Ye Huohuo was hit on the head with a club. The blow was exceptionally brutal. If the club hadn't been like a police baton with a rubber coating, it would have cracked her skull. Even so, she saw stars and before she could recover, countless more blows rained down on her. She had no choice but to curl up on the ground, protecting her head, unable to fight back.
As the intense blows landed on her body, Ye Huohuo endured the pain, shielding her head. She saw through the gaps that while the Four Great Vajras were also hit with police batons, they only received a few symbolic blows before being pushed aside to squat. They weren't beaten as severely as she and Lu Yao.
Fairness, often, did not exist.
"You dare to fight? Your guts have grown big. All of you go into the dark room."
Ye Huohuo was dazed from the beating, her ears buzzing, her mind blank. She only heard a sentence, unable to discern who said it. Then, her body went limp, and she was dragged into a room, each person holding an arm.
The room was damp and cold. Perhaps it was a concussion, but she felt waves of nausea. She dry-heaved on the ground for a long time but nothing came out.
"You're pregnant!" a cold voice came from the darkness.
The room was almost sealed, with only a small ventilation opening at the very top. A sliver of light leaked in from the vent, barely illuminating a small area. Ye Huohuo happened to be at the edge of this bright spot, and the voice originated from deeper within the darkness.
Although she couldn't see the person, Ye Huohuo recognized the voice.
"You really can't say anything nice! You've been locked up too, and beaten?" Ye Huohuo gave a wry smile. This person truly never minced words.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Lu Yao squatted down to look at Ye Huohuo. Ye Huohuo awkwardly wiped the corner of her mouth. "Sorry, you've seen all my unsightly moments. You... should be quite happy."
"I am very happy. If you could have choked that woman named Sister Juan to death and then been shot, I would be even happier." Lu Yao spoke harsh words, but she helped Ye Huohuo to sit down against the wall, where there was a small cushion. Sitting there was more comfortable than the concrete floor.
"Heh, I've disappointed you. I still can't figure out why you helped me just now. You should have been very happy to see my eyes gouged out. Why did you intervene?" Ye Huohuo leaned against the wall, her consciousness gradually clearing, and the nauseous feeling subsided a bit.
"You are my opponent. If you die, you must die by my hand. They aren't even worthy of gouging out your eyes. Besides, didn't I say it earlier? The thing I hate most is being outnumbered. Saving that puppy back then and saving you today is the same principle."
Ye Huohuo couldn't see Lu Yao's expression, but she could guess it must be quite provoking. She gave a wry smile.
"Alright, regardless of anything else, I'll remember this favor today. I'll return it when I have the chance."
"Do you know who Sister Juan is? Do you know who you've offended?" Lu Yao tilted her head to look at Ye Huohuo.
The light in the room was dim, and Ye Huohuo couldn't see Lu Yao's face clearly, but Lu Yao could see her. This was a secret skill of Maoshan techniques; as long as there was a sliver of light, they could see clearly.
Lu Yao saw the confusion on Ye Huohuo's face. "You don't know Sister Juan?" She was surprised.
"I could tell today that she was not to be trifled with, but I really don't know her identity."
"Heh, she's someone who can make the entire Haicheng tremble with just a stomp. The Li family is the overlord of Haicheng in the legitimate world. In the underworld, that's the Bai family, Sister Juan's kin. The current head of the Bai family is her elder brother. You see those Four Great Vajras around Sister Juan? Those four are criminals who committed minor offenses and were brought here to look after Sister Juan.
I heard that she once vowed to leave the underworld to pursue Li Mohan, but Li Mohan dismissed her. For this, Sister Juan tried to kidnap someone from the Li family to force his hand, but she was stopped by a mysterious person. Later, for some reason, she was detained here for a fraud case."
After speaking, Lu Yao nudged Ye Huohuo. "As for you, I didn't expect you to have infiltrated the Li family and become Li Mohan's little wife. It's said it's better to offend a gentleman than a villain. You've struck the eldest daughter of the Bai family today, and the Bai family is famous for their vindictiveness. You've definitely made an enemy of the Bai family."
Ye Huohuo pressed her throbbing temple and touched the increasingly swollen lump on her head. "Is this your first day knowing me? Do I have few enemies? You're so difficult, and I'm still alive. Another Bai family is nothing. However, these police officers here are truly ruthless. And I didn't expect they were also afraid of the Bai family."
"Of course. Even if they weren't afraid, they have families. What if their families are targeted after offending the Bai family? In Haicheng, compared to the Li family, most people fear the Bai family more. Offending the Li family might mean losing business, but offending the Bai family means risking your life."
"If the Bai family is so powerful, why would they let Bai Juan be locked up here? And you said it was just for fraud? They dare to kill people." Ye Huohuo coughed a couple of times, a hint of sweetness flooding her throat.
"That's why it's a mystery!" Lu Yao sniffed. "Are you injured?" As she spoke, she felt around Ye Huohuo's body.
The clothes on Ye Huohuo's shoulders and waist felt wet and sticky to the touch. Lu Yao brought her hand to her nose and sniffed. "Blood? You're bleeding? They didn't have any weapons, how could you be bleeding? Let me see!"
Ye Huohuo flinched back. "It's nothing, it's an old wound. The wound just reopened."
However, Lu Yao ignored her resistance, pushed her onto the ground, and pulled open her clothes. A strong smell of blood hit her. The wounds on her shoulders and waist had torn open, and there were signs of suppuration. She also discovered the wounds on Ye Huohuo's buttocks, which had worsened.
She reached out and felt Ye Huohuo's forehead. "You have a fever! No, the suppuration in the wounds has caused a fever. If it gets serious, it could be fatal. I'll call someone to get you to a doctor."
"No!" Ye Huohuo grabbed her hand. "No, it's not time yet. My case is clearly a setup by someone behind the scenes. By staying in the detention center and being closely monitored, I have no power to retaliate when bullied. In short, the more pathetic I appear, the more they will relax their vigilance, and the more opportunities I will have to find their loopholes."
"But how will they know you're like this here? Are you overthinking it? Do they have informants here?" Lu Yao shivered slightly. Being monitored was not a pleasant feeling.
"It's very possible, so I have to stay!"
Seeing Ye Huohuo's insistence, Lu Yao tore off a few pieces from her inner shirt and simply treated Ye Huohuo's wounds.
With her wounds treated, Ye Huohuo felt more comfortable. She propped herself up with one hand and turned to her side. She hadn't felt much pain when she was being beaten, but now that she had relaxed, her whole body started to ache. Even a simple turn took a great deal of effort.
"Is your opponent really as formidable as you think?" Lu Yao still found Ye Huohuo's words hard to believe and thought her concerns were a bit excessive.
"Do you think someone who could set up such a meticulous trap to frame me and leave me speechless would be a simple person? I've thought about it carefully. There were only two or three hours during this period where I couldn't prove my whereabouts, and he could use that to frame me. I guess he must have installed eyes on me!
Or used some method to understand my movements no matter where I was. So, he must also see what's happening to me here. The more pathetic and helpless I appear, the more he will believe his plan is about to succeed. And I suspect that my encountering the Bai family here was also within his calculations."
Lu Yao's brow suddenly furrowed. She said in disbelief, "Could I also be part of his plan?"