Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Heartbroken Flight

Chen Cao looked at the little girl before him and blinked in mild surprise. The girl grew anxious at once, drew back the slip of paper she had just offered, and pouted, “What, you don’t want it? Your friend said you’d give me a coin, and not just any coin—a Great Chen coin!”

Chen Cao smiled faintly at her. “What if I don’t need that note? Or if I simply don’t want it at all?”

The girl gave a sly smile. Her wide, innocent eyes flicked toward the soldiers patrolling the street before she said, “Then I’ll tell them you’re trying to disturb public order, or that you harassed me!”

“All right. Deal.” Fear showed on Chen Cao’s face; at least for now, he had no intention of tangling with the army of Husum.

“Mm-hm. Now it’s two coins!” The girl wore a satisfied look, clearly pleased by the fear on Chen Cao’s face.

Chen Cao took out two coins and handed them over. Without further explanation, he picked up the note, turned, and disappeared into the crowd.

The girl tossed the two Great Chen coins in her palm. Those two coins were enough to keep her and her family alive for a whole day. Satisfied, she watched Chen Cao’s departing back and curled her lips in scorn. “Fool.”

Chen Cao merely glanced over the slip in his hand before crumpling it with a squeeze. Under the pressure in his palm, the paper instantly turned to powder. His hard, resolute features tightened little by little, and he looked around at the ramshackle neighborhood of wooden homes built from planks and beams. In a flash, he vanished within that poor district of timber.

A hundred meters away, atop a wooden watchtower, the Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes held a pair of binoculars in his carefully manicured fingers and watched everything unfold.

“That brat got away?” said the Child-Tormenting Maniac, stroking the bristles on his face.

The Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes lowered the binoculars against his chest and, with lips painted in bright lipstick, said, “He won’t run. The one he wants is still in my hands. I know people like the soldiers of Great Chen very well—feelings always come first with them. Besides, he can’t possibly not come looking for revenge.”

The Child-Tormenting Maniac said coldly, “Hmph. Even now he hasn’t noticed us. We still have to remind him ourselves. I have to say, he’s just another parasite.”

The Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes pondered for a moment, then said, “Whatever the case, the task assigned to me by Number One today is to remove one of his kidneys. You only need to take him down; I’ll handle the rest. Don’t kill him outright later.”

The Child-Tormenting Maniac grinned wickedly. “Relax. That won’t be a problem.”

Though it was noon, the small wooden house reeked of mold and steam beneath the blazing sun, the stench making one’s stomach turn. Light filtered through the gaps in the boards, giving the dim room a faint sheen. In one corner, Meimei had already been dressed and laid flat on a makeshift wooden bed. Beside her stood a simple IV frame, the fluid in the hanging bottle slowly entering her body through a thin tube.

The Six-Winged Queen leaned against a corner of the room, chewing on a chicken leg in broad bites. Her mouth, once faintly feminine, was already smeared with blood. On closer inspection, the chicken leg was raw. Her large eyes were fixed on Meimei lying on the boards. The note had been written by her, and it had been made very clear: if Chen Cao did not appear within thirty minutes, she would begin by eating one of Meimei’s arms, then the other, then her organs, until nothing remained but a skeleton.

From years of fighting the Great Chen army, she was certain this special forces soldier would come to rescue the girl. When that happened, she would follow Number One’s instructions, take one of his kidneys, and a week later remove his gallbladder, tormenting him slowly to death to avenge her brother.

At that moment, the earpiece crackled, and the voice of the Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes came through: “That kid is very cunning. We lost the target. It’s very possible he’s headed your way according to the note. We’re rushing over now. Be careful!”

“Hmph. You two even lost him? Don’t worry, I’m perfectly safe here,” the Six-Winged Queen replied coldly. Then she drew out the sharp blade wrapped in cloth, steadied her breathing, and waited for the prey to appear. She knew he would definitely come.

Then there was a sudden noise at the window. With a creak, it slowly swung open, and sunlight began to spill in through the widening gap.

“You think you can trick me? Not so easy!” The Six-Winged Queen immediately turned, flung open the door, and was met by scorching sunlight and searing heat. Her eyes blinked slightly, unaccustomed to the glare. “Come out, little cat. Let me taste you!” She charged out the door.

But outside, apart from the burning sun and a row of broken wooden shacks, there was nothing but silence.

“Not good!” The Six-Winged Queen whirled back inside, only to find Meimei gone from the board bed. The IV bottle and its stand still stood there, and the window had been opened. Clearly Chen Cao had gone out that way.

“Bastard, I’m going to kill you, you bastard!” She stamped in fury. In a brief exchange, Chen Cao had already seized the initiative.

Chen Cao raced away with Meimei on his back. From that short clash alone, he had sensed that the three strange people were no easy opponents. If he fought them, he would gain nothing. Revenge could wait. Meimei’s life, however, could not. Right now, the most important thing was to find the nearest hospital and get her treated. So the best solution was to keep running.

He ran under the blazing sun for dozens of kilometers. Panting hard, he finally set Meimei down beside a large rock. It was the hottest part of the day, and even he felt as if his throat were about to catch fire. Checking her condition, he saw that the IV had already finished, and under the furnace-like heat her lips had dried from lack of water. There was no color left in her face; pale as death, she looked almost like a corpse.

“Meimei, you have to hold on. I’ll take you away from here and find the best doctor for you.” Chen Cao brushed the hair from her forehead and spoke to the unconscious girl with aching tenderness. Then he gathered branches from nearby and twisted them into a long cord, binding Meimei to his body. He had to quicken his pace. Otherwise, she might not be able to hold on much longer.

But where was the best hospital? Looking at the barren land around him, he knew that although Husum had seen some development in recent years, it still had not escaped poverty. Urbanization was barely visible. Once they left the little town of Sori, he had run for dozens of kilometers, yet still there was no village in sight, not even a river. Survival in the wild was nothing to a special forces soldier like Chen Cao, but for a girl like Meimei, who already had one foot in the grave, who knew whether she could make it to a hospital.

A night had already passed. Chen Cao had not rested. He dared not take the main roads; he knew the enemy would come after him. He could only take the hardest mountain paths, then use a shortcut to reach the place where Meimei could be treated: Ray, the political and cultural center of Husum.

He had gone a day and a night without food. In this barren country and its impoverished mountains and forests, there was nothing to find. Chen Cao felt as though even his feet no longer obeyed him.

As he trudged through the hill country with difficulty, he suddenly noticed a white figure on the narrow path, slowly making its way toward him. When he finally made out who it was, his eyes lit up.

What caught his eye first was not the little girl, but the iron water flask hanging in her hand. Water—its value to someone desperate for it was beyond measure.

When the girl saw Meimei, badly wounded and slung on his back, fear crept into her expression.

Chen Cao did not answer. He lunged forward in a single stride, snatched the water flask from her hand, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Then he gently set Meimei down, poured water from the flask onto the cap, and fed it little by little into Meimei’s mouth.

But Meimei’s lips remained tightly shut, and most of the water still dripped onto her clothes. Chen Cao felt his heart seize. It was all his fault—his carelessness had harmed the girl before him.

He poured out more water from the flask, feeding her as he said, “Meimei, you have to hold on. It’s all Chen Cao’s fault. Big brother will never leave you again, all right? Didn’t you want to go to school? I’ve already arranged it. When you’re better, you can go to the best university. You must hold on!”

Meimei’s lips were still closed, and again most of the water spilled onto her clothes.

Chen Cao felt his eyes grow damp. He poured another capful and brought it to the unconscious girl’s mouth. He knew she had already lost the support of the glucose drip; if she did not get water soon, she might go into shock at any moment.

“Meimei, don’t worry. Big brother will avenge you. You can’t give up. I’ll make sure you see your enemy die before your eyes!” As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Meimei’s lips, still in a coma, slowly part.

After feeding Meimei two full cups of water, Chen Cao looked at the little girl standing there, helpless and wide-eyed. When Chen Cao glared at her, she wanted to run, but she could not bear to part with the water flask in his hand. In water-scarce Husum, this battered old flask was worth quite a lot. If she lost it, her father would surely beat her to death when she got home.

Just as the girl’s eyes darted about uneasily, Chen Cao turned back. Her whole body jerked, and a bad feeling surged through her. Yet Chen Cao’s gaze had already fallen on the small pouch hanging at her slender waist, and his eyes were filled with hungry urgency.

“D-don’t come any closer!” the girl cried, hugging herself as she backed away step by step. She wanted to run, but under Chen Cao’s stare she had no strength left.

Chen Cao reached behind himself, drew out a bright red banknote, and said coldly in the language of Husum, “This is for you. Give me the bag at your waist.”

“What!” The girl stared at the bill in his hand. It was a one-hundred-unit note, the largest denomination of Great Chen currency. Without hesitation, she unfastened the cloth pouch at her waist. Inside was today’s food, a flat cake of bread. Compared with a one-hundred-unit Great Chen note, that flatcake was nothing. It was already half a year’s living expenses for their family.

Chen Cao wasted no more words. He dropped the banknote, took the pouch and the flask, and moved on. Now he had to quicken his pace. He had replenished his strength and, at last, was nearing Ray.

“The Six-Winged Queen, Number One is very displeased. He said that if the mission is not completed within three days, our qualification to take part in the game will be revoked.”

On the narrow path, under the slanting light of dusk, the three of them walked forward with cold expressions as the Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes spoke.

The Six-Winged Queen said icily, “What’s the rush? Tell Number One not to worry. I’ll not only take down that special forces soldier within three days, I’ll also find the thing Number One wants.”

“Let’s hope so. We don’t have much time left,” said the Evil Lord with Phoenix Eyes, looking toward the endless path ahead. “That clue should be in Ray, right?”

The Flame Emperor 88_The Flame Emperor Full Text Free Reading_Chapter 88 Heartbroken Escape, update complete!