The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter One Hundred and Twelve
The temperature in the mountains was slightly cool. To Su Yuyang, it was very cold. He had left in a hurry that morning and hadn"t brought a jacket. Without b.u.t.tons, he couldn"t b.u.t.ton his s.h.i.+rt either. The cold wind struck his abdomen and he s.h.i.+vered.
"You still don"t like the cold?" Tang Xuan said with satisfaction.
Su Yuyang glared at Tang Xuan and didn"t say anything. Tang Xuan didn"t continue trying to get a reaction either. He looked at the mountaintop and said, "Ling Miao is up there."
Su Yuyang seemed to be infused with chicken blood
¹ when he heard this. He ignored the low temperature and asked, "Really?"
"It"s up to you whether you believe it." Tang Xuan sat down.
Su Yuyang looked down at Tang Xuan from above, his forehead creasing as he thought hard.
Some of Tang Xuan"s actions today really seemed strange to Su Yuyang. Tossing the phone was to prevent tracking; that was understandable. Leading Su Yuyang in circles then stopping in a place that was still a little way from the mountaintop was completely incomprehensible to Su Yuyang.
He wants me to look for Ling Miao myself? Su Yuyang guessed.
Su Yuyang carefully looked Tang Xuan over. In one hand, he held a knife. The other was resting casually on the ground. He was gazing somewhere in the distance, as if it wasn"t him who had brought Su Yuyang here.
What the h.e.l.l is Tang Xuan thinking? Su Yuyang thought hard about it, then he got an idea.
Su Yuyang started walking toward the mountain peak. He looked back every three steps. Seeing no reaction from Tang Xuan, he grew more daring and started looking back every five steps.
"Hey," Tang Xuan suddenly called, shocking Su Yuyang so much he almost fell off the path. Su Yuyang stood still where he was and didn"t speak. Tang Xuan got up, still holding the knife. He dusted off his trousers and smiled coldly as he walked toward Su Yuyang.
Tang Xuan stopped about a meter (3 feet) from Su Yuyang. He used the knife to point in a certain direction and said, "This way."
Su Yuyang looked in the direction Tang Xuan indicated and saw only the blurry shadows of trees.
"There"s no path?" Su Yuyang asked warily.
Tang Xuan motioned in answer to Su Yuyang"s question.
The soft give of the leaf litter under Su Yuyang"s feet made him very uneasy.
After an interminable amount of time, Su Yuyang"s legs began trembling. Fatigue invaded his limbs, and if not for the thought that Ling Miao was still waiting for him, he would long have fallen over.
Looking at Tang Xuan who was still sprightly, he suddenly understood why Tang Xuan had stopped to rest.
"f.u.c.k it, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d… ahh!"
Suddenly, Su Yuyang cried out in surprise. Tang Xuan glanced back at him curiously. Su Yuyang"s gaze met Tang Xuan"s. Less than a second later, Su Yuyang disdainfully moved his gaze elsewhere.
Tang Xuan sneered. "If you want to see Ling Miao, keep up. Don"t think I"ll let Ling Miao go if you fall to your death."
"In other words, no matter what, you won"t let Ling Miao go." Su Yuyang sneered.
Tang Xuan"s gaze swept downward. He looked at his own knife and said, "Yes, no matter what, I won"t let Ling Miao go. And…" Tang Xuan cut himself off halfway. He kept walking forward. Su Yuyang grit his teeth and followed.
Several twists and turns later, light reached his eyes.
Tang Xuan stopped in front of a patch of long gra.s.s. He pulled the gra.s.s asideand said to Su Yuyang, "We"re here."
"Here?" Su Yuyang looked at the wooden door in surprise. He would never have guessed that Tang Xuan had kept Ling Miao locked up in a place hidden by long gra.s.s.
It was the feeling of finding an elite"s hiding place.
Su Yuyang was so excited he forgot that Tang Xuan was following him. He pushed open the door and was about to enter when he felt a pain in the back of his head. Darkness covered his eyes.
Tang Xuan placed Su Yuyang over his shoulders and said coldly, "You brought everything on yourself."
Ling Miao heard the movement outside and he made a m.u.f.fled sound. Tang Xuan said irritably, "Don"t groan. I"ve brought your man."
"Mm mm mm!" Ling Miao wriggled more violently. Tang Xuan had said that Su Yuyang was here, but he hadn"t heard Su Yuyang"s voice or a second set of footsteps!
"Oh, you want to know where he is?" Tang Xuan"s footsteps drew nearer. "He"s on my shoulders."
Click—
The candle was lit and a pale yellow light illuminated the small house.
Ling Miao looked up and saw Su Yuyang lying on Tang Xuan"s shoulders like a corpse. He glared at Tang Xuan hatefully, an angry growl emanating from his mouth.
Tang Xuan put Su Yuyang on the bed. Under Ling Miao"s watch, he tied Su Yuyang"s hands, then pa.s.sed one end of the rope through a metal ring on the roof and the other through a metal ring in the ground. With another piece of rope, he tied Su Yuyang"s feet.
After doing all of this, Tang Xuan sat by Ling Miao"s side, picked up a piece of bread, and began wolfing it down.
Su Yuyang regained consciousness. The darkness before his eyes made him panic, and even more frightening, his hands and legs were tied up!
"Tang Xuan, where the f.u.c.k did you go?" Su Yuyang cursed heavily. "Let me go!"
"You"re awake?" Tang Xuan"s voice was completely emotionless. He relit the candle and sneered. "Since you"re awake, let the game begin."
Using the weak candlelight, Su Yuyang forced himself to look around at his surroundings, then his gaze dropped to the spot by Tang Xuan"s side.
Su Yuyang and Ling Miao were face-to-face as if connected by a straight thread. At this point, Ling Miao had already sat up and Su Yuyang could clearly see his expression.
Tears tracked down Ling Miao"s face, continuing to roll from the corners of his eyes. Something was still stuffed in his mouth and his arms were hung up by his sides.
"Tang Xuan, let Ling Miao go!" Su Yuyang struggled. "Tang Xuan, you"re crazy!"
"If I"m crazy, then you both forced me into it!" Tang Xuan waved the knife at Su Yuyang. "If not for you high-and-mighty people persecuting me, would I have reached this point? It"s your fault, it"s all your fault! You and you! The two of you brought this on yourselves!"
"Even if I"ve let you down, this has nothing to do with Ling Miao!" Su Yuyang twisted his wrists with all his strength, trying to get free of the rope.
Tang Xuan sneered. "I told you before, you both have to die!"
As Tang Xuan finished, he caught hold of Ling Miao"s T-s.h.i.+rt, pulled the fabric taut, and slit it open with his knife.
Tang Xuan caught hold of the opening and pulled the T-s.h.i.+rt apart . Su Yuyang seemed to understand what Tang Xuan was about to do and yelled in a craze, "Tang Xuan, let go of Xiao Miao! I"ll take his place…!"
"A pity. I have no interest in you!" Tang Xuan touched Ling Miao"s warm and soft skin with the tip of his finger. "I want to see you go crazy. When Ling Miao is screaming, I want to hear you scream even more pitifully than him! Ha ha ha!"
Tang Xuan smiled savagely. Then he cut away the two sleeves so that Ling Miao"s upper body was totally exposed.
Helpless tears seeped from Su Yuyang"s eyes. He could only watch Ling Miao"s body being exposed and curse inwardly, Feng Ji, why the f.u.c.k haven"t you arrived!
"Su Yuyang, watch carefully. Watch how I destroy your Xiao Miao!" Tang Xuan"s demonic laughter struck Su Yuyang"s every nerve.
Translation notes:
[1]"infused with chicken blood": Su Yuyang had a burst of energy. Chicken blood was a home remedy, where the belief was that the antibodies in the chicken blood would act against whatever was ailing the person.