Chapter 13: I, Li Qi, Wish to Be a Good Man

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It was a missing persons notice.

Searching for an elderly woman in a gray cotton-padded jacket and a little boy in a military green leather coat.

The notice had been published in the newspaper for half a year, yet no one came forward with any clues.

Fifteen years later, when the coal at the Central Mine was fully extracted and the people around the mine had left, the once prosperous Central Mine turned into a wasteland.

When the children’s elementary school was being demolished, the skeletal remains of an elderly person were excavated from beneath the wall of a dry latrine’s cesspit.

It was said to be the elderly woman from the missing persons notice, but the little boy who was always by her side remained missing.

A thunderous shock hit Li Qi’s mind.

In his previous life, that old lady had taken her grandson fishing, surely because the Princess River was frozen over; in the end, they went to the small river bend beside the children’s elementary school.

And in this life, it was he who had sent those two there.

This karmic consequence was enormous.

What should he do?

Someone’s life was at stake.

Living here, surrounded by private illegal coal pits and iron mines scattered across the nearby mountains, and with frequent fights breaking out over mining rights,

Li Qi was no stranger to bloodshed.

But for the other party to dare kill someone, no matter the reason, if he went there now, he himself might be in danger.

Finally, Li Qi gritted his teeth and thought, “To hell with it!”

He recalled the day he graduated from middle school, when Principal Teng stood on the podium and bowed to all the graduates.

“Students, I apologize to you.

During these three years of middle school, the teachers have divided you into good students and bad students based on your grades.

Those who studied well were deemed good students; those who did not, bad students.

I know this was wrong, but I did nothing to stop it.

Because I know most of you are rural kids. If you want to leave, you can only rely on your studies.

But now that you’ve graduated, I must tell you this: school is a place to cultivate talent.

And the word talent starts with ‘person’—person comes first, talent comes second.

First, you must be a good person, then you can talk about being talented.

I hope that after leaving school, you will first be good people.”

I, Li Qi, want to be a good person!

He kicked his bike into motion, sparks flying from the pedals, and rode toward the back gate of the children’s elementary school.

From a distance, he saw a dilapidated van.

The van was parked at a tricky angle, just blocking the school’s back gate. On the frozen river, a man was dragging a little boy toward the van, tightly covering the boy’s mouth, while glancing back to see two other men pinning down an elderly woman on the ice.

The old woman was struggling desperately, and one of the men was pulling a dagger from his chest, stabbing her repeatedly.

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Li Qi rode his bicycle straight into the first man.

Crash!

The bicycle, carried by momentum, slammed hard into the man, who immediately saw stars. The little boy was knocked aside, rolling on the ground.

Li Qi, who had practiced Tongbei Boxing and Tai Chi since childhood, finally had a chance to use his skills. He swung the bicycle handle and struck the man’s head fiercely.

Smack!

The man’s neck snapped to one side, and he fainted.

The other two men, seeing this, released the old woman, their expressions dark as they charged forward.

“You little brat, I’ll kill you!”

Li Qi wielded the bicycle and charged at them.

Relying on his youth and strength, the two men couldn’t close the distance immediately.

Li Qi fought while retreating toward the school’s back gate, shouting at the top of his lungs,

“Help! Someone’s being murdered!

Three outsiders are assaulting an old woman!”

His cry stirred a reaction inside the school, with people peeking out, curious about the commotion.

This scene was beyond what many had expected.

The van’s driver anxiously honked the horn. The two men, realizing their plan was foiled, cursed and dragged their unconscious comrade toward the van.

Li Qi had no time to worry about them. His goal was to save lives. If the three big men got desperate and tried to kill him, it wouldn’t be worth it.

The van roared to life and sped away into the distance.

Li Qi hurried to support the old woman. She had been stabbed in the abdomen and already looked pale.

He helped her to the riverbank, seating her on the bicycle’s rear seat, then placed the dazed boy on the crossbar. With both old and young secured, he rushed toward the hospital.

The old woman was losing blood, but still muttered,

“Xiaoyun, Xiaoyun, how is she?”

“Don’t speak anymore. The child is fine. Just hold the wound yourself.”

Fortunately, the hospital was nearby. Li Qi, drenched in sweat, finally reached the hospital entrance and immediately spotted Su Yu, who had just changed into his white coat.

“Brother Su Yu, come quickly! This woman’s been stabbed and needs stitches.”

Su Yu hurried over with an emergency bed and laid the elderly woman down.

She opened her eyes with difficulty, glanced at Su Yu, and suddenly screamed in fright,

“You’re that pig butcher! What are you going to do?

I want a doctor! I want to see a doctor!”

Li Qi couldn’t help but chuckle,

“Ma’am, he’s not a pig butcher. He’s a doctor.

That pork stall belongs to his father. He just helps out there when off duty.

You better let him treat your wound quickly, or you might lose too much blood and pass out again.”

The old woman grasped Li Qi’s hand tightly.

“Go to the town police station. Find Chief Xu Tiesheng. Tell him I am Qiu Shuyun.”

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Meanwhile, at the town police station, chaos reigned.

Chief Xu Tiesheng was furiously berating one of his subordinates.

“Liang Bing, did you grow up eating dung?

I was so tied up that I had no choice but to leave those two with you.

You’re the one I trust most in this station!

I told you to accompany Mrs. Qiu and her little grandson the entire time. How could you dare to leave them alone and lose them?

Do you know that Mrs. Qiu’s son is Zhou Guoliang, the political commissar of the city bureau?

And the child she was with is the posthumous son of Zhou Guodong, the political commissar’s elder brother, who heroically died fighting in the west a few years ago. He is the sole heir of a martyr.

If anything happens to these two in our town, it’s enough to get us shot three times over, no question.”

His subordinate protested,

“At that time, the city called to ask about the crackdown and specifically wanted me to report.

I just told them those two should wait in the office for fifteen minutes.

Who knew they would leave on their own?”

“It’s too late to argue now. Find them! Dispatch people immediately.”

As they argued, someone knocked on the door.

“Chief, there’s a half-grown boy outside. He says Qiu Shuyun was stabbed and is now being treated in the hospital.”

Xu Tiesheng nearly fainted upon hearing this.

The sky was falling.

He hurried out with his men but didn’t see the messenger. Without time to look for him, they rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Lao San had already returned home.

After all the commotion, dusk was approaching, and there was no time to attend to business at the mine.

He found a bike repair stall and straightened the slightly bent wheel of his bicycle, then headed home.

Upon entering the yard, Li Zhe, who had just finished school, saw the new bicycle and his eyes lit up.

“Third brother, you bought me a bicycle!”