Chapter 29: I Can Help You

After breakfast, the three of them went straight to the bus station. There was a long-distance bus from Kun City to Li City.

It was more than 700 kilometers from Kun City to Li City, and the long-distance bus would take more than ten hours to get there.

While waiting for the bus, Guo Xiang found a phone nearby and made a call back to South Yunnan. 

By now, she should have reached Gu Zhennan's place. If she didn't call back, Wang Guiying would be worried. By then, she would be exposed if she asked Gu Zhennan whether she had arrived or not. 

Therefore, she had to tell her that she was safe, so Wang Guiying and the others wouldn't spend money to call Gu Zhennan. 

Guo Xiang called the village committee and asked the village chief to tell Wang Guiying that she had arrived at Gu Zhennan's place safely, so they didn't have to worry. The village chief promised to tell her.

They got onto the bus and Guo Xiang got bored on the way, so Yi Zichen took out a book about jade to relieve Guo Xiang's boredom. The main purpose of this trip was to buy jade, it didn't hurt to educate her a little beforehand. 

Jade, was also known as Jadeite. 

South Yunnan was the main distribution center for jade materials. Many people thought that South Yunnan produced jade, but it was not the case. 95% of the world's Jade came from Myanmar, and China also imported from Myanmar.

However, because South Yunnan and Myanmar were next to each other, they had an innate geographical advantage. Therefore, many people bought jade from South Yunnan and mistakenly thought that South Yunnan produced jade.

The most important cities were Li City and Teng County.

This time, Guo Xiang and the others went to Li City.

Yi Zichen roughly told Guo Xiang about the current jade market in Li City. 

It was said that they were going to buy jadeite, but they were actually going to gamble illegally. Because at this time, Li City didn't have a legal jade market yet. 

It was still the early 1980s, and the relationship between China and Myanmar was quite tense. Economic trade was not common, and most of the raw jadeite was smuggled in.

However, because of the huge profits of jade, many merchants flocked to it. Over time, an underground gambling den was formed.

Guo Xiang knew that South Yunnan was still very chaotic at this time, and it was also an underground gambling den. No Wonder Yi Zichen hired two bodyguards.

"How do you have connections?" Guo Xiang could not help but be curious.

"Actually, my family's ancestors were in the jade business, but they gradually stopped due to various reasons during the chaotic times. Now that the reform and opening up of the country have encouraged private businesses, the elders in the family want to return to their old businesses. I'm also here to explore the way," Yi Zichen said.

Guo Xiang nodded. To have the sense to do business now, he was worthy of being a descendant of a business family. 

In her previous life, her mother had only started doing business in the early 1990s. Later on, she had also made a name for herself, so opportunities were very important.

It was not until eight o'clock in the evening that the bus arrived in Li City.

At this time, Li City was not as prosperous as the tourist city of later generations. It was only a small county-level city. Like most small cities in the 1980s, it was old and dirty. Moreover, it was a border city, which added to its instability.

After getting off the bus, the three of them found a small hotel near the bus station and stayed there. It was already late, so they would rest first before going to the stone gambling market the next day.

After dinner, Guo Xiang went back to her room to rest. She planned to take a shower. After sitting in the car for a few days, her body felt extremely sticky. 

There was no hot water in the small hotel, so she took a cold shower. Fortunately, the weather was very hot, and the cold water did not feel cold.

After taking a shower, Guo Xiang changed into a set of clothes, but she still wore long pants. Firstly, the small hotel didn't feel clean, and secondly, she did not feel safe in this place. If there was a situation, she could run away with her clothes on at any time.

Around midnight, she suddenly heard a sound coming from the window. Because the weather was hot, she left a gap so that the breeze can come in. 

Guo Xiang immediately became attentive. This place was too dangerous, and she was very alert. She would wake up to the tiniest sound. 

The window was pulled open, and a black shadow jumped in.

Guo Xiang bolted up and said, "who is it?"

Her mouth was suddenly covered, and a dagger was pressed against her neck.

"Don't move!" A low male voice came from behind.

"I'm not moving, don't do anything!" Guo Xiang raised her hands. Even if she had some kung fu, the dagger was still not a joke. If she was not careful, she would die.

"I just want to hide here for a while. As long as you don't scream, I won't hurt you!" The person behind said.

"Okay, I won't scream. Take the knife away first!" Guo Xiang tilted her head back and tried to stay away from the dagger.

The person hesitated for a moment as if he didn't believe Guo Xiang and refused to let go.

Suddenly, Guo Xiang smelled a strong smell of blood on his body, so she said, "are you hurt? I'm a doctor. I have medicine in my bag and I can help you bandage your wound."

"Really, I'm not lying to you!" Guo Xiang said sincerely, "I can open the bag for you to see."

The man hesitated for a moment, glanced at Guo Xiang, and then moved the dagger away. "Hurry Up!"

Guo Xiang nodded and took out a flashlight from her bag. She didn't turn on the light. Since this man said that he wanted to hide, then someone must be chasing him. Turning on the light would easily expose him.

Her skills might be alright, but if the other party was a vicious person, she was not confident that she could subdue him, so she might as well do him a favor. Perhaps he would let her go given that she bandaged his wound.

The flashlight shone on the man's face. He was a decent-looking man, but his skin was slightly dark and his cheekbones were a little high. He should be a local or from a neighboring province.

The man was a little annoyed by the light, so he used his hand to block it. "What are you looking at?"

Guo Xiang moved the flashlight to his body and found that his arm was injured. It was like a knife wound. The wound was quite big, and blood was still oozing out.

She quickly took out rubbing alcohol, gauze, and some medicine.

The man's eyes flashed in the darkness. Perhaps he did not expect Guo Xiang to be telling the truth. Was she really a doctor?

Guo Xiang did not pay attention to the man's expression. She took out a cotton swab and dabbed it with alcohol and pressed it on the man's wound. The man's hand trembled for a moment, but he held it in and did not make a sound.

Guo Xiang was a little impressed. Alcohol would sting quite a bit when you apply it to a wound. Such a large wound would definitely be very painful, but the man held it in. It seemed that he was not an ordinary person.

After cleaning the wound, she covered it with medicine. She then put some gauze on top, and was about to bandage it up when a loud noise suddenly came from below.

"Quick, this is the place. Search every room!"

"Don't let him run away!"

Guo Xiang's hand tightened, and the man let out a muffled sound.

She quickly bandaged the wound. Guo Xiang walked to the window and saw several people running toward the hotel from below.

"What should we do?" Guo Xiang asked nervously. The people below should be chasing after this man. If he ran out now, he would definitely be discovered. Where should he hide?

What if they found out that she took this person in? What if she were to get into trouble? 

The man was also a little nervous. He walked around the room, but the room was only so big. The furnishings were simple. A bed, a wardrobe, and a table. It was easy to find him hiding in the wardrobe. It was not safe under the bed either.

Cold sweat broke out on the man's forehead. Was there nowhere for him to hide? 

Guo Xiang sat by the bed and touched the straw mat on the bed. With a thought, she pushed aside the straw mat and saw that the bed was made of wooden boards. It was made of a bed boards that were about 20 centimeters long. She suddenly had an idea.

"Come here..."

After everything was done, Guo Xiang wrapped the bloody cotton in a plastic bag and hid it in her bag. Then, she took out a tube of cooling oil and sprinkled it on the wet towel. She quickly waved it around in the room.

There was a bloody smell in the room. The cooling oil was very volatile, and the smell was strong, so it could cover up the smell of blood. 

The group of people outside had already finished searching the first floor and came upstairs. They started to smash the doors starting with the first room. 

Guo Xiang also put on her shirt and laid on the bed. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

The people next door who had been woken up were cursing and swearing. Suddenly, there was no sound. They must have gotten scared. 

Finally, someone rushed over and kicked the door open without knocking. Guo Xiang pretended to be frightened and let out a scream. She sat up nervously and hugged herself tightly, shivering.