Silent Witness - Chapter16

Caught completely off guard, Li Hewei found herself face-to-face with the masked assailant. The person drew a dagger from their waist, its blade honed to a razor’s edge, reflecting a chilling white glint under the moonlight.

With lightning-fast reflexes, the assailant lunged at her in the blink of an eye.

“Watch out!” Li Hewei was shoved aside by a sudden force, stumbling half a step to the right. Turning back, she saw the dagger slash across Tao Ling’s pale forearm, drawing a vivid crimson stream that instantly stained Tao Ling’s right hand as she instinctively clutched the wound.

Though the first strike drew bl00d, the intended target remained unscathed. A cold, starlike glint flashed in the masked assailant’s eyes as they raised their hand and swung the dagger down from behind her.

Realization dawned on Li Hewei. This attack was meant for her. She dodged the blade that grazed her ear and retaliated by slamming the sturdy base of her glass against the assailant’s back. The impact made the attacker grunt in pain.

“Tao Ling, get help! Team Leader Qiu’s house is just across the street from the back door,” Li Hewei said, her eyes fixed on Tao Ling’s injury. Knowing the wound was superficial and hadn’t hit an artery, she deliberately sent Tao Ling away.

“Okay,” Tao Ling replied, still stunned by Li Hewei’s agility. Regaining her composure, she sprinted toward the convenience store.

At the wind-swept corner of the old three-story building at the end of the alley, a person wearing a baseball cap held binoculars in their left hand and a phone in their right, muttering in frustration, “You said she was just a tech cop who draws. How could she fight like that?”

Through the binoculars, the distant scene unfolded clearly: a tall woman, armed only with a glass and her bare hands, was confronting a man wielding a knife.

“Who did you hire?”

“Just some thug from the Martial Arts School. Twenty thousand for a serious injury and unconsciousness, fifty thousand for a fatal outcome,” the baseball cap wearer spat. “Damn it, he’s so stupid—got taken down so easily.”

Li Hewei grabbed the forearm of the man who had just scrambled to his feet. With a sudden downward twist of her elbow, she struck his radius bone. Numbness shot through his right hand, causing him to lose all strength, and the knife clattered to the ground.

“If he gets caught by the police, he won’t talk, right?”

“Relax. If he fails, he’ll just claim it was a robbery. Besides, the burner phone I used to contact him has already been destroyed.” The baseball cap wearer lowered the binoculars, turned, and vanished into the shadows at the end of the hallway.

“Still want to fight?” Li Hewei asked calmly under the dim yellow streetlights, her gaze fixed on the panting man. Without warning, he swung his right fist at her face. Li Hewei swiftly dodged to the left, simultaneously slapping her palms outward to block his back, using skillful leverage to neutralize his direct attack. Without pausing, she stepped behind him, hooked his right leg, twisted to the left, and delivered a sharp right hook to his chest, sending him sprawling backward.

Having subdued him, Li Hewei pressed down on the soft ribs beneath his collarbone, grabbed a nearby dagger, and lightly slashed his left arm. Her voice was icy: “An eye for an eye. You hurt my colleague.”

“Still defiant?” Li Hewei reached out and pulled off his mask, frowning at the yellow-haired youth’s immature face. “How old are you?”

The youth stared at her in terror. “Seventeen.”

“Who sent you to hurt me?”

The youth swallowed hard, his dark brown eyes darting around. “I… I just needed money. I wanted to rob you.”

Li Hewei scoffed softly. “Do you really think I’d believe that?”

“Team Leader Qiu, Sister Wei’s over there!” Footsteps echoed through the narrow alley, growing louder. Li Hewei glanced over her shoulder and saw two figures hurrying toward them through the night. She slightly loosened her grip with her right hand.

Qiu Wan approached in a few quick steps, bent down, and handcuffed Huang Mao. She looked up, concern etched on her face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Li Hewei replied.

Tao Ling, noticing only a few closed wounds on Li Hewei, felt a weight lift from her heart. She couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Wei, are you hurt anywhere else?”

Li Hewei’s gaze fixed on Tao Ling’s injured left arm, where the bl00d had nearly clotted and the skin was visibly torn. Forced to react quickly in the heat of the moment, she hadn’t had time to process the pain. Now, as she calmed down, her concern for Tao Ling was palpable. “No, but you…”

Tao Ling cut her off. “It doesn’t hurt much. We can just go to the clinic near the neighborhood later to get it cleaned and bandaged.”

A four-centimeter wound? How could it not hurt? Li Hewei’s eyes burned with distress, her expression darkening, her voice muffled. “From now on, you need to prioritize your own safety first.”

Tao Ling nodded obediently. “Okay.”

“Team Leader Li, have you had training?” Qiu Wan asked, examining Huang Mao’s injuries. She recalled that Li Hewei had graduated from the medical school of a comprehensive university, which shouldn’t have included training in martial arts or combat.

“Just a little self-defense,” Li Hewei replied. “Nothing compared to Team Leader Qiu’s skills.” In truth, Li Hewei had graduated from the Criminal Police Academy with a degree in forensic pathology. Though they belonged to the technical police branch, daily drills and training in police martial arts and combat were still mandatory.

She had once dreamed of this profession, but her innate love of freedom led her to desert it midway. Now, she was employed at a high salary by a forensic identification center in Shenzhen.

“This wasn’t some amateur job,” Qiu Wan said, lifting Huang Mao’s T-shirt to point at the bruise on his chest. “His ribs are probably broken.”

A faint smile tugged at Li Hewei’s lips. “Thank my newly purchased glass cup.” Her expression suddenly turned serious. “By the way, you should find out who hired him to kill me.”

“He won’t talk. His lips are sealed tight. I’ll take him back with me,” Qiu Wan said, dragging Huang Mao to his feet. “This kid’s seventeen. He started learning martial arts at Weiling Martial Arts School when he was fifteen and usually gets into petty crimes. I just checked his record—he has a criminal history.”

“Alright, handle it. Tao Ling and I will go to the clinic,” Li Hewei said, concerned about Tao Ling’s wound getting infected.

“I’m hosting a dinner this weekend. Teacher Cheng agreed to come. What about Xiao Tao? Got time? Since you three live together, might as well join us.”

“Just call her Yingqiu. No need for ‘Teacher Cheng’ anymore,” Li Hewei said, her smile widening. “I’ll RSVP for Tao Ling.”

Tao Ling, never one to decline necessary social engagements, replied, “Thank you, Team Leader Qiu.”

“What are you thanking me for? I’ll be in touch this weekend,” Qiu Wan grumbled. “Ugh, more overtime. I barely got a bite of Maternal Grandma’s dry-pot shrimp.” She pushed Huang Mao toward the police station, and the three parted ways.

Under the hazy moonlight, the two walked side by side. Tao Ling suddenly spoke, “Sister Wei, where did you learn self-defense?” She parted her slightly pursed lips. “Could you teach me?”

Li Hewei looked mildly surprised. “Why the sudden interest?”

“So I can at least defend myself if I’m ever in danger,” Tao Ling replied with a hint of regret. “The Major Crimes Unit sends someone every year to teach us some basic takedown techniques, but Sister Xiaoting says they’re not very useful. We’d still be helpless against a real attacker.”

A smile involuntarily crept into the corner of Li Hewei’s eye. “You think I can do better?”

“Team Leader Qiu said that Huang Mao trained at a Martial Arts School, and you were able to subdue him.”

“Huang Mao’s skills are sloppy; he probably skips practice all the time.” Li Hewei, concerned for Tao Ling’s safety, suppressed her amusement and solemnly agreed, “Alright, I’ll teach you.”

“Thank you, Sister Wei!” Tao Ling beamed, her eyes sparkling with delight. Though she occasionally showed moments of cheerfulness, her smiles usually remained reserved, maintaining a clear sense of distance. But tonight’s smile was unusually radiant. As Li Hewei would later remark, “It’s like she won the lottery!”

“Sister Wei, stop teasing me! It’s not like I won the lottery or anything.”

As they spoke, they pushed open the glass door of the clinic.

The nurse greeted them at the entrance, asking for basic information: “Who’s feeling unwell?”

Tao Ling raised her arm. “I accidentally cut myself with a knife.”

“Name, age, any medication allergies?”

“Tao Ling, 24, no medication allergies.”

“Oh dear, the wound is quite long—at least 4 centimeters,” the nurse noted, recording the information. Donning medical gloves, she touched the edge of the wound. “But it doesn’t seem deep. We’ll clean it first and then decide if stitches are needed.” She turned and pointed to the first room on the right. “Wait in the treatment room for a bit. I’ll have Dr. Chen clean the wound.”

Tao Ling nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

Li Hewei asked, “Nurse, where’s the payment slip?”

The nurse typed on her keyboard. “Dr. Chen will give it to you.”

“Alright.”

After bypassing the triage desk, they walked two meters to the right to reach the treatment room. Tao Ling sat on a high stool in front of the treatment table. Soon, a female doctor entered. “Who’s Tao Ling, the one needing wound cleaning?”

“Doctor, that’s me.”

The doctor handed Li Hewei a slip of paper. “You’re the family member, right? Please pay first.”

Tao Ling reached out. “Doctor, I can handle it.”

Li Hewei gently patted her hand. “Sit still.” Though her words were firm, her tone was incredibly gentle. Seeing Tao Ling blink and stop arguing, she turned and left the room.

By the time Li Hewei returned, the doctor was already cleaning the wound.

“We’ll disinfect with povidone-iodine. It won’t hurt too much, but you might feel a slight stinging.”

“I know,” Tao Ling replied.

Cotton Ball slowly cleaned the bl00d from the wound. The doctor examined it carefully and suggested, “We should stitch it up. Otherwise, it will heal much slower.”

Tao Ling frowned slightly but nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Do you want local anesthesia?” The doctor asked. Local anesthesia for stitching involves regional nerve blocks, requiring injections around the wound to numb the area—at least two or three injections. The doctor wanted to gauge her pain tolerance before proceeding.

“No anesthesia,” Tao Ling said firmly.

Li Hewei looked worried. “Tao Ling? You’ll need at least five stitches. Are you sure you don’t want anesthesia?”

Tao Ling forced a smile. “Sister Wei, when I was little, I was mischievous. I fell and split my scalp open once, needing six stitches. I didn’t cry then either.”

Seeing her determination, Li Hewei finally relented. “Alright.”

The female doctor finished cleaning and disinfecting the wound, then prepared the stitching tools. She reassured Tao Ling in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I’m quite skilled.”

Tao Ling hummed in acknowledgment and looked away. As the needle pierced her skin, her slender fingers slowly curled into a fist, gripping her thigh to endure the pain.

First stitch, second stitch, third stitch. Li Hewei clearly saw Tao Ling’s shoulders trembling slightly. Her forehead, already damp with a thin layer of sweat, gradually became covered in fine beads of perspiration. Compelled by concern, Li Hewei reached out and took Tao Ling’s right hand, soothing her gently, “Just a little longer. Two more stitches.”

Tao Ling, fighting through the pain, instinctively gripped Li Hewei’s warm hand.