#Akira Yokoyama | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ruanbaijie · 7 days ago

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During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

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Failing to get hold of Jin Jingxue, Yokoyama Akira played along with the circumstances, deciding to change tactics and let Jin Jingxue kick up a fuss first. In case she could really kick up such a huge fuss that Li Yingliang returned, it would end up saving him the trouble. In any case, in the situation where he could not ensure his safety, he would definitely not provoke Shen Zhiheng again. Meanwhile, Jin Jingxue always scorned the Japanese, so she simply did not pin any hopes on Yokoyama Akira, and she didn’t even pass a message through Situ Weilian, directly finding out the telephone number of the Shen mansion and making a phone call there.

The one who picked up was Mi Lan. Jin Jingxue now hated Shen Zhiheng, including those who were associated with him. She treated Mi Lan impatiently, “I am Jin Jingxue, get Shen Zhiheng to answer the telephone!”

Her tone was so arrogant and overbearing, yet Mi Lan had lived under her mother for fifteen years. One could say that she had much experience, and was the least afraid of fierce and arrogant women.

“He’s not at home.”

Jin Jingxue asked, “Who are you?”

“I am his niece.”

“Niece? Fine, then you pass a message to him, tell him to call me back the second he gets home, I have urgent matters to discuss with him. If I do not hear from him tonight, then don’t blame me for personally paying you a visit at your house tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Jin Jingxue waited for a moment, and after getting no reply, realised that the other party was a straight-talker and had already agreed. She hung up the receiver, her heart agitated and her mind unsettled. The voice that had picked up sounded a little child-like, and even though it was not a young child, it was definitely neither an adult. She really did not know if she could pass the message to Shen Zhiheng. Thinking to this point, she made another phone call to the Shen mansion.

“Hello, is this still his niece?”

On the other end, Mi Lan replied quite patiently, “It’s me.”

“I’m Jin Jingxue.”

“Mm.”

“I’m telling you, I’m trying to find Shen Zhiheng because it’s about a serious matter that concerns someone’s life. You must definitely pass my message to him, if not, if something catastrophic happens, he will have to pay the entire debt.”

“Okay.”

Jin Jingxue hung up once again, and once she did, her heart felt itchy and she could not help but want to call back again. The niece in the Shen mansion had spoken too quickly, and she simply could not shake off the suspicion that she was treating her cursorily.

On the other end of the phone line, Mi Lan mulled over the word “niece”, secretly feeling that it was quite fun, as if she had undergone a makeover and had a new identity in this world - the day before yesterday, Shen Zhiheng had introduced her to the servants as his distant niece, and the servants had addressed her as “Young Miss Niece”.

Not long after the call, Shen Zhiheng returned from outside. He then hogged the telephone, continuously making and receiving phone calls, busily instructing people to send Western medicine to the field service corps. When he finally put down the receiver, just as Mi Lan was about to speak, suddenly, in a blink of an eye, he left again.

It was only later that evening when he returned home, when she finally rushed to say, “A woman called Jin Jingxue called you on the telephone and wants you to call her back. She said she wanted to see you and talk to you in person about a serious matter that concerns someone’s life.”

Shen Zhiheng made an “mm?” sound from his nose. After “mm”ing, he realised he still had a mouth, and so he opened his mouth to ask in detail, “Jin Jingxue? Looking for me?”

Mi Lan looked at him with bright and shining eyes, “Yes.”

Shen Zhiheng walked up the stairs. “I’ll bring you out for dinner. Why is Jin Jingxue looking for me? Could it be because of Li Yingliang? Or is it Situ Weilian?”

Mi Lan followed him. “Is Li-shushu still alive?”

Shen Zhiheng turned his head to look back, somewhat suspicious, “Do you really have a third eye or have you been following me?”

Mi Lan shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

Shen Zhiheng smiled, then turned around and continued climbing the stairs. “Don’t bother about him, let him fend for himself.”

Mi Lan turned around, leaning against the railing of the staircase as she lifted her head and watched Shen Zhiheng’s back. She suspected that he had kidnapped Li Yingliang, and could have even killed him, she could not tell. She had no intention to plead clemency for her Li-shushu, fearing that she would annoy Shen Zhiheng. Besides, in her heart, it didn’t matter if Li-shushu was dead or alive, both were good things. It was good if he was dead, Shen Zhiheng would henceforth be able to get some peace and quiet; it was also okay if he was alive, in any case, she did not really hate him. She raised her hand and touched her hair, and then lowered her head to look at her skirt - she now had several thin skirts, its hemline caressed her knees, her knees were small, like a thin and bony bird.

Whether it was about this world, or about herself, she was now quite satisfied.

Shen Zhiheng changed into a suit and brought Mi Lan out to have dinner. They didn’t go far, crossing two streets, he brought her into a restaurant that served Western cuisine. For the entire day, the atmosphere had been one of fear and worry, but no matter how much people worried, they still had to eat. Shen Zhiheng placed a glass of water in front of him, patiently watching Mi Lan eat her fill. Now, Mi Lan was still very much capable of eating and appreciating food, eating anything and everything. Shen Zhiheng hoped that she had a good appetite, because even if she were to eat like her life depended on it, it was not a given that she could eat for that many more years.

When she was full, it just happened to be the time of the night when the street lamps were lit. Shen Zhiheng settled the bill and brought her out. At this hour when it was still not too late, the restaurant was busy, with customers going in and out of the entrance. Just as Shen Zhiheng stepped out of the doors, someone blocked his path. He lifted his head; it was Jin Jingxue.

Her fair-skinned face sullen, Jin Jingxue was just about to valiantly head towards the restaurant, followed by her youthful lackey [1], who had jogged the entire way, the grinning Situ Weilian. When the two groups of them walked face-to-face into one another, Jin Jingxue first took a good look at Shen Zhiheng, and then immediately said, “Mr. Shen, what a coincidence! I was just about to find you!”

Mi Lan instantly recognised her voice, while Jin Jingxue’s gaze swept to the side and across her face. Based on her experience, Jin Jingxue thought that Mi Lan did not resemble an adult, and did not seem like a lady that a person like Shen Zhiheng would be interested in.

So she asked, “You’re the niece?”

Mi Lan replied, “Mm.”

Jin Jingxue immediately turned to Shen Zhiheng and sneered, “So, I’m sure that your family’s Young Miss Niece must have already passed my message to you from the two phone calls I made to your residence earlier today.”

Shen Zhiheng shifted aside, towards the shadows beside the door. “Yes. I’m just not certain for what matter would Second Young Mistress Jin be so anxious to see me?”

Jin Jingxue followed him and shifted a few steps, cutting straight to the chase, “Of course it’s for matters concerning Li Yingliang. He has been missing for so long, you didn’t kidnap him, did you?”

Shen Zhiheng raised his eyebrows, astonished, “From where did Second Young Mistress Jin hear such nonsense? This humble one is just a simple businessman, I’m already incredibly grateful if Chairman Li doesn’t cause trouble for me, how could I possibly still kidnap him? It’s not like I’m a bandit.”

“Stop pretending! If this didn’t have anything to do with you at all, I wouldn’t come and ask you. Since I dare to find you, it means that I naturally have evidence. Now, I refuse to continue sparring verbally with you, I just want to ask you one thing, for how much money are you willing to let him go? Let’s settle this quickly and resolutely, you name your price! If you still have misgivings, I can assure you, based on my Jin family’s name, that he definitely won’t bother you ever again in the future. If he dares to disobey me, my father will not spare him.”

Shen Zhiheng chuckled, “Second Young Mistress Jin, stop joking with me. I too am aware of Chairman Li going missing. To be honest, I suspect that he could truly be a patriot, since he is now missing, there is a possibility that he has completed a mission and has escaped to somewhere safe. There’s no need to worry too much, Second Young Mistress Jin. Perhaps, not long after, he will return again.”

Shen Zhiheng said this light-heartedly with a smile on his face, but little did he know that Jin Jingxue had spent these recent days worrying about Li Yingliang, to the point where it felt like she was burning on the inside. And based on the information she had received, after thinking it through, Shen Zhiheng was still the most suspicious. If Shen Zhiheng had denied it in a furious rage at this moment, perhaps she still would have doubted and thought that she had made a mistake in her analysis, but Shen Zhiheng was so amicable and kept smiling, watching her as if he was watching a good show, and she felt like she was being challenged publicly.

Towards her friends, she was always very cheerful and lively, but towards her enemies, she no longer had such a good temper. She brandished the little shiny leather bag in her hands, and smashed it into Shen Zhiheng’s face.

Shen Zhiheng never knew that such a young lady from a rich family would actually hit people on the streets. He wanted to hide but was too late, and ended up getting hit for a moment, stunned. The leather bag was also quite hard and a sharp corner hit him straight in his eye, and he immediately raised his hands to cover his eye and lower his head.

Meanwhile, realising that she had exposed her unpleasant, violent temper, and had destroyed her image as a debutante, Jin Jingxue resolved that she might as well forgo her reputation and seek only instant gratification. She raised her leather bag and continued to smash it onto Shen Zhiheng’s head. By this point, Shen Zhiheng finally reacted, however, he was bound by his identity as a gentleman, and could not retaliate no matter what. Covering his eyes with a single hand, he originally planned to brace himself against the assault and force his way out. Situ Weilian extended his hand perfunctorily, wanting to stop Jin Jingxue, yet he did not really dare to; he really loved her too much, and this love was so deep that it could not help but become fear.

Right at this moment, Mi Lan suddenly emerged from the darkness, squeezing from the bottom and planting herself in front of Shen Zhiheng, and she raised her hand and sent a slap right across Jin Jingxue’s face.

Shen Zhiheng had not heard such a resounding slap in many years.

It was like a small firecracker, as if Mi Lan had clapped out thunder with a single slap. In response, Jin Jingxue flew out by more than a metre, crying out after she landed. Situ Weilian was frozen, before rushing over belatedly to help Jin Jingxue up. Seeing a red handprint already emerging faintly on one half of her face, he asked hurriedly, “Darling [2], how do you feel? Do you need me to send you to the hospital?”

Jin Jingxue was filled with the courage of fighting to the last drop of her blood, and was worthy of being called a general. After being slapped by Mi Lan, her neck was already slanted, yet she bore no trace of fear. Pushing Situ Weilian aside, she scolded “rubbish!”, and then with a mouthful of fresh blood, she lunged towards Mi Lan.

Mi Lan was staring down at her hands in a daze; she did not realise that she would be so strong. She originally did not have this strength that was capable of striking terror in people’s hearts!

Suddenly feeling the blast of wind before her, she raised her head in a startle, but her actions were far faster than her thoughts as her long and slender arms reached out and caught Jin Jingxue’s curls. Seeing her quick and decisive movements, Shen Zhiheng thought that she still wanted to fight, and hurriedly rushed forward to grasp her arms, yet as her arms were too thin, he did not dare to exert too much force out of the fear that he might accidentally break her thin bones if he did not pay attention for even a second. Meanwhile, Situ Weilian could see it all clearly from behind. He saw how insincerely he was mediating the fight, clearly with the intention to indulge Mi Lan and allow her to continue running wild, and he became anxious at once.

Punching and slapping a person like Shen Zhiheng was useless, it was more or less like tickling him. So, Situ Weilian rushed forward and grabbed him by his collar, slamming him viciously towards the back.

Behind Shen Zhiheng was the brick wall of the restaurant, and just when his back touched the wall, a large pale white hand covered his face, once again grabbing his head and knocking it towards the back. The impact made a dull sound, far from the earth-shattering slap that Mi Lan had given, however, a few bricks dropped out from the red brick wall. If this had been the head of a mortal human, the back of that head would probably already have been shattered.

Shen Zhiheng seemed to be in a daze. He would never have thought that Situ Weilian would dare to attack him.

At the same time, thinking that he had already moved Shen Zhiheng aside as if he were moving a large piece of luggage, Situ Weilian turned around, wanting to separate Mi Lan and Jin Jingxue. Now, he loved Jin Jingxue even more, for the more Jin Jingxue fought, the braver she was. She was actually holding her own against Mi Lan, and she could be said to be quite a heroine. But before he could grab Mi Lan, a voice suddenly roared from behind his head, “How dare you!”

The next second, the world before his eyes turned upside down, and another second later, he flew up into the air. Shen Zhiheng had raised him and thrown him into the middle of the street, and he was almost flattened into a pancake by a passing car. He crawled and stood up, but before he could retaliate, Shen Zhiheng was already there, treading on him with a foot and knocking him back flat down onto the ground.

He stood up again, bristling with fury, and a chaotic battle thus started.

Twenty minutes later, a patrol team rushed over.

The one who had reported this to the police was the manager of the restaurant, and by the time the patrol team arrived, the entire road was already blocked solid, for what activity could be more entertaining than a battle between Mr. Shen and Young Mistress Jin? Moreover, Mr. Shen’s niece and Young Mistress Jin’s attendant were also quite the talents; the niece could hit Young Mistress Jin till she was wailing continuously, while the attendant could also push Mr. Shen down and hammer vicious pounds down onto him. The niece’s short Western skirt had flipped up, revealing her silk shorts underneath, while the attendant’s full head of curly hair had exploded, and his head resembled a giant popcorn. When the Chinese constable saw this giant popcorn, he was momentarily shocked, thinking that there was a Westerner embroiled in this chaotic fight.

The constable half caught and half invited these four people to the police station. Inviting them to sit down at a large table facing one another, the constable himself sat at the head of the table, wringing his hands.

“Ah, this, Mr. Shen, Young Mistress Jin, you are both respected people. What conflict is it that you cannot sit down and discuss it, but must simply start brawling in the middle of the street? Putting aside the disruption to public order for now, your faces alone will be badly damaged!”

The constable’s words were not false. Mr. Shen’s entire head was bloody while Young Mistress Jin’s face was swollen, and the niece and attendant were not any better. The damage that the four of their faces had suffered was truly not small.

Shen Zhiheng pulled a handkerchief out from the pocket of his pants and wiped the blood on his face, and then nodded at the constable, “I’m very sorry, we’ve embarrassed ourselves in front of you.”

Situ Weilian also spoke, “We have learned our lesson.”

What the constable was the most afraid of was that these few people would not show him any face and would continue brawling in the police station. If he locked them up, he would offend them, but neither could he not lock them up. Now, hearing Shen Zhiheng’s amiable tone and seeing this could-be-Western youth being obedient, most of his worries instantly dissipated, and his countenance became pleasant, “But just what large conflict is it that the few of you have been fighting over? If any mediation is needed, then this constable can be that mediator.”

Shen Zhiheng said to him, “Actually, it’s nothing big, it’s just a small misunderstanding. It’s because I had drunk a little alcohol and was a little drunk then, while these few youngsters are full of youthful vigour, and so one disagreement was all it took for us to start fighting. Now that I am sober and that they have calmed down, we have no need for you to admonish us, we are all terribly ashamed in our hearts.”

Jin Jingxue glanced casually at the constable and, disdaining his low rank, was too lazy to bother with him. Mi Lan lowered her head, also not saying a word. Only Situ Weilian knew to follow up Shen Zhiheng’s words and continue saying, “Yes, we won’t fight anymore.”

The constable sighed a silent breath of relief, thinking that these four still were aware of their face, and since they still wanted to keep their face, then it saved him a lot of trouble.

The constable let these four people go from the police station.

When the four of them got onto the street, Shen Zhiheng had completely regained his logic, and he said to Jin Jingxue, “Second Young Mistress Jin, I truly do not know where Li Yingliang is, you have really misunderstood me. Now, I apologise to you on behalf of my niece. I will also send someone to your residence with money to cover the medical bill. Please, if Second Young Mistress Jin could forgive her for being a young child and not understanding the severity of the situation.”

At this point, he finished speaking. Jin Jingxue waited for him to call Mi Lan over and apologise to her, but after waiting for a while, Shen Zhiheng simply stood there silently, and Jin Jingxue thus saw through his mind. He was merely spouting some worthless flowery words.

After living for so long, this was the first time she had suffered such a violent beating, and if she could not avenge this, she was not fit to be a human. But now, since she could not defeat her opponent easily, she decided to first return home to catch her breath while continuing to think of another way to find Li Yingliang. When she saved Li Yingliang, she would once again find Shen Zhiheng and seek revenge. Shen Zhiheng would not continue living, and neither would that bitch of his niece escape!

Situ Weilian stepped forward, saying in a low voice, “Jingxue, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Jin Jingxue sneered, “I can really see that you’re a doctor, you’re only worried about sending me to the hospital. But there’s no need, I’m not like those women who are so delicate, I’m like a man, since I’m willing to fight, I’m willing to admit defeat. You can also relax, that niece of his isn’t capable of beating me so badly that I have internal injuries.”

“Then… then I’ll send you home?”

This time, Jin Jingxue nodded.

Situ Weilian sent a vicious glare at Shen Zhiheng, and then escorted Jin Jingxue and turned around and left.

Grasping the handkerchief with one hand, Shen Zhiheng blocked one of his nostrils. After watching the two of them walk into the distance, he turned his head and looked at Mi Lan. Mi Lan’s entire head of long hair was incredibly messy, but her face was still considerably clean. It was only that her neck and arms now bore a few fresh red swollen streaks, after having been scratched by Jin Jingxue.

Shen Zhiheng measured Mi Lan, then lowered his head to look at the handkerchief. There was fresh nose blood on it, and so he once again stuffed it into his nostril.

“Where did you get such a temper, actually daring to hit someone first?”

Mi Lan replied, “I thought that she had injured you.”

“It’s not like I’m afraid of getting hurt.”

“But you can still feel pain.”

“So what if I can feel pain? Do you think that now that you have become strong, you can fear neither the heavens nor the earth?”

“No.”

“You’re still being stubborn?”

This time, Mi Lan looked up and stared at him, “When she beat you, it was like she beat me. But I’ve already had enough of getting beaten, I no longer want to get beaten!”

Shen Zhiheng looked at her in confusion, evidently not understanding her.

So, Mi Lan said again, “You are me.”

She thought that this time, she had explained it considerably clearly. Yet, Shen Zhiheng frowned at her, his face still one of puzzlement. He roughly understood what she meant, or at least, he knew that she wanted to protect him. Even before, when she had been blind and weak, she had already wanted to save him, what more now, when she was no longer the same as who she had once been.

It was very strange. He had never imagined that he would trigger a young girl’s protectiveness.

“Let’s go.” He no longer continued asking, fearing that the more he asked, the messier it would be.

Mi Lan followed after him. The two of them walked towards the mouth of the road, intending to return home by car.

Halfway through, he asked, looking forward, “Do your injuries hurt?”

“I’m not afraid of pain.”

Then, she turned her head to look at Shen Zhiheng, “Is it bad for girls to fight?”

“Of course it’s bad.”

“If only I were a boy.” She suddenly beamed brightly at Shen Zhiheng, a few dried specks of blood still on her lips. “Fighting is actually quite fun.”

“Nonsense.”

After saying that, Shen Zhiheng inhaled deeply, wanting to maintain a clear head. These few days, he had not been eating adequately, and he had just suffered quite a beating and had lost a lot of blood. At this moment, his ears were ringing and his head throbbed. This made him a little panicky, he feared that if he did not pay attention for a moment, he would once again become some savage monster and then devour that group of drivers at the mouth of the road.

Meanwhile, Situ Weilian, after running around for an entire day and finally finding Jin Jingxue at night, had originally planned to have dinner with her together, yet who would have guessed that even before the dinner could enter their mouths, the two of them had first had a taste of a round of kicks and punches.

With an empty stomach, he sent Jin Jingxue home, completely at a loss. Jin Jingxue’s miserable face, now decorated with all the colours of spring [3], was cold. Not allowing him to enter, she went into the mansion by herself. Earlier that day, the servants of the Jin mansion had seen her leaving the house in the evening together with her boyfriend, and were certain that she would drink and party all night long, and the earliest she would return home would be in the wee hours of the morning. So, they had turned off the lights and had all retired to bed early, and now, only a single lamp was still lit in the parlour.

The servants were lazy, but this just happened to suit Jin Jingxue. She tiptoed up the stairs and to the bedroom, intending to take care of the wounds on her body by herself. Now that she had calmed down, she truly regretted her earlier recklessness. Not only had she gotten into a fight with a stupid little girl, which was entirely beneath her, she had also fallen out with Shen Zhiheng, and had lost her chance of negotiation.

However, she could not blame herself, she thought. The past few days had tormented her thoroughly, and her belly had long been burning with a fire that needed to be vented.

Feeling around in the darkness of the bedroom, she first closed the door, and then raised her hands to feel around for the light switch. When her fingertips touched the button, she prodded it, and suddenly, a voice came from the darkness of the bedroom, “Second Young Mistress.”

This voice did not bear an ordinary huskiness, as if its throat were an opium pipe that had once swallowed shards of glass. At the same time, with a soft click, the light switch moved, and the chandelier in the middle of the room shone brightly, clearly illuminating the scene in the room.

Jin Jingxue was frozen on the spot, wondering if she was seeing a living ghost.

The living ghost was seated on the floor. Strips of cloth hung from his body, and beneath those strips, flesh was vaguely visible; clearly, those strips were covering a naked human body. As her eyes travelled up along the strips, a discoloured skeletal face appeared before her eyes.

If not for how she was sufficiently calm now, Jin Jingxue would definitely have started screaming at the top of her lungs. Instead, she inhaled a breath of cold hair and held it in her chest, then covered her heart, and said in a trembling voice, “Liang-gege?”

Her Liang-gege was staring at her, startled. It was only until she opened her mouth to speak when he could confirm that this swollen pig face in front of him was indeed Jin Jingxue.

Momentarily forgetting her changed appearance, Jin Jingxue lunged forward straight before Li Yingliang, her eyes filling with tears as she surveyed him. He was like a veteran lunatic, those strips of cloth had once been a collared shirt and long pants, yet who knew how he had torn them to turn them into thin and torn strips of cloth that simply could not cover much. When she looked back at his neck and face, she noticed that they were filled with a mess of scratches. His two eyes were even scarier; his pupils were black while the whites of his eyes were red, and they had sunken deep in the sockets of his eyes, and even his eyelids had gashes.

Jin Jingxue looked at him, simply suspecting that he had escaped from a dog’s mouth. Now, without any bother for any form of pretentiousness, she grabbed Li Yingliang’s hands, her tears falling like raindrops, “Where have you been all these days? Who hurt you this badly? I’ve been worried to death!”

Li Yingliang stared at her dully, and after a moment, he asked raspily, “Why have you also become like this?”

“Don’t bother about me, I’m fine. What on earth happened to you? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Li Yingliang shook his head, “I’m not hungry, just thirsty.”

“Then I’ll get someone to bring tea up.”

Li Yingliang slowly raised his hand and pointed at the door of the bathroom, “No need, I’ve already drunk some tap water.”

Completely forgetting the pain that was wracking her body, Jin Jingxue glanced at Li Yingliang’s raised hand. She gasped in shock, and grabbed that hand, “Just what is this now? Did someone torture you?”

Li Yingliang’s eyes moved sluggishly, and he too looked at his own hand. His hand was a filthy claw, but it was not sharp, for most of his fingernails had already fallen off, and those that still remained were broken.

This was very normal, as he had used his two hands to dig and claw his way out to escape.

“I was kidnapped by someone,” he said hoarsely. “Shen Zhiheng.”

Jin Jingxue gritted her teeth, hitting the floor, “I knew it!”

Jin Jingxue wanted to tidy up Li Yingliang so that he resembled a human again, but she had never waited upon anyone before, so she did not know how to begin with this tattered and filthy little heap that was Li Yingliang.

Li Yingliang was not filled with ecstasy after having a close brush with death, rather, he was so dazed as if he had lost his soul. As he was in a daze, he subconsciously shifted backwards, until he had shifted all the way into a corner. Jin Jingxue had known him for so many years, but she had never seen him so numb and pathetic before, and since he was so pathetic and she had no one else to rely on, she had no choice but to become strong.

Not only was her physical body strong, able to independently get up and walk to the bathroom to prepare hot water, she was also mentally strong, and personally gave Li Yingliang a bath. She slowly peeled off the strips of cloth covering Li Yingliang’s body. This was the first time in her life seeing the naked body of a man and was nearly embarrassed to death, but at the same time, she knew that this was not the time for her to be embarrassed. Besides, even if she was embarrassed, it was an embarrassment that was in vain.

It was as if Li Yingliang had become retarded, letting her do whatever she wanted with him. Jin Jingxue soaked a large towel in the hot water and roughly rubbed him once through with it, then she found a silk nightgown and made him wear it. Fortunately, she was of a healthy and tall figure, and Li Yingliang was so thin he was just skin and bones, and her nightgown could wrap him well.

After letting Li Yingliang out to lie down on her bed, she entered the bathroom and shut the door to take a bath and change her clothes. Now, her appearance was even more swollen, and together with Li Yingliang, they looked more or less the same. But as someone who was used to being pretty since young, just like a dandy young master who did not value money, she did not mind if she was ugly for a few days.

Wrapping her head with a large towel, she wanted to instruct her maidservant to send some hot drinks up. However, when Li Yingliang saw her extending her arm to open the door, he actually floundered and rolled off the bed, grabbing her arm, “What are you doing?”

“I want you to drink a mug of hot cocoa, you look too weak.”

Li Yingliang pulled her hand off the door handle. “No way, all of them want to kill me now. I can’t expose my whereabouts.”

“Who? Shen Zhiheng? Relax, even if he had the guts of ten men, he wouldn’t dare barge into my house to kill someone, unless he doesn’t want to continue living.”

Li Yingliang looked at her, and after looking at her dully for a good while, he finally opened his mouth, “He dares to.”

Jin Jingxue suspected that Li Yingliang had been tortured by Shen Zhiheng to the point of insanity, but in order to placate him, she helped him to walk to the bed. “I won’t get someone to make it then. If you’re scared, we can leave Tianjin and go home tomorrow.”

“No way, I can’t be exposed.”

“Then you can stay here at my place without any worries. I won’t go out these few days either, I’ll stay at home and protect you.”

Li Yingliang suddenly stopped, turning his face to look at her. “Can your servants be trusted? Will they sell me out?”

“They won’t, they won’t, tomorrow, I’ll tell them to go on leave. I’ll just leave Xiaotao and my other maidservant here, I had brought them from my home in Tianjin here with me, they can definitely be trusted, don’t worry!”

After much persuasion, Jin Jingxue finally managed to coax Li Yingliang back onto the bed. At this stage, she no longer cared about her identity as the young mistress of a wealthy family, even letting Li Yingliang sleep on her fragranced mattress. Li Yingliang lay down, but his eyes were still bright and wide open, without any intention of sleeping at all. Jin Jingxue hugged her knees and sat on one side, not daring to continue asking him anything out of the fear that he would mentally crumble and go crazy.

Li Yingliang didn’t dare to sleep.

He had lost all sense of time, and felt as if he had been locked up by Shen Zhiheng for a hundred years.

Hunger and thirst were not the most painful, the most painful was hopelessness, as well as terror, as well as an unwillingness to accept his situation, as well as how his watch had stopped, and he could not keep track of the passage of time. All the different kinds of pains mixed together with one another, dragging a single moment out into an entire day, even an entire month, an entire year.

He had been surrounded by hopeless silence, he could hear his own blood flowing, hear his own heart beating, and hear his own joints chafing. All these sounds had slowly become suspicious, as if they did not come from his own body, and they had slowly made the room become crowded, as if it had been filled with invisible ghosts. He had been terrified, and as he had knocked his head against the ground, he had howled loudly. Given how small and enclosed the room was, after howling, he had felt breathless, so suffocated it felt like he had been hovering between life and death. He had scratched his entire head and face wildly, had ripped his clothes into shreds, and his nails had been caked with his own blood and flakes of skin.

He had waited for Shen Zhiheng to return until he was close to death, as if he were waiting in the fires of hell. He had even thought of sacrificing himself to Shen Zhiheng, letting him kill him and eat him, as long as it meant that he could let him out before he died, let him resolutely take in a few breaths of air. Shen Zhiheng, Shen Zhiheng, he had recited his name silently. His feelings towards him could no longer be summarised as hate and fear, he had merely hoped that he would come, come and kill him or come and let him go, it had no longer mattered, as long as he would come.

After that, he had discovered a drainage hole at the bottom of the wall behind the toilet bowl.

At that point of time, he had no longer had energy left to think, and had only known that the drain would lead to the outside world, and so he had stared down at it, unwilling to move. After staring for a while, he had finally realised that the outer layer of the wall surrounding the drainage hole, after years of being soaked in filthy water, had become flaky.

He had then begun to peel the outer layer of the wall, peeling and digging with his ten fingers. Behind the cement layer was a layer of red bricks. He had stupidly continued digging, using his fists and arms to hit and knock it, completely feeling no pain at all. The layer of red bricks was thin, and after he had dug through it, he had found that behind it was a layer of rotten wood.

He had slowly stretched his hand out and pushed the layer of wood.

With a clatter, the wooden board had fallen. No sunlight had shone in and no wind had blown in, behind the wall had still been a damp and stuffy darkness. He had extended his entire arm through, and had felt a few wooden strips that resembled dried bones.

At that time, he had become so agitated that he had started to shake and tremble. After enlarging the hole, he had entered it, forcefully pushing his body through the hole. Broken pieces of bricks had scraped his flesh, but still, he had not felt any pain.

In the dark space on the other side of the wall had been piled a few rotting wooden boards. The layout was a prison cell similar to his, and borrowing the dim light from his prison cell, he could even see that this room also had a metal door.

A half open metal door.

Walking out of the door, he had felt his way to a flight of stairs that led upwards, and as he had climbed up the stairs, he had realised that he was in an empty warehouse. The main door of the warehouse had been locked, but there was a small glass window high above, and that was not enough to stop him.

When he had finally regained his freedom, the skies had just become completely dark.

Previously, he had been terrified, and when he had escaped, he had been even more so. His previous terror had been abstract and large, after escaping, it had been concrete and detailed. He was scared of Shen Zhiheng, and also scared of the Japanese. A large number of secret documents had been leaked out from his hands, and even if he had not gone missing, given how wary the Japanese were, they might have executed him as if he was a spy. This sort of situation was not something that could be easily explained clearly, and even if he told the entire truth, the Japanese would not necessarily believe him completely. He could not return home, let alone find his friends, and so he had thought of Jin Jingxue.

Jin Jingxue would not sell him out. He hated her, but he also trusted her.

At that point of time, he was already exhausted to an extreme, yet just like the final radiance of the setting sun, he had actually managed to walk through a few secluded alleys all the way to the Jin mansion. That night, the Jin mansion had been particularly dark and quiet, and he had managed to flip himself over the back wall and into the yard, and then climb up the water pipe to the second floor and enter the bedroom.

Then, he had desperately filled his stomach with tap water, and after that, he had met the exceptionally ugly Jin Jingxue.

Jin Jingxue treated him so well, far beyond what he had expected. However, he now could not manage to thank her, for he was too terrified, he was terrified to death!

At dawn, Jin Jingxue was leaning against the bedhead, half asleep and half awake, when Li Yingliang suddenly sat up, giving her a scare.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”

Li Yingliang shook his head.

Now, he still could not manage to feel pain, he had just had a nightmare.

He had dreamed that Shen Zhiheng had gone to see him that night, and after finding that he had escaped, had tracked him down and found him here.

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The word for “lackey” used here was 狗腿子 (gǒu tuǐ zi), which literally means “dog leg”.

Situ Weilian literally calls her “Darling” in English here.

I “lol”ed, the phrase used here was 花红柳绿 (hóng huā liǔ lǜ), literally “red flowers and green willows”, which was a very pretty way of describing the bruises and blood on her face.

#snowfall #冰雪谣 #the shadow #如月 #snowfalltl #userdramas #vampires #translation #*transl #tuserashinlae #lextag #roserayne

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