Chapter 38

In the western suburbs of Xiayang City lies Qingyun Mountain.

Qingyun Mountain sounds grand, but in reality, it is only a small hill no more than 300 meters high. However, the vegetation on the mountain is lush, giving it a wild and untamed feel.

A few years ago, the Xiayang municipal government planned to develop Qingyun Mountain, but due to its poor location and the numerous graves, investors were not optimistic, and the development project was abandoned soon after it began.

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain, Qin Lang followed the old poison master's instructions and found two abandoned bungalows. The houses were surrounded by weeds and dodder, clearly indicating that they had been abandoned for a long time.

Being brought to such a place, Tao Ruoxiang began to feel nervous. After all, Qin Lang was a "beast," and if this guy had any evil or wicked thoughts...

"Teacher Tao, you seem quite nervous?" Qin Lang smiled slightly. "Are you worried that I might have ulterior motives?"

In fact, Tao Ruoxiang was indeed worried about this, but she said, "I don't think you dare! I've learned sanda and combat skills. If you dare to have ulterior motives, I won't be gentle with you!"

"You've learned martial arts, so let's have a match another day." Qin Lang smiled and walked towards the abandoned house.

"Is Zhou Lingling really here?" Tao Ruoxiang didn't really believe Qin Lang, but for some reason, she followed him here. Perhaps subconsciously, she still thought Qin Lang was a good person.

"Yes, she's here." Qin Lang led Tao Ruoxiang to the house. When they reached the door, Tao Ruoxiang called out, "Classmate Zhou Lingling—"

"You're Teacher Tao—Teacher Tao!"

To Tao Ruoxiang's surprise, Zhou Lingling's voice really came from inside. Zhou Lingling was the biology class representative and had interacted with Tao Ruoxiang a lot. Tao Ruoxiang immediately recognized her voice and responded with joy, "Yes! I'm Teacher Tao!"

Hearing Zhou Lingling's voice, Tao Ruoxiang quickly walked inside.

Inside the house, there was a simple folding bed, and Zhou Lingling was lying on it. There were many used bandages in the room, and some were on her leg, indicating that her injuries had not fully healed.

However, when she saw Qin Lang and Tao Ruoxiang enter, Zhou Lingling sat up from the bed, showing that her injuries were not serious.

"Zhou Lingling, lie down—," Tao Ruoxiang insisted that Zhou Lingling continue to rest in bed. Even so, the speed of her recovery surprised Tao Ruoxiang.

But regardless, the fact that Zhou Lingling was still alive greatly relieved Tao Ruoxiang and made her feel that this "beast" boy wasn't so terrible after all.

"Zhou Lingling, why are you here? Do you know that everyone, including your parents, thought you were—But I'm glad to see you're safe," Tao Ruoxiang said. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed that Zhou Lingling was still alive.

"Teacher Tao, I don't know why I'm here either," Zhou Lingling was also confused.

"Let me explain," Qin Lang said. "The truth is, on the day Zhou Lingling was injured, I gave her a special healing medicine. It could have saved her life, but I didn't expect that some people didn't want her to live. So, they planned to harm her in the hospital. My master then made her appear dead, easily fooling the forensic doctor and those who wanted to harm her. After that, he brought Zhou Lingling here and treated her. We came here to meet her."

"I understand the general situation," Tao Ruoxiang said. "But why did your master bring Zhou Lingling to such a remote place?"

"Because no one would find her here, and it's very safe," Qin Lang said.

"Safe? I don't feel safe at all," Tao Ruoxiang thought. In the middle of nowhere, a girl recovering from injuries alone—how could that be safe?

"That's because you don't know my master's abilities," Qin Lang didn't elaborate on this point, only saying, "Don't worry, no one can get close to here."

"Yes, there are a lot of snakes outside!" Zhou Lingling said, still shaken. "Whenever I get near the door, the snakes appear, and I don't dare leave—But why didn't the snakes attack you?"

"Can we not talk about these trivial matters for now?" Qin Lang knew the old poison master didn't want anyone to know about his methods, so he quickly changed the subject. "Zhou Lingling, I need your help to clear my name. Many people, including Teacher Tao, think I'm a murderer. They all say I killed you, and even Teacher Tao called me a beast."

"Qin Lang—" Tao Ruoxiang glared at Qin Lang. "You're a guy, why are you so petty?"

"I'm a guy who gets hurt easily!" Qin Lang feigned a hurt expression. "Moreover, what Teacher Tao said really hurt me. It made me lose confidence and courage in love, life, and the future..."

"Qin Lang—" Tao Ruoxiang glared at Qin Lang again, and he finally shut up. Then she said to Zhou Lingling, "Zhou Lingling, Qin Lang is a good classmate. This time, he saved you and was falsely accused of murder. Even I misunderstood him..."

Tao Ruoxiang briefly explained the situation, expressing her apologies to Qin Lang in a tactful manner.

In fact, when Tao Ruoxiang misunderstood him, Qin Lang was really angry. But after venting his frustration in the detention center, he calmed down. After all, he and Tao Ruoxiang had only known each other for a few days, and all the evidence was against him. Since Tao Ruoxiang was a criminal investigation major, it was naturally difficult for her to believe him unconditionally. Therefore, Qin Lang also felt that it was too much to expect Tao Ruoxiang to believe him unconditionally.

So, Qin Lang brought Tao Ruoxiang to meet Zhou Lingling, one of the main reasons being to show her that he was not a murderer or a criminal.

After hearing Tao Ruoxiang's words, Zhou Lingling apologized to Qin Lang, "I'm sorry, Qin Lang. I didn't realize I caused you so much trouble. Now, thinking about it, I was really foolish. I had the courage to commit suicide but not the courage to fight against those people!"

"It's not that you lack courage, but that you know it's hard to fight them, right?" Qin Lang said calmly. "You were afraid they would cause you more harm and pain. Zhou Lingling, tell me, what are you really afraid of?"

Qin Lang's words gave Zhou Lingling some courage but also stirred up painful memories. After a moment, she said, "They made me addicted to drugs and forced me to do degrading things. I couldn't escape their control. When I got the hospital test results and found out I had a sexually transmitted disease, I truly felt there was no point in living. So, I put on my school uniform, hoping that at least my soul would be clean when I died!"

"Those beasts!" Tao Ruoxiang was so angry that her body trembled slightly. "Lingling, don't worry, I will get justice for you!"

"Thank you, Teacher Tao, and thank you, Qin Lang." Zhou Lingling sighed. "I had already given up on life, but to prevent more people like me from being harmed, I decided to fight them. After all, I've already died once, so I have nothing to fear!"

"Zhou Lingling, I admire your courage, but you don't need to be so pessimistic. Believe me, since I can save your life, I can also cure your drug addiction and your illness," Qin Lang promised.

"Really?" Zhou Lingling's cloudy eyes sparkled with hope again.

"I promise." Qin Lang smiled. "My medical skills are quite good, and I have deep expertise in gynecology, which Teacher Tao can vouch for."

Tao Ruoxiang immediately thought of when Qin Lang treated her fire carbuncle, and her face turned slightly red. But to keep Zhou Lingling from losing hope, she nodded and said, "Yes, Qin Lang's medical skills are excellent. Otherwise, he couldn't have saved your life. But the most urgent task now is to catch all the criminals! So, we need your help!"

"We?" Qin Lang looked at Tao Ruoxiang in surprise. "Teacher Tao, when you say 'we,' do you mean you want to help me fight those real 'beasts'?"