Chapter 75

Chapter 75

So that’s how Xie Han did it.  Jian Yao thought to herself.

The reason why he can mentally control so many people.  Basically, it’s the use of drugs to cause hallucination.  It will make you feel drowsy and slows down your brain’s response time. 

She is sitting on the cold and hard bed in her cage.  He switched off all the spotlights except for the one that’s shining onto her bed.  It’s like she is lying on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean.  

He is standing somewhere in the darkness, still whistling, like he is the master of the world.  

Her heart is beating very quickly.  She can even feel her nerves throbs.  This is a very uncomfortable feeling. She can hear a humming sound in her ears.  She wants to sit up, but her hand slips.  Everything around her is a blur.  Then she starts to fade in and out of consciousness.  She can’t think clearly.  She doesn't even know where she is.  

She feels completely lost.  

Her body still feels very uncomfortable.  But her vision is getting clearer now.  She is relieved.  She stands up and look around.  She is in her grandfather’s house.  A familiar room - the old fashioned TV cabinet, the 22 inch colour TV, the red velvet sofa. 

But… they died with her father many years ago.

Then she sees a man.  He is sitting down with his back to her.  But she can see his back.  There are rows of very neatly arranged scars.  

“Jinyan!” She walks over and wraps her hands around his waist.  “Why are you here?”

Bo Jinyan slowly leans towards her.  His face is pale as a sheet.  His eyes closed.  There is no breath in him. 

He is dead.  Bo Jinyan is died.  

Jian Yao feels a sudden pain in her heart.  Her face is filled with tears.  Then she hears coarse voice that says: “Jinyan.“

She opens her eyes -

Again, everything around her is blurred.  There is that humming sound again. 

No, it’s just an illusion.  She tells herself.  She must hold on.  But the pain is still vividly felt in her heart.  Tears continue to stream down her cheeks….

“Oh… you’ve had these types of drugs before?…. Such a huge reaction…. You are a good girl.“ A voice speaks into her ears.  

Jian Yao wants to turn her head to look at her him, but it’s darkness all around her.  She nods subconsciously.

After getting a response from her, he asks gently: “Do you want to clear your head?”  

Yes…. She almost said it out loud.  But she controls herself not to speak by biting her lower lips.  She is biting so hard that she can feel blood in her mouth.  

The man laughs.  

“You are biting your lips until it’s bleeding.  That’s cute…. But I know, you want to get out of this dreamy state.”  

Then Jian Yao hears the sound of the door opening.  

“I must admit I was a little over-excited last time.”  He says, “So the patch of skin is a little torn from the whipping.  I will have better control this time.  Your clothes act as a good barrier.  There will not be any permanent scars.”

——————

Maryland.  John Hopkins Hospital.  

Intensive care unit. 

Bo Jinyan is standing outside the ward.  Behind him stand a lot of people - Chinese officials, FBI agents, Fu Ziyu’s family, Yin Ziqi’s mother and friends….. etc etc.

The doctor walks out with his diagnostic report.  Everyone crowds around him, except for Bo Jinyan.  He just stands where he is, and looks at the doctor.  

“The bullet in Mr. Fu Ziyu’s left chest missed the heart by 3cm.  We have successfully removed all the fragments.”  He explains: “He is a lucky man.   He should wake up between 24 to 48 hours.”  

Everyone feel they could breath easily now.  Bo Jinyan looks through the glass windows.  He sees his good friend lying on bed, with an oxygen mask over his pale face.   

Then the doctor continues: “Ms Yin Ziqi’s knife wound is serious but not life threatening. She is in a stable condition.  We expect her to wake up sometime tomorrow morning.”  

As everyone starts to thank the doctor, Bo Jinyan quietly walks away.  Anam watches him as he walks to the end of the corridor and disappears down the stairs. 

——————-

Bo Jinyan drives back to the hotel alone.

It’s late at night.  And the early winter winds seem to be colder than usual.

There’s no expression on Bo Jinyan’s face.  He reaches to his pocket to take out the room key card.  He opens the door to their hotel room.  The place is dark.  But there’s light coming through the windows from the neighbouring office buildings.  He turns the lights on, and throws the room key card onto the bed.  He takes a look around the room.  

They moved into this hotel yesterday.  Jian Yao’s luggage is still on a small table next to the bed.  The zip is open.  He can see a sleeve of one of her shirts hanging out.  

There are two pairs of slippers on the floor.  A pair of big one next to the small sized pair.  A coat of hers is lying on the sofa.  It’s a beige colour trench coat that still has her scent on it.  

Bo Jinyan stands there for a while.  Then he takes off his jacket, pulls off his tie and walks barefooted into the bathroom.

A hot shower is not enough to warm up someone that feels cold in the inside of their body.  He stands quietly under the shower head for the water to splash over him. 

—————

After his shower, he stands in front of the window and looks out at the city lights.  Then he turns to walk to the bed.  He pulls back the duvet and lies down.  

He closes his eyes.  After a few minutes, he opens them and turns to look at the empty side of the bed.  Then he decides to get out of bed.  He takes a jacket and wrap it around his back.  Then he walks to the next room.

It is set up like a study under Jian Yao’s special instructions to the hotel.  There’s desk and chair, and a whiteboard, so that he can jot down any thoughts that come to him.  

He stands in front of the white board.  He opens his own suitcase and brings out a stack of documents and photos.   

Soon, the white board is full with photos.   

He looks at the photos of the past victims.  He can visualise what’s happening to Jian Yao.

She is treated like an animal, tied with chains.  And Xie Han will whip her, and enjoy watching her making desperate but futile escapes from the whip…She will be injected with drugs, so that she cannot differentiate between reality and hallucinations…. The only thing she can feel is pain….. And in a few days, when he cannot be satisfied with whipping and teasing, he will start to cut off pieces of her skin, as his booty.  And this might only be the beginning, because he won’t let her die so easily.  

Because she is Bo Jinyan’s woman.  She represents his most passionate desires.  He will torture her, until there is not a piece of skin, hair, and flesh left on her body.  Xie Han wants him to lose her completely.

……

Bo Jinyan lowers his head and covers his eyes with his hands.