Chapter 714

This also suited his wishes. Ning Chen gently pushed the door open a crack, stretched his eyes into the gap, first saw a patch of white light, then saw the furnishings and decorations inside.

The area inside should not be small. The first thing Ning Chen saw was the sofa directly facing the door. The back of the sofa faced Ning Chen's eyes, so he could not see whether anyone was lying on it.

Looking to the right, he could see a fireplace. Looking further to the left, he could see nothing at all, because the door crack was too small and the interior too large; simply peering inward through such a narrow gap made it impossible to find any clues.

Yet Ning Chen felt there was someone inside. His intuition told him the person he wanted to find should be there. So he pressed the handle and pushed the door open a bit more.

Now that crack had widened, and Ning Chen could see more things inside.

Naturally, he could also see a pair of shoes appearing at the end of the sofa.

Ning Chen immediately confirmed that someone must be lying there.

After confirming there was only one person inside, Ning Chen slowly pushed the door open, his field of vision gradually expanding.

With his view now open, Ning Chen found it easy to see many things clearly when looking inside, such as the blind spots he had not seen just now, and the "thing" lying on the sofa.

That seemed to be a person. Ning Chen's heart gave a start as he ruled out possibilities and guessed who the person lying on the sofa might be.

He did not believe his luck could be that good, that he would happen to find Seeing Hu Di, so he leaned more toward the person lying on the sofa being some patrol member of this Shanzhuang.

However, even if Ning Chen did not agree that the person inside was Seeing Hu Di, he could not easily let go of this suspicious clue. So Ning Chen quietly pushed the door crack open a bit more, preparing to slip inside and investigate.

But the moment his foot stepped onto the carpet laid inside, the person on the sofa immediately asked alertly, "—Who?"

Ning Chen froze in place at once. He dared not move forward, nor dare retreat.

At this moment, neither advancing nor retreating was possible. Ning Chen stood awkwardly at the doorway, stiffly trying to minimize his presence while slowly crouching down, not moving left, right, forward, or backward, to ensure he would not be detected by the person inside.

The person lying on the sofa was indeed Seeing Hu Di. He had heard the sound of the door opening; besides that, he felt nothing. Now, noticing the sound had ceased, he frowned, wanting to rise but unable to do so.

This was all Ning Chen's fault for disabling his hands. For Seeing Hu Di to sit up from the sofa while his whole body was completely relaxed was almost impossible. Moreover, the sofa restricted his posture, offering no support; at this moment, he was a lamb at someone's mercy.

After Ning Chen crouched, he made no sound. If Seeing Hu Di had still been suspicious after hearing the sound just now, then now he should question whether he had misheard.

But Seeing Hu Di could not rise; he had no way to prop himself up. If it were as before, even if he did not want to rise, he could not; but now, because Ning Chen had severed his tendons, it meant that even if someone came, Seeing Hu Di would have no way to resist.

He would fall into a desperate situation, and he very likely would not even know who that person was.

Seeing Hu Di felt a rare moment of panic in his heart, but it quickly calmed. Compared to life and death being fate, Seeing Hu Di preferred to trust himself.

But at this moment he truly had no means; even calling for help was extremely difficult.

Seeing the person on the sofa still motionless, Ning Chen slowly continued to approach.

Seeing Hu Di felt again that prickling-on-the-back sensation. He bit his back teeth. At this moment, Seeing Hu Di was certain an intruder had broken in, and the target was very likely himself.

Yet Seeing Hu Di could recognize his own condition. At this time, Seeing Hu Di was utterly powerless to resist; even if that person were a handless, three-legged cat, they could attack Seeing Hu Di, and Seeing Hu Di would have no way to fight back.

This was the reason for Seeing Hu Di's worry. He did not lack money, nor did he fear injury, but people like him feared death above all.

Because death would take everything away, including what he had once gained or never gained; in the end, all would turn to ash.

Ning Chen walked slowly toward the sofa.

While slowly approaching, Seeing Hu Di had already sensed it. He held his breath and focused his spirit. With his hands disabled, he had no way to draw a gun, even though two pistols lay on the table before him. Seeing Hu Di could not call for help in time now; he could feel the person behind him getting closer and closer. In less than three seconds, that person would reach the sofa and see the person lying there.

And Ning Chen had also approached the sofa. He saw that the person lying on the sofa was indeed Seeing Hu Di. He had not guessed wrong. Ning Chen let out a sigh of relief; he had not expected to find Seeing Hu Di after such a long search, thinking he would have to spend much more time to locate him.

Yet he found him right here. Seeing Hu Di could not sit up either. He opened his eyes and met Ning Chen's gaze from above, as if he were not at all surprised the person was him, and sneered, "I knew it was you."

Hearing this, Ning Chen said, "I thought you would be on guard. I didn't expect them to leave you lying here alone." After saying this, Ning Chen raised an eyebrow. "What, it seems they don't value you?"

Seeing Hu Di fell silent for a moment, his brows and eyes carrying a trace of ferocity. "You didn't come here just to kill me, did you? What exactly do you want?"

After hearing this, Ning Chen seemed to find it somewhat amusing. The corner of his mouth curled, and he actually smiled. "Guess what I'm here for?" After asking this, he said no more to Seeing Hu Di, since delaying further would waste his own time and might alert others here.

Seeing Hu Di intended to delay time. Li Yu had gone out to send off Doctor Joseph and should be returning soon. If Li Yu returned, Ning Chen would basically have no escape. His greatest worry was that Ning Chen would act before Li Yu returned.

So Seeing Hu Di could only try to delay time. But Ning Chen seemed to see through his intent. He said no more to Seeing Hu Di, struck Seeing Hu Di unconscious with one chop, the strike fast, precise, and ruthless. Almost at the same moment he struck, Seeing Hu Di fainted.

After knocking Seeing Hu Di out, Ning Chen glanced around, searching for the safest escape route. Finally, his gaze fell on the window directly facing him.

That window was large, and could be pushed open from inside. Ning Chen walked over and looked; the distance from the room to the ground below was not high, enough to lower a person down.

Moreover, outside the window was a garden. The garden was basically unguarded. As long as he exited through this window, there would be basically no mishaps along the way. Ning Chen made up his mind, returned to the sofa, and tried to drag Seeing Hu Di up. Seeing Hu Di looked thin, but in fact weighed very little. His whole body was like a skeleton. Ning Chen felt no pity for him; he grabbed him by the collar, hauled him off the sofa, pushed open the window, and threw the person straight down.

Below was soft, muddy ground. Ning Chen was not afraid of breaking the person. Seeing Hu Di, struck by the impact, though in a state of fainting from blood loss, still let out a low groan. The sound was not loud, and the disturbance caused was very small. Ning Chen looked out through the window, confirmed no one was guarding the surroundings, and after throwing Seeing Hu Di down, Ning Chen himself jumped down. He landed lightly, making no sound, crouched to check Seeing Hu Di's condition, saw he was merely unconscious with stable vital signs, and no longer worried. He hoisted the whole person onto his back. This posture was not very comfortable for the person on the back, but Ning Chen did not care much; as long as the person did not die, it was fine. However, with two people together, the target was inevitably too large.

Ning Chen ran wildly alone in the garden, not knowing whether anyone would discover his tracks. But if he carried another person, he would very likely be discovered. After all, their target was not small. If the people inside discovered Seeing Hu Di missing, they would certainly come looking for him. So now Ning Chen could only try to transport Seeing Hu Di out from inside. Whether he could transport him out remained a problem. At this moment, they must pay special attention to whether anyone was patrolling inside the garden. Carrying a person on the back naturally made movement less convenient. Ning Chen crouched, trying to minimize his target. His body hid behind a bush; from the outside, only a person's head was visible, moving slowly within the bush, not very conspicuous.

Ning Chen vaguely remembered the way he had come. As long as no one intercepted him halfway, he could walk out of the garden in under five minutes. At the very moment Ning Chen carried Seeing Hu Di out of the room, Li Yu returned to the Shanzhuang at the same time. When Ning Chen threw Seeing Hu Di down, Li Yu happened to push open the door of the Shanzhuang. Many people were still patrolling back and forth inside the villa, but he did not know why he felt uneasy at this moment. So Li Yu sped up, even breaking into a light jog, darting back and forth inside the villa, bypassing more than a dozen corridors, and arriving at the room where Seeing Hu Di rested. When Li Yu drew near, he saw the door was ajar. His heart gave a start. He immediately disregarded everything, pushed that door open, and strode in quickly. He found the person on the sofa was gone, but the window was open. Li Yu already understood what had happened. Seeing Hu Di's hands were disabled at this moment; he had no way to push open the window door. Moreover, Seeing Hu Di had no need to escape from the Shanzhuang; at this time, the Shanzhuang was the safest place for him. So there was only one possibility: Seeing Hu Di had already been taken away by someone.

That person absolutely could not be a friendly force. Li Yu mentally ruled out everyone, and finally determined the intruder might be Ning Chen. Among those who had recently quarreled with them, apart from Ning Chen, there was no one else. Although they had many ugly enemies, after so many years, no one dared to provoke their caliber. After all, there had been precedents; the fates of those people were generally very miserable. Those with eyes would naturally not come forward to provoke them again. The only possibility left was Ning Chen. Li Yu lowered his eyes, could not help but fiercely punch the table, but he quickly calmed down, picked up the phone on the table, and called the Shanzhuang guardsman. The moment the guardsman received the call, he sounded the alarm. This was the alarm within the Shanzhuang; once the alarm sounded, it meant someone had invaded. All the patrol members of the Shanzhuang were from their own organization; Li Yu naturally trusted them.

He recalled that the last time the alarm had been sounded should have been five years ago.

Five years was a very long time for them. After the alarm sounded, the entire Shanzhuang echoed with the piercing alarm.

Li Yu ordered, "Completely seal off the entire Shanzhuang. Absolutely do not let anyone escape... By the way, send more people to the garden to investigate. I suspect the person disappeared inside there." After the guardsman received the message, he immediately dispatched a squad to check. And Ning Chen also heard the alarm. At the moment he heard the alarm, he was still crouching and moving slowly forward within the bush. At this moment, the exit was still about four minutes of walking away. But now the alarm had sounded, which meant people would certainly come to search the garden. Ning Chen, carrying one person, was too large a target to advance easily. If he wanted to avoid being found now, he could only temporarily hide in the garden. Ning Chen looked around, trying to find a good hiding place. Alone, he would have no problem, but carrying a person was无异于 carrying a burden. If two people hid together, they would be easily discovered. So Ning Chen could only think of a way to hide that burden first. Hiding separately was better than hiding together. Ningchen did not hesitate; he stuffed Seeing Hu Di into a dense bush. To prevent discovery, he even dug up some soil and covered it over Seeing Hu Di, ensuring the person lying in the bush would not be spotted at a glance. Since one person was already hidden, if Ning Chen hid inside himself, it would be inconvenient. So Ning Chen wanted to find another place to hide.

But there seemed to be no good place to hide nearby.

Ning Chen keenly sensed that people were already approaching him from the surroundings. If he did not hide now, he would very likely be discovered. So Ning Chen hid behind a tree. His back pressed against the trunk, and this tree was thick enough, making it very suitable for hiding. But if many people came, he might be discovered. Yet at this moment, only behind that tree was the best hiding spot. After Ning Chen moved there, sure enough, in less than two seconds someone walked up from behind. Ning Chen tilted his head slightly to that side and could naturally see those people clearly. He roughly counted; there were about five or six people over there. Five or six people per squad. To find Ning Chen, they would probably have to dispatch other squads. Ning Chen himself would not be easily discovered, but if Seeing Hu Di, whom he left in the bush, was discovered, then all his efforts would be wasted.

Besides the dispatched squads, Li Yu himself was also searching. He had jumped down from the room. Within the entire Shanzhuang, few people knew the layout and arrangement of the garden better than he.

Ning Chen hid behind the tree for five minutes. Although many people had already come to the garden to search, because his position was flexible enough, he was not easily discovered. But during his hiding, Ning Chen saw Li Yu. Li Yu did not discover him immediately, but Ning Chen saw at a glance that this person was different from the other patrol members. If he continued to hide here, he would very likely be discovered.

So Ning Chen quickly changed position. At the very least, he had to ensure Seeing Hu Di in the bush would not be discovered. Ning Chen looked around; there was a wall nearby, just to his right. But moving from behind the tree to that wall would take about five seconds.

But at this moment, many people were searching for his and Seeing Hu Di's tracks. If he rashly went out now, he would very likely be discovered. So Ning Chen planned to activate his skill, reach the back of the wall at the fastest speed, and at the very least ensure he would not be discovered.

Ning Chen was very confident in his speed. As long as he accelerated, basically no one could capture him with the naked eye. From here to the wall, at normal speed, it would take ten seconds. If Ning Chen used his skill, it would take only one second.

And in that one second, as long as Ning Chen was careful, he would basically not be discovered. After making up his mind, Ning Chen immediately used his skill. He dared not delay any longer, because those people were getting closer and closer to him. If he continued to delay and was discovered by them, the outcome was almost predictable.

Ning Chen took a deep breath, made a simple mental preparation, and then immediately activated his skill.

Everyone only felt a white shadow flash past, moving so fast like a gust of wind that they could not clearly see what had passed. At that moment, everyone was stunned for a moment. They absolutely did not believe the thing that had just passed was a person; they only thought their eyes were playing tricks on them and did not pay much attention. Ning Chen deliberately avoided Li Yu. He used his skill after Li Yu turned his back, so his figure was almost not captured by Li Yu. Therefore, those people only thought their eyes were deceiving them and did not pay much attention.

Ning Chen let out a sigh of relief; fortunately, he had escaped detection. His current hiding place was very safe, because it was a high and thick wall, capable of completely shielding his whole body. Especially this side of the wall was quite messy, with many weeds all around. It looked as if no one had tended it for a long time, which was why it was so chaotic. Therefore, the probability of people from that side coming to search was very low. Sure enough, ten minutes passed without anyone walking this way. Yet Ning Chen dared not go out casually. He did not think those people would lower their guard. Moreover, relaxing vigilance at this time might very likely allow those people to catch a slip.

Ning Chen had still thought those people too simply. Even if those sent to guard would not come to check by the wall, there were certainly those who were extremely cautious. Take Li Yu, for instance. Ning Chen had not expected that person to be so meticulous, to come to such a place to search. The wall was already far from the garden; because it was so remote, it would be impossible to escape there with someone in a short time, which was why Ning Chen had felt safe choosing to hide there. But those people were slowly closing in. Although the wall was wide and thick enough to shield him, if someone came from behind, he would certainly be discovered. Hearing the footsteps coming from behind, Ning Chen could not help but feel nervous. It was not that he thought he could not escape, but if he was exposed, it would arouse suspicion, meaning his mission this time would be a complete failure.

Ning Chen did not want to lose all his previous efforts; he had to hide himself.

But the people in this Shanzhuang were not fools either. Moreover, the person coming to search for him was Li Yu, not someone else. For such a meticulous person, Ning Chen could only say it would be very difficult for him to escape detection.

Yet there was still a possibility of escaping.

His back pressed against the wall, he moved slowly along it in the direction that person was moving. Because he could not let anyone discover his tracks, Ning Chen deliberately circled around Li Yu, ensuring he would not be discovered immediately. But always hiding behind the wall was not a solution. Ning Chen knew he could not hide inside for long; at best, it would only extend the time before he was found. If he wanted to remain undiscovered, he could only change his hiding place. However, although the garden was large, there were people patrolling and checking it. If Ning Chen wanted to avoid them all, it was truly not an easy task.

So Ning Chen could only take one step at a time and see. He could only gamble, gambling that the person pursuing him did not have such good eyesight or brainpower, or at least would not discover him immediately. If he could delay time, it would still be very advantageous for Ning Chen. After all, his current position was a blind spot. If he remained within this blind spot, escaping to another place was almost impossible. So he circled around Li Yu while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

When Li Yu approached the wall, he already felt something was wrong. He was a person with keen intuition; he should have felt that something was happening by the wall. That was the real reason he chose to observe the situation by the wall. But at this moment, it was truly difficult for him to extricate himself. Not to mention people patrolling inside the garden, the person approaching the wall to check the situation was extremely formidable. Ning Chen could actually feel that the person must have discovered his presence, but he could only choose to hide at this moment. If he moved a little slower or later, he would easily be discovered. Li Yu advanced step by step into the garden. He had a premonition that someone should be inside the wall, so he quickened his pace and went directly around to the back of the wall. Hearing the faint footsteps coming from behind, Ning Chen could roughly guess where the person behind was, so he quietly circled around from behind. Ning Chen's speed was well controlled; it was neither too fast nor too slow, maintaining a pace that prevented the person behind from discovering his existence from start to finish.

But Li Yu was not a fool either. Among the people of the entire Shanzhuang, few lacked brains. Therefore, after Li Yu approached the wall, he immediately quickened his speed and went directly toward the wall.

But he saw nothing. As if he did not believe in bad luck, he circled the entire wall once, yet still saw nothing. The area around the wall was empty, with only some scattered bricks and small pebbles on the ground; nothing else. Let alone people lingering around the wall.

Li Yu circled the wall two more times and finally confirmed there was no one there. Although he felt somewhat strange in his heart, he did not investigate deeply. He turned and left the place to investigate the next location.

Ning Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He could hear Li Yu's footsteps getting farther and farther from the entire wall. At this moment, he guessed no one would continue to survey around the wall, so he crawled out from the pile of weeds beside him.

Ning Chen had already sensed something was wrong while contending with Li Yu, so he chose to hide only after circling to the back of the wall, and the pile of weeds nearby was obviously the most suitable hiding spot. However, those weeds sticking to his body were somewhat uncomfortable. Ning Chen stood up, brushed the grass roots off his clothes, confirmed no one was guarding the surroundings, and then quietly circled past the pile of weeds. There were still many people in the garden searching for possible hiding places for Hu Di and Ning Chen, but each time Ning Chen skillfully avoided them. Li Yu always felt something was wrong. He had clearly determined that if Ning Chen wanted to escape, he could only escape to the garden, especially while carrying such a large target; no matter where he hid, he would be easily discovered. Yet they could not find Ning Chen. Not finding Ning Chen did not matter; the most critical thing was to find Hu Di. Revenge could be taken another time, but if a person died, there would be basically no way to turn the situation around. Li Yu's face grew cold.

Looking at the group of guards bowing their heads before him, he could not help but curse angrily: "Truly a bunch of useless things. We sent so many reinforcements, yet you still could not find Ning Chen. If he escapes with Hu Di, you will all bring your heads to take the blame."

When Li Yu said this, his expression was fierce. He usually showed no mercy to his subordinates. To date, the number of subordinates who had died under his hand exceeded five hundred, and people had been replaced batch after batch.

That was why he had such a title that made people tremble with fear. Those guards wanted to find Ning Chen and Hu Di, but they could not. Because Ning Chen's position was too tricky, and he could move at any time, if they wanted to play hide-and-seek in such a huge garden, they might not necessarily find him. Moreover, these subordinates had preconceived notions that Ning Chen must be acting with Hu Di; wherever Ning Chen was, Hu Di should be there. So for places like shrubs that could not accommodate two people hiding, they would not check. This just happened to miss Hu Di's hiding spot. They never thought Ning Chen would feel safe leaving Hu Di alone in the shrubs, after all, such places should be the first choice for searches. But Ning Chen seemed to have grasped their psychology and acted against it. After throwing Hu Di into the shrubs, he ignored him completely and hid himself, moving according to the progress of their search. After two or three hours, they found nothing in the garden; they could find nothing. Logically, by this time they should have suspected Ning Chen had left the Shanzhuang with Hu Di. After all, under the premise that they could not find anyone for two or three hours, the only possibility was that the people had escaped. But they were very confident in their Shanzhuang's security management measures. Basically, once an order was given and all accessible gates were closed, not even a fly could get in, let alone someone leaving with another person. They even searched from eight o'clock in the evening until midnight, yet still found nothing. Li Yu left the garden early. He was the one most worried about Hu Di's safety. After all, both were management personnel within the Shanzhuang. If another person made a mistake, the loss to the organization would be enormous.

So he returned to Hu Di's previous room, trying to find some clues.

Li Yu recalled in detail what he saw the moment he walked in. In the end, he could only vaguely remember that when he walked in, the door seemed to have been left slightly ajar, not completely closed.

But he indeed had the habit of closing the door casually. If the door was not closed when he arrived, then there was only one possibility: someone else must have come during that time. Hu Di had no other reason to escape. Moreover, the Shanzhuang was the safest place for him. Since they established this organization, they had offended many enemies. It was possible someone came to seek revenge, but Li Yu still believed the person most likely to take Hu Di away was Ning Chen. After all, among the people they had offended, only Ning Chen possessed such strength. Unable to find anyone, the Shanzhuang locked down the entire territory, allowing no one to leave. But even so, they might not be able to find Hu Di.

Thus, Li Yu ordered everyone to set out to find Hu Di and Ning Chen, while he himself hacked into the management system to search whether Ning Chen had already started his journey back to the country.

Finally, the answer he searched for confirmed that Ning Chen indeed had not returned; he was still here, for reasons unknown. Ning Chen seemed to have gone head-to-head with their organization, not only coordinating with the police to hunt them down but also meddling and taking Hu Di away. If Hu Di was taken back to the police station, his fate could be predicted. The police side would definitely send more police forces; at that time, taking Hu Di out like last time would certainly not be so simple. After Ning Chen bypassed most of the people coming to search for his tracks, he felt that at this time they should not continue to increase personnel to search the garden. If he dragged it on any longer, he might really spend the night in the Shanzhuang. So Ning Chen decided not to hide anymore. He alone avoided some subordinates, then went straight to the shrubs to pull out Hu Di, who had already fainted.

When Ning Chen struck Hu Di before, he had shown no mercy. He knew he had to make the person fall into a long sleep; he had to grasp the timing, and the force had to be much heavier. So this chop of his hand made Hu Di sleep for five or six hours. At this moment, Hu Di still showed no sign of waking up. This was also because he had lost too much blood before and had expended too much physical strength and energy, causing him to be slow to wake.

However, this also benefited Ning Chen. If the two hid separately, Hu Di might wake up later. When he made some sound or crawled out of the shrubs and was discovered by people, Ning Chen would then be completely ruined. After dragging Hu Di out of the shrubs, Ning Chen placed him on his shoulder. He adopted a posture that would make the person on his back feel somewhat uncomfortable and carried the person forward. Although the target was somewhat large, at this time, the personnel coming to the garden to search for the two's tracks were no longer that many. If he dragged it on any longer, it was almost predictable that the Shanzhuang would be completely locked down. Given Li Yu's personality, he definitely would not let the matter rest; he would surely find Hu Di and Ning Chen and personally avenge this grudge before he could feel at ease.

At that time, trying to get out would be truly difficult. Ning Chen carried Hu Di and ran for a distance. Fortunately, Ning Chen had good stamina; even with someone on his back, it did not affect him much. He ran very fast; in about ten minutes, he had already approached the Shanzhuang gate.

At this time, the Shanzhuang was brightly lit, not looking like night at all. People were patrolling everywhere, probably just to find the fleeing Ning Chen. But Ning Chen was already close to the Shanzhuang gate. He could even clearly see that nearly thirty people were guarding the Shanzhuang gate.

This was not easy for him now, especially with someone on his back. Moreover, the person on his back might wake up at any time. If he wanted to escape safely with the person, he could only sneak out. Ning Chen stared at the Shanzhuang gate, carefully thinking over a strategy. Finally, he chose to slowly approach the gate and then look for an opportunity. Staying in the garden all the time made it impossible to get close to the exit. After Ning Chen approached the exit, he hid himself behind a group of tall and lush grass. Ning Chen squatted under the grass, waiting for those thirty people to leave.

But he sat for half an hour and still did not see any movement from those thirty people. The only possibility was that they had been sent by Li Yu to guard the Shanzhuang gate and could not go anywhere.

This meant Ning Chen had to fight those thirty people. If he did not defeat them, there was no way to get out.

But even fighting those thirty people would not be easy.