Chapter Forty-Nine: Father and Son

Early in the morning, begging for recommendations and favorites—Half-Immortal bows to you!

It wasn’t just a single car; two others followed in hot pursuit. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed out—the lead vehicle, in its panic, sideswiped a tree, veered off course, and careened down the roadside. Before it could reach the beach, it crashed through several trees and finally came to a halt.

A man burst out of the car, dragging a boy of about fourteen or fifteen by the hand. They both sprinted toward the shoreline, but the man’s steps were unsteady, as though he’d been injured in the crash.

The pursuing cars followed, skidding to a stop near the beach. One circled around to block the man and boy’s escape, while the other cut off their retreat from behind.

“Oh God, they’re beating that child—and the man too,” April whispered, unable to contain herself as she lay concealed in the bushes, watching the scene unfold through binoculars. In the faint moonlight, it was clear both the man and the boy had been beaten.

Qiu Fengyu remained motionless, observing everything through the scope of his automatic rifle. Until he understood the situation, he had no intention of acting.

Then the pursuers climbed out of their cars, drawing pistols. One of them kicked the man sharply in the knee, sending him to the ground.

The boy was forced to kneel as well.

It was a textbook execution—an unnerving way to kill.

“Please, we have to save them. They’re about to be murdered…” April pleaded, her voice low and urgent. “We can’t just stand by and watch. He’s just a child…”

“No,” Qiu Fengyu replied, his tone unchanged.

“Please… God, they’re going to kill them… How can you just stand there? Fine, I’ll do whatever you want in the future, anything at all…”

“No. My duty is to protect you. If I fire, we’ll be exposed.”

“God! A hundred thousand dollars—I’ll pay you a hundred thousand dollars,” she bargained desperately.

Still, Qiu Fengyu did not move.

“All right, whatever you want, I’ll agree to in the future. Everything—if you won’t do this, I’ll jump out there myself… Hey, are you really so cold-blooded? So unmoved?” Seeing that he remained unmoved, April panicked. Two of the men had stepped behind the man and the boy, raising their pistols to the backs of their heads.

“Hey, what are you doing? Stop—!” April finally couldn’t stand it anymore and leapt out.

Her sudden appearance caught the group’s attention. They stared at her in surprise, and one of them strode toward her, reaching for something behind his back.

“Damn whore,” Qiu Fengyu cursed, taking aim at the man who was drawing his pistol to shoot April, and squeezed the trigger.

With a bang, the man jerked backward, as though struck by an invisible force, his legs buckling beneath him.

The group was thrown into chaos, all drawing their weapons and aiming at April. Qiu Fengyu dove forward, tackling her to the ground and snatching up her gun, firing—bang!

Another one fell. But the others opened fire too, bullets whizzing over their heads, tearing through leaves with muffled thuds. Remarkably, the girl didn’t scream; she buried her head in the sand like an ostrich.

She really did look like an ostrich, her face nearly buried in the sand, though her rear stuck up—a pose that would have been quite alluring if not for the armed men.

The two standing behind the man and boy could wait no longer; they raised their guns to finish them and join the firefight. But two sharp cracks sounded, and both dropped dead, blood splattering onto the man and boy. The man went limp and collapsed; the boy threw himself over him.

Three more of their attackers fell in quick succession. Including the two behind the man and boy, five were now dead. The three who remained panicked, turning to flee. As they reached the cars, another burst of gunfire dropped them in the sand, motionless.

The whole place now resembled hell—bodies sprawled everywhere, mingled with groans and a boy’s sobs.

April lifted her head from the sand, stunned by the scene before her. It was hellish indeed. She looked toward the boy and saw that both he and the man had survived. She rushed to them.

Damn woman, Qiu Fengyu cursed, raising his rifle to scan their surroundings as he cautiously followed her. If they were ambushed now, it would be over.

“Oh my God, you’re alive! Thank God!” April knelt in the sand, reaching out to embrace the boy. But he shrank away, clutching the man—his father, by the look of it.

“Come on, it’s over. We need to get out of here—there’s more to be done, damn it. We have to clean this up,” Qiu Fengyu barked at April.

“We have to leave!” April tried again to pull the boy away.

“Don’t touch me! My father’s hurt!” the boy shouted at her.

Qiu Fengyu knelt by the boy. “Let me see.”

Perhaps it was Qiu Fengyu’s prowess—dispatching all their pursuers in a matter of minutes—that convinced the boy. He released his grip and let Qiu Fengyu examine his father.

“Looks like an abdominal wound. We need to move him. Trust me, let me carry him,” Qiu Fengyu said, eyeing the boy. If the boy refused, he’d leave at once. He had no intention of playing saint—it wasn’t his style.

“Let him help,” April urged, grasping the boy’s hand.

The boy hesitated, then nodded. Together, they made their way to a small cabin. Qiu Fengyu switched on the lights, swept everything from the dining table, and laid the man upon it, tearing open his shirt to reveal a deep wound in his abdomen.

It was a through-and-through wound—serious. One look told Qiu Fengyu the man couldn’t be saved.

As Qiu Fengyu shook his head, the boy let out a sharp cry, “No! Please, take him to a hospital, I’m begging you!”

April looked at Qiu Fengyu, about to say something. “Qiu—”

“Shut up. Don’t ask me for anything!” he snapped, silencing her with a glare.

The man had slipped into unconsciousness.

Qiu Fengyu gazed at the boy, already nearly six feet tall despite being only fifteen or sixteen, and spoke as calmly as he could: “You have two choices. One, we take your father to a hospital—he’ll die on the way. Or, I can inject him with something to keep him conscious for a while—maybe half an hour. After that, he’ll be gone. Tell me your choice.”

It was a cruel question for a fifteen-year-old.

April couldn’t help but frown at Qiu Fengyu. “You can’t say that to him—it’s not fair. He’s just a child. How can he make such a decision?”

“Shut it,” Qiu Fengyu said, glaring at her again.

April fell silent, but glared back in defiance.

“Give him the injection,” the boy said quietly, his eyes fixed on his father, yet his words were steady.

Qiu Fengyu nodded, took out the medication, and administered it.

The man regained consciousness. He looked at Qiu Fengyu, then at April, and finally at his son. He managed a smile, reaching out to touch the boy’s head, before turning to Qiu Fengyu. “You… saved us?”

“Without question. Yes, I did,” Qiu Fengyu shrugged. “You’ve got about half an hour. Your body won’t hold out much longer. If you have something to say or do, make it quick.” He turned as if to leave—he wanted no further involvement.

“No, wait, sir,” the man called after him.