Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Tears and snot streamed down his face as York muttered incoherent curses.

“Take the rag out,” Tu Nan said, looking at the pathetic sight that was York. She turned to He Ling and added, “I have some things I want to ask him.”

He Ling pulled the rag from York’s mouth and lifted his chin to help him close his jaw.

There was a sharp *click* that sounded incredibly painful.

“You lunatic!” York shouted almost immediately. “Let me out!”

Tu Nan merely smiled without a word, watching him quietly.

York didn’t yell for long; under her steady gaze, his voice grew lower and weaker.

He at least understood the principle that one must bow their head when under another’s roof.

“What do you want to ask?” He panted heavily, his eyes darting around. “If I answer, will you let me go?”

“That depends on whether I’m satisfied with your answers.” Tu Nan’s gaze swept over his pants pocket. “What are you hiding in your pocket?”

York stiffened, instinctively pulling his leg back. “There’s nothing…”

He Ling didn’t waste words on him. She reached out and pulled the item from his pocket herself.

It was a paper packet. He Ling opened it to reveal two white tablets.

“You!” York snapped, exasperated. “That’s mine! You have no right to do this!”

Tu Nan picked up one of the tablets and examined it closely. Holding it between her fingers, she held it up to York’s eyes. “Is this what you meant by ‘nothing’?”

A flash of unease crossed York’s face. “I’m a patient. It’s normal for me to take medicine.”

“I’m the nurse responsible for you. How come I didn’t know about this?”

The tablet looked plain and unremarkable lying in her palm; there was nothing special about its appearance.

However, this was likely the same kind of pill York had given to He Ling.

Tu Nan glanced at He Ling. “Do you recognize it?”

He Ling took a look and shook her head. “There are eighty or a hundred types of medicine in this hospital that look like this. I can’t tell them apart.”

York grew smug upon hearing this. “I told you, it’s just ordinary medicine.”

“Is that so?” Tu Nan looked at him, her lips curling slightly. “In that case, swallow one. Then I’ll believe you.”

The muscles in York’s cheek twitched, and he glared at her with resentment.

“Why bother talking to him?” He Ling grabbed the tablet, prepared to shove it into York’s mouth without another word. “If he won’t open up, I’ll just dislocate his jaw.”

“I’ll talk!”

It was better to speak up voluntarily than to endure that; perhaps he could suffer a little less.

“This is…” York’s eyes shifted.

He Ling frowned and let out an impatient click of her tongue.

“It’s a hallucinogen!” York said hurriedly. “With just a little guidance, it can make someone see whatever you want them to see.”

He Ling’s body trembled slightly. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists so tight that her nails dug deep into her palms.

Such a low, despicable trick. Yet, because of this tiny little pill, she had killed the person most important to her with her own hands.

Tu Nan glanced at He Ling, whose aura had suddenly turned dark and heavy, then quickly asked, “Where did you get these tablets?”

Where did they come from? York hesitated, then gritted his teeth and shook his head vigorously.

If he actually ratted that person out, his death would probably be even more miserable.

“Tu Nan, he won’t talk until he’s staring at his own coffin,” He Ling said very, very slowly. “Go on. I want to be alone with him for a while.”

He Ling had likely been holding back for a long time.

Dealing with someone like York did indeed require some special methods.

Tu Nan nodded, but after a moment’s thought, she added a final instruction: “Remember to leave him with a breath of life.”
The color drained from York’s face in an instant. He watched in a panic as Tu Nan turned to leave, screaming at her back, “You can’t do this to me! I want to see Emily! Let me see Emily just once!”

There was a sharp *crack*.

He Ling had dislocated his jaw.

York’s eyes widened, staring at the woman before him in terror.

The poise he took such pride in and his handsome features had finally lost all their utility.

He Ling slowly looked him up and down. Her expression was calm, but a suppressed madness flickered deep within her eyes.

“You look terrified,” He Ling said, staring at him. “Is it because you have a premonition of what you’re about to endure?”

At this moment, she didn’t need an answer from him.

“When Miss Charles found me and told me I could dispose of you however I pleased, I was so excited I nearly fainted.”

She gestured over York’s body with her hands as if taking measurements. “Tu Nan is too kind. If you were left to her, she might not have been able to bring herself to be cruel enough. It’s a good thing it’s me…”

“I’m already like this anyway, so what do I have to fear…” He Ling suddenly raised her hands, dancing about wildly. “Look, isn’t it wonderful here?”

She ran to the side and held up a torture device to show York.

“Do you know how to use this?” Her eyes went wide, the corners of her mouth curling into a high arch. “It’s called the ‘Cat’s Paw.’ Just like a little kitten’s claws, it scratches and scratches at you… scratches and scratches…”

“Isn’t it interesting?”

York stared in horror at He Ling, who was clearly mentally unstable, and shook his head fearfully.

If that iron torture device scraped against him, it would likely rip the flesh right off his bones in one go.

He regretted it. He regretted everything!

He would tell them anything!

He wanted to scream, but his dislocated jaw made it impossible to speak; he could only let out muffled whimpers.

“Mmph… mmph…”

York watched He Ling hold the torture device, which was coated in a thick layer of dried blood. She smiled, her voice soft and gentle.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. We have a long, long time.”

***

“Don’t be in such a hurry. We have a long, long time.”

York used to love saying those words.

Faced with the expectant gazes of every girl he had deceived, he would say those words tenderly, as if they truly had a long future together.

It wasn’t that no one ever saw through his true face, but what did it matter? Long before that could happen, York had already satisfied himself with the pleasure of toying with them.

Salvation? What exactly was salvation?

Teaching them to recognize the wickedness of the human heart-couldn’t that be considered saving them?

Even if he was the one who pushed them into the abyss.

And now, he finally tasted the vengeful fury of those girls he had once looked down upon and despised.

Pain pierced through his body, and York began to tremble violently.

His thoughts grew hazy from the agony, but in his trance, he could still hear He Ling speaking.

“Miss Charles said she wants to strip you of your mobility. From now on, you can only stay by her side like a dog, wagging your tail and begging for her charity.”

“She will keep you. When she’s happy, she’ll give you a bite to eat. When she’s not… when the master is unhappy, why should a beast like you get to eat?”

“She said she’ll keep you for a lifetime. Doesn’t that count as helping you fulfill your promise?”

He Ling burst into laughter, the sound crisp and clear.

Hazily, York wondered: *What exactly did I promise Emily?*