Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 259: Theirs

Chapter 259: Theirs

Liu Hao Yu paused in the cleaning of his blade to look over at the man kneeling on the floor, putting glass after glass into a container.

"I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. Was that a shot that I am a coward who only kills people from behind?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. He knew he probably shouldn’t kill the man for voicing his opinion. It took a lot of guts to do it. But that didn’t mean that he was willing to put up with insults. A few cuts here and there wouldn’t be too obvious... right?

"What? How did you get that?" asked Bai Long Qiang, more confused than ever. In fact, it was an utterly ingenious way of killing off your enemy while reducing your risk of being caught due to forensics.

Seriously, all bullshit aside, it was incredibly smart, and now Bai Long Qiang was trying to figure out how to add it to his own killing repertoire.

However, his favorite was still blowing people’s heads off, so maybe he wouldn’t be changing all that soon. Probably after all of the bullets in the world had run out... but not before.

"Sorry, I was subjected to a few side looks when I was rising up from the ranks," shrugged Liu Hao Yu, satisfied that the other man didn’t mean anything by it.

Bai Long Qiang scoffed at that idea and shifted the box he was working on in order to avoid the blood pouring out of where Wei Xiao Li lay on the floor.

Letting out a long sigh, Bai Long Qiang rose to his feet and grabbed the kitchen towel before throwing it on the trail of blood inching closer to him. The man was still so inconsiderate... even in death.

"They must not know the time and effort it takes to have such an efficient kill shot," replied Bai Long Qiang as one of the now silent underlings passed him yet another glass. He must have packed away at least 30 by this point, but Wang Tian Mu wanted all of them.

And what she wanted, she got.

"Right?!" agreed Liu Hao Yu, happy that someone had finally seen it from his point of view. "I mean, the first time I used this method to kill, it was because I was much smaller and weaker than my opponent. But I was nine years old, and that man was a monster."

"Impressive. I bet it took a lot of strength and effort to make that first cut, let alone the number of times you would have to go over the same spot over and over again to make it a kill shot. You know, it drives me crazy, the civilians who think that it is easy to kill someone with a bullet. It’s like... you try it sometime!"

The two underlings looked at each other but remained silent, passing glass after glass to the man bonding with the Butcher over people not appreciating how hard it was to kill people effectively.

When the third underling popped his head around the corner, sheets piled up in his arms, one of the other men frantically shook his head and brought a finger up to his lips. The last thing they needed was for him to disturb the bromance going on and for the two psychopaths to use them as practice for the perfect kill.

-----

"What do you think about this?" asked Si Dong, holding up a dress from the walk-in closet in front of him.

"Not her color," responded Fan Teng Fei as he rifled through one of the drawers in the vanity.

"You didn’t even look!" grumbled Si Dong before he threw the discarded offering on the bed before returning to the closet.

"We are not giving our woman something that someone else has worn," replied Fan Teng Fei, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. "Whoever lived in this house before isn’t even worthy of licking Treasure’s shoes, let alone having her wear her old clothes."

"I know, I know. But you know as well as I do that Cuddles is a lot more practical than that," answered Si Dong, coming out with yet another dress. This one was black with pink and red cherry blossoms over the skirt. "What do you think? It still has the tags on..."

Letting out another sigh, Fan Teng Fei turned around to look at Si Dong. "Actually, that one would be perfect for her. She loves anything with cherry blossoms on it, and it still has the tags, so it’s not like it was previously worn."

With a wave of his hand, he brought the dress into his space before joining Si Dong in the closet. "What size shoes does this woman wear? We will need a size 6 set of black, pink, or red heels to go with the dress."

Now, with a specific mission in mind, the two men combed through the walk-in, looking for things that their woman would appreciate.

-----

"This is nothing but a waste of time," growled Bin An Sha as he sat perched on a branch of the massive tree that his Firefly had restored. "We should get going. Wang Tian Mu needs a proper bed to sleep in and in a safe place. All this unknown can’t be good for her recovery."

"This is what she wants," replied Rip with a shrug of his shoulders. He was standing on a branch thicker than his thigh as he leaned against the trunk of the same tree that Bin An Sha was seated in.

The two men stared forward, their vision never wavering as they watched Wang Tian Mu sleeping in the room Liu Hao Yu had given her in the house. Her long black hair was spread out on the pristine white pillow. The covers were pulled up until only her face could be seen, and there was a slight smile on her lips.

That was good. She deserved good dreams after all the shit she had found herself in.

"We’ll get Fan Teng Fei to take the whole bed with us when we leave," continued Rip as he studied the woman who held his heart and soul in her tiny hands.

"Agreed," grunted Bin An Sha as he, too, watched the sleeping beauty in front of them. The leaves provided enough cover for them to remain where they were without anyone accidentally discovering them.

But if Liu Hao Yu thought that they would leave their woman alone and unguarded, well... he had another thing coming.

Theirs to protect. Theirs to love, and theirs to care for.