Chapter 35 — I'll Be Your Hostage
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Gu Mengyao stared at the man she had pinned beneath her in disbelief. He had actually stood up for her at a moment like this? Was he not afraid of dying?
To be sure, Gu Mengyao understood that Wei Zhao had taken a great deal of her father's money, but no sum of money could be weighed against a life. No one was indifferent to his own life, and Gu Mengyao was not foolish enough to believe that Wei Zhao had risen now merely to "take a man's money and spare him his troubles."
For an instant, Wei Zhao no longer seemed so detestable to her. At the very least, he was a man of true standing. Gu Mengyao asked herself whether Zhong Yongliang would have stepped forward at such a moment. Surely he would not; perhaps he was even more frightened than she was, his head ducked low.
Hm? Why was she comparing Wei Zhao with Zhong Yongliang? Gu Mengyao shook off these impractical thoughts. This was no time to be thinking of such muddled things.
"Damn it." The bald man had not expected anyone to complicate matters. Taking a hostage was something others would flee from, yet this man in front of him was charging right in?
"Who the hell are you? Did I call for you?" The bald man frowned and glared viciously at Wei Zhao. "If you don't want to die, get out of the way."
"You need a hostage, don't you? What difference does it make who it is?" Wei Zhao shrugged. "Relax, I'll cooperate."
"Motherfucker!" The bald man flew into a rage. What was with this brat, always ruining his plans? Fury surged up in his chest, and he raised his gun and fired at Wei Zhao.
At Wei Zhao's current level of cultivation, even a shot fired at such close range could not harm him. Ever since he had begun practicing the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, his reflexes had grown extraordinarily sharp; a slight turn of his body was enough to dodge the bald man's bullet.
Yet in the very instant Wei Zhao turned aside, alarm flared in his heart. Behind him stood a young girl, and the bald man's bullet was traveling on a downward slant. If Wei Zhao dodged, the bullet would strike the girl behind him, and if it did, she would either die or be gravely wounded.
Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and twisted his body back, meeting the bullet head-on. It tore into his thigh at an angle. Pain of that intensity could no longer cause him much suffering, yet he still frowned.
Fortunately, he had positioned himself well enough: the bullet lodged in the flesh and did not shatter the bone.
"Ah!" A cry of alarm rose unbidden from the crowd, and Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu both clapped their hands over their mouths. Wei Zhao had taken a bullet.
Yet Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had seen it perfectly clearly: Wei Zhao could easily have dodged that shot, but for fear of harming the girl behind him, he had taken it head-on.
At that thought, a measure of anger crept into the look Gu Mengyao cast at the girl behind Wei Zhao.
"Son of a bitch, there really are people who aren't afraid to die." The bald man was astonished. Was this brat in front of him insane?
"Boss, there are more and more cops outside..." One of the robbers ran over and whispered to the bald man.
"Damn it." The bald man cursed, then jabbed his gun at Wei Zhao's head. "Since you're so eager to be a hostage, you can come along. Ma Liu, keep an eye on this kid."
"You got it." Ma Liu drew his gun and pointed it at Wei Zhao's head. "Kid, who told you to put on airs at a time like this? Playing the hero isn't so easy."
Wei Zhao said nothing, weighing in his mind whether to make his move here or wait a while longer. Here, for one thing, the robbers were too scattered, which was not favorable for him; for another, there were far too many people around, and once any large-scale panic broke out, it would be even harder to act.
"You, girl, on your feet." The bald man had fixed his sights on Gu Mengyao and would not let her go. Once again he aimed his gun at her.