RYEY -Chapter 464 Li Bing Returns

By the time Jiang Meili arrived, the area outside the guesthouse was completely blocked, a solid crowd drawn by Yuan Qin’s shouting.

They watched as the woman was kicked out by those inside, collapsing to the ground and unable to get up for a long time.

“Good thing I stayed away from the main entrance, or I might have been knocked over by this woman,” someone muttered.

“Yeah, that’s the woman from the Jiang family who had the mutant child, right? Poor thing, life’s tough.”

“Tough? She’s already so old. Her nephew is older than her son, yet she still dared to have a child.”

“You can’t say that. If you had several sons, of course you’d talk casually. The Jiang family has no sons, so naturally she’s anxious. Who wouldn’t want their son to survive?”

“True, but it’s a mutant. Did you even go see it in the hospital?”

“I didn’t. Why bother looking at it? But I heard medical students treated it—don’t know if that’s true.”

“Definitely false. A mutant is a mutant. It can’t be cured so quickly; it’s not like some magic pill.”

“The police are here! Oh my, that woman must have broken bones judging by her screams.”

“What happened exactly? Why did the police arrest her?”

“Meili’s here! Quickly, what happened to your mother?”

Anger flared in Jiang Meili’s eyes. Her son couldn’t personally care for his grandmother, her work was gone, and every day was spent nervously trying to prevent trouble—and yet trouble still occurred.

“Cheng… Cheng…”

Jiang Meili seemed to hear her son crying, hoarse from prolonged sobbing, and pushed through the crowd toward the guesthouse.

Yuan Qin saw Jiang Meili coming and wanted to call out for help, desperate for relief. Her entire body ached, every movement causing sweat to pour down her back.

But Jiang Meili didn’t even glance at her; she went straight for the guesthouse. Yuan Qin’s heart sank—surely she was going to Cheng Qiao next. This daughter was hopeless.

“Cheng… my son…”

When Jiang Meili entered the guesthouse, she saw Li Chen sitting alone on the floor, wailing. Li Ming’s gaze shifted between Li Chen and the bloodied grandmother surrounded by the crowd.

“Mom… I’m scared… wah… wah… Mom…”

“Don’t be afraid, son. Mom’s here. What happened?”

“Grandma… blood… wah… wah… scared…”

Only then did Jiang Meili realize something was wrong. She picked up Li Chen and looked through the crowd, nearly losing her mind at the sight—her mother-in-law was lying on the ground, covered in blood.

Cheng Li went to fetch a thin blanket for Mother Li and covered her abdomen, leaving the chest exposed to avoid rubbing the wound and causing pain.

“Has the hospital ambulance arrived?”

“There’s only one at the Military District Hospital; it went for fuel. They’ve contacted the driver—should be here soon.”

Sure enough, the sound of the approaching ambulance caught the gawking crowd off guard. No wonder the two policemen in white uniforms had blocked entry.

Jiang Meili was allowed in only because her son was crying inside. Everyone else had to stay at least ten meters away.

The stretcher was brought in. Cheng Li and Cheng Liguo lifted her—one holding the head, the other the legs—and placed her in the ambulance. Cheng Liguo wanted to follow but was stopped by Cheng Li:

“Dad, watch the children. I’ll go; that’s enough.”

Cheng Liguo was anxious—Li Huan was poisoned, Mother Li injured, Hantong hadn’t returned. Who could guarantee Cheng Qiao’s safety?

Meanwhile, Li Huan, still meditating, suddenly felt a racing heart. Initially thinking it was a meditation mishap, he swallowed a few health pills, but this time they failed.

“Cheng Qiao…”

Startled, Li Huan held his breath, ended his meditation, jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and ran to the medical college. Not finding her in the classroom or the clinic, he headed for the guesthouse.

Upon arrival, he saw Cheng Liguo holding Xiao Nuan, flanked by Ye Jing and Li Ming, all staring blankly at the street. No one spoke.

Sister Zhang had left with the police; she had witnessed everything clearly—from Mother Li reading the newspaper to her injury and collapse—as if a movie replayed in her mind.

The policemen observed as Sister Zhang, initially stammering, became increasingly confident and articulate, nodding in approval at her courage.

“What was Yuan Qin doing?”

“I think she went after Cheng Qiao. The first time, Cheng Qiao’s father and son stopped her. Not to mention, her son Cheng Li is handsome and already protective of his mother at such a young age.”

“Get to the point.”

“Oh, right. The first time, Cheng Qiao’s father caught her, so she couldn’t act. Then her man came, they fought among themselves. Later, her grandson cried. She went to pick him up, and along the way, she pulled out a long awl.”

“A long awl?”

The policemen watched Sister Zhang stretch her hands apart and were puzzled—what kind of awl is that long?

Sister Zhang blushed, realizing she had exaggerated. The awl used to poke soles of shoes wasn’t actually that long. Fortunately, the police had bagged it as evidence—proof of Yuan Qin’s attempt to kill.

“This is it.”

The policemen glanced at Sister Zhang, still startled, unable to gauge its length. The subsequent events didn’t need explanation—the police had witnessed everything.

“Comrade, be honest—does this Yuan Qin eat peanuts?”

“We’ll have the doctor check. If she truly has mental issues, she may not go to prison, and..”

“What? So Aunt Li suffered all that for nothing? That’s not fair.”

“There’s nothing we can do. Mental disorders can’t control themselves. If the final assessment confirms there’s a problem, she’ll be sent to a psychiatric hospital. But we don’t have the facilities here, so she’d have to go to Zhangye.”

Sister Zhang suddenly felt it was pointless. If that were the case, she might as well be a psychiatric patient—do whatever she wanted, how liberating.

The officers at the public security bureau probably guessed Sister Zhang’s thoughts. They shook their heads helplessly, had her sign her statement, and then she could leave.

Far away at the border, Li Bing suddenly received an order to return immediately. He had already organized teams to find three water sources; two had started flowing, and the last one was still being dug.

“What’s so urgent that I need to go back immediately?”

“I don’t know. The commander just said so.”

“All right, I’ll leave this in your hands here. I’ll go pack my things.”