If fear had a scent then the pump figured man restrained on the chair undoubtedly reeked of it. His wrists were tight bound against the armrests of a cold metallic chair in the cold underground room. His face was extremely pale,with dry patches of tears on his chubby cheeks,his long hair a mess,body visibly trembling under the influence of the room's temperature and mainly because of the mafia boss' malevolent gaze.
The mafia boss ,Yang Zheyu,stood before him, dressed in a sleek black suit,his right leg slightly propped up ,the sole of the shiny black shoe he was wearing pressing firmly on the victim's foot. The victim's cries filled the room but no one seemed to care. It was his fault that he ended up in the mafia boss' torture room or rather known as the slaughterhouse.
"Who told you to steal the formulas from the lab?" The mafia boss asked in a low, menacing voice sending shivers down the victim's spine.
The victim shut his eyes , petrified by the fact that their faces were inches apart.
Yang Zheyu's sharp eyes studied his pale face with a satisfied smirk. He was a cold, ruthless killer that thrived on his victims' weaknesses especially fear.He could go to whatever level he had to just to quench his sadistic desires.
"Cheng Chen ,you said your dagger has been a little rusty lately so I'll leave him in your care,"the mafia boss suddenly said stepping back from the victim. Everyone looked at him, surprised to see him retreat at such a time. He wordlessly strode out of the room,hands dipped in his pockets.
Something was off with their boss and Cheng Chen couldn't shake off the feeling. Their boss rarely let opportunities to torture traitors slip through his fingers. Distracting himself from the boss' strange behaviour, Cheng Chen turned to the traitor with a sinister smile. This bloodthirst killer was infamously known as the 'Smiling Demon' ; with an alluring smile and a dagger,he tortured the victims till they begged for death.
Cheng Chen flipped the shiny, stainless weapon between his long fingers as he approached the victim and crouched in front of him, looking up at him and his smile never left his face.
"Buddy,I have a question,"he started with a playful voice,"What's our boss' name?" He asked casually. The victim gulped hard,his throat becoming dry. He knew it was an unavoidable trap that could only land him in trouble and the torturer was persistent .
"Are you reluctant to answer my question?" Cheng Chen teased,"My dagger isn't that patient,you know,"he said poking the victim's chest with it.
"I'll answer you!" The victim snapped in a panicked voice,"Ya...Yang... Zhe...yu ....,"he finally replied in a shaky voice,his lips quivering in fear.
"Nice answer," Cheng Chen said applauding but the victim knew it was all sarcasm because in the next moment Cheng Chen let out an evil laugh,"How dare you speak boss' name with your filthy mouth? Didn't someone tell you mentioning boss' name is verboten in this area?" He ridiculed him.
"I wonder where I should start. Should I cut off that nasty tongue that dared to speak boss' name? No, I'll need it in a few minutes. How about your fingers?" He asked playfully grabbing his fingers and started chopping them slowly, taking his time,his eyes sparkling at the sight of blood.
The victim let out an anguished cry and peed on himself followed by a sharp, pungent and irritating smell tainting the air. Cheng Chen instantly moved back scrunching his nose in disgust.
"Guys look,he peed on himself,"he snickered pointing at the wet patch on the victim's crotch. There was a strange silence before Cheng Chen began looking around, scanning the guards' faces. Guards in black suits stood in a circle ,their postures straight,chins held high.
"Why aren't you guys laughing? Isn't it funny? " He asked in an innocent voice.
Cheng Chen was unpredictable so the guards could not risk offending him. He was the boss' favourite even if he slayed them all Yang Zheyu wouldn't bat an eye. The silence was broken by their forced laughter— others shaking their shoulders dramatically to authenticate their laughter. With a crooked smile,Cheng Chen turned back to his prey.
— — —
The place was eerily silent, with a sea of tombstones arranged in rows, stretching over the area. Yang Zheyu casually fixed his suit and firmly held the wine bottle he was carrying before he made his way to a specific tombstone that read;
' In memory of Yang Tao — a loving father and husband; 1966-2018.'
He slowly went down on his knees and kowtowed paying respects to the once most important person in his life. Yang Tao died three years ago after suffering a severe heart attack. The mafia boss carefully placed the wine bottle in front of his father's tombstone. It was his father's favourite wine.
Yang Zheyu had always dedicated this specific day to honour his deceased father,the former leader of Yang Syndicate. He had promised himself to avoid spilling blood on such a day and that was the reason why he spared the traitor earlier. Every time he visited the cemetery he usually came alone not even his right hand man was allowed to tag along. He didn't want the them to see his vulnerable side that he always did his best to hide.
"I've never seen someone leave such an expensive wine on a tombstone,"a mellifluous voice spoke casually.
Yang Zheyu glanced sideways and saw a beautiful blonde haired male standing two tombstones away. The lean figured boy was dressed in a black shorts sleeved shirt tucked inside a pair of black dress pants. Despite his great figure,his milky skin and ethereal face stood out the most. The mafia boss' dark eyes trailed up and down, scrutinizing the boy and looked away wordlessly.
"Sir do you want some flowers for your loved one?" The newcomer asked softly with a gentle smile.
"My father hated flowers,"Yang Zheyu stated flatly.
The stranger chuckled softly,"No one hates flowers without a reason. Either he was allergic or they reminded him of painful memories,"he deduced.
Now that he thought about it,his father once mentioned that his mom loved flowers. Maybe that was why he hated flowers or at least pretended to hate them because they reminded him of his mother. Yang Zheyu's mom had died a year after his birth so he barely had any impression of her, let alone could he remember her face.
"I think he loved flowers but couldn't bear the memories behind them,"the stranger added and the mafia boss agreed internally.
" Here,take this,"the boy said handing him a white lily flower. Yang Zheyu took it and studied it intensely as if it was some strange object.
'So delicate,' he thought.
Delicate was hardly a concept in his life. In his life,he mostly dealt with sturdy objects like guns. He gently placed the flower beside the wine bottle. He averted his gaze to the beautiful male who was now seated cross-legged infront of a tombstone, mumbling some words. Something about the boy captivated him. He had seen his fair share of beauties but no one surpassed this particular male.
What surprised him even more was how effortlessly the boy had approached him . Ninety percent of the people in the city knew his identity and most trembled in his presence. Did the boy not really know who he was ?
The boy, noticing his gaze turned to look at him and gave him a soft smile.
"This is my mom,,"the boy gestured at the tombstone infront of him. " She committed suicide when I was young. I hated her for it. I hated her for leaving me in this cruel world. I called her selfish and refused to visit her for years. When I grew up,I learnt the truth behind her death and kinda understood her so I started visiting her to soothe her spirit hoping she would rest in peace,"he explained with a wistful smile.
"They smell great," he sniffed the flowers and placed them cautiously infront of the tombstone.
Yang Zheyu strangely became curious about the flowers' scent. He was clueless about such things after all. He picked up his flower and sniffed it inhaling its beautiful scent.
"See you again sir,"the beautiful stranger said and walked away.
The mafia boss stayed there for a few more minutes enjoying the tranquillity before he decided to leave. He lifted himself off the ground but almost fell because of how weak his limbs felt. His head throbbed painfully,the world around him rotated faster than usual, making his vision hazy. He firmly pressed the side of his head thinking it would erase the pain.
Fumbling with his steps,he walked towards his car, but before he could reach the door's handle,he was yanked backwards and a piece of cloth placed over his nose and shortly after his body suddenly went limp in his attacker's arms.