Her entire body was rigid. She never expected that Yin Feng would actually understand what the man said. He lifted his head, still looking at You Mingxu, but his expression suddenly turned stubborn: "I know who you are now! You’re Luo Yu’s people. A Xu… A Xu isn’t his! She isn’t his!"
You Mingxu gritted her teeth and roared, "Yin Feng, shut up!" This foolish boy—didn’t he know it was wise to submit to circumstances?
Sure enough, the men chuckled mockingly. One of them said, "Debts must be repaid, adulterers must be punished, murderers must pay with their lives—it’s only natural. Come on, what are we waiting for?"
Two of them twisted Yin Feng’s arms, while another pressed the back of his head down. Yin Feng’s face tightened, and he struggled desperately. The two men immediately began punching and kicking him. You Mingxu only heard Yin Feng let out a few muffled groans, and she felt as if her entire being was about to explode. But the cold iron rod was pressed against her neck, and beside her, a dagger was still pointed at Liu Ruoyu.
"Stop! Come at me instead!" You Mingxu yelled.
They acted as if they hadn’t heard and forced Yin Feng’s upper body into the water. You Mingxu saw clearly: his lips were tightly pressed together, his face was ashen, and his eyes were closed. After he was pushed under, it didn’t take long for him to gasp frantically underwater, bubbles streaming from his mouth as he shook his head violently. But the two thugs, their tattooed arms bulging, held him down firmly.
Suddenly, You Mingxu found she couldn’t make a sound. The figure beneath the water looked blurry. Only when his struggles gradually slowed did the two men exchange a glance and finally pull him up. Yin Feng’s usually handsome face was now twisted and deathly pale, almost unrecognizable. His eyes were vacant, his lips trembling, like a dying fish suddenly exposed to oxygen, gasping heavily for air.
At that moment, his gaze met You Mingxu’s. In that instant of utter helplessness and humiliation, a flicker of awareness returned to his nearly broken expression. As he looked at her, his clear eyes slowly filled with tears.
You Mingxu felt her heart clench violently—a sharp, soundless pain. A voice in her mind screamed, Don’t cry, Yin Feng. Don’t cry. And don’t be afraid—I’m here.
But he slowly closed his eyes.
Then they forced him underwater again. Again, the frantic gasping, the futile struggles, the brink of death. Then, as if granting a mercy, they pulled him up to let him catch a few breaths.
And pushed him under once more.
Yin Feng no longer looked at her. He gasped desperately, his features contorted even further, his breathing growing fainter. He stopped resisting pointlessly, allowing them to manipulate and torment him like a puppet.
You Mingxu’s hands slowly clenched into fists, pressing against the ground. She felt a dull, throbbing pain in her eyes—a strange sensation. Then she felt something cool on her face. She reached up to wipe it and found her cheeks wet. Gritting her teeth, she made no sound. The noises from Yin Feng’s direction gradually faded from her hearing. In the most critical moments, the heart can grow eerily still. Her ears twitched slightly—she was the first to detect movement coming from the mountaintop.Soon, the others noticed as well, stopping their actions one after another to look up. You Mingxu knew very well that reinforcements from the mountain would take at least another ten minutes to arrive, but she had been waiting for this exact moment. Slapping her hands against the ground, she used the brief respite to recover her nearly depleted strength. She sprang up from her position, and before fully standing, she kicked the arm of the man threatening Liu Ruoyu with a dagger. The man had no time to react, and the dagger clattered to the ground. You Mingxu snatched it up, rolled swiftly across the ground, and lunged at the two men restraining Yin Feng. Without hesitation, she slashed the dagger across their calves, cutting at least an inch deep. The two cried out in pain and shock.
Just then, a metal rod struck You Mingxu squarely on the back.
The man wielding the rod had acted in panic. The moment it landed, he suddenly remembered their leader’s order: under no circumstances should they harm this woman. Though he tried to lessen the force at the last moment, the rod still hit You Mingxu with full impact.
The blow made her body curl inward, distorting her movements. She let out a muffled groan and crashed directly into Yin Feng. The two men had already released him, and he lay on the ground, coughing hoarsely, unmoving.
The people on the mountaintop noticed the commotion, and several flashlights beamed down. Seeing the situation turning against them, the assailants fled. You Mingxu was in no condition to give chase. She sat up slowly, a sharp, dull pain radiating across her back. Pausing for a moment, she took a ragged breath but made no sound. Then, she reached out, pulling Yin Feng up from the ground. His face was deathly pale, his body trembling slightly, and his eyes stared blankly, almost dazed, at her. Fighting back tears, You Mingxu pulled him tightly into her arms.
OpenNovel