Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 167: Saving a Life Once

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Saving a Life Once

By the seaside, near a tourist boat wharf, Lu Yi had been working there. He specifically requested to work the night shift tonight, simply to earn a bit more cash for his travel and spending. As he strolled along the shore, humming quietly to himself, he eagerly anticipated his upcoming paycheck.

Despite the long distance to the toilet, a sudden urge to pee lead him to find a shadowy corner to relieve himself. As he did so, he noticed a car approaching.

At first, Lu Yi paid it no mind as he thought it was normal to see cars here. But then he saw a peculiar figure getting out of the vehicle - a man wearing a mask quite late at night. He recognized the mask as being identical to the ones worn by the guys he came across in Qianye Country.

"No way!" Lu Yi quickly retreated further into the dark corner where he stood. He kept his eyes glued silently on this person, who was seemingly casing the area, as if confirming something?

Before Lu Yi could comprehend what was happening, two more cars approached from both directions. But rather than coming closer, the cars kept their distance as if providing surveillance for the first car.

Seeing this, Lu Yi knew something was about to happen. Breathlessly, he focused, unblinking, on the scene unfolding before him.

Next, the group of men hoisted a burlap sack out of the trunk of the car. The sack squirmed as if something was struggling inside. Faint whimpering noises could be heard from inside it, and Lu Yi quickly deduced what was inside and what was about to happen.

The group casually tossed the sack into the sea and watched as it slowly sunk deeper into the water. Once it had disappeared beneath the surface, they hurriedly drove off.

"Oh my god!" Lu Yi carefully emerged from his hiding spot, cautiously scanning the surroundings. Once he was sure the group had left, he rushed to the water’s edge, torn between to save or to ignore the situation.

"Forget it, consider this my good deed for the day." With that, Lu Yi pulled off his shoes and clothes and dove straight into the water.

Three days later, Lu Yi arrived at an abandoned building on the outskirts of town with a bunch of groceries and various daily necessities. He was here to visit a somewhat mentally disturbed person.

"Old Xing, I’m here to see you and I’ve brought some..." Before Lu Yi could finish greeting him, the man snatched the food from him and began wolfing down the grub with his grubby hands. It was like he hadn’t eaten in ages.

Seeing his behaviour, Lu Yi couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, "Old Xing, this isn’t right. Can’t you get your own food when I’m not around?"

"Go out? There are people who want to harm me outside. I am too scared to go out," Old Xing stammered, his gaze darting frightfully around the room as if the slightest sound could scare the living daylights out of him.

Lu Yi looked at the frazzled Old Xing and realized he must have been traumatized by the ordeal at sea which likely triggered his paranoid state. But Lu Yi still asked, "Have you remembered anything about what happened that night? Who wanted to harm you?"

"I don’t know who they were, I don’t recognize them. It must be the wicked woman! She had my brother killed and now she’s after me!" Old Xing shivered and his voice quivered with fear. "That wicked woman... I’m scared. She’s going to kill me... I don’t want to die."

Observing Old Xing’s terrified state, Lu Yi swiftly tried to calm him: "You’re fine, you’re too lucky to die, especially since you ran into me. You won’t die."

"I’m still alive, right, I’m still alive..." Old Xing managed to calm down a bit, but terror still shone in his eyes, "But the wicked woman will find me sooner or later. And then, nobody will be able to survive. Not you, not me; none of us will."

What kind of woman could drive a strong, strapping man like Old Xing to such a state of fear, Lu Yi wondered. She seemed even more terrifying than a ghost.

Every time he thought of the wicked woman, Lin Xi’s new face appeared in his mind. She was very likely to be this terrifying woman. So he pressed Old Xing, "Old Xing, can you tell me what this wicked woman looks like? Is she very beautiful?"

"Yes, she’s beautiful but she’s a venomous woman. Cold-blooded and ruthless! I’m scared... really scared." Old Xing was trembling uncontrollably and finally curled up in a corner, clutching his things tightly.

Lu Yi thought that Old Xing might have encountered Lin Xi and he might even get a clue to find Lin Xi through Old Xing. But looking at Old Xing’s current state, Lu Yi doubted he could get any useful information out of him.

So, Lu Yi suggested: "Old Xing, let me take you to the police. Maybe they can help."

"Police, no, no, don’t go to the police." Old Xing grabbed Lu Yi’s hand tightly as if scared out of wits, nearly crushing it.

Lu Yi didn’t understand why the mere mention of the police had Old Xing so scared. Could it be...?

Old Xing said in terror, "The police are in league with them, the police are their accomplices. I don’t want to go to the police, I don’t want to..."

"Alright, alright, I won’t go, don’t worry, you’re safe here," Lu Yi could only say this. His heart sank a bit, from Old Xing’s words, it seemed that he had offended some big power. Calling the police would not only be useless but might even harm him.

Without overthinking it, Lu Yi figured this was probably due to local organized crime colluding with local police. The police, who were originally meant to fight against crime and criminal organizations, had instead become a protective umbrella, and Old Xing was clearly a victim.

Lu Yi knew that among a group of criminals, there would always be some who were not totally devoid of conscience. There would be good people among the criminals, and in the same way, there would be bad apples among the police.

For the police to act as a protective umbrella for the criminals, the first requirement is that the police officer involved must hold a significant rank. A low-level cop would not be able to do this, which was what Lu Yi found most concerning.

Saving Old Xing’s life was enough, Lu Yi decided not to seek justice for him. Moreover, from their time together, Lu Yi could see that Old Xing was severely traumatized and had lost much of his memory, making it impossible to gather any clear information from him.

If Old Xing wouldn’t speak and police couldn’t be called, there was no way to determine his identity. Lu Yi had no choice but to leave Old Xing alone here and depart.

Lu Yi left him plenty of food and drink for a while, he had done his duty of human decency for a complete stranger. He also felt sympathy for Old Xing’s circumstance, not knowing which criminal syndicate he’d offended to end up in such a state of terror.

Seeing Old Xing’s current state, Lu Yi was reminded of his previous adventures, he couldn’t help but sigh, it was truly better to live a simple and peaceful life.

Just as Lu Yi was about to leave, Old Xing suddenly became very anxious, very fearful: "My two friends, I still have two friends. We fought against the bad woman and the bad man together. My two friends are in danger, they are in danger..."

Even though his instinct was to avoid trouble, Lu Yi couldn’t help but ask: "Your two friends, what are their names, where do they live?"

Old Xing looked at him blankly: "I don’t know, I forgot, I don’t know, I don’t know..." After saying this, Old Xing started scratching his head with a pained expression, as if recalling would bring upon unpleasant feelings.

Lu Yi wanted to help, but given how Old Xing was behaving, he probably wouldn’t be able to ask anything. He could only hope that Old Xing would stabilize after this episode passed.

"Who am I, who am I?" Old Xing kept asking himself but couldn’t remember. He turned to look at Lu Yi with a puzzled look.

Lu Yi could only shake his head in response to this, the night he rescued Old Xing, he found him greatly distressed, talking nonsensically, and completely disoriented. He only knew that his surname was Xing, so Lu Yi started calling him Old Xing.

"Don’t let anyone know I’m here, don’t let anyone know I’m here," Old Xing kept saying, shrinking into himself, his voice trembling, a pitiable sight to behold.

Finally, Lu Yi bid him farewell, not knowing why doing this good deed felt like a burden that he couldn’t shake off, like he was still tied to this matter and would have to revisit Old Xing in the future.

Now, Lu Yi’s only hope was that Old Xing’s family or friends would issue a missing-person notice. As long as he sees a picture related to Old Xing on the notice, he could help him return home. The rest would be up to his family.

As for what happened to Old Xing, that should be left for the police to handle. However, given what Old Xing had said about the police and criminal syndicate working together against him, even if the police had to be involved, it’d have to wait till Su Hui returned. Lu Yi believed that most of the police force, like Su Hui, had a strong sense of justice and social responsibility.

At this moment, Lu Yi received a phone call. It was surprisingly from Gu Fan. He exclaimed in surprise, "What’s up, classmate? Ever since you found your new love, you seem to have forgotten about us, even your friends. It took you this long to contact me just goes to show what a fair-weather friend you are."

Gu Fan quickly responded, "Don’t say that. Despite being busy lately, I’ve made time to keep in touch with my closest friends, which shows how much I value our friendship."

"Cut the crap, our friendship has been tried and tested. It would be a wonder if you could forget about it," Lu Yi chatted with Gu Fan on the phone for a while, agreeing to meet up with Jie to play basketball the next morning. It had been a long time since the three of them had played together.

Lu Yi wanted to tell Gu Fan about what had happened during this period, especially about Old Xing, but on second thought, he didn’t think it was necessary to trouble Gu Fan, who was in the throes of romance, with such irrelevant matters.

"I just hope the good deeds I’ve done won’t bring me any trouble," Lu Yi sighed with a worried frown, feeling uneasy as if sensing an upcoming threat.

A gust of wind blew, Lu Yi felt a chill and instinctively tightened his clothes. The image of that night appeared in his mind, leaving him wondering who those people trying to harm Old Xing were.