"Talk? Then why did all those people have to leave?"

Hui Yin was feeling annoyed. Talk if you want to talk, just don't shamelessly tell lies and appear like a kindly old man. Such fake pretenses were jarring to the eyes.

"I didn't tell them to leave, Miss Hui. They left on their own."

Hui Yin pursed her lips and kept silent. She didn't have the energy to deal with him any longer.

Seeing Hui Yin's impatience, Party Secretary Lee continued, "I heard Miss Hui posted a picture of Mr. Lu online? What a clever idea, to let the whole world know that Mr. Lu is in our village and letting us take up the responsibility if anything untoward happens to him."

Hui Yin returned his fake smile with another one of her own. "You're thinking too much, Party Secretary Lee. This junior only wanted to know Mr. Lu's identity, and is certainly not as calculative as you say."

Hui Yin quickly forgot that only seconds ago, she hated people with 'fake pretenses'.

Lu Shen lowered his head, an imperceptible smile tugging on his lips. But when he raised his head again, he was back to his customary icy expression.

"I deeply apologize for what our police has done to the two of you. Be rest assured, I will seek justice for Mr. Lu's injury. He Fenfang, why don't you brew a cup of tea for all of us? There are tea leaves in the cabinet of the second room to your right when you go out."

The tea shop owner stood up and after nodding slightly to Hui Yin and Lu Shen, she then left the room.

"You say you deeply apologize for causing my injury, and yet you're not frantic to rush me into an emergency room. Why is that?"

Hui Yin didn't expect Lu Shen to speak out, but his words had a ring of truth in it. If this Party Secretary was really afraid of letting this incident badly affect the reputation of their village and their police, he should be trying to treat Lu Shen's wound as soon as possible. But having a relaxed discussion like this, he was definitely acting opposite to his words.

"Oh, I'm sure Mr. Lu is unfamiliar with villages as small as ours. We don't have a lot of vehicles, and only a flatbed truck comes once a week loaded with food and simple household goods for sale. It would take a long time for us to borrow one and go to the nearest hospital."

Hui Yin yawned loudly. What was the point of talking with this man? He was not going to say directly whatever it was that he wanted from them.

"Party Secretary Lee, if your intention for calling us over here is to only apologize, then Lu Shen and I will leave now."

Hui Yin stood up, pulling Lu Shen along with her. She was feeling very suspicious about this man. They needed to go outside, back to where a lot of people could prevent their enemies in the dark from acting directly against them. She knew that no matter how ruthless they were, they wouldn't create a senseless massacre.

"Miss Hui, don't be too hasty. I still have something else I need to talk about with you and Mr. Lu...ah, He Fenfang, you're back with the tea. Why don't we all relax and sit down? I still haven't mentioned Mr. Lu's car accident, have I?"

Hui Yin stiffened. Lu Shen looked at her, waiting for her decision. If he had not lost his memories, he would have certainly done as he liked without asking for her opinion.

After a brief pause, Hui Yin nodded.

The two of them sat back down.

The kind elder gave them their cups of tea, and Hui Yin nodded her thanks as she took a sip. It was the same flavor as the one in the tea shop. Because it was personally brewed, it had a better aroma and taste than manufactured tea bags.

"How did you know about Lu Shen's car accident?" Hui Yin immediately asked.

Party Secretary Lee shook his head with a laugh. "Miss Hui is indeed too impatient. One would have thought you're more interested in this car accident than the victim himself."

Hui Yin severely wanted to wring this old fart's neck. Why don't I give you a little 'accident' too, huh?

"Whatever Hui Yin asks, take it as if I'm the one asking you."

Lu Shen was quick to defend her. He didn't know a thing about his identity, but from the reaction of the people around him, he seemed to be quite...intimidating?

Like he expected, the Party Secretary shrank a bit when he heard him speak. Lu Shen wasn't aware that every time he was feeling angry, his voice would also sound cold, making a person feel like they were submerged in ice. Amnesiac or not, he would still be carrying characteristics of his former self. It was quick to come out when his emotions were riled up.

Party Secretary Lee cleared his throat and inwardly shifted his chair so that he was slightly farther away from Lu Shen.

"Like I said before, there are only a few vehicles in our village. So if word comes out that an expensive car was found overturned on the side of the road without a driver, and the missing Mr. Lu turned up in our village, it would be easy for people to discover the connection between the two. It is as simple as that, Miss Hui. I mean nothing else with my words."

Then why did you stop us from leaving?

Hui Yin stood up once again, and this time, three other people also stood up with her. The butcher, the forty-something year old woman, and the kind tea shop owner.

Hui Yin's expression changed.

Party Secretary Lee waved his hand. "Knock them out."

In unison, these three people struck the necks of the confused actresses, and their heads fell limply with a thud on the table. Lu Shen stood in front of Hui Yin, his expression unsightly.

"It's useless," she said, her eyes finding Party Secretary Lee. He was still sitting down, but he gave her a smile when his eyes met hers. "They drugged the tea."

Lu Shen grabbed her hand tightly.

"I'm still feeling okay. I'll distract them, you run out of the door."

"No."

How could she let him ruin her plans when everything was going smoothly? Isn't this the perfect chance to follow the vine and get the melon? [1] Ever since they went out of the forest, Hui Yin hadn't let down her guard. It was just as she predicted. They did decide to act today.

"You run, I'll distract them. Meet with your parents when they arrive and search for me. You're the one they want dead. If I end up getting captured, they'll use me as a hostage and not kill me because they know we're close," she whispered.

One way or another, she had expected to get caught. Lu Shen was useless right now without his memories, and Hui Yin was even more so. How could they fight with the culprit in their situation? She could only plan a risky mission like this.

[1] track down somebody by following clues