Chapter 56: Fire Rescue!

In the end, as expected, Hong Haifeng was drunk under Qin Feng’s influence, slumped over the table, while Qin Feng, though his face was slightly flushed, remained quite sober. For someone with his tolerance, this amount of alcohol was nothing; even Li Dejun, the notorious drinker, was no match for him.

When it was time to leave, Qin Feng, without needing a word from Hong Haifeng, took the initiative to escort Hong Yue back to the clinic.

As they descended the stairs together, Hong Yue was utterly bashful, keeping her head lowered and trailing behind Qin Feng.

“You lost the bet,” Qin Feng teased her with a smile as they walked down.

“I never made any bet with you,” Hong Yue replied, cheeks glowing red.

“That’s cheating,” he said playfully.

“Then what do you want me to lose?” she asked.

“I haven’t decided yet. Just remember you owe me one, and when I decide, you have to make it up to me.”

“I’m not falling for that. If it expires, it’s void.”

“I knew you were a trickster!” Qin Feng laughed, joking as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Want me to give you a ride?” Qin Feng asked as he approached his motorcycle.

Last time, when Qin Feng offered, Hong Yue had refused, so he walked her to the clinic. This time, though she didn’t say yes, she didn’t refuse either. It was quite dark outside, and Qin Feng couldn’t tell if her face was still flushed.

Qin Feng rode ahead on the motorcycle, with Hong Yue sitting behind, nervously tugging at the edge of his jacket. She only dared to pull a little—still too shy.

The roads in Bishan were terribly rough. When the motorcycle hit a pothole, it jolted violently, causing Hong Yue to scream and nearly fall off. In a moment of panic, she clung tightly to Qin Feng’s waist.

“Sorry, the road’s rough. You better hold on tighter,” Qin Feng said quickly.

Hong Yue loosened her grip slightly but didn’t dare let go completely because of the bumps.

Riding through the mountain paths, the faint moonlight illuminated Hong Yue’s face—her cheeks flushed like a delicate blossom, both alluring and endearing.

Qin Feng finally arrived at the clinic entrance and stopped the motorcycle. Hong Yue jumped off.

“Thank you,” she said, still blushing and looking down shyly.

“For what? It was on the way. Goodbye!” Qin Feng said, turning the motorcycle to leave.

“Uh…” Just as he was about to start the engine, Hong Yue suddenly called out to him.

“What’s up?” Qin Feng asked.

“Is what you told my brother true?” Hong Yue asked, her face red as if bleeding.

“Huh? What did I say?” Qin Feng was puzzled; he had spoken with Hong Haifeng all evening and didn’t know which words Hong Yue meant.

“I’m not telling you,” Hong Yue said abruptly, blushing as she ran inside, leaving Qin Feng sitting on the motorcycle, bewildered by her question.

Qin Feng rode down the hill, originally planning to go home and sleep after a long day and a night of drinking. It was Saturday night, after all.

When he reached his doorstep, he still felt uneasy. He turned around and decided to ride the motorcycle through the forest area for a while, unable to rest until he was certain all was well.

The forest district was vast, full of mountain trails. Even riding a motorcycle around would take over two hours.

Late into the night, while Qin Feng was patrolling on his motorcycle, Wang Yunfei’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Village chief, everything’s arranged.”

“Are you sure? Don’t mess this up. Can you guarantee there won’t be any slip-ups?”

“Don’t worry. I never fail. This time not only will that brat suffer, but Li Dejun won’t get away either. Two birds with one stone. Just wait and watch the show,” Chang Yong assured confidently over the phone.

“Don’t let this backfire,” Wang Yunfei cautioned, still uneasy.

“Relax. I handpicked the inspection team. I know exactly what those guys are like. Who’s going to be on duty tonight? Especially since it’s Saturday. Do you think they’ll listen to Qin Feng? Just trust me,” Chang Yong said with certainty.

After hanging up, Wang Yunfei let out a cold, sinister laugh. He strode into his office to wait. The moment the phone rang, he would rush to the scene, putting on a facade of diligent responsibility.

Qin Feng rode his motorcycle for a long time, almost until half past midnight. Just as he was about to finish his patrol, he spotted flames flickering on a distant mountaintop.

He was startled. The fire was deep in the mountains, where there was no road for the motorcycle. He jumped off and ran toward the blaze, calling the village officials on the way to organize villagers to fight the fire. He also called the inspection team and finally reported the situation to Li Dejun.

Qin Feng sprinted desperately toward the fire but halfway encountered a suspicious figure sneaking out of the forest. Qin Feng was puzzled—what was that person doing in the mountains at this hour?

The stranger lowered his head and fled as soon as he saw Qin Feng. Qin Feng was too focused on rescuing the fire to think much of it.

When Qin Feng reached the fire, his heart sank. Half the mountainside was ablaze, and the flames were growing rapidly. This was a forest district with endless mountains and dense woods. More importantly, houses lay at the foot of the mountain. Burning the mountain was bad enough, but if the houses caught fire, it would be catastrophic.

Qin Feng charged into the fire to fight it, but the flames only grew fiercer. The terrain was steep and densely forested, and his lone strength was no match. He had no choice but to retreat.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew up. Seeing this, Qin Feng knew it was over—the wind would only fan the flames, making them uncontrollable.

The village party secretary arrived with villagers, carrying buckets and tools to fight the fire, but no one dared approach the raging inferno.

“Director Qin, what… what do we do?” the village secretary asked, stunned by the raging fire and rising wind.

“First, you must evacuate all the villagers at the foot of the mountain immediately.”

“They’re already being evacuated, but their homes are here. What will they do if the houses burn down? We have to fight the fire, Director Qin. Call the fire brigade right away!”

“I reported it as soon as I arrived, but given our location, by the time the fire brigade gets here, the houses below will be gone.”

“Then… then what do we do?”

“Fight the fire!” Qin Feng gritted his teeth and said firmly.