Chen Xiu acted as if he hadn't noticed Ch'en Hui-chieh's guarded posture.
He pulled a bag from beside the pile of newspapers, fished out an old jacket, and tossed it to her.
Ch'en caught it midair—careful not to let it block her line of sight—then ran her hands over it quickly. Nothing suspicious.
"Put it on," Chen Xiu said. "You just came out of the water."
He deliberately looked away. A soaked sleeveless white shirt really did outline her figure far too well—especially the flat, pale stomach and the firm lines of her abs.
He'd already figured it out: her "disguise" was basically just taking off the L.G.D. uniform jacket and throwing on a baseball cap.
Seeing the Sarkaz youth's stiff, overly proper attempt at avoiding her, Ch'en finally realized how inappropriate her current state looked. She raised an arm across her chest.
A faint blush flashed across her face. With a rustle, she pulled on the jacket.
Her wariness toward Chen Xiu eased a little. For now, he didn't seem to be angling for anything.
Ch'en studied him again, brow faintly knit.
This is the guy Zhongyi Hall is hunting all over the slums?
He looked drained—waxy complexion, hollowed cheeks, thin to the bone. His arms were nothing but skin and sinew; there wasn't a trace of training, more like textbook malnutrition.
Long, messy hair. Ragged clothes. He looked like a vagrant, not some lawless Sarkaz mercenary.
Could it be… just a shared name?
But a Sarkaz taking a Yan-style name like "Chen Xiu" was rare in itself…
A freshly opened box of cookies appeared in front of her.
"Sorry," Chen Xiu said. "This is all I have."
Ch'en's thoughts snapped. She took it reflexively. "Thanks."
She didn't recognize the brand or flavor, but at least it didn't look like a shady knockoff.
She bit into a sandwich cookie—and her expression instantly changed.
Fighting the urge to spit it out, she flipped the packet over.
Expired.
By two years.
Why is he feeding me this?
Ch'en lifted her eyes and met Chen Xiu's pitiful, almost pleading look.
He hesitated, swallowed, then said quietly, "It's… the only box."
Ch'en's dragon tail froze mid-sway. It took her a second to understand.
She handed the cookies back.
Chen Xiu smiled, took one for himself, and ate it with obvious relish.
Ch'en fell silent for a long time.
Her suspicion hit rock bottom—and, worse, it was replaced by a twinge of pity.
"You can call me A-Jie," she said at last.
Then she asked directly, "Chen Xiu… are you really the one Zhongyi Hall is searching for?"
Chen Xiu paused mid-chew, looked up, and nodded.
"It's me."
Ch'en's tail shot up. Her eyes widened.
"It's really you? Then what the hell did you do to piss those bastards off?"
"I happened to catch a wanted criminal on Zhongyi Hall's turf," Chen Xiu said. "And I turned him in to the L.G.D…"
As he spoke, his fist clenched—then he erupted into profanity right in front of her.
"And those dogs in the L.G.D. not only swallowed my bounty, they even leaked my information to Zhongyi Hall! Damn it—those snake-and-rat bastards only know how to bully people!"
Ch'en's face went dark. She snapped back instinctively, "Impossible! The L.G.D. would never do something like that!"
"Impossible?" Chen Xiu roared, fist shaking, eyes blazing. "Then why am I being hunted all over the slums? Why didn't I get a single cent? That was thirty thousand!"
Ch'en had no immediate rebuttal.
Because verifying it was easy.
One call and she'd know whether he really delivered an E-rank fugitive with a thirty-thousand bounty.
But what she couldn't stomach was the implication—someone inside the L.G.D. colluding with a gang.
To pocket a bounty, they'd even help a gang retaliate.
What did they think the Lungmen Guard Department was?
A tool for extortion and murder?
Ch'en's brows stood up like blades.
Her fists trembled, veins rising across the backs of her hands. Her nails dug into her palm.
Chen Xiu glanced at her—his hook was set—and asked, "A-Jie, why were Zhongyi Hall's people chasing you?"
Ch'en answered truthfully. "I'm investigating something in the slums. I ran into them by accident… Girls have been disappearing lately. You know about that?"
"I do." Chen Xiu nodded. "Not only do I know—I've got a few leads that might be related."
Ch'en froze.
She'd asked casually. She hadn't expected a hit this big.
Chen Xiu lived in the slums—drifting, unanchored. People like that did hear things others didn't.
"What do you know?" she demanded, sudden heat in her voice, tail snapping straight.
But Chen Xiu turned cold.
"I'd advise you not to stick your nose in it," he said flatly. "Even if you uncover everything, so what? Unless you've got family or friends missing—because you can't save them alone."
"I can!" Ch'en shot back. "I'm an L.G.D. officer. I have the ability—and the responsibility—"
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she'd made a catastrophic mistake.
"You're L.G.D.?" Chen Xiu jumped up and immediately began shoving her toward the door.
"Get out, get out, get out! Damn bad luck! If I'd known you were L.G.D., I wouldn't have saved you!"
"Wait—wait!" Ch'en stumbled back under his push.
"What about the missing girls?" she snapped. "Don't you want to save them?"
Chen Xiu's hands stopped. He struggled for a beat—then sneered.
"Why would I care? Even if we rescue them, what changes for me? You get merit, you get promoted—what do I get?"
Ch'en's first reaction was anger.
Then she remembered his story.
His distrust of her—of the L.G.D.—bordered on hatred, and it wasn't hard to understand why.
And yet… at the critical moment, he still saved her. He even told her not to get involved.
If she did nothing…
This Sarkaz—who wasn't truly cruel—might be pushed onto a darker road.
"Chen Xiu!" Ch'en forced her voice steady. "Calm down. I can help you get your bounty back."
"With you?" Chen Xiu mocked. "Why don't you say you'll kill the thief too?"
"I can." Ch'en grabbed his hand hard, red eyes unwavering. "I can do it."
Chen Xiu stared at her as if her certainty was contagious.
"Fine," he said, voice low. "Prove it. Do it—and I'll give you the leads you want."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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