Chapter 78

Shao Ping got even more terrified, trembling as he said, "Y-yes, yes, there were several of them. The leader is called Ding Jinbo, it's those wanted men."
Ye Xiao snapped angrily, "I asked who that boyfriend is!"
"Huh?" Shao Ping hurriedly said, "It's Ming Ze!"
Ming Ze? Who? Ye Xiao blinked and then remembered, it was that wood-element psychic Lin Tantan had praised several times. At first he thought it might be another misunderstanding like Chen Zhihao, and although Ye Xiao was briefly thrown off and annoyed to have another name pop up, he didn't take it as any real threat.
But... Ming Ze?
Always hanging around Tantan? Following her to the clinic, tagging along at charity clinics, they met in Yang City; she had praised him many times and spoke of him with obvious admiration...
A vein throbbed at Ye Xiao's temple.
He said darkly, "Why are you saying he's Tantan's... you got the wrong person."
"Yes, we... no, wait, 'we', I am not with them. I'm just saying Ming Ze couldn't possibly be Miss Lin's boyfriend. Why would Miss Lin ever like him? They said they planted a bug on Ming Ze and actually heard Miss Lin confess to Ming Ze," Shao Ping babbled incoherently, eager to wash his hands of responsibility.
Ye Xiao's face turned terrifying again. He spoke, syllable by syllable, "Con-fess, when?"
"Ju...just this morning."
Ye Xiao abruptly looked up toward the eaves of that distant villa, emotions churning in his eyes. For a moment he wanted to go back and get answers; for a moment he thought that couldn't be.
He glanced at Shao Ping, his look flickering. For an instant he toyed with the idea of killing the man and pretending he knew nothing, about Ming Ze or anything else, if they'd killed someone, they'd leave no trace. Then he thought Ming Ze might have been the victim of an unprovoked disaster; Ming Ze was someone Tantan cared about, and he couldn't ignore that.
He stared at Shao Ping like that for a long time, his mood swinging. Shao Ping's face went stiff; he whimpered for help: "Captain Ye, please save me. Those people grabbed me and said they'd put a thread of psychic energy in my head. If I don't obey they'll trigger it and blow my brains out. I had no choice."
Ye Xiao shut his eyes hard, pressing his forehead, this was madness. Whatever had happened to Ming Ze, these people could not be let go.
One thing at a time. This time he would crush them.
All his emotions turned into killing intent. He let go of Shao Ping and spoke in a very steady voice: "Tell me clearly about those people. If you hide so much as a word... if they can kill you, I can too."
Shao Ping dared not withhold anything; he hurriedly told him everything he knew.
As Ye Xiao listened his eyes shifted slightly. When Shao Ping finished, Ye Xiao thought for a moment, then looked up and fixed him with a stare.
Shao Ping swallowed: "I've said it all, really, I have."
Ye Xiao said, "To let you handle something this important, you must have something on you that can contact them, right?"
Shao Ping nodded, dazed.
A moment later, Ye Xiao contacted Ding Jinbo on the other side of the base.
On Ding Jinbo's end, hearing Ye Xiao's voice through the bug, he knew things were bad; when the listening device was destroyed, they realized the plan was about to collapse.
Ding Jinbo snapped, "Worthless fool, all you ever do is screw things up!"
The others suggested they retreat. Retreat? Ding Jinbo thought, retreat where?
They looked at one another, all feeling utterly drained.
Ding Jinbo glanced at Ming Ze, bound like a rice dumpling, and thought viciously: holding this important hostage, would Ye Xiao dare to charge in and kill them? If Ming Ze proved useless they'd just kill him, slip away for now, and wait, they didn't believe they'd never find another opportunity.
Just then, Shao Ping's communicator lit up. Ding Jinbo stared at the screen in his hand; he knew the caller was definitely not Shao Ping.
He answered with a composed, steady face.
Sure enough, Ye Xiao's voice came through: "Ding Jinbo? You're making more noise than I expected."
Ding Jinbo forced a grin: "Captain Ye, you're flattering me. We're just scraping by."
Ye Xiao said, "Ming Ze is with you, right? Don't hurt him. If he loses so much as a finger, I promise none of you will leave this base alive."
Ding Jinbo sensed something and squinted, smiling: "If you want him returned intact, you send Lin Tantan in exchange."
Ye Xiao laughed: "Do you think that's possible? If you let that Shao Ping near Tantan she might give in, but do you think I'd accept that condition? Return him, and I'll let you leave the base safely."
Ding Jinbo and his companions exchanged a look and understood one another: Ye Xiao had immediately demanded Ming Ze's safety and even offered them safe passage, Ming Ze had to be truly important.
If he was important, there was room to maneuver.
Ding Jinbo's confidence grew. He sparred with Ye Xiao, smiling without warmth: "We finally got our hands on this kid, not to leave empty-handed. If you won't give us Lin Tantan, then provide something else as compensation."
Ye Xiao was silent for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "What do you want?"
He was actually willing to compromise like that?
Ding Jinbo and the others found it unbelievable; Ding Jinbo especially felt this wasn't the Ye Xiao he knew.
It seemed Ming Ze really mattered to Lin Tantan, and Ye Xiao truly valued Lin Tantan beyond measure.
Ding Jinbo narrowed his eyes and immediately demanded a list of supplies.
Ye Xiao fell silent for a moment, then said, "Fine, but you have to release him first."
Ding Jinbo was nearly beside himself with excitement; he felt they'd asked for too little and wanted to add more, but he also suspected a trick, releasing the hostage before leaving the base was impossible.
Ye Xiao explained that Ming Ze was only a wood-element ability user and couldn't protect himself; he wouldn't allow them to take him out of the base. If they weren't comfortable, pick a different hostage.
Ding Jinbo's gaze shifted. Testing the waters, he said brazenly, "As for hostages, what could be more reassuring than Captain Ye himself coming as the hostage?"
Over there, Ye Xiao's eyes flashed. He smiled, but his voice was icy: "Fine."
After hanging up, Ye Xiao didn't even look up; he grabbed Shao Ping by the hair and slammed his head against the wall. The useless man immediately passed out. Then he hauled back Bai Cheng, who'd been tied up with other duties.
Bai Cheng was shocked when he heard: "You're going to be the hostage? Are you insane?" Then he thought, "No, of course you're not crazy. You mean to take them all down yourself?"
Ye Xiao nodded: "If I don't go personally, I can't guarantee Ming Ze's safety, nor can I guarantee all of them will be killed. This is the most reliable plan."
Bai Cheng thought for a moment: "How do you want us to cooperate? What will be the signal?"
Ye Xiao remained silent and said nothing.
Bai Cheng frowned: "You're not going in alone, are you? The first thing they'll do is cripple you. And if you try to act the moment you meet them, they have at least five people, one of them uses the most troublesome psychic attacks. It's far too dangerous."
They'd now studied abilities fairly thoroughly; elements like metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, however mystical, were almost conventional. The trickiest were psychic powers: formless, invisible, undetectable, capable of killing a person in an instant with a single thought.
If Shao Ping was being controlled into acting, that was the clearest proof, and they also suspected Li Qun’s coma was the work of Ding Jinbo using psychic power.
Unpredictable and impossible to guard against, how could that not make people uneasy? Even Lin Tantan, who knew she possessed five different abilities and was confident enough in her strength to not fear falling into a den of zombies, was now meekly under guard, staying inside as much as possible. Was she really that cowardly? In fact she only feared that the mercenaries sent to deal with her might have psychic powers.
She had no counter for that kind of ability, and because the other side might strike without intention, she worried she would fall prey to it.
Didn’t you see Ye Xiao fall for Zhou Yan’s trick?
And Ding Jinbo’s ability just happened to be psychic power.
Ye Xiao said, “I have my own plan. In short, don’t intervene, wait for my word. And seal off every exit; don’t let a single person get away.”
He paused, as if making a weighty decision, then, his face taut and solemn, said, “Actually, what I most want your cooperation on is something else.”
Bai Cheng replied crisply, “Say it.”
…
Lin Tantan passed the time listlessly holed up in the villa. Supposedly they were going to move Li Qun’s armory today, but she had no interest in watching. She didn’t care about staking out territory, partly because she didn’t want to run into Ye Xiao, partly because she feared bumping into Bai Cheng. She couldn’t face Bai Cheng now; his guilty, defensive look overwhelmed her every time.
She half-heartedly played with a clutch of mutated mice when Ye Xiao suddenly strode in.
She squeezed one too hard and almost made a little white mouse retch; she quickly let go and stood up.
Ye Xiao went straight to her, waved off his bodyguard Xu Li, took Lin Tantan’s hand and led her into the courtyard. He stared at her for a long time, his gaze deep and sorrowful, which left her feeling twitchy, and then he asked, “Tantan, are you really indifferent to me?”
Lin Tantan hesitated for a moment and then said what she’d thought about for a long time: “Well, Ye Xiao, you’re great, you really are, but these things can’t be forced. I’ve always seen you only as a friend, like a brother. To me you’re the same kind of presence as Bai Cheng and Meimei. And have you considered that you treat me the same way you treat everyone? It’s just that I saved Mei Baisheng and ended up losing a hand, and you feel guilty, so you dote on me. And because I’m a girl you misread that as attraction. That isn’t real love.”
Ye Xiao’s face darkened. He seemed to clamp his jaw to hold something back, then, with a melancholy look, asked, “Just friends?”
Lin Tantan nodded.
Ye Xiao ground his teeth. Little liar, if she truly only saw him as a friend, her personality would make her more straightforward even if she feared hurting him. Those flickering eyes, her feelings were written all over them!
Ye Xiao drew a breath and, still gloomy, asked, “Is there someone you like?”
How could she answer that? If she said truthfully that she had no one, wouldn’t that give him hope? If she said she did, she couldn’t even name anyone.
Lin Tantan could only say tactfully, “I have a type.”
Ye Xiao let his gaze fall. “Someone like Ming Ze?”
Lin Tantan was taken aback. Why mention Ming Ze all of a sudden? Had that offhand remark she made to Ming Ze this morning somehow gotten back to him?
Before she could answer, Ye Xiao gave a rueful smile. “I get it.”
He drew in a deep breath, glanced up at the blue sky, then fixed her with a bitter, resolute look. “Tantan, can I hug you?”
The way he looked at her made her chest ache. She nodded, and Ye Xiao opened his arms and pulled her into a full embrace.
It was a broad, warm hug, full of longing and finality. Ye Xiao’s arms were a little tight, as if this were the last time he would hold her and he wanted to memorize the sensation. For some reason Lin Tantan felt unsettled, his manner felt strange.
It felt like an embrace before farewell.
Could her rejection have hurt him so badly? Lin Tantan felt confused.
Ye Xiao let her go and smiled, “I won’t bother you again.”
He gave her one long, heavy look and turned to leave. Lin Tantan felt even more shaken and hurriedly called after him, “Ye Xiao, what’s wrong?”
Ye Xiao glanced back with a smile. “Nothing, I’ve just come to terms with a few things. Don’t overthink it.” He smiled handsomely, then walked off again with long, brisk strides.
Lin Tantan fell silent, watching his retreating figure with a heavy feeling in her chest, as if her heart were being squeezed, dull and swollen and raw; she almost wanted to cry. This time had he truly given up? Of course she was sad, but what wasn’t hers wasn’t hers. Ye Xiao did have feelings for her now, but could he be unaware that she already knew which fated bond belonged to him?
Even if, if fate changed so that Ye Xiao and Bai Cheng no longer relied on each other through hardship and each ended up on different paths and found other bonds, that would be a byproduct of altered fate; however regretful she might be, she would still offer her sincere blessing.
But it couldn’t be a change caused by her interference.
She couldn’t accept that. She would feel like she had stolen someone’s most precious thing and live with guilt forever; even if she ended up with Ye Xiao, she’d constantly fear losing what she had taken.
She only wanted to remain in a place of looking up at him, watching Ye Xiao take step after step and grow better and better. She’d always been like that; wanting too much would make her lose herself, and her selfless care for him would no longer be pure.
She understood all of this and could even persuade herself, so why did it still hurt so much?
As soon as Ye Xiao left the villa his expression closed over; his face showed no emotion. At the corner Bai Cheng waited for him, his expression wry and a little speechless: “You’re really going to do this? That’s not very fair, is it?”
Ye Xiao's face showed no expression: "What is 'kindness', can you eat it?" Can it be traded for a wife to hold me?
He wasn't stupid; he watched and thought. He was certain Lin Tantan wasn't completely indifferent to him, there was no way she liked that Ming Ze. But she refused to face it, choosing denial and avoidance, and her attitude was unusually resolute, downright stubborn.
Ye Xiao didn't understand why, but he wasn't going to yield to that stubbornness.
Thinking of her saying his feeling for her was only guilt, not true love, he wanted to darken his face, didn't she know what was in his heart? The girl was really trying to drive him crazy: not only did she cover her eyes and ears and refuse to face her own heart or give him a sliver of a chance, she even tried to brainwash him. Perfect.
If that's the case, don't blame him for taking harsh measures.
Ye Xiao said, "Let's go."
Bai Cheng watched his retreating figure and shook his head: "Love really does make you dizzy, turns out that's true."
What a decent man had been put through, he'd been messed up so much he seemed almost unhinged.