CH 98

About fifteen minutes later, Duan Pei slowly woke up. Although he didn’t open his eyes right away and continued pretending to be unconscious, this little trick didn’t fool the S-class sentinel and Dark sentinel. As soon as he regained consciousness, Si Di and Hedgehog noticed immediately.

“He woke up an hour earlier than I expected. This kid must’ve undergone resistance training,” Hedgehog remarked, turning his head. “Where’s the rope? Black Wolf, tie him up.”

“Tie him up yourself,” Si Di responded shrewdly. He suspected there was more to the situation and sensed Xiao Zhenyun’s slight pity for Duan Pei. Not wanting to be the bad guy without knowing the full story, he chose to hold back—after all, this wasn’t his mission, and even if it got messed up, it wouldn’t tarnish the reputation of his Storm Team.

Hedgehog, understanding what this cunning S-class sentinel was up to, gave him the finger, calling him an amateur.

Realizing he couldn’t play dead any longer, Duan Pei opened his eyes and cautiously sat up, glancing at the car door as if calculating an escape route.

“Are you guys sent by my grandpa? Two sentinels, quite the heavy investment this time.”

Are sentinels that expensive? Xiao Zhenyun looked at Hedgehog, who had always provided services for him practically at a bargain, with suspicion. The Dark sentinel casually explained in his own way, “You play wild, and money can’t buy me happiness.”

Xiao Zhenyun adjusted his mask behind the chair back before leaning over to look at the man in the back seat. At the same time, Duan Pei was observing him too. Despite the mask, he recognized the clothing and hesitantly asked, “…Are you a guide?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Zhenyun admitted openly. He coughed a few times and raised his hand to close the ventilated window. “Your name is Duan Pei, and Duan Fei is your…brother?”

Whether it was the mention of Duan Fei or something else, Duan Pei let out a short laugh and relaxed against the seatback, brushing his messy hair from his forehead. “He’s my younger brother, seven years younger. What, do I look young?”

No, it’s just that you always have that stern face making you look older, Xiao Zhenyun thought but didn’t say.

His curiosity was finally satisfied, so he stayed silent. The forced smile on Duan Pei’s face quickly faded, and he leaned listlessly against the window, his emotions shifting from initial tension to melancholy. He sat quietly, not shouting or trying to escape, much like his partner’s unusual reaction.

Hedgehog had dealt with all sorts of ‘victims’ in his missions, so while Duan Pei’s reaction was somewhat unusual, it wasn’t that remarkable. He didn’t pay much attention, just followed his rule of never letting a freebie slip, pulling out a bag of cherries he had grabbed at the party and popping them into his mouth one by one.

Si Di, arms crossed, leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, only realizing his empty stomach when he heard the sound. Thinking that Xiao Zhenyun hadn’t eaten much either, he said, “Give me some.”

“Help yourself,” Hedgehog replied without looking back, intentionally placing the cherries even farther away.

“You’re such a…” Si Di sighed in resignation, getting up to reach for the bag of cherries by the driver’s seat.

But just then, Xiao Zhenyun caught a glint in the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye. Si Di and Hedgehog’s reflexes should have been faster than his, but ultimately, it was Xiao Zhenyun’s hand that the blade truly pierced.

The pain didn’t come immediately; it came with the gushing blood, bringing with it a stabbing agony that turned Xiao Zhenyun pale. He dared not touch the gaping wound oozing blood but instead gripped his wrist tightly, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“Little Uncle!!” In an instant, Si Di’s wolf ears and tail were fully visible as he rushed over to embrace Xiao Zhenyun, helping him stop the bleeding by pressing on his wrist tightly. Hedgehog quickly grabbed gauze and antiseptic from the box, then changed the navigation to the nearest hospital.

The blade in Duan Pei’s hand fell to the ground, splattering his face and clothes with droplets of blood. Listening to Xiao Zhenyun’s heavy, rapid breaths beside him, he suddenly shuddered and reached down to pick up the blade again.

Tai Ji suddenly appeared, biting down on his hand—not enough to pierce through, but leaving a bloody bite mark.

“I suggest you stay put and don’t move,” Si Di growled fiercely, his ears pressed back, showing his aggressive flat ears. Si Di didn’t mention the consequences, but his cold tone conveyed everything.

Under this threat, Duan Pei slowly stopped his movements, holding his hand and angrily shouting, “He brought his hand up himself!”

Si Di couldn’t be bothered with him and shifted his anger to Hedgehog instead. “He still had blades on him. Couldn’t you even find that out?”

“I flipped out the terminal and threw it away. Whether he hid a soft blade in his collar or in his shoe, it’s not worth my effort to search,” Hedgehog said briskly, skillfully bandaging Xiao Zhenyun’s wound while his tail flicked impatiently behind him.

“But Zhenyun is still in the car.”

“Are you seriously saying that if a guy attacked your guide, you wouldn’t be able to react in time?” Hedgehog’s attempt to shift blame was evident, and Si Di couldn’t refute his twisted logic, so his anger turned back to Xiao Zhenyun.

But facing Xiao Zhenyun, who was as pale as a sheet and increasingly unwell, Si Di couldn’t muster any more anger. Instead, he grabbed the antlers sprouting from Xiao Zhenyun’s head, trying to alleviate some of the pressure on his head. “If he wanted to kill himself, why did you block it? A thin blade like that, he’d have to slice several times to cut his throat properly. Hedgehog and I had plenty of ways to stop him before that happened. If he suffered a bit, he deserved it. Why use your own hand?”

Xiao Zhenyun was too pained to speak, his neck covered in fine sweat, his head against the seatback, eyelids drooping, his lashes trembling incessantly.

“He’s right,” Duan Pei suddenly interjected. “Next time you encounter a situation like this, don’t interfere in such a reckless manner. Your two companions are clearly much more experienced than you. Let them handle it.”

Si Di and Hedgehog weren’t slower to react than Xiao Zhenyun; they just never thought of stopping Duan Pei from self-harming. As long as he didn’t die immediately, handing him over to the employer before he bled out would complete the mission, leaving the rest for them to handle internally.

“Sorry, it was an instinctive reaction in the heat of the moment,” Xiao Zhenyun said weakly. “I’m prepared now. If you try to kill yourself again, I won’t meddle.”

Hedgehog finished his task and jumped back into the driver’s seat, canceling the autopilot and speeding off.

Si Di cautiously picked up the blade, casting a cold glance at Duan Pei. The latter smiled faintly and shook his head. “No need. Your companion has already taken out both guns… I don’t really want to die that much.”

“If you didn’t want to die, why pull a stunt like this?” Hedgehog sneered from across the two rows of seats. “Just for fun? Thinking our guide here is a sucker?”

“I just…for a moment, I felt…it’s better to die than to go back,” Duan Pei said, his gaze slowly falling on Xiao Zhenyun’s hand, which was now stained red again under the thick bandage.

“Anyway…I won’t live long.”

Such a weak statement would only elicit a response from someone who cared. Otherwise, it was just self-humiliation. Duan Pei didn’t know how to describe his feelings now. He wasn’t looking for sympathy; he just suddenly felt the urge to confide.

In front of this guide, who knew Duan Fei and instinctively tried to protect others.

To be honest, Xiao Zhenyun wasn’t particularly eager to hear the grievances of the person who had just stabbed him, but since Duan Pei wanted to speak, he didn’t see the need to shut him up. Besides, the wound really hurt, and he needed something to distract himself from the pain.

“Duan Fei is much luckier than me. He’s truly suited for and loves the path our grandpa paved for him. I’m different. I neither love it nor am I suited for it.” Duan Pei was sweating profusely, but unfortunately, there was no one to wipe his forehead in the car. The blood from his hand dripped onto the carpet, and he couldn’t be bothered to clean it up. “But that’s not the most pitiful part…the most pitiful part is that I once foolishly believed I loved it. But later, because of Duan Fei’s appearance, Grandpa gave up on me.”

Xiao Zhenyun remembered that Duan Fei’s grandpa was the commander-in-chief of the military region. Duan Pei’s words were somewhat concise, but enough for people to fill in the blanks.

“What do you mean when you say you won’t live long?” he asked.

“Literal meaning,” Duan Pei replied indifferently, smiling. “Terminal illness. If things go well, the end of this year. If things go bad…next month?”

He continued, “Before the diagnosis, I cared about what my grandpa thought, cared about the family’s honor. After the diagnosis, I stopped caring about everything, just wanted to do what I wanted to do, but was always too afraid to do. But this really angered grandpa. He probably wouldn’t accept a grandson who’s reduced to being a dog for others.”

Hedgehog suddenly chuckled. “Black Wolf, if your dad knew you were reduced to being a dog for others, would he go crazy?”

Si Di: “…”

Si Di: “My brother is a dog every day, and he seems to be handling it fine.”

Hedgehog laughed, making the hearse drift. “Who talks about their own brother like that? Either you’re not blood-related or you’re just heartless.”

“As for you and Harold Xiu…” Xiao Zhenyun hadn’t figured out what to say next, but Duan Pei burst into laughter. “Talking about him, I could go on forever…I’ve known him for a long time, probably since I was a little younger than Duan Fei. He’s very sharp-eyed, knew what I wanted at first glance, like a tricky fox, tempting me, seducing me. But how could I admit it back then? I couldn’t even accept that I was gay, because grandpa would never allow it. I beat him up and cut off all contact with him.”

Hedgehog exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Is your family really living in the same era as us?”

“My family lives in the last century,” Duan Pei smoothly picked up the topic.

“Did you go to see him again after being diagnosed with a terminal illness?” Xiao Zhenyun asked.

“Yeah,” Duan Pei nodded. “It was quite a journey…It wasn’t like a sudden burst of flames, igniting instantly. I had disciplined myself for over twenty years, how could I accept my true nature so quickly and let go of things ingrained in my bones? Harold patiently taught me for a long time, and I gradually loosened up…Then, I don’t know how my grandpa found out. He broke two of my ribs. Probably at that moment, I thought, ‘what does it matter?’ I’m a dying man anyway. There’s not much worth caring about. So, I cut ties with my family and ran away.”

“Could the old commander really allow you to elope for love?”

“Of course not,” Duan Pei said. “Isn’t that why he sent you guys? No matter how outrageous the previous attempts to take me away were, at least they were by ordinary people. But you, as sentinels… Even if Duan Fei were here, there would be nothing he could do, right?”

Indeed, he can’t do anything. During the military exercises, Duan Fei led the team to pursue and intercept Xiao Zhenyun, the beautiful hostage, meticulously putting in effort, yet still found himself helpless against the bandit Si Di.

“Don’t be too upset,” Hedgehog said, drifting the car to a stop in front of the emergency room. “The old man tried everything to catch you back. At the very least, he cares about you.”

“He only cares about his reputation,” Duan Pei sighed. “He’ll keep me locked up until I die.”

Si Di wanted to carry Xiao Zhenyun into the hospital but was refused. “I can walk… Help me take off the mask.”

Before getting out of the car, Xiao Zhenyun took a fusion state suppressant pill silently, glanced back at Duan Pei without saying anything. Hedgehog spoke first, “You guys hurry up and come back. I’ll stay in the car to watch him. Don’t talk about treating his injuries. I don’t give preferential treatment to prisoners.”

The hospital was a small county hospital, but the doctors were competent. They administered a tetanus shot and stitched up Xiao Zhenyun’s wound with three needles, warning him that it might affect finger movement and advising him to observe carefully. They also recommended scar removal products.

Xiao Zhenyun didn’t think much of it, but Si Di looked at his gruesome bruised wound, his gaze icy and murderous, feeling the urge to kill Duan Pei.

“If your hand leaves any serious sequelae, I’ll go after Duan Fei too,” Si Di said sternly, then couldn’t help but blame himself. “Forget it, what’s the use of saying this? I was too careless… Does it hurt a lot? Do you want some painkillers?”

Xiao Zhenyun patted him with his intact left hand. “Stop dwelling on it. This body will be renovated in a few years. The biggest problem now is that I’m hungry.”

Si Di immediately went to the small supermarket downstairs and bought a large bag of hot food and snacks, along with various medicines, carrying them back to the car. Finally, everyone had their belated late-night snacks, and even Duan Pei received a steaming hot bun. Hedgehog, who claimed he would ‘mistreat prisoners,’ ended up bandaging his palm and then, while nibbling on duck necks, whimsically asked, “By the way, Black Wolf… your wolf took a big bite out of him. Will he need rabies shots when he goes back?”

Si Di finished a bottle of mineral water. “No need. He only needs rabies shots if he’s bitten by you.”

Woohoo!!! With this release, I’ve hit the milestone of 500 translated chapters!!! o( > ᗜ ᴗ