Su Han hastily grabbed her coat and draped it over herself before jumping out of bed to turn on the light.
The bright light flooded the room, exposing everyone in it.
Gasping for breath, Su Han saw the man who had just assaulted her clearly, a rugged fellow with rough features. His dark skin, robust physique, and unattractive appearance betrayed his local origins.
Meanwhile, the man holding a gun to the back of the assailant's head had a darker complexion, a crew cut, and a handsome yet stern countenance. Clad in a sleek black jacket, his long, powerful legs exuded authority.
It was Gu Jinyao.
Quickly fastening her coat and tidying her disheveled hair, Su Han regained her composure before speaking, "Mr. Gu, what brings you here?"
"I came to meet a client," Gu Jinyao replied in a calm tone. He then turned to the assailant and pressed the gun against his temple, demanding, "What's your name?"
The man, trembling slightly, stammered in a thick local dialect, "Ni... Ni Mang."
"Who sent you?" Gu Jinyao pressed the gun harder against his temple, leaving a deep indentation.
Ni Mang stuttered, "No... no one... I came by myself."
"Tell the truth, or I'll put a bullet through your head!" Gu Jinyao's voice turned menacing.
Ni Mang, on the verge of tears, pleaded, "Truly, no one sent me. When I was digging in the tomb during the day, I saw her and couldn't resist sneaking over at night."
With a growing sense of severity, Gu Jinyao suddenly kicked Ni Mang to the ground and proceeded to deliver a brutal blow to his groin.
The sound of footsteps outside the door interrupted the tense atmosphere.
One of the bodyguards, who had gone to sleep on rotation, hurriedly dressed and rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing the scene inside the room, he was taken aback and approached cautiously, asking, "Madam, are you alright?"
Su Han shook her head, and the bodyguard continued to apologize profusely, "I felt drowsy and went downstairs to buy cigarettes. Next thing I knew, this scoundrel took advantage of the opportunity. Luckily, nothing happened to you. If anything had, Mr. Gu would have surely..."
Before he could finish, he received a resounding slap from Gu Jinyao.
The bodyguard, stunned, felt his face swell up from the blow.
Gu Jinyao's posture remained upright, his expression stern as he rebuked, "Don't make excuses for your negligence! If I hadn't coincidentally arrived, do you understand the consequences? If any harm befell her, your lives wouldn't suffice as compensation!"
The bodyguard, clutching his face, dared not utter a word.
Su Han gazed at Gu Jinyao's resolute and handsome face, feeling an indescribable sense of gratitude. Despite their limited interactions, he showed remarkable concern for her well-being.
Recalling his previous words of encouragement – "You're even more intelligent than I imagined. You'll become famous in the future." – Su Han speculated that perhaps he valued talent highly, much like the seasoned experts at the museum who had taken a special interest in her.
Alternatively, it could be attributed to his strong sense of justice.
However, she refrained from presuming that he held any romantic feelings towards her.
Another bodyguard, alerted by the disturbance, hastily dressed and rushed over.
Upon seeing the situation, he turned pale with shock.
Before Gu Jinyao could act, the bodyguard preemptively slapped himself twice.
Gu Jinyao's forceful blow had left his colleague's face swollen and reddened.
Grabbing Ni Mang by the collar, Gu Jinyao escorted him out of the room, saying, "Let's go, we're heading to the police station."
He intended to interrogate Ni Mang to determine if he had been acting under someone else's orders.
Given the importance of the ancient silk painting in the room, Su Han arranged for an archaeologist to guard the premises.
The group hastily drove to the local police station.
Pushing Ni Mang into the main hall, Gu Jinyao addressed the duty officer with a steely gaze, "Check if this guy has a criminal record."
Ni Mang was a local resident, known to many in the small village.
Seeing the police officer, Ni Mang grew less apprehensive.
Filing a complaint, he pointed at Gu Jinyao and said, "Officer, this man is carrying a gun, which is illegal."
The officer turned to Gu Jinyao and demanded, "Hand over the gun."
Gu Jinyao, indifferent, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small document, flashing it in front of them. "I have a gun license."
"Where did you get this gun license?" The officer, skeptical, took it and examined it closely, noting that it was in English.
After a brief translation, it was revealed to be a gun license issued by a foreign special forces unit.
Examining it repeatedly, the officer hesitantly asked, "Is this license genuine?"
Gu Jinyao replied calmly, "There's a code on it for verification."
Leaving a colleague to keep watch, the officer went to the adjacent records room to check. Upon returning, he handed the license back to Gu Jinyao without further comment.
Unfamiliar with the standing of foreign special forces, the officer refrained from further questioning.
Aware only of their elevated status domestically, surpassing even that of criminal investigators, he dared not provoke them.
With renewed diligence, the officer began interrogating Ni Mang, recording his statement and investigating his criminal history.
Ni Mang indeed had a criminal record and was a habitual offender.
Several years ago, he had been arrested for rape and sentenced to three years in prison.
He was released only two years ago, and tonight he had repeated his offense.
Gu Jinyao sought to determine if he had been acting on someone else's orders.
However, Ni Mang stubbornly insisted that he had acted solely out of lust.
After a moment of silence, Gu Jinyao turned to Su Han and said, "Stay here for now. I'll question him. If there's someone behind him, it won't be safe for you to remain here."
Grateful, Su Han nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, especially in the dead of night, interrupting your rest."
Gu Jinyao silently gazed at her pale face, his lips curving slightly. Softening his resolute tone, he spoke gently, "It's no trouble."
With that, he turned and, resuming his stern demeanor, seized Ni Mang's collar, dragging him into the interrogation room.
Once inside, Gu Jinyao instructed the officer, "Let's begin."
The officer handcuffed Ni Mang, securing his hands to the chair, and sat opposite him, commencing the standard interrogation.
Meanwhile, Gu Jinyao lit a cigarette, stood by casually, and listened to the officer's meticulous questioning.
After five minutes, he grew impatient with the officer's verbosity.
Pulling him aside, Gu Jinyao ordered, "Turn off the surveillance."
The officer felt his authority being challenged, becoming slightly annoyed.
However, mindful of Gu Jinyao's background in the foreign special forces, he suppressed his irritation and said, "It
's not permitted to use coercion to extract confessions."
Grinding his teeth, Gu Jinyao retorted, "Turn it off."
His intimidating aura left the officer hesitant.
After a brief moment, the officer reluctantly ordered the surveillance to be turned off.
With the surveillance disabled, Gu Jinyao grabbed Ni Mang's head and slammed it against the wall with a loud thud.
Ni Mang's head collided with the solid surface, his brow bone fracturing instantly, blood streaming down his face, eliciting a grimace of pain.