Chapter 10: The Twisted Ones (5)

  "You... you will get what's coming to you. I've remembered everything now. It was you who took Autumn away. I saw it. You can't escape."

  "You only remembered now? Hmph. I won't die a good death. I should have killed you back then too, dug out your eyes and let the sisters be together forever, wouldn't have to come looking for me with troubles now."

  "You don't even deserve to be Meimei's father. No wonder you used the lie of Meimei's death in a car accident to cover up the fact that she committed suicide. You probably can't accept it yourself, that Meimei killed herself because of your crimes. You also drove my father to his death. I won't let you off. You're simply a beast. Meimei had hoped until her dying breath that you would change your ways and turn yourself in. I think she was blind."

  "Slap." A crisp slap on the face. Immediately followed by Chen Haijun's vicious voice. "Don't mention Meimei to me. You're not worthy of mentioning her name. None of you looked up to her. Especially your sister. She mocked her multiple times, saying she was blind despite having eyes. You people should be dead. You said you wouldn't let me go. Do you still have a chance? I came today to take your life. To do what I should have done twenty years ago. At that time, it was only because I was soft-hearted. Considering Meimei also begged for mercy on your behalf. I just gave you an anesthesia injection, thinking that letting you sleep forever would be enough. Who knew you woke up after nearly twenty years and still remembered everything? Don't blame me for being ruthless. Just accept your fate."

  Zhang Tong finally understood. It turned out that Chen Haijun had found her this time to test whether she remembered the events of that year. At this moment, Zhang Tong regretted her carelessness and wished she had reported it to the police earlier. She thought back to the times she played games with Mei Mei, often letting her win because of her poor eyesight, and even saving her a share of good food. Little did she know that these unintentional actions would save her own life, while her sister lost hers. Thinking about this, Zhang Tong gritted her teeth and said: "Childish words are harmless, yet you slaughtered innocent people just because of a child's joke? If it weren't for you, my father wouldn't have taken his own life."

  "Hmph, I didn't originally want to kill her. But she's too beautiful, especially those eyes, shining and sparkling like they're speaking. Chen Haijun let out a sly laugh. His tone suddenly changed. "But what she shouldn't have done was mock Mei Mei. You're all no match for her, you're all trash. As for your father..." Chen Haijun's voice suddenly became choked with emotion. He let out a long sigh, then gritted his teeth and said, "This can't be blamed on me. He couldn't find his own daughter and sought death, who can he blame?"

  "All these years, didn't you already emigrate to the US? Why do you still want to kill so many innocent children?" Zhang Tong thought of those innocent dead children and couldn't help but roar in anger: "Are you or are you not human?"

  "Hmph, you don't know the pain of being a father. Every time I return from an academic conference, seeing those lively kids, my heart is cut like a knife. Why should Meimei be forever trapped in darkness, while they get to enjoy the sunshine and happiness? They all deserve to die. You all deserve to die. Everyone who has ever insulted or mocked Meimei doesn't deserve to live in this world. And you...". Chen Haijun, having lost his sanity, raised a sharp knife and was about to stab Zhang Tong's eyes when Liu Chunxiao suddenly pounced on him like a bolt from the blue, pinning him to the ground. He wrapped his arms tightly around Chen's body and shouted back at Zhang Tong, "Little Tong, run quickly!"

  She saw Liu Chunxiao suddenly appear, and Zhang Tong, who was leaning on the cold concrete floor of the basement, was both surprised and delighted. However, she was very clear that the biological toxin in her body had not been completely eliminated. Except for the upper half of her body, there was no feeling in any other part of her body. After struggling several times, she could only shake her head at Liu Chunxiao: "No, I still can't move now. He poisoned me."

  At this time, Liu Chunxiao didn't even have the energy to respond. He and Chen Haijun had already entangled into a ball. Although Chen Haijun was over fifty years old, due to his frequent exercise, his physical strength was much better than Liu Chunxiao's. Moreover, because his secret was exposed and he was furious, Chen Haijun resisted with all his might. Gradually, Liu Chunxiao fell into a disadvantage. He was controlled by Chen Haijun in the corner of the wall, with that shiny sharp knife pressed against his neck artery.

  "You stinky little brat. Think you can take me on? Don't even think about it."

  "You can't escape. The police will surround this place soon. Let Xiao Tong go, I'll stay as your hostage. I'm a prosecutor, more valuable than a forensic doctor."

  "Hah, a heroic one has arrived." Chen Haijun turned his head to look at Zhang Tong who was glaring at him angrily. "Looks like someone is accompanying you." As he spoke, he fiercely stabbed a knife into Liu Chunxiao's abdomen.

  Liu Chunxiao's face was shocked, his eyes were filled with anger, he struggled several times to pounce on Chen Haijun in front of him, but was powerless.

  At this scene, Zhang Tong's heart ached and let out a sharp cry. She suddenly picked up the wooden stool beside her and used all her strength to smash it towards Chen Haijun's occipital bone. This sudden change of events made Chen Haijun unresponsive and was knocked to the ground before he could react. Zhang Tong rushed over, like a madman, frantically raising the stool to continue smashing Chen Haijun's neck vertebrae. No one knew this position better than her. Zhang Tong smashed again and again with force. At this moment, she seemed to have lost all sense of awareness. Her eyes were fixed tightly on that slightly protruding vertebra. Smash after smash, Chen Haijun went from initial struggling to silent collapse. But Zhang Tong still showed no signs of stopping. Her face was expressionless, tears trembling in her eye sockets. The entire room was dead silent.

  "Xiao Tong, Xiao Tong... stop it..." A faint voice came from beside her ear. Zhang Tong suddenly woke up with a start. She turned around to see Liu Chunxiao's pale face staring at her anxiously. While Chen Haijun lying next to her had no movement at all.

  Zhang Tong struggled to crawl to the dying Liu Chunxiao's side, embracing him in her arms. Tears could no longer be held back. She burst into loud sobs.

  "Little Tong, don't cry... I'm fine. I'm really... okay." Liu Chunxiao's pale face revealed a faint smile. "It's all right now. You're not afraid anymore. No one will ever hurt you again." He strained to lift his blood-soaked hand and tried to wipe away the tears from Zhang Tong's eyes. "Don't cry, okay? Promise me..." Before he could finish speaking, a wave of intense pain hit him. Liu Chunxiao's face contorted in agony. Zhang Tong suddenly remembered the knife lodged in Liu Chunxiao's abdomen. He quickly bent down to examine the wound. The moment he saw it, Zhang Tong felt his world spinning. That fatal knife had pierced deep into Liu Chunxiao's spleen and lung membrane. If the body moved or blood flowed carelessly, causing the internal wound to shift and puncture the lungs... then within half a minute, massive amounts of blood would flood into the lungs, and Liu Chunxiao would be suffocated by his own blood. And who knew when help would arrive? Zhang Tong was frantic with worry. Leaving the knife in the body wasn't an option either - excessive blood loss would also claim his life.

  Sweat stung Zhang Tong's eyes, her gaze lingering on a small surgical kit in the corner of the basement, covered in dust. She suddenly realized that at this moment, perhaps she was the only one who could take a gamble.

  Thinking of this, Zhang Tong lowered his head and said to Liu Chunxiao who was half asleep and half awake in his arms: "Chunxiao, wake up, hurry up and wake up, don't fall asleep, I'm going to pull out the knife now, you mustn't move, I have to save you."

  Liu Chunxiao's consciousness was slowly disappearing with the slow flow of blood out of his body, but he still managed to squeeze out a faint smile.

  Zhang Tong didn't have the energy to feel heartbroken. She gently put down Liu Chunxiao and dragged her gradually regaining consciousness legs to the corner of the wall. She opened the surgical package. Thank goodness, there was still a simple set of surgical tools inside. It was completely imaginable why Chen Haijun would store such a surgical package here. Zhang Tong forced herself not to notice the brown substance on the surgical knife and only took out the bottle marked "alcohol". She twisted open the cap and shook her hands as she disinfected the surgical knife and suture needle. Finally, she disinfected her own hands.

  Everything was ready. She came back to Liu Chunxiao's side, tore open his shirt with force, revealing the wound, and then poured half a bottle of alcohol onto his wound. Liu Chunxiao groaned in pain.

  Zhang Tong hastily bent down and leaned close to his ear. "Hold on, I'm going to operate on you."

  But Liu Chunxiao could no longer hear anything.

  This was probably the most difficult night of Zhang Tong's life. When she finally tightened the blood vessels and successfully pulled out the sharp knife that had been inserted into her abdomen, she was drenched in sweat and almost fainted. But when she looked up at Liu Chunxiao's pale face and his eyes tightly closed due to severe pain, Zhang Tong didn't dare rest. She had to grit her teeth and persevere.

  Until the wound was finally bandaged up. Zhang Tong then fell asleep tiredly at Liu Chunxiao's feet.

  When Liu Chunxiao woke up again, he firmly believed that he was already dead. Because in the daze, what entered his eyes was a snowy white world. There were also whispers in his ears.

  His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, but Liu Chunxiao didn't want to sleep anymore. He made an effort to turn his head to one side and saw a female doctor wearing a white coat.

  "I'm not dead yet, doctor."

  As soon as she heard this, the female doctor's face broke into a smile: "You're not dead yet, you've got a big life ahead of you. You've only been asleep for half a month. You're in a hospital, not heaven."

  Liu Chunxiao smiled with relief. He closed his eyes again, feeling content and satisfied.

  A month later.

  Liu Chunxiao finally made it to the day when he could be discharged from the hospital. He hadn't seen Zhang Tong for a long time. It was only when his colleagues came to visit him in the hospital that he heard about the case being cracked, and she had been sent away for further training elsewhere. Everything else was fine.

  Because Liu Chunxiao was in a hurry when entering the hospital, she didn't have many personal items. So when leaving the hospital, there were no big or small packages to carry.

  Today is a sunny and beautiful day. Liu Chunxiao has never felt so relaxed before. He arrived at the hospital entrance with his colleagues. The taxi came quickly, but just as Liu Chunxiao was about to get in, he suddenly changed his mind and asked his colleague to take the taxi instead. He then hailed another taxi and went straight to the Tianchang City Public Security Bureau.

  From a distance, they saw Wang Yan walking hastily out of the gate. Liu Chunxiao waved at her.

  "King's team."

  "Hey, it's Prosecutor Liu! You're out of the hospital." Wang Yan's face lit up with joy as she approached him. "Why aren't you going back to rest? Such a serious injury can't be recovered from in just one or two days."

  "Zhang Faye?" Liu Chunxiao felt a bit awkward. "Has she returned from her studies? I've been calling her phone, but it's always turned off."

  "She hasn't come back yet. Honestly, Liu Chunxiao, you should be thanking Xiaotong properly. If it wasn't for her, who knows, you might have died already." Wang Yanan's smile from earlier was gone. "When we arrived at the scene, she had already performed emergency surgery on you. If not for her, we would be holding a funeral for you right now."

  "She saved me." Liu Chunxiao muttered.

  Wang Yan nodded: "She treated your wound, stopped the bleeding, and pulled out the knife. Later, the emergency doctor said that if the knife had remained in your body for a longer time, you would have bled to death before we could send you to the hospital."

  "And what about her? She wasn't hurt, was she?"

  "She's fine. It's okay. She should be back in a few days. Let me put it this way, after she gets back, I'll give you a call."

  "Okay, thank you."

  Watching Liu Chunxiao leave with a happy back, Wang Yan's heart felt sour. She silently sighed and a comforting smile appeared on her face again. A good friend finally had someone to love. She should be happy for her.

  Tianchang City Cemetery. Zhang Tong stood alone in front of her father's grave for a long time. The sky was gloomy and drizzling with fine rain. She let the rainwater mix with her tears and flow on her face.

  "...... Father. I finally understand your painstaking efforts. You wanted to use your own death to atone for your daughter's sin. But, father, you're too foolish. My sister's death wasn't your fault."

  "It's good that Chen Haijun has gotten what he deserved. His only daughter even took her own life rather than acknowledge him. To be honest, sometimes I feel sorry for him. He deeply loved Meimei. Witnessing his daughter's eyes gradually losing their sight, he grew to resent all the children around Meimei's age who had bright, shining eyes. With the hands that were meant to save people, he turned himself into a devil. That forest is where he sought solace for his soul, and also where his sister slept for twenty whole years. Father, now I'm putting Autumn by your side. You won't be lonely anymore. Autumn will keep you company."

  "Dad... You used your own death to make up for what you did to my sister. It's really not worth it, is it......"

  The rain kept getting heavier, but Zhang Tong didn't show any intention of taking shelter. She still stood there stupidly, her eyes fixed on the same spot. Tomorrow, her sister's ashes could be placed here with their father. Thinking of this, a relieved smile spread across Zhang Tong's face.

  At this moment, she suddenly felt that the rain on her head had stopped. She looked up in surprise and saw Liu Chunxiao's smile. In his hand was an umbrella.