Warning: violence
(I feel that I describe the violence in this chapter a little bit much and may bring some discomfort to some readers so please be aware.)
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"You're the one who got in my way. You ruined my plan by getting in my way," he squeezed harder. She gasped for air again and couldn't find the strength to scream for help. Everything was getting blurry, but she quickly glanced beside her to spot a vase. She reached out to grab it but couldn't reach it just yet. She tried again, but then she started to notice darkness was closing in. She felt her eye slowly closing, but at that moment, she felt the vase within her fingertips before latching onto it and smashing it into his head. He groaned in pain as she collapsed on the floor. Xiaomei started coughing in pain to breathe as she was trying to crawl away. She knew she couldn't stay there, waiting for her breathing to go back to normal and be a sitting duck.
She had to run. She was finally able to crawl up to her feet. She headed towards the door before he grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the table. Her body slid across the floor, and her back slammed against the table's legs. Her back was throbbing in pain. She grabbed onto a chair's leg and threw it at him. He used both of his arms to block the chair, so his face was covered by his arms. She then took that chance to pull herself by using the table's leg to get her up. She saw the teapot she was still using to brew her medicine. She grabbed it and threw it at his head, but luck was not on her side as she was slightly off-point. It only bumped the side of his head, but he still fell to his knees in pain. She grabbed a teacup in one hand and the other a chair. She raised the chair up and smashed it down on his back, causing him to be completely on the floor. She quickly bolted out the door as her body was in a flight-or-fight mood. The adrenaline in her body made her feel no pain, as if her body was numb, and the only thing that was on her mind was to run.
Once Xiaomei was outside, it was empty with a few lights. There was no one around. Even if she wanted to scream for help and hope they could hear, she couldn't. She felt her throat was tight and painful as it hurt when she tried to talk. All she could do was hope that she could make it to them. However, Baozhai's uncle jumped out of nowhere. He was in front of her, stopping her from going in that direction. "You think I'll let you get help," he said, lunging at her. He grabbed her arms tightly before she used the hand that had the teacup and smashed his head again. The teacup shattered into pieces but also cut her hand in the process. However, she still held onto one broken piece before he released her and groaned in pain. She quickly ran the other way as it was the only option she could take since he was starting to grit his teeth and looked ready to lunge at her.
He wiped the blood off the side of his head and glared at her back. His eyes show great determination to kill her with all his heart. Little did Xiaomei know her injured hand was leaving a trail of blood for him to follow her.
She reached a deserted area. Where there were empty rooms for more guests to spend the night. She hurried to open a door and closed it behind her before crouching down to hide. Once she was trying to catch her breath, she could feel the adrenaline in her body start to fade away, and she could feel the pain again. She then noticed the trail of blood she was leaving. She looked at her bloody hand, holding onto a sharp piece of porcelain that was covered in blood. She switched it to her other hand before having her bleeding hand grip her clothes to make her blood soak into her clothes instead of dripping on the ground. She knew she couldn't stay here any longer because he was probably following the trail of blood. She quickly and quietly exited through the window.
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On the other side of the residence, Baozhai woke up. All three of them got up and surrounded her before asking if she was okay.
However, Baozhai didn't care to answer them and asked, "Where's Huang Daiyu? Is she okay?"
"Why do you care if she is okay? You are the one who's hurt," Chuhua said.
"No, she's the one who protected me. Before I fainted, I recall her getting hit instead," Baozhai said, getting up as she felt a slight pain in the back of her head. They stood there shocked as they started to recall Xiaomei clutching the side of her stomach and looking pale. Both LiJie and Bojing hurried out.
Once they were close to Xiaomei's room, they saw the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground with blood spots here and there. They immediately saw her door wide open. They hurried inside to see if she was there. However, all they saw was a mess. There were broken pieces of a vase, a scattered teapot, and wooden chairs thrown in all sorts of directions before they hurried to follow the trail of blood.