Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 29: Breathing Is Needed To Support Life

Chapter 29: Breathing Is Needed To Support Life

"In other news, entertainment mogul Ye Song Li has declared bankruptcy this morning as a result of a police investigation into his company, Song Li Entertainment. So far, the charges pending include sex trafficking, prostitution, solicitation of minors, trafficking of minors, possession of drugs, possession of drugs with the intent to sell, tax fraud, and tax evasion. Investigators stress that this is merely the beginning of their investigations and, as such, are unable to comment on the scope of this matter. You might know Song Li Entertainment as the producer of the iconic bands ’Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, and ’You Wish You Were Me’. They also managed several A and B list actors as well as some internet celebrities—"

"Turn it off before you wake her up," said his father as he quietly entered Wang Tian Mu’s room. Bai Long Qiang turned off his phone and looked at the older man.

"That is a lot of dirt to find in the space of a few hours," he said, nodding toward a chair in the room where his father could sit.

"That is what worries me. If it was so easy to find all that shit, what are they actually trying to hide?" muttered his father with a tired sight.

Bai Long Qiang studied his father’s face and was about to speak when he was quickly cut off. "We found the place where they had been holding Wang Tian Mu. The taxi driver was able to give us a general area where she was picked up, and then we worked backward from there. Did you know she was being held in Ye Mei Hui’s apartment?"

Bai Long Qiang felt his eyes open in shock at those words. "Wasn’t she worried?"

"Apparently not," mused his father as he folded his fingers over his belly and looked at the bed. "There was also a deceased individual inside of the apartment at the time of entry. A 31-year-old male by the name of Zhu Qing Shan. He is reportedly one of the bodyguards that the Ye’s higher whenever they need something, less than savory, done."

"You think they had plans for more than just knocking her out and demanding a ransom?" asked Bai Long Qiang. It wasn’t like he had thought that this kidnapping couldn’t have gone sideways, but was a little kid really that much of a threat that they needed to eliminate her?

His father looked at him incredulously before shaking his head. "I think that with some of the evidence found, killing her outright might have been a blessing."

Bai Long Qiang stiffened his arms, trying to pull Wang Tian Mu even closer to his body. He had failed her twice; he refused for there to be a third time.

"Is there going to be a backlash?" he asked softly. Wang Tian Mu had admitted killing a man, and he could tell how much that pained her to admit. He wouldn’t let the scumbag’s death prey on her conscious anymore or let it get her into trouble.

"Not for her. According to the forensic records, the killer has to be a 6-foot-tall male. The angle shows that the strike was made at a downward angle, meaning that the perpetrator needed to be the same height, if not taller than the victim."

Bai Long Qiang held up his hand. "Can we both agree never to call that piece of shit a victim again? I feel that the ghosts of all his actual victims would come back to haunt us from beyond the grave."

His father laughed softly and shook his head. "Done. I was simply trying to point out that, according to the experts, they are never going to be looking at Wang Tian Mu in a million years."

Squeezing the girl in his arms, Bai Long Qiang let out a low chuckle. His father and grandfather might be willing to stick to coloring inside the lines, but when it came to keeping his Kitten safe, he was more than happy to work in the darker edges of society.

---

"Breathing is needed in order to support life," I complained as the white dragon in my dreams kept squeezing me harder and harder. I was just waiting for the moment that it ate me, but that hadn’t happened yet.

"Good morning, Kitten," came the rumbling voice of Bai Long Qiang. Ah, that explained the squeezing feeling. "My dad is in the room, so you might want to keep your eyes closed."

I stiffened at his words, my brain moving slower than normal as it tried to process what he was saying.

"I didn’t want you to sleep with it in, so after your mom changed you for bed, I took it out."

It was so nice when you didn’t have to use your poor, abused brain to figure things out. I nodded my head in understanding and nestled in between his shoulder and jaw.

"She hasn’t opened her eyes yet. Should I call Doctor Li to come take a look?" asked another male voice. Ah, his father.

"No, she’s fine. I think there is too much light in this room for her right now, and we don’t want to shock her system by forcing her eyes open," answered Bai Long Qiang, lying through his teeth like a professional. I simply gave a thumbs up in the direction the voice was coming from and let it go at that.

My ears were still ringing, and my head was pounding. Even if I wasn’t scared about everyone seeing my eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to open them for fear that the pain would become worse.

"Here," continued Bai Long Qiang, placing something in my hand. "It’s two painkillers prescribed by Doctor Li." I popped them in my mouth and managed to swallow them dry. It wasn’t the way I usually preferred to take medication, but I wasn’t moving to get a glass of water, either.

"Still think he is a quack," I muttered, resting my head back against his chest.

"That’s fine. After you graduate from med school, you can become the Bai personal doctor and get rid of him." I could feel Bai Long Qiang shaking under me as he tried to control his laughter. Jokes on him. I might just take him up on it.