Be My Strength - Chapter 445

2 years later,

At one of the prisons in Imperial City, a young man donned in a prison outfit sat on one side of the table. He was very nervous as he checked out his reflection through the one-way mirror. It had been more than one year since he was incarcerated for the crime of manslaughter.

By right, he should have been charged with murder. However, to his surprise, the prosecutors went for third-degree manslaughter instead. It was a quick trial as he admitted to his crime. Taking in every information that he received from the prosecutor, Judge Rong sentenced the young man to 15 years and that he would only be eligible for parole after serving at least 10 years.

The young man knew that his… half brother had a role in this. Otherwise, instead of 15 years, he would have to spend the rest of his life in jail.

It was one of the exchanges for his life. His half-brother would protect him from President Du’s wrath, but he had to be punished. Even though the formal reason was for the murder of their father, but the young man knew that his half-brother wanted him to be punished his role in the s*xual assault.

Today, he had an important visitor, and he had been awake the whole of last night as he tried to practice what to say to his visitor. This would be the first time they meet in person, and despite the irony of him being in jail, he wanted to make a good impression.

When he heard a triple knock on the door, he sat up straight immediately.

The first person who came into the room was the warden. The second person who walked in was his father, Mr. Ye… and followed behind him was, Lin. Before he was admitted into the jail, his father had told him about Lin, and at the end of his trial, his father had promised him that he would bring Lin over for a visit once she was better.

“Xiao Tian…”

Ye Tian was looking at Lin agape. She looked almost like his mother who he only knew from the photos scattered around his old house. Using his crutches, he pushed himself to stand up. As he looked at the woman who gave birth to his younger brother, he wanted to go over to hug her, but in the end, he held himself back.

Perhaps it was due to his own guilt over what had happened to his half-brother, or perhaps it was due to the things he did previously, Ye Tian felt that he had no right to touch her or even breathe in the same air as her.

As if she sensed his hesitation, Lin smiled and walked over to hug him.

Ye Tian stiffened. He was too nervous to say anything and glanced at his father with a pleading expression.

However, his father merely shrugged and took his seat.

After a while, Lin released Ye Tian. With a smile, she said, “You look a little like my son…”

Not knowing what to do, Ye Tian nodded.

“Lin, let’s talk while sitting down. Otherwise, Guang Ying won’t let me take you here again…”

Lin sighed. Over the past two years, she had gotten to know her son better. Unfortunately, her kind, generous baby boy had grown into a somewhat domineering man. He was still kind and generous, of course… Except when he was with his partner, Callum.

Lin chuckled at the memories of them fighting and bickering as she took her seat. It took her and Callum a lot of effort before Ghost would allow her to come for a visit without him.

Lin wanted to see Ye Tian. She had learned almost everything about the young man who was fidgeting in front of her, but she still wanted to see him. Despite what he did before, he was the son of her savior.

“Xiao Tian, how are you?” asked Lin.

Upon hearing her calling him “Xiao Tian”, Ye Tian blushed and nodded furiously, “I-I’m fine…”

“Aw, you’re so cute!” Lin laughed when she saw the light blush on Ye Tian’s face.

Ye Tian blushed even harder and his father had to step in to distract Ye Tian from embarrassing himself.

Mr. Ye and Ye Tian had come a long way. When Ye Tian was still in the hospital, Mr. Ye and Ye Tian had a long talk with each other. Even though there was still a long way to go, they were improving every day.

They chatted until the visiting hours ended. Before she left, Lin patted Ye Tian on the head and said, “Be good, alright? Your dad and I will be waiting for you outside…”

Mr. Ye hugged Ye Tian and whispered, “Dad will come for another visit in a couple of days, alright?”

Ye Tian nodded. After they left, the warden led him back to his own cell. Once he was alone in his cell, Ye Tian broke down in tears. This was the first time he felt what it was like to have a family and it was too overwhelming for him.

It was what he had wanted, and he was glad that he finally had it… However, he wished that he had it right from the start instead of having to go through so much pain.

……

On another jail in the city, something was happening…

The next day, a piece of huge news shocked the entire nation. Luo Yin, the heir of the fallen Luo Corporation – now under Du Conglomerate – tried to commit suicide while incarcerated. The guards managed to save him but the wound on his wrist was so serious that they had to send him to the hospital.

After the operation and when he was still recuperating at the general hospital, someone knocked out the policemen who were guarding the room. By the time someone found out the two unconscious policemen inside the ward and sleeping on Luo Yin’s bed, Luo Yin had disappeared.

There was a manhunt for him, and there was speculation that this was a coverup and that Luo Yin had died in jail but they were trying to hide it to avoid repercussions.

Truth was, Luo Yin had planned this well in advance. As he sat in the passenger seat of the basic white Camry with tinted windows, he said, “Damn it, Lee! It took you 2 years to figure out a way to get me out!”

“Sorry, boss. President Du has been keeping a tight watch on you. It took me a lot of money before I could get someone to smuggle in the message to you.”

Luo Yin looked irritated as he glanced at his bandaged wrist. “I almost died for real!”

“Sorry.”

“Where are we going now?” asked Luo Yin as he looked out of the window. When he saw a police car at the corner, he immediately ducked down to hid himself. It was only after they passed the police car that he sat up again.

Lee smirked at his behavior before he replied, “I found the best hiding spot at the outskirts of Imperial. We’ll stay there until midnight. I’ve arranged for someone to smuggle you out. His ship would come in at 1 a.m.”

“Fine!” Luo Yin mumbled before he started to eat the burger that Lee bought for him. He glanced at his reflection from the rearview mirror and sighed. His face had signs of stress written on it, and he had lost a little weight since he was incarcerated. Thank God that he still had some money from his inheritance, and after his father passed away, he received a huge payout from the insurance as well.

Using Lee’s help, he had been bribing some of the inmates to protect him. In addition, he managed to buy off some of the guards to bring him nice food from the outside.

Otherwise, he would really die from the sad food that they served in prison. With a sigh and with his mouth filled with food, Luo Yin muttered, “You know, Lee… The food that they served in that goddamn place was horrible! Not only was it small in portion, but the taste…”

He shivered just by the thought of the bland and tasteless meals that he had previously. Then he quickly finished up the burger. Not long after he finished eating the burger, he suddenly felt a little exhausted. Since they would not reach for at least another hour, Luo Yin decided to take a nap.

When he finally woke up, he found himself sitting in a dark room. He wondered where he was and how long was he out. When he tried to rub his eyes, he found his wrists were bound together… and so were his ankles.

“Lee?” Luo Yin called out in confusion and fear.

Suddenly, bright lights filled the entire room and a buzzing sound could be heard. While the lights were flickering, Luo Yin saw the silhouette of a few people standing in front of him.

Once Luo Yin’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw the 4 people standing in front of him: DX, Kai Xin, Callum, and Ghost.

They were standing inside the room with him. Suddenly filled with the sense of impending doom, he immediately looked around the room to see who he could ask for help from.

He gulped when he saw the ropes that were left on the floor, and he shivered when he saw the rack that was filled with knives of various sizes.

He quickly turned away from the rack and it was then he noticed that Lee was standing in front of a mirror.

“Lee! What happened!”

However, Lee did not answer him. Instead, he merely looked at Luo Yin with an indifference look.

“Lee, do you want to tell him your true identity?” asked Ghost with an indifferent tone as he leaned back against the wall.

Lee bowed politely at Ghost before he turned back to Luo Yin and said, “I’m the spy sent by Young Master Guang Ying…”

Luo Yin gasped and his eyes went wide as if he could not believe what he had just heard. “What?”

“The other identity, Lee…” said Ghost before he broke out in a yawn. He had had only an hour of sleep last night. When Callum looked at him, Ghost glared back at him and mouthed, “Your fault!”

To his annoyance, Callum merely smirked and looked away.

They then watched as Lee walked to Luo Yin and stood in front of him. Without any warning, he launched a fist across Luo Yin’s face causing the latter to fall off the chair.

A loud thud could be heard from behind the mirror but Lee ignored it. Luo Yin tried to get up but Lee kicked him hard in the stomach.

After a while, Ghost said, “Stop it, Lee. Do as you’re told.”

Upon hearing Ghost’s order, Lee stopped himself but the hatred was still in his eyes.

Luo Yin groaned from the pain. His wound on his left wrist was bleeding again, and so were his nose and lips. As he laid down on his side, he asked weakly, “Why?”

“Why? You want to know my other identity?” hissed Lee. He walked over and knelt on one knee. He then grabbed Luo Yin’s hair and lifted him up slightly as he snarled, “My name is Lee Yue! Lee Xue’s younger brother!”

When he saw Luo Yin’s confused face, Lee laughed out loud. He then released Luo Yin’s hair and kicked the man in the gonads. As Luo Yin pulled his legs up to protect his bruised manhood, Lee yelled as he continued to stomp on Luo Yin’s torso, “You r*ped her, and you caused her death! You’re the one who did it! You and that f*cking Shangguan Xing! How dare you to forget about her name?!”

That year, he was still very young, but he knew that what his parents did were wrong. However, he could not do anything. Even when he tried to tell the policemen, it was obvious to him that the policemen were in it.

He had wanted to take revenge, but he did not know how. It was Ghost who gave him that chance.

Ghost sighed and signaled one of Callum’s men to drag Lee out of the room. Lee was shouting the entire time, but he was weak against Callum’s man who was part of the Shenlong Family.

“See, my dear LITTLE BROTHER,” said Ghost with a smile as he enunciated on the words “Little Brother”. “Your older brother had given you many chances to repent, but you just won’t… You even took President Du’s bait… If you had chosen to stay in jail, this would not have happened to you… Then again, we all knew what you’d choose.”

“You b*stard!” hissed Luo Yin as he glared at Ghost. “I should’ve killed you before!”

“Brother? He doesn’t deserve to have someone as wonderful as you to be his brother,” said Callum as he looked at Luo Yin in disgust.

“We’ve got a gift for you guys,” said Kai Xin who was standing next to her husband. As usual, one of his arms was wrapped around her waist.

Callum and Ghost turned to look at Kai Xin. However, it was DX who answered their unspoken question.

“Show her,” said the man.

The one-way mirror was now two-way, and they could see Mrs. Luo from behind the mirror. Her forehead had a red bump on. It was clear that she tried to headbutt the mirror earlier.

As Kai Xin stared at the crazed woman who had been under the care of the Shenlong Family, she said, “She made you watched an evil deed being done to your mother when you were just a boy, Guang Ying… So, we’re going to return the favor.”

DX nodded as he looked at Ghost and said, “Some crimes cannot be adequately punished by the law, and we Du Family have our way of doing things… Still, as much as I’d enjoy a bloody punishment, I don’t want my wife to witness a bloody scene now…”

He glanced at Kai Xin’s flat belly briefly, but everyone else caught his action.

“Another one?” gasped Ghost as he looked at Kai Xin’s belly.

“Don’t say it like I’ve given birth to that many kids!” Kai Xin pouted as she rubbed her still flat belly.

“An accident, but a happy one…” DX smiled as he looked at his wife.

“Accident, my foot! You attacked me every chance you got!” thought Kai Xin as she rolled her eyes at her husband’s statement.

“Guys, you forgot something,” said Callum as he pointed with his chin at Luo Yin who was on the floor.

Mrs. Luo seemed to be shouting something but no one paid attention to her since she was behind the mirror and the room was soundproofed. Well, pity the men who had to be in the room to guard her.

Kai Xin looked at Luo Yin. She had chosen this ending for him because of his continuous evil deed. Two of the girls he and his men hurt previously were permanently mentally damaged, and even after two years of treatment, they did not show any signs of improving.

When Kai Xin went to visit them last year, it had broken her heart. One of the girls was barely 23 years old. They required 24/7 care and dedicated nurses to look after them for the rest of their lives.

In addition, while Luo Yin was in jail, he had allowed the inmates that he bought off to **** a young man who was in jail for another crime. The young man was so badly injured and traumatized that he killed himself the day he returned from the hospital.

Kai Xin did not like the idea of Luo Yin’s punishment being mere jail time. She did not think that Luo Yin would ever repent. And DX was right. There were certain things that the law could not adequately punish the offender.

Luo Yin suddenly called out, “Kai Xin… Kai Xin, please save me! I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything!”

However, Kai Xin ignored him. Instead, she turned to look at DX, “Let’s go. The kids are waiting for us for dinner. I think my mum and Erden wants to go on a date today, so we shouldn’t let them wait for too long.”

DX nodded.

Kai Xin then looked at Callum and said, “He’s yours. Make your wife proud.”

“Get fat,” said Ghost as he glared at her. Up until now, one of the things he hated the most was to be referred to as Callum’s “wife”. If he was a less private person, he would have declared to everyone on who was the real “wife” here.

Once the two left, Callum turned to Ghost and said, “Why don’t you go out? It can get quite bloody here…”

“No.”

“I don’t want you to see me in… that state. You’ve never seen this before, and I don’t want you to be scared of me.”

“I won’t. Go and do your job. Ma is waiting for us at home.”

Ghost went to stand at the corner while Callum prepared to work. Callum’s usual playfulness was gone, replaced by a killer’s vibe as he grabbed a rope that was lying on the floor before he pulled Luo Yin up from the floor.

He then dragged the shouting man back to the chair and after a little bit of effort, he tied the man up. Luo Yin’s legs were tied to the front legs of the chair, while his right hand was tied to the back.

Ghost had left his left hand untied.

He then went to the weapon rack that was leaning against the wall and took a hunting knife that was on the weapon rack. With the hunting knife on his hand, he then walked over to Luo Yin with a smile.

Luo Yin shivered when he saw the cold smile coming from Callum. He looked at Ghost, and he even begged him for help, but Ghost merely raised a brow at him.

In his mind, Ghost knew that what he allowed Callum to do was evil. However, he would never forgive Luo Yin for what the latter did to him. For a few seconds, Ghost recalled back to that day when Luo Yin smashed his left hand with the hammer.

At that time, the teenaged Ghost had cried and begged for him to stop, but Luo Yin never did. Instead, Luo Yin went crazier.

Ghost sighed and he shook his head to get rid of the unpleasant memories. He then watched as Callum began his work.

Callum stood in front of Luo Yin and with a smile, he asked, “Let’s begin our game, should we?”

Luo Yin shook his head. When Callum grabbed his left hand, Luo Yin kept trying to pull it back but it was futile.

“ARGGGH!” Luo Yin yelled out when he felt a sharp pain coming from his left hand. He yelled again when he saw a huge chunk of his flesh on the floor.

The yelling continued as Callum moved from his left hand to Luo Yin’s right hand. By the time he was done removing all the flesh from Luo Yin’s right hand, the man already fainted and looked pale as a ghost.

Callum had been meticulous. All the meat that was sliced off were placed in one stack while the bones were placed on another. Just as he was about to move to Luo Yin’s legs, Ghost voiced out.

“Stop.”

When Callum heard the voice, he stopped immediately. He was able to recognize the voice as someone important to him.

Ghost signaled Callum’s men, who were behind the mirror, to come in and take care of Luo Yin’s body. Two of them came into the room and Ghost said, “Keep him alive.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ghost then went to Callum who was still holding the knife. He had learned about how to do this from DX.

As he stood in front of Callum, he said In a stern voice, “Xiao Xun. Give me your knife.”

When he heard his words, Callum looked into Ghost’s eyes. At that moment, Ghost felt that Callum was not really there. The bloodthirsty and angry look in Callum’s eyes was something that Ghost had never seen before.

So, Ghost said again, “Xiao Xun. Give me your knife.”

There was no movement from Callum, and Ghost was starting to get worried about it. DX told him that when a man from Shenlong Family tapped into their killer’s instinct, there were only three ways of getting them out of it.

One was having someone from the Du Family to do it. The second was by hypnotizing them. Lastly… Well, DX did not really say what the third method was. Instead, he had smirked and said to Ghost, “Just pull down your pants if he doesn’t wake up upon you calling him.”

Ghost was both angered and confused by DX’s previous statement, but as he looked at Callum, he wondered if he actually had to pull his pants down to break the man out of his trance.

Thankfully, after a few seconds, Callum lifted the knife that was still dripping with blood and handed it over to Ghost.

Ghost took the knife and calmly put it down on the floor. He then took Callum’s hand and said, “Let’s go get you cleaned up…”

They stopped in front of the mirror and Ghost could see that Mrs. Luo had completely broken down. Her face was covered with tears and there were clumps of hair on the floor as if she had torn it off her scalp.

Ghost turned on the speaker and said, “Hey.”

When Mrs. Luo saw Ghost, she jumped up and banged the mirror her hands. When the guards who were inside with her pulled her back, she banged the mirror with her forehead as if she was trying to get to him.

“You b*stard! I should have killed you back then!”

Ghost smiled at her. “Yeah, you should. Maybe then, you’d still have a grandson…”

Mrs. Luo glared at him and like a crazy woman, she tried to bite the guards but they held her down on the chair.

“I’ll kill you, Luo Guang Ying!!!”

Ghost laughed, “How are you going to kill me all the way from Shenlong House? If you think that the Su Family is going to save you, then you’re wrong… and just so you know… Well, I just want to tell you this last thing as my parting words.”

He looked at Mrs. Luo in the eyes and said it slowly, “Luo Yin is infertile and I made him so.”

Once he said what he wanted to say, he took Callum out of the room. Mrs. Luo was yelling bloody murder the whole time but Ghost ignored her and kept moving.

Callum allowed Ghost to led him to the bathroom. He did not do a thing as Ghost stripped off his bloodied clothes and made him stayed under the shower.

As for Ghost himself, he quickly removed his own clothes before he joined Callum in the shower. He did not really intend to do anything. All he wanted was to wash his partner’s body clean, as well as getting rid of the blood scent on himself.

As Ghost was sponging the dirt and blood off Callum’s hands, Callum suddenly grabbed onto his wrist. Ghost looked up and with a grin, he asked, “So you’re finally fully awake?”

“I’ve been awake for a while now… I just like having my dear ‘wife’ washing me up…”

Ghost smiled and he gently pulled his hand away from Callum’s grip before signaling the man to turn around. As he washed Callum’s back, he muttered, “I agree… with what you said before.”

“What?” asked Callum. He turned around and with a confused expression, he looked at Ghost.

“To find a surrogate…”

When he heard what Ghost said, Callum was surprised and he immediately grabbed Ghost’s shoulders as he asked, “Seriously?”

He rarely spoke so seriously with Ghost before, but this was a big matter. They had been discussing it over the past two years, but Ghost kept refusing it because he was afraid that he would pass down his family’s bad genes to his children.

That was why Callum was so surprised when he heard what Ghost said earlier.

As Ghost looked into his lover’s eyes, he smiled and nodded, “Yeah… Let’s make some babies…”