Chapter 31 (2/2)

Weeewooo…

The sirens blared as the ambulance sped past him.

It was nearing midnight, but people still lingered on the street.

This street was brightly lit while the surrounding city was dim. The closest light source was an old, gloomy streetlight in an alley some way off. Its light only formed a tiny circle before the dark swallowed it. This gave Xu Ping a strange, illusory feeling as though he were not walking on a street but standing on a grand stage.

He pa.s.sed by many people all of whose expressions were stranded between joy and sorrow as though they were marionettes. Their mouths were open in the midst of speech, but Xu Ping couldn’t make out what they were saying.

He was tired from running, gasping for air, but he couldn’t stop.

The ground was littered with shards of broken gla.s.s. The horizon appeared to burn in an unnatural red.

He watched as frightened people ran towards him, brushed past him and sprinted in the opposite direction as him.

He slowed his pace and plowed his way through the crowd.

There were fences and road blocks several hundred metres from the square, leaving only one section cleared for entry and exit. Beside it were a handful of police vehicles and numerous armed police on patrol.

Xu Ping walked towards the entrance.

“Oi, oi! What’re you doing?!” Someone in green uniform barred his way.

“I’m going in.”

The man eyed him. “You can’t go in here!”

“My friend is in there!”

The man scoffed. “You can’t even if your parents are in here.”

Xu Ping stared at the man.

“What’re you looking at?! Are you deaf? You heard what I said?!”

“My friend is hurt. I have to save him!”

“I don’t care who your friend is. We have orders, and no means no! Get out of here!”

“He’s going to die!” Xu Ping shrieked.

The man paused, momentarily stunned, before barking angrily, “Are you f.u.c.king stupid?! I said get out of here!”

Xu Ping glared at him for a second and then bolted for the entrance.

The man stopped him and threw him to the ground.

“You wanna die, punk?!”

Xu Ping pushed himself off and ground and lunged for the entrance again, but he was kicked in the stomach and fell with a flop.

He lay on the ground coughing, unable to stand up for some time.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him before he fell into someone’s arms.

“Gege!”

He saw his brother’s fists. They were clenched so hard the veins on his forearms were popping out.

He clutched the boy’s arms.

The commotion had attracted the attention of a few more police officers who were now converging on them.

Their leader stomped towards Xu Zheng, shouting. “What’re you doing?!”

Xu Zheng’s eye went wide and his brows scrunched up tightly.

Wobbling, Xu Ping rushed to his feet to come between the two and pushed his brother back. “It’s nothing to do with him. He doesn’t know anything. He came looking for me.”

Xu Zheng maintained his intense glare.

The officer squinted, apparently disgruntled. “What the f.u.c.k are you staring at?!”

Only long after a colleague of his slapped him on the back did the undignified policeman avert his eyes.

“How many times have I told you now, no means no! But you still tried to enter by force. You were asking for it!”

He forcefully swept Xu Ping aside. “Out of the way! Go off over there!”

Xu Ping tumbled to the ground with a thump.

Time seemed to slow down as Xu Zheng watched his brother slowly fall to the ground and remain there motionless for a long time. He looked at the policeman leisurely chatting with the person next to him without a care in the world. His pupils enlarged in a split second, and he approached, picking up speed as he neared his target. The man caught sight of him in his peripheral vision and made as if to shout a question when Xu Zheng pounced, knocking him to the ground. The boy held him down and struck a punch with his right hand. Each punch was stronger than the next, and every one met flesh, drawing out blood in a matter of seconds.

The scene escalated very quickly. After an initial stupor, the handful of police officers rushed to restrain Xu Zheng, some grabbing his arms, other his legs, while the boy fought and struggled. Having had enough time to recover, the wounded policeman joined back in for a counterattack.

Xu Ping jumped in wanting to drag out his brother. He hugged the boy’s waist, shouting, “Xiao-Zheng, stop it! Stop it now!”

“You motherf.u.c.kers,” someone roared. “Get in here and help now!”

A baton connected with Xu Ping’s back, and he flopped to the ground.

The world before his eyes seemed to crack. All around him were flickering shadows and angry shouts.

He kept rolling around trying to dodge the flying arms and legs. He couldn’t see anything, but he knew the pain.

Time stopped working, too.

The last scene. He saw his brother holding him, s.h.i.+elding him underneath himself.

He heard the baton land on his brother’s back like a low, m.u.f.fled drumbeat.

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