Chapter 85

Ten to twelve minutes later, Pei Huai knocked out the window guard with an elbow and moved freely through the heavily guarded corridor. He guessed that something might have happened downstairs to attract everyone's attention.

But the situation is still not favorable for him.

There were sounds of barking and running, and the two large dogs reappeared in the opposite direction. Led by Percy, they followed his scent relentlessly, their overall posture becoming more aggressive after realizing their master was under attack.

To avoid causing a disturbance, Pei Huai led them around the corner into a door on his right. He only half-opened it, allowing Percy's head to penetrate while he kicked the door, causing the lever to clamp down on his body. Wounded in the neck, Percy flailed his massive body, roaring and pawing at the ground with his front paws. His eyes bloodshot, he stretched his neck and bit him several times in the face.

Pei Huai just stood up, but Rosa bumped into him from behind, opened the door, bit his collar and dragged him backwards.

The unbridled Tosa was incredibly ferocious, its desire to attack strong. As it rushed in, it knocked over the bookshelves along the edge, forcing Pei Huai to cross the wooden handle and bury it in its mouth to resist its bite. Its sharp, yellowed teeth sent sawdust flying.

Pei Huai's shoulders and arms tensed, and he turned his face to the side. His loose cheek pouches swung against his neck, his upper and lower teeth clashed violently, and saliva splashed.

The wooden handle was no match for its bite and made a cracking sound.

It was so excited that it wagged its tail at Pei Huai's wary eyes. With a masculine display of masculinity, it bit at the back of his neck, but it didn't really bite, only scratching the skin. The two dogs, one in front and one behind, were riding on him in unison, not noticing a cat climbing up the nearby corridor window. It was Zhuangzhuang, who had followed them.

Seeing what was happening inside, it arched its back, ran over, and slapped the male dog on the butt with its two paws. Tosa rolled his eyes back, and Zhuangzhuang, with his fur standing on end, punched the dog multiple times and screamed at it.

"Don't come over here!" Pei Huai knew that in front of two adult large dogs, Zhuang Zhuang's physique would be a piece of cake. He wanted to drive his cat away, but found that Percy had already taken an interest in the little thing and turned to look at it.

Looking at the fighting dog's twitching lips and dripping saliva, Zhuangzhuang curled up in fear and tried to hit it with his claws.

In the few seconds before Tosa opened his mouth to bite, Pei Huai raised his elbow to break free from the Rottweiler, took off his coat, covered the former's head with it and slammed it to the ground.

He didn't care about Rosa, and quickly pulled out a thick hemp rope to tie it around the dog's neck to prevent it from biting the cat, then turned around and knocked Rosa unconscious with the handle of the knife. He wiped his face roughly, stood up and hugged the frightened Zhuangzhuang.

"Baby, it's okay. Baby, baby." He stroked the cat's fur again and again, patiently, rubbing his face against its chubby cheeks, pinching the tips of its ears, feeling the trembling of the cat's body gradually subside. "You are my kitten. I won't let anything hurt you."

Zhuangzhuang hid against his chest with grievance.

After defeating the two troublemakers, Pei Huai changed into a decent coat and continued his exploration of the floor with Zhuang Zhuang. Aside from the bride's room, everything looked normal. He decided to be direct and search the bedrooms and study.

He met Han Yi on his way to the study.

The man dragged himself forward, staggering, escorted by several armed security guards. His face was pale, and sweat dripped down his back. As the security guards at the front of the group stood guard with their guns raised, he noticed Pei Huai and raised his hand.

"Catch him." He clenched his teeth, the blood-stained bandage on his right hand particularly eye-catching. "At any cost."

Before the security quickly dispersed and blocked both sides in an attempt to suppress the enemy with firepower, Pei Huai had already fired a few bursts of shots, leaving the enemy with nowhere to hide. He replaced the magazine, stepped forward, and pressed the muzzle of his gun directly to Han Yi's forehead. "Where are the others?" He clearly had no intention of attacking, but no one dared to move.

Han Yi looked at his calm expression, his attitude the same as before: "Come with me, let's talk."

There was no resistance, no refusal. Pei Huai sheathed his pistol and obediently followed him into the study, allowing only one security guard to follow. Behind his mahogany desk, Han Yi, exhausted, slumped into his chair and instructed his staff to call a doctor as soon as possible. After the phone call, the doctor knelt on one knee and administered an IV painkiller. When the veins on his arm subsided, Han Yi waved for anyone else to leave.

Pei Huai saw that he was frowning, so he walked over and looked at him while leaning on the armrest of the chair: "Where is he?"

"He ran away. He's quite capable." Han Yi smiled bitterly and tried to pull one of his legs around him, but failed. "Don't you care about me?"

He thought for a moment and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Han Yi was amused by his emotionless composure and didn't answer. It was as if the question was not that important to him. The topic was deliberately changed: "I don't know why you agreed to work for Han Shaochen. I am the future helmsman of the Han Group. He is nothing and can't give you anything. Can you trust someone who can betray even his own brother?"

"I only obey orders."

"Ah, a typical example of doing more and talking less. I like it. Now I know why he, a man who likes to play tricks and is suspicious, insisted on sending you here." After saying that, Han Yi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes exhaustedly. His face was almost pale and covered with cold sweat.

Pei Huai didn't know the specific injury, so he raised his hand and touched his carotid artery.

"You won't die. Getting you killed is not within the scope of the commission."

"Tell me your name."

After confirming that he was fine, Pei Huai skipped the nonsense and turned to leave. Han Yi immediately grabbed his wrist and said, "Your man hurt me badly. Since this was not your intention, don't you think you should compensate me?"

"explain."

He stared at his face for a long time: "Kiss me."

Pei Huai grabbed the leather backrest of the executive chair and leaned down, inching closer to the man's lips. His eyelashes drooped low, and his voice was as soft as a whisper.

"dream."

No one stopped him as he left. As he walked, Pei Huai used his earphones to successfully contact Han Shaochen, who was at the bar, and instructed him to accompany the doctor into the mansion as soon as possible. Given the special circumstances, the search could begin at any time without interference. He then called Xiang Mingqi several times, but received no response, suspecting he had run into trouble somewhere within the building.

As a result, when he was about to reach the stairs, he saw a blood-soaked figure waiting against the wall. When he saw him coming, he jumped and waved his arms at him as if he had smelled something.

"Brother, I'm here. I'm here—here!" He stood still, his right hand behind his back, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Is it done?"

"What are you holding?" Pei Huai took a look at him. He thought it was just a few bruises at most, and the blood was probably not his.

"Ah, it's nothing dangerous." He blinked, and half hesitantly and half shyly stretched out his hand in front of him, showing the bloody mess in his palm. "It's just that I cut off the fingers that touched you. Three of them."

Pei Huai glanced at him coldly: "Go and return it to them."

"Sorry, I'll go now..."

Escape from the chaotic house was easy. A kilometer south of the back gate, they found their pre-parked car on the highway. In the back seat, Pei Huai changed into his usual hooded sweatshirt and slim-fitting trousers. Xiang Mingqi picked up the speechless Zhuangzhuang and swung him around, shouting, "Oh my god, you look so happy! Did you miss me?"

As the car was about to merge onto the highway, it saw road construction on the north-south fork in the road from a distance. So it changed course to Mingqi, heading towards the foot of the mountain on the previously drivable side.

They knew this mountain well, with its maidenhair ferns and its distinctive fir trees. In the Coal Valley, there were many pristine mountaintops, large and small, but the only one with a road around it, undeveloped, was the one they remembered.

Pei Huai looked at the full moon outside the window.

Since the landslide more than a decade ago, the mountain has been cordoned off from the foothills to the middle of the mountain, with barbed wire and prominent "No Trespassing" signs. Xiang Mingqi, steering the wheel, said, "Want to go up and take a look?"

"To Mingqi."

"What's the matter, brother?"

“I’ve turned down a lot of people.”

"I suppose so."

"They are very similar to you before. They cling to me and tell me they love me, and won't let go no matter how I refuse."

"You're so handsome, you look like you're playing hard to get when you say 'no'. Be careful what you say when you're so handsome, or you'll be kissed easily."

"...At that time, how confident were you?"

This was a genuine question. Pei Huai was curious: if he had not chosen Xiang Mingqi, but had chosen Shan Li, Zhu Zhiyang, or someone else, what would his relationship with Xiang Mingqi be like now?

"Brother, the premise is wrong."

No one responded.

"People like you who are used to being loved and pursued don't understand. I don't need certainty." He shook his head and said, "I know you won't like me, and I don't have any hope. But I do."

Pei Huai looked at him quietly from under his eyelashes.

"Brother, I want your love. I know it's hard. But as long as there's even the slightest possibility, I'll eliminate all competitors. Kill them, destroy them. I don't care." He said, "Even if you asked me to cut my throat right now to tell you how much I love you, I wouldn't blink an eye."

"To Mingqi."

"Because of your nonchalant rescue, I have the courage to take charge of my own life. I can't help but look at you. I can't help but love you like crazy."

It was hard to tell who started it first, but they kissed based on feeling, squeezing Pei Huai's plump lips until they were deformed, making him feel that this kiss was more intense than any previous ones.

"Brother." He held Pei Huai's face in his hands as they kissed again and again, his eyes uncontrollably filled with longing, burning and restless. "I only love you."

Pei Huai had just wrapped his arm around his neck when his headset light started to flash. He thought Han Shaochen had a new call, so he turned on the speaker.

But the sound that rang out was one they were all too familiar with.

[Don't move, little princess. I don't want the sniper to accidentally hit you.]

Without frowning, he immediately pushed Xiang Mingqi away and reached for the gun scabbard on his calf.

"Single gift."

"I don't want to kill you," he whispered. "So I prefer to let him die."