Back Then, I Adored You

Droplets of blood were audibly heard landing on the floor. The man who’d been counting abruptly returned to his senses. He gazed at the knife that Lu Bancheng had penetrated his thigh with and was taken aback before he laughed, extended his arms, and clapped while saying, “I actually wasn’t sure if you were a lovesick fool, but this is truly touching…”

He then formed an expression that made him look as if he was moved and started dramatically reciting poetry. “Can I ask what love is? And how can people die in the name of it…”

After he stopped his mocking, he changed his tone to one of sternness again. “However, we agreed on three stabs. You’re left with two to go, so continue…”

The fingers Lu Bancheng had wrapped around the handle of the switchblade were now trembling due to the pain, and his tightly pursed lips had also grown pale. The man waited for a minute and, when he realized that Lu Bancheng had not moved, he gave his partner holding the switchblade on Xu Wennuan another look instead of wasting time talking to Lu Bancheng. Before his partner could respond, Lu Bancheng gritted his teeth and pulled the blade out of his thigh. A copious amount of blood trickled onto the floor, while his pants became stained and a small pool of blood began forming.

Lu Bancheng was now facing all the men, who looked like they were watching a grudge match entertainment show. With a determined face, he raised his arm once again and penetrated his thigh once again. The two consecutive wounds were enough alone to cause him to moan in pain, but he swiftly withdrew the knife from his thigh and plunged it in for a third time.

He sucked in a deep breath to control his excruciating pain, as well as his expression of it, after which he regulated his breathing and slowly lifted his head, meeting the eyes of the man holding the switchblade. After some time, Lu Bancheng asked through trembling teeth but with his words clearly enunciated one by one, “Can you take the knife away from her body now?”

The man holding the switchblade looked at his partner.

He’s already in such a pathetic state, but he’s still thinking about that woman…

The man mocked him internally before giving a nod to the man with the switchblade, who then retracted the blade and stuffed it back into his pocket. He released his other hand grabbing onto Xu Wennuan’s collar, and her body fell back onto the ground but as if she was cotton.

The main man glanced at the three stab wounds on Lu Bancheng’s thigh and then at his partner who was kneeling on the ground. Realizing they still did not have an advantage over Lu Bancheng, he instructed the man who had been kicked twice at the onset, “Find a rope and tie him up.”

“Yes.”

After hearing that response, the main man took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and started smoking leisurely as if he was free from all worries.

I can’t just give up. I have to save her… And there’s no certainty that Wu Hao is capable of rescuing Xu Wennuan from these gangsters. No way am I leaving her here! So, if I might collapse, how will I protect her?

Lu Bancheng suffered through his pain as he brainstormed while also observing the three men in the room. While the one man was looking for rope, the other two were chatting casually about other matters.

As I predicted, their guard is down. I knew that if they watched me stab myself so viciously that they’d be assured of my helplessness. They’re so smug now. They have no idea of the will to protect someone so fiercely. Now they are sure to make mistakes.

With his thigh injured to the extent that it was, he needed to do something in the shortest time possible before his leg and overall strength wore out from blood loss.

The safest place…

Lu Bancheng shifted his gaze to the glassless window behind Xu Wennuan. Outside the window he could see the river, and through the whistling wind he could vaguely hear it flowing.