Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 35
Jackal’s expression changed.
He was reckless, but he wasn’t stupid.
At Black Wolf Base, Shen Yu was an absolute god—the inviolable law.
He studied Anya for a moment and became certain that this madwoman truly would fire. Behind her stood the power of the Sharma family. Even Shen Yu treated her with a measure of respect.
“Fuck.”
Jackal cursed and reluctantly withdrew his hand. Some of the suffocating pressure around him finally dispersed.
Then he turned and glared viciously at Xia Zhiyao.
“I don’t care who sent you. You’d better not let me catch you doing anything suspicious.”
Jackal’s threat was blunt.
“If I find out you betrayed the boss or sent information to that bastard Du, I’ll skin that tender hide off you alive and make it into a lantern.”
“Enough. Mr. Shen never leaves loose ends. He doesn’t need you worrying about this.”
With the threat gone, Anya lowered her weapon and returned it to the holster on the outside of her trousers.
“Stop saying this nonsense. If you frighten Mr. Shen’s little pet into illness, you can’t afford the compensation.”
Jackal said nothing more. He snorted, spun around, and slammed a hand against the pickup’s hood.
“What are you all staring at? Don’t you have work to do? Unload these supplies and put them in storage! Useless bastards!”
The men scattered.
Jackal gave Xia Zhiyao one final sinister look before striding into the depths of the shed.
Only after that terrifying figure disappeared did Xia Zhiyao’s rigid back finally relax. Cold sweat instantly soaked through her dress.
“Are you all right?”
Anya turned to Xia Zhiyao, her voice softening.
Xia Zhiyao’s face was as white as paper, but she managed to shake her head. “I’m… fine. Thank you, Dr. Anya.”
“You’re braver than I expected.”
Anya raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“You didn’t even dodge just now.”
If only she knew. Xia Zhiyao had wanted to dodge, but when the moment came, her legs had gone weak and refused to obey.
Feeling guilty, Xia Zhiyao kept that thought to herself.
“Come on. Get in the Jeep. I’ll take you to my building.”
Anya tossed away her cigarette, crushed it beneath her boot, ruffled Xia Zhiyao’s hair, and jumped into the vehicle.
“Ignore that fat bastard. His mouth is just filthy.”
Anya started the engine.
“He’s the sharpest blade in Shen Yu’s hand and does all the dirty work. Not much of a thinker, but he can certainly fight.”
“Still…”
Anya turned and flashed her a roguish, handsome smile.
“With me here, he won’t dare touch you.”
Xia Zhiyao nodded. Looking at the heroic lines of Anya’s profile, she felt some of her fear recede.
“See that mountain over there?”
As the Jeep climbed gradually higher, Anya pointed toward a distant peak wreathed in mist.
Xia Zhiyao followed her finger.
The vast mountains crouched between heaven and earth like green beasts.
“Beyond that mountain, another two hundred kilometers away, is the Huaguo border,” Anya said calmly.
But the words unleashed a storm in Xia Zhiyao’s heart.
Her eyes lit instantly.
The border…
If she could reach it, would there be police? Could she go home?
As though seeing through her thoughts, Anya gave her a penetrating look.
“Forget it, little rabbit.”
“At least three thousand land mines are buried throughout those hundred or two hundred kilometers of virgin jungle. No one but Shen Yu’s people knows the safe routes.”
“Besides,” Anya continued, “the canopy blocks out the sky, and the jungle is full of venomous snakes, leeches, and wild animals. Even without the mines, you couldn’t get through.
“And that’s not the worst of it.
“The worst would be getting lost and wandering into another faction’s territory…
“With a face like yours, if they caught you…”
Anya smiled meaningfully.
“You would think this place was paradise.”
Staring into the dark jungle, Xia Zhiyao suddenly heard Shen Yu’s words echo in her mind.
The world outside offers only death. I give you pain, but I also give you a way to live.
She shuddered.
A deep sorrow rose within her—a sorrow for her own soul.
Because for one instant, she felt herself almost surrendering to fate.
Part of her seemed close to being tamed.
That part whispered, Xia Zhiyao, you’re still alive because Mr. Shen saved you. Otherwise, you would already have been tortured to death. You should be grateful.
Another part cried, Xia Zhiyao, what are you doing? Don’t give up! You’re a human being, not a pet!
She screamed inwardly, struggling with all her unwillingness, fighting desperately to break free. Yet none of it seemed to help.
“We’re here, little rabbit. Get out.”
Anya interrupted the battle in her heart.
Coming back to herself, Xia Zhiyao found the Jeep parked before a small gray three-story building.
It was indeed far from the main building, surrounded by tall eucalyptus trees in a quiet setting.
“This is the medical building. My territory.”
“I don’t like being too close to the guards. They stink.”
Anya jumped out and opened Xia Zhiyao’s door. She even placed a hand thoughtfully against the frame to keep Xia from bumping her head.
Cool air greeted them inside.
The interior was completely unlike the building’s exterior. White walls and white tiles gave the modern facilities the appearance of a contemporary hospital.
“The first floor is emergency care and operating rooms. The second is the inpatient ward.”
Anya led her upstairs. Doctors and nurses occasionally greeted her, and she acknowledged each with a nod without slowing.
“The third floor holds my private laboratory and collection. I’ll show you.”
When the heavy wooden door on the third floor opened, Xia Zhiyao felt as though she had entered a strange museum.
Rows of display cases rose to the ceiling throughout the enormous room.
Soft, cool lights illuminated countless glass jars.
Brilliant beetles. Tropical butterflies with wings as large as washbasins. Venomous snakes coiled around dead branches…
Every specimen looked so lifelike it might awaken at any moment.
“Wow…”
Xia Zhiyao was frightened, but her instincts as an art student left her awed by the eerie beauty.
“Dr. Anya, did you… make all of these?”
“I did.”
Anya approached a case and lightly tapped the glass.
“I personally froze every life here in time.
“Death isn’t the end. This eternal stillness is the moment when they are most beautiful.”
She turned toward Xia Zhiyao, and a trace of feverish fascination suddenly entered her gaze.
“Like you.”
Anya took two steps closer.
Xia Zhiyao froze. “Me?”
Anya stopped directly before her, her tall body bringing considerable pressure.
Lowering her head, she carefully traced Xia Zhiyao’s delicate features with her eyes.
“Look at how beautiful you are right now.”
Anya’s voice deepened into a magnetic murmur, coaxing and persuasive.
“Fragile. Pale… There is a broken beauty about you.
“If I made you into a specimen and preserved this moment of your greatest fear forever, you would be the crown jewel of my collection.”
“Dr… Dr. Anya…”
Xia Zhiyao’s eyes widened. She took a frightened step back and struck something cold.
Turning, she found an enormous glass jar.
Inside it floated an intact human heart.
Every blood vessel was clearly visible, drifting gently in pale yellow formalin.
“Ah!”
Xia Zhiyao screamed. Her knees gave way beneath her.
