Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 11

The air inside the car was stagnant, the roar of the engine providing the only background noise.

Jiang Si leaned back in the rear seat, his fingertips tapping the edge of the window unconsciously in a fast, chaotic rhythm. A palpable sense of irritability and low pressure emanated from him, enveloping the entire vehicle. The elite team members accompanying him held their breath, not daring to make a single unnecessary sound.

They had been urgently summoned from various locations, told only that they were heading to a smuggling ring’s stronghold in the East District that had recently been compromised. None of them understood why “Fourth Brother” would personally intervene for this, even bringing along his most formidable squad.

The adjutant sat beside Jiang Si. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice kept very low: “Fourth Brother, this is too impulsive. The Fourth Team already startled them; they’ll be on high alert now. Even if we rush there, I’m afraid it’s already…”

Already too late, he didn’t finish the sentence.

Jiang Si turned his head sharply. His eyes were like bottomless pools of freezing water, swirling with a near-violent emotion. His voice was low, yet every word hit like a physical blow:

“My dog—even if he’s dead, I have to be the one to confirm the corpse with my own eyes.”

The adjutant fell completely silent. Looking at the taut lines of Jiang Si’s profile, he felt, for the first time, a sense of paranoid, reckless madness from this man he had known for years. This completely transcended his previous understanding of Jiang Si.

In a deathly silence, the car sped toward the chaotic territory of the East District.

……

In the darkness, Pei Ye felt himself being brutally dragged.

The rough concrete floor scraped against his back and arms, leaving a stinging, fiery pain. He was tossed into a room that reeked of mold and rust.

“Tsk, look what those bastards left for us. A brat?” A coarse, raspy voice rang out teasingly.

Another voice, more lewd, followed: “He’s got a pretty fair face. Dammit, we almost lost several brothers back there; maybe we take this little thing as payment for the debt?”

The beam of a flashlight darted across Pei Ye’s face, blinding him. He tried to struggle, but his hands were tied behind his back. Long-term malnutrition combined with the previous fight had drained his strength.

“Oh? Still got some fight in you?” The first man stepped forward and kicked Pei Ye in the stomach.

Pei Ye let out a muffled groan and curled inward, his stomach churning.

“Whatever. The boss said if we can’t get any info out of him, just get rid of him.” The second man knelt down and patted Pei Ye’s face with a filthy hand. “Why don’t the two of us have some fun first?”

Pei Ye jerked his head away, a low, threatening whimper escaping his throat like a cornered young beast.

This reaction only delighted the two men. They burst into laughter, finding the boy’s defiance far more entertaining than begging for mercy.

They grew more vicious. Blows rained down on Pei Ye—not the kind meant to kill quickly, but a playful, sadistic brand of abuse intended to prolong his agony. They interrogated him for information about the organization; when he remained silent or refused, they tortured him further, laughing as they watched him tremble and curl up in pain.

“Scream! Why aren’t you screaming? Beg for mercy, you little stray!”

Pei Ye grit his teeth, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He didn’t utter a word. Only his eyes, wide in the darkness, burned with a cold, near-manic hatred and an extreme level of endurance.

He was waiting. Waiting for a tiny, perhaps non-existent, opportunity.

After an unknown amount of time, just as the pain began to turn into numbness, the chance finally came.

One of the men seemed to grow bored and pulled out a dagger, intending to mark the boy’s face. The moment he leaned in close, Pei Ye summoned every ounce of strength he had been suppressing and slammed his head into the man’s chin!

“Fuck!” Caught off guard, the man cried out in pain and fell back. The other man froze for a second before cursing and lunging to grab him.

Now!

Pei Ye rolled desperately. With his hands still bound, he reached at a distorted angle for the dagger that had dropped nearby. His fingertips brushed the cold hilt; he gripped it tight and, acting on pure instinct, swung it backward with everything he had!

“Agh—!” A scream tore through the room.

Pei Ye didn’t know where he had cut the man, but he used the opening to saw through the ropes on his wrists.

As soon as the restraints gave way, his survival instinct and accumulated fury exploded. Like a beast driven to a dead end, he lunged at the wounded man, stabbing the dagger wildly yet with lethal precision.

“Shit! He can still move?!”

The other man realized what was happening and pounced on Pei Ye, striking him in a panicked attempt to pin him down.

“Fuck! Dammit! This animal!”

“Ugh! Ah!”

In the darkness, the three of them grappled. The sound of heavy breathing, muffled groans, the sickening slide of a blade into flesh, and desperate roars intertwined. There was no technique—only the primal struggle of life and death.

Finally, the commotion subsided.

Thud.

Pei Ye collapsed in a pool of blood, his body covered in new wounds, some deep enough to see bone.

“Ha… ha…”

He gasped violently, every breath bringing a tearing pain. Beside him lay two corpses that would never move again.

Darkness reclaimed the room, heavier than before, thick with the scent of death. The icy chill of blood loss spread through his body, and his consciousness began to blur. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on, whether the enemies outside had heard the noise, or if someone would soon burst in to finish him off.

Don’t sleep… don’t sleep…

He curled up, biting his lower lip hard to use the pain to stay awake, but it did little to help. Despair rushed in like a tide.

“…Master…” A faint, broken whisper squeezed out of his throat.

As if grasping at a literal lifeline, he began to repeat the name obsessively. His voice was so weak it was almost inaudible, yet it drained the last of his energy.

“Master Fourth Brother Jiang Si…”

The name was like an incantation, an anchor pulling him back from the edge of the sinking darkness.

He remembered the hand reaching out to him in the warehouse; he remembered the embrace on that rainy night; he remembered the stern but focused profile of the man treating his wounds; he remembered the words: “Then I’ll just take a piece of you.”

He couldn’t die here. He wasn’t strong enough yet; he hadn’t climbed high enough to stand by that man’s side…

But if I die… would Master… care even a little? Would he be sad because I’m gone…?

His chanting grew lower and more slurred as his consciousness drifted away.

Just as he felt he was about to be swallowed by the dark for good, a massive explosion suddenly erupted from outside!

BOOM!!!

The roar shook the entire room. Immediately following were the sounds of rapid, chaotic gunfire and heavy footsteps approaching.

Bang! The door was kicked open. A powerful flashlight beam pierced the room, landing precisely on the huddled, blood-soaked figure that barely looked human.

“Over here! Tell Fourth Brother! He’s here!”

“He looks… he looks like he’s still alive!”

“Medic! Get over here now!”

Stimulated by the harsh light, Pei Ye struggled to open his eyes, but he could see nothing but blurred halos and dark shadows. Footsteps rushed toward him. Someone knelt by his side.

In the next second, he was carefully but firmly pulled into a familiar embrace. It was cold, smelling of gunpowder and the night wind, yet it brought a strange, phantom sense of safety.

“…Stop the bleeding! Stop the fucking bleeding now!” A voice he had never heard before—raw with a near-uncontrollable rage and urgency—erupted above his head, making his eardrums ring.

Pei Ye could no longer tell if this was reality or a near-death hallucination. He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger; only his lips moved unconsciously, whispering the name etched into his very marrow:

“Jiang Si.”

The arms holding him stiffened.

“Everyone shut the fuck up!” the voice roared again, drowning out the surrounding noise.

Instantly, all sound vanished, leaving only heavy breathing.

In that deathly silence, Jiang Si finally heard what the dying little thing in his arms was repeating with his last breath.

It wasn’t a cry for help. It wasn’t a plea.

It was his name.

“Jiang Si…”

Jiang Si looked down at the pale, translucent face covered in blood and grime. His heart felt as though it had been violently seized by something. A strange, sharp emotion pierced through his habitual coldness without warning.

He tightened his grip, pulling Pei Ye even closer against his chest, and hissed at the medical staff standing by: “Save him! At any cost!”

Jiang Si’s knuckle brushed against Pei Ye’s freezing cheek. The unprecedented tightness in his chest made him irritable.

“Dammit… don’t you dare die, do you hear me? That’s an order.”

He wasn’t finished playing yet. He hadn’t given permission. His dog wasn’t allowed to die on his own.