Saving People

Chapter 21: Saving Someone

"Drip—drip—"

Bai Yanliang, who was leading Jiang Li down the stairs, suddenly raised his head and tilted his ear to listen.

Seeing him stop in his tracks, Jiang Li halted as well and asked in confusion, "What is it?"

Bai Yanliang's brows furrowed slightly as he stared up at the floors above. Although he could see nothing, he could vaguely sense that something was happening up there...

"Ms. Jiang, did you hear... the sound of dripping water?"

Bai Yanliang's words startled Jiang Li. She listened intently, and once he pointed it out, she too seemed to hear the faint dripping. It was, however, incredibly subtle; if the hotel weren't so deathly quiet, the sound would have been impossible to detect.

"Something isn't right..."

Bai Yanliang whispered, then looked at Jiang Li and said, "You should go ahead, Ms. Jiang. I need to go back to the sixth floor and take a look."

Jiang Li's expression shifted. She hadn't expected Bai Yanliang to make such a move, but... the thought of descending the dark staircase to the first floor all by herself was something she truly dared not do!

Furthermore... though she didn't say it aloud, there was a profound sense of security in being by Bai Yanliang's side.

This man seemed to fear nothing at all.

Therefore, without much hesitation, Jiang Li made her decision: "I'm going with you!"

Seeing this, Bai Yanliang didn't try to dissuade her; he simply gave a slight nod.

"Then let's go."

The two turned around and began their trek back to the sixth floor.

Despair filled every corner of Xu Zhi'an's body.

Under his gaze, the "man" with the mangled, bloody face slowly turned his head.

At the same time, the water in the sink had long since overflowed...

The spilled water spread toward Xu Zhi'an. Terrified, he continued to scramble backward until he reached the hallway.

Xu Zhi'an's eyes were wide with horror. He could vaguely make out the silhouette of a woman within the water...

Who... was that?

"Who... who are you?" Although his mental defenses were on the verge of collapse, he still asked the question instinctively.

Unsurprisingly, neither "he" nor "she" gave him an answer.

Then, before Xu Zhi'an's horrified eyes, the figure in the water emerged!

She first extended a pale, bloodless arm, followed by a head covered in long, matted hair. Her body was severely contorted, and she crawled along the floor, limp as if she had no bones at all.

Xu Zhi'an tried to stand, tried to flee.

But it was too late...

The mangled "man" had somehow blocked his path from behind.

And before him stood this "woman" crawling out of the water.

A dead end!

"It's over... I'm a dead man this time..."

Xu Zhi'an trembled all over, his mind a chaotic blur.

Though his eyes were wide open, he couldn't clearly see the woman's face.

He only felt that in a daze, the boneless, twisted woman before him had already reached out and clamped her hand around his throat...

A wave of intense suffocation washed over him. Xu Zhi'an kicked his legs frantically, clawing at "her" fingers.

Yet it was all in vain. Xu Zhi'an only felt the cold...

Such icy hands...

And they were soaking wet, as if they had been submerged in water for a long time...

"Dam... damn it..." Xu Zhi'an's face turned from red to white, and now, a sickly cyan hue was taking over.

Veins bulged on his neck, and tears and saliva flowed uncontrollably.

Xu Zhi'an could clearly feel his life force slipping away with terrifying speed...

The sound of dripping water grew clearer.

Bai Yanliang quickened his pace. In truth, the distance from the fourth floor to the sixth wasn't far, so it didn't take him much time.

Jiang Li followed closely behind him, her heart already braced for what was to come.

...Braced for something hellish.

Bai Yanliang must have discovered something to be in such a hurry to return to the sixth floor.

Soon, both of them arrived back on the sixth floor.

However... the scene before her eyes left Jiang Li, who had fully prepared herself mentally, completely stunned.

She had imagined many scenarios, but never one like this.

Xu Zhi'an, that clerk of about thirty years old, was currently lying at the entrance of the restroom, desperately strangling his own neck!

His eyes had already rolled back, yet he was still exerting every ounce of strength!

The veins on his hands were bulging; he was trying to strangle himself to death!

"Come and help!"

Bai Yanliang's shout interrupted Jiang Li's chaotic thoughts and the fear beginning to spread; she instinctively obeyed his command.

Bai Yanliang pried at Xu Zhi'an's fingers with all his might, all the while calling out to him.

"Mr. Xu? What is wrong, Mr. Xu?"

Spurred by Bai Yanliang's calls, Jiang Li hurried over as well. The two of them pried at Xu Zhi'an's fingers from left and right, yet it was completely useless!

Heaven knows why Xu Zhi'an's strength was so great! Bai Yanliang was certain his own strength was by no means weak; at Ye City Psychiatric Hospital, he had never stopped training his body. Although he couldn't compare to a long-term athlete, Bai Yanliang's strength and speed already far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

But... even with such strength, he still couldn't pry Xu Zhi'an's hands apart!

Bai Yanliang stared at him intensely. Xu Zhi'an seemed to be trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up no matter how they called him. Moreover, his face was turning a ghastly blue, and it looked as if he was about to strangle himself to death right before their eyes!

For some reason, this bizarre scene felt somewhat familiar to Bai Yanliang, yet he couldn't recall why no matter how hard he tried.

This was highly abnormal, as Bai Yanliang rarely forgot things, yet he simply could not remember where this inexplicable sense of familiarity came from.

"It... it's not working!" Jiang Li's breathless cry rang out, "I can't budge his hands at all!"

Jiang Li had also exhausted all her strength, but the scene before her filled her with fear and despair. Xu Zhi'an's body seemed to be controlled by someone else, using strength far beyond his usual capacity to kill himself!

"Move aside!"

Bai Yanliang suddenly said.

Jiang Li didn't think twice and scrambled up. Just as she stood, she saw a dark shadow flash by, followed by a solid strike against the joint of Xu Zhi'an's arm!

"Crack--"

Jiang Li's eyes widened, watching in disbelief as the gentle and refined Bai Yanliang suddenly kicked Xu Zhi'an's joint, causing the sound of a fracture!

Xu Zhi'an's right elbow joint was completely inverted; just looking at it made one feel an unbearable, agonizing pain.

While Jiang Li was still stunned, Bai Yanliang delivered another kick!

"Crack--"

Xu Zhi'an's left arm snapped in response!

Although it looked gruesome, Xu Zhi'an's life was saved!

With both arms twisted at a grotesque angle, having been forcibly broken by Bai Yanliang's kicks, Xu Zhi'an's fingers finally lost all their strength and went limp.

Only then did Jiang Li realize what Bai Yanliang had done.

She looked at Bai Yanliang, only to see him still wearing a calm expression, patting Xu Zhi'an's face in an attempt to wake him.

Jiang Li didn't even notice it herself, but deep in her eyes at that moment hid an emotion, much like seeing a ghost; it was called fear...