A Deadly Shura Field

Yun Huaizhu tucked the contract away. “I will. I hope you'll also stop coveting my girlfriend, President Huo.”

With that, she rose and swept out.

The moment Yun Huaizhu stepped through the office door, Huo Yi summoned her people. She pointed at the red thumbprint beside Yun Huaizhu's signature on the contract. “Get me a print of this fingerprint. Have a bionic silicone finger cot made—the sooner the better. And find some way to stop her. Delay her as long as you can.”

“President Huo… are we really going to do this? If the chairwoman finds out—”

Huo Yi's mind was fixed on one thing: getting Lin Meng out. She couldn't afford to care about anything else. “The Huo Corporation answers to me right now. I'm telling you to do it, so do it. As for my mother, I'll explain it to her myself.”

Since taking over the Huo Family business, Huo Yi had always been gentle and courteous with everyone, never losing her temper. But today was the first time she had spoken so sharply to her employees.

“Yes. Understood.”

…

Yun Huaizhu had settled the last piece of business. Soon she would be able to take Lin Meng away from this place.

Just as Yun Huaizhu was leading her people out of the Huo Corporation building, Huo Yi's assistant came running up behind her in a panic. “President Yun, please wait!”

To Yun Huaizhu, that voice was grating beyond words. She had already suffered too many surprises. In that moment, she even wanted to ignore the call and run straight home to get Lin Meng out of this cursed place.

But the person behind her kept running until she caught up. “President Yun, our legal department found a couple of issues while reviewing the contract. Could you come back with me to verify them in detail?”

Yun Huaizhu suppressed the urge to snap. She turned around and looked at the woman with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. “Your president already signed and stamped it. The deal is done, and now you're telling me there's a problem? Are you playing games with me?”

The woman bowed and apologized repeatedly. “I'm terribly sorry. It concerns the subsequent transfer of funds—we truly can't afford to be careless. Alternatively, you could leave your assistant here to verify with us, and if you have urgent matters, you're welcome to leave first.”

Something about those words struck Yun Huaizhu as off, but she was too blinded by the urgency of ‘running away with Lin Meng’ to think clearly. She could only nod in agreement.

Yun Huaizhu shot a glance at Aunt Fang beside her. Wang Yifang understood at once and stepped forward. “President Yun has given me full authority over the company transfer. I'll go over the contract with you.”

“Wonderful. Please come this way.”

As Wang Yifang turned to go, she cast Yun Huaizhu a look that said, Don't worry.

Yun Huaizhu's unease deepened, but Aunt Fang was the person she trusted most—the one her mother had left at her side. Surely nothing major would go wrong.

The most important thing now was to get Lin Meng out fast. In Jing City, she had money but no usable connections left. If Huo Yi suddenly lost her mind, she didn't even know if she could get Lin Meng away safely.

With that thought, Yun Huaizhu left some of her assistants and bodyguards waiting downstairs at the Huo Corporation for Wang Yifang, while she took the rest and rushed home.

…

When Lin Meng woke again, she found her body had been cleaned. She was dressed in a milky-white silk nightgown that covered the marks that made her want to die of shame.

Besides the dense trail of kiss marks across her skin, there was now a shackle around her ankle—a leather one, connected to a chain. The leather wasn't cold, and it didn't restrict her walking much.

She was certain this room was nothing like the villa where Yun Huaizhu had locked her before. During those two weeks of captivity, she'd wandered through every room of that villa out of boredom, and this place resembled none of them.

Which meant Yun Huaizhu had moved her somewhere new.

Lin Meng tried to walk to the door, but the chain's length stopped her half a meter short. She tried countless times, until the skin around her ankle was nearly rubbed raw, but she still couldn't reach the doorknob.

After struggling for over an hour, she gave up and curled up on the bed, helpless.

How was she supposed to escape this place?

She never would have imagined she could smell Yun Huaizhu's pheromones. That sweet scent tugged at her nerves, impossible to ignore.

So the attraction between pheromones really could blur the line between love and desire.

She was beginning to understand why Su Yutang and Huo Yi hated the pull of an omega's pheromones.

When desire stirs the emotions, who can tell what's real?

Did she feel anything for Yun Huaizhu beyond pity?

Why couldn't she tell anymore?

Without her realizing, it was almost mid-November. Even the noon sky looked gray and dull.

She had been taken from the villa on November sixth. Since then she'd drifted through days here in a haze. There wasn't even a clock, so she had no idea what the date was now.

As Lin Meng buried her head against her knees on the bed, she thought—had Yun Huaizhu's birthday already passed? She hadn't even given her the gift yet.

For some reason, an inexplicable anxiety crept into her heart. The balance inside her that had once tipped toward Yun Huaizhu was slowly shifting in an unknown direction, driven by her fear of Yun Huaizhu.

She didn't hate Yun Huaizhu, but she was afraid of being treated this way. Yun Huaizhu said she liked her, loved her—was this what Yun Huaizhu's love looked like when she felt insecure?

Wasn't that a little hard to accept?

She stayed on the bed for a long time, until the sky slowly darkened, and she didn't even notice.

…

Yun Huaizhu drove a little fast on the way back, though still within the speed limit. Perhaps because of the overcast weather, night fell earlier than usual. Her only thought was getting home to Lin Meng, so she didn't notice when a car gradually drew close and tried to cut her off.

“Crash—screeeech—” The car slammed into hers without warning, and the two vehicles scraped along the road with a piercing shriek.

Yun Huaizhu was forced against the highway guardrail. She stomped on the accelerator, and her car surged forward, locked alongside the other for a long stretch, sparks flying as the door ground against the guardrail.

Her head hit something, and the violent pain plunged her vision into blackness. After the car stopped, she slumped over the steering wheel for a long time. One door was pinned against the guardrail and wouldn't open; the other was warped from the impact and wouldn't open either.

She was trapped.

After the crash, the driver of the other car—a Mercedes—got out and knocked on her window. “Hey! Hey! Are you all right?”

Something was wrong here.

This person had deliberately cut her off just now, yet they were the first to get out and check on her. Were they trying to keep her stranded on the road, to stop her from getting home?

Huo Yi had already learned the address of the suburban villa where Lin Meng had been kept, so the moment Yun Huaizhu knocked her unconscious, she had moved Lin Meng. She'd barely left the Huo Corporation building when Huo Yi's assistant showed up with a ‘contract problem’ to keep Aunt Fang behind. Now she'd been in a car accident out of nowhere.

Obviously, this was a trap Huo Yi had set specifically for her.

At that thought, Yun Huaizhu couldn't wait another second. She grabbed the window-breaking hammer from the car and smashed the windshield with all her strength.

The person who'd hit her car froze, clearly stunned. Ignoring the risk of the sharp glass, Yun Huaizhu quickly crawled out through the window.

Seeing this woman covered in blood, climbing out through the front of the car, the person felt a chill as if they'd seen a ghost. But they still stepped forward. “Miss, I'm sorry—it was my negligence that caused this accident. I'll compensate you fully. You're injured; let me get you to a hospital right away.”

Yun Huaizhu let out a cold laugh. She stood by the roadside, blood streaming from her calf where the glass had cut her, yet she looked up at the person as if she felt no pain at all. “Your master told you to cut me off on purpose. I'm sure they've already figured out how to get you out of trouble. But if you delay me, I promise you'll regret it!”

With that, she called someone to come pick her up.

The person stood frozen, eyes wide with shock, too stunned to recover for a long time.

Yun Huaizhu paid no attention to her own wounds. She had only one thought—get home and see Lin Meng.

Though the person was intimidated by her words, they still tried to stop her. “Miss, you need to go to the hospital right now.”

Yun Huaizhu continued making calls as if she hadn't heard.

Then came the sound of police sirens.

When Yun Huaizhu heard them, her eyes turned bloodshot. She knew that once the police arrived, things wouldn't end so easily. Only she and Aunt Fang knew where Lin Meng was being held—she trusted no one else.

Now she had no one left to call for help.

Her phone slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground. She tried to leave the scene before the police arrived, but she hadn't expected her leg wound to be so severe. Every step sent piercing pain shooting through her nerves.

Finally, the police stepped out of their car. The person who'd caused the accident went to confess and pointed at Yun Huaizhu. “Officers, this young lady is badly injured. Please get her to a hospital quickly!”

The two traffic officers ran over and lifted Yun Huaizhu between them. She struggled in despair. “Let me go! I'm fine! I have something very important—I need to go home!”

“Miss, your injuries are serious. If you have something urgent, you can tell us first. We can handle it for you. Right now, we need to get you to a hospital.”

“No! I don't want to go to the hospital! Let me go!”

Yun Huaizhu screamed and struggled, but in the end, weakened by blood loss, she was carried into the car. She was moving farther and farther from home.

…

The sky was ominously dark. It wasn't even five o'clock, yet distant thunder was already rumbling outside.

“Rumble—”

Finally, lightning flashed outside. Lin Meng clutched her head on the bed. She hadn't been this afraid of thunder before, but in this strange place, with not a single familiar face and Yun Huaizhu still not back, panic was gradually creeping in.

In this empty, deserted place, every clap of thunder was magnified a thousand times.

“Rumble—”

Another deafening crack, almost rattling the windows. Lin Meng trembled, clutching her head and covering her ears. Her heart jolted with every roar.

She seemed to have experienced a dark, empty place like this before. It was terrifying, so terrifying. No one answered her. Her hunger clawed at her stomach until she retched. In that silent place torn by thunder, she had cried and screamed that she was sorry, but no one came.

Her hands and feet felt ice-cold, her warmth draining away.

So frightening, so frightening…

Why hadn't Yun Huaizhu come back?

She would never run away again. Why did Yun Huaizhu have to lock her up? She didn't want to stay here—it was suffocating.

A ringing suddenly filled her ears. Apart from the occasional thunder, she could hear nothing else. Her whole body was freezing.

Was she really going to be trapped here until she died?

“Mengmeng, Mengmeng—what's wrong? Don't be afraid, I'm here, I've come to save you!”

Lin Meng was sure she must be hallucinating from the cold. Otherwise, why would she hear Huo Yi's voice?

Only when a pair of warm arms wrapped around her did her body slowly warm up. She looked up at the person holding her, confused. “Yiyi?”

Huo Yi released her and took her hand. “It's me. I'm here to take you away!”

Only then did Lin Meng feel sensation slowly return to her hands. She looked at Huo Yi in surprise. “How did you get in? Where's Zhuzhu?”

At the mention of Yun Huaizhu, the anger Huo Yi had been holding back finally erupted. “She locked you up like this, and you're still thinking about her?”

Lin Meng lowered her head at the scolding. “I just…”

Then Huo Yi saw the shackle around her ankle. “Yun Huaizhu is sharp. My people can't hold her off for long, so I have to get you out now. Do you want to leave with me?”

Lin Meng looked up and met Huo Yi's expectant gaze.

She did want to leave. But if she just disappeared without a word to Yun Huaizhu, would Yun Huaizhu be heartbroken?

Seeing her hesitation, Huo Yi pulled out a small knife and went to cut the leather shackle at her ankle. Though it was made of leather, it fit Lin Meng's ankle tightly. “Don't move—I'm afraid I'll hurt you.”

The instant Huo Yi cut into it, Lin Meng felt a sharp electric shock shoot through her ankle. Her brows furrowed. “Yiyi, stop—something feels wrong…”

Hearing the pain mixed into her voice, Huo Yi stopped and looked up with deep concern. “What is it?”

Lin Meng clutched the shackle. “When you touched it just now, it felt like a current went through me.”

Huo Yi's eyes flew wide open. She stared at the thing around Lin Meng's ankle in disbelief. Gradually, her expression turned to fury. “That lunatic Yun Huaizhu—how dare she do this!”

Yun Huaizhu had installed a tracking alarm on the shackle. If anyone tried to break it, it would emit an electric current.

Forcing the shackle open wouldn't work now. They'd have to break the chain instead.

Huo Yi stood up and headed for the door. “I'll find something to break the chain.”

“No…” Lin Meng reached out to stop her, unwilling to be left alone in this place.

Hearing the panic in her voice, Huo Yi halted, spun around, and ran back to Lin Meng. She pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don't worry, I won't leave you. I just need to find a proper tool to break the chain so we can get out safely.”

Huo Yi's kiss seemed to soothe the violent unease inside her. She wasn't as frightened anymore. Lin Meng's grip on her hand slowly loosened. Seeing this, Huo Yi reached out and stroked her hair. “Don't be afraid. I'll be back soon.”

Lin Meng felt much better at her comfort and let go of Huo Yi's hand.

Huo Yi smiled and turned away. But when she reached the doorway, she suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs from below—“click, click, click.”

Huo Yi panicked. How could Yun Huaizhu have gotten back so fast?

If she went down now, she'd surely run into Yun Huaizhu. Lin Meng was still chained up—if she didn't break the chain, there was no way to get her out.

Huo Yi was caught in a dilemma, her grip tightening on the knife.

She had never been this reckless for anyone in her life.

But Lin Meng was worth it.

If she weighed everything by profit and loss, what right did she have to say she liked Lin Meng?

With that thought, Huo Yi retreated back into the room. At the same time, Lin Meng, through the open door, heard the footsteps drawing closer.

Was it Yun Huaizhu?

Lin Meng had a vague premonition that if Huo Yi and Yun Huaizhu confronted each other now, something far worse than a fight would happen between them.

Lin Meng got off the bed barefoot and grabbed Huo Yi's arm. “Yiyi, please don't clash with Zhuzhu because of me.”

Lin Meng was always like this—naively wanting everyone to get along the way she imagined. But how could the possessiveness born of love tolerate a third person?

Huo Yi knew that if she confronted Yun Huaizhu here today, then tomorrow she'd be dealing with Su Yutang.

As the footsteps grew nearer, Lin Meng felt her heart leap into her throat. Beside her, Huo Yi tensed into a defensive stance.

The figure emerged from the dim stairwell, growing clearer.

Lin Meng couldn't see well, but she felt the person didn't quite match Yun Huaizhu's silhouette.

Beside her, Huo Yi instantly recognized who it was.

At that moment, Huo Yi's heart was filled with absurd disbelief. She'd worked so hard to hold Yun Huaizhu off and finally gotten this heaven-sent opportunity. And now—her most formidable rival had tracked them down too.

As the person drew closer to the door, Lin Meng finally made out the figure through the blur. She exclaimed in shock, “Su… Tangtang, what are you doing here?”

Su Yutang stood two steps from Huo Yi and Lin Meng, a dark, eerie smile on her face. “Well, well. Huo Yi, you're here too. On my way here, I heard you had someone crash into Yun Huaizhu. Finally baring your claws at your enemy?”

Goosebumps instantly rose on Lin Meng's skin. As if she'd been frightened, she immediately let go of Huo Yi's arm.

Huo Yi could feel Lin Meng's withdrawal clearly, and it was all because of Su Yutang's big mouth.

When she'd gotten the fingerprint cot made from Yun Huaizhu's print, she'd sent people with infrared cameras to scan every property Yun Huaizhu owned in Jing City. Eventually, she'd found a person's silhouette at the place where Yun Huaizhu had grown up.

Huo Yi didn't need to guess—Yun Huaizhu had locked Lin Meng there. So she'd had someone stage an accident to delay Yun Huaizhu and seized the chance to come rescue Lin Meng.

Damn it! Su Yutang had ruined her plan!

Lin Meng looked up at Huo Yi, trembling. “Yiyi, is what she said true? Did you really have someone crash into Zhuzhu?”

Huo Yi clenched her fists, too guilty to answer. Instead, she glared at Su Yutang. “What did you do to my people waiting outside the villa?”

Su Yutang wore a long black leather coat, her right hand still buried in her pocket as it had been all along. “I couldn't do anything to them, of course. They were just a little unreasonable, so my bodyguards tied them up and left them by the gate. A little wind will help them cool off and think.”

Seeing that Huo Yi wouldn't answer her question, Lin Meng turned her pleading gaze to Su Yutang. “Tangtang, how is Zhuzhu now?”

Su Yutang walked over and wrapped one arm around Lin Meng's waist, smoothing the furrow between her brows. “I don't know. Perhaps you'd feel better if you came to the hospital with me to see her.”

Lin Meng felt a flicker of suspicion at her strange expression, but her concern for Yun Huaizhu outweighed it. She grabbed Su Yutang's sleeve. “Please, take me to see her!”

Seeing that even now, Lin Meng cared so much about Yun Huaizhu's safety, Su Yutang felt a chill of desolation in her heart.

She cupped Lin Meng's face, forcing this heartless person to look at her. “Of course I can. But I've done you such a big favor—how are you going to repay me?”

Hearing Su Yutang's strange tone, Huo Yi stepped forward and said loudly, “Mengmeng, don't believe her! She hates Yun Huaizhu so much—how could she really take you to see her as she says?”

Su Yutang's smile vanished. With her left arm around Lin Meng, she turned to face Huo Yi. “But you're the one who had someone crash into Yun Huaizhu. How are you any better? You delayed Yun Huaizhu and came here to rescue Lin Meng just to win her sympathy, didn't you? She's simple-minded, but I'm not stupid.”

“So what if I had someone crash into her? She imprisoned Mengmeng first! I was just trying to save Mengmeng. If that lunatic keeps her locked up, who knows what crazy thing she'll do next?”

Huo Yi pointed at Su Yutang, scathing. “And you think you're any better? You can't even defy your mother's orders. Even if you got her now, would you really do what your mother does—take a proper wife and keep Lin Meng as a mistress?”

Having vented her accusations at Su Yutang, Huo Yi turned to Lin Meng with desperate hope. “Mengmeng, I admit I was wrong about this, but I did it all to save you. Don't believe her—come with me, please?”

With that, she extended her hand to Lin Meng.

Lin Meng felt an unprecedented bone-deep cold crawl through her limbs.

Yes—she had been the one to ask Huo Yi for help. It was because she'd asked Huo Yi for help that Huo Yi had staged the crash, that Yun Huaizhu had been injured and hospitalized.

All of this had started because of her. It was all her fault.

Seeing Huo Yi still shamelessly trying to take Lin Meng away, Su Yutang pulled Lin Meng behind her. “Whether she wants to or not, I'm taking her today.”

At those words, Huo Yi's eyes turned bloodshot. She clenched her fists in fury. “You want to fight me again? Since we were children, you've always been one step ahead of me. But today—Lin Meng is the one thing I won't let you take!”

Hearing that Huo Yi wanted to fight her, Su Yutang couldn't help but laugh. Huo Yi had always prided herself on being clever, yet now she was being foolish.

Just as Huo Yi, filled with hostility, was about to throw her fist at Su Yutang, Su Yutang pulled out the right hand she'd kept hidden in her pocket.

Lin Meng's eyes flew wide—because Su Yutang was holding a black handgun, and she was pointing it at Huo Yi.

When the cold muzzle pressed against her forehead, Huo Yi froze on the spot.

Su Yutang's ice-cold words rang in her ears. “You want to fight me? Another day, perhaps. Today I'm here to take Lin Meng. If you insist on stopping me, I don't mind leaving you short an arm or a leg.”

Lin Meng's intuition told her the gun in Su Yutang's hand was real.

Weren't Su Yutang and Huo Yi childhood friends? How could she point a gun at Huo Yi?

No. This couldn't be happening.

Terrified the gun might go off and hurt Huo Yi, Lin Meng grabbed Su Yutang's sleeve. “Tangtang, please don't do this. I'll go with you!”

Seeing Lin Meng agree to go with Su Yutang, Huo Yi's face filled with unwillingness and sorrow. “Mengmeng, don't be afraid of her! She wouldn't dare. If I die, she won't have an easy time either. I don't want you to walk out that door and fall into another cage.”

Su Yutang pressed her finger against the trigger. “Go ahead and try.”

Lin Meng shouted, “Enough! Enough!!”

As if breaking down, she cried out at Huo Yi, “I'm sorry. I should never have asked you for help in the first place! It was my selfishness that hurt Zhuzhu, and ruined your friendship with Su Yutang. It's all my fault. I'm going with her willingly—it has nothing to do with you. Please, just stop interfering!”

Seeing Lin Meng's hysterical, broken state, Huo Yi felt something pierce her heart. Her voice softened. “Mengmeng…”

Hearing Lin Meng's words, Su Yutang smiled with deep satisfaction. She swung the gun around—“Bang!”—and shattered the chain binding Lin Meng.

She caressed Lin Meng's tear-streaked face with obsessive tenderness. “Darling, I'm taking you home.”