Chapter 149 - I Forbid You

It was finally nighttime and Qing Chen was already equipped to do his watch at the forest. He had strapped multiple knives to his body. A gun was harder to take out of the weaponry and it was too bulky… and loud.

Feng Xuan was on her desk with a lamp light on when he came. "I thought you left already," she said and walked over Qing Chen.

"Well, I want to say good night first." He bent down and quickly pressed a kiss on her cheek. "If I don't get back before sunrise… you know what to do."

Fear shadowed Feng Xuan's face and she reached out and fisted a hand on his shirt. "You're not gonna die tonight. I forbid you to die."

Qing Chen only gave her a smile and a kiss on the lips. "Yes, wife," he answered. "I'll be back."

He swung his leg over the sill and the other. Then he was gone.

**

Qing Chen made a sprint for the woods and headed to the place he was to scout tonight. He took a small flashlight with him. It was rusting and old but it was the most reliable thing at the moment even though the beam it was producing was almost translucent.

He looked up at the trees but everything looked like a suspicious shadow. It would be wise to not use any form of light—to not announce his location, but how the hell was he going to see anything? If there were some hidden spot here to store things or a communication device, he had to find it.

After clearing the first round in the triangle, he finally turned it off. There was nothing here. It was the farthest left portion of the forest around the training ground. While he was walking back, he made a different plan in his head.

They were going to have to start looking in the middle and then fan out. Maybe they could do it all tomorrow. Him and his brothers can go and cover all the grounds. That way, the chances of escape of the person they were looking would lower.

His eyes had already adjusted to the dark and with the small glimpses of moonlight, he was able to see the ground he was walking on. The ground was moist with the weather and the trees continued to follow the breeze of the cold wind.

There were two people that could be here in the forest with him and yet he had never felt more alone. His thoughts were quiet and his senses were heightened. He kept looking at the ground near him, looking for a footprint he could follow. He also looked up once in a while to not be taken by surprise like last time.

He continued walking back until he saw the mouth of the clearing. He brought himself up on a tree and took a seat on a branch. That way, he could see from the shadows who was going to come here. He leaned against the tree and it was as if nature was telling him that it was okay to sleep. He yawned a lot.

He was at least expecting to see Ma Min. But after their punishment the other night, maybe she would stop coming to the woods in the meantime. Qing Chen was about to fall asleep when he saw someone coming out of the building.

His body jolted awake.

The person was in black clothes, looking around first and up to the dormitory windows before making a break for the forest. He was too far to see the face, but there was only one person who had the same built.

Shao Fang.

**

Qing Chen dropped to the ground as softly as he could and started running to the direction, hoping that he would be able to catch up before he lost him. He tripped a few times which made his ankles ache and his breath catch, but he was not going to waste it this time.

He stopped and closed his eyes, listening to a sound. A few seconds later, he heard distant footsteps and he hid behind a boulder. He was closer now and he could see that it was Shao Fang who was jogging.

When he got near to where Qing Chen was, he slowed to a walk and pulled out a flashlight. He turned it on and started looking up at the trees. He could not believe it.

Shao Fang does not look like he was looking for something. He looked as clueless as Qing Chen. He was also searching for something and he didn't know what it was.

But that was impossible. Maybe he was just looking for the tree that had been their spot.

Qing Chen cautiously trailed Shao Fang, only following when he was almost out of earshot and away from the light. Shao Fang suddenly stopped and Qing Chen froze from where he was.

Was he found out?

Qing Chen took in the surroundings. What is happening? Why did he stop? he asked himself and started to look around.

Then he heard something… some rustling… when in fact Shao Fang was not moving.

His heart started to pound. There was someone else here. Shao Fang seemed to have heard the sound too and he started walking and looking around, unsheathing a knife from his side.

Qing Chen suddenly found himself wishing that whoever who was with them, to not have a gun. He took a dagger from his leg and positioned. If this person knew Shao Fang was here, then maybe they also knew Qing Chen was there.

Qing Chen started to walk slowly towards Shao Fang, his eyes darting everywhere. But there was no sound…

Until…

Shao Fang moved and out of nowhere something came flying from the top of the tree. It was like a misshapen animal—Qing Chen thought it was a huge bat until he realized it was cloth.

His knife quickly left his fingers.