Chapter 28: Transformation Amidst Blood

A fortune is easy to obtain, but a friend who shares life and death, one who stands by you through trials and tribulations, is as rare and elusive as Cinderella’s glass slipper. At that moment, seeing Zhang Chao throw himself in the path of the kitchen knife, Lin Yu was so anxious he nearly coughed blood. In a flash, he remembered Zhang Chao in his previous life, lying in the morgue, his face serene and pale.

“No! I absolutely won’t let tragedy repeat itself!”

It is said that in moments of peril, the body floods with adrenaline, slowing the world and sharpening mind and movement. Lin Yu now felt this acutely. The surroundings seemed to fall silent; only his own heartbeat reached his ears.

“The plate!”

On the dining table, a plate became Lin Yu’s final lifeline. There was only one small white porcelain dish within reach, and in that split second, he had but one chance.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the plate and hurled it at the burly man with all his strength. He had always been the best at flicking cigarette butts, so he trusted his aim.

But he soon realized he was too slow. The plate hadn’t yet reached its target, and the kitchen knife in the man’s hand was already nearing Zhang Chao’s head.

Seeing this, Lin Yu’s heart chilled, and he stood frozen and stupefied. Dai Peng’s frenzied shouts faded to nothing; for an instant, all sound vanished.

Unable to bear watching, yet tragedy unfolded inevitably.

Facing the knife swung at his head, Zhang Chao instinctively tried to dodge, but the blade still struck the side of his head. In a blink, most of his ear was gone, and blood gushed forth like a spring.

The little porcelain plate shattered on the floor.

Zhang Chao first felt a chill atop his head, then a wave of searing pain followed. His eyelids grew heavy; he knew if he closed his eyes, he would lose consciousness completely.

“No, I can’t pass out now! If I do, this suffering will be for nothing, and my brothers will still bear the consequences.”

In a moment of crisis, as the crazed man swung the knife again, Zhang Chao endured the agony, turned his body, and forced his right shoulder to take the second blow.

At the same time, his face twisted in pain, he bit down fiercely on the man’s wrist, preventing him from withdrawing the blade.

The berserk man, blinded by rage, pummeled Zhang Chao’s head with his left fist.

Zhang Chao was clearly at his limit. Dai Peng, closest to the scene, finally snapped out of his daze. Eyes bloodshot, he lunged forward to wrestle for the knife, nearly snapping the man’s wrist.

“You... damn... bastard, go to hell!” Once he had the knife, seeing his brother wounded, Dai Peng lost all reason and cursed wildly, then swung the blade.

A sickening sound rang out.

The madman’s head was severed from his body. A surge of warm, pungent blood erupted. Dai Peng and Zhang Chao, already drenched in blood, were now soaked from head to toe.

The entire restaurant was painted in crimson.

After killing the man, Dai Peng stood dumbstruck, his body trembling uncontrollably, the knife clattering to the floor. Though fighting was commonplace for these brothers, killing was a first.

“Chao, how are you?”

Lin Yu ignored Dai Peng and rushed to Zhang Chao’s side. Trying to remain calm, he pressed his shaking fingers to Zhang Chao’s philtrum.

“He’s still breathing!”

Relief eased his heart a fraction.

“Chao, listen! Hang in there. Don’t give up, do you hear me?” Knowing the wounded mustn’t be moved, Lin Yu shouted, then whipped out his phone to dial 120 for emergency help. Those three digits took him nearly ten seconds to press, his hand trembling wildly.

Dazed, after calling for help, Lin Yu desperately wanted a cigarette. He pulled out a Baisha cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and drew hard, but didn’t light it.

The restaurant was stifling, the air thick with the metallic scent of blood, and a thread of sorrow drifted through, leaving hearts aching.

Waiting for the ambulance, Lin Yu felt a terrible pain in his heart. He had thought that, reborn, he could overturn fate. Yet after only a month, Zhang Chao was perilously close to death.

“The greatest joy in life is to hunt down one’s enemies, seize their lands and wealth, and hear the cries of their wives and children.” This was Genghis Khan’s bloody and almost deranged monologue as a conqueror.

Many nights in his previous life, Lin Yu had lain awake, recalling these words and reflecting on his own misfortune, with resentment burning in his heart. He was unwilling! Under the same vast sky, some people could command their fate, while he was endlessly mocked by destiny.

His father suffered because of him, his brothers died for him!

After being battered by harsh reality, he finally understood: Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu, Tang Zong, Song Zu—all possessed power enough to bend fate for themselves and others.

Strength is everything; humanity’s world has always belonged to the strong.

“No! I must become powerful! I must seize my destiny, and that of those beside me!”

Chewing the Baisha cigarette to bits, Lin Yu bit hard on his left index finger, silently vowing.

After being reborn, he thought careful effort could slowly change his own and others’ fate. But now he realized he was terribly mistaken.

As Lin Yu wrestled with fate, lost in deep thought, the shrill sound of an ambulance and the sharp blare of police sirens arrived almost simultaneously.

Soon, doctors and nurses in white coats entered the restaurant with stretchers. Upon entering, a female intern, about twenty years old, was so overwhelmed by the stench of blood she vomited on the spot.

At the same time, beside her, a middle-aged male doctor wearing black-framed glasses, about forty, calmly directed the rescue. His name was Wang Zegang, a chief surgeon at the city central hospital.

Quickly, a skilled male nurse hurried to Wang Zegang’s side and reported, “Director Wang, two male victims are still breathing, but both are seriously wounded with massive bleeding. Immediate resuscitation is needed. There are two dead: a male in the dining hall, and a female in the kitchen, both around forty years old.”

Lin Yu stood up and began communicating with Wang Zegang, requesting that Zhang Chao be treated first and explaining the situation.

“Child, rest assured. We’ll do our best. Contact the injured boy’s parents immediately—surgery requires a guardian’s signature, and of course, a considerable payment,” Wang Zegang said, nodding to Lin Yu, then instructing his assistants, “Time is life! Move quickly, but don’t let haste cause mistakes.”

Lin Yu obtained Wang Zegang’s phone number and began contacting his own parents, as well as those of Zhang Chao and Dai Peng.

At Wang Zegang’s urging, nurses quickly performed a rudimentary stop-bleeding procedure on Zhang Chao, then fixed him onto the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance.