The nurse began to scream, like a short, sharp thing, ripped from her throat by pure, unadulterated terror.
The sound jolted Xiao Pei into action.
He scrambled off the low bed, his earlier embarrassment gone and replaced by the primal instincts to be clothed.
His fingers fumbled with the ties of his robes, his movements hurried and inelegant as he tried to shield himself from the terrifying atmosphere and the unfolding chaos.
Du Juan didn't so much as spare the screaming woman a glance.
And without her needing to make a move, the woman's head rolled to the floor, her voice cut off as though it had never existed.
She turned her focus back on the old doctor groveling on the floor.
The air around him warped, and the wooden planks beneath his knees let out a soft, agonized groan.
"Old man," Du Juan's voice resounded in the quiet room. "I'm going to let you live just this once because you know the Matriarch."
