Chapter 93: The Road of Exile, Part 35
He Su had a gentle, unhurried way about him in everyday life, but when it came to treating wounds, he was remarkably deft; in stitching the injury, not a motion was wasted.
No sooner had he finished than Ye Liuyun and Lin Yuan came in, urging, “Pack up. We’re leaving right now.”
He Su put away his tools in the medical kit and could not help asking, “Where are you going?”
Shi Xianyue gave a vague explanation. “We’re taking Little Li somewhere else.”
Lin Yuan lifted Lu Li into his arms and carried her out. Ye Liuyun swiftly stripped every bloodstained towel and sheet from the room. The haste of their movements startled He Su, and he blurted, “What happened?”
Ye Liuyun looked a little embarrassed. After all, she had been the one to invite him; leaving him in the dark now felt improper.
“Doctor He, thank you for today. But this is hard to explain for the moment…” she said awkwardly. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. We’re in a hurry right now.”
“Oh…” He Su nodded blankly. “Then be careful on the road.”
Shi Xianyue followed Lin Yuan into the vehicle and asked, “Why the rush all of a sudden? Did Yu Jing catch up?”
Lin Yuan replied, “Yu Jing didn’t come, but I just saw what looked like someone outside the courtyard. To be safe, we’d better leave here as quickly as possible.”
Shi Xianyue immediately started the car, and Ye Liuyun also fired up her armored vehicle.
The two vehicles had barely left the courtyard when, at the community gate, Madam He was seen gesturing excitedly at the security guard. The moment she spotted them driving out, she became even more agitated and shrieked, “It’s them! Someone in their house has been parasitized by Huasu—!”
Ye Liuyun was shocked. “Why is Madam He here?!”
The guard, dazed by her grabbing and tugging, looked toward Ye Liuyun’s armored vehicle, hesitating over whether to stop them.
Ye Liuyun glanced at the RV trailing behind her car and knew that if they stopped now, Lu Li’s situation would likely be exposed, and Shi Xianyue would be dragged into trouble as well.
She clenched her teeth. To hell with it.
She floored the accelerator and rammed straight into the barrier arm. With a deafening crash, the bar was smashed apart.
The guard stumbled back in fright and hurriedly seized his radio to call it in.
The RV broke out of the community behind Ye Liuyun’s armored vehicle. He Su came running out after them, and when he saw Madam He there, he stared in astonishment. “Mom? Why are you here?”
“I was worried about you, so I came to check on you!” Madam He rushed up anxiously and gripped her son by the shoulders. “Are you all right? Have you been infected by Huasu? Did they force you here? Is the girl who’s been parasitized still in the house? Did she hurt you?”
He Su understood immediately.
He had moved into the dormitory during this period to escape the constant harassment and get a few quiet days, but he had never imagined that even then he would not escape his mother’s attention. His patience finally snapped. He shoved Madam He away and shouted, “There’s nothing at all! There was only an ordinary little girl in that house!”
Madam He staggered from the push, stunned.
He Su lowered his head, his hands clenched into fists. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Sometimes... I really wish I didn’t have a mother like you.”
Madam He’s eyes flew wide in disbelief as she looked at him.
Far away, in the rear window of the RV, a little girl pressed close to the glass and watched them. She kept watching until the figures of the mother and son shrank smaller and smaller in the distance... Dust rose in the air, and then the RV turned a corner and they were gone from sight.
Lu Li withdrew her gaze and looked toward Shi Xianyue and Lin Yuan ahead.
Shi Xianyue followed nervously behind Ye Liuyun’s armored vehicle, not daring to let her mind wander for even a second.
Ye Liuyun drove with wild ferocity, charging straight ahead and never yielding! The engine roared, the horn blared, and she deliberately cleared the way for the RV, forcing pedestrians to scatter in alarm.
Shi Xianyue followed in terror and asked, “What should we do? Won’t we get Ye Jie into trouble by barging out like this?”
“As long as you drive fast enough, no one can clearly see who’s behind the wheel,” Lin Yuan said calmly from the passenger seat. “If you go slower, that’ll only make trouble more likely.”
Shi Xianyue gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ll try to go even faster—buckle up!”
Lin Yuan fastened his seat belt and took out his gun, watching the roadsides warily.
After a moment, he turned and asked, “Did you speed up?”
“I did,” Shi Xianyue said, blinking. “I already sped up a lot!”
Lin Yuan was silent for two seconds, then said, “All right. Watch the road ahead and keep up with Ye Liuyun. Push through in one breath.”
Shi Xianyue’s palms were sweating with nerves. Not far ahead was the checkpoint leading out of the city—people there had clearly already received word and were waving warning signs to block the way. But Ye Liuyun ignored them and stepped straight on the gas, smashing through.
The barrier arm was sent flying.
Fortunately, it was a modified armored vehicle. If it had been Shi Xianyue’s RV that hit it, the front end would likely have been smashed into a deep crater on the spot.
The second checkpoint was a metal gate. Ye Liuyun swiped her card and went through directly. The two vehicles had barely passed out of the oasis one after the other when they heard sharp sirens sounding behind them, wailing as though they were hunting down criminals.
Shi Xianyue grew even more tense.
She had been a good girl her entire life and had never been chased by police cars before.
Up ahead, Ye Liuyun suddenly made a sharp turn and shouted out the window, “Xiaoyu! Keep going along the road! Don’t look back!”
The armored vehicle fell behind the RV, covering their retreat. Ye Liuyun leaned out the window with a gun and fired two shots at the cars in pursuit, forcing them to stop.
Shi Xianyue was so frightened she lost all sense of direction. She could only grip the steering wheel and press the accelerator as if her life depended on it, racing madly forward along the highway!
The wind, the engine’s roar, the sirens fading behind them—each sound set her nerves on edge and made her heart pound wildly.
She sped on blindly, unable to think of anything else. No one knew how much time passed before the sirens could no longer be heard behind her and a fork in the road appeared ahead. Only then did she belatedly ease off the speed and glance in the rearview mirror—
Not far behind the RV, Ye Liuyun was holding steady in pursuit.
Shi Xianyue let out a breath of relief.
Thank goodness they hadn’t been caught up to.
“Which way?” She leaned out the window and shouted to Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun made a hand signal to continue straight ahead. Then the armored vehicle once again surged to the front to lead the RV.
They continued along the highway. About an hour later, they pulled over to rest.
Ye Liuyun replenished the armored vehicle’s reserve fuel, and the overheated engine also needed a break. She took the binoculars from inside the car to survey the surroundings and determine their direction, then said to Shi Xianyue, “We’ll take a detour up ahead and avoid the area where the insect monsters are active. Hopefully we can reach Qinghe before the sun goes down.”
Shi Xianyue felt as though she had dragged her into this and asked worriedly, “What will you do when you go back? Will you be punished?”
Ye Liuyun was not like Lin Yuan. In Longyan, Lin Yuan had originally possessed nothing; at worst, he could change his identity and go to another oasis. But Ye Liuyun had a career in the Longyan Oasis, friends, and a life of her own. Once she abandoned it, everything would have to begin from zero.
“I’ll say you all took me hostage. They have no proof. At most they’ll detain me for a while and fine me a few dozen points,” Ye Liuyun said, looking toward Lu Li by the RV window. “But if they catch Little Li, then I’ll be a repeat offender for harboring a dangerous person. By then... I’m afraid it won’t be easy to handle...”