A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Director Zhou turned around, reached out and pinched Jin Bao's cheek, and said with a smile, "That won't work. You two kids can't walk that far. Besides, there are a lot of bad guys on the road. What if someone takes advantage of you? It's better to have the driver drive the car to the temple, and you can just walk in and burn incense."

Gui'er thought: Even if the car drove to the temple, they would have to get off. There were so many people in front of the temple, maybe there would be more opportunities, so she didn't say anything.

As expected, the further forward we went, the more people there were, and at the back, they were almost walking and stopping.

The driver suddenly said to Director Zhou, "Director, there are too many people here. It's not safe. Are we sure we want to come here to pray and burn incense?"

Director Zhou glanced outside and saw the hustle and bustle of people, with long gowns and mandarin jackets, cheongsams and Western dresses mixed together. The crowds were surging, and the sounds of hawking and laughter mixed together. Everywhere he looked, there were crowds of people.

He sighed and said to Jinbao, "Little Jinbao, how about we go back first?"

Gui'er quickly said, "Director Zhou, you're a government official and need to ensure safety. We're just citizens of Xingdou. No one would want to do anything to us. Why don't we get off here and walk over?"

She actually wanted to use provocation to get Director Zhou to continue going to the temple fair.

Sure enough, Director Zhou felt a little embarrassed after hearing this and glanced at the driver.

The driver looked around in embarrassment, and suddenly saw an intersection ahead. He quickly said to Director Zhou, "I remember this intersection leads to the alley behind the temple fair. Let's go around it."

Director Zhou nodded, his expression looking a little better.

The driver started the car and drove into the fork in the road, then drove slowly. The more he drove, the fewer people there were. Gui'er felt something was wrong. If she left the bustling crowd, she was afraid that Xu Wenjie and the others would not be able to take action. However, she could not say anything for fear that it would arouse suspicion.

The car drove for about 20 minutes and finally stopped. The driver said they had arrived. Guier and Jinbao got out of the car. There were not many people around. Occasionally there were one or two passers-by. Some of them were going to the temple fair with their families. They probably lived nearby and were familiar with this path.

Gui'er was a little depressed. This place was so remote. She didn't know if Xu Wenjie knew this road. Director Zhou excitedly took Jinbao's hand and said, "Come on, come on, two kids, come down. Let's go to worship and go to the temple fair. Although there are many things to do, for safety reasons, we won't play or watch the shows. Let's go back after the worship." As he spoke, he came up and took Gui'er's hand.

Gui'er had no choice but to suppress her nausea and smiled at him, "Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhou."

They got out of the car and the driver got out too. Gui'er was hoping that Xu Wenjie could find this remote place. However, they walked forward a few steps but the driver didn't leave and stayed next to the car.

Gui'er asked curiously, "Isn't this uncle going with us?"

Director Zhou smiled and said, "He's a driver, specifically responsible for driving. The car is his post, just like a soldier who can't leave his trench."

If that were the case, how would Xu Wenjie and the others install the explosives? She looked back and saw that the driver's waist was bulging, as if he was carrying a weapon.

This made her even more worried, but she didn't dare show it, so she had to obediently follow Director Zhou to Shansi Temple.

It turns out that this is behind the temple, and there is a back door. Some people living nearby walked in through the back door for convenience. Because there was a temple fair outside, there were not many people burning incense and praying in the temple.

Gui'er and Jinbao walked to the incense table, picked up the incense and candles, and lit them with matches. The flames flickered and green smoke curled up. The two of them held the incense and candles, raised their hands to the height of their foreheads, and bowed reverently to the four directions of east, south, west and north in turn, muttering silently.

Then Guier walked to the donation box, took out some silver from her purse, and gently placed it in, making a crisp sound. Then she entered the hall and bowed to the Buddha statue, kneeling on the cushion with her upper body straight, and kowtowed three times.

When she finished her worship and was about to get up, she found that Jinbao was pulling the hidden weapon pen she gave her and adjusting the angle to shoot Director Zhou.

Director Zhou was also kowtowing beside her the entire time. She broke out in a cold sweat, pretending to lose her balance and grabbing her hand. He looked at her, winking and shaking his head anxiously. If she started fighting here, they would catch her and she would be unable to escape.

Jin Bao looked at Director Zhou hatefully, and finally put away the pen.

At this time, Director Zhou had also finished the worship and said to the two of them with satisfaction: "Okay, let's go back."

The two men had no choice but to come out of the temple and go through the back door to the car. The driver was standing next to him smoking. His trouser pocket was bulging, and the shape of a pistol could be clearly seen. Some passers-by took a look and quickly jumped away as if they had seen a poisonous snake.

It looked like no one had approached the car, and Guier was a little depressed.

Director Zhou enthusiastically opened the back door and let Jinbao and Guier get in. Then he walked to the front seat and sat down next to the driver.

Gui'er finally glanced out of the car window somewhat unwillingly, and unexpectedly saw a very familiar figure, a bit like Sha Yanyao, but the man was wearing a Liba outfit, a bit like a rickshaw driver, and a bit like a dock mover.

She quickly retracted her gaze and looked at Director Zhou. She found that he was staring at Jin Bao intently, and she felt a little relieved.

She felt very uneasy. If that person was really Sha Yanyao, he should not have succeeded. If Director Zhou found out, it would be troublesome. He could be arrested without any reason.

As the car drove back along the road, Director Zhou would occasionally look back or watch the two of them through the rearview mirror. Suddenly, he said with an unsatisfied look, "How about I take you to a hotel?"

Gui'er saw the driver's eyes light up, his expression as if he was watching gossip. She knew Director Zhou had bad intentions and quickly said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhou, but we informed Mother of the time we left. If we don't go back by then, they might think we've been in an accident. The city's security isn't very good right now, and we came here with you. If they think we've all been in trouble, it won't be good if it gets out of hand."

Director Zhou glanced at Gui'er meaningfully and said, "I didn't expect that Gui'er is such a strong-willed girl. Okay, I'll take you back now."

Gui Er was afraid that she would offend Director Zhou by refusing to yield, so she quickly said, "Uncle Zhou, please take us out to burn incense and pray for blessings. When my allowance comes in, I'll treat Uncle Zhou to pot stickers, soup dumplings, and plum blossom cakes."

After hearing this, Director Zhou's expression eased a little, and he sent the two of them back to the Sha Mansion.

As soon as they arrived home, the lady quickly grabbed them and asked, "How about burning incense and praying for blessings today?"

Guier took out the amulet she had prayed for and handed it to the lady, saying, "Very good. This is the amulet I prayed for my mother."