Seeing the old man reappear, I became extremely agitated and mustered all my strength to shout, "Catch him!"
"What?" Zhang Yihan exclaimed, releasing me and following my gaze. But just as she turned her head, the limping old man vanished into the mist again. He turned back and gave me a sinister smile before disappearing.
Zhang Yihan looked at me blankly, "Xiao Lin, don't worry. Don't talk nonsense. I will carry you back."
Clearly, she didn't see the old man and thought I was hallucinating. I knew it was pointless to say anything more, and I didn't trust Zhang Yihan to chase after him alone. Let him go!
Zhang Yihan stood up and tried to help me again, but just as she lifted me, we both fell.
Earlier, whenever I carried her and fell, I landed on her. Now, with her trying to carry me, she fell on me each time.
After several attempts, already dizzy, I finally blacked out completely.
I think I was knocked out by her repeated falls.
When I woke up again, I was lying on a stretcher.
An IV was inserted into the back of my left hand, and a policeman was holding the IV bottle for me. There were many people around, including police officers and a few familiar faces, such as Captain Liu from the Criminal Investigation Team.
"Officer Zhang, he's awake," Captain Liu shouted as soon as he saw me open my eyes.
As soon as he spoke, I heard an anxious cry, "Xiao Lin..."
Before I could react, Zhang Yihan squeezed through the crowd and knelt by my side, looking at me with concern.
Seeing her so worried about me, half my anger dissipated.
"Senior, where are we?" I asked, noticing the darkness around us and the trees in the distance, thinking we were still in the mountains.
"This is the foot of Lotus Village. Thankfully, a villager heard someone shouting for help from the mountain. They didn't dare to go up, so they called the police," Zhang Yihan said excitedly.
Hearing this, I realized my earlier shouts for help hadn't been in vain.
"How are Old Ge and Captain Zhao?" I asked.
Just then, a thunderous roar erupted nearby, more like a beast's howl than a human scream.
Captain Liu's face turned pale, "Quick, everyone, hold him down!"
Captain Liu and the others rushed over.
"What's going on?" I sat up on the stretcher.
"Stay here, I'll check," Zhang Yihan said, rushing away. I quickly pulled out the IV needle and followed.
When I arrived, I saw over ten policemen and armed officers pinning down Old Ge.
Old Ge was just like before, his face covered in blood, struggling fiercely and howling with a mouthful of blood, making my heart ache.
"Old Ge, Uncle Ge, can you hear me? It's Xiao Zhang. Please stop, you're making me feel terrible..." Zhang Yihan knelt by Old Ge, tears in her eyes.
"Ah..." Old Ge continued to howl, ignoring Zhang Yihan's words.
Suddenly, I heard a weak voice from Old Ge's mouth, almost inaudible: "@#￥%&... ah... @#￥%&... ah..."
His voice was intermittent, mixed with his howls, and seemed to come from deep in his throat, barely discernible.
But I vaguely made out that he was saying: Go to the cave and save Zhao Xiaotian.
I hurried to Old Ge and shouted, "Old Ge, are you asking us to go to the cave and save Zhao Xiaotian?"
"Ah..." Old Ge roared at me, then his mouth moved again. It seemed like he wasn't making a sound, but I clearly heard him say: "Go, to, the, cave, save, Zhao, Xiaotian..."
"Captain Liu, the tranquilizer gun is here!" A policeman rushed over with a tranquilizer gun.
"Give it to me," Captain Liu said, taking the gun and shooting Old Ge in the neck. Soon, Old Ge quieted down and fell unconscious.
"Quick, get him to the hospital to treat his wounds," Zhang Yihan ordered.
"Clear the scene, let's go!" Captain Liu shouted.
But just as he said this, I stopped him, "Captain Liu, we can't leave yet!"
"Why not?" Captain Liu and Zhang Yihan both looked at me, puzzled.
"Zhao Xiaotian is still in the mountain. We need to save him now!" I said firmly.
"What?" Zhang Yihan exclaimed, "Xiao Lin, are you crazy? Even if we need to save him, it's not safe to go now. Besides, we don't even know if he's in the mountain."
"He is!" I said decisively.
"How do you know?" Zhang Yihan asked.
"Old Ge said so," I replied.
"Old Ge?" Captain Liu and Zhang Yihan were stunned.
"We didn't hear anything," Captain Liu said, shocked.
"Xiao Lin, did you really hear that?" Zhang Yihan asked, knowing my ears could hear what others couldn't, so she quickly believed me.
"Yes, he said we must go to the cave to save Zhao Xiaotian," I nodded gravely, understanding the implications of going into the mountain at this time.
"Captain Liu and I were closest to Old Ge. We didn't hear anything. How did you?" Captain Liu still didn't believe me.
"Captain Liu, no more talk. Send people into the mountain now. I know the way, I'll lead you. Any delay might be too late," I urged.
"No!" Captain Liu refused decisively. "It's too late and dangerous to go into the mountain now. You know the conditions. I can't risk my men's lives. Besides, we're not sure if Zhao Xiaotian is really in there."
"Captain Liu..." I interrupted him, "I can be sure Zhao Xiaotian is in there."
"How can you be sure?" Captain Liu's tone became harsh.
"My ears!" Zhang Yihan spoke up, "He can hear things others can't."
"Nonsense!" Captain Liu clearly didn't believe her.
"Captain Liu!" I shouted, "I can call our unit chief to prove it."
"Fine, call him. If he confirms your hearing, I'll request permission to go in," Captain Liu finally relented.
I borrowed his phone and called our unit chief, explaining the situation. Despite the late hour, he assured Captain Liu over the phone and said he would coordinate with the provincial police for support.
After some back-and-forth, Captain Liu received a call confirming the need to wait for a special police team in the morning. I knew waiting might mean finding only Zhao Xiaotian's body.
I argued fiercely, but our unit chief's order was final. Frustrated, I shouted into the phone, "Do you care about your subordinates' lives? If not, why are you a leader?"
"Do you want to keep your job, Lin Mingjun?" my chief roared back.
"Damn the job!" I shouted back, "I refuse to work under leaders who don't care about their team."
I hung up the phone, drained of energy, but noticed the admiring looks from Zhang Yihan, Captain Liu, and the others.
"Let's go," Captain Liu said, leading his men away. Old Ge and Zhao Mingzhu were taken, leaving only Zhang Yihan and me.
"Xiao Lin, let's go back," Zhang Yihan urged softly, her tone gentle for the first time.
"Senior, you go with them. I'm going into the mountain to save Zhao Xiaotian," I said, turning to follow Captain Liu.
I asked him for a set of gear, determined to go in alone if necessary. He hesitated but eventually agreed, handing me a backpack.
"Xiao Lin, are you crazy?" Zhang Yihan grabbed my arm.
"Senior, remember when Zhao Xiaotian saved us from being buried alive? He saved our lives. Now, he's in danger. If we don't help, we don't deserve to call ourselves his teammates. Even if I don't make it back, at least I'll repay my debt to him," I said seriously.
Zhang Yihan was stunned, looking at me with a new light in her eyes.
Ignoring her, I turned to Captain Liu, who handed me a backpack and said, "I'm sorry I can't bring my team, but I'll go with you. I admire your courage, kid. Let's do this."
We set off, determined to find and save Zhao Xiaotian, no matter the cost.