Chapter 23: Evil Peach

“Who are you?” Zhou Zhuo Hua’s face was ghastly pale, her voice weak and feeble. Her haggard features made her look like someone who had just recovered from a severe illness, and the strong smell of blood clung to her body.

A faint call came from the room. “Tao Tao…”

“Mom!” Bai Tao shuddered all over. She quickly pushed aside Zhou Zhuo Hua at the door. The frail Zhou Zhuo Hua staggered, but Jiang Ye steadied her.

The door was shoved open, and Bai Chen Zhu stepped forward. He saw Auntie Liang lying on the bed, barely breathing. A deep gash ran from her shoulder down to her abdomen, nearly splitting her body in two.

Her body was wrapped in many bandages. It was clear Zhou Zhuo Hua had done her best to save her, but without proper medical conditions, bloodstains still seeped through the bandages, spotting the bedsheets.

“Mom! You’re bleeding so much, does it hurt?” Bai Tao’s eyes were red-rimmed. She wanted to touch her but didn’t dare. Then, she clenched her fists tightly, like a whimpering wolf cub, her voice growing louder with each word. “Who did this? Who did this!”

She turned her grief into anger, her eyes blazing red. She stood up, ready to go find the culprit.

“Tao Tao…” A barely audible call held her back.

Bai Tao’s back trembled violently. A warm hand gently grasped her wrist—it was Auntie Liang.

The woman on the bed breathed shallowly, her chest rising and falling less and less.

Bai Tao collapsed onto the edge of the bed, burying her face in the bedding as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“I thought… I wouldn’t see you again.” Auntie Liang stroked her head, speaking in broken sentences, trying hard to convey her concern. “You have to take care of yourself, Tao Tao. Go find… find your dad…”

As the mother and daughter spoke, Bai Chen Zhu didn’t want to intrude on their privacy, so he turned sideways. As he did, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the unconscious security head’s finger twitching before going still again.

Nearby, Jiang Ye helped Zhou Zhuo Hua sit down and touched her forehead. “The fever’s gone. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere else?”

Zhou Zhuo Hua shook her head, worry flashing across her face. “I feel much better all over after the fever broke. Nothing serious, just Auntie Liang, she…”

The security head’s fingers twitched again, as if he was about to wake up. Bai Chen Zhu grew alert and stepped back toward Jiang Ye, calling softly, “Jiang Ye.”

Jiang Ye turned to him with a puzzled look.

At that moment, Bai Tao suddenly shouted intensely at her mom and frantically shook Auntie Liang’s body.

What was this? How could she treat a patient like that?

“Calm down.” Bai Chen Zhu stepped forward and raised his hand to stop her rough handling of the patient. But when he saw Auntie Liang’s chest no longer rising and falling, he froze in place.

Auntie Liang’s pale face held a faint, serene smile, as if after settling her affairs, she could finally slip into eternal sleep.

The person who had just been speaking had taken her last breath in an instant. Looking at the middle-aged woman, in that moment, Bai Chen Zhu seemed to see his own mother.

Bai Chen Zhu stood there stunned, forgetting what he had meant to say.

Before coming to this world, he had just held his mother’s funeral and was planning to take her back home to be buried with his father. Bai Chen Zhu paused, his expression indescribably complex. Watching the wailing Bai Tao, he saw his past self—helpless and at a loss.

“…My condolences.” He knew Bai Tao didn’t need empty words from others, so he quietly stepped back.

Bai Tao whipped her head around sharply. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto the security head, who had crawled up at some point and was trying to sneak away. She finally found an outlet for her rage and lashed out heedlessly. “It’s all your fault! All your fault! It’s you!”

“If it weren’t for you, my mom wouldn’t have left!”

“Wahhh, I want you dead!”

Her cries were piercing, like knives stabbing into ears, slicing through eardrums, and jabbing sharply into minds.

“I want you dead—aaah!” She wanted to charge at him but couldn’t bear to let go of the cooling corpse in her arms. So she clutched the body tightly, her chest heaving violently as she glared at the security head, her wails bloodcurdling.

Bai Chen Zhu’s mind buzzed for a moment, his vision going black for a few seconds. Instinctively sensing danger, he quickly covered his buzzing ears.

“Stop it!” Jiang Ye’s face turned ashen. Under Bai Chen Zhu’s puzzled gaze, he charged aggressively toward Bai Tao but halfway there, thudded to one knee and vomited blood.

Zhou Zhuo Hua covered one buzzing ear with a hand while reaching with the other to pull him back. “Jiang Ye! What’s wrong?”

Though Bai Chen Zhu felt discomfort, it wasn’t to the point of vomiting blood. Zhou Zhuo Hua was still recovering from illness and couldn’t support Jiang Ye. Her pull sent her tumbling to the floor as well. So he hurried over to catch Jiang Ye, who was about to collapse. The skin he touched was scorching hot.

Bai Chen Zhu almost suspected Jiang Ye had been infected at some point. “Jiang Ye, do you have a fever?”

The agonizing screams drowned out Bai Tao’s low growls. In Zhou Zhuo Hua’s terrified sight, the security head went mad, clutching his head and screaming as he bashed it against the wall—bang bang—cracking it like a spiderweb. Blood streamed down the wall, his face twisted and ferocious.

It was broad daylight, yet it felt like seeing a ghost.

His arm tightened. Bai Chen Zhu looked down to find Jiang Ye’s head buried in his shoulder, hot breath raising goosebumps on his neck.

The culprit seemed oblivious to their closeness, mumbling incoherently.

“Say that again.” Bai Chen Zhu’s face grew grave as he leaned in to listen.

His vision shook as if the earth and mountains were quaking, his ears filled with hellish shrieks.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath and rasped, “Remember what I taught you—how to restrain your five senses? Now, let them all out.”

He turned his head, his gaze toward Bai Tao’s back now laced with killing intent.

Bai Chen Zhu was stunned. He looked around frantically left and right. Bai Tao was still crying, clutching her mother’s large corpse, her eyes full of vengeance.

Strangely, her voice struck straight at the soul, like a dagger stabbing into people’s minds over and over.

In this tense atmosphere, he had completely forgotten how he had done it before!

Worse, Jiang Ye gripped his shoulder tightly, throat choked, gasping harshly. “Hurry! Imagine a barrier covering us.”

Even Zhou Zhuo Hua began clutching her ears, her face showing pain.

Over there, the security head screamed as his eyeballs burst, blood spraying in the air. He died with eyes wide open, body toppling backward and slamming into the floor with a thud.

He was dead, without anyone getting close.

Bai Chen Zhu felt his head growing heavier. He shook it fiercely, his vision transitioning from darkness to blurry shapes.

The security head’s gruesome death spurred him on. Driven by survival instinct, he clumsily released his mental power, imagining it as an invisible barrier that gently enveloped the three of them.

The moment the weak barrier formed, his head throbbed painfully, and hallucinations seemed to appear before his eyes. He actually ‘saw’ the entire room filled with strange thread-like objects. Most bypassed them and pierced the security head’s skull, relentlessly wrapping the corpse until it was unrecognizable, like a mummy.

A weight settled on his neck—Jiang Ye had fainted against him.

“Jiang Ye!” Bai Chen Zhu panicked and checked his breathing. He was still alive, at least, and Zhou Zhuo Hua looked less pained.

Zhou Zhuo Hua was truly afraid of that girl now. Losing a mother was soul-deep pain, but just crying like that—how could it kill someone?

She whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”

No sooner had she spoken than—bang—Bai Chen Zhu turned to look.

Well, Bai Tao had fainted too.

Bai Chen Zhu dragged the security head’s corpse to the hotel door. His underlings scattered like frightened birds and fish, vanishing instantly.

Faced with the unconscious Jiang Ye and Bai Tao, Bai Chen Zhu and Zhou Zhuo Hua felt at a loss.

In the end, Bai Chen Zhu didn’t move Bai Tao. She probably wouldn’t want anyone separating her from her mother.

He kicked open another room next door, slung Jiang Ye’s arm over his shoulder, half-carried him over, and tossed him onto the bed.

Zhou Zhuo Hua dragged two chairs over and sat in one first.

Bai Chen Zhu didn’t stand on ceremony with her. After sitting, he asked, “Sister Hua, is your fever gone?”

“Yes.” Zhou Zhuo Hua felt quite guilty. She fidgeted with the fabric on her knees and explained everything in detail.

She had woken that morning to knocking. Auntie Liang had rushed over, saying thugs had broken into the hotel, killed the front desk uncle, and were guarding the door—no one could leave.

Those self-proclaimed heroes for the people wanted to kill everyone in the hotel with a fever. They struck without mercy, clearly not seeing patients as human but as zombies, using that to mask their brutality as heroic salvation.

Auntie Liang had come to tell her to run fast. Those people killed anyone with a fever on detection and locked up the rest together.

But the thugs were faster. No sooner had Auntie Liang finished speaking than they arrived. An electric baton flew over, striking Auntie Liang’s occiput with tremendous force.

Black and white flashed before her eyes as Auntie Liang fell forward.

The already weak Zhou Zhuo Hua couldn’t support her weight and was pulled down backward, her back burning with pain.

Terrified, Zhou Zhuo Hua hadn’t expected anyone to have such strength—practically like a ‘superpower.’

As two thugs approached, Zhou Zhuo Hua struggled to prop up her limp body, hugging Auntie Liang and crawling back toward the room.

But it was too late. The thugs grabbed them. The one who had just smashed with the electric baton now feigned politeness, saying they would take them to check temperatures.

Two grown men in their prime naturally had great strength, especially one with extraordinary power.

In the chaos, Zhou Zhuo Hua seized a chance to shove the weak Auntie Liang through the door. She clung desperately to the doorframe, refusing to go and blocking them from entering.

As they were about to drag her away, Zhou Zhuo Hua panicked, suddenly let go, spun, and kicked one man squarely in the groin while slapping the other.

As she fled inside, the enraged thug grabbed her collar and pulled out a knife from somewhere.

Auntie Liang rushed out to block the knife for her.

As the kitchen knife slashed down, blood splashed all over Zhou Zhuo Hua and sprayed the thug. She felt chilled to the bone, but reacted quickly, shouting shrilly, “You beasts! She’s not sick—you’re murderers! Murderers!”

Her sharp voice pierced the chaos. She dragged Auntie Liang back into the room.

Later, the self-righteous thugs reacted and kicked at the door. Just as they were about to break in, they seemed to receive some message and hurriedly went downstairs.

Bai Chen Zhu listened with lingering fear. If they had returned even a bit later…

Zhou Zhuo Hua clutched her head in pain.

Bai Chen Zhu grabbed her wrist to pull her hand away, saying gently, “What’s wrong? Does it hurt again?”

From his view, those threads had mostly dissipated.

“It’s my fault.” Zhou Zhuo Hua shook her head. She couldn’t get past her own guilt.

“If Auntie Liang had ignored me and left on her own, this wouldn’t have happened. Now I’ve not only dragged you all down but ruined a family. I’m just a burden. Why, why don’t I have that kind of power?! If I had even half that girl’s ability, Auntie Liang wouldn’t have died!”

“Why did this happen?”

Bai Chen Zhu listened silently, patted the back of her hand, and said rationally, “Everyone in the hotel suffered. How could you pin hopes on those murderers? If Auntie Liang had been locked up and something happened, she might not have even seen her daughter one last time.”

Zhou Zhuo Hua stared blankly. “I know, but what if…” She took off her glasses. The usually calm and composed woman desperately wiped the moisture from her eyes, trying to hide her breakdown.

She was gasping in big breaths but holding back tears fiercely.

Sensing her discomfort, Bai Chen Zhu turned away, murmuring, “Why hasn’t Jiang Ye woken up yet?” He went to sit by Jiang Ye, thoughtfully giving her space.

It was already deep night outside. Bai Chen Zhu and Zhou Zhuo Hua ate something and turned on all the lights in the corridor and rooms before feeling a bit better.

Otherwise, thinking of the scattered corpses downstairs made their hearts race.

Zhou Zhuo Hua went next door to rest and watch over the fainted Bai Tao, who still clung tightly to the corpse. Just as Bai Chen Zhu could barely stay awake and prepared to wash up and sleep, Jiang Ye mumbled some dream talk.

His ears perked up instantly. He bent down to eavesdrop.

“…Evil Bai Tao, you’re dead meat.”

Bai Chen Zhu: …?

He suspected he had misheard.

Unsure, he listened again.

Jiang Ye’s voice was so soft he had to lean very close. Bai Chen Zhu tilted his head, his earring swaying slightly in the air, glinting with fine golden light.

“…I’ll kill you.”

Bai Chen Zhu’s pupils contracted sharply. For a moment, he wasn’t sure who those words were directed at. He turned his head and unexpectedly met a pair of pitch-black eyes.

They were too close. At this distance, if Jiang Ye lost his senses and attacked, he wouldn’t be able to dodge at all.

However, Jiang Ye showed no intention of making a move. He stared blankly at the ginkgo leaves swaying in the midair like stars.

When he raised his hand to catch the stars, Bai Chen Zhu straightened up.

Eavesdropping wasn’t moral. Bai Chen Zhu cleared his throat lightly. “Are you awake? Sister Zhou said your body is very healthy and showed no issues. Also, it’s very late now. Do you want to get up and eat something before resting?”

Jiang Ye snapped back to his senses. The pain that felt like it would burst his head open surged up. He clutched his forehead and gasped for air. He seemed to be in extreme pain, hunching over and burying his face in the blanket.

“Are you okay?” Bai Chen Zhu asked, concerned for the patient.

“Not good. Not good at all.” Jiang Ye’s voice carried a faint anger as he gritted his teeth.

He hadn’t fully awakened from those past memories yet. In his dazed state, he only remembered the days when he and Bai Tao used to beat each other up. At their worst, they had even grabbed weapons.

If their people hadn’t held them back desperately, it really was unclear whether the two bases would have merged.

It was a pity that in the end, neither of them managed to kill the other.

Now, Jiang Ye felt that familiar pain of being attacked in his mind. In his half-dreaming, half-awake state, his first instinct by habit was to grab a weapon and go seek revenge.

Bai Chen Zhu was completely unaware of their history. He just associated it with Jiang Ye’s earlier words and suspected that this man would grab a knife and go kill Bai Tao the next second.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ye really did wobble as he climbed up. His hand shook uncontrollably, and his gaze shifted around, searching for something.

Bai Chen Zhu asked, “What are you looking for?”

Jiang Ye shook his head hard, trying to clear his mind, and said concisely, “A knife.”

“Wait!” Bai Chen Zhu hurriedly grabbed Jiang Ye, who was heading outward. His expression was complicated. How did this male protagonist live like a villain!

He gripped the other’s collar and shook desperately. “Wake up! She’s only in her senior year of high school. She’s still a kid!”