captivity

"Hey, second brother, the ship is leaving in an hour. What about the guy inside?" The burly man had just finished relieving himself and was fastening his belt when he pulled a cigarette out from behind his ear and put it in his mouth.

Just as I was about to reach for the lighter in my pocket, my underling offered me a light with a fawning expression.

With a "pop," a spark ignited, and smoke instantly billowed out, sweeping directly into the faces of the three people outside the door.

Tiger Three took a deep drag, the smoke filling his lungs and sending waves of pleasure straight to his brain. He felt a tingling sensation in his skull, and his mind and spirit were refreshed.

As I looked down, I saw a pair of rough, large hands reaching out.

"Tch." Tiger Three was a little annoyed. "Why are you asking me to borrow again?"

She glanced at her second brother's less-than-pleasant expression out of the corner of her eye, but dared not argue. In a fit of pique, she slammed the cigarette case and lighter onto the man's calloused palm, not daring to use too much force.

The burly man with a long scar across his face, leaning against the other side, took the cigarette, skillfully pulled it out of the pack, put it in his mouth, and, while lighting it, slurred his words to avoid the topic, instead answering the previous question: "Wait for notification!"

"Waiting for another call???" Tiger Three clutched his head in despair, "Sigh, I'm not saying anything, but what's that pretty boy doing here??? Is he the boss's girlfriend? We could have left Jiangcheng a long time ago, why did we have to bring him along???"

"Pah!" Long Er kicked him and yelled, "What nonsense are you spouting? If the boss tells you to do something, you do it; if he tells you to wait, you wait. What's with all this bullshit?! Don't forget, if it weren't for the boss, you'd still be stuck in that lousy prison!"

Tiger Three hurriedly covered his backside, dodging and chuckling awkwardly, "Oh, Brother Long! No, no... How could I dare to question the boss... I'm just... just a little strange?"

"Spit it out!" Long Er kicked again, impatiently exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Hey, no, Second Brother, you said that the eldest brother insisted on bringing this person along, and now he's just left him here all this time. Could it be... that he's not planning to take us with him?" Tiger Three hesitated.

Upon hearing this, Long Er merely glanced at him coldly, then suddenly pulled the cigarette from his mouth, threw it on the ground, stomped it out, and ground it on the ground. He then rushed forward, grabbed Hu San by the collar, raised his fist, and shouted in a deep voice, "What? You little brat, you have ulterior motives?!"

"No, no!!!" Tiger Three's legs went weak the moment he saw the fist, and he hurriedly waved his hands to deny it. "I was just worried about our safety! Those police aren't pushovers. What if they find out that the surveillance video was fake? If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

Long Er glanced at him coldly with his sharp eyes. Hearing what he said, he suddenly shoved him aside, straightened his coat, and said, "Big Brother knows what he's doing. There's been some trouble at the docks. Once Big Brother has resolved it, he'll naturally come to pick us up."

Tiger Three looked at the cigarette butt lying at his feet with a pang of heartache. Suddenly, an inexplicable anger surged within him. For no reason, he thought of the fair-skinned man bound hand and foot in the warehouse and blurted out, "Damn it!"

Long Er glanced at him coldly, assuming he was just impatient from waiting too long and had inexplicably gone crazy, so he ignored him.

Inside the tightly closed warehouse, in the darkness, Wen Xubai suddenly opened his eyes.

Wen Xushi just received a phone call and left in a hurry. He heard a lot of chaotic footsteps, so he must have taken quite a few people with him. Now, besides these three people, there shouldn't be many guards left outside the door.

He had seen two of them before; they were Wen Xushi's second or third-in-commands, and not easy to deal with.

From their conversation, it can be inferred that this is a warehouse not far from the dock, and Wen Xushi wants to take him with him to escape overseas.

The truth will eventually come out. Zheng Min can provide temporary cover, but not forever; he's nearing retirement. Even if the two of them work together to get Wen Xuchi imprisoned now, it will eventually be discovered by others. Moreover, Zheng Min is cunning, ruthless, and extremely unstable; he could turn against them at any time. If he uses this to blackmail Wen Xushi later, it will definitely be a losing proposition.

Wen Xushi, being such a shrewd and perceptive person, must have thoroughly considered all the potential advantages and disadvantages in his mind before taking action; he couldn't possibly be unaware of these principles.

There were clearly better options available; simply extending the battle lines would have guaranteed a foolproof and unscathed retreat. And patience was something Wen Xushi had in abundance.

Why did he suddenly become anxious at the last minute after lying low and yielding for more than twenty years? This is really unlike Wen Xushi's behavior.

With a soft sigh, the thin body on the ground struggled slightly. Wen Xubai pressed his forehead against the rough, cool ground, trying to control his fingers as he reached into his sleeve.

The hemp rope tightened around his skin, scraping against his bare skin and causing a sharp, stinging pain that even made his bones ache. The rope, which already had little elasticity, was now stretched so taut it was almost about to snap.

Despite the pain, Wen Xubai awkwardly reached into his sleeve and fumbled around for a moment. Just when he felt his bones were about to snap, he finally touched a sharp blade hidden under the fabric.

With a sudden thought, Wen Xubai used his long, slender fingers to push the sharp object through the thin restraints, and then successfully grasped it in his palm, bringing a sharp pain.

At this moment, joy outweighed everything else. Wen Xubai didn't care about being scratched or not. He quickly slowed down his body, letting the rope that was taut over his shoulders fall down quickly. The places that had been strangled and turned purple finally got a moment's respite.

Wen Xubai rubbed his fingers together, subtly transferring the blade from his palm to his fingertips, holding it firmly.

His fingers were still trembling slightly, and his chest was heaving. The ordeal he had just endured had exhausted him greatly.

Realizing that time was running out, Wen Xubai gritted his teeth, endured the soreness in his arm, carefully adjusted the position of the blade, aimed at the rope, and cut down hard.

Qi Zui sewed this razor blade into his clothes, just in case. Not only this one, but all the clothes in his wardrobe had razor blades sewn into them by Qi Zui.

When Wen Xubai saw Qi Zui sitting on the bedside like an old woman, holding a pile of clothes, and carefully sewing clothes for him stitch by stitch by the dim light of the lamp, he thought it was making a fuss over nothing and jokingly called Qi Zui a virtuous wife and loving mother.

He was even dissatisfied at the time. He had finally had a peaceful and leisurely day off, but Qi Zui was so busy sewing clothes that he neglected him. He pouted and directly picked up the clothes basket on the man's lap and lay down on it himself.

Qi Zui didn't argue or get angry at the time. He just smiled, kissed him on the lips, and stroked his head, saying, "Good boy, it will be over soon."

Later, when Wen Xubai refused to get up, he chuckled helplessly and simply picked up all the needlework to play and frolic with Wen Xubai.

Wen Xubai thought Qi Zui had given up and the matter would be over, but unexpectedly, Qi Zui still sewed it up for him. He didn't know when he sewed it, maybe while he was at work, or maybe while he was asleep, but he must have sewed it secretly, hiding from Wen Xubai, for fear of upsetting him.

Thinking of this, Wen Xubai suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.

He had overheard the entire conversation between the two people outside the door. Wen Xushi was determined to drag Wen Xuchi down with him; now he was branded a "father killer" and wanted by the police. And with the video being released at the funeral, the media was bound to be in an uproar.

I wonder how Qi Zui is doing? Is he being investigated at the police station, or is he staying at the funeral to control the situation, or... is he busy and confused because of his disappearance?

Wen Xubai's eyes dimmed slightly.

He hoped that Qi Zui would take care of himself first. After all, Wen Xushi wouldn't pose a danger to his life for the time being, but things must be in complete chaos on Qi Zui's side. Chaos makes things easier to do, but he was afraid that someone would interfere and harm him.

"Hey? Hello!..." A rough voice came from outside the door, and Wen Xubai suddenly stopped.

It was Ryuji's voice.

"Hello? What?! ...Okay, I got it! Wait here!" Long Er impatiently hung up the call, looked at the two people beside him, and shouted, "Tiger Three and Rat Four! Fifth Brother forgot to bring him some toilet paper, I'm going to get him some! You two stay here and watch over him, don't slack off!"

"Yes, yes, second brother, you can go without worry!" The two nodded hurriedly.

"Pah!" Long Er jumped down the steps, clapped his hands, and his scarred face showed annoyance. "What a damn nuisance! He doesn't even know to bring toilet paper when he takes a dump, but when he's fucking a woman, he doesn't know to use a condom?! Damn it, he's always causing me trouble!"

As the man, spewing profanities, walked away into the distance, the two men outside the door finally dropped their fear and replaced it with disdain. Tiger Three spat forcefully in the direction the man had gone, hands on his hips, and scoffed, "Pah! He really thinks he's something special?! Bossing me around like that! Pah! Pah! Pah!!! Does he really think I'm afraid of him?!"

Rat Four was a little afraid that the other party would come back, so he quickly pulled Tiger Three aside and advised, "Alright, alright, Third Brother, calm down. You know Second Brother's temper..."

"Tsk! Get out of my way!" Tiger Three irritably flung his arm, throwing the skinny Rat Four to the ground, and kicked him: "Who the hell are you?!"

Rat Four, having been kicked, clutched his arm and cried out in pain. Seeing Tiger Three about to kick him again, he quickly grabbed the man's leg and said obsequiously, "Brother Tiger! Brother Tiger! My loyalty to you is as clear as day! Brother Tiger!"

"Tch." Tiger Three withdrew his foot in disgust, too lazy to bother with the shifty-eyed, pretentious man on the ground. He turned around, pushed open the warehouse door, and yelled at the people behind him, "Get up now?!"