Mobius was about to act when he saw Xia Qingtian next to him had already rushed out.
"Stay away from her!" Xia Qingtian grabbed the wooden stick she had picked up while hiding and swung it at Song Qi.
Song Qi dodged too late, and his shoulder was struck hard. He gasped in pain.
The wooden stick immediately broke. Xia Qingtian threw the thing in her hand, grabbed Xiao Ni, and turned to run.
Song Qi lunged forward and grabbed Xiao Ni's ankle.
"It hurts!" Xiao Ni couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"Let go of her!" Xia Qingtian pulled Xiao Ni, and in her panic, kicked Song Qi in the head. Song Qi, in pain, finally let go.
Xia Qingtian pulled Xiao Ni's hand and ran down the mountain.
Seeing this, Song Qi took out a gun and aimed it at Xia Qingtian's back. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a foot kicked his wrist from the side.
A loud gunshot echoed in the night. The muzzle flash lasted for a moment, and the bullet deviated from its original trajectory, disappearing into the deeper darkness.
Hearing the gunshot, Xia Qingtian's feet slipped. She instinctively shielded Xiao Ni in her arms, and the two rolled down the slope, getting stuck by a large tree. Xia Qingtian's lower back hit the tree trunk, and she gasped in pain. Her body instinctively pushed back, and the back of her head hit a rock with a dull thud. Before she could even cry out in pain, she lost consciousness.
Mobius heavily struck Song Qi's wrist, and as Song Qi's strength gave out, he successfully snatched his gun.
Seeing his gun snatched away, Song Qi violently pushed Mobius away and ran towards his courtyard at full speed.
His flower room!
Those flowers were his life's work. He absolutely could not let anything happen to them!
At this moment, the sound of police sirens came from the foot of the mountain, followed by a large number of police officers rushing up Shenshan.
Song Qi locked the door of the flower room from the inside and carefully placed the brightly colored flowers that were about to be transplanted into a silver briefcase. He then went out the back door of the flower room and started running.
He also knew another way down the mountain!
As long as he could escape, everything was still possible!
He would succeed, he would definitely be recognized, he would no longer be that child no one ever chose from the orphanage...
Pushing aside the waist-high grass in front of him, Song Qi's eyes lit up. They were almost there, just past this slope and he would arrive...
*Whoosh*
The silencer-equipped gun flashed in the night.
In an instant, the bullet pierced directly through Song Qi's head.
A man in black leather shoes emerged from the shadows, picked up the silver briefcase that had fallen from Song Qi's hand, and tapped the receiver in his ear with one hand: "Target eliminated, experimental data recovered."
"Leave the body to the police. You retreat."
"Yes." The man strode away and disappeared into the night.
Mobius, who arrived a moment later, looked at Song Qi lying on the ground, his gaze shifting slightly.
...
When Xia Qingtian woke up, the whole world felt blurry. The sounds were loud but seemed to be coming through water, making it difficult for her to hear clearly.
Someone tried to snatch Xiao Ni from her arms. Xia Qingtian held on tightly, refusing to let go, as if someone was yelling at her.
Then, a pair of hands cupped her face, looked directly into her eyes, and said something to her.
She couldn't see the person clearly, but she instinctively felt that she could trust this person.
"Qingtian! Qingtian, can you hear me!" Mobius asked nervously, cupping Xia Qingtian's face.
Only then did Xia Qingtian feel the world in front of her gradually become clear, and the sounds she heard became clearer.
"Mobius?" Xia Qingtian recognized the person in front of her.
"It's me!" Seeing that Xia Qingtian recognized him, Mobius breathed a sigh of relief. "It's all over! Let go first, hand Xiao Ni over to the police. There's an ambulance at the foot of the mountain, and you should go to the hospital for a check-up."
"It's all over?" Xia Qingtian looked at Mobius.
"Yes, it's all over," Mobius nodded affirmatively.
Hearing Mobius say this, Xia Qingtian closed her eyes and fainted again.
When Xia Qingtian woke up again, it was already broad daylight.
The moment she opened her eyes, Xia Qingtian met a pair of anxious eyes. "Dad?"
"Qingtian! Qingtian, you're awake!" Xia Father finally felt the weight lifted from his heart.
"Does anything hurt? Should I call a doctor?" Aunt Liu, next to Xia Father, asked nervously.
"Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you want some water?" Xia Qingyu stood on the other side of the hospital bed, also looking worried.
"I'm fine." Xia Qingtian moved slightly. Her waist was a bit sore, and her head felt fuzzy, but otherwise, she was okay.
"You child, really..." Xia Father said, "The Xia family's project had problems, and you didn't tell me. Why did you go and play the hero? You don't know your own limits! And you..."
"Dad... it hurts..." Xia Qingtian was quick to admit defeat when necessary.
"The child just woke up, say less," Aunt Liu nudged Xia Father with her elbow.
Seeing this, Xia Father couldn't bear to continue speaking and only muttered, "If it weren't for Mr. Gu reporting the police in advance and guiding the way, timely stopping the villain's atrocities on the mountain, I think you would have had to go yell your pain to Hades!"
"Xiao Ni!" Xia Qingtian finally recalled everything. "How is Xiao Ni?!"
"That little girl is fine, just has some scratches," Aunt Liu said, holding Xia Qingtian's hand with concern. "You should worry about yourself."
"Xiao Ni's father..." Xia Qingtian remembered the scene she had witnessed and felt a pang of sadness. Xiao Ni was still so young...
"He was also rescued by the police," Xia Father then told her what happened after Xia Qingtian fainted last night.
Xiao Ni's father was hit hard on the back of the head and pushed down the mountain, getting caught on a tree. Because he was rescued in time, his life was saved, but he was seriously injured and would likely need to stay in the hospital for a while.
Song Qi and the old Daoist priest were both dead.
The old Daoist priest died of sudden heart failure, the same symptom as the previous two deceased.
Song Qi died from a gunshot. The bullet was found at the scene, but the shooter was not found.
Mr. Gu's people were cooperating with the police in handling the aftermath.
Because this involved the Xia family's important annual project, and Xia Qingtian was also injured, the matter was reported to Xia Father.
Xia Father and the other two were picked up by a car sent by Mr. Gu to the Xia family early that morning. By now, Xia Qingtian had completed her examination and bandaging. She looked less disheveled, just a little weak.
"You owe Mr. Gu another favor this time," Xia Father said. "Be sure to thank him properly later."
"What about Mobius?" Xia Qingtian asked. "Mr. Gu's special assistant."
"Assistant Lin?" Xia Father thought of the person who often accompanied Mr. Gu. "He's still at the police station cooperating with the police for further investigation. He probably hasn't left the police station since last night."
"Is that so..." Xia Qingtian thought about Mobius following her up and down the mountain yesterday, encountering such a situation, and then having to work at the police station from last night until now, feeling a little sympathetic.
When she had money and started her own company, she would definitely poach Mobius and offer him a huge salary!