RYEY -Chapter 393 Qin Guoqing Is Attacked

Li Bing had left, but he secretly placed a letter in the bedside drawer at home, along with all the bank passbooks and two health-preserving pills.

It wasn’t that Li Bing was being stingy by leaving Meili only two pills. Rather, life at the border was extremely harsh. With these pills, at least one’s life could be basically safeguarded.

Jiang Meili held little Li Chen’s small hand and slowly walked toward the garrison’s nursery. She needed to register the child—once she started work, there would be no one to look after him.

“Mom, I don’t want to go to the nursery. I want to go find Brother Cheng Li.”

“Brother Cheng Li goes to school at the elementary school by the desert control management center. It’s too far away—we don’t have a vehicle, we can’t get there.”

“Then let Uncle Qin take us!”

The “Uncle Qin” Li Chen mentioned was Qin Guoqing. It would have been fine if he hadn’t brought him up, but the moment Qin Guoqing was mentioned, Meili’s expression changed. Why hadn’t that fellow come back yet? Nothing bad could have happened, right?

“Uncle Qin hasn’t returned yet. I’ll get you registered first, then I’ll go to the troops to ask why Uncle Qin still hasn’t come back.”

Li Chen nodded obediently. He liked Uncle Qin, who always brought him lots of tasty food and fun things. He also liked Brother Cheng Li very much.

Commander Qin was restless in his office. According to their plan, that brat Guoqing should have returned three days ago. Why was there still no news?

Earlier, when Li Bing had applied to go to the border, Commander Qin had originally disagreed. But Li Bing mentioned Guoqing, saying he would check along the way to see what had happened to him.

Qin Guoqing was lying unconscious in a mountain hollow. On his way back, he had been attacked—he hadn’t even seen who had attacked him.

What was uncanny was that the bullet had come extremely close to the front windshield. When he had no way to dodge, the vehicle suddenly lifted into the air, then overturned into the mountain hollow below the winding road.

He had hit his head in the impact and passed out immediately. When he woke up, the vehicle was gone. He was lying in a hollow sheltered from wind and rain, with a tattered old coat draped over him.

“Hiss…”

When Qin Guoqing tried to stand up, dizziness surged through his head. He reached up to touch it and hissed softly in pain. His hand came away sticky—it was bleeding.

He looked up at the winding mountain road. Climbing up from this hollow shouldn’t be a problem in itself, but the issue was that he was thirsty, hungry, and injured. He feared he might collapse again after only a few steps.

If he fell back into the hollow, he might still survive. But if he fell straight off the cliff, his life would be over. Someone had definitely saved him—he just didn’t know who.

He picked up the coat covering him. A wave of stench hit him, yet Qin Guoqing treated it like a treasure, carefully folding it. This had to be his benefactor’s clothing—he had to keep it safe.

When his fingers brushed against a bulge in the pocket, he couldn’t help taking it out. It was a porcelain bottle—one that looked extremely familiar. Wasn’t this the same kind of bottle Cheng Qiao used for their health-preserving pills?

Could it have been Cheng Qiao who saved him? Impossible. Qin Guoqing shook his head. He had heard that Cheng Qiao herself was under suspicion now, barely able to protect herself. How could she have come all the way here to save him?

As for this porcelain bottle, the person who saved him must have known Cheng Qiao. So in the end, he was still indebted to Cheng Qiao’s kindness.

He opened the bottle. Inside was a single health-preserving pill. He quickly poured it into his mouth. A few breaths later, a rich ginseng fragrance spread through his mouth and flowed down to his stomach with his saliva.

Gradually, strength returned to his limp limbs. His groggy head cleared, and his entire spirit lifted noticeably.

Qin Guoqing quickly took the coat with him and, in one determined effort, climbed up to the winding mountain road. He then found a relatively hidden and safe spot to sit and wait.

Military vehicles often passed through here—some transporting supplies, some weapons, some personnel. As long as he could catch a ride on one of them, he could return to his garrison.

After an unknown amount of time, a weapons transport truck approached from afar. Qin Guoqing had excellent eyesight and immediately recognized it as a vehicle from his own garrison. He hurriedly stood in the middle of the road, waving the coat to flag it down.

The truck stopped. Old Zhao from the weapons maintenance unit jumped down when he saw it was Qin Guoqing. Seeing blood all over his head and face, Old Zhao grew tense at once, pulling out his gun and scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

“It’s fine, Brother Zhao. Just take me back.”

“What on earth happened?”

Old Zhao helped Qin Guoqing into the truck and then quickly got in himself, driving away from the area at speed. Along the way, Qin Guoqing recounted what had happened, including how his truck had vanished.

“This coat—that’s what the person who saved you left behind?”

Old Zhao looked at the ragged coat. A name suddenly surfaced in his mind—Hu Lata. He’d heard that not long ago, Hu Lata had been around their area.

“It was probably Hu Lata who saved you.”

“How do you know? And how could Hu Lata have come here?”

At the mention of Hu Lata, admiration filled Qin Guoqing’s eyes. That man was a true hero—a patriotic warrior with extraordinary abilities. Unfortunately, Qin Guoqing himself didn’t possess such powers.

“I heard he came here secretly to protect a certain talent. There are many things someone at my level isn’t supposed to know. You can go back and ask your father.”

Qin Guoqing shook his head repeatedly. His father wasn’t one to blab either. When it came to classified matters, no one could pry open his mouth.

When Qin Guoqing returned to the garrison, he was sent straight to the infirmary. Though the infirmary wasn’t fully set up yet, the soldiers already treated it as their lifeline.

Any aches or injuries, they would come here to have a look. Everyone especially liked to come on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays.

On Mondays, Cheng Qiao and Shen Ying were on duty with some students.

On Wednesdays, Shen Sanleng led a few students.

On Fridays, Zhu Qingde took charge with his students.

As long as one came on these three days, it was usually a case of medicine administered and the illness cured.

Unfortunately, Qin Guoqing’s timing was bad—it was Tuesday. The doctors on duty were descendants of several old traditional physicians from Shen Sanleng’s family, leading students. He was treated, but the effect was noticeably less impressive.

Commander Qin learned immediately that his son had returned and rushed to the infirmary on his bicycle. Seeing the bruises on Qin Guoqing’s face and the wounds smeared with red antiseptic, his heart ached terribly.

“What happened? A car accident?”

“No. I was attacked—nearly lost my life. Then someone saved me. The vehicle flew up and fell into a mountain hollow. I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, the vehicle was gone, but I was still alive.”

Commander Qin noticed the tattered outer garment clenched tightly in Guoqing’s hands. His gaze sharpened—wasn’t that Hu Lata’s clothing? How had it ended up in his son’s hands?