Chapter 72

The anesthetic dose was low, and the wound was so large that Xiang Mingqi woke up in pain after a while. He opened his eyes and found himself shackled to a wall with his arms raised, and his body in a kneeling position.

The chain was strong, and the binding was tight, cutting into the flesh of his forearms. Every struggle caused him to bleed profusely. His right leg ached, and he speculated that the material of his pants below the knee had clotted from the heavy bleeding, clinging to his skin.

Aside from the pain, he couldn't feel anything there anymore. The bullet might have been removed, but no one was doing anything to help him.

He glanced up, dazed, and found himself in an ornate room. Judging by the layout, it was a bedroom. He caught sight of a figure near the bed, but even with his eyes narrowed, he couldn't make it out clearly.

Xiang Mingqi shook his head, and the heavy iron chain above his head clattered. It took him a long time to see clearly that the person half-kneeling outside the bed was Dando.

On the inside, Pei Huai was still unconscious under the effects of anesthesia. The black-haired man put his arm around the senior's shoulders, picked him up, and lowered his head to sniff between his neck and hair.

"...Don't touch him." Hatred squeezed out from between his teeth.

The other party acted as if he didn't hear it, picked up a pair of scissors from the corner cabinet, and continued working.

"Didn't you hear me fucking tell you not to touch him?" The chain yanked to the bottom, and he thrust his body back and forth like a wild animal. With his eyes wide open, he roared, "Get down, get down! Get down right now!"

Dando's hands were steady as he cut from the fold. Some of the fabric stuck to the wound, so he had to be careful when cutting, not to mention that there was a guy screaming heartbreakingly next to him. He cut from the collar to the front, looked at the exposed skin, and couldn't help but admire it.

Compared to those who spent years in the boxing ring, Pei Huai's skin had a healthy, cool hue that made him want to touch it. And such a clear collarbone was even rarer. He felt like his fingers could twirl in the concave grooves between the shoulder blades.

It seems that the body fat percentage is as low as possible.

His chest muscles weren't the kind that made a strong impression, but rather had a streamlined feel. From the shoulders and neck down, it flowed seamlessly into one. The texture seemed meticulously crafted, its sheen clear and natural. Dando reached out and couldn't help but trace his rib cage.

"Damn it, damn it! Damn it!! I'm going to kill you, I'm going to fucking kill you right now!" As soon as the chain was pulled to the bottom, Xiang Mingqi struggled wildly at the limit of tension, glaring at him, his nails digging into his palms and almost breaking them, and his forearm was torn twice, "Take your hands off him!"

"His clothes are covered in blood, your blood. We're not sure if he has any other injuries. I just did what I had to do." Dando ignored him and continued working. "You should take care of yourself more. You had two cardiac arrests, and my people only gave you minimal resuscitation and no pain relief. So stay calm."

Xiang Mingqi stared at his movements until the blood-stained shirt was cut open. Dan Duo gently lifted Pei Huai's arm and changed his shirt and buttoned it up.

"I admire people like him. Strong, undefeated, the kind of warrior I long for." He stopped after hitting the second one. After all, Xiang Mingqi would immediately become alert and his teeth would grind as soon as he got close.

He looked at Xiang Mingqi with pity.

"You cherish him too much. If you hadn't given him anesthesia out of pity, he wouldn't be injured like this now, and he wouldn't be tied up here and left to die."

"none of your business."

"Out of pure and blind love, you hid in your arms the person who could save your life. Don't you regret it?"

"I only care about whether he's in pain or not."

"You're completely unreasonable. He's a genius, a rare talent that I've encountered in all these years, and yet you just want to hide him away and protect him? What? Are you going to keep him hidden until the day he's finally gone to dust?"

"You're kidding." Xiang Mingqi gritted his teeth and glared at him, his sclera bloodshot. "People like him won't be tarnished. Even if he falls to the bottom, don't even think about making him kneel down."

Dando smiled and said, "So, he is what I want."

"Yes, but you'll never get it even if you die."

"That's why I'm so glad you woke up. Your life is worth living." He looked at me, his eyes full of depth. "Because a responsible person like him wouldn't abandon you even if there's no emotional connection."

Xiang Mingqi stared at him fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying, "You bastard, are you threatening me?"

"I have no choice but to catch your handsome little lover."

Just as he was about to retort, the phone in Dando's pocket buzzed a few times, diverting his attention from Xiang Mingqi.

"I've been waiting for a long time." He glanced at the number, picked up the phone, and helplessly urged, "Have you found Sang Lun? Tell him to come as soon as possible..." He stopped talking mid-sentence. His Adam's apple moved up and down, and Dando hung up the phone with a gloomy face. He walked quickly towards Xiang Mingqi and grabbed his hair as he approached. "What did you do?"

He pressed Xiang Mingqi's head to the ground and almost roared: "What did you do to Sanglun Leka!"

"You, as his brother, just discovered this? He's quite interesting. I didn't do anything wrong, but I took one of his hands. It's chopped off cleanly. You can have someone look under the carpet now, maybe they can still find it and reattach it. But whether it can be used in the future is uncertain... cough!"

The man punched him in the stomach, causing him to vomit acid. Suppressing his anger, he leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You asked for this."

-

Very noisy.

There is also a strong smell of blood.

Pei Huai awoke to a terrifying crash. He opened his eyes to see Xiang Mingqi being dragged by his hair and slammed to the ground. Blood was everywhere, and he was nearly unconscious.

Almost as an instinctive reaction, Pei Huai called out to him in slight surprise.

"Xiang Mingqi?"

"Ah, you're awake." Dando was lifting the body at his feet like a sack. His clothes and trouser legs were covered in blood, and his wrists were also damaged. Xiang Mingqi was forced to raise his face, gritting his teeth, blood bubbles dripping from the corners of his mouth. Hearing the sound, he forced his eyes open.

"elder brother……"

Pei Huai frowned and did not answer.

"Let's be direct. If you join PBL, I can show mercy and spare his life." The man grabbed Xiang Mingqi's messy hair and said, "I won't hit you, so don't even think about a hostage exchange. He pissed me off, and this isn't over. If you refuse, I'll let him die right here."

"You'd better know what you're talking about." His tone was calm as usual, but mixed with a hint of creepy murderous intent.

"Thanks to him, I am now very sober. I also know that you will not abandon your companions."

Seeing the expressionless face of the other person, Dando looked him up and down with great interest. "I have always liked people like you, well-behaved and reliable. No matter if he is your man or not, as long as you are together, you are willing to take responsibility for his life. It's rare, so I like it."

"...If he dies, you get nothing."

Dando finally cracked a rather ungentle smile, seeming to appreciate his composure and counterattack. He let go, threw the hostage back, and wiped his wrist with a dry towel from the rack. He told Pei Huai he would contact a doctor, and if anyone wanted to be alone, they could do so.

"Brother, are you okay?" After he left, Xiang Mingqi looked up at him.

"I should ask you this." Pei Huai turned and got out of bed, looking at his fixed arm, "Explain the situation."

"After giving you an injection, I wanted to take you away, but the PBL team was too large. I couldn't leave." Xiang Mingqi vomited blood intermittently as soon as he opened his mouth. "I'm sorry, brother."

"reason."

Xiang Mingqi was still confused and hadn't come to his senses yet: "Why?"

No one explained it to him, so he had to calm down and think about the meaning of the two words. He soon realized that Pei Huai was asking him why he took such a big risk to get that injection.

While struggling, he tried to blink his eyelids which were stuck together by blood, and his voice was very hoarse.

"Because it hurts," he said.

"that's all?"

"Yeah. That's it."

Pei Huai stood up and walked over, squatting in front of him and holding up his bleeding chin: "Do you regret it now?"

"No, Brother Pei Huai." He laughed awkwardly, "I don't want anything in return. I don't want anything except your love. So, I won't regret anything I do for you, brother."

Suddenly, as if defeated by something, Pei Huai looked at him, sighed, and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.

"Good work, little piggy."

The situation was not favorable for them. Before the doctor arrived, Pei Huai checked them thoroughly and discovered that their electronic devices had been confiscated, including their headphones. Now, Xiang Mingqi was seriously injured and could pass out at any moment. He now understood why Dando had trusted them to be alone.

He was sure that he would be dragged down and unable to fly out of the cage.

Even if the doctor had prepared himself for the situation for three to five minutes beforehand, a trace of shock could still be seen on his face when he saw this scene. He looked at Dando, then at the injured patient, and tactfully put down his medical kit to examine Xiang Mingqi's injuries.

"Uncle Chen has a long history here. He's been with us for several PBL champions. Don't worry." Dando finished explaining and didn't forget his purpose. "But you."

Pei Huai only glanced at the well-dressed man out of the corner of his eye.

"Have you thought clearly about what happened just now?"

He had barely opened his mouth when the other man beckoned him. Dando, amused, moved closer to him on the bed. He didn't think someone with only one usable arm could pose any threat.

Sitting upright, he was taller than him, but in terms of aggressiveness, he had to admit Pei Huai outshone him by more than a head. Perhaps leaning too close, he suddenly raised his hand to press against the back of his hand, leaning back. His dark eyes squinted at him from beneath his lashes, alluring yet calm. This rare intimacy made Dando's heart twitch, and he became even more curious about his next move.

Her forearm gently rested on his shoulder. Pei Huai leaned in close, his eyelashes drooping, casting a faint shadow across his eyelids. They both raised their eyes to meet. At the crease of their lips, at the peak of their noses, at the point where their breaths met at close range—

"I don't like being threatened." Pei Huai stared at his lips and whispered in a breath-like voice.

"Then what do you want me to do? Your boyfriend killed my brother first. I spared his life for your sake." In an ambiguous and rising tone, Dando pulled his tie and inexplicably felt his throat being tightened. "I won't kill him. This is the guarantee I can give you..." The next second, relying only on the full strength of his left arm, a wrestling-like brute force grabbed his shoulders from behind and pressed him onto the bed.

Pei Huai didn't bother to be polite with him. He just pulled his head back and pressed it into the pillow. His hand was steady, so steady that he ignored his struggle before suffocating.

"Your offer is not enough to earn my loyalty." He leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Also, no matter who he bites, hits, or cripples, I will be responsible for punishing them. If there's any fighting, it's only me who will do it."