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“Put me down,” Lu Yao says in a frighteningly calm voice.
Qiao Chusheng seems to obey before the words finish leaving his mouth, swiftly lowering to a knee. Lu Yao slides off his back and slumps onto the ground. He squeezes his eyes shut and presses his forehead into the fallen leaves and dirt, like a worm squirming to burrow deep below into darkness. Shallow and sporadic gasps fill his lungs with bitingly frigid air.
Hands, ineffably tender, slide under his chest and lift his upper body from the grimy forest floor. The back of Lu Yao’s neck soon rests on the scratchy fibres of a woollen coat as he’s held in an embrace.
A wave of dizziness washes over him. He feels awful. Molten blood pounds audibly in his ears. His limbs are a prickly static of pins and needles, jabbing into twitching muscles.
Lu Yao opens his eyes again, panting as he peers at his surroundings. Tall trees loom with an eerie stillness, bare branches poised to cage, webbed with moss and honeydew. They encircle him, spindly claws slowly enclosing their prey.
He’s distracted from the eerie imagery as the arms holding him adjust, causing Lu Yao’s head to turn and look up at Lao Qiao instead. His companion’s expression is tense, etched with barely concealed fear.
“You said it wasn’t serious,” Qiao Chusheng growls with an accusatory tone borne from anxiety.
“Keeping you on your toes,” Lu Yao murmurs with a slight smirk. “Isn’t that why you keep me around?”
Qiao Chusheng rolls his eyes in exasperation. “I keep you around to solve cases. Now let’s go, the car isn’t far.”
“Oh no, I’m just dragging you down now, my beloved Chief Inspector.” Lu Yao dabs imaginary tears from the corner of his eye. “I’m a burden. Leave me here, you’ll be better off without me,” he hitches his breath dramatically.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Qiao Chusheng scowls. “You’re so light, I could carry you for the rest of my life.”
Lu Yao blinks, uncertain whether Qiao Chusheng is playing along with his antics or being completely serious. Either way, his heart flutters a little.
“You’re making me swoon, Lao Qiao,” he says in a soft, lilting voice.
“Please don’t,” Qiao Chusheng responds. “Stay awake and alert, we’re almost there.”
The prospect of moving right now is daunting, and his teasing mood dissipates. Lu Yao shakes his head.
“Give me more time,” he pleads. “Just let me rest.”
“You can rest in the hospital,” Qiao Chusheng retorts. “Staying here isn’t helping.”
Unfortunately, he’s right. Rather than recovering, his condition had been steadily worsening. Lu Yao pushes away from Qiao Chusheng, who reluctantly obliges, letting Lu Yao lie on the ground. He sighs deeply as calloused hands wipe away sweat and dirt from his face.
It isn’t fair to cause so much trouble. He’d been partially genuine when he’d suggested Qiao Chusheng would be better off without him. The situation in Shanghai had become extremely turbulent, on the precipice of spilling over into an all-out war.
And Lu Yao is the catalyst. He seems to inadvertently provoke everyone. The British he could comprehend; Lu Yao was a major thorn in their side, after all. But why is even his own family gearing up to attack? They hide behind their righteousness, their excuses of ‘protecting San-tu’, but it’s all a sham. All they want to protect is their pristine reputation.
Qiao Chusheng, Bai Youning, and the entire Green Dragon Group will defend their own until the bitter end. But Lu Yao doesn’t want it to get that far. He is an outsider, after all. He doesn’t deserve their loyalty. Even if he craves it dearly.
If anything happened to Qiao Chusheng, he’d never forgive himself.
Lu Yao feels an impending sense of dread. Something is wrong. It’s seeping into his nerves, a terrifyingly cold pressure squeezing its way up his spinal column into his brain. He twists and turns, trying to alleviate the abnormal sensation.
“San-tu?” Qiao Chusheng exclaims as Lu Yao arches his back, eyes widened with bewilderment.
“Uh… I—” Lu Yao stutters, unable to form any meaningful words as he’s overwhelmed by the vice-like tension clamping onto his senses. His body shudders, convulsing uncontrollably as he drowns in a sea of hyperstimulation. He distantly hopes Lao Qiao has managed to back away. It would be mortifying if he accidentally smacked the inspector’s nose.
The seizure lasts for what feels like an eternity. As soon as Lu Yao settles back into a semblance of humanity, he lurches upright, attempting to stand. But he’s trapped. A giant snake is somehow wrapped around his chest, preventing him from escaping.
“Let go!” he screeches in panic. The snake retreats, and Lu Yao bolts, stumbling like an abandoned fawn searching for its mother.
He doesn’t get very far before a black panther pounces, jumping onto his back and bringing him down to his knees.
This is it. This is how Lu Yao dies: eaten by a giant cat.
Lu Yao is spun around. He stares into the golden eyes of the beast.
“—to me, Lu Yao!”
Qiao Chusheng shakes Lu Yao frantically, and the detective could cry from relief as his vision clears. He launches forward, wrapping his arms around broad shoulders. The adrenaline in his system fades, and he sinks into a muddled, weary state. The desperate hug is reciprocated, alongside rumbling assurances whispered against his skin.
Forget it. Now that Lu Yao has Qiao Chusheng, he couldn’t bear the thought of parting ways. Lu Yao is a selfish heretic who will fight tooth and nail to remain by his side.
End