293: Mom? What are you doing?

Mom? What are you doing?

Tai Xuan stealthily grabbed a broom from the living room before he gingerly walked towards his sister's bedroom, making sure his footsteps were as quiet as possible. The broom wasn't the best weapon he had, not by a long shot, and it would be utterly useless if the invaders had a gun, but it was better than nothing! He had to buy time before the police arrived!2

He initially wanted to burst into the room, all bravado with his bare fists, but then he realised how suicidal that would be. He needed to at least have a weapon, and to have the element of surprise on these criminals so that he could get the upper hand!

But as the distance between him and his sister's room shrunk, he realised there was a strange smell in the air. His nostrils twitched; what was that smell…it was oddly familiar…

'Oh fuck me.' Tai Xuan's feet paused as his mind finally identified the smell, a look of horror growing on his face. 

It was blood. Tangy and metallic, something he smelled every time he went to the butcher to get some meat. 

Tai Xuan gripped the broom more tightly as he swallowed in fear. He fought the urge to gag at the metallic smell, now ever present in the air and impossible to ignore.  And then there were strange thumping noises, along with someone whimpering in pain.

'Oh god, oh fuck, I'm too late,' Tai Xuan shuddered, his mind filled with horrifying images of his mom, beaten and bloody. He clutched the broom as though it was a lifeline, trying to breath with his mouth instead - now that he arrived at the doorway, the smell of blood was inescapable!

Gathering the last of his frayed nerves, he bit his lip and peered into the room, his eyes widening at the sight.

"Mom? What the -" His grip slackened, and the broom slid out of his hands with a loud clatter. 

"Shush!" Yue Niang demanded, and Tai Xuan's lips clamped shut obediently, even though he wanted to scream. He grabbed at the broom for protection. 

Yue Niang's eyes critically swept over her shell-shocked son and the broom in his hand. Ah, this was bound to be traumatising for him. Her son was a rowdy man that had been in more than a few fights, but there was a world of difference between a schoolyard brawl, a bar fight, and the gruesome scene he just walked in on.

So Yue Niang decided to make him focus on other things.

"You only brought a broom? That's not enough to sweep this mess up, but it's better than nothing."

"Mom, what is this?" Tai Xuan whispered frantically, his eyes darting around his sister's room - or what was left of it. It felt like a tornado hit the place, and it had helpfully blended a few humans to make a bloody decor. 

The desk chair was broken into pieces, bedsheets were strewn haphazardly on the floor, blood splattered on the walls and the doors of the cupboard. 

More importantly, there were two strangers inside the room! They looked like they were barely breathing! What the fuck! 

"I caught our robbers," his mother murmured with a pinched look on her face. "Oh should I say, kidnappers?"

"Kidnappers?" Tai Xuan wanted to scream, but at his mother's warning look, he kept quiet.

"They were after Sun Jingwei and your sister," Yue Niang said grimly, holding up Ding Fei's phone. "And I don't believe that these two men make up their entire team. There must be more of them in our house."

After a brief glance at the phone, she had deduced that this had to be at least a five man job. If someone wanted to kidnap a fully grown man and woman, they had to at least have three people to restrain them, especially since Sun Jingwei was a tall muscular man in the peak of health.

And of course, one person to drive the getaway car. She added that extra one person for security and odd jobs, like getting food.

Tai Xuan paled. Xin Yu was still inside the house! But if she locked both the door and the window, she should be fine.

"It's okay Mom, Xin Yu has called the police. They'll be here soon! Once they arrest these people, we can make Sun Jingwei pay for it!"

Now it was time for Yue Niang's face to pale. Police? Here? That'll certainly lead to uncomfortable questions she would find difficult to answer - namely the wounds on the men. How was she going to claim all these were in self-defence? 

"The police? Are you sure they'll come?" 

"Of course! It's not like they have anything better to do," Tai Xuan said, glaring at the invaders. "Be prepared to go to prison, bastards!"

Ding Fei blinked blearily in response. After all the torture he endured, prison sounded like a heavenly respite! Hopefully, this mad woman wouldn't be following them there. 

"I'll go to prison," Ding Fei croaked out. "But please, save me from her."

"Eh?" Tai Xuan stared at him curiously. 

"Your mom is a monster!" Ding Fei declared shakily, and was rewarded with Li Yue Niang's death glare. 

"Kidnappers don't get to complain about their treatment," she said sweetly, a sharp contrast to the steel in her eyes. "Even if they are abject failures at their job." 

"Yeah, Sun Jingwei's not even here," Tai Xuan added. "He's at the restaurant."

Hearing this, Ding Fei's eyes finally brightened. There was finally some good news at last! If Sun Jingwei were alone, he's sure three of his teammates would have captured him. They've caught the big fish! But he couldn't let them know about it, so Ding Fei pretended to be devastated with this turn of events. 

Yue Niang took one look at him and frowned. 

"So, you have people at our restaurant too?" She demanded, gripping his collar roughly, shaking him the same way a dog would shake its favourite toy. "Tell me or else!" 

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