Iris 14

Mu Qin finally managed to get outside his enemy's range of attack, though he had to resort to a dirty trick.

In the midst of the attack, Mu Qin staggered and fell onto the muddy ground of the courtyard. He grabbed a handful of mud, spun around, and flung it at the other man's face. Caught off guard by this underhanded move, the enemy raised a hand to block the mud flying at him; getting it in his eyes would be far too costly.

In the few seconds that the other man froze, Mu Qin scrambled to his feet. The enemy had delivered a vicious kick to his left knee. The force had been so great that the pain made it impossible for him to stand properly, but he had to endure it and get up. He needed to put distance between himself and this dangerous attacker as quickly as possible.

But Mu Qin had barely taken two steps after getting up when the enemy recovered. Seeing that Mu Qin intended to run, he strode forward and reached out, one hand clamping onto Mu Qin's arm, the other closing around his throat.

The man was immensely strong, and Mu Qin could not break free of his grip. But unlike Han Li, Mu Qin would not thrash wildly and waste his strength while someone was choking him. He gathered all his strength, jumped, and drove both feet hard into the enemy's stomach. The kick forced the man to let go of Mu Qin's throat and stagger several steps back.

That freed Mu Qin from his hold, and he fell to the ground. He got up again, with no time to worry about direction, and ran straight into the darkness before him.

The darkness was indeed unknown, but only darkness could shelter someone on the run.

Perhaps, deep down, Mu Qin had already dimly realized that he could not escape. In stamina and strength alike, he was far inferior to this inexplicably appearing enemy, especially when the enemy also possessed considerable speed.

Sure enough, Mu Qin had barely run a few steps before he was caught again. The man seized him by the hair and, incredibly, used the same move again, kicking him behind the knee. The pain made Mu Qin drop to his knees on the spot. Then the other man yanked his hair and punched him in the face.

At last, Mu Qin stopped running and stopped resisting. He went limp, kneeling on the ground with his head bowed and allowing the enemy to hold him by the hair.

He knew there was no point in trying to run now. The enemy's close-quarters combat ability was clearly far superior to his own. No matter how Mu Qin struggled, he would only waste his strength. He had to pretend to yield, make the enemy lower his guard, and find an opening.

Mu Qin had been at a disadvantage from the outset. He had been ambushed without warning and badly injured; the enemy's physical prowess was so formidable that Mu Qin could neither beat him in a fight nor escape him easily. There was simply nothing he could do.

With this jumble of thoughts running through his mind, Mu Qin trembled and looked up at the enemy.

The surroundings were too dark, and the lights in the first-floor corridor had been switched off. Mu Qin could barely make out the man's face, but he could surmise that this sudden enemy was likely the corpse they had found in the stairwell earlier. In the light spilling down from the second floor of the apartment building, Mu Qin could vaguely see gauze wrapped around the man's neck and face. After coming back from the dead, this guy had probably gone to the infirmary, found some gauze and bandages, and wrapped up his wounds.

What puzzled Mu Qin was that in their brief exchange just now, he had clearly felt how extraordinarily capable this enemy was in a fight. The man's build was not as strong as Xu Fu's, and he was a few inches shorter, but he still stood around six feet tall. With such a sturdy physique and such excellent close-combat skills, there was no reason Xu Fu should have been able to kill him so easily.

Mu Qin could tell that Xu Fu had never received combat training. Though Xu Fu was very strong, he only knew how to use brute force. But the man before Mu Qin possessed exceptional fighting technique. He could easily have taken the blade from Xu Fu and killed Xu Fu in return. It made no sense that he had been killed in the first place.

The only explanation Mu Qin could come up with was that this man had deliberately gone to his death, then used a resurrection card to revive himself and create a perfect alibi.

An alibi would let him do many things. He could investigate the map alone, scout for intelligence, and observe the movements of Mu Qin and the others.

If that was true, was he the real killer?

Mu Qin could not be sure. As the thought occurred to him, he could not help looking up at the enemy again. The enemy seemed to be watching Mu Qin as well. Mu Qin could faintly feel the other man's gaze resting on him, a gaze that made his skin crawl.

Then Mu Qin suddenly found something strange. This man did not seem to be beating him anymore.

He was merely holding Mu Qin by the hair, head lowered as he stared at him, as though examining and observing him. After watching Mu Qin for a long time, he even released the fistful of hair he had been clutching. Then he stepped close, reached out, and lifted Mu Qin into his arms.

That was right. He picked Mu Qin up!

And he was carrying him bridal style.

This time Mu Qin was genuinely startled. As the man lifted him, he shuddered all over and instinctively grabbed the enemy's lapels. He still could not see the man's face clearly. Or rather, even if he could, that face wrapped in bandages would make it impossible to identify him.

Mu Qin could not guess the meaning of such behavior. Generally speaking, carrying someone bridal style was an extremely intimate gesture. If the man wanted to take Mu Qin somewhere else, he could simply drag him by an arm or leg instead of...

Mu Qin felt awkward.

He could not explain why. It was only that this man was holding him too tightly. Mu Qin's face was pressed to his chest, and he could hear the man's heart thudding violently in his ear. It was beating fast, too. Was he nervous, perhaps?

But why would he be nervous?

Mu Qin felt bewildered. Curled in the embrace of this enemy of unknown origin, he listened to the man's heart beating. For some reason, that violent pounding left his head light and dizzy, making Mu Qin miss a perfect opportunity to escape. The man was carrying him bridal style, supporting Mu Qin's body with both hands. That meant both his hands were occupied. Mu Qin could have attacked him; poking out his eyes or striking his Adam's apple would have immediately left the man unable to move.

But Mu Qin did not do it. The heartbeat in his ear was too violent, and it sounded as though he had heard it somewhere before.

Where had he heard it?

Then Mu Qin suddenly remembered. He had heard it from his first love.

During his junior year of high school, when he and Zhou Yue were dating, they often went out together on weekends and during summer and winter breaks. Zhou Yue's family was wealthy, and his parents seemed to encourage him to go out and socialize. So whenever Zhou Yue went out to eat, drink, and have fun, he spent money lavishly, tossing it around like water. Mu Qin was the exact opposite.

After his adoptive parents died, Uncle took most of the money. Mu Qin had to live frugally to cover his monthly expenses, and he had to work every week as well. Going out with Zhou Yue was actually a burden for him, but out of pride, he could not bring himself to let Zhou Yue pay for most of their outings. To avoid spoiling Zhou Yue's fun whenever they went out together, he needed money.

To earn it, Mu Qin could only take on more jobs. For a time, every night after evening study hall, he would rush to work the late shift at a snack shop, not getting home until midnight. He had to get up before six in the morning for class. His complexion grew worse and worse, and Zhou Yue noticed before long.

To Mu Qin at the time, Zhou Yue was truly an exceptionally good boyfriend. He was gentle, considerate, thoughtful toward Mu Qin, and intelligent as well.

Somehow, Zhou Yue learned why Mu Qin had been working so frequently. Once he knew, the next time he took Mu Qin out, he stopped going to expensive entertainment venues. He only took Mu Qin for walks in the park or to enjoy the scenery along the river. When they went out, he even came to pick Mu Qin up on a flashy motorcycle, saving him the fare.

He tried to choose times that would not put Mu Qin in an awkward position. To do that, he figured out Mu Qin's daily schedule for every day of the week. Mu Qin would be surprised to find Zhou Yue always appearing before him at exactly the right time, never causing him trouble, always so understanding.

Zhou Yue also brought Mu Qin meals. He said the food in the school cafeteria was bad, and that the lunch boxes made every day by the auntie who cooked for his family were too large, so he insisted on bringing one for Mu Qin. Mu Qin always felt rather embarrassed, but Zhou Yue pretended to be a picky eater, claiming he did not like this or that, and kept piling food into Mu Qin's bowl. It was always filled with things Mu Qin liked.

At first, Mu Qin did not understand. As time passed, he came to know that his boyfriend was such a wonderful person that it was almost unbelievable. How had Zhou Yue ever fallen for him?

Mu Qin searched for his own good points. He did not think he was especially handsome, only somewhat above average. Some girls said he had a fair, clean-cut look, while some boys called him a pretty boy.

Mu Qin was not particularly popular, either. Between studying and working, he had no time to bother with his classmates' social circles, and he was not close to his teachers. Most of the time at school, he was like a ghost. Instead, he got along better with some upperclassmen, though of course that had a purpose.

To carve out more time to work and earn money, Mu Qin had to compress his study time and improve his efficiency. So in his first year of high school, he had already worked through most of the second-year curriculum. He deliberately befriended upperclassmen so he could borrow their textbooks and study materials.

Being a good student was one of Mu Qin's few virtues. Naturally, it was a quality forced out of him by the pressure to survive. Whenever he thought of the life ahead and the difficulties he faced, no matter how unwilling he might be, he had to study desperately.

After this round of self-examination, Mu Qin found that his merits were pitifully few. He looked ordinary, was introverted, and could not give the other person the same care and consideration Zhou Yue gave him. Even his good grades still fell short of Zhou Yue's. Why would Zhou Yue be interested in someone so unremarkable in every way?

Mu Qin had never understood it. Sometimes he thought perhaps Zhou Yue simply found it amusing; dating another boy might have seemed novel and exciting.

But if Zhou Yue had truly been doing it only for fun, he had given far too much to Mu Qin. Long-term, meticulous care was not something just anyone could provide so casually, but Zhou Yue had done it. Mu Qin could not doubt his sincerity. He could only convince himself that he had been struck by an unexpected stroke of luck.

He had been so happy that he wanted to offer Zhou Yue the only thing he possessed.

Mu Qin did not possess much. All he had was his body and his heart, and those he could give to Zhou Yue.

So after they had been together for a semester, Mu Qin and Zhou Yue slept together. Zhou Yue took him home for it. At the time, Zhou Yue said Mu Qin's grades had slipped a little and that he would take Mu Qin home to help him study. Mu Qin believed him and happily climbed onto Zhou Yue's motorcycle behind him. Zhou Yue took him to his luxurious little villa, led him into his spacious, clean bedroom, and then pinned him down on that king-size bed and fucked him all night.

Zhou Yue already had lubricant and other little tools ready in his room. Clearly, he had been harboring improper intentions for a long time and had done his homework.

But Mu Qin did not mind. They had both been young and passionate then, their feelings at their height, dry kindling meeting a spark, unable to stop doing it every day. Zhou Yue took Mu Qin home several more times afterward, but with Zhou Yue's parents around and a housekeeper in the house, it was inconvenient. Later, he simply started going to Mu Qin's place. He even ate and slept there. Mu Qin lived alone, which made everything easy. Zhou Yue could also use the excuse of paying Mu Qin rent for letting him stay there to cover his water and electricity bills, add all kinds of furniture and appliances, and buy assorted ingredients to stuff Mu Qin's refrigerator.

Their relationship had been so good then. Every day, Mu Qin fell asleep in Zhou Yue's arms, always drifting off to the sound of his heartbeat.

Right. That heartbeat... was the same as this one.