I Am A Killer

by A Sick Frog

  “What should I do? What should I do? Xuan Xuan disappeared!” Yin Xu Dong rushed over, gripped He Yi’s shoulder and shook them.

  He Yi escaped his grip strenuously, massaging his painful shoulders. “How can she disappear? She’s not a kid. Didn’t you say she went back to her old home? Why don’t you just ask her family members?”

  Yin Xu Dong paused. He’d told him Qin Ke Xuan was going back to her old home instead of going to the SF base to train previously.

  “Now that we’re talking about her family members, they are so infuriating! I’d asked her father, and goddamnit, he didn’t know shit!” Yin Xu Dong had wanted to greet him with his knuckles since long ago if it weren’t for the fact that he was Qin Ke Xuan’s father! What kind of father was he, even! When he and his ex-wife were falling out, he didn’t care much about Xuan Xuan. Following that, he even brought a step-mother and a kid brother back. Her step-mother gentle and nice, so he didn’t need to worry about Xuan Xuan being bullied. In fact, he should worry if Xuan Xuan’s bullying others. Regardless though, her step-mother was after all not biological, so there definitely would be that layer of awkwardness between their mother-daughter interaction.

  But frigging hell, when he asked Qin Shu Hua for another method of contact to get in touch with Xuan Xuan, he actually frigging told him that he didn’t know!

  After Qin Ke Xuan had become an SF soldier, he had especially gone online to Baidu about it and found some information on the SF. All that sorties and destroying, intelligence seizing, anti-subverting, anti-secret agent jobs, anti-terrorism jobs, anti-hijacking jobs, all that stuff’s some dangerous shit! Was Qin Ke Xuan in the middle of an operation, that’s why he he couldn’t contact her? Just thinking about Xuan Xuan having to engage in such life-threatening operations had his heart seizing in anxiety. No matter how strong and powerful she was, she was still just a girl! And one that lacked paternal and maternal love!

  But paternal and maternal fondness can go eff themselves! Since they weren’t fond of her, there’s still him! He definitely would not let Xuan Xuan to be all alone and loveless! The most urgent issue at present however was to determine if Xuan Xuan’s safe!

  On this side, Yin Xu Dong was at loss and beyond annoyed. Meanwhile, at the other end of the city inside an operation theatre, Qin Ke Xuan was being lifted onto the operation table.

  The injuries on her were very severe. The bullet in her leg had hit her main artery so she had some major blood loss. She should have originally died after bleeding so much after so long, but for some reason, the blood was surprisingly stanched. The bullets that hit her waist were also very thorny to extract as well.

  After several hours of operation, Qin Ke Xuan was pushed out of the operation theatre. The anaesthesia had not worn off so while she was unconscious, she was directly lifted by two people onto a stretcher and brought onto a military vehicle and sent the military prison.

  By the time she woke up, she found herself in a small and enclosed room. Other than the bed beneath her, there was nothing else in the room, not even a light bulb. The room was pitch dark save for the dim light filtering in from the palm-sized air vent that faintly delineated the room.

  Holding herself up, she sat up on the bed board and leant against the wall, then began sorting all the events that had happened before she fainted.

  At hearing the movements from inside the cell, the guard outside pushed open the little window. The strong and bright flashlight he’d shone in had Qin Ke Xuan squinting her eyes, her eyes not adapting to the sudden light.

  With a slam, the small window closed, and the previous darkness was restored.

  A while later, the door was opened and in walked two men. She didn’t recognise one of them, but the other was the in-charge of MI6—Xu Chu.

  Xu Chu frowned as he looked at the expressionless Qin Ke Xuan, before sighing heavily. “Lass, was there a need to go that far?”

  Qin Ke Xuan asked instead of replying: “Where is this?”

  “Prison. The military prosecutor’s office have begun their investigation and collecting evidence. The military court will begin your trial soon. Aye, child why are you so impulsive?” Xu Chu sighed. “The higher-ups are largely stirred by this matter. I’m afraid I can’t protect you… “ The MI headquarters were going to demote him, so he wasn’t qualified to even defend Qin Ke Xuan. The visit to the prison was his last time as well. He wouldn’t be able to come in next time.

  Qin Ke Xuan was silent as she listened to Xu Chu. She’d killed all of them anyway, it was useless to deny it otherwise. Even if she was given another chance, she would do the same thing. They were anti-government separatists anyway, even if they were caught, what they would only meet with after being captured would be death.

  “Oh and, your family’s not updated about your current situation. The boy, your neighbour, went to the Tercel Brigade to look for you, but your circumstance’s special so I had the SF tell him you’re away on a mission, and won’t be back anytime soon.”

  “Xu Chu, will I die?” Qin Ke Xuan asked lightly.

  “About that…” Xu Chu looked at Qin Ke Xuan with difficulty. She’s massacred the separatist’s entire branch so bloodily it had provoked even the main organisation. If they were to engage in an insurrection, their power was not to be overlooked. In fact, it may even jeopardise the solidarity and security of the country. This was no trivial matter; this was beyond a mistake a normal soldier could make. The National Security Organisation would not let Qin Ke Xuan be released from prison unscathed.

  “Xu Chu, please let me phone that boy.” Qin Ke Xuan could vaguely guess how things were going to end for her. Regardless of whether she could escape afterwards, she needed to bid her farewell to in Yin Xu Dong.

  “I’m afraid that we can’t do that.” The man beside Xu Chu said. “From now on, you are not allowed to communicate with anyone.”

  Xu Chu looked at Qin Ke Xuan in apology. Qin Ke Xuan remained expressionless.

  Before the two of them exited the prison cell, Xu Chu suddenly turned to say to her: “I’ll find a way to help you.” His words were ambiguous. Did he mean helping her to find a way to contact Yin Xu Dong or helping her out of her current situation? Based on the difficulty of the both help though, he probably was referring to the former method of help.

  With a slam, the metal door, and Qin Ke Xuan’s eyes, closed.

  “Lao Xu, you transgressed. You can’t help her much with your current situation either.” When they walked into the hallway, the man who had accompanied Xu Chu said lowly.

  Xu Chu’s expression was dim. He sighed softly. “All the people in MI6 are my children. They are still so young… after entering the MI6 not long ago, Mei Li’s gone just like that… I wish I could just slaughter those bastards! But we need to comply our country’s commands and not engage in any unlawful actions. We can’t involve personal feelings. All we can do is to watch them live on helplessly! Now this lass’ done something we all wanted to but couldn’t do—exacted vengeance for Mei Li—and she shouldered all my punishment. She’s only a child! If I were to just watch on without doing anything, how can I face my children?!”

  “Lao Xu…”

  “Lao Yang, help me, at least let her contact her family.”

  “…I’ll try my best.”

  “Thank you, lao Yang.”

  Other than meal times, doctors too would come in to check her wounds and change its dressing. Qin Ke Xuan sat on the bed board all day and night. If it wasn’t the fact that she would still eat, the person supervising the surveillance almost suspected that she was meditating.

  Wounded and stuck in a dark room, she cultivated to while the time away. Because so, her wounds healed very quickly and her Inner Gong had advanced such that her current level was not far from her cultivation level from her previous life.

  This day, while she was seated, meditating, the metal door was opened once again, but it was not the time of the day for the delivery of her three meals. There was no need to open t
he door to send to food either, her meals were handed to her via a small window. It was also not the medical consultation appointment time as well.

  She opened her eyes and looked at the entrance. It was the man who had accompanied Xu Chu when he came to visit her previously.

  “Qin Ke Xuan, you can contact your family, but you only have five minutes.” He took out a phone and handed it to Qin Ke Xuan.

  Qin Ke Xuan took the phone and dialled. The phone was definitely taped, but it didn’t matter.

  “Hello? Who’s this?”

  “Yin Xu Dong, it’s me, Qin Ke Xuan.”

  “Xuan Xuan?! Where are you? What were you doing?! Why haven’t you contact me in so long?! Do you know how dead worried I was?! I… you…”

  “Stop talking, I don’t have a lot of time, so listen.”

  “Alright, go ahead.”

  “I need to go.”

  “Go? Go where? When are you coming back?”

  “I’m going to a very very far place; we probably won’t ever be able to meet each other again.”

  “… you’re joking right?”

  “I’m not. Don’t be a military doctor, just be a normal doctor.” It’s too dangerous to be a military doctor.

  “Xuan Xuan… did something happen to you?” Yin Xu Dong’s voice from the other side of the call was cautious.

  “No, don’t overthink. Remember, don’t look for me. I won’t be in City B. If I ever do return, I’ll look for you.” Honestly, she didn’t know if she would even be able to come back alive to look for him.

  “Xuan Xuan… can you not go?”

  “I need to go now. Don’t neglect your training just because I’m not there to supervise.”

  “Okay! I will train hard! You need to come back to test if I’ve been diligent in my training!”

  “…Enh.”

  The call ended on its own. When Yin Xu Dong dialled back, the automated message said that her phone was turned off. He tried several times more but the call didn’t go through even once. Knowing that he’s achieving nothing dialling repeatedly, he finally gave up.

  Dejected, he lied on the bed, muttering to himself: “Something definitely happened to Xuan Xuan… “ He had a faint feeling that he perhaps would never be able to see Xuan Xuan again.

  Qin Ke Xuan returned the phone to the man, saying blandly: “Thank you.”

  “No need. Aye, lass you don’t need to be too pessimistic. Perhaps the outcome won’t be that bad.”

  “A won’t-be-that-bad outcome would be not dying and getting locked up in prison struggling by death’s doors instead. How is that any different from dying?”

  “That… there’s still hope as long as you’re alive no? Isn’t there a saying that goes, as long as the green hills are there, there’s no need to worry about firewood!”

  Qin Ke Xuan’s prison life continued in boredom. She would occasionally be brought out to provide statements to put on record, before finally going to trial in court. And in the end, the declared outcome of the trial—death penalty.

  Chapter 54 - Transferee

  * * *

  “Dong’zi! Dong’zi!”

  “What is it?” Yin Xu Dong raised his head from his exercise book and looked at the ah Lang that came in in a flurry.

  “Pant… a pretty student just transferred into your class!” Ah Lang passed on the intelligence he’d just gotten from the office in excitement.

  “Then?” Yin Xu Dong returned to studying, asking, unconcerned.

  “Freaking hell! Why is it that I’ve never realised your hidden mugger* stat?!” Ever since the first semester of his second year, Yin Xu Dong’s large u-turn in attitude had shocked everyone’s pants off; he’d been chomping on his textbook with that mugger* of a mei mei from Year One. Now that his chilly-faced mei mei was no longer around, why was it that he was mugging* all the more harder?! Thanks to that though, his grades did improve significantly and he managed to get into Class One in Year Three.

  * ‘mugger’ (noun) is a slang for ‘someone who studies very hard’; ‘mugging’ (verb) is a slang for ‘studying very hard’

  “Ah Lang, we’re in Year Three, if you’re gonna continue moping around and not pull up your socks, you can’t get into university.” Yin Xu Dong urged.

  “Tch, do you think everyone’s like you? Mugging away all pumped up? So be it if I can’t get into uni. Pops’ got the money anyway, he’ll think of a way.” Ah Lang said indifferently. “But it’s still unusual for you to be like this though, where’s your excitement, a babe just transferred into your class! You… are you still thinking about your mei-mei-next-door?”

  Yin Xu Dong slammed the pen he was holding on the table heavily.

  At seeing that, ah Lang immediately decided it was time for him to disappear. “Uh… I, my lessons are starting, so I’ll be leaving…”

  Yin Xu Dong buried his head in both his hands, rubbing his palms roughly against his cheeks. “Xuan Xuan’s definitely not dead, she definitely won’t die.” A long while after receiving Qin Ke Xuan’s call last year, that kid Qin Peng Cheng came over crying and told him that his jie jie’s dead. He ran over to ask Qin Shu Hua what happened, but Qin Shu Hua told him in pain that the SF had notified him about Qin Ke Xuan getting into an accident during a mission and sacrificed… He’d followed the Qin family in a daze to the cemetery; her body was already cremated and buried under the orders of the SF.

  He didn’t believe it though. Xuan Xuan had told him that she would return. He didn’t even manage to see her body, how could he believe that she died just like that? He wouldn’t believe it no matter what! Also, if she’d really died because she sacrificed herself during a mission, there would be no reason for her to be buried just like that without even a proper military ceremony. Something was definitely off about this!

  As of right now however, he was not capable of doing anything. If it weren’t for his lack of strength, he wouldn’t be unable to do anything when he heard that Xuan Xuan was in danger. Hence, the only thing he could do now was to learn more and as fast as he could to gain the ability to search for Xuan Xuan! And protect her!

  Their form teacher brought a female student in when it was time for lessons. She wrote a name on the board in a few swooshes and introduced her to everyone: “Students, this is our new classmate, Zhuo Xiao Xuan, let’s give her a warm welcome!”

  As everyone started clapping, they whispered privately about why this new classmate would pick such a time to transfer? There were only a few months left to NCEE*, wouldn’t she find the sudden change in environment too foreign?

  * 高考 = gao kao; College Entrance Examinations, full name: 普通高等学校招生全国统一考试 = National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE); an academic examination held annually in PRC taken by students in their last year of senior high school

  Yin Xu Dong’s deskmate bumped his elbow, whispering: “She’s quite pretty!”

  “Number-one, I didn’t know you were so wretched?” A mocking smile tugged Yin Xu Dong’s lips.

  “I’m angry! I’m going to fight you if you call me number-one again!” He Yi punched him. The number-one seat in their level was no longer only his ever since they began Year Three. What’s worse was that his number-one seat rival was actually this ex-gangster head! “If I hadn’t been exploited by you, the number-one seat would have been mine forever! Is this what they call showing the wolf into the house*?”

  * 引狼入室 = (lit.) showing the wolf into the house; (fig.) introduce a potential source of trouble (often by oneself inflicted onto oneself)

  “No no, this is called the colour indigo makes blue, but blue is more vivid than indigo*.”

  * 青出于蓝而胜于蓝 = (lit.) the colour indigo makes blue, but blue is more vivid than indigo; (fig.) the student surpasses the master

  “Oi oi, don’t you think the vibe she gives off is very similar to Qin Ke Xuan’s? Don’t glare at me! Look for yourself!”

  Yin Xu Dong turned to look at the new classmate standing on
the platform. After staring at her for quite a while, he sent He Yi a kick. “Your vision needs to stop swimming every time you see a pretty girl! How does she even look like Xuan Xuan?!”

  Yin Xu Dong was pretty much half a martial arts expert now, so that sturdy kick had He Yi crying out in pain. “Tch… how can you vent your anger on your greatly respected teacher?!” Of course he knew that the new classmate didn’t look like Qin Ke Xuan, he wasn’t blind, but, but didn’t the both of them… exhibit facial nerve paralysis symptoms?! Of course that though wasn’t something he dared to tell Yin Xu Dong, else he’d be eating another shadowless kick from him.

  “Humph! I won’t hold myself in if you nonsense anymore!” Yin Xu Dong threatened him fiercely, before returning to solve his math question.

  He Yi minced his lips. It’s already been a year since the Qin Ke Xuan matter, but this fella still hadn’t let go.

  After lessons ended, a lot of people crowded around the new classmate to ask her all sorts of questions. Their Year Three life was very dull and depressing. With the sudden introduction of a new classmate however, everyone’s taking the chance to relax their taut nerves to enjoy the novelty of it all.

  Despite her chilly expression, Zhuo Xiao Xuan replied their questions one by one.

  “Why did you transfer now?”

  “For NCEE.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “B City.”

  “Aye? So you’re a local? Which school did you attend previously?”

  “I didn’t attend one.”

  “Hah?”

  “I just returned from abroad.”

  “Woah! A returnee! So cool!”

  “…”

  The bunch of them babbled on, asking her an entire lot of questions. Many questions regarding learning English also popped up later.

  He Yi glanced at the commotion by the side, before peeping at Yin Xu Dong that was speedily scribbling away. “Dong’zi, not gonna chat with our new classmate?”