After all, I won't have time to take defensive measures. Swift action is their best tactic. If I had money, they wouldn't have had to torture me and force me to tell me where I was hiding it. But they will torment me anyway, for the amusement of it. Or rather, Renata will come and torture me. I don't know where she wants to start first – my eyeballs or my throat. Probably eyeballs, because if she started at my throat, she wouldn't be able to hear my screams and be satisfied. I'm sure she really wanted to crush my throat first in order to get revenge for what I did to her. ”

Gong Yu sat in the back seat, his injured leg stretched forward. Officer Blue sat in the passenger seat in front. They looked at the bronze as if his nervous narration was reflected in his demeanor.

"You're talking too vividly." Gong Yu said.

"What makes you so sure of the Channeler and the Best Western Hotel?" Officer Blue asked.

"Because if it were me, I would do that." Bronze said.

"Why not the Station Hotel or the Grange Hotel, or one of the hotels further from here?"

"The size of the place is easy to draw attention to. Whoever was staring at the receiver of the seeker didn't want to draw attention. ”

"If you're so sure, I can ask the police in Xining to check the room at the Dinghao Western Hotel."

"Don't take a search warrant? Is it possible for the police not to disclose their aims? Whoever was staring at the receiver would be watching outside the hotel to see if the police were coming. Renata and her friends would disappear without a trace, and I would lose the best time to wait for them to take the bait. ”

"You're worrying me." Gong Yu said.

"Why?" The bronze turned and drove down the avenue, in the direction of their "home", gradually approaching the highway ramp.

"You've changed. It sounds like you're welcoming this kind of challenge, as if you like to do it. ”

"Maybe I'm starting to get back to where I was."

"What?"

"If you and I want to live, I must return to the way I was. I had no other choice. I had to change back to the same me I used to be—the me I was before Santa Fe. That's why Ryan chose me to be your neighbor, isn't it? Bronze asked. That's why you moved next door to me, because I used to be that kind of person. ”

The rented Buick climbed over the mountain, and Santa Fe suddenly appeared in front of the bronze, and the mountains in the distance seemed huge. He returned, but he was neither excited nor happy. Instead, he felt an unexpected emptiness.

So much has happened to him since he left here. Santa Fe's flat-roofed buildings with earthy brown and ethnic characteristics seem more exotic than before. The rounded adobe houses emit a gentle glow, and the September afternoon is surprisingly clear and bright, and when there is no smoke, you can see hundreds of miles away. It's a land where the sun dances.

However, Bronze felt that it was completely strange and distant. He didn't feel like home. He just toured again where he happened to live. This sense of distance reminded him of how he felt when he returned to his apartment in Nanjing or Chongqing after completing his mission while working at the Intelligence Bureau. He had felt this sense of distance countless times before, in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Beiping, Wuhan, and finally Shanghai—because he was on a mission, no matter where he went, he did not dare to integrate himself with his surroundings, for fear that he would let his guard down. If he is going to live, he can't distract himself. In this sense, he is home.

"It's well stitched." The doctor with the hunched shoulders said.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that." Bronze said. The doctor was a former client of his, with whom he had occasional dealings. "Thank you for agreeing with us without an appointment."

The doctor shrugged. "I had two people make an appointment this afternoon but didn't come." He then examined the wound on Gong Yu's thigh. "I don't like the reddened skin around the seams. What is the cause of the injury? ”

"The car had an accident." Gong Yu was about to answer, but Bronze hurriedly said.

"You're with her? Did you hurt your face because of this? ”

"It's going to end badly enough."

"At least you don't need a few stitches." The doctor turned his attention to Gong Yu again. "Redness means that the wound is becoming infected. Have you ever been injected with an anti-tetanus shot? ”

"I wasn't awake enough to remember."

"The doctor must have forgotten." Bronze said angrily.

"Then it's still necessary." The doctor gave Gong Yu an injection and bandaged the wound again. "I prescribe some anti-inflammatory drugs. Do you want to order any painkillers? ”

"Yes."

"Well, this should work." The doctor finished writing and handed her two pieces of paper. "It's better not to shower, it's just that you can shower at most, but I don't want you to soak your wound in water. If the muscle tissue becomes too soft, the stitches may come out. Call me three days later and I'd like to make sure the infection isn't spreading. ”

"Thank you." Gong Yu slowly moved down from the examination table, pulled up his loose pants, and buttoned them. To avoid arousing suspicion, they did not mention the wound that the bullet had made on the fleshy part of Gong Yu's shoulder on Friday night. There was no redness around the wound, but if it started to get an infection, the anti-inflammatory medication used to treat the wound on her thigh would work.

"I'm glad I can help. Mr. Ku, I'm going to buy some more rentable properties here, do you have anything on hand that would interest me? I was available on Friday afternoon. ”

"I may not be available. I'll get back to you. Bronze opened the door of the examination room and let Gong Yu walk out in front of him on crutches and walk towards Officer Lan who was waiting in the foyer. Bronze told them, "I'll be right out," then closed the door and turned to the doctor. "Uh, Dr. Xie?"

"What's the matter? Do you want me to check the wound on your face? ”

"That's not what I'm thinking."

"So-"

"I'm afraid it sounds a little too dramatic, but I wonder if you can keep our visit to you a secret."

"Why-"

"It's tricky, actually, embarrassing. My friend is going through a divorce and if her husband knows that she has been seeing me, things will be in trouble. Someone might call or come here and say it's her husband or a private investigator or something, and they want to know about your treatment for her. I don't want him to find out that she's been here with me. ”

"My clinic is not in the habit of providing that kind of information." Dr. Xie said very bluntly.

"I don't think so, but my friend's husband is very persuasive." Bronze picked up the bag with the money.

"He's definitely not going to get any information from me."

"Thank you, Dr. Xie. I'm grateful to you for that," he said as he left the room, feeling that the doctor was unimpressed by the situation he claimed to be in. He stopped in front of the reception desk. "I'll pay in cash."

"The patient's name?"

"Wang Hui" he made up a pseudonym.

It's rare that Renata would have checked every doctor in Santa Fe to see if Gong Yu was going for the treatment she might need, but it had always been a characteristic of bronze. He deliberately did not take Gong Yu to his personal doctor or to the emergency ward of a public hospital. Those places were too conspicuous, Renata could easily find someone to watch and see if Gong Yu had returned, and she would be able to know if the bronze had returned to the city. Bronze may have been too much of a precaution, but now old habits have taken control of him.

The mobile house and the licca-covered gravel floor in front of it looked a little strange, as if it was not the same as what Bronze had seen a few days ago. No, Bronze said to himself, it should have been a few nights ago. You saw it in the middle of the night, and of course it looked different. He parked his rented Buick on the side of the road and glanced at the narrow garden that surrounded the front wall, in which dwarf calendula grew.

"Do you think you're here to show your face?" Officer Blue asked. "That devil or one of her friends might be watching where I live."

"It's impossible." Officer Blue said, "Renata didn't see you clearly that night. ”

Officer Blue was also staring at the mobile home, as if there was something strange about it that was different from before. What makes him nervous? Officer Blue was curious. Does he really think Renata is in this area? Either because—Bronze remembers Officer Blue mentioned the argument between him and his wife. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable going back to her.

"You have taken all kinds of dangers with me, and I owe you a lot." Bronze reached out.

"Yes." Gong Yu got up and leaned forward. "You saved my life, and I will never be able to repay you. Saying 'thank you' is not enough to express my gratitude. ”

Officer Blue was still staring at the mobile house. "I'm supposed to say 'thank you.'"

Bronze frowned. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You asked me why I wanted to go with you." Officer Blue turned and looked straight at him. "I told you at the time that I needed to be away from my wife for a while. I told you that I'm a guy who is fascinated by helping people out of trouble. ”

"I remember." Bronze said.

"I also told you that I had never met anyone like you before, and that it was to be educated to walk around with you."

"I remember that, too."

"The way people behave is going to change over time." Officer Blue hesitated. "I've felt like a dead man in my heart for a long time."

Bronze was stunned.

"When I hang out with the hooligans, I know there's more to it than running around aimlessly, but I can't think of anything. The policeman I told you about later changed the way I looked at things. I became a police officer, like him, so that I could change a little bit and be able to do something good. Officer Lan choked up with excitement. But sometimes, no matter how much good you do, all the dirty things you see in this world can crush you, especially the unnecessary pain that people put on each other. ”

"I still don't-"

"I don't think I'll ever get excited about anything again. But I've been trying to keep up with you these days...... Uh, something happened...... I feel energized. Oh, what we did scared the hell out of me. Some are simply irrational and suicidal. But at the time—"

"Looks like that's what it should do."

"That's right." Officer Blue smiled. "It seems like that's what it should do. Maybe I'm like you. Maybe I'm reverting to the original state. He stared at the mobile room again, his expression becoming serious. I think it's time. He opened the door to the passenger seat, his leather boots resting on the gravel.

Bronze watched the tall, lanky, long-haired detective walk melancholy towards the three steps in front of the mobile house,

After Officer Lan disappeared through the door, Bronze turned towards Gong Yu. "It's going to be tough tonight. We're going to have to put you in a hotel somewhere outside the city. ”

Although Gong Yu was very uncomfortable, he still sat up straight in vigilance. "No, I'm not separated from you."

"Why?"

Gong Yu didn't answer, she was very uncomfortable.

"You're saying you're feeling uneasy when you're leaving?" Bronze shook his head. "That's probably what you thought when you lived next door to me, but you have to let go of that idea. Now, it's wiser for you to stay as far away from me as possible. ”

"That's not what I'm thinking." Gong Yu said.

"And what are you thinking?"

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be involved in this. I'm not going to leave you alone trying to get out of it all. ”

"There's going to be a shootout."

"I know how to shoot."

"That's what you said." Bronze remembered that Gong Yu had killed her husband and taken something from his safe on the wall. He looked at the bag containing the 1 million beside him. Is this the money she wants? Was that what motivated her to stay with her?

"Why are you mad at me?" Gong Yu asked.

Decker was unprepared for the question. "Angry? What makes you think I-"

"If you're a little cold to me, I'll be like frost."

Bronze looked at Officer Lan's activity room, looked at his hands, and looked at Gong Yu. "You shouldn't lie to me."

"Lying to you about my witness protection? I was commanded never to tell you. ”

"Ryan's orders?"

"See, after I was shot, after I was discharged, when you and I were talking in my yard, I tried to tell you as much as I could. I beg you to leave here with me and go into hiding, but you insist that I go alone. ”

"I think that's the best for you, in case another gang of killers comes after me." "If I had known that you were protected by witnesses, I would have dealt with it in a different way." ”

"Another way? How to deal with it? ”

"I'll go with you," said Bronze, "to help protect you." That way, I'll run into Ryan, I'll realize what's going on, and I can save you and me from this nightmare we've been through. ”

"So is it still my fault? Is that what you mean? ”

"I don't think I said the word 'wrong,' I-"

"What about the lies you told me, the things you did before you came to Santa Fe, how did you have those gunshot scars? It seems to me that both of us have told quite a few lies. ”

"I can't just go around and tell anyone that I worked in the Intelligence Bureau."

"I'm not just a casual person," Gong Yu said, "don't you trust me?" ”

"This ......"

"Don't you love me enough to trust me?"

"It's a legacy of the past. I've always been reluctant to trust people. Trust will kill you. But your argument applies to both of us. Obviously you don't love me enough to trust me, not enough to tell me all about your past. ”

Gong Yu sounded frustrated. "Maybe you're right, maybe I don't love deep enough." She leaned back tiredly. "What was I expecting then? We corresponded with each other for two months. During that time, there were only 8 days when we were lovers—" She shuddered. "A person's life doesn't change in eight days."

"It can be changed. When I decided to move to Santa Fe, my life changed in a matter of minutes. ”

"But your life hasn't changed."

"What are you talking about?"

"You said it yourself, you're back where you started, and you're the same you used to be." Tears flowed down Gong Yu's cheeks. "It's because of me."

Bronze can't control himself anymore. He wanted to lean over from his seat to hold Gong Yu's hand, and wanted to lean forward to hug her.

But before he could help but raise his hand, she spoke again, "If you want to end our relationship, just say it to me." ”

"The end?" Now that the question has finally been raised, Bronze is not ready. "I don't know...... I'm not—"

"Because I can't stand you saying that I'm taking advantage of you. I lied to you on my background because I was ordered to keep it absolutely confidential. Even then, I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that you would leave me if you knew the truth. ”

"I'll never leave."

"That depends on the future. But that's all you can get from me. Either accept my explanation, or forget it. One thing is for sure - I don't want to stay in a hotel room and leave you alone to face Renata. You risked your life for me. If I had to prove myself in the same way, that's what I'd be willing to do. ”

Bronze felt overwhelmed.

"What the hell is going on?" Gong Yu asked, "Are you willing to forgive me for lying to you?" I'm ready to forgive you. Do you want to start over? ”

"If possible." Feelings torment bronze.

"Anything is possible if you try to do it."

"As long as we all try to do it." Bronze's voice has changed. "Yes."

Officer Blue's front door opened, and Bronze's attention was immediately drawn to it. Officer Blue came out. The tall, thin officer put on clean trousers and an ethnic cheesecloth jacket, and put on a felt hat. A pistol hung from his right crotch. But there was something in his expression that indicated that it wasn't just his appearance that had changed since he entered the house.

Officer Blue's boots creaked on the gravel as he walked towards the Buick.

"Are you okay?" Bronze asked. "Your eyes look—"

"She's not here."

"Your wife? Do you mean she's out or—"

"Gone."

"What?"

"She's gone. The mobile house was empty. The furniture, the pots, the plates, and her clothes, gone, and the cacti we raised. She took everything, leaving me with only a few clothes. ”

"That's enough." Bronze said.

"I came out a little late, because I had to try to ask and see where she went. She lives with her sister in Xining. ”

"I really don't think I should have let you out with me a few days ago."

Officer Blue didn't seem to hear him. "She doesn't want to see me, she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Just because you don't want to give up your job as a police officer?"

"She always said I was married to my job. Of course, we are in some trouble, but she doesn't have to leave, we can try to solve the problem. ”

Officer Lan seemed to have just finished realizing the existence of Bronze and Gong Yu. He looked at the back seat and noticed the tense expression on Gong Yu's face. "It seems like I'm not the only one trying to solve the problem."

"We're playing games," Ms. Gong said, "with a series of Q&As." ”

"Oh, well," Officer Blue said, getting into the car, "let's do it." ”

"What are ......?" Decker asked, puzzled.

"Go and end the fight between us and Renata."

"But it's not your fight anymore, stay here and try to settle your affairs with your wife."

"I never walk away from my friends."

Friend? Bronze felt a pang of grief when he remembered the price Lao Yang and Xiao Li had paid as his friends. Again, he persuaded Officer Blue to give up. "Nope. Where do you work? Where everyone knows you? You are crazy. If something happens, we can't cover it up like we did in Hangzhou. There will be rumors, at the very least, that you will lose your job. ”

"Maybe that's what I want in the end. Come on, bronze, drive. Renata is waiting. ”

Officer Blue drove them to the police station's gun hangar. In the bronze view, it is not so much a gun depot as a hunting supplies warehouse, which has a lot to do with the area here. The air was filled with the sweet, greasy smell of gun lubricants. Gun racks filled with rifles, shotguns, and other hunting equipment lined up in front of him.

"Take two double-barreled shotguns, 10 calibres." Bronze said.

"The heaviest double-barreled gun here is a 12 calibre," he said.

"Good. I need an improved choke on the shotgun. ”

"That's fine." Officer Lan cleaned up familiarly.

"You need a short barrel too."

"Okay. What else is needed? ”

"A rifle."

"Is it okay with Mauser? There is a 10-ring cartridge. ”

"Is there a 30-ring cartridge?"

"There are three. While you still have it, hurry up and take it. The sub-bureau said it was going to take it away. ”

"Give me all three. Two boxes of ammunition per gun. Shotguns need large buckshots. Get three more high-quality hunting knives. In addition, there are three sets of combat uniforms, two large and one small. Three sets of underwear, three pairs of dark cotton gloves, a tube of clay, two foldable camping shovels, and a dozen water bottles—the kind of metal kettles left over from the army. And the best first aid kit you've got here. ”

"A dozen kettles? Do we use it? Just three people. You want almost everything – long-range, medium-range, and close-range. Officer Blue joked, "Hey, the only thing you didn't make it in was a bow and arrow." ”

"Good idea." Bronze said.

。