Chapter 42: The More They Look at This Son-in-Law, the More They Like Him

The distance was a bit too far, so they could not hear what the men were saying. They only heard a few wild laughs.

Cheng Fei turned back and mouthed silently to Gao Ming.

“Tomb robbers?!”

Gao Ming stopped the recording on his phone and lowered his voice as much as possible.

“Now if we call the police, we can clear ourselves of suspicion.”

After saying that, the two carefully stood up and slowly moved toward home.

But sometimes, the more careful people are, the easier it is for mistakes to happen.

What kind of people were tomb robbers? Even if ancient tombs did not have as many traps as in movies and novels, it was still a deadly job where people risked their lives for money. These men lived dangerously every day, so there was no way they would not carry weapons for protection.

Thinking about that, Cheng Fei became extremely nervous.

What she did not know was that Gao Ming was not much calmer than she was.

He was too focused on bending low and moving forward carefully, so he did not notice the moss-covered brick he had removed earlier. The moment he stepped on it, he slipped and fell flat onto the ground.

Cheng Fei was caught off guard too and fell onto Gao Ming’s back.

This dirt road was not a main road in town, and nobody had taken care of it for years. Small stones were scattered everywhere.

As if things were not bad enough already, Gao Ming accidentally pressed his hand against a sharp stone, cutting his palm open.

He let out a painful grunt.

The noise was not too loud, but not exactly quiet either.

The scariest thing was when everything suddenly became silent.

Gao Ming felt terribly embarrassed by his rare moment of clumsiness. He turned his head and met Cheng Fei’s narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Cheng Fei could not even be bothered to answer him. She quickly looked through the “viewing hole” they had made in the wall.

Sure enough, the two men had heard the sound and were rushing over.

Worse still, they pulled knives from behind their waists.

Seeing this, Gao Ming and Cheng Fei no longer cared about staying hidden. They turned and ran immediately.

Running alone would have been fine, but dragging another person along naturally made them slower. Besides, the ones chasing them were two strong grown men.

After only a few steps, the men caught up.

One of the robbers grabbed Cheng Fei’s arm from behind and almost pulled her away from Gao Ming.

Luckily, Gao Ming held on tightly and dragged her behind him protectively, like a mother hen protecting her chick.

The two were forced into a corner by the wall, but the tomb robbers were in no hurry. Instead, they started mocking them leisurely.

“Kid, you’ve got some guts.”

“At a time like this, you’re still protecting your woman instead of running. I kind of admire you. How about we fight one-on-one?”

“You’re empty-handed, and they have knives. If you can’t win, go call the police first,” Cheng Fei whispered anxiously.

“If I leave, what happens to you? How would I explain that to your parents?” Gao Ming said seriously.

At a moment like this, why was he still thinking about pride and appearances? Wasn’t staying alive more important?

This guy was crazy.

He had lived too long in an environment where protecting one’s image mattered too much. It had practically become an obsession.

“What’ll happen? We’ll take good care of her, of course,” one robber said with a dirty grin.

“Hah, brother, you know what? This girl may not look stunning at first glance, but the more you look at her, the prettier she gets. She’s even better than that one from Tiannan last time.”

“When we catch her later, we can have some fun together.”

“Hahaha! Sounds good. I’ll go first, then you.”

The disgusting words from the tomb robbers made Cheng Fei feel sick.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She punched Gao Ming hard once.

Serves him right for talking too much and giving them an excuse.

And if he had not made noise because he was overly nervous, would they even be in danger now?!

Using the force from that punch, Gao Ming suddenly stepped forward and launched a surprise attack while the robbers were distracted.

But the tomb robbers were experienced too. Their reactions were fast.

Still, Gao Ming was even faster.

Everything happened in an instant.

Gao Ming originally planned to grab the robber’s wrist, but because of the sudden movement, his hand ended up grabbing the knife blade itself instead!!!

Holy hell!

Everyone was stunned.

They already knew this guy was brave, but this was bravery on a completely different level.

Cheng Fei’s jaw almost dropped.

Even the two tomb robbers stared at him wide-eyed, speechless for a moment.

No matter how painful it was, a man had to protect his pride.

Even while screaming inside from the pain, Gao Ming refused to let go.

Blood flowed down through his fingers and dripped nonstop onto the ground. His hand was almost covered in blood, but he still gripped the blade tightly.

The robbers had only been joking around before, but now they truly admired him a little.

They had seen many ruthless people in this line of work, but they had never seen a smooth-skinned city boy this ruthless too.

“You’ve got spirit. Honestly, if you were in the same business as us, I’d actually want to get to know you.”

Gao Ming sneered.

Taking advantage of the moment they were distracted, he suddenly raised his right hand and struck toward the robber’s throat.

The robber had already become cautious because of Gao Ming’s speed. He quickly blocked the attack.

But he failed to notice Gao Ming’s leg moving below.

Bang! Bang!

One hit landed on the robber’s stomach.

Another smashed into his forehead.

One of Gao Ming’s hands was gripping the knife blade, and the other attack had been blocked. His legs were the only things still free to move.

But where did the brick that hit the robber’s head come from?

The answer was Cheng Fei.

While the tomb robbers were busy talking trash, Cheng Fei had quietly calmed herself and grabbed a loose brick from the broken wall nearby.

The moment the robber was distracted, she aimed carefully and smashed the brick straight into his head with all her strength.

Since Gao Ming had fallen because of a brick, she decided to use a brick as a weapon too.

To hell with all that “honor among men” nonsense. Who were they trying to fool with those fake righteous words? They robbed graves and still talked like noble heroes, did they even believe their own words?

Besides, at a moment this dangerous, who still cared about such things?

“You shameless bastard!” the other robber shouted when he saw Cheng Fei ignore their so-called rules and attack. He immediately raised his dagger and stabbed toward Gao Ming.

But halfway through the attack, a sharp explosive sound suddenly rang out.

Bang!

A fist-sized hole appeared in the ground nearby, and two smoking steel pellets rolled inside it.

The tomb robber froze in fear.

“Move again, and your head will explode!”

The deep voice gave a final warning. The dark gun barrel looked as terrifying as a bottomless pit.

The person who arrived was an old man with white hair and sunken eyes, but his gaze was still sharp and full of spirit.

The two robbers looked over in shock.

They had not expected anyone to come.

They especially had not expected an old man carrying a double-barreled hunting shotgun.

Three against two, and one of them had a gun.

The robbers immediately realized they were finished.

One of them quickly let go and threw the dagger onto the ground.

“You little bastards! How dare you disturb the peace of the princess and her husband? It’s already mercy that I didn’t blow your heads off!”

The old man lowered the gun and smacked one robber on the back with the gunstock.

Even Cheng Fei frowned from the sound alone. Though she was not the one hit, it still looked painful.

“Kids, hurry and call the police.”

After venting his anger, the old man gave the two a look of approval.

Without saying anything more, he carried the gun on his shoulder and walked away.

“This is…”

Cheng Fei felt like she had seen him somewhere before, but for a moment she could not remember where.

Still, this was not the time to think about that.

She quickly took out her phone and pressed the three highly intimidating numbers.

Soon, red and blue police lights flashed brightly.

One tomb robber was handcuffed with silver cuffs, while the other, who was more badly injured, was carried into the ambulance that had just arrived.

This was not a small incident at all, and it quickly attracted many people nearby.

While giving their statements, they naturally had to explain everything from beginning to end.

As Lu Shengdong and Qin Yi listened nearby, they were terrified the whole time.

At the same time, their feelings toward this future son-in-law changed even more.

Before, they had simply been satisfied with him.

But now, after seeing how Gao Ming protected their daughter without hesitation, the old couple truly admired him from the bottom of their hearts.

Gao Ming’s injuries were not too serious.

Although grabbing the dagger blade had cut his flesh badly, it had not damaged the tendons or bones.

Still, fingers were extremely sensitive. Even if it was only a flesh wound, getting stitches was far from pleasant.

Watching the doctor use forceps to pull a curved needle through the sliced skin was hard to bear.

Cheng Fei could only turn her head away.

Leaning against the window, she remembered the moment Gao Ming stood in front of her to protect her.

Honestly, she felt quite grateful.

Even though he had often annoyed her recently because of his selfish teasing, at the critical moment he had never hesitated.

Maybe it was only for an instant, but Gao Ming suddenly looked much more pleasing to the eye.

He no longer seemed so annoying.

By the time they returned home, it was already very late.

Even though it was late, and even though something dangerous had happened there earlier, Qin Yi still dragged Cheng Fei to the vegetable garden to catch the old hen they had raised for three years.

The poor hen screamed loudly and lost half its feathers.

Meanwhile, Lu Shengdong even took out his precious stored cordyceps mushrooms and gave them to Qin Yi to make soup.

The soup simmered over low heat for two whole hours before it was finally ready.

Even though Gao Ming knew his body already ran hot and drinking it would definitely make him overheated, he still could not refuse their kindness and drank it all.

Now his whole body was not just warm, sweat was pouring from his forehead.

“You lost so much blood, and your wound still needs to heal. Sweating a little is fine. Just take a shower later.”

Cheng Fei stayed silent for a moment as she looked at Gao Ming’s heavily bandaged hand, wrapped up like a mummy claw.

A trace of fear appeared on her face.

“......”

Qin Yi and Lu Shengdong instantly became speechless.

The couple exchanged a look.

“I’ll go pour some tea,” Lu Shengdong said as he stood up.

Qin Yi leaned close to Cheng Fei’s ear and whispered softly,

“You help him wash up.”

“What!?”

Cheng Fei nearly cried out.

“We… we…”

“You’re already husband and wife. What’s there to be shy about?”

“I… um…”

Cheng Fei felt like the sky was collapsing. She was so miserable she could not even explain it properly.

And as if that was not enough, Gao Ming was sitting nearby with a smug grin on his face.

The entire dinner ended with Cheng Fei taking care of him the whole time.

Honestly, she almost wanted to break his right hand too.

The injury was on his left hand. He was not even left-handed, so why was he acting like he could not do anything himself?

She had only just started thinking better of him, and now he was already making her angry again.

Back in the bedroom, Cheng Fei sat on the edge of the bed hugging her pillow.

Going out did not feel right.

Staying inside did not feel right either.

Her conflicted feelings showed clearly on her face, her eyebrows twisted tightly together.

Meanwhile, Gao Ming sat there calmly with one leg crossed over the other, drinking Lu Shengdong’s treasured pu’er tea (fermented tea) while looking at his phone.

Every now and then, he glanced at Cheng Fei.

The thoughts in her heart kept growing stronger until she could not hold them back anymore.

Finally, Cheng Fei gathered her courage and took out the pajamas Gao Ming had worn the night before.

This trip really had been cursed.

Ever since she secretly slipped out several days ago, something unlucky had happened almost every single day.

Nothing had gone smoothly even once.

“What?” Gao Ming looked up when he saw her storming over aggressively.

Grinding her teeth, Cheng Fei squeezed out three words through the gaps.

“Take a shower!”

Gao Ming remained completely calm. He put away his phone and smiled lazily like a cat enjoying sunlight.

“Don’t want to?”

Cheng Fei narrowed her eyes into slits.