Chapter 112 - Women Turn To Monsters

"I need stitches," Feng Xuan said as her skin burned. A man was bent before her, cleaning her leg wound.

"Yes, you will get stitches," answered the huge man. He was over six feet tall and his voice sounded like it had came from an underwater cave. "As soon as your husband gives what the senator wants."

"Have you heard him?" Feng Xuan asked, her face distorted in distate that this man was following a lunatic. "His plans are going to crash."

The huge man's jaw tightened. "We place our lives at the hands of the senator. He will see this through." The man had secured her wound with layers of gauze. "It should keep it from bleeding for the time being. Don't move too much."

Feng Xuan lifted her fingers to show her bounded wrist. "Not much room for moving anyway."

The man had only loosened the hold on her ankle, just enough for him to get the wrappings right. He tightened it back again. "It'll be over soon."

"Sure," she sighed, uninterested. Maybe they did have a plan to let her go. They made an effort to keep her wound from festering when they could've just let her die with an infection.

Feng Xuan had turned her attention to the senator who was leaning over a table—whispering words like a prayer of some sort, or a chant to summon someone, she was not sure. When he was talking about his plans earlier, she was just waiting for him to form bubbles in his mouth like an animal going crazy.

She was getting bored to be honest, her scalp was itching enough that she wanted to pull all her hair off. "It's really hot in here," she said, feeling the perspiration on her chest and arms. "Can I please get a fan?"

"No," said the senator. "We're having you transferred to another room in a minute. Stay still. I'm waiting for your husband to call."

Feng Xuan still wore her watch and found that it had been thirty minutes since the senator gave the script to Qing Chen. She could feel it in her bones that her husband had no plans of following the instructions. She even got excited at the thought of a whole cavalry would come to save her.

But, it wasn't like she was in a movie. She tried flexing her wrists, making it loose but it was tight enough that her hands were already looking purple. Sure enough, her feet were suffering the same fate.

Feng Xuan kept her mind awake by thinking of how she could get out of this place once she got out of her bonds. But so far she had only seen one room and two people—the senator and the person who cleaned her wound. She sucked on her cheek. At least one of them has a gun.

She had never fired but surely it couldn't be that hard, right? It would just be like shooting ducks at the carnival.

Everything seemed to stop once the phone rang. "Get to the other room, go!" ordered the senator.

Two men had lifted Feng Xuan, still on her chair—she almost laughed as they struggled to keep her from falling. The other room was bigger and showed a huge screen and another door at one darkened corner—probably an emergency exit. She had to get there.

There were a few more people here. Two persons sat with computers and men littered the place holding longer and bigger guns. She unintentionally shivered.

"Hello, Qing Chen," the senator answered the call and a video popped up on the big screen.

A wave of relief washed through her when she saw her husband. "Hello? Are you there?"

"Yes, we're here, Mr. Qing."

"Oh," Qing Chen smiled. "I thought this would be a two-way video conversation. I got my hopes up."

"You'll see your wife soon enough after you've done this," the senator said.

"Okay, I should get started—"

"Wait. Hold a moment." Then he pressed the mute button and spoke to his tech guys. "Is he really at home?"

"Yes, the signal is coming from their property. You can ask some questions to make sure it's live."

He unmuted the call. "Can I see your surroundings?"

"Sure," Qing Chen said and took the camera, his face incredibly close as he detached it—the same view Feng Xuan got every time he would close in for a kiss. "We're in the living room of our house. I had to get everyone out to keep the quiet."

"Hold up three fingers."

Qing Chen broke out in a grin and did as he was told. "This is live. What are you talking about?" He placed the camera back. "Is my wife there?"

The senator put the phone to her mouth. "Hey, Qing Chen. I'm getting hungry."

Qing Chen chuckled. "Me too. We'll get you out there and let's have a hefty meal." He pulled out a paper. "I believe women have the power to turn into monsters when they're not fed so to save you all, should we get started?"

The senator nodded and a recording button appeared on the screen. "Proceed."

Qing Chen flicked the paper and they all watched as he read from it. "Good evening, citizens of this profound country. This is Qing Chen of The Kingly Empire. I'm humbly asking for your audience as I make a certain announcement regarding the following issues: the death of Mr. Wei and Mr. Zhang and the pollution in Dong Yi. I'm here to tell you that," he folded the paper and looked apologetic in the camera, "I have nothing to do with those."

The senator fumbled with his phone. "Do you want your wife to die?!"

"Let her go and I'll give you what you want."

"You're not in the position to negotiate!"

The sound of gunshots made them all whipped their heads to the door. Feng Xuan's heart raced.

"Or am I?" Qing Chen smirked and the video went black.