Their lust subsided, and Xia Lei started to worry about his future. He had had an affair with Jiang Ruyi after marrying Shentu Tianyin, and now with Long Bing. It was best if Shentu Tianyin never knew about these but she was sure to flip if she found out.

Ah, the pitfalls of being a man. He’d acted on impulse, and had his time of pleasure, but what came afterwards? A huge steaming pile of problems. However, men all over the world still got themselves in trouble even though they knew full well what the result of their actions would be.

Xia Lei’s thoughts ran while Long Bing lazed about. She made a pillow out of her arms for Xia Lei, and her large eyes did not leave his face. Xia Lei was handsome, and there was no angle where he was ugly. She thought he looked very sexy from the front. She was, quite obviously, satisfied, happy and content.

Their positions seemed to have been reversed, however. She should’ve been the one to lie in Xia Lei’s arms, not him in her arms. It would have been even more messed up if she were the one smoking a cigarette after doing the deed.

“What’re you thinking about?” asked Long Bing softly.

Xia Lei chased his thoughts away and smiled. “Nothing.”

“Um…”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

Footsteps suddenly came from the corridor, followed by fierce words being spoken.

“So what if I opened your door? Fucker! Asking for a beating?” It was a male voice.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! My husband was… was rude.” This was a woman’s voice, and it was full of terror.

“Bastard! Look again! Have you seen this guy?”

“No, I really haven’t seen him…”

Long Bing and Xia Lei exchanged glances and jumped out of bed at the same time. They picked up their clothing and underwear from the floor at lightning speed.

“Where’s my… Y’know.” Long Bing was panicky.

Xia Lei looked at the clothes in Long Bing’s hands and he abruptly recalled where he had seen it last. He looked up and saw the black lace underwear dangling from the hanging lamp. Xia Lei jumped, and snagged the underwear, then handed it to her.

“It’s all your fault. Why did you throw it up so high?” Long Bing glared at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei said nothing. He shrugged, and made a helpless expression. According to what he remembered, it was Long Bing who had thrown it up there herself. That throw of hers had been awesome.

They’d just put on their clothes when knocking came from the room door.

“Who is it?” asked Xia Lei in Japanese. “What do you want?”

“Open up now! It’s the police!” said someone aggressively from behind the door. “We are pursuing an escaped criminal. Open your door right now, so we can investigate!”

Xia Lei opened the door. Some men stood outside, and they were mostly in their twenties. They were all fierce, unsavoury characters. They’d called themselves the police, but not one of them was in a uniform, and they were covered in tattoos. These people were obviously thugs, not policemen.

Xia Lei first thought of Gu Kewen when he saw these people. She had been in Japan for a period of time, and it was very possible that she had bought the services of thugs, based on the way she worked. These thugs before them were most likely working for her.

Xia Lei guessed their identity, but he kept his face impassive. He smiled. “Officer, what is it? My girlfriend and I are from Hokkaido. We’re just tourists, and we don’t want any trouble.”

The thug leader shoved Xia Lei aside and led his underling into the room. They looked everywhere, including in the bathroom. Unfortunately for them, there was no third person in the room, and they found nothing.

“Not bad, punk.” The thug leader looked Xia Lei up and down. “How much is this room per night?”

“20,000 yen,” said Xia Lei.

“Shit, that’s expensive!” The thug leader looked at Long Bing, who was standing next to Xia Lei. Long Bing was wearing a mask, but the face on her mask was quite pretty too. Her body had not changed, and its generous curves and sexy lines were flaming hot.

“What’s your name, Miss?” The thug approached.

Cold flashed in Long Bing’s eyes. This was a sign that she could attack at any time.

Xia Lei stepped in front of the thug and took out his wallet. He took out a wad of Japanese yen and shoved it in the thug’s hands. “We don’t want any trouble, Officer. Please, take this money and have a drink.”

Xia Lei’s hand flashed past the thug’s jacket pocket as he spoke, and a tiny listening device dropped into the thug’s pocket.

The thug looked at the Japanese yen in his hand and a smile crossed his face. “You’re a smart guy, eh? I won’t trouble a smart guy. Enjoy your night.”

“Take care, Officers,” said Xia Lei with a smile.

“Hold on.” The thug leader took out a photograph and held it up to Xia Lei. “Have you seen this guy?”

Xia Lei had most certainly seen that guy. It was him.

“No.” Xia Lei shook his head. “Is he a wanted felon?”

“Don’t poke your nose into it!”

“Yes, of course. I never asked.”

The thug left with his underlings. Noise soon came from the corridor again. These thugs seemed to be searching the entire hotel.

“These guys could be Gu Kewen’s men,” said Xia Lei quietly. “She’s somewhere in Oshino Hakkai, and that woman too. They should be together.”

“Do they suspect that we’re already in Oshino Hakkai?”

“Gu Kewen has always been paranoid. It’s not weird that she would be so suspicious.” Xia Lei thought for a bit, and said, “About that woman… I can’t guess who she is, but those people close to the village entrance are probably her people.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I put a listening device on that thug. I can confirm Gu Kewen’s location when he goes to report to her later. That’ll be the time we make our move,” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing went to the bed and pulled out the luggage right away. She unzipped it and tipped out the gun parts on the bed.

An XL2500 and a Gust assault rifle were assembled in under a minute.

Long Bing reached for the sniper rifle, but Xia Lei grabbed her hand. “Stay in the room and listen for the thug’s conversations. Report what you hear to me. I’ll analyse it and I’ll take the shot.”

“How can I let you do that?” Long Bing wasn’t so willing to go along with it.

“Someone has to do it. If not you, then me. My gunmanship is better than yours, so let me do it,” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing could not argue, and she nodded. She knew though, that Xia Lei wanted her to stay to protect her, not because his gunmanship was better.

Xia Lei took the walkie-talkie and wiped the sniper rifle with a black cloth. He opened the window and sprang out of it.

A small forest was behind the window, with a little bridge and a small river, as well as tree-lined stone paths. It was a beautiful little bit of landscape. The village of Oshino Hakkai was beyond this little forest.

Xia Lei stopped at the trees and climbed up a cherry tree. Cherry blossom season was long over, and the tree was bare. It was deep night, however, and he was not worried about being discovered if anyone walked by.

The far-off village came into his sight when he climbed up. A network of springs, little rivers, buildings and trees met his eyes, pretty as a picture. There were several hot-springs hotels in the village, and homes too. Some had lights on in them, and some were dark. There was no way Xia Lei could find Gu Kewen and that woman in all those houses.

‘Where are you, Gu Kewen? And that woman too. Who the hell is she?’ These questions popped up in Xia Lei’s head, and circled around.

Just then, Xia Lei spotted the thugs who had burst into his room. They were heading to the centre of the village. Long Bing’s voice spoke into his ear at the same time.

“They’ve left. How is it over there?” Long Bing’s voice was laced with worry.

“All normal here. I’m on a tree, but this is not a good sniping spot. I’ll look for another one later,” said Xia Lei.

“Be careful,” nagged Long Bing.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You be careful too.”

“Nn.”

“Right, what did they say?”

“They mentioned a boss. They don’t know the boss’s name, but they’re probably going to meet Gu Kewen.”

“All right, I’ve got to go. Let me know if anything happens.” Xia Lei jumped down from the cherry tree and started on the trail of the thugs, far away in the village centre.

Ten minutes later, the thugs came to a hotel called ‘Heart of Oshino’, and walked in.

Xia Lei looked up at the hotel, and turned his gaze abruptly to the hotel next to it. He was a signboard which read ‘Taketa Hotel’. He abruptly remembered that Gu Kewen had instructed him to check in to that hotel when he got to Oshino Hakkai.

These thugs had now entered the hotel next to ‘Taketa Hotel’, so what did this prove?

A faint sneer appeared in the corners of Xia Lei’s lips. “I’ve got you, Gu Kewen!”

He scanned the area and quickly found a good spot. That spot was on a hill behind Heart of Oshino, and it would allow him to see all of the building at once. He could fire and kill Gu Kewen off once he found her, and make his exit!

His sniping target confirmed, Xia Lei went around Heart of Oshino and headed for the hill. He was wearing a black jacket, had painted his face black with dirt, and was carrying the black cloth-wrapped XL2500. He was like a spirit in the land of darkness.