Zhi Yao looked at Pei Chiyao with bewilderment, "Where are you going?"
"To handle some matters for the Pei Family. Wait for me."
As the words left his mouth, Xie Tingyan came over with a solemn expression, "Brother Yao, don't worry, this time I'll stick to Zhi Yao like glue. If even a single strand of her hair falls out, I'll pull out ten strands from my own head to compensate her. Even if Zhi Yao goes to the ladies' room, I'll follow her in."
Zhi Yao: "......" That's really not necessary.
Pei Chiyao shot a cold glance at Xie Tingyan, "You'd better."
This was the last time he would trust Xie Tingyan.
"I absolutely will!" Xie Tingyan swore with three fingers pointed to the sky.
Pei Chiyao left this place. Zhi Yao watched his retreating figure, and for some unknown reason, her heart grew uneasy.
She turned to Xie Tingyan and probed, "Xie Tingyan, do you know what Pei Chiyao went to do?"
"He probably went to see Older Pei," Xie Tingyan's eyes bulged like copper bells, staring fixedly at Zhi Yao. "Don't you know? The host of this banquet is Older Pei himself. It seems he's going to announce something about the Pei Family, but Older Pei hasn't shown up yet."
How strange, the banquet was nearing its conclusion, yet that old man still hadn't appeared.
Older Pei?
Zhi Yao grew curious, "Is he Pei Chiyao's grandfather?"
"No," Xie Tingyan wasn't too familiar with the affairs of the Pei Family either. "Well, you can't really say that. You should ask Pei Chiyao about the specifics."
The matters of the Pei Family were like a puzzle. It was only known that when Pei Chiyao was five years old, his parents had died in a car accident. Not long after, the Pei Family had sent the young Pei Chiyao abroad alone. It wasn't until a few years ago that Pei Chiyao returned to the country.
Zhi Yao didn't press further.
She chatted idly with Xie Tingyan, but no matter what she did, it seemed as though someone was watching her every move.
Not just one gaze, but several.
Whenever Zhi Yao looked up, trying to trace those gazes, she couldn't find their source.
How strange.
But soon, Zhi Yao had no mind to care about such things.
Because... she waited for a long time, but Pei Chiyao didn't return.
Half an hour had already passed. Hadn't Pei Chiyao said he would be back soon?
Zhi Yao grew uneasy. Her intuition vaguely told her that something might happen tonight.
Even Xie Tingyan found it strange. "Weird, how come Brother Yao has been gone for so long this time?"
Pei Chiyao was known to detest Older Pei the most, and their interactions never lasted more than five minutes.
The crowd in the banquet hall grew restless. It was almost eleven o'clock now, yet the Pei Family's announcement still hadn't been made? And the Pei Family showed no signs of ending the banquet either.
Just as murmurs arose in the banquet hall, a man who looked like an emcee took the stage to make an announcement. But before he could open his mouth, someone exclaimed, "An ambulance? Why is there an ambulance downstairs?"
Looking down through the banquet hall's transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, an ambulance was seen speeding over and stopping at the entrance.
A sense of foreboding gripped the crowd. Zhi Yao felt she could hardly breathe.
She paid no heed to anything else and hurriedly headed in the direction Pei Chiyao had left.
Xie Tingyan was alarmed, "Auntie, where are you going?"
He rushed to keep up with Zhi Yao, who said as she walked, "I feel Pei Chiyao might be in danger..."
"How could he be in danger? He's Brother Yao! Don't go, Auntie Zhi Yao, come back! You can't protect yourself!"
Zhi Yao ran faster and faster, her speed far outpacing Xie Tingyan's. At a turn, Xie Tingyan lost sight of her.
The young lady shook off Xie Tingyan and instantly transformed into her fox form. She lightly tread the ground, dashing at an extreme speed, like a fleeting blur. Even if she passed by someone, they would only think their eyes were playing tricks.
Zhi Yao's sense of smell was acute. The closer she got, the stronger the scent of blood became...
Stronger and stronger...
Zhi Yao's heart raced to its limit.
Suddenly, she stopped in front of a door.
Zhi Yao looked up at the door. Just as she was about to leap and pull the handle down, the door opened by itself.
A cold wind rushed in, the room pitch-black and terrifying.
But amidst the thick, cloying scent of blood, Zhi Yao caught a whiff of Pei Chiyao's faint sandalwood fragrance.
"Pei Chiyao?" she asked in a tiny voice. "Are you in there?"
Zhi Yao stomped her feet impatiently, no longer caring about her fear, and was about to step inside when Pei Chiyao's strained voice came from the room, "Yao, don't come in!"
His tone was stern yet seemed to be suppressing pain.
Zhi Yao froze, then grew even more anxious. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
In her panic, she disregarded his warning and stepped into the pitch-black room.
Although there was no light, Zhi Yao's eyes could see clearly in the dark.
She soon found Pei Chiyao lying on the ground.
Amid the dark red, he lay there, weak and feeble.
Zhi Yao was horrified and rushed over, tears falling from her eyes. "Pei Chiyao, what's wrong? What happened?"
She didn't dare move him carelessly, unsure of where his wounds were.
This was the first time Zhi Yao had seen Pei Chiyao injured.
In her heart, Pei Chiyao seemed to have always been an invincible existence. He wouldn't be sad or upset. He wouldn't get hurt. There was nothing in the world Pei Chiyao couldn't handle.
But now, he lay weakly in a pool of blood, his face as pale as a ghost, his breathing faint, blood splattered everywhere.
On his face... body... hands...
Not a single place was untouched by fresh blood.
Just half an hour ago, Pei Chiyao had been standing right in front of her, perfectly fine.
What on earth had happened?!
"Pei... Chiyao..." Zhi Yao sniffled, at a loss.
Pei Chiyao covered the area over his heart, moving his fingers slightly as he said weakly, "Yao, don't cry. Stay away from me. You'll... get dirty."
Her pure, white, soft little fox would be stained by his blood.
But Zhi Yao couldn't care less. She leaned closer and nuzzled Pei Chiyao's fingers, not minding at all that her pristine fur was now dyed red.
Pei Chiyao let out a muffled groan and tried to avoid Zhi Yao's touch, inadvertently loosening his grip on his tattered shirt.
The shirt was in tatters, as he had tried to cover the area over his heart, but his movements exposed a glimpse.
In the darkness, a glint of light flashed.
Zhi Yao froze on the spot. She... she saw what?!
Scales?!
