Chapter 783 — What Bad Luck

"Ah—!" Yu Xiaoke let out a shrill scream, and her whole body was sent flying backwards, crashing to the ground. With a wet "blargh" she spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out cold.

Wei Zhao had not expected Qiu Lingshan to strike so suddenly, and his brows drew together. "Why did you hit her?"

"If I don't hit her, how am I supposed to catch her?" Hearing Wei Zhao actually speak up for Yu Xiaoke made Qiu Lingshan rather uncomfortable.

"I told you to catch the people from that thief gang. I never told you to catch her." Wei Zhao's impression of Yu Xiaoke was, on the whole, a good one. Their acquaintance had not been long, but if Yu Xiaoke had not been lying, then she was worthy of his admiration — to support an entire orphanage all by herself, what courage and what perseverance would that take?

"She's a thief too!" Qiu Lingshan looked at Wei Zhao with a certain stubbornness. She had principles she held to; though she had always been meek and yielding before Wei Zhao, that was no reason to let her principles and convictions be broken.

Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback by her expression. The ever-docile Qiu Lingshan would actually disagree with him over something like this! But after a moment's thought, he understood just where she stood.

She was a cop, and Yu Xiaoke was a thief. That a cop catches a thief is only natural and right!

It was merely that their positions differed. Yu Xiaoke felt there was nothing wrong with stealing money from the heartless rich for the orphanage's sake; but Qiu Lingshan felt that no matter what, once Yu Xiaoke had stolen money, she was a thief.

Wei Zhao nodded and pressed her no further.

Over on the other side, Black Bird Bro, the informant, was at that moment brimming with smug satisfaction. Yu Xiaoke had been struck down by Qiu Lingshan, and the long grievance stifled in his heart had finally been vented. Yu Xiaoke, oh Yu Xiaoke — you wanted to send us to prison? Then I'll send you there first!

And how do you like it now? Not only have you been beaten, you're going to be arrested along with the rest of us!

Wei Zhao meant to go and check on Yu Xiaoke's injuries. As he passed Black Bird Bro, he seemed to bump into him quite casually — and Black Bird Bro, riding high on his own delight, paid it no mind at all.

But once Wei Zhao had gone by, Black Bird Bro began to sense that something was wrong. Why had his whole body suddenly turned hot and restless? A desire welled up from the depths of his heart, and his gaze grew hazy. He turned to look at Qiu Lingshan, a ferocious look creeping over his face.

By the look of him, he was struggling to hold his feelings in check — but that was only a moment of clarity. Then the man went wholly mad, and he lunged at Qiu Lingshan: "Little girl, give it to me, I want you... to play with your uncle here!"

Looking at Black Bird Bro, with his mouthful of yellow teeth and his reeking breath, Qiu Lingshan was overcome with disgust. She could not understand how this Black Bird Bro could be so brazen, daring to molest her in broad daylight. Did he have a death wish?

While Qiu Lingshan was still marvelling at it, Black Bird Bro's hand reached for her chest. Qiu Lingshan flew into a fury and kicked out, catching Black Bird Bro square in the ***. With a single miserable howl he rolled up his eyes and toppled to the ground; his last words before he lost consciousness were: "My other ball..."

This was, of course, Wei Zhao's handiwork — he had merely stimulated a few of the man's acupoints to give him the urge to lie with a woman. The technique could in fact also be used to treat impotence and a lack of desire, only Black Bird Bro had been brimming with lust to begin with, so with Wei Zhao's little push he went straight out of his mind.

The members of the thief gang all found it rather strange as well. Had Black Bird Bro lost his wits? How dared he molest Qiu Lingshan? Was that not courting death?

But each of them was too busy saving his own skin; who had the leisure to worry about whether Black Bird Bro had lost his wits?

Every last one of them hung his head, not daring to breathe, terrified that Qiu Lingshan's next target would be him!

Yet Qiu Lingshan plainly had no intention of bothering with them. She turned to look for an ambulance. Liu Wangli had already called one for Giant Deer Bro, and now there were two more people, Yu Xiaoke and Black Bird Bro.

Wei Zhao naturally had no interest in whether Black Bird Bro lived or died; he walked toward Yu Xiaoke.

Crouching down, Wei Zhao reached out a hand to examine Yu Xiaoke's injuries — when he saw Yu Xiaoke suddenly open her eyes and give him a wink.

Wei Zhao was startled. "You didn't pass out?"

"I'm... managing, barely..." Yu Xiaoke forced a pitiful smile. "Thank you... for avenging me..."

Yu Xiaoke had surely guessed by now what Wei Zhao had done to Black Bird Bro. Otherwise, even with a hundred times the nerve, Black Bird Bro would never have dared to molest a policewoman at a moment like that. Did he think his life wasn't long enough?

"Heh, it was nothing." Wei Zhao did not know why, but for the pitiful Yu Xiaoke, a trace of compassion had risen in his heart.

Wei Zhao was, at heart, a rather cold man, keeping up a lofty indifference toward enemies and strangers alike; only the friends close to him did he treat with true sincerity. And Yu Xiaoke, whom he had met only twice, stirred deep feeling in him with the story of her life.

One could say Wei Zhao was an orphan himself, and Yu Xiaoke presumably was one too — otherwise she would not have toiled so for an orphanage. The two of them, one might say, still shared certain similarities.

"Qiu Lingshan is coming. I'm going to faint now — don't give me away!" Yu Xiaoke blinked, then suddenly her head lolled to one side and she "collapsed" on the ground once more.

Since Yu Xiaoke had said as much, it was not for Wei Zhao to try and revive her. And just then Qiu Lingshan came over, guiding the medics as they ran toward them carrying a stretcher. Wei Zhao rose and stepped aside.

Qiu Lingshan helped the medics lift Yu Xiaoke and Black Bird Bro onto the stretchers and set off toward the ambulance. By now the members of the thief gang had mostly been rounded up; even those not yet caught did not dare to move rashly — with armed ** stationed to the front and to the rear, there was no escape even if they wished to run, so they might as well wait here obediently for the police to deal with them.

"So you've thrown in with them?" Seeing that Wei Zhao had followed along, Qiu Lingshan asked in a low voice.

Wei Zhao glanced at Qiu Lingshan and offered no explanation. These things were rather complicated to explain — he would have to start from the beggar he had met before — and Wei Zhao could not be bothered to go into it with her in detail.

Qiu Lingshan felt a little wronged, and then a little worried. Was Wei Zhao annoyed with her for poking her nose in? For asking so many questions?

Well, of course — she was the one who needed Wei Zhao's help now. Almost every case she cracked depended on him, and she still asked so many questions. What if Wei Zhao grew tired of her?

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