her whereabouts were quickly exposed. It turned into a footrace between her and the people behind her, but in terms of sheer stamina, she was naturally no match for them.
Just as she was about to reach the exit, someone rushed up from behind and slammed her to the ground.
Wen Tangtang couldn’t help remembering being locked in the bathroom last night, and a wail escaped her. Although Nan Mu had told her not to struggle, she still fought back desperately on instinct, and for that she received a slap from the person behind her.
“You’re illegally detaining people! Assaulting people! You’ll go to jail for this!”
The person behind her clamped a hand tightly around Wen Tangtang’s fair, delicate neck and forcefully dragged her up from the cold ground, his tone mocking. “Jail? If you’ve got what it takes, then send me to jail!”
“Hahaha.” Wild laughter rang out behind her.
Someone else said with a wicked laugh in his voice, “I think we should send her to the back and lock her up first!”
Everyone behind her burst into laughter, as if mocking Wen Tangtang for overestimating herself.
But just then, everyone suddenly heard the sound of police sirens approaching from the distance.
The jeering behind Wen Tangtang came to an abrupt stop. Everyone looked at one another, startled and uncertain. Only Wen Tangtang desperately craned her head, trying to see if it was a police car.
“Who called the police?”
“No one… Who would call the cops? Are they stupid…”
“Nobody called the police…”
“Those two called the police!”
“Their phones were confiscated…”
While the people behind her argued back and forth, Wen Tangtang heard the sirens getting closer and closer to her location, until finally they stopped right in front of them.
With one cheek swollen from the beating she’d just taken, Wen Tangtang bared her teeth in a grin. Could this be the legendary power of words becoming reality? Wow, I’m amazing.