DTTM 43

Chapter 43: Farewell, Young Master

Zong Yanlei narrowed his eyes slightly: “Pervert?”

“It was that guy who claimed to be a WRA member. Before he left, he took advantage of my immobility and said it was his reward for saving me.” I touched my neck and said in an ambiguous tone, “He licked and bit me. His tastes are pretty perverted.”

Zong Yanlei seemed to be shocked by this information; the smile on his lips faded slightly, and he slowly leaned back in his chair, remaining silent for a long while.

I left him to digest the information, then got out of bed and went to the window. I pulled all the half-closed curtains to let the sunlight fill the room.

Feeling the warm, abundant sunlight bathing my entire body, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. Even though it was just a night, I felt like I was buried deep underground for a long time because I had been deprived of sunlight.

“Besides your neck, where else did he touch you?” Zong Yanlei’s voice came from behind.

I could see the hospital entrance from the window. Just like when Zong Yanlei was attacked, the entrance was surrounded by many media reporters. The difference this time, there were also quite a few civilians.

“Hmm…waist, arms, face, he’s touched quite a few places.”

The hospital windows were specially treated so that no one could see inside from the outside, so even if I stood in front of the window, I didn’t have to worry about being photographed.

Those Wo people stood on both sides of the gate, holding up signs. The bright red characters on the signs were particularly glaring in the sunlight. Some read “We are not prey,” some read “Please speak for the dead,” and some held up a large photo of me stamped with the word “hero.”

“You don’t seem angry.” This time, the voice came closer.

“Angry? There’s no need. I’m a man, it’s nothing for me to be taken advantage of a little. Besides, apart from his perverted tastes, he’s actually… not bad.” As I said “not,” I could feel a faint heat on my back, and by the time I said “bad,” Zong Yanlei was already pressed against me from behind.

“Not bad?” One hand was around my waist, while the other swept up my body and gripped my neck. “Not only are you not angry, but you seem happy.”

I tilted my head back and looked at him from an awkward angle.

“Young master, he saved me, after all.”

Zong Yanlei lowered his eyes slightly, and his cold face was completely devoid of any smile.

“So what if he saved you? He’s taking advantage of your kindness and taking advantage of your vulnerability. It’s…” He frowned, and the next few words were squeezed out from between his teeth, “…a despicable act.”

“Hmm, that makes sense…”

“You’re just too good at drawing attention, that’s why you attract strange people wherever you go.” His thumb traced my jawline, his gaze fixed on my cracked lower lip. As if he was drawn to it, he slowly closed the distance between us.

He didn’t realize how strange his reaction was.

When I was a child, even accidental marks of violence left on my body by my father would elicit his displeasure. Now, when I told him that a pervert bit and licked me, he simply questioned whether I should think the other person was “not bad.”

Given his personality, he should have poured disinfectant into my mouth long ago, instead of doing what he did…

The distance between our lips grew shorter, our breaths gradually mingling.

I raised my hand, clenched it then put it down.

“Get out of the way!”

“We are just following orders, you can’t go in.”

Suddenly, a cacophony of footsteps and voices erupted outside the door.

The arm around my waist suddenly tightened, and Zong Yanlei’s lips stopped an inch away from mine.

He lifted his gaze, glanced impatiently at the door, and released his grip on me.

“Go lie down on the bed.”

Without saying a word, I turned and walked towards the hospital bed. Almost as soon as I lay down, the door to the ward was kicked open from the outside. A moment later, a man in his fifties, wearing a white military uniform and sporting a mustache, slowly walked in, leaning on a cane.

“General Zhong,” Zong Yanlei stepped between me and the other person, “what are you doing?”

I used to see Zhong Xiaoshan often on political news. On television, he was slightly overweight but looked very well, always with a ruddy complexion and a loud voice. But now he was completely different, upon hearing the devastating news of his only son’s death, he rushed over from Baiyujing overnight, his eyes bloodshot, his face gaunt. He looked like he had aged ten years overnight.

Zhong Xiaoshan leaned on his cane, looked past Zong Yanlei, and met my gaze: “My son is dead. I want to know the truth, that’s all.”

He exuded a soldier’s inherent aura of solemnity, and when he looked at me, it felt as if a cold breeze had swept through the room.

In an instant, I felt like a rabbit being stared at by a tiger; my entire back tensed up, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

“Uncle, who was your son? What was his name?” I suppressed my emotions, only revealing a perfectly measured amount of unease.

“His name was Zhong Xin. He was last seen the night before last, and there has been no news of him since then. Nobody knows where he went. Yesterday, he was found strangled with a rope. His body was found in the dungeon of the Wuxi family.”

“The dungeon? He wasn’t a hunter, but a prey?” I feigned surprise and added fuel to the fire, “I thought Wuxi Chen only hunted the Wo people, how come he’s even hunting his own people?”

“When we found him, he was indeed wearing the numbered stickers that only prey would wear.” Zhong Xiaoshan took out a photo of Zhong Xin from his pocket and tried to hand it to me, but Zong Yanlei’s unyielding figure blocked his way. He had no choice but to settle for second best and slam the photo into the other man’s hand.

Zong Yanlei glanced at it, then stretched out his long arm and handed the photo to me.

In the photo, Zhong Xin wore a graduation gown, with handsome features and a bright smile. He looked younger and more vibrant than the cold corpse I saw last night.

“Uncle, I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I’m certain I didn’t see your son last night.” I held the photo in my hand and said regretfully, “We ‘prey’ were held in separate prisons. Ever since the clowns took me upstairs, I hadn’t been back to the dungeon. I have no way of knowing the truth. Perhaps you could ask the other children.” With that, I handed the photo back to Zong Yanlei.

“General Zhong, there are many suspicious points in this matter. I think you should calm down and wait for the investigation report. Perhaps it’s all a misunderstanding?” Zong Yanlei handed the photo back to him.

Zhong Xiaoshan took back the photos and sneered, “My son died unjustly on the land of the Wuxi family, and you’re telling me it’s a misunderstanding? Don’t think that just because you’re related to the Wuxi family, you have the right to talk to me like that!”

He took a forceful step forward with his cane, the tip of the cane striking the ward floor tiles with a grating sound.

“I misspoke.” Despite saying this, Zong Yanlei’s voice remained calm. “What I meant was, don’t forget, besides Wuxi Chen, the Wo Republican Army was also present last night. What if… it’s a frame-up?”

With his status and his tone, whatever he said could only backfire.

Zhong Xiaoshan looked at him, his smile growing colder: “You may not understand them, but do you think I don’t? This father and son love nothing more than turning their enemies into prey. They are disgusting!” After saying that, he glanced away, seemingly too lazy to even look at Zong Yanlei again.

“If you remember any clues, you can call me.” He reached into the inside pocket of his coat and this time pulled out a business card.

He placed the business card at the foot of the bed, then limped out of the ward.

I sat cross-legged on the bed, and after Zong Yanlei closed the door, I sighed, “How pitiful, a parent outliving their child.”

“I’ll take you back to Baiyujing this afternoon. You shouldn’t have anything to pack, right?” Zong Yanlei put away the business card, sat back down on the sofa chair beside the bed, and didn’t continue what had been interrupted. I didn’t intend to bring it up either.

“No.”

For the rest of the day, my ward was very busy. One minute it was an investigator coming to ask questions, and the next it was an official coming to inquire about the injuries. Zong Yanlei sat upright in that not-so-comfortable sofa chair the whole time, silent, unresponsive, and as immovable as a mountain.

As evening approached, the ward door was knocked on for what seemed like the umpteenth time. This time, Xu Chengye appeared outside.

When he entered, snow still clung to his shoulders. “Jiang Man, you really scared me to death. What’s going on this season? One minute Mr. Zong is in trouble, the next you’re in trouble. Should I go find a shaman to perform a ritual to get rid of this bad luck?”

I scratched the tip of my nose, feeling a little embarrassed: “I’m sorry to have worried you.”

He only stayed in the ward for a short while, and after confirming that I was alright, he turned around to go through the discharge procedures.

As if completing some kind of handover ceremony, no sooner had he left than Zong Yanlei stood up, indicating that it was his turn to go.

“When are you going back to Baiyujing?” My gaze followed him from right to left.

“Two days later,” he said as he took his coat off the hanger and put it on.

“That’s soon.” I stepped off the bed and onto the slippers by the bedside to see him to the door.

He paused slightly, turned to look at me, and said, “You are not allowed to leave the dormitory while I’m gone for the next two days.”

I was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “Of course, where else could I go looking like this?”

He didn’t say anything more, just smirked, and turned to walk towards the other end of the corridor.

His 190cm height made him stand out even in the empty corridor. His coat tapered from his shoulders to his waist. My gaze followed the hem of his coat and fell on his long, straight legs encased in trousers.

His pace was not fast, but his stride was long, and each step he took was very steady, neither hasty nor sluggish.

“Farewell, young master,” I called out to his retreating figure.

Zong Yanlei did not turn around. His pace slowed slightly, but he continued forward without stopping.

Xu Chengye completed the formalities quickly. By the time I was put into the car and slowly drove out of the hospital gate, the scene outside was almost out of control.

The previously calm crowd suddenly surged towards the vehicle. Some cried out my name, others shouted slogans of equality and freedom, and reporters pounded on the car windows, their camera shutters clicking incessantly. Security personnel shouted for help, but they could not calm the crowd’s emotions.

Snowflakes, like feathers, fell from the sky, covering everything except the dense crowd in black with silver.

The vehicle slowly parted the crowd. Due to the good sound insulation, I could hardly hear what the people outside were shouting. I could only see gaunt faces with brown hair and red eyes, just like mine, shouting urgently among the Penglai people.

There were a few moments when, faced with their excitement and tears, I couldn’t even tell if they were cheering, desperately calling for my help, or both.

‎

‎

On the third day after returning to Baiyujing, amidst a flurry of rumors and a frenzy of activity, a video belonging to Wuxi Chen suddenly dominated the major media outlets in Penglai and the giant electronic screens on the streets, revealing a bloody massacre that lasted for many years.