Section 21 Suddenly being grabbed by such a cold thing, I instinctively jerked my foot back forcefully, but suddenly felt my ankle tighten, as if caught in a clamp, and I was instantly immobilized. Immediately afterward, a tremendous force came from my foot, dragging me toward the pit. In a panic, I grabbed a nearby iron railing to avoid being pulled in. After a moment of struggle, the cold thing on my ankle suddenly disappeared. But then came a splash from the pit, and something emerged from the water and quickly climbed out. Although I couldn't see it, I could sense that this thing was very large. Without thinking, I stood up and started running frantically. But after just two steps, a huge force hit my back, sending me flying, and I fell to the ground with a thud. As I was about to get up and keep running, I felt a pain in my chest, and something pressed down on me with great force. I clenched my right fist and swung it hard at my chest, and with a snap, my wrist was also caught. I struggled a few times but couldn't break free, then kicked and used my knees to thrust at the thing pressing on me. This worked, and as the thing moved off my chest, I quickly rolled over to get up, but felt my neck tighten—the thing had grabbed my throat! The force choking my throat was immense. In panic, I flailed my hands, trying to grab the thing holding my neck, but missed repeatedly, while the pressure on my neck gradually increased. I was completely unable to breathe, and soon my vision filled with sparks, and I began to faint. Date: 2010-5-21 11:56:00 I told myself that I absolutely could not faint at this moment, and at the same time realized that the person choking my neck was very likely Wang Fei. Perhaps he had already dealt with Ling Zhijie and Xiao Song during that period by some means, and now it was my turn... So I absolutely could not faint; I had to hold on, otherwise the three of us would all die here, and this murderous maniac Wang Fei could roam free again... Most importantly, I hadn't found Xin Jie yet; I absolutely could not die... But as the fainting sensation intensified, my consciousness became more and more blurred. No matter how hard I tried to persist, it felt impossible to hold on. I could only hear the huge heartbeat in my chest and the violent gasping above the back of my head. Eventually, even these sounds began to blur, becoming unclear... My consciousness could no longer hold on and I completely passed out, but before losing consciousness, I vaguely heard the person behind me say a few words: 'You son of a bitch...' This voice was too familiar to me; it was Ling Zhijie's. But I no longer had enough awareness to think about why it was Ling Zhijie... Date: 2010-5-22 20:22:00 I don't know how much time had passed, but my consciousness finally began to return. The initial feeling was very hazy; I thought I was already dead. But a few seconds later, a throbbing pain started in my head, an indescribable discomfort. Soon, it surged like a tide to my shoulders, to my palms, to my fingertips, to my thighs, to my soles... to every part of my body, growing more and more intense... In addition, I could feel a burning pain on my cheeks, as if something was constantly slapping them, but compared to the throbbing pain all over my body, it was only a minor annoyance, like a fly. I raised my right hand unconsciously to wave at my face, and was quickly grabbed. At the same time, a voice vaguely reached my ears: 'You son of a bitch, knew you wouldn't die so easily. Quickly tell me, where did you put He Ning?!'Ling Zhijie… it's Ling Zhijie… Before I lost consciousness, I didn't know why he treated me that way, but now, this sentence, I understand. It's because he mistook me for Wang Fei… I wanted to tell him I am He Ning, so I opened my mouth to speak, but a sharp pain immediately shot through my throat. I realized that at this moment I couldn't even moan; perhaps my vocal cords were damaged.
"Are you fucking going to speak or not?! Do you believe I'll really kill you?!..." I heard Ling Zhijie's roar again. He was still like an enraged bull. The ridiculous thing was, he still didn't know that the person he almost killed was his best friend since childhood, the person he was searching for at this very moment.
I couldn't blame him, because of this damn darkness, because of his hatred toward Wang Fei, and also because of the uncontrollable anxiety he felt while looking for Xin Jie and me.
Date: 2010-5-22 20:52:00
Ling Zhijie roared intermittently, repeatedly asking about ‘He Ning's' whereabouts, but I still couldn't tell him—I was right beside him… After a while, he gradually calmed down, and silence fell again around us. At this moment, the swelling pain in my body had eased a lot, and my consciousness became clearer and clearer. I tried again to make a sound from my throat, but still couldn't, not even a dry howl. I didn't know if I would become mute from this point on.
After a while, I felt Ling Zhijie come to me again, grab me, drag me for a while, throw me on the ground, and then lean close. In my ear, with an extremely cold voice, he said word by word: “I'm giving you one last chance… No… let's call it a deal. You just tell me where He Ning is, and I'll let you go, and I promise, from now on, no matter how many people you kill, I won't interfere again. If you don't agree, you should know that the hole you led us into is your own grave!”
He pressed my head down forcefully, and then I smelled a burst of moisture. I knew this was Ling Zhijie's last chance for ‘Wang Fei.' If I didn't do something now, I would really die.I desperately tried to force my throat to make a sound because I knew that as long as I shouted the words 'Zhi Jie,' the impending death would immediately stop, but no matter what, my command could not reach my throat...
"I'll give you ten more seconds to think, ten, nine, eight..." Ling Zhijie's voice was extremely cold.
I used all my strength, raised my right hand, and groped at Ling Zhijie's face, trying to write on it, but it was immediately blocked by him, and I only heard him continue counting down: "Four, three, two, one."
My hand was still flailing unconsciously, then I felt the cold against my forehead as my whole head was pressed into the water, but I was already too weak to struggle. The feeling of near death arrived, and the memories of my life played in my mind like a slideshow, one by one...