Chapter 32
Drip—
Drip—
Drip—
Lu Yichuan’s eyes snapped open.
He exhaled slowly, his pupils dilated, his face pale, his body cold and stiff from blood loss.
He couldn’t move. Blood continued to drip from his wrist, the bowl overflowing, staining the floor crimson, the air thick with the metallic scent.
Drip—
Another drop fell, the splashing sound bringing Lu Yichuan back to his senses. He seemed to be still trapped in the dream, the loss of warmth and the pain of impending death finally connecting the broken threads in his mind.
Drip—
He closed his eyes, and just as he was about to lose consciousness, he raised his stiff right hand and pressed it against his left wrist.
He could feel his body temperature plummeting, his heart racing, the cold slowly consuming him, urging him to close his eyes and drift off.
With a surge of adrenaline, Lu Yichuan struggled to crawl forward. His phone was lying ahead, ringing incessantly.
He was covered in blood, his skin deathly pale, a stark contrast to the burning intensity in his eyes, making him look like a vengeful ghost.
He thought, he couldn’t die.
He had to live.
Live to take back what was his.
The ringing stopped abruptly, and then, with a loud bang, the closed door of the hidden room was kicked open.
Lu Yichuan looked up and saw the horrified faces of Song Zhang and Jiang Zhuo.
He gasped, his grip loosening, and smiled.
Song Zhang, having had the foresight to bring a first-aid kit, rushed over and frantically tried to stop the bleeding.
Jiang Zhuo stood at the doorway, stunned. He was initially shocked by the blood, then his eyes widened in horror as he took in the room, the red cloth, the talismans, the paper effigies.
Finally, his gaze landed on Jiang Heng’s photo, and he was speechless.
Song Zhang yelled at him, “What are you looking at? He’s dying! Call an ambulance!”
Jiang Zhuo finally snapped out of his daze and called for an ambulance.
Song Zhang stopped the bleeding and, without a word, ripped open Lu Yichuan’s blood-soaked shirt. “Get this shirt…”
His movements were frantic, and as he pulled at the shirt, the buttons popped open, revealing a bloodstained finger bone hanging from a red string around Lu Yichuan’s neck.
The bone, soaked in blood, was a stark, chilling sight.
Both Song Zhang and Jiang Zhuo froze.
Song Zhang, a doctor, knew instantly that this wasn’t an animal bone, but…
Human.
He let go of the shirt, his body numb.
Jiang Zhuo rushed forward, grabbed Lu Yichuan’s collar, ignoring his condition. “Lu Yichuan, tell me, what is this? I’m asking you, what is this?!”
His grip was tight. Lu Yichuan, drifting in and out of consciousness, opened his eyes slightly, his voice weak, but audible to both of them.
“What is it? Isn’t it obvious?”
Jiang Zhuo’s pupils constricted. He looked at the finger bone and recoiled as if burned.
“Crazy, you’re insane!” He gritted his teeth and asked, “Whose is it?”
Lu Yichuan leaned against the wall, his eyes still unfocused, but his right hand slowly reached up and gently caressed the bone on his chest.
“Didn’t you already know the answer before you asked?”
Jiang Zhuo was silent for a moment, then he stepped forward and punched Lu Yichuan.
Song Zhang was startled and immediately checked Lu Yichuan’s condition. “What are you doing! He’s dying! What’s wrong with you!”
“What’s wrong with me?” Jiang Zhuo looked around the room, his anger boiling over. “Do you see what he’s doing? What is all this? And what is he wearing around his neck?”
“Lu Yichuan…” he gritted his teeth. “I considered you my brother, and this is how you treat me, treat Jiang Heng?”
“He’s dead! Dead, do you understand?” Jiang Zhuo looked down at Lu Yichuan. “What are you trying to do with all this superstitious nonsense? You’re even wearing, wearing…”
His eyes were bloodshot. “Do you want him to find no peace even in death?”
The man on the floor didn’t respond. Just when Song Zhang thought he had lost consciousness, a soft cough escaped his lips.
Followed by a low chuckle.
A weak, broken chuckle, yet he still managed to speak.
Lu Yichuan spoke slowly, softly.
“I want him to find no peace.”
He said, each word deliberate,
“I’d rather he hate me, resent me, blame me, become a ghost, haunt me, torment me, than leave me without a word.”
In the candlelight, his face was smeared with blood, his eyes dark, his skin pale, more like a ghost than a human.
Jiang Zhuo was stunned by his appearance, his racing heart drowned out by the approaching sirens of the ambulance.
Hospital.
Song Zhang spent the entire night in the smoking room, his hair a mess, before finally returning to the ward with a grim face.
The nurse had just changed the IV drip when he arrived and greeted him. “Dr. Song, you’re here.”
Song Zhang glanced at the man lying quietly in the bed, his breathing shallow. “How is he?”
“His condition is stable. He has a strong will to live and should wake up soon.”
Seeing his worried expression, the nurse comforted him, “Don’t worry too much. Many people are like this. They have suicidal thoughts, but then regret it halfway through. After being rescued, they cherish their lives more than anyone.”
After all, the process of dying was so painful that no one would want to experience it twice.
Song Zhang thought, was Lu Yichuan “many people?”
But he couldn’t say anything to the nurse and simply frowned, dismissing her.
He pulled up a chair, but before he could sit down, he met Lu Yichuan’s open eyes.
Song Zhang jumped, his bottom hitting the chair with a thud. “Holy shit! You’re like a ghost! Couldn’t you make a sound?”
Lu Yichuan sat up, supporting himself with his hand. His expression was calm, but his eyes burned with an unsettling intensity.
“Song Zhang, I was wrong…” he said.
Song Zhang was taken aback. “Have you finally realized the burden your actions have placed on society and your friends?”
“I was too arrogant. I thought I had everything calculated perfectly, but I overlooked one crucial thing.”
Song Zhang, “Huh?”
“I overlooked the effect of time.”
“Time moves forward. Four years, neither long nor short, but enough for people to move on from grief. To him, I should have moved on, healed, left the grief behind, and started a new life.”
“In my new life, new relationships and new friends should be acceptable, so even if he saw me talking to Jiang Xingbai, he would be sad, but not angry.”
“I miscalculated. My actions hurt him.”
“But it’s okay, I’ll make amends.”
Song Zhang’s jaw dropped. “I used to say you were crazy, but you can’t actually be crazy…”
“I’m not crazy.” Lu Yichuan pulled back the covers and got out of bed. “I’m perfectly clear-headed. I was just too confused before. After so long, I didn’t even notice such an obvious flaw, until that dream connected everything.”
“And now…” He ripped out his IV, his eyes gleaming with a manic intensity.
“I’m going to take back what’s mine.”
Jiang Heng was shaken awake by several cats. He was still immersed in the dream, staring blankly at the furry faces in front of him, his mind hazy.
Finally, the calico cat, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the nest.
Jiang Heng flailed his paws. “What’s going on?”
The tortoiseshell cat meowed, “The person you asked us to watch, he came out.”
Jiang Heng looked up. The sky was just starting to brighten. It was probably around five or six in the morning.
He jumped down from the calico cat’s grasp. “I’m awake. Where is he?”
Jiang Heng shooed the other cats away and followed the young man with the calico cat.
The morning air was cold, clearing Jiang Heng’s drowsy mind. The young man didn’t notice the two cats following him at a distance.
The calico cat walked beside Jiang Heng, observing his hesitant gait. It asked seriously, “Is the problem very difficult?”
…?
Jiang Heng was confused. “What problem?”
“You seem very worried.”
Jiang Heng rubbed his face with his paw in a very human-like gesture. “I’m not worried about this. I’m worried about…”
…Lu Yichuan not returning all night.
Where had he gone?
Jiang Heng had a bad feeling about this.
He shook his head, putting Lu Yichuan out of his mind for now. “Forget it, let’s follow this guy first and see where he’s going. Rescuing Big Orange is more important.”
Fortunately, the cats’ all-night surveillance had yielded results. The young man left the university grounds and entered a nearby alley.
It was a messy, chaotic place, lacking surveillance cameras, plastered with flyers and cheap motel signs.
After walking for three or four minutes, the young man entered a building.
Jiang Heng and the calico cat immediately followed, watching as he went up to the third floor and entered a room.
The two cats crouched by the door, staring at it.
“What do we do now?” the calico cat asked.
Jiang Heng looked around and finally noticed the window at the end of the corridor. A plane tree, even taller and bigger than the one outside Lu Yichuan’s dorm, grew outside.
Three minutes later…
The bald kitten was still struggling at the base of the window, unable to even reach the windowsill, let alone the tree.
Jiang Heng: “…”
The calico cat, which had been perched on the windowsill, jumped down. Jiang Heng dejectedly lowered his head and felt a familiar grip on his scruff.
The plane tree branches were thick and sturdy. Jiang Heng was finally no longer a useless kitten.
He clung tightly to the bark and climbed upwards.
After climbing for a while, he could finally see into the young man’s room. The curtains were drawn, but not completely, offering a glimpse of the interior.
It was a dim room, the lights off, filled not with furniture or a bed, but with cages.
Jiang Heng’s eyes widened in horror as he saw what was inside the cages, and he instinctively recoiled.
Cats.
Motionless, he couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead.
Then the young man appeared.
His voice wasn’t loud, but a cat’s hearing was much sharper than a human’s, and they could clearly hear him speak.
He looked down at the cats in the cages. “Let’s see, which one should I choose today?”
He circled the cages, then opened one and pulled out a cat, the missing orange tabby.
Big Orange was covered in blood, especially its right paw, which was mangled, as if its claws had been ripped out.
Seeing this, the young man’s smile widened. He held Big Orange up. “Of all these cats, you’re the most resilient. I’m in a bad mood these past few days, so you’re the lucky one.”
Just as he brought Big Orange closer to his face, the previously lifeless cat suddenly opened its eyes and swiped at his face with its left paw.
It used all its remaining strength, claws tearing into flesh.
The young man cried out in pain and threw the cat against the wall.
Thud! Jiang Heng’s heart sank. Before he could react, a shadow beside him darted forward.
The calico cat, having spent time with Jiang Heng, had even learned how to open windows.
It nimbly climbed onto the windowsill, pushed the window open, and jumped inside.
Before the young man, clutching his face, could react, something landed on his shoulders, its teeth sinking into his neck as another sharp pain shot through his face.
The intense pain brought him back to his senses. He grabbed the cat on his back and threw it aside.
The calico cat crashed against the wall, quickly recovered, rolled onto its feet, and hissed at him.
The young man touched his face and neck, his hands coming away covered in blood.
He spat on the floor, his eyes filled with rage. “Another damn animal! Just you wait, I’ll knock your teeth out, skin you alive, and stew your meat into soup!”
Jiang Heng paced anxiously on the tree branch. “Run! You can’t beat him! Let’s go back and get help!”
But the calico cat’s eyes were red with fury, and it ignored him.
It circled the room, then pounced on the man again like lightning.
Jiang Heng, seeing no other option, yelled, “Go for his eyes!”
A psychopath like this deserved to be blind.
Hearing his words, the calico cat changed its target and aimed for the man’s eyes.
Jiang Heng looked at the distance between the tree branch and the windowsill, thought, what the hell, and jumped.
Fortunately, luck was on his side, and he landed safely.
He gripped the windowsill and pulled himself up, looking at the potted plant outside and the deserted street below. He silently apologized and, with all his might, pushed the potted plant off the windowsill.
Crash—
The sound of the shattering pot, combined with his frantic meows, quickly drew the attention of the neighbors, who poked their heads out their windows.
Jiang Heng’s eyes lit up. Just as he was about to meow again, a hand reached out from behind him and pulled him inside.
He turned and saw the young man’s bloodied face, then turned again and saw the calico cat lying on the floor, blood oozing from its leg.
It’s over, it’s over…
The man tightened his grip on his neck. “Meow? Why aren’t you meowing now?”
“Mmph!”
Jiang Heng struggled to make a sound, kicking weakly at the man.
The kitten’s feeble resistance was nothing to the young man, who watched its struggles with amusement, a cruel smile on his face as tears welled up in its glassy eyes.
“Such beautiful eyes. How about I gouge them out for my collection?”
“Want to meow and attract attention? I should just rip your tongue out.”
This time, Jiang Heng was truly terrified.
The calico cat stood up behind the man, its green eyes fixed on him.
Jiang Heng closed his eyes and swiped at the man’s hand. The man cried out in pain, but his grip didn’t loosen.
But in that moment of distraction, the calico cat pounced again.
Jiang Heng rolled onto the floor and scrambled to his feet. He looked at the closed door, knowing he couldn’t open it, and turned his attention to the window.
But he had once again overestimated his short legs.
He couldn’t jump that high, no matter how hard he tried.
Jiang Heng could only meow loudly, hoping someone would come.
The young man’s face was covered in new scratches, his expression twisting in frustration as he fought the calico cat.
The calico cat was too agile; even with a knife, he couldn’t catch it.
Then, as if remembering something, he opened a drawer and pulled something out.
Jiang Heng’s pupils constricted. “Watch out for what he’s holding! It’s a dart!”
The young man held the dart, but instead of aiming at the calico cat, he pointed it at Jiang Heng. “Little beast, I’ll send you to hell first.”
He slowly raised his hand, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Just as he was about to fire the dart…
Bang—
The door crashed to the floor.
Jiang Heng’s heart leaped.
Amidst the dust and debris, he saw Lu Yichuan’s face.
He stood at the doorway, his hospital gown loose, his face pale, the back of his hand bruised and purple.
Frail, yet radiating an undeniable power, he intruded into Jiang Heng’s sight.
Their eyes met.
Lu Yichuan walked towards Jiang Heng, his eyes fixed on him, as if he were the only thing he could see.
Finally, in the dim room, the handsome man knelt in front of the cat, his bruised hand gently lifting him and holding him close.
He didn’t speak, his eyes filled with a suppressed emotion, his gentle voice laced with a chilling intensity.
“Found you.”
