Chapter 70 You're welcome. I didn't do this for you.
Time seemed to stand still.
In the endless darkness, all Li Xiao could do was sleep and reminisce.
The boy nodded earnestly and smiled at himself, his expression juxtaposed with the woman's blood-stained, maniacal grin amidst the towering flames...
Li Xiao thought to himself that he had finally broken his promise.
Unexpectedly, he did not die.
Instead, he was imprisoned.
People outside would deliver food to the cell at fixed times. The food was decent, even lavish, but Li Xiao still had no appetite.
I just feel tired.
He was too weak.
Besides the mental sluggishness caused by prolonged lack of sunlight and inability to communicate with others, his body also suffered considerable damage in the fire.
Also, someone would periodically open his cell and take his blood.
Li Xiao thought that this was probably why those people prepared such a lavish meal for him.
Because they needed to survive and continue to provide blood, even though Li Xiao didn't know why.
Although he didn't feel hungry, Li Xiao still forced himself to eat because he needed to survive. Only by surviving could Li Xiao possibly find out what was going on and see the person he wanted to see.
...How is Pipa doing?
She gave all her savings to Li Xiao as ransom, hoping he would come and take her away as promised, but then she heard the news of the fire.
Li Xiao simply couldn't imagine what Pipa must have felt at that moment.
He dared not imagine what would have happened to Pipa without the Li family's protection and without enough money to support her.
—I'm so damn stupid.
In the darkness, Li Xiao pulled at her hair in regret.
—If I hadn't, hadn't said those things to him.
If I had left a day earlier, perhaps everything would have been different...
With a click, accompanied by the clanging sound of heavy chains being pulled, the doors were opened one by one from the outside.
Li Xiao assumed it was just those people coming to collect blood again. From initial resistance to gradual numbness, and mainly because his physical condition no longer allowed for any vigorous resistance, he simply stopped paying attention.
He let the thick steel needles pierce his arm, leaving hole after hole.
As he felt the vitality and body temperature slowly draining away from his body over time, he only felt drowsy.
I used to feel dizzy from the smell of blood, but now I don't feel anything at all.
You'll probably get used to it eventually; you might even become accustomed to this zombie-like existence...
A person's footsteps tread lightly on the cold, hard stone slab.
Li Xiao sensed something was amiss.
He smelled a scent that was different from that of the other prison guards.
It wasn't this dark and damp place that had that smell, that familiar yet nauseating fragrance of plum blossoms—he had only ever smelled it near one other person in his entire life.
And that person, just thinking about him makes him frown.
Suddenly, one by one, the oil lamps in the dark room lit up.
This is extremely stimulating for someone who has been in a dark environment for a long time.
Even so, after a brief adjustment, Li Xiao managed to open his eyes and, sure enough, spotted that familiar figure in the dazzling firelight, which was as bright as day.
Deep and resonant.
That guy who's always been at odds with me is dressed in a dreary black outfit today, he's really an eyesore.
"...What are you doing here?"
Li Xiao questioned in a cold voice, but when he opened his mouth, he found that his throat was terribly hoarse. Perhaps it was because he hadn't spoken for too long, or perhaps he had inhaled too much smoke in the fire.
Li Xiao was somewhat dissatisfied, thinking that this made him seem very unimpressive.
Just as he was thinking of something to say to make up for his earlier mistake, Shen Yun spoke up.
I saw him today.
"What?"
Li Xiao was somewhat confused by Shen Yun's seemingly random statement.
Shen Yun didn't look at him, but continued talking to herself. This arrogant attitude was one of the reasons why Li Xiao disliked her, but Li Xiao was soon drawn to the content of her speech.
"He's still at Huayue Tower, but under Aunt Xun's command. I heard he was seconded from another place, but calling it a secondment is practically the same as buying his life. When I caught him, he was barely hanging on, covered in wounds, and his clothes were—"
"shut up!"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiao finally couldn't bear it any longer and shouted out. Because he couldn't control his strength, his voice broke, and the taste of blood immediately rose from his throat.
Shen Yun raised her eyebrows and glanced at Li Xiao, whose chest was heaving. Judging from his angry expression and gritted teeth, he was probably about to go crazy with anger.
Shen Yun remained silent, simply watching quietly.
After a while, when Li Xiao finally recovered and asked what happened next, he said, "Everyone is fine."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiao seemed to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"What about the beast who did it?" he asked hoarsely.
Every word carried the metallic taste of blood rising from his throat.
“Dead.” Shen Yun said calmly, “His tongue was pulled out, his hands and feet were broken, his bones were carefully crushed, and he was given a good beating. His death shouldn’t have been too easy.”
Li Xiao used to dislike Shen Yun's way of doing things, finding it disgusting.
This was the first time he felt that the other party had done a pretty good job.
"Thanks."
It was rare for Li Xiao to bow his head to thank anyone, especially since that person was Shen Yun.
Shen Yun seemed slightly surprised, but not much. He said, "No need to thank me, I didn't do this for you."
Li Xiao wasn't that narcissistic.
He knew the other party was only doing it to make things easier for the case.
However, he was still grateful to Shen Yun for saving Pipa, and even felt a little sorry for some of his past prejudices against Shen Yun.
Even though it's only a tiny bit, it's better than nothing.
But then Shen Yun said something that made Li Xiao realize what was happening and immediately had the urge to kill her with a knife.
Because Shen Yun said, "The reason I did this is actually for my own sake."
"..."
"For my own selfish reasons."
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