Yang Jian called Ma Yuan early the next morning, having decided to have him replace Old Ma.
He then went to the window to check the street below. Seeing nothing unusual, Yang Jian began his morning ablutions, a ritual he performed before leaving each day to guard against potential threats at their doorstep.
Before heading downstairs, he observed both ends of the alley from the window for three minutes before they descended.
“Wow, a Wuyang motorcycle! Yang Ge, you actually got such a nice ride! Can I ride it?”
Ma Yuan hadn't noticed the vehicle parked in the courtyard when he returned last night. Now, he discovered that their commute vehicle was a Wuyang motorcycle. Young people love cars and seize any opportunity to experience them.
“Put on your helmet. Do you know how to ride it?”
Yang Jian glanced at Ma Yuan’s slight build, concerned he might not be able to handle such a heavy motorcycle.
“Of course! I used to ride the barbecue shop owner’s bike all the time to buy groceries. Don’t worry, my skills are top-notch, not much different from a race car driver.”
Ma Yuan put on his helmet, grabbed the bike key, and swung his leg over the motorcycle.
Yang Jian had no choice but to open the courtyard gate and first check both ends of the alley before signaling Ma Yuan to ride out.
Thirty meters to the right from this alley was a direct road to the fruit market, a four-lane road with no median. The two rode their motorcycle onto the road again.
Yang Jian, sitting behind, glanced to his left rear as they turned and noticed two black cars parked by the roadside. He didn’t pay much attention.
It was only 5:30 AM. The sky was bright, but there weren’t many cars on the road. Before the motorcycle had traveled fifty meters, the two cars started up and followed them.
Influenced by Yang Jian, Ma Yuan’s vigilance was also high. He quickly spotted the two abnormal cars in the rearview mirror.
“Yang Ge, we might be targeted. Hold on tight.”
Because he was wearing a helmet, Ma Yuan’s voice was loud. Yang Jian could barely hear him. He turned his head and saw the two cars approaching side-by-side. They were trying to cause an accident! Yang Jian patted Ma Yuan’s back, and Ma Yuan quickly accelerated, the motorcycle going from sixty to one hundred kilometers per hour, creating a fifty-meter gap with the cars behind.
“Watch out ahead.”
Yang Jian was taller than Ma Yuan and could see ahead while holding onto his waist. A hundred meters ahead, two cars were also driving side-by-side, and he sensed something was wrong.
Ma Yuan reacted quickly, understanding this was a pincer movement. If they couldn’t break through, they would lose their lives on this road today.
He leaned his body to the left, swerved the motorcycle into the oncoming lane, and accelerated to one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour.
Unexpectedly, the other side was prepared. Two more cars rushed towards them from the opposite direction.
“Be careful.”
Yang Jian’s heart leaped into his throat. These people were trying to kill him!
“Yang Ge, hold me tight.”
Seeing the cars approaching, Ma Yuan couldn’t slow down in time. Instead, he twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot forward like an arrow, diagonally across the front of the two cars and onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing the leftmost car by ten centimeters.
The front wheel of the motorcycle hit the curb, about ten centimeters high, and the entire vehicle became airborne.
Ma Yuan indeed had some skills. In mid-air, he twisted his body, turning the handlebars to the right. The motorcycle straightened out on the sidewalk and shot forward as soon as it landed.
There were people jogging on the sidewalk, so Ma Yuan had to honk continuously, daring not to slow down because the danger wasn't over. The four cars on the right side of the road were still running parallel to him, also exceeding one hundred kilometers per hour, clearly not intending to let them go easily.
“Xiao Ma, turn left, into the alley.”
Yang Jian saw an exit to a commercial street about a hundred meters ahead, leading to the road. Fearing Ma Yuan couldn’t hear him, he pointed to the left with his hand.
Ma Yuan immediately slowed down and quickly turned at the intersection, then accelerated again. The pursuing cars, unable to turn in time, were left far behind.
After turning through two streets and confirming no one was following, Ma Yuan found two secluded spots to park the motorcycle.
“Yang Ge, that was a close call today. These guys actually used six cars to go after us. That’s quite a big operation.”
Ma Yuan took off his helmet and patted his chest repeatedly, looking quite shaken.
Yang Jian also felt a lingering fear. “It’s a good thing you were driving today. Your skills are really good. If I had been driving, I think both of us would have been hit and killed. These people are too ruthless; they’re determined to kill us.”
“What should we do, Yang Ge? It’s all my fault for dragging you into this. Are we still going to work today?”
“Work? What work! If they’re plotting to intercept us like this, the road to the fruit market is also dangerous, and the delivery route won’t be safe either. I’ll call the boss’s wife and ask for a couple of days off.”
Yang Jian felt it was necessary to seriously consider how to proceed. He had already been chased twice. Although the targets might have been Old Ma and his son, he was now entangled in this conflict. Having injured three of their men, he had become a target himself.
He couldn’t live like this, constantly being stalked and hunted. Not only would he be living in fear every day, but he might also lose his life.
There were only two paths now: one was to relocate, to leave this place of trouble. But finding another place that didn’t require him to handle the lease himself would be difficult, and finding work that didn’t require an ID would be even harder, unless he went back to doing manual labor.
The second was to take down these persistent thugs. He had tolerated the first chase because it was aimed at Old Ma, but this time, it was clearly an attempt to kill him, which ignited Yang Jian’s strong desire for revenge.
“Xiao Ma, can you find out the background of these people?”
After calling the boss’s wife to take leave, Yang Jian decided to first understand the situation of the other party. Without resolving this, they couldn’t stay in this place.
“They should be from the Yu Nan Gang. I only know that the boss in Liuqiao Village and the bus station area is named Cheng Guang. The owner of that small shop is his subordinate, and the bookie is also his man. But I haven’t met Cheng Guang. My good buddies know the specifics. Yang Ge, what are your plans?”
“Contact your buddies. I want to meet them.”
“Okay, I lost my phone. Let’s just go to where they live. But they probably haven’t woken up yet.”
Ma Yuan didn’t know Yang Jian’s intentions but wanted to meet his friends. They had helped him with the stabbing incident last time, so he should thank them in person.
“Let’s go after breakfast.”
Yang Jian checked the time. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet, which was indeed too early. It wouldn’t be good to disturb them at this hour.
The two found a breakfast stall, ate two baskets of steamed buns and two bowls of eight-treasure porridge, and then bought a newspaper to read.
By eight o’clock, Ma Yuan took Yang Jian to a rather large billiard hall. It hadn’t opened for business yet, but someone was already cleaning.
Ma Yuan’s friends were all inside. Yang Jian had seen them at the hospital.