Ask for a refund? That's out of the question. Today, Su Yanke and the others had to perform whether they liked it or not.
It was impossible to let go of the money they had already pocketed.
The animal trainer wanted to use Su Yanke to threaten the tiger, but Yuan Hexiao noticed and quickly stepped in her place.
A whip lashed hard across Yuan Hexiao's body. Su Yanke felt heart - wrenching pain and couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed out of the controlled area, quickly pounced on the animal trainer, and raked her claws across him, leaving him bloody and screaming.
The audience was stunned for a moment, then a wave of cheers erupted. The applause was deafening. Apparently, they enjoyed such a bloody scene and found it amusing that the lion cared so much about the tiger.
But the animal trainers had a backup plan. There was a spare remote control for the one that Su Yanke had destroyed, just in case something like this happened.
Su Yanke was about to knock out the man beneath her, but the next moment, a familiar and excruciating pain shot through her body, and she immediately lost control of her body.
The animal trainers seized the opportunity, rolled over, and crawled out from under Su Yanke.
Yuan Hexiao was about to come to help, but stopped short.
The animal trainer was holding an electric prod against Su Yanke, threatening him that if he didn't follow the trainer's instructions, the prod would be turned on.
Su Yanke, still weak from the previous punishment, could only plead in her mind for Yuan Hexiao not to give in for her sake.
"I'm sorry. This time, I may not be able to follow your wishes," Yuan Hexiao said to Su Yanke in as light - hearted a tone as possible.
"Yan Ruoheng! You're crazy! You'll die!"
Su Yanke knew that with their current physical instincts, they couldn't survive in the fire, and they were already injured. If they went, it would be suicide.
Watching Yuan Hexiao walk to his death, no matter how much Su Yanke shouted, it was no use. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her throat was hoarse.
Just when Su Yanke was on the verge of despair, there was a commotion in the audience.
"Police! We're the police. Everyone, squat down. We're conducting an inspection. This place is suspected of abusing wild animals. Please cooperate."
A large group of policemen in uniforms quickly and orderly occupied the circus. They were armed with batons and pistols, and no one dared to resist.
Soon, Su Yanke, Yuan Hexiao, and a large number of other animals were set free. Su Yanke rubbed her head against Yuan Hexiao's. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Was it the joy of being saved or the irony of not being able to control their own lives?
Su Yanke didn't want to think about these complex emotions anymore. These short few days had exhausted her both physically and mentally.
After that, everything went smoothly.
Although Su Yanke's previous escape plan had failed, some small animals had managed to get out. By chance, they were seen by several policemen. Wondering whose animals they were, the policemen checked the surveillance cameras and noticed something strange.
After an in - depth investigation, they discovered this large - scale wild - animal trading place.
Su Yanke didn't know if this dramatic turn of events was real, but they were now on a vehicle heading towards freedom. Finally, it was all over.
Yuan Hexiao knew that Su Yanke had been terribly frightened before. He accompanied her all the way, and they leaned on each other, which surprised the policemen, as such a situation had never occurred before.
"Do you think we should send them to the great wilderness in the northeast of the northwest? It's right at the junction of the grassland and the forest. Then they won't have to be separated. What do you think?"
This suggestion was widely agreed upon. They were reassigned to another vehicle. This time, Su Yanke met a familiar "person" - the little orangutan from the basement. It had also been rescued.
But it was clearly very scared. It kept shrinking into the corner of the cage, probably because it had little contact with the outside world and was resistant and afraid of it.
When the little orangutan saw Su Yanke and the others, it was extremely excited. In a strange place, one would always be particularly attached to familiar things.
"Hey? This orangutan seems to be very familiar with the lion and the tiger. We were worried about whether we should send it to the zoo first!"
"Yeah! We were worried that it wouldn't be able to adapt to the outside world and survive. It seems that its adaptability is quite strong. It's managed to cling to two powerful allies without a sound!"
The policemen joked as the vehicle slowly drove on. Everything seemed warm and happy.
Su Yanke was a bit dazed looking at this scene. It felt like a different world.
The vehicle drove for three days and three nights. On the afternoon of the fourth day, they finally reached their destination.
First, some small animals were released, and then the medium - and large - sized animals.
The cages in their vehicle were slowly pushed out. The sun shone warmly on Su Yanke.
The orange sky painted a dream - like picture. It was so beautiful that it made one's soul tremble.
But such a beautiful scene was always bound to be ruined.
A gunshot rang out. Su Yanke looked back and saw the people from the circus. They had been following them all along. As soon as the policemen had left, they couldn't wait to capture them again.
Such a profitable business was clearly too good for them to give up.
But Su Yanke and the others were not going to be easy prey. Su Yanke managed to dodge several gunshots. The sound quickly alerted the policemen who had already left.
Seeing this situation, the people from the circus went all out. If they couldn't capture them, they would shoot some of the other animals and sell their furs. They were determined not to return empty - handed.
Su Yanke saw the muzzle of the hunting rifle aimed at the little orangutan. The little orangutan clearly didn't know what it was and was looking blankly at the muzzle.
Just as the gun was about to fire, Su Yanke leaped forward, but it was too late.
Su Yanke closed her eyes, but the expected pain didn't come. Instead, a warm liquid splashed on her back, and the smell of blood filled the air.
Su Yanke realized what had happened. She turned around stiffly. Yuan Hexiao's fur was already dyed red with blood. Su Yanke hugged Yuan Hexiao, at a loss.
Su Yanke felt a lump in her throat, and her voice seemed to be taken away. She couldn't make a sound.
She felt Yuan Hexiao's body getting heavier and softer. Finally, he fell limply to the ground.
"A Yan, don't be sad for me. I'm happy to die protecting you. I won't be able to protect you anymore. You must take good care of yourself. I'm tired. I'll leave first."
As the voice in Su Yanke's mind faded, Yuan Hexiao's hand dropped limply, without a trace of life.
At that moment, all the sounds in Su Yanke's head disappeared. All she could hear was someone nearby saying:
"Ah, it's a pity, but the fur can still be sold for some money. It'll do."
Su Yanke looked up. Her eyes were completely red, and her fangs were itching to attack.
The people were startled by Su Yanke's appearance. Their legs went weak, and they wanted to run away.
But the next moment, Su Yanke's body flashed over, and she tore the gunman in half. The blood spread in her mouth, but Su Yanke felt nothing. She only felt a violent and destructive anger surging inside her.
Just as Su Yanke looked up and was about to attack another person, the mark on the copper coin in her hand completely disappeared. At the same moment, her consciousness faded away.
The people were stunned to see their comrade torn in half. When they saw Su Yanke looking up, they couldn't even move their legs. But the next moment, Su Yanke fell to the ground. They didn't know if she was dead or alive.
They didn't dare to go forward to check. Just as they regained control of their legs, the policemen arrived and arrested them on the charge of hunting wild animals.
"Mr. Liu, may I ask when will Su Yanke wake up? What's the relationship between Miss Su and Master Yuan? Why were they found together?"
As soon as Mr. Liu walked out of Su Yanke's hospital ward, he was surrounded by several reporters asking questions. He had been harassed by these reporters at all hours of the day for the past few days and was on the verge of losing his temper.
He remembered that when he received the news of Su Yanke's accident, his heart skipped a beat. When he rushed to the scene and saw the tragic situation, he couldn't hold back his tears. But he couldn't collapse. He had to be strong for Su Yanke.
They searched the scene for almost two hours and finally found Su Yanke and the others near the middle of the mountain.
It took another hour to dig them out.
Even though they had tried to block the news in advance, there were still many reporters around, competing to report on the incident.
Yuan Hexiao's family had been notified, but no one knew about Su Yanke's family. So Mr. Liu had to take care of everything.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time. Every time he closed his eyes, he could only see the scene of Su Yanke being buried under the mountain. He regretted it so much. If he had known this would happen, he would never have taken this job.
During this period, many people came to visit, but Mr. Liu politely declined. It was a sensitive period, and to avoid any more accidents, it was better not to let too many people disturb Su Yanke's rest.
Today was the fifth day. There were rumors going around that Su Yanke had become a vegetable and hadn't woken up for so long.
All kinds of malicious speculations were everywhere. Everyone seemed to be a doctor, stating their opinions firmly.
Mr. Liu was so angry that he decided to ignore the online rumors.
On this day, as usual, Mr. Liu came to the hospital to check on Su Yanke's condition. He found that Su Yanke had woken up. She was sitting upright on the bed, staring blankly at her hands.
Mr. Liu was extremely happy. He quickly ran to Su Yanke's side and asked:
"Little... little ancestor, how do you feel now? Do you still remember who I am?" After saying that, Mr. Liu turned towards the door and shouted:
"Doctor! Doctor! Come quickly. The patient is awake!"