Chapter 94 Countdown to Leaving

In the evening, the exercise period ended.

Fang Che spotted Li Hanzhou from afar.

The man stood at the top of the stairs, his face bearing injuries, but his back straight.

Upon seeing Fang Che, he quickly walked over.

"Brother Li!" Fang Che rushed over, "Are you alright?"

Li Hanzhou hugged him tightly, so tightly that Fang Che could hear the other's heartbeat.

"Ah Che, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing..."

"I'm sorry to have worried you." Li Hanzhou released him and examined him carefully. "Does your back injury still hurt? Have you changed the medication on time?"

"It's been changed. The ointment Seventh Brother gave me works quite well."

Upon hearing "Seventh Brother," Li Hanzhou's eyes darkened. He didn't say anything, but ruffled Fang Che's hair: "Go back to your cell and lock the door. Tonight... might not be peaceful."

"What's wrong?"

“Alai ran away.” Li Hanzhou’s voice turned cold. “Old Dao was watching him, but he used a sleeping potion and knocked out several people.”

Fang Che's heart sank.

"Would he..."

"Yes," Li Hanzhou affirmed. "Given Alai's personality, he will definitely retaliate. He's most likely to target you."

He gripped Fang Che's hand tightly: "Promise me, no matter what noise you hear tonight, don't come out. Qi will protect you."

"Seventh Brother? Brother Li, you believe him?"

Li Hanzhou remained silent for a moment.

“I believe the way he looks at you,” he finally said. “That kind of look can’t be faked.”

Fang Che blushed.

"Go back quickly." Li Hanzhou pushed him. "I have things to take care of."

Where are you going?

"Find the venomous snake." Li Hanzhou's eyes were cold. "There are some scores that need to be settled."

Night fell.

The lights-out whistle blew, plunging the prison area into darkness.

Fang Che lay on the hard bed with his eyes open.

On the opposite bunk, Qi had his back to him, breathing steadily.

But Fang Che knew he wasn't asleep.

At midnight, a faint commotion was heard in the distance, but it was quickly suppressed.

Fang Che sat up.

"Lie down," Seven's voice rang out in the darkness.

Fang Che obediently lay back down.

A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock on the cell door.

Three long and two short.

Qi got up and took a note through the crack in the door.

He glanced at it by the moonlight, and his expression changed.

"What's wrong?"

Seven slips of paper were handed to him.

The above is Li Hanzhou's handwriting:

"The viper is dead. Alai did it. Be careful."

Fang Che's hand trembled slightly, and the note fluttered to the ground.

The viper is dead? Killed by Alai?

"Seventh Brother, Alai, he..."

“He’s a madman.” Seven picked up the note and tore it to shreds. “But the scary thing about madmen is that you never know what they’ll do next.”

He walked to the window.

The prison in the night resembles a lurking beast.

In the distance, a fire flickered in the prison area, but it quickly went out.

The calm before the storm.

"Xiao Che," Qi suddenly said, "if one day, Li Hanzhou and I had to die, who would you want to live?"

Fang Che opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

Qi waited a few seconds, then smiled, a faint, bitter smile.

“I understand,” he said. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow… you might not have a chance to sleep.”

He went back to bed and lay down with his back to Fang Che.

Fang Che stared at his back for a long time before whispering:

"Seventh Brother, I hope you are all alive."

Seven's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly.

But he didn't turn around.

At the same time, on the third floor of Block B, in the solitary confinement room.

Li Hanzhou stood in front of the iron gate, looking at the figure huddled in the corner inside.

Alai.

The boy had injuries on his face, his clothes were torn, and his skin was covered in bruises.

But he was laughing, a laugh that was both sweet and crazy.

"Brother Li, you've come to see me? I knew you'd come."

Li Hanzhou remained silent.

Behind him, Old Knife reported in a low voice: "Viper died in the laundry room, his neck was cut open, and the method was clean. This was left at the scene."

He handed me a blood-stained note.

The words above were written in blood:

"Next up is A-Che."

Li Hanzhou gripped the paper tightly, almost crushing it.

He pushed open the iron gate and went inside.

Alai raised his head, his eyes flashing with an alarming light: "Brother Li, are you here to kill me?"

Li Hanzhou crouched down and stared at him: "Why did you kill the poisonous snake?"

“Because he deserves to die.” Alai tilted his head, innocently. “He wants to harm you. Wouldn’t it be better if I helped you get rid of him?”

"And then frame me?"

“How could that be?” Alai laughed. “Viper is Jiang Kun’s man, and Jiang Kun will find out. When the time comes, he will know that you killed him… or that it was Qi Sha. In any case, one of you will have to die.”

Meticulous in logic, but malicious in heart.

“Alai,” Li Hanzhou said slowly, “how did you choose your previous victims?”

Alai's eyes brightened even more: "Brother Li, you want to know? Then I'll tell you... They're all like you. Good-looking, powerful, and they ignore me. So I locked them up, fed them drugs, and made them only able to look at me..."

He reached out, wanting to touch Li Hanzhou's face: "Brother Li, don't be afraid. I won't do that to you. I want you to willingly...willingly look at me, only at me..."

Li Hanzhou grabbed his wrist with such force that it almost broke his bones.

"Ah!" Alai cried out in pain, "It hurts..."

"You know what pain is?" Li Hanzhou's voice was icy. "Those you've tortured, aren't they in more pain than you?"

A flash of malice appeared in Alai's eyes.

He actually laughed, hissing a threat through his teeth: "Brother Li, watch out, I'll get my revenge..."

"You've lost your chance," Li Hanzhou said in a low voice. "Tonight, it's my turn."

Alai's expression changed.

Li Hanzhou pressed down with his arm, twisting his hands behind his back.

Old Dao stepped forward and skillfully tied her up.

Alai struggled violently.

Li Hanzhou showed no mercy, forcing him to kneel on the ground, picking up the blood-stained stick from the ground, and striking him hard on the lower back!

With a muffled thud, Alai whimpered in pain, convulsing and trembling.

Li Hanzhou's expression was cold and hard.

One blow after another.

Until Alai could no longer move and collapsed on the ground.

Li Hanzhou dropped the stick, his hands stained with blood.

He stood up and kicked Alai in the face: "Don't mess with Ache anymore."

After saying that, he turned around and walked to the door.

In his hazy state, Alai heard the other person's calm and indifferent voice: "I don't kill accomplices, but I don't mind crippling you. If you don't believe me, you can try."

The door closed.

Utter darkness descended, and Alai let out a low sob…

In Li Hanzhou's solitary confinement cell, the dim light of the corridor illuminated his face, making it half bright and half dark.

Old Dao followed behind, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Is there anything else?"

"Brother Li, I just received news... Jiang Kun's men have arrived outside the prison. At least twenty of them, armed with weapons. Tomorrow... will be a tough battle."

Li Hanzhou paused in his steps.

Then he laughed, a cold, cruel laugh.

“Good thing,” he said. “It saves me the trouble of going out to look for him.”

He looked towards area C, his eyes softening for a moment.

"Ache, wait one more day. One day later, I'll take you home."

As night deepened, more than twenty dark figures quietly gathered in the jungle outside the prison walls.

The leader was a man with a scarred face, holding a walkie-talkie.

"Mr. Jiang, everyone's here. Shall we make our move during tomorrow's exercise time?"

Jiang Kun's hoarse voice came through the walkie-talkie:

"No, now. The prison is in chaos. Go in during the chaos. Remember, Li Hanzhou must be alive. As for... Qi and his lover, take care of them."

Scarface grinned sinisterly: "Don't worry, we know what to do."

He put away the walkie-talkie and waved.

More than twenty people, like ghosts, crept towards the high prison walls.

Inside the high walls, Qi stood atop the water tower, watching the commotion outside the walls, his hand gripping the dagger tightly.