Chapter 995: So much blood

Rapid footsteps echoed outside the room as Liu Shan, Xu Long, and Lin Hui rushed inside. The moment they saw their bosses were unharmed, each of them let out a relieved breath.

Liu Shan walked over to Hung Woo’s body and crouched beside it. He studied the extent of the man’s injuries before lifting his gaze to his boss.

"What do you want to do with him?"

Yue Ling stepped out of Lu Tian’s embrace and looked down at Hung Woo. She had wanted to kill him, but death would be too easy.

For every crime he had committed, he needed to pay the price.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she spoke without hesitation.

"Take him to Chief Ren."

She turned and walked toward her brother. The moment she saw him, her heart sank, and a hollow weight settled deep in her stomach.

It was a sight she knew she would never forget.

Bruises bloom across his skin in dark, uneven patches—purples bleeding into blues, edged with yellow where the pain has started to settle. One cheek is swollen, pulling his features slightly out of place, and a thin split runs along his lip, dried blood catching at the corner when he breathes.

There’s a shadow beneath his eye, heavy and deep, the skin there tender and discolored.

She stopped in front of him and slowly reached out, her hand hovering for a moment. Fearful that even the slightest touch might cause him more pain, she hesitated.

Then, with utmost care, she gently caressed his cheek, her touch featherlight as she made sure not to hurt him any further.

"Jingxu... I’m so sorry..."

She mutters his name, soft, uncertain, like saying it too loudly might break something fragile in the air.

Nothing answers.

The silence stretches, heavy and unmoving.

Her lips press together, and she closes her eyes, shutting out the stillness in front of her. A slow breath fills her lungs—deep, deliberate—as if she’s trying to steady something unraveling inside.

For a moment, she just stands there, holding it in.

She promised to keep her brother safe from the dark world after Ghost Gang kidnapped him. Yet, the darkness found him again, and he paid a heavier price for it.

When she was about to call his name again, Ji Jingxu slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

Despite barely being able to keep his eyes open, recognition and relief shone from their depths. The moment he saw her, the faintest smile touched his lips.

"I knew... you would come..."

He muttered enough for Yue Ling to hear before darkness took control of him and his head fell to the side.

Yue Ling felt her heart drop further at his sudden unconsciousness, and she reached for him. Only when she felt a faint pulse on his neck did she let out a breath.

If she hadn’t found him in time, who knew how much more pain Ji Chu Hua would have paid Hung Woo to inflict on him.

She closed her eyes to settle her beating heart before opening them again. She looks at the face of her brother for a long second before turning to look at Gui Tian Lan and Qi Li.

"Thank you both for staying with him."

Both men nod towards her, and she is truly thankful to them. They could have left after finding her brother, but they risked their own lives to stay with him.

If things had gone wrong, they would be the first to get him out.

She looks at her brother again and moves her hand on his cheek to stroke the top of his head.

"Take him to Imperial Military Hospital. My grandfather is waiting for him."

Given the order, Qi Li helps put Ji Jingxu on Gui Tian Lan’s back, and the two men head out of the room.

Yue Ling watched her brother disappear from view as Liu Shan walked over to her. He stood beside her and stared in the direction she was looking.

"Go. We got it from here."

She turned her head to look at him and saw understanding in his eyes. She gave him a small nod and walked away. Behind her, Lu Tian had just finished giving orders to Xu Long and Wolf Team before following after his wife.

Despite the eyes of his men and her team as they walk through the place, he reaches for her hand. He gives her hand a small squeeze before leading them out of the building.

"Let me drive."

Yue Ling doesn’t pull away but gazes at the back of his head. She looks at the curve of his neck, the way his hair falls slightly out of place, the quiet rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathes.

She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind at this moment. Her thoughts went back to the previous questions.

Trapped in her own thoughts, Lu Tian walks her out of the building and heads for his car. Once they reached it, he stops in his tracks, and turns around to look at her.

Seeing the same expression she had after she strangled Hung Woo, he exhales a breath. He takes one step towards her and pulls her into his chest.

"Why do you keep thinking the way you do?"

Yue Ling blinked her eyes and frowned at him.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Tian pulls back a little to look down at her. His dark eyes search her bluish-green ones before he leans forward and kisses her forehead.

"I am not afraid of you."

He pressed his forehead against her and gazed into her eyes.

"Nor do I plan to walk away from you."

Yue Ling leans back and stares into his eyes. Not a glance, not a passing look, but something held, steady and unflinching. Like she’s searching, digging past the surface for something buried deeper.

"Even if I was the devil?"

She asked without thinking, and Lu Tian smiled down at her. He nods his head and taps her nose in a playful gesture.

"Then I will be your demon to command."

His sudden answer shook her, and she searched his eyes for any lie.

Her gaze sharpens, narrowing just slightly as it traces every detail.

Silence stretches between them.

She doesn’t speak again. Doesn’t move. Just holds his gaze, steady and unyielding, as if pressing harder will force something to surface.

A hesitation. A crack. Anything.

But his eyes remain steady with his truth.

Once she confirmed he wasn’t lying to her, a small smile finally curled on her lips. Her eyes glistened but not enough to shed tears and she nods her head.

"Fine. You’re stuck with me now."

Lu Tian smiles at her choice of words and gives her a small peck on the lips. He turns to open the car door for her and helps her inside.

As she sat down, he placed a hand on the door frame and slightly leaned in to be at eye level with her.

"Remember your words because even in death, I’m not letting you go."

He leaves her no room to speak and takes a step back to close the door.

Inside, Yue Ling was left in bewilderment as she watched him walk around the front of the car and enter the driver’s seat. She wanted to say something, but no matter what she did, no words came out.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to drop the subject and focus on getting to her brother and grandfather.

It didn’t take long before the couple arrived at the hospital. Just as they stepped inside the emergency room, a team of nurses and doctors rushed past them with a gurney.

Yue Ling stopped, and her head slowly followed them.

Doctors shouted orders, but Yue Ling didn’t process a word. She stood in a daze, her eyes solely focused on the person lying on the gurney.

There was so much blood.

She took a step forward, then another, and the next thing she knew, she was running after the doctors and nurses.

"Jingxu!"

She called out at the top of her lungs, chasing after the team treating him. Just when she was about to reach them, they entered the operating area, and she was locked out.

Her eyes shook, unable to believe what was happening.

Sudden footsteps from behind brought her out of her daze and she turns around to see Lu Tian, Qi Li, and Gui Tian Lan. Both her subordinates were covered in blood.

She strode toward the two men and stopped in front of them.

"What happened?!!"

Both men were silent, still trying to process what had just happened.

Qi Li was the first to speak. He looked at his boss and shook his head.

"I don’t know... everything was fine. He was fine when we got him into the car... then all of a sudden, he started coughing out blood. I tried to help him but no matter what I did, he wouldn’t stop coughing blood."

He ran his palm over the top of his head. His expression eched with horror and worry as he mutters to himself.

"There was so much blood..."

Gui Tian Lan ran his hand through his hair before tugging a fist full of it. His expression confused and worried about Ji Jingxu.

"I drove as fast as I could to get here. Doctor Dong was already outside waiting for us. When he saw Jingxu’s condition, he just took over, and that was when we ran into you and Mr. Lu."

Yue Ling listened with a heavy heart. Her eyes darted everywhere as if searching for an answer, then, as if the weight on her shoulders were too heavy, her legs gave out.

Lu Tian quickly caught her before she hit the floor. His hold on her firm as if she was going to disappear any second.

"Yue Ling, get a hold of yourself."

He gave her arm a slight squeeze before staring into her dazed bluish-green eyes.

"Doctor Dong is with your brother. He will not let anything happen, and neither will I."

Despite him standing so close to her, it was as if he was standing so far from her. She could only stare unblinking in the direction the doctors and nurses had taken her brother.