125: Chapter 122 There's Always a Light Shining for You

One day ago—

Beside Gao Qiang's fish pond, one table, two people, three dishes, and four bottles of baijiu.

The two drank together, looking out at the calm lake, neither speaking for a long time.

On this day, Li Changsheng was drinking for the first time in a long while, and it was also his first time smoking. The two just sat there, smoking in silence for a while. The setting sun cast soft silhouettes upon the two men sitting opposite each other.

A breeze blew by, and Li Changsheng couldn't help but cough slightly. He wasn't quite used to smoking yet, but to vent the frustration in his heart, he needed nicotine to numb his senses and alcohol to numb his body.

Seeing that group of people again today, seeing them question him about the recent anomalies in the village, he had wanted to finish them off several times.

He held back.

Alcohol and smoking are actually not good habits for a martial artist.

In movies and TV shows, it seems like martial artists and generals are always eating meat by the mouthful and drinking wine by the bowl, but in reality, alcohol has many drawbacks for muscle recovery and training, and the same goes for smoking.

As for liver cancer, after his Breakthrough into Dark Jin, it had finally completely improved just recently.

His Lifespan showed 75 years, which meant that with Li Changsheng's current physical condition, living to the age of 102 was possible.

"Brother, I don't know what you want to do, but it must be something major. I don't need your money. Given our relationship, and since your grandmother is just like my own grandmother, if you are going away for a long time, I will definitely take good care of her," Gao Qiang said, smoking and sighing as he looked at Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng's words today were very vague, especially when he brought out a large plastic bag full of bundled cash; Gao Qiang felt that something was wrong.

However, he rarely asked about what Li Changsheng did. Li Changsheng was more educated than him, and nowadays, he was even more inscrutable to him. As a brother, he could only support him silently.

"Take the money. I don't know what kind of commotion this will cause. There are some things that need to be handled, and I can't guarantee what will happen, but use this money as you see fit."

Li Changsheng took a few deep drags of his cigarette and then gulped down a mouthful of baijiu, finally letting out a long sigh.

The depression in his heart seemed to be exhaled along with that breath.

"A certain Lu writer once said it well: 'Facing wine and song, how long is life!' Alcohol does indeed have its merits."

"Brother Li, this poem seems to be..."

Gao Qiang shook his head, but he still sighed, "Brother Li, I can't take this money. It's too much. Besides, taking care of your grandmother isn't much trouble; I can just stop by to see her on my way every day."

"And I have to go to town every day to purchase Materials, so I can bring back some daily necessities on the way. It's nothing."

"If I tell you to take it, then take it. Why so much nonsense? Let me tell you, I don't know when I'll be able to come back this time. It might be a short time, it might be a long time, or I might never be able to come back." Li Changsheng said sternly.

"Brother, are you... never mind. Have you told your grandmother about this?" Gao Qiang looked worried.

He understood that this matter was likely not small. To be able to say such things meant it was very likely that he would never be able to come back. Combined with the suspected murder case in the village a while ago, and the fact that that little Zhang had been following Brother Li Changsheng around recently, some things were already becoming clear in his mind.

"I haven't. I'll leave a letter when I go, just saying I went to work in another city. You help me cover for me, too."

Li Changsheng waved his hand and took a deep breath. What he was most worried about was still his grandmother.

He had already checked before making up his mind: in situations where one's life is not in immediate danger, rashly killing suspected spies still constitutes the crime of murder.

That was why he did what he did today. He had even bought a plane ticket in advance so that after the matter was settled, he could go directly to Country M to lay low, and just happen to visit the old man while he was at it.

Of course, this was the worst-case scenario. He could only hope that this time the other party would still have firearms, and that he could find a large amount of evidence proving their identity as spies on them.

Otherwise... he would have no choice but to go abroad.

Before making this decision, he had thought about handing everything over to the police, but after thinking it over, it was all just his own speculation. The audio file might prove something.

But it wasn't a video. If they followed the standard procedure, barring any accidents, they would need to conduct a strict investigation and collect evidence before they could finally make an arrest.

But by then, his own family would have already suffered.

What could spies do?

Li Changsheng didn't dare to think about it; it could be a pistol, or it could be a sniper rifle.

If the other party confirmed that he was the one who had killed eight of them, Li Changsheng had no doubt they would use a sniper rifle.

As the saying goes, one can be a thief for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as being on guard against a thief for a thousand days.

Thinking about those spy methods from movies and TV shows made Li Changsheng's heart creep out: poison, infiltration, assassination, sniper attacks, and so on—they would stop at nothing.

It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow!

The best-case scenario is that the police act decisively, quickly controlling everyone without a single one slipping through the net.

But this situation must develop in the best possible direction. If the spies act faster than them, while they are still verifying and even need approval before they can take action.

They might eventually succeed in the arrest, but what about him? What about his grandmother?

What was the point of him following them every day for the past few days? It was to investigate how many people were in this group. According to his investigation over the past few days, there were a total of twenty-five people in this group, and they returned to the hotel punctually before eight o'clock every night. This seemed to be their customary time for reporting and summarizing.

It was precisely because of this that Li Changsheng decided to take action.

Li Changsheng trusted the police, and it was safe in the country, but judging from the conversation between those two, this group was clearly very concerned about that notebook, and they were prepared to prioritize investigating the village.

At the same time, Li Changsheng believed even more that if this group didn't have hard evidence to prove their identity as spies, or even didn't have firearms.

Then he would most likely be charged with murder. The law shows no mercy; those are the rules!

Leaving might be the best choice. Leaving for a period of time, and then checking on the situation here from abroad; if the situation didn't develop according to the worst-case scenario, he would just treat it as a vacation.

"Qiang Zi, drink, drink! Tonight, we won't stop until we're drunk!"

Li Changsheng, with a faint smile and a slight flush on his face, clinked glasses with Gao Qiang.

They drank until ten o'clock at night; Li Changsheng was still drinking, while Gao Qiang had already passed out.

Li Changsheng smiled and shook his head, looking up at the night sky. The sky was filled with stars; this was the countryside, and although it didn't have the brighter starry sky of the plateau, it was still extremely beautiful.

"Look at this starry sky in the country; perhaps it will be hard to see it again in the future."

Li Changsheng smiled as he watched. Some people always feel that the moon abroad is rounder than the one at home, but he felt that the starry sky at home was like a brother, and the moon was like a mother, bringing gentle and meticulous care.

He stood up, stubbed out his cigarette, hoisted the dead-drunk Gao Qiang over his shoulder, picked up the bundle of cash, and walked into the small villa by the lake that was already taking shape.

Gao Qiang was really dedicated to his career; he had built a bedroom early on and then moved a set of living supplies over.

He slept here directly, went back to sleep for two days a week, and worked here when he woke up.

He tucked Gao Qiang in, put the bundle of money into the drawer beside him, waved his hand silently, and then gently closed the door.

Walking along the long-silent country path, there was only his own solitary shadow on the ground. Looking up, he saw that in the entire village, only his own house still had its lights on.

In an instant, Li Changsheng's eyes turned red...

(Note: This book is set in a parallel world. Please do not compare it with the real world; it does not involve any real people or things!)