Blades of Secrets: The Endless Night

CHAPTER 47

Sunset falls, the moon rising by now. The air became colder, and the brightest stars started to appear in the sky. Fen Yuhang goes to the bottom of the cliffside. He looked around, until he saw blood on the rocks. Dried blood, in a trail. Fen Yuhang wanders further, following the trail and sees Cheng Xing. Lying against a tree, eyes closed. His face was pale and bloody.

Fen Yuhang runs and kneels in front of him.

"Chen Xing! WAKE UP!"

Fen Yuhang sees his injury. The wound had been covered by a part of his shirt, blood slowly soaking through.

"I'll call Li Ming."

Cheng Xing grabs his arm with a bloody hand. "Don't call Li Ming."

"I-"

"Help me up."

Fen Yuhang looked at Cheng Xing up and down. "You're-"

"Help me up!" Cheng Xing demanded.

Fen Yuhang sighs and wraps his arm around Cheng Xing, lifting him up. Cheng Xing winces and takes in a sharp breath.

"Can you walk?"

Cheng Xing looks at Fen Yuhang.

"A bit."

Fen Yuhang helps Cheng Xing over and into the car. He hands Cheng Xing a cloth and starts driving.

"What happened to you?"

"I was shot."

"Who shot you?"

Cheng Xing puts the cloth on his wound and inhales sharply.

"Li Ming."

"LI MING SHOT YOU?! I knew you two had a fight, but I never thought it was that bad."

"If he wanted to kill me, he would have shot me in the head."

"You're lucky he missed the heart. He was a bit off."

"I wasn't lucky, he purposely missed. Don't bother going to the hospital."

"You got shot, what do you mean?!"

"I need to stay low. People need to think I'm dead," Cheng Xing said looking out the window. Cheng Xing laid his head back on the head rest and looked at Fen Yuhang.

"Fen Yuhang-"

"Mhm?"

Fen Yuhang was concentrating on the road.

"When Da Qiang and Da An were your friends- "

Fen Yuhang winces when hearing their names.

"-the day Da Qiang nearly drowned, what exactly happened?"

Fen Yuhang slams on the breaks making Cheng Xing jolt forwards. Cheng Xing inhales sharply in pain.

"How did you kn-"

"-I've known you for long enough."

Fen Yuhang exhales. Cheng Xing winces and applies pressure to his wound. Fen Yuhang starts driving again.

"Sorry, I forgot you were injured."

Fen Yuhang drove and to the side of the road, turning his engine off.

"We were about 8. Da An had gone to train. Da Qiang and I had decided to go to the lake. We were sitting on this log kind of halfway in the water. Da Qiang slipped and fell in. I couldn't swim so I didn't know what to do. I ran trying to find help, only to come back to see he was safe. Ping Heng had saved him."

Cheng Xing watched Fen Yuhang's face.

"Then do you know; all these years he thought you left him to drown."

Fen Yuhang looks ahead. "It doesn't matter anyway. It was too long ago."

Fen Yuhang started the car again.

They pulled into an old house.

"We're living here?"

"Correction, staying. You're the one that said we need to lay low."

Fen Yuhang opens the door. The house was one of those houses that had looked better on the outside. Inside was like an abandoned house. It was dusty and slightly smelly, with a musty smell. There was debris strewn across the floor.

Cheng Xing walked over and turned on the tap. "No water?"

"No, apparently you need to go to the downstairs tap to get water."

"Great," Cheng Xing said sarcastically.

Fen Yuhang turns to Cheng Xing. "I won't be able to help as much in the future. Master suspects I'm helping you."

Cheng Xing nods. "Do we have anything?"

"To eat? No."

Cheng Xing looks up at Fen Yuhang.

"I was talking to Da Qiang, and I asked about the assassin knowing the police were coming. He told me to ask you. What does he mean?"

Fen Yuhang looks at Cheng Xing this time. Cheng Xing pulls out the broken microphone.

"Don't worry, I disconnected it. While I was rolling down the cliff. I found this, attached to my shoe. Is this yours?" Cheng Xing asks.

"It's not mine, but it was my doing."

Cheng Xing stands up but clutches his wound in pain. Fen Yuhang steps forward. Cheng Xing pulls out his hand to stop him.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You've been shot and you're bleeding out."

"I'm not bleeding out."

Fen Yuhang looks him up and down. "Well, you may not be bleeding out, but if this is your definition of fine then we need to check your head."

Cheng Xing face became paler, he didn't even know that was possible. Fen Yuhang wasn't sure if it was because it was dark or because he was injured. Cheng Xing walked over and sat on the dusty couch in the corner. Puffs of dust rose into the air.

The moon shone through the window. Dust motes swirled in the air, just barely visible. The moonlight painted everything in greyscale.

Fen Yuhang turns on the light. The light flickers and dims. Cheng Xing inhales sharply

"So, was it your doing?"

"Yes. Ping Heng had asked me to do it. I didn't know why at the time."

"Why would you do that? You knew what they were asking had a reaso-"

"BECAUSE WEN ZHANG WAS IN HIS HANDS!" Fen Yuhang snapped.

There was now silence between them.

"By his you mean- "

"-Ping Heng's."

"So, Wen Zhang's disappearance was-"

"-to do with Ping Heng, yes."

Cheng Xing grips his hands tightly.

"He used Wen Zhang to get to me. And then used me to get to you. That call when you asked what I was doing, and I replied that I was looking for Wen Zhang-"

Cheng Xing nods.

"Truth is I wasn't, I had already found him. I couldn't tell you anything because Ping Heng was standing in front of me listening to the conversation. I was just hoping you wouldn't say anything stupid that would give us away."

Cheng Xing sighs. "For Wen Zhang's sake I forgive you. But I don't understand why he would go through so much trouble. For what?"

Fen Yuhang nods. "I don't get it either. But it was how the assassins knew the police were coming. They had the place emptied out."

He snaps out of his thoughts and takes the bandages out the bag.

"I think you'll need these."