Xiao Qiang and Feifei were now somewhat far from the entrance of the public security bureau because of a blackout in their area, hence Feifei's car had to be parked at a distance.
They were conversing when, unexpectedly, a license-free golden van brushed past and stopped in front of them. As Xiao Qiang opened his mouth to speak, the sliding door of the van opened. Two men, clad in black hoods, jumped out. One of them stood next to Feifei and gruffly commanded, "Miss Hu, it's probably best if you keep still!"
Xiao Qiang was momentarily dumbstruck and before he could respond, another man had already planted himself at his side and uttered a similar warning. "Don't move! Or else we will kill you!"
Before he could figure out what was going on, Feifei, with a pale face, shook her head at him: "Do as they say, they have guns."
Guns!
Xiao Qiang quickly recalled his knowledge of this deadly weapon in his memory. He also realized that he and Feifei were in a classic kidnapping situation.
"Um, I don't know her that well..." Xiao Qiang hadn't even finished his sentence when he felt a forceful push against his body. He was then shoved into the van with Feifei. Before he could react, an unidentified black object was clasped around his neck. To his astonishment, the man brandishing it smirked ominously and switched it on. In that split second, Xiao Qiang felt a strange numbness take over his body, rendering him completely powerless.
A stun baton!
The moment this thought crossed his mind, he watched helplessly as Feifei, struggling to resist, was also subdued just like him. They were both thrown onto the back seats of the van.
The van sped off at a breakneck pace as soon as they were abducted. Before passersby could grasp the shocking scenario, the van had disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city, leaving onlookers wondering if they had just witnessed a scene from a movie.
The greatest advantage of driving a van, Xiao Qiang noted, was that it could accommodate even more people than one could imagine in a narrow compartment. Even though the shock of the stun baton had drained him of all energy, he found the opportunity to assess the situation inside the van. Apart from Feifei and himself, the rear row of the van housed three men in black hoods. Including a driver and another man in the co-pilot seat, there were a total of five men.
Were they after me?
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind then he immediately dismissed it. If the Xiao family had been behind this, they wouldn't have waited until now to strike; they could have easily attacked when he left the hospital.
"Who are you?" He wondered aloud. But before Xiao Qiang could voice his question, Feifei, barely containing her intense anxiety, beat him to it. Although she was being treated harshly due to her gender, her voice was feeble and lacked the determination it initially had.
The man wielding the stun baton signaled to Xiao Qiang before tersely replying. "So, you're Feifei, a pretty little thing. Don't blame us for being heartless; blame Qian Hu for capturing our boss. We're really curious to see if Qian Laohu dares to tackle us single-handedly for your sake."
"Qian Hu?" Xiao Qiang was slightly confused, but he spotted a change in Feifei's expression when she blurted out: "You are threatening my Uncle?!"
The man laughed grimly: "Yes, who else but your uncle - the police captain who arrested our boss. We have no choice but to nab you in retaliation."
He commanded suddenly, gesturing vaguely into the air, "Old Three, come and tie these two up."
The next thing Xiao Qiang felt was his arm being bound by a plastic rope. It felt uncomfortable, but he understood there was not much he could do when facing such ruthlessness.
Feifei was trying to protest, but just like Xiao Qiang, Old Three made sure to bind her securely. Throughout, these men were as cold-blooded as beasts, apparently oblivious to Feifei's charm and allure. This indifference sent a chill down Xiao Qiang's spine. Their only focus was Feifei's Uncle Qian Hu.
More alarming was the fact that these hoodlums dared to execute such a daring kidnapping in broad daylight. This indicated that they had nothing to lose, suggesting that they cared little for their own lives.
By the same logic, since they had no regard for their own wellbeing, it was obvious they wouldn't spare any thought for the value of Xiao Qiang's life.
He glanced at Xiao Qiang, who was biting his tongue to prevent himself from speaking, before taking off his hood to reveal a scarred, brutal face. "Stay quiet and I promise not to kill you," he said coolly.
Xiao Qiang quickly nodded in agreement, but he knew better than to trust the man's word. After years of spiritual cultivation, he had developed the ability to read people. Although his spiritual skills had majorly declined, he could still sense that the man was pondering killing him!
The only reason he was being spared was that they were in the city and it was not the right time to strike.
With this thought, Xiao Qiang couldn't help but tense up. Barely out of the hospital, he was already facing a life-and-death situation. It made him wonder which god he had offended to have brought this misfortune upon himself.
The van was whizzing along at a high speed and they were soon out of the city and approaching a desolate area. Looking through the van window, Xiao Qiang noticed that they were heading towards a range of formidable mountains. The complex landscape suggested that this place had been chosen for its strategic ease of retreat.
"Get out!"
At some point, the van had come to a halt. The man with the scar on his face barked at Xiao Qiang and Feifei.
Xiao Qiang and Feifei were both shoved out of the van. It was desolate terrain all around, and not too far away was a dense forest. The scarred-faced man pulled out Feifei's cell phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Captain Qian, it's been a while," the scarred-faced man taunted over the phone.
Because the call was on speaker, Xiao Qiang could clearly hear the shocked voice coming from the phone, "Who are you? How did Feifei's phone get into your possession!"
The scarred-faced man frigidly replied, "Captain Qian, not recognizing my voice is such a disappointment."
"Shi Bao! It's you!" Qian Hu's voice rose sharply, "Bastard! What are you trying to do?"
The man named Shi Bao let out a big laugh full of rage, "You don't have a clue what I want to do? You killed my big brother, and you have the audacity to ask me?"
He flashed a cruel smirk, "I heard you think of this girl as a daughter. How about this, if you don't show up in thirty minutes, I won't mind showing you how she turns into a human stick. How does that sound?"
A roar of intense anger came from Qian Hu on the other end and Feifei's face paled in terror. She knew that Shi Bao wasn't bluffing Qian Hu. She remembered who they were!
The Shi family, six brothers from a province in the northwest, had been robbing and killing across various provinces, then eventually leaving clues during a heist in Mingzhu that led Qian Hu to catch up with them. During the ensuing gunfight, the elder Shi brother was killed on the spot but the others miraculously escaped.
Who could have imagined they would be hiding in Mingzhu and even manage to kidnap her to threaten Uncle Qian!
"Uncle Qian, don't worry about me, they..." Feifei tried to yell, but before she could finish her sentence, the third brother next to her slapped her.
"Slap!"
With a crisp sound, Xiao Qiang distinctly saw a trickle of blood emerging from Feifei's mouth.
"Captain Qian, clearly your niece has got quite the temper. I think we can continue our discussion, don't you think?" Shi Bao smirked, continuing to antagonize Qian Hu through the phone.
Xiao Qiang didn't know what he was negotiating with Qian Hu, but after a few minutes, Shi Bao hung up the phone, walked over to him and Feifei and mockingly said, "Who would have thought, Qian Hu really cares about you, let's hope he won't be crying too much later."
While saying that, Shi Bao motioned to his brothers, "Grab the stuff, we're heading into the forest—to wait for Qian Hu to show up and meet his death." They carried a large bag of food, even a tank of liquor, clearly intending to hide out in the mountains for a while.
Feifei's face paled further. She knew Uncle Qian's character and also knew that he would come without hesitation if she got caught. By then, as Shi Bao had said, they would all be doomed.
Xiao Qiang, on the other hand, felt bitter. He hadn't done anything to provoke this, why did he have to encounter such misfortune? In the past, they were a bunch of insignificant thugs, It would have been a piece of cake to deal with them, but now his body could only open seven spirit points. If they were unarmed, he could rely on his skills to win, but these men were armed and dangerous. According to his memory, no matter how many spirit points he had opened up, there's no one below the innate stage who could withstand bullets.
"I need to find a way to escape." Xiao Qiang pondered as he walked.
As they were herded deeper into the forest, Xiao Qiang's peripheral vision caught sight of an area filled with lush vegetation. That reminded him of a certain medicinal research from his previous life, suddenly, he had an idea.
I guess it's not my time to die!
Xiao Qiang started laughing silently in his heart, casting a cold chilling gaze at Shi Bao and his brothers disappearing in the distance.
Daring to use me as a hostage? This time, I'll make you wish you were dead. I wouldn't be known as a poison doctor for nothing.
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