"MEOW!"
A shrill meow suddenly cut through the air. Li Jiang jumped in fright, and at the same time, something seemed to trip him. His body went light as he pitched forward...
"AHH—A GHOST!!"
The sharp scream echoed through the night. Whether from a guilty conscience or genuine terror, the man sat stunned on the ground for two seconds before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Wen Qian hadn’t expected Yin Zhi to pull a move like that; it took her a moment to process. She swallowed hard. Her first instinct wasn’t to check on the man’s injuries, but to give Yin Zhi a mental thumbs-up.
’That was so... satisfying!’
They quickly left the lab building, making their way back almost entirely in the dark, just in case. The lab door wasn’t locked. Rushing in her haste, Wen Qian pushed the door open and bumped right into Gu Mian’s arms.
A cool, broad chest, carrying the faint, cold scent of disinfectant... Wen Qian froze. For a fleeting moment, she found the smell incredibly familiar.
"Professor Gu..." Wen Qian called out cautiously.
This time, she got a reply. "Qianqian, it’s me."
Just then, the silver gradient cat that had been following Wen Qian suddenly darted inside. He leaped up, dug his front paws into the man’s arm, and sank his teeth in.
The man let out a pained grunt, and the next second, his body naturally slumped against Wen Qian.
Leaning most of his weight on her, Gu Mian’s voice was low and husky. "Qianqian, that cat bit me."
"A cat? Yin Zhi?" Wen Qian supported Gu Mian with one arm while reaching for her phone. She turned on the flashlight and saw four distinct pinpricks on the man’s otherwise unblemished wrist.
"How could you do that!" Wen Qian glared at the silver gradient cat on the floor.
"Meow..." The little cat’s cry sounded somewhat wronged. Yin Zhi was certain Gu Mian had done it on purpose.
When he’d lunged just now, Gu Mian had clearly noticed him. But he hadn’t shown any intention of dodging, just stood there and let himself be bitten.
’The Snake Clan is full of nothing but villains, every last one of them... To think he’d use such a dirty trick to sow discord and win Wen Qian’s sympathy!’
’Besides, my own blood is poisonous. I gained no advantage by biting him.’
Looking at the wound on the man’s forearm, Wen Qian was overcome with guilt. Unlike the bite on her neck, this time Yin Zhi had clearly bitten down hard. Blood oozed from the wound, drop by drop. It wasn’t much, but it showed no sign of stopping.
Wen Qian was at a loss. Just as she was about to ask Gu Mian if they should go to the hospital, she heard him say calmly, "I’ll have to trouble you again, Qianqian."
He had indeed done it on purpose. It was just that, right now, there were more important things to do.
At Gu Mian’s instruction, Wen Qian took two boxes from her backpack and carefully placed the Yellow-tailed Robin and the wing bone on the lab bench. She glanced instinctively at Gu Mian’s arm and saw that the bleeding had mostly stopped.
After locking the lab door, Wen Qian returned to Gu Mian’s side and turned her phone’s flashlight back on.
Beastmen possessed far greater vitality than humans. Under certain conditions, their wounds could heal very quickly. Even a Beastman like the Yellow-tailed Robin, who’d had its wing bone removed, could make a full recovery if the bone was reattached in time. Of course, that was only if the wing bone itself was perfectly preserved.
Li Jiang always pursued perfection in his research on Beastmen. He had been meticulous when removing the bone, afraid to leave any imperfections. To him, this wasn’t just an experiment; it was art.
"Professor, your arm..." As Gu Mian moved, four beads of blood welled up from the pinpricks on his forearm.
"It’s nothing." The phone’s flashlight was enough for Gu Mian to see everything clearly. He wore medical gloves, skillfully wielding a pair of scissors and forceps. His hands were extremely steady, as if he’d performed this procedure many times before.
Wen Qian watched as he wiped the beads of blood from his forearm onto the tip of a blade. The moment the blade touched the wing, the Yellow-tailed Robin, which had been stirring, fainted again.
Wen Qian stared, dumbfounded. "Why did it stop moving again?"
"Don’t worry, my blood has anesthetic properties." The man’s gaze was profound, his hands never pausing. His expression was focused as he meticulously sutured the remaining wound.
’Anesthetic properties... So does that mean the Yellow-tailed Robin just fainted?’
’That’s good, that’s good...’
Wen Qian breathed a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile spreading across her face. But the smile froze less than three seconds later.
She stared at Gu Mian in disbelief. ’What the hell kind of person has blood with anesthetic properties?!’
’Type A? Type B? Or Type O?’
’What the hell, not even Rh-negative blood can do that!’
Recalling the scent she’d smelled in his arms when she came in, Wen Qian’s hand suddenly trembled. ’Could it be that Professor Gu is actually...’
Clutching her phone tightly with both hands, Wen Qian tried to keep her expression natural. After a long moment, she hesitantly looked toward Yin Zhi. The cat, who had been curled up on the table, slowly straightened up and gave her a slight nod.
’Ahhh... The Professor is a Beastman?!’
’No wonder he told me to bring Yin Zhi when we went to get the wing bone.’ Before they’d left, Wen Qian had specifically asked Gu Mian if he already knew who had been torturing the Yellow-tailed Robin. Gu Mian had said he didn’t, but he was certain the person would show up soon.
’Thinking about it now, he must have been banking on Yin Zhi being a Beastman who could track them by scent...’
’Holy crap, does that mean I’m the only human in this room?!’
At that moment, Gu Mian finished his work. He pulled off his gloves and tossed them casually into the trash can. The Yellow-tailed Robin’s surgery was a success. If it could make it through the night, flying later on shouldn’t be a problem.
Only after putting all the tools away did Gu Mian look up at Wen Qian. His dark eyes met her bright ones, and he smiled openly. "Let’s reintroduce ourselves, Qianqian."
Wen Qian stared blankly, not yet processing, as the man extended a hand to her. "Gu Mian, of the Snake Clan."
Wen Qian’s mind went completely blank. It took her a long moment to remember to shake his hand. Her voice stammered, "S-so yesterday, the snake... th-that was here... was..."
"That was me," he said with a smile.
Fine. Just fine. The anxious hope Wen Qian had been nursing was finally dead.
She wanted to ask something else, but just as she opened her mouth, the lab lights suddenly flickered on. It was immediately followed by a security guard’s anxious shouts from outside. "Professor Li! Professor Li, are you all right?"
Snapping back to reality, Wen Qian frowned. She couldn’t care less if Li Jiang lived or died; what she cared about were the birds locked up in the lab. Before, she had hesitated to say anything, worried that Gu Mian would defend Li Jiang. But now that she knew he was a Beastman, Wen Qian let her guard down.
Her gaze shifted back to Gu Mian, and she said in a low voice, "Professor, there’s another door in Li Jiang’s lab. There are a lot of birds locked up inside... I want to set them free."
"Give me some time." The man casually ruffled the top of her head, ignoring the silver gradient cat that had sidled up to hiss at him.