Chapter 55: Black Cat

The rain was getting heavier.
Xiahou Ming staggered and stood up from the slippery asphalt road.
When she climbed over the gate just now, she rolled over to relieve the force, causing her knees and palms to feel a burning pain.
But she didn’t care.
She pulled up the hood of her raincoat, hiding most of her face in the shadows.
She let the raindrops as big as beans hit her body.
She stretched out her hand and opened her palm.
The line of beautiful handwriting had become blurred by rain and sweat.
But that was enough.
She took a deep breath, filling her chest with the cold air.
Then, she plunged into the pouring rain.
Yanjiang Road was one of the oldest and least popular streets in this small town.
There was only one street lamp at a great distance, and the dim light was cut into blurry halos in the heavy rain, barely illuminating the bumpy road surface under her feet.
Xiahou Ming walked step by step in the puddles.
The rain flowed down the edge of her raincoat and into her shoes, making her feel icy cold.
She walked on the quiet street, searching for any clues related to “cat.”
On the faded sign of a roadside store was a picture of a grinning lucky cat.
No. That’s too tacky.
On the windowsill on the second floor of a certain house, there was a sticker of Black Cat Sheriff, the edges of which had long been curled up by the rain.
No. That’s too childish.
She walked and searched like this, her whole body already wet, and she couldn’t tell whether what was sliding down her face was rain or cold sweat.
Just as she was about to reach the end of Yanjiang Road, the fire that had finally ignited in her heart was about to be completely extinguished by the cold rain—
Her steps paused.
In front of her, a black shadow was squatting.
Xiahou Ming squinted her eyes and could barely see clearly with the faint light in the distance.
That was a cat.
A cat that was completely black, had a thin body, and looked like it was fished out of ink.
Its eyes were staring at her without blinking through the heavy rain.
She walked into the alley, but the black cat did not run away in panic like other wild cats.
It just shook its wet fur gracefully and then wagged its long, thin tail.
With a light leap, it jumped onto the wall of a small, old-looking standalone building.
It turned around and looked at Xiahou Ming again.
Then, it disappeared into the darkness on the other side of the courtyard wall.
Xiahou Ming stood in front of the small building and raised her head.
This was it.
She knew.
Taking advantage of the occasional lightning that flashed across the sky, she walked carefully around the outer wall of the small building, looking for a gap that could allow her to peek inside.
Finally, her eyes locked on a window with undrawn curtains.
Raindrops slid down her cheeks, but she didn’t care.
She stood on tiptoe, clinging to the slippery and cold windowsill, and carefully peeked into the rectangle illuminated by the dim light.
The room was extremely empty.
The walls were pure white, and the floors were spotless wooden floors.
Apart from the bookshelves that took up an entire wall, there was almost no extra furniture.
Then, she saw it.
Right in the center of the room, Yu Yuhui was kneeling on the floor with her back to her.
Her upper body was only wearing a black tank top, revealing a large area of her pale, thin back and shoulders.
What made Xiahou Ming’s breath stop was the hemp ropes tied around her arms and upper body.
The rope was so tight that it even left clear, red marks on her smooth skin.
Xiahou Ming couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.
At this moment, Yu Yuhui slowly raised her right hand.
In her hand, she held a dark red wooden ruler.
Then, in Xiahou Ming’s confused gaze, she used the ruler to mercilessly whip her other shoulder.
Bang!
A crisp yet dull sound was clearly heard by Xiahou Ming even through a layer of glass and rain.
She saw that a glaring scar immediately appeared on Yu Yuhui’s fair shoulder.
Bang!
Bang!
Yu Yuhui’s movements followed one after another with a stubborn rhythm.
There was no expression on her face, as if the person being whipped was another person’s body.
“…I can’t feel it at all.”
“Why… can pleasure and pain exist at the same time?”
“Why can’t my body… do this?”
“…To be shaken by that level of violence…”
“…Humiliation, such an impure emotion… is the proper reaction of a counterfeit.”
“…Fakes… should be punished.”
Bang!
Yu Yuhui threw away the ruler in her hand.
Not enough.
It was far from enough.
Pain.
She needed more pure pain.
Her eyes fell on the floor beside her.
There, there was a pair of scissors.
That’s it.
She picked up the scissors, held them backwards, and pointed the sharp tip at her flat belly.
This was it.
At noon, Lin Xiaomei’s fists repeatedly hit the same spot.
All impure suffering originated from this.
Then, use purer pain to dig it out.
Xiahou Ming looked at the chilling scene inside the window, her mind going blank.
She wants to kill herself.
No!
“Stop—!”
She slammed the cold glass window frantically and screamed with all her might, but her voice was completely drowned out by the huge thunder and rain.
The person inside the window, immersed in self-sacrifice, showed no reaction.
She saw that Yu Yuhui closed her eyes and began to exert force with the hand holding the scissors.
The sharp tip had pierced through her thin tank top and pressed against her fair skin, even slightly indenting into it.
Xiahou Ming no longer hesitated.
She took a few steps back and wrapped the dark green raincoat tightly around her right shoulder and arm.
Then, she slammed hard into the glass window.
“Bang—crash!”
The sound of breaking glass mixed with the rumble of thunder outside the window.
Xiahou Ming climbed into the room through the broken window, completely ignoring the shards of glass.
She rushed forward, snatched the cold scissors from Yu Yuhui’s hand, and threw them far into the corner of the room.
Yu Yuhui was startled by the sudden intrusion and opened her eyes suddenly.
She looked at Xiahou Ming, who was soaked all over, and forgot to react for a moment.
Then, Xiahou Ming opened her arms and hugged the still trembling body tightly in her arms.
“That’s enough…!”
She buried her face in Yu Yuhui’s cold neck, her voice trembling violently due to extreme emotional fluctuations.
“That’s enough…”
“Stop… hurting yourself…”
She felt the trembling body in her arms slowly relax after the initial stiffness.
Yu Yuhui leaned her head on Xiahou Ming’s shoulder, letting her tears drip onto Xiahou Ming’s dark green raincoat.
“…You saw me.”