Chapter 48. A lose-lose situation
"Bai Zhang! You bastard!" Song Huai's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Bai Zhang as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Ignoring the sharp blade in his face, he lunged at Bai Zhang, but his hands and feet were tightly bound by hemp rope. Bai Zhang dodged backward, but he lost his balance and hit the back of his head hard on the concrete ground.
In the struggle, the blade sliced open a cut about an inch long on Song Huai's face, and blood gushed out from the cut, flowing down his face.
Song Huai glared at Bai Zhang, trembling all over, "You'll die a horrible death! You'll get your retribution!"
"Tsk tsk tsk..." Bai Zhang looked down at Song Huai, who was like a trapped beast on the ground, "My niece-in-law is indeed an artist; even her cursing is so elegant."
The dim light illuminated the tears welling in Song Huai's eyes as he glared at Bai Zhang, his amber eyes overflowing with boundless hatred. Blood continued to gush from the wounds on his face, half of his face almost entirely stained with bright red blood, like a rose blooming in the dark night, delicate and alluring, yet bearing sharp thorns.
Bai Zhang couldn't help but squat down and touch his wound. "Look at you, so careless. What if you get a scar later?"
In a flash, Song Huai suddenly sprang up, unleashing tremendous strength from nowhere, snatched the dagger from Bai Zhang's hand, and was about to stab it into his neck.
Everything happened too fast. Bai Zhang's Swiss Army knife was snatched away before he could react. He only had time to turn his body slightly before the knife pierced his shoulder—instantly, a patch of bright red blood spread across his shoulder.
A flash of resentment crossed Song Huai's eyes. The next moment, he drew his blade and, unwilling to give up, stabbed Bai Zhang in the neck again.
Just as the dagger was less than half an inch from a vital spot, Bai Zhang clamped down on Song Huai's wrist.
For a moment, the two were deadlocked.
In terms of strength, Song Huai was no match for Bai Zhang. He had only gained the upper hand because of Bai Zhang's speed. Before long, cold sweat began to bead on Song Huai's forehead and he was clearly starting to lose his strength.
Bai Zhang stared coldly at Song Huai for a while, then suddenly a smile appeared on his lips.
"Hiss!" Song Huai cried out in pain as his Swiss Army knife fell to the ground, and his hand drooped down, his right hand twisted in a strange way.
Bai Zhang forcefully twisted Song Huai's hand off.
At this moment, the guards outside finally noticed something was wrong inside and rushed in. "Second Master, are you alright?" Then, they saw the scene inside the room and were secretly shocked. They quickly pressed Song Huai to the floor from both sides.
Another person brought a first-aid kit and gave Bai Zhang's shoulder a quick bandage. Song Huai had just used all his strength, and the cut was quite deep; it took the other person a lot of effort to stop the bleeding.
The excruciating pain in his right hand prevented Song Huai from straightening up. He curled up on the ground, his brows furrowed, and he gasped for breath.
Song Huai's right hand hung limply at his sides, while Bai Zhang admired his masterpiece with satisfaction.
After a while, he grabbed Song Huai's right wrist and gradually increased the pressure.
As expected, he heard Song Huai's painful groan.
Song Huai was like a withered rose, no longer possessing its former luster, and Bai Zhang couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..." Bai Zhang patted Song Huai's cheek, which had been cut by the knife, with the back of his hand. "So, even a little wildcat can scratch people. How interesting."
Song Huai kept his head down, immersed in pain.
Bai Zhang looked with great interest at Song Huai, who was being forcibly pressed to the ground by his subordinates.
In the past, every time he saw Song Huai, that person was like a high and mighty white swan, beautiful yet aloof, making it difficult for anyone to approach. But now, he was humbly crawling at his feet, and he held the power of life and death over him.
What could be more interesting than watching a high-flying flower fall from its pedestal?
At this moment, Bai Zhang stared unblinkingly at the bloodstains on Song Huai's face, and his desire to ravage him reached its peak.
He picked up the knife that had just been thrown on the ground and wiped the blood off the blade with a handkerchief—the blood had come from his own shoulder.
Then, he gently rubbed the tip of the knife against Song Huai's right hand; with just a little force, Song Huai's hand would be cut.
Bai Zhang's voice was deep: "Niece-in-law, tell me, what would happen to a pianist if his hands were crippled?"
Song Huai then raised his head, his gaze towards Bai Zhang showing no fear whatsoever, but rather a coldness as if it were ice that had never melted.
Bai Zhang seemed not to see it and continued, "Why don't you beg me? If you beg me and make me happy, I'll take pity on you and not completely cripple your hands."
Song Huai remained stubbornly defiant, his expression growing increasingly fierce.
Bai Zhang was not annoyed at all. A smile appeared in his eyes as he stroked Song Huai's injured hand as if he were playing with some precious treasure.
His subordinate couldn't help but remind him, "Second Master... this will be difficult to explain to Young Master Bai."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Bai Zhang scoffed. "As long as he's still in our hands, Bai Xiao won't dare to do anything to us."
Suddenly, Bai Zhang raised his knife and stabbed it fiercely into Song Huai's right palm.
The sharp knife pierced through his palm and embedded itself deeply in the floor.
This time, Song Huai didn't make a sound. His brows furrowed even more, and his breathing became more rapid.
If it weren't for his trembling body and the cold sweat dripping from his forehead, Bai Zhang would almost have thought that Song Huai was numb.
The right hand was initially trembling involuntarily, but later it became completely still, with blood flowing out continuously, quickly forming a blood pool on the floor.
Bai Zhang was quite displeased with Song Huai's silent demeanor. He grabbed Song Huai's hair, forcing him to look up at him, and sneered, "Weren't you just acting like you wanted to eat someone alive? Why are you so quiet now?"
Song Huai's face turned deathly pale from blood loss. He seemed not to hear Bai Zhang's words at all, his mind drifting into a daze. The pain in his right hand completely overwhelmed his brain, and his entire being was fighting against the pain. His eyes were downcast, the fierceness from before gone, replaced by a look of utter despair.
This thorny rose appears to have withered completely.
Bai Zhang scrutinized Song Huai from head to toe, his interest in him growing stronger.
After a long while, he waved to the two men who were holding Song Huai down, "You can go down now."
“But…” One of them hesitated, worried about Bai Zhang’s safety, after all, Song Huai had a criminal record.
Bai Zhang said dismissively, "He's already like this, what tricks could he possibly pull?"
The two had no choice but to retreat.
Only Bai Zhang and Song Huai remained in the room.
After losing his support, Song Huai completely collapsed to the ground, his palms still bleeding. A large patch of blood bloomed beneath him, looking like a bright red flower petal from afar.
"It's quite a coincidence," Bai Zhang strolled around Song Huai, "You two brothers actually fell into my hands. But if you have to blame someone, blame my eldest nephew."
"Hmm, Bai Xiao must have accumulated a lot of good fortune in his past lives," he said thoughtfully, glancing at the lifeless Song Huai on the ground. "You two brothers are so devoted to him, yet neither of you wants to be with me."
Upon hearing his words, Song Huai's right hand trembled slightly. He opened his mouth with difficulty and uttered a few indistinct sounds: "You...no..."
"What did you say?" Bai Zhang leaned closer to Song Huai's ear.
Song Huai's breath was weak: "I said...you..."
Bai Zhang still couldn't hear clearly, so he leaned his head closer.
At such close range, Bai Zhang could clearly see Song Huai's distinct eyelashes trembling like raven wings. Then, Song Huai lifted his eyelids, his amber pupils gazing at him quietly, clear yet unfathomable.
Before he knew it, Bai Zhang had lost in thought.
In the blink of an eye, Song Huai's eyes flashed, and a shard of glass appeared in his left hand. In an instant, he slashed the glass across Bai Zhang's throat.
Immediately, blood gushed out. Only then did Bai Zhang realize what had happened. He clutched his throat tightly but could not stop the blood from gushing out, his face filled with disbelief.
The next second, Bai Zhang's face contorted with rage, revealing his ferocious nature. He pulled out the blade that was stuck in Song Huai's right hand and, without thinking, stabbed it into Song Huai's chest.
That last strike seemed to have exhausted all of Song Huai's strength. He collapsed to the ground, limp and boneless, watching Bai Zhang raise his dagger high. The cold light reflected from the blade hurt his eyes, so he simply closed his eyes and calmly faced the blade.
The blade was completely embedded in flesh and blood.
A chill ran through his chest, and a liquid suddenly choked him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. Then, the liquid gushed out and splashed onto the ground.
Song Huai felt his body temperature rapidly decreasing and his heartbeat gradually weakening. He struggled to open his eyes and saw that he had just vomited blood all over the floor.
Am I going to die? Dying... it doesn't seem so bad. That way I can see my little brother again. I wonder if he's still waiting for me down there, or maybe he got angry with me a long time ago and reincarnated. Yes, I've been hogging his boyfriend for so long. He must be very angry, and the kind of person who can't be coaxed in a few words. Song Huai thought in a daze.
But why is he so reluctant to leave this world? What is he still clinging to?
Song Huai's mind raced for a long time before he finally realized that the person he couldn't forget was Bai Xiao.
He didn't even have time to reply to Bai Xiao's message that afternoon. Bai Xiao had been so busy lately, and it was rare for him to finally have time to sit down and have a meal with him. He had been looking forward to this meal for a long time. He had already planned to make Bai Xiao's favorite tomato and egg stir-fry, but he hadn't even had time to buy the vegetables... It seemed that he wouldn't be able to have this meal after all.
Bai Zhang was still unwilling to give up. He wanted to pull out his knife and stab Song Huai again. Just then, a huge force came from behind him, and he was kicked more than ten feet away.
His body crashed heavily to the ground. Bai Zhang, who had already lost too much blood, could no longer support himself. Blood gushed from the wound in his throat, and he lost consciousness in an instant.
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