Unless You Kill Me in One Go

The whip was not tied too tightly, but Lydia struggled to undo it. Suddenly, she noticed a group of seven or eight vagrants approaching. Knowing all too well the high crime rate in this area, where women could be violated simply walking down the street, Lydia's expression tightened with anxiety. She dared not ask them for help. Straining continuously and racing against time, she tried to untie the whip. The vagrants spotted her, and like starved dogs pouncing on food, they scrambled over each other to reach her. Speaking in their local tongue, their countenances were lewd, as one man reached out to touch Lydia's face, looking delighted as if he had found a money bag. "Get away! Take your filthy hands off me!" she spat. "I am Miss Callahan, and my people will be here shortly. Touch me, and you're dead!" Lydia shouted in their native language, attempting to intimidate them with her status. Yet, they didn't buy it. They circled Lydia, making lewd comments with their hands all over her. "Today is indeed a lucky day. Let her loose; we can't have fun with her tied up like this." Anxious to get on with their crude intentions, they quickly untied Lydia from the tree, unafraid that she would escape. Although the whip wrapped around Lydia was untied, the middle of the whip was still binding her wrists, and they were in too big a hurry to notice and untie it. Lydia lunged forward, successfully breaking away from two of the men, and tried to run, but her hands were bound, and they outnumbered her. She was quickly cornered after a few steps, and though Lydia managed to kick one man away, the other grabbed her around the waist. Soon, Lydia was tackled and pinned down to the ground by two of the men. The others gathered around as her shirt was being ripped open. Such things, Lydia had seen them all her life - even yesterday on the court, she heard that her brother had raped a girl. She was not surprised by all these, but this was the first time she had encountered such a situation. An unprecedented fear filled her heart. Lydia was on the ground, her struggling legs were being held down. She was too weak to resist. She yelled at the homeless man on her, her tears uncontrollably gushing out, making her mind blank. Suddenly, she felt a lot lighter. The man who was on her was kicked away by someone. Tim, who had returned, quickly drove the homeless away. He then looked at Lydia lying on the ground covered in fear, her clothes torn, her hair disheveled, and her face bruised. Tim covered her with his coat, helped her up from the ground, and started to untie the whip from her wrists. As soon as the whip was untied, she slapped him in the face. Tim's face was turned to the side by the slap. This was the first time he had been slapped in his life, and he felt some pain in his cheek. His complexion looked a bit bad, and he angrily glared at Lydia, only to see her eyes full of tears. Lydia glared at him resentfully. Tim got up and left. Walking a distance, he looked back and saw Lydia limping in the opposite direction, wrapped in his clothes. Hearing someone approach, Lydia, like a startled bird, immediately became alert. She found out it was Tim. Tim crouched down in front of her, "Get on my back." Before Lydia could react, he said, "If you don't want what just happened to happen again, don't waste time." Lydia clenched her fist and then lay on Tim's back. As soon as Tim hoisted her onto his back, a sharp branch pressed onto his neck. Tim didn’t pay attention to it. He carried her forward with big strides. "If you cannot ensure that you will kill me with one stab, I suggest you better not make a move," Tim said, his tone neither cold nor warm. Lydia did not take action, but neither did she remove the branch from his neck. Instead, she kept it pressed against his neck the entire journey. Tim carried her back along the way they came, finding a small clinic. Her foot was severely sprained and swollen. The doctor prescribed some antiphlogistic pills and a medicinal liquor for activating blood and removing stasis. Leaving the clinic, Tim brought her into a hotel and tossed her a set of new clothes. Lydia said, "I want to take a bath." "What, do I need to carry you to the bathroom?" "Get out." "Ha, I will never be interested in you naked." Exhausted to the bone, Tim sat on the sofa without moving. Lydia glared at him venomously. After a stalemate, she limped into the bathroom to take a bath with her clothes in hand. Tim poured a glass of water, took a break, and then came to the window, where he spotted someone from the Callahan Clan on the street. They had strange totemic marks branded on their necks. Lydia had a totem too, but it was located on her waist. He discovered this two hours ago when she was undressed. The people from the Callahan Clan quickly entered the hotel, checked in at the information of Tim, and immediately went upstairs to arrest him. Lydia was still taking a shower when Tim suddenly urged her outside the door. Startled, she hurriedly put on her clothes, her body was still wet from the shower. She refused to open the door. Tim said, "If you don't open the door, I'll kick it down." Only then did Lydia open the door. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, he pointed his gun at her. Before Lydia could react, she heard someone break into their room, and as Tim led her out of the bathroom with him, she then learned that it was her family who had found her. Lydia said, "Don't worry about me, catch him.” Tim pressed the gun to her neck, "You don't fear death, but they are afraid of failing to explain to your father." Tim's words made the Callahan Clan's people dare not act rashly. In this way, Tim took Lydia hostage again. Her foot was injured and it was difficult for her to walk, therefore Tim, fearing she might try some tricks, hoisted her up single-handedly by the waist, carrying her off the ground. After leaving the hotel, he hailed a car. As soon as they boarded the vehicle, Lydia pushed him away with disgust, "Everywhere here belongs to my clan, you can't escape." Tim retorted, "If I wanted to run, I would've done so long ago. Can trash like your clan even stop me?" Lydia didn't understand his meaning. By evening, Tim had taken people to check into a small hotel. Lydia received the medicine that Tim tossed over. He took it from that small clinic and casually stuffed it into his trouser pocket, only now finding the opportunity to take it out. Lydia commanded, "Pour me a glass of water." "Do you truly see yourself as a noble lady?" "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be bullied by those scumbags, and my foot wouldn't be injured." Tim laughed, "Why don't you blame your worthless brother instead?" Nonetheless, he went and poured a glass of water for her to take the medicine. As the night deepened, Tim pulled out Lydia's whip from another pocket, ready to tie her up. "What are you doing?" Lydia sat on the edge of the bed, watching him warily. She wanted to dodge but couldn’t evade him.