I can only hate that I'm unable to move at this moment, otherwise if I could lend them a helping hand, the chances of winning would be much greater. But everything before my eyes is like a stage play that has suddenly been frozen in place. The Chen family is like a group of sheep about to be slaughtered, ready to pounce, while Feng Yan's body is stretched taut, traitor Zheng Zhiwei takes a step back. Su and Wei also grip their weapons tightly with tense faces.

  The door of the living room was pushed open from outside. The two accomplices who had gone out to look for me earlier walked in, with snow on their shoulders. Seeing the situation inside the house, they were also stunned.

  The Chen family was suddenly frozen in shock.

  ……

  Su Wu's face was cold and he smiled ferociously.

  Perhaps it was the consecutive deaths of his companions, coupled with Chen Baozhu's sudden attack, that had caused him to become frightened and lose his composure earlier. Now, without any hesitation, he strode over, kicked the knife out of Chen Baozhu's hand, and then subjected her to ruthless punches and kicks, cursing as he did so: "Damn it, ugly girl, you still have the nerve to try and turn things around on me? You really thought you were clever... You've truly been stupidified by reading too many books, thinking you could escape? See who can save you now? I'll see which of them dares to come and rescue you..."

  Chen Baozhu was quickly beaten until she was bleeding profusely, her situation was extremely miserable. However, she also unexpectedly showed great resilience, apart from gasping and grunting sounds, not a word escaped her lips, nor did she beg for mercy or cry. Professor Chen was also kicked to the ground by the thugs, the dagger in his hand clattering to the ground with a "clang", after which he, Tang Lanzhi and Chen Ruying were all brutally beaten.

  No one begged for mercy on behalf of Chen Baizhu, they all begged for themselves. Nor did anyone want to save her.

  I didn't want to look anymore, a chill ran through my heart. So I turned my head, leaned against the wall, and continued sending signals.

  The beating sounds downstairs gradually stopped.

  Staring at Tan Jiao downstairs, he suddenly raised his head and looked at me, his face turning extremely pale. My heart sank, and I turned my head to look down through the small hole.

  A bandit who had just returned was whispering to Su Wei. Su Wei listened while looking up at the floor above.

  I understand what happened, they will find us sooner or later. It's already a blessing that we've made it this far.

  There was a moment of blankness in my mind. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it, but if I were to be discovered, what should I do? I had an answer in my heart, but at this moment when I really wanted to leave her, my heart was in pain. However, before I could even speak, Tan Jiao lowered his head, looking extremely sad, and said in a low voice: "Listen to me, you're injured like this, you can't go out. Going out is death. I've thought it through, I'll go and divert their attention. You continue sending distress signals, that's the only way we have a chance of being rescued. This is the most reasonable thing to do."

  I grasped her hand, her fingers were icy cold. I asked: "Where are you going?"

  She nodded.

  I said: "Then you'd better let me die."

  She looked up at me, her eyes filled with pain and shock. A scalding tear dropped onto our overlapping hands. I lowered my head, pressed my face into her long hair, and kissed it several times, saying: "Just stay here, wait until everything is over, wait for people to come rescue us."

  Then I used my last strength to lift her up. Her whole face was covered with tears, and her long hair was tangled on my shoulder. I ignored her silent resistance, walked towards a cabinet in the corner of the wall that I had been eyeing earlier, opened the door, and stuffed her inside. She grasped my hand tightly, refusing to let go. In the darkness, only her eyes shone like shooting stars. I pried open her fingers one by one, she bit her teeth hard, almost crying out loud. At that moment, my heart was softer than ever, more painful than ever. Like a child who is about to leave home. The child who had been dead for a year, now stood in front of the person he loved again.

  She let out a sob and began to cry very quietly, like a small animal. Her hands, which I had just freed, still hovered in mid-air, as if unable to move. I too felt like there was a scorching hot stone stuck in my throat, and I said in a low voice: "Jiao Jiao, I love you."

  She had stopped listening, her ten fingers pressed against her eyes, tears streaming down. I couldn't bear to see her like this, really couldn't bear it. I reached out again, pressed the back of her head, and kissed her fiercely. Her mouth was bitter and salty, in that brief moment, I bit every inch of her lips and tongue, desperately searching for her. She collapsed completely, until I let go of her.

  I closed the cabinet door.

  All that was left in his mind were her eyes.

  That was the woman I loved, gazing at me with a pained expression in her eyes.