Free Web NovelChapter 1022: Chapter 713: Dead_2
But the incessant ringing of the bell proved the female ghost had entered. Yang Xiao grabbed the woman lying on the ground and pushed her forcibly towards the door of the ward, hoping to buy himself a little more time. But he never expected the old woman, having broken free of her restraints, to cling desperately to his arm, her pair of withered hands digging into his flesh like iron clamps.
"It was you who hit me with your car. I’d recognize you even if you turned to ash! Today, you’re not going anywhere. A hundred thousand, at least 100,000!!" The old woman’s voice was absurdly loud, her eyeballs bulging as if they were about to pop out. Her expression made it clear that she wouldn’t let go without getting the money.
"You son of a..."
Yang Xiao raised his arm and delivered an elbow strike, hitting her squarely in the face with full force. Immediately following it up with two heavy punches, he never dreamed he would encounter someone faking an injury in this Nightmare World.
The old woman let go, but another pair of hands took the opportunity to grab Yang Xiao’s waist. Yang Xiao couldn’t see the person, but he could clearly feel the bone-chilling cold those hands brought.
Just one touch, and Yang Xiao lost all ability to resist. Every bone in his body felt as if it had been frozen.
"Crack... crackle, crackle..."
Yang Xiao’s body involuntarily bent backwards, his joints popping like beans being fried. Blood spurted from the corners of his mouth, his eyes bulging extravagantly as he lay flat on his back, filled with a network of blood vessels as if they were about to burst like a Frog about to be squeezed.
In his final moment, all Yang Xiao could do was tighten his grip on the pager in his hand. The next second, there was a "crack," as his body was snapped completely backward.
His corpse swayed before collapsing to the ground, the light in his eyes rapidly dimming.
Almost simultaneously, light and shadows flashed before Yang Xiao’s eyes, and he awoke again, feeling something hard and cold beneath him, with gusts of wind blowing on his face.
When he fully opened his eyes, Yang Xiao found that he had returned outside the hospital. At this moment, his hands and feet were tied, and another person lay not far from him.
"I’m back!" Yang Xiao shouted.
As soon as he spoke, footsteps approached from afar, and soon Qu Hong was in front of him, squatting down to untie his bindings.
"Failed." Yang Xiao sat up, massaging his stiff and cold limbs while sighing lightly.
The terrifying experience was still fresh in his memory. Indeed, it was extremely difficult to break through that hospital, but Yang Xiao had already figured out its secrets. Next time, he felt confident he could succeed.
"He’s dead, but... it’s good that you’re okay." Qu Hong helped Yang Xiao up. When Yang Xiao turned, he saw Dou Jie lying not far from him, his face covered in blood that had spurted from his mouth, eyes slightly open, glaring with bloodshot eyes, dying without closing them.
The way Dou Jie looked in death was much like how Yang Xiao felt at the last moment. Yang Xiao walked forward, pried open Dou Jie’s hand, taking back the precious pager.
After all, they were teammates; Yang Xiao covered Dou Jie’s face with an old cloth he had. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Meanwhile, Qu Hong had retrieved the Geisha Face and placed it back into a specially made wooden box.
Back in the car, seeing only Yang Xiao and Qu Hong return, Boss Sun and Xi Huijun naturally understood what had happened. Xi Huijun’s body trembled uncontrollably; she knew that with Dou Jie dead, she would be next.
Yang Xiao didn’t waste time on consoling words. Kicking Boss Sun out of the car, he began explaining the mission in full detail. Listening to the horrific ways they were chased by ghosts and died so miserably, Xi Huijun’s face turned white.
Frankly speaking, if it were her, she probably wouldn’t last ten minutes. She would get weak in the knees just seeing a ghost.
Wait, ghosts are invisible. Thinking of this made Xi Huijun even more nervous. An invisible ghost that could kill upon capture—such an experience was unimaginable to her.
While Yang Xiao was still talking, he saw Xi Huijun, who was curled up in the seat, purse her lips and slowly raise her hand. "Ask whatever you want directly, no need to raise your hand," Yang Xiao said.
"No, I... I have no question. I just wanted to say, would you not tie me up? Next time... next time, I’ll go." Xi Huijun said softly.
"Well, look at you being thoughtful." Qu Hong didn’t mind Xi Huijun’s proposal. It didn’t matter whether she wanted to or not; in the end, she would have to go regardless. It wasn’t her choice to make.
"Thank you. Next time, I have at least a fifty percent chance of success. Your life is a life too, and I won’t waste it easily." Yang Xiao said sincerely.
"Thank you. I... I’m just a bit nervous. I’ll go to the bathroom first." Xi Huijun said, wrapping her clothes tighter and turning to open the car door.
"Wait."
Xi Huijun’s outstretched hand froze in midair. Qu Hong squinted, half-smiling as she looked at her, "Don’t go far, stay close to the car."
"Understood..." Xi Huijun obediently agreed.
The group then rested for the night, keeping quiet. Qu Hong tied Xi Huijun’s left foot to the seat with a thick hemp rope before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Boss Sun drove into the city. The four of them filled their stomachs before going to a hotel to rest. Boss Sun, as instructed by Yang Xiao, continued gathering information about De Ren Hospital.
Laid in bed, Xi Huijun couldn’t sleep, thinking of how three of the original six were already dead. Xiao Yaqin, Yu Kai, and Dou Jie’s faces flashed through her mind, their mouths agape, bleeding tears streaming from their eyes, silently accusing her. Not long after, Xi Huijun pulled the covers over her head and started sobbing softly, afraid to cry out loud for fear of disturbing Qu Hong and the others.
Suddenly, Xi Huijun stopped crying because someone patted her covers. She fearfully opened a small gap and saw Yang Xiao squatting beside her bed, handing her a roll of toilet paper.
"Don’t cry." Yang Xiao said softly.
Xi Huijun pressed her lips tightly, but tears still streamed uncontrollably down her face, her lips trembling. "I’m scared..."
"I’m scared too, but being scared is useless. I also went step by step through the same phase you’re in. If you want to survive, you need to make yourself stronger. Only useful people deserve to live."
Clenching her fists, Xi Huijun summoned the courage to sit up, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, "I’m fine, but... but my mother is sick. If I’m not around, there’s no one to take care of her. She’s in the hospital, and if I can’t pay the hospital fees next week... next week she’ll be kicked out."
Talking about this, Xi Huijun couldn’t stop her tears again. She couldn’t understand why misfortune always seemed to find her.
"What’s your mother’s name, and which hospital is she in?" Yang Xiao asked.
Xi Huijun shook her head repeatedly, filled with grievances, "Mr. Chu, I’m not lying to you; my mother is really sick. I know I can’t escape. I’ll be your and Ms. Qu’s substitute. Please don’t doubt me."
"You misunderstood. I mean, whether you survive this or not, I will pay for all your mother’s treatment. Leave me her name and the hospital address." After a pause, Yang Xiao looked into Xi Huijun’s eyes seriously and said, "If I die, Qu Hong will handle it. I promise."
"You all..." Xi Huijun was stunned for a moment. Though it sounded like an empty promise, the man’s eyes in front of her didn’t seem like those of a liar.
"He’s right. No matter who survives, we’ll handle your mother’s situation, so you don’t need to worry." Qu Hong, lying on the adjacent bed, said firmly, "I’m a Bounty Hunter. I do what I say, and money isn’t a problem for us."
"You’re not planning to harm my mother, are you? She doesn’t know about your situation." Xi Huijun shrunk, truly scared as she had seen Qu Hong’s methods, resorting to knives at the slightest provocation.
Qu Hong almost laughed out of anger, shook her head, and laid back down to sleep. Yang Xiao explained on her behalf, "We’re not psychos. Even if we wanted to kill, it would have to be for a reason. Do you think your mother has any reason for us to do that?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Enough, leave the address and name, then rest up." Yang Xiao handed over the notebook with the hospital map and forced it onto Xi Huijun, throwing her a ballpoint pen. He didn’t want to waste any more time on such trivial matters.
