Chapter Eighty-Six: Who Is the Thunder Lord?

By the time he was still in the mood to joke around, the girl had truly gone too far. That was what he thought, and yet he still had to look for her. On New Year’s Day, a fifteen-year-old girl alone in a strange city—Mudu Railway Station was a place full of all sorts of rough characters.

If anything happened to her, then…

After writing so many books, Jiang Xiwen had always had a vivid imagination, and at times a rather wicked one at that. A young girl alone away from home inevitably brought to mind the worst possibilities.

Jiang Xiwen did not hesitate any longer. He took several hundred yuan in cash and his bankbook, left a note for his parents saying that he had guessed where Zhang Ya might have gone, promised to bring her back safely, and asked them not to worry, passing along the same reassurance to Zhang Yong’s family as well.

Travel between Yangjiang and Mudu was extremely convenient, with many buses and trains running throughout the day. Zhang Ya must have taken the overnight train to Mudu.

Even on the train, Jiang Xiwen’s brow remained tightly furrowed. Looking out the window, he searched his memory for any moment in his past life when he had had contact with Zhang Ya. After a long while, he still found no clue at all. It was likely that from that time until his rebirth, he had spoken to her less in total than he had in these two months since coming back.

Two hours later, Jiang Xiwen arrived at Mudu Railway Station. Compared with a few days before the New Year, the station was much quieter now. On the first day of the lunar year, very few people were traveling.

“Hey, schoolboy, where are you going? Your hand’s not convenient. Why not take my cab?” A bearded man came over. “My car’s over there, ready to go anytime.”

Jiang Xiwen had lived in Mudu for several years and had long since learned how formidable the taxi drivers around the station could be. He had no patience to deal with him and kept walking. The driver would not let it go, and came up to seize Jiang Xiwen by the arm.

“Kid, I’ll give you a cheap rate! It’s New Year’s Day, not many people around. No meter…”

Irritated, Jiang Xiwen answered in the Mudu dialect, “I’m going home, Xiwang. Five yuan and I’m riding!”

The driver hurriedly waved a hand. “Xiwang? Five yuan? You’re robbing me. No deal. No deal. I’ve got things to do…” With that, he turned and left.

Jiang Xiwen looked around. Mudu still differed somewhat from the city he knew after entering university. He searched the nearby area for a while, but saw no sign of Zhang Ya. Just as he was about to cross the street, he heard loud arguing behind him. Turning around, he saw a thin young man about six feet tall surrounded by three local men. The men speaking in the Mudu dialect were clearly thugs hanging around the station.

In his previous life, when Jiang Xiwen was in college, the extortionist drivers near the station were still there, but those brazen street toughs had long since been cleaned out.

Finding Zhang Ya was still the top priority, but for the moment he had no clue where to start. After learning boxing from Wang Wu, Jiang Xiwen’s instinctive heroism naturally flared in situations like this.

“So what’s going on? Bullying someone from out of town?” Jiang Xiwen said evenly, striding forward.

When the young man saw someone coming to help, he hurriedly said, “They swapped two fake bills on me. I asked them to change them back, and these guys are still trying to act tough! Comrade, please call the police for me.”

While speaking, the young man was not looking at Jiang Xiwen. When he turned his head and saw that Jiang Xiwen was only a middle school student, with his hand still wrapped in bandages, he quickly said, “Run, kid. They’re not good people.”

This one’s actually kind of interesting. Not bad at all.

Jiang Xiwen’s regard for the young man grew a little warmer. For someone like that, he was even more determined to help.

“What’s the big deal, brat? Mind your own business! Your hand’s broken already, so get lost!” one of the middle-aged men surrounding the young man snarled at Jiang Xiwen with a ferocious look. But in Jiang Xiwen’s eyes, it was nothing more than a grimace.

Jiang Xiwen did not answer and kept walking over. The young man was obviously panicked. “Kid, hurry up and go! They’re not easy to deal with.” Then he shouted at the others, “I don’t want the money anymore. Get out of the way.”

“You say you don’t want it and that’s that? What about accusing us just now? Damn your mother, mental distress compensation, wasted time compensation…” one pale-faced fellow was boasting loudly, but by that point his words had turned into a string of howls.

The surrounding cabbies, hotel runners, and food vendors were all drawn over. Clearly, they knew the thugs, and though they were watching from nearby, none of them dared come closer.

“Give the money back to him.” Jiang Xiwen’s tone was casual. He had seized the young man’s fingers and was bending them downward, leaving him completely unable to move.

“What are you doing, you bastard? You want to die!” the middle-aged man continued to snarl.

Jiang Xiwen did not want to waste any more time. Still twisting the pale-faced man’s fingers, he lifted a leg and kicked high, striking the middle-aged man squarely on the nose. Blood gushed at once.

“I’ve got a broken hand, but I still have feet!”

“Kid, I never thought you’d be this tough.” The young man, trapped in the middle, was both shocked and delighted.

“And there’s still one more.” Jiang Xiwen turned a cold eye on the thug who had not said a word. This fellow was naturally timid; from the moment the pale-faced man had been subdued, he had been quietly backing away. Now, caught by Jiang Xiwen’s shout, he hurriedly pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to the young man, trembling as he said, “Here, take it back. Take it back…”

“You little coward, what use are you?” the pale-faced man still had some backbone. Taking advantage of the instant Jiang Xiwen’s grip loosened slightly, he endured the pain and barked at the timid thug.

“Brother Wen, I’m sorry, I, I…” He could not get another word out after that. The timid young man turned and fled.

Jiang Xiwen released the pale-faced man’s hand. “Get out.”

Then he delivered another kick to the middle-aged man, who was clutching his nose and crying. “And you—if you’re going to rob people, at least do it properly. Don’t just come out grimacing like that and pretend you’re impressive.”

“You wait and see!” The pale-faced man knew he was no match for Jiang Xiwen. Supporting the speechless middle-aged man, he ran off in a hurry.

“Little classmate, thank you so much.” The young man smiled and extended a hand. “My name is Lei Jun. I’m in Mudu on business. And you? You must be a local, right?”

Jiang Xiwen shook his hand. “No. I’m here looking for someone, and I’ve got urgent business. Be careful on your own.”

His tone was like that of an adult, which made Lei Jun somewhat curious. He was about to ask more when Jiang Xiwen had already said goodbye and turned to leave.

“Hey, little classmate, could you tell me how to get to Misty Rain Pavilion?”

“Take Bus 18!” Jiang Xiwen called back without turning around. A few seconds later, however, he turned again and said, “Lei Jun, I’m going there too. We’re going the same way.”

Misty Rain Pavilion. Zhang Ya was very likely nearby. When Lei Jun mentioned the scenic spot, Jiang Xiwen suddenly remembered the one and only class reunion he had attended after entering university. Zhang Ya, serving as the host of the event, had been asked what her favorite place was, and she had given the most unusual answer.

At the time, nearly everyone had named famous mountains and rivers, or cities overseas. Only Zhang Ya had spoken of somewhere right beside them: a small pavilion by the central river in Mudu, on a bank lined with willow trees, a place where city people could rest—one of the city’s modest scenic spots.

It was precisely because it was so unusual that Jiang Xiwen remembered it. That answer had been completely unlike Zhang Ya’s image at the time.

He did not know when she had first come to like Misty Rain Pavilion, but as long as there was even a sliver of hope, Jiang Xiwen would try. Besides, this was the only clue he had right now.

“Great, let’s take a cab,” Lei Jun said with a smile. He did not know how else to thank Jiang Xiwen. Giving him money seemed tacky; since there was now a chance, he might as well treat him and save some time on the road. In those days, not many people took taxis. Even in Mudu, the provincial capital, unless there was an emergency, few would ever ride in one.

“Lei Jun, when you’re out and about, be careful with everything. Take the cab from over there.” Jiang Xiwen pointed to the taxi stand across the street. In just a few minutes, Lei Jun’s character had become clear: a little stubborn, and a little naive.

Stubborn, because even knowing it was dangerous, he still wanted to get his money back from the thugs.

Naive, because he did not even know that there were many swindlers around the station.

Lei Jun did not think there was anything wrong with Jiang Xiwen’s manner of speaking. After just a few brief exchanges, he was no longer treating Jiang Xiwen like a child.

On the ride, Jiang Xiwen said little. He was thinking that if Zhang Ya could not be found at Misty Rain Pavilion, where he should go next. Seeing his grave expression, Lei Jun did not disturb him; that was simply his way of dealing with things.

After they got out, Jiang Xiwen paid first, then casually said goodbye and opened the door to step out. Lei Jun could not stop him, so he had to stuff a business card into his pocket.

“From now on, we’re friends. If you have time, come find me.”

Jiang Xiwen gave a low hum, got out of the cab, and the moment his feet hit the ground he started running toward Misty Rain Pavilion.

Lei Jun got out of the car as well, looked at his receding figure, smiled, and shook his head before heading the opposite way.

Damn it, Zhang Ya, Zhang Ya, show yourself. If you still don’t show yourself, I’ll marry you! Jiang Xiwen cursed himself viciously. Deep in his subconscious, aside from marrying Su Lai, being with any other woman seemed like an immense pain.