Chapter 27

  "What's wrong with your hand?" Bao Ning's heart trembled for a moment, hurrying to light the lamp.

Outside, the wind howled fiercely, and heavy rain pounded against the window panes, creating terrifying sounds. A bright white lightning bolt tore through the sky, illuminating the entire house as bright as day.

Bao Ning saw Pei Yuan's pale face.

Her hand shook, causing the fire to flicker. She quickly aimed and walked towards Pei Yuan, her hand ready to protect. Suddenly, she heard him shout, "Stop!"

Bao Ning was stunned by his shout.

Pei Yuan threw the tea cup in his hand to the ground, then lifted his hand to his forehead, tightly closing his eyes in an attempt to regain his composure.

There was a deep wound on the back of his hand, visible to the bone, its edges sharp and clean. It seemed he had injured it when he crushed the tea cup just now. Blood was flowing out uncontrollably.

"How did this happen?" Bao Ning held his hand and inspected it, shocked to see the deep wound. She knew she needed to get some medicine to stop the bleeding.

"Wait here, I'll go get some medicine and bandage it for you." Bao Ning stood up hurriedly and ran outside.

There was too much blood flowing. Bao Ning was worried about the situation and didn't notice Pei Yuan's expression change, nor did she notice his breathing becoming heavier and his eyes growing darker with blood.

As she stepped out, Bao Ning hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered the dark figure that had run away earlier, sending a chill down her spine. She didn't know who that person was or why they had come, or whether they might return. She realized the danger the person posed, but now wasn't the time to think about that—the key was Pei Yuan's injury.

If the bleeding didn't stop, he would die. He had been cut in a critical area, and stopping the bleeding was urgent.

Bao Ning left the umbrella aside as the wind grew stronger, blowing it further away. Ah Huang ran out and circled around her, but Bao Ning had no time to pay attention. She rummaged through a box, holding the hemostatic medicine and bandages in her hands, then ran back to the east wing in the rain.

Before her foot could step in, the door slammed shut in front of her.

From inside, Pei Yuan's voice sounded hoarse, "Get out, the farther the better!"

Bao Ning stood dumbfounded in place. She didn't understand why he had suddenly become so unreasonable.

The heavy rain poured down, making it impossible to keep her eyes open. Bao Ning wiped her face with her sleeve. Even without looking in the mirror, she knew she looked like a drowned rat.

She didn't have time to feel sorry for Pei Yuan's change in attitude. She pushed his door hard, "Pei Yuan, what are you doing? Let me in!"

He seemed to be leaning against the door with his back. Bao Ning couldn't push it open. She turned around in place and saw an axe hanging on the wall, threatening, "If you continue like this, I'll break down the door!"

Inside, there was a harsh scraping sound. Bao Ning pressed her ear against the door panel and guessed that he was moving a cabinet. Pei Yuan had dragged it over to block the door, making it solid and immovable. Bao Ning couldn't push it any further.

His leg wasn't well—how did that happen? Bao Ning was even more worried about the wound on his hand. With such a big movement, the wound might have torn open, causing even more bleeding.

Bao Ning was both angry and anxious. She hammered the door hard and shouted, "Pei Yuan, are you crazy?"

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down.

She didn't dare say she knew Pei Yuan well, but she knew him somewhat. His actions were unlike him. She didn't know what had happened exactly, but Bao Ning didn't dare to leave recklessly. Unable to open the door, she glanced at the window. If Pei Yuan really wouldn't listen to reason, she would have to break in through the window.

As her gaze swept over, Bao Ning suddenly noticed something strange. Three incense sticks lay on the ground near the window, already extinguished by the rain, lying in the mud.

Bao Ning suddenly understood what had happened, covering her mouth in shock.

Pei Yuan felt like he might really be going crazy.

He couldn't suppress the restlessness and desire in his heart. He felt feverish all over, with waves of blood rushing to his head. The violent tendencies buried deep within him started to stir, clamoring loudly.

He wanted to kill someone. There was an impulse to destroy everything.

Since the year he saw his mother's remains, Pei Yuan hadn't felt this mad again.

But this time was different from that time. A strange sensation swept over him—not just restlessness and frustration, but also an uncontrollable tingling sensation crawling up from below, following his veins. It felt like countless small insects gnawing inside his blood vessels.

He urgently needed relief.

As a man, he understood his body and naturally knew what this meant. Veins bulging on his forehead, he suddenly thought of the sinister figure outside the window and immediately became furious. He punched the wooden cabinet blocking the door with such force that the mahogany immediately caved in, causing the entire house to tremble three times.

He had been ambushed!

His hands throbbed with pain even more intensely. In a moment of clarity, Pei Yuan realized he needed to open the window for ventilation. Breathing heavily, he walked to the window and impatiently tore it open, not patiently following the usual steps, but forcefully breaking the entire window frame off.

Wood cracked loudly, and cold wind rushed in.

Pei Yuan closed his eyes, feeling the cold and hard rain hitting his face.

Blood continued to flow from the wound on his tiger's mouth. He no longer felt the pain, only the blood taking away the heat and restlessness from his body, which made him feel comfortable.

Pei Yuan clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding loudly, struggling to control the abnormality within him, but his mind was out of control.

Inevitably, he thought of Bao Ning.

He recalled the daytime scenes when they leaned against the wall, Bao Ning next to him. Her skin was fair as snow, her neck slender, with a faint fragrance, delicate and gentle like a cat.

Pei Yuan groaned, unable to restrain himself, his hand reaching downward.

He seemed to smell the scent from her body again.

Bao Ning looked at him in disbelief, her voice trembling, "Pei Yuan, what's wrong with you..."

Pei Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and met Bao Ning's terrified gaze.

She had somehow appeared here without him noticing, her clothes already soaked by the rain, clinging to her body, outlining her delicate figure. She reached out to touch him.

She touched him, her fingertips cool, moist with rain, touching his hot skin. It was a rare relief, and Pei Yuan's throat moved, feeling like a person in a dry desert drinking cold water.

But it wasn't enough.

Pei Yuan stared at her face without blinking. His eyes were fierce, a deep red.

With his left hand propping against the window sill, his right hand still below.

"Pei Yuan..." Bao Ning froze. She regretted her impulsiveness. She shouldn't have appeared here. The abnormal man frightened her. Bao Ning took a half step back, turning to escape.

But Pei Yuan grabbed her shoulder.

Bao Ning felt pain in her shoulder, unable to break free. Pei Yuan's hand reached under her armpit, and suddenly lifted her whole body.

With one hand propping against the window sill to support his body, the other arm wrapped around her chest, with brute force, he forcefully pulled her inside.

Pei Yuan's balance was unstable. Bao Ning screamed, grabbing his arms, and both fell together. Pei Yuan used his left hand to pull a wheelchair from the corner, holding her close to his chest, spinning once, and sitting steadily.

The wheelchair slid to the other side under the force and slammed into the wall. Bao Ning couldn't maintain her balance, her teeth hitting Pei Yuan's clavicle, cutting her lips, the taste of blood spreading on her tongue, and she didn't know whose blood it was.

Everything happened in an instant. Bao Ning was soaked through, scared and shocked, trembling in Pei Yuan's arms.

Pei Yuan buried his head in her neck, his hand gripping her waist tightly. Bao Ning couldn't breathe properly, feeling her waist about to break.

Bao Ning pounded on Pei Yuan's shoulder. "Let me go!"

In her fear, she found strength and pushed him away again. Pei Yuan leaned back, and Bao Ning hurriedly stepped back several steps, leaning against the wall opposite Pei Yuan.

They were two feet apart, with wind and rain blowing in, causing the candle flame to flicker and finally extinguish with a "pop."

The room suddenly plunged into darkness.

Outside, the wind and rain were raging, thunder and lightning were roaring, and Bao Ning's heart pounded. She felt weak in her hands and feet, unable to recover for a while. Blood dripped from Pei Yuan's fingers as he tried to endure the pain.

Bao Ning dared not look him in the eye. With the door blocked, she ran to the window, trying to escape from there.

She was innocent, but she could guess a few things. Pei Yuan's reaction was obviously caused by that drug. Previously, she had only heard people joking about it, saying that it was popular in the courtyard, but how did Pei Yuan end up like this? Bao Ning didn't have the heart to think about the consequences and urgently grabbed the window frame, trying to climb out.

A low voice came from behind her, calling her name.

Bao Ning didn't know if she had misheard, but she turned back to look at him. Pei Yuan's tall figure was huddled in the darkness, looking very painful.

He called her again, "Bao Ning."

His voice was hoarse and broken. "Help me."

After a pause, he added, "My hand hurts."

Bao Ning's tears were still sticky on her face. She hesitated for a moment, unable to bear it, and turned back to him, a step away from Pei Yuan. She cried, "I don't know how..."

"I'll teach you."

Saying that, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

...

Bao Ning was mortified. Pei Yuan was exhausted and fell asleep on the kang.

Fortunately, it was dark, and she didn't see anything, nor did she see Pei Yuan's expression. Just touching him made her feel extremely uncomfortable and miserable.

Her hands were sore, her wrists ached, and Bao Ning wanted to cry out a couple of times but felt melodramatic, so she gave up.

She touched her face with the back of her hand and found it burning hot. The musky smell on her hands made Bao Ning grimace and rubbed vigorously against Pei Yuan's clothes before going to wash her hands.

The rain had stopped outside. It was pitch black, and Bao Ning climbed out of the window, scrubbing her hands as if she wanted to peel off two layers of skin. Until it smelled like jasmine, she felt relieved.

Bao Ning changed into dry clothes, sat in her room for a while in a daze, and resignedly took medicine to tend to Pei Yuan.

She applied medicine and bandaged his hand, looking at the blood on the ground, and remembered the mother leech in the house. Bao Ning felt a little sorry for it. It was better to feed that leech.

What a waste.

Pei Yuan breathed deeply, sleeping soundly, making faint snoring noises. Bao Ning knew that today's incident wasn't entirely his fault, but she couldn't help but feel resentful and twisted his arm lightly.

Pei Yuan frowned and grabbed her wrist with his backhand, holding it tightly in his palm.

Bao Ning pulled her hand out.

She dared not look at Pei Yuan now. Just one glance made her heart race, her cheeks blush, and her mind filled with unpleasant thoughts. Embarrassment, shame, couldn't hide away.

He, on the other hand, slept peacefully.

Bao Ning pursed her lips, cut a sturdy piece of hemp cloth, and hung it on the window to block the invading cold wind. Rubbing her arms, she closed her eyes and rested away from Pei Yuan on the kang.

Bao Ning was still scared deep down. Who was the person burning incense, and would they come again? She didn't know and dared not sleep alone. She could only squeeze with Pei Yuan for the night.

The room was a mess, but she didn't have the energy to tidy up. Thinking of getting up early tomorrow, she fell asleep.

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