After a few minutes of consideration, Professor Luo Xia observed Ariana and Chen Nan's serious expressions. He frowned when he saw them kneel because the first time they did was when they got married. On that day, He made them swear that unless it is at a life and death situation; they were not allowed to kneel.
Since the couple didn't have biological parents at the wedding, he was the person who performed the role of an elder. He remembered how he stacked their hands together and the bright smiles that they had on their faces.
Now, they were kneeling in front of him; trying to plead for permission to seek death. After a while, his lips parted, and voice rung the ears of those in the room. "Get up. Do you two remember what you've promised me on your wedding day? I'm not dying nor dead yet. I don't need you two to kneel to me."
The couple intertwined their fingers tightly to form their own fist and shook their heads.
Ariana replied, "we remember our promise, but this is exactly why we are kneeling. If we go, we are clear about the possibility of never coming back. You already know that we wouldn't go without your permission."
Chen Nan added to her words, "Grandpa Xia, likewise, we also treated you as our family. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here today. We wouldn't have gotten married, but grandpa...we've experienced similar pain as well."
Hearing his words, the elderly man cleared his throat indicating for them to continue talking. Although Ariana and Chen Nan were both saved many years ago, they never spoke about their past. It was a wound that had never been stitched or closed. Ever since the day that they've successfully escaped, they have worked their hardest to maximize their potentials for their future avengence.
This day has finally arrived. They were this close to hunting down the main culprit behind the labs; how could they give up now? Ariana gripped Chen Nan's hand tightly as she recalled the night that she never wished to talk about.
She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and sucked on her lips nervously. Inhaling a deep breath, her eyes opened and her eyes found the courage to meet the elderly man's mindful gaze. Her voice rasped up, sounding as if she had just choked from eating and was recovering from it.
"Haa..Grandpa Xia, I..I had never dared to mention what had happened to me before I was kidnapped and placed as a test experiment. Over these years, you've never mentioned much about your wife and only recently, you shared the whole story with us. Grandma Xia left when she was still alive and there is a chance that she may be breathing the same air as us right now."
Her eyes maintained eye contact with him as it gradually turned pink. "There is a chance that you could still reunite with her, but this..this reunion can never happen to me. When I close my eyes, I bring myself back to that night when I witnessed the cold blooded murder of my loved ones. The images are so vivid and real that it felt like those old screen movies in black and white with only their blood painted in color."
"But no matter how far my arms could stretch out, I can never help them nor bring them back to my life. Do you know why I never celebrated my birthday every year? Why don't I eat any cakes? Because my birthday was the day that my parents were slaughtered in front of me. They bought a cake for me, and I was about to blow out the candles when two men barged into my house."
"My mom and dad shouted for me to run away while they blocked the two men. I tried to run, but there were more people waiting for me outside that door. They captured me and brought me into the house where their men tortured my parents in front of me. Was it five stabs? Six? Or seven? I've already lost count."
Sweat formed on her forehead as she shut her eyes tight and wrinkled her brows. Her tears flowed out uncontrollably as her left hand clenched on her chest painfully. "I watched them disable my dad's limbs and then my mother's too. They were alive at that time and stared at the door, hoping to not see me there. But I was."
"It was as if they were trying to say for them to let me off. I begged them to stop, and I even said I would leave with them. One of their men whispered to me, 'they will bleed to death. I'll make you watch.' Another man forced my face to rotate towards where my parents laid as their people stomped on my dad's body until blood was spitting out of his mouth..."
"He coughed a few times before they slit his throat in slow motion. My mom was sexually assaulted as he was bleeding to death. One man twisted his head facing her as she was being violated. She was whimpering in pain, in tears and looking away in shame. I knew he was dead with the amount of blood that surrounded him."
"At the end, my mom was faced towards me as her hands were chopped off. Very soon, she also died. Their bodies were burned down with that house. And I wasn't able to do anything. I was in shock and brought to a very dark, cold place where I was chained. They forced food down my throat, and I frantically remembered searching for a way out."
"Banging on the stone walls, biting on the metal chain and attacking the person who delivered my meals...everything was useless. Then, day by day, different people would take my blood, hair and anything they thought were necessary for the experiment. I was trapped and prepared for death once I become useless to them. Hah..but I was given a second chance to live."
"Till now, my worst fear is when night sets because that is when I would dream. And what would dreams bring me? A replay of everything that had happened in front of my eyes from that day. I lived with hatred and I swore that I wont let those people get away with what they've done to me. My family."
Her body was shaking vigorously. Similar to someone who is low on sugar, her legs gave away its strength, making her tumble to the floor. Chen Nan supported her as she leaned against his chest and cried. Chen Mu subconsciously squeezed Susu's shoulder while hearing her tragic past. 'How could a child withstand all this on her own? How could anyone be this cruel?'
Susu and Lily couldn't process the words that they've just heard. They were shocked and stood still as a statue by the bed as Ariana cried out the pain that she's been holding back all these years. Lin Que had his arms crossed with obvious tight fists hiding between his arms. Chen Nan's voice was steady until he started telling his story.
"Grandpa Xia...my parents died in their hands as well. I stood there as those bastards tortured them. They were stabbed so many times that I couldn't count. I still remember the way they screamed for help, but nobody came. Their screams went from strong to medium level and eventually to no voice at all. Blood splurted everywhere, but they knew where to injure them with that knife."
He sniffed as his lips trembled and held her free hands tightly, "They purposely aimed for their organs and twisted each stab. The last strike was on their chest.. where their hearts stopped working instantly. They were holding hands until their last seconds, but those men kicked their linked hands away from each other. Separated them."
"Their bodies were burned, and that was how I ended up kidnapped. It was the same day that Ariana got kidnapped too...and placed in the same cell looking place." He didn't bring up as many details as his heart ached to share the traumatic experience. His arms rubbed Ariana's hands as he tried to comfort her while calming his emotions.
Ariana reached for Professor Luo Xia's wrinkly hand and her eyes met his crying ones, "this is the day that we've anticipated for. I'm this close to finding out who did this to my family and broke my happiness. Please, if you treat me as your granddaughter, permit us this one time to disobey your wishes. I won't be able to live through my life no matter how perfect my family would be if I don't investigate this out."
Chen Nan also followed her actions and spoke with sorrow filled eyes. "This past has haunted us and will continue to do so until we find that culprit and kill him with our own hands. We trained physically for a reason and learned all the things we did for this reason. No matter what.."
Before they said any more, Professor Luo Xia covered his eyes and squeezed their hands. Once again, like their wedding ceremony, he placed her hand in Chen Nan's and patted the stacked hands. "Go and come back safely. Don't make this old man wait too long. I'll have the brewed hot tea ready. Go."
"Thank you.." they whispered and performed a formal gratitude kneeling bow towards him. He couldn't bare to watch them leave, but once they did, his tears rolled down his face. He asked Zi Yan, Lin Que and Chen Mu to assist them in packing their belongings. While he shed silent tears for them, Susu and Lily hugged the elderly man in a heavy mood.
It was an upcoming war....that they have no idea what their chances of winning is. The only thought they all had in mind was to win and eliminate the mysterious enemy who was still hidden in the dark. All along, the people that they thought were the main initiators and investors to this experiment were just chess pieces. Behind the Liang family, Tian family, Li family and Yin family were someone who has been playing the role of the main controller.
Meanwhile, in a dark, creepy chamber where containers of human organs were maintained, violent whips could be heard splitting human flesh apart. Alexander could be seen biting onto his shirt that was covered in his gum blood as the final whip split his nasty wound.
"Sorry, Alexander. I've already lessened the whips by half. If I continued to fifty, you would be dead." A man whispered apologetically as he yelled, "fifty!" out loud.
He waved the nurse to help bandage him up and sanitize the horrible wounds. Alexander's sweat already soaked to his wounds; stinging the bloody whip marks. While his wounds were being treated, Leader Rong entered and everyone greeted him respectfully.
"How is he doing?" The elderly man had his arms behind his back and squinted at the deep whipped wounds.