Chapter 21 A Fleeting Moment (Part 3) From now on, my name will be Xu Yi, ...

Xu Yi was wrong; the stable boy died that same day.

His heart was dead, yet he lived like a walking corpse. He refused to speak anymore, and nothing could cause him pain anymore.

Why is he still alive? Ma Nu thought, perhaps like Xu Yi, it is hatred that has kept them alive until now.

Manu had completely lost the ability to feel pain. Xu Yi's toy broke again, and he lost interest, no longer caring about Manu's life or death.

The poor child huddled in the darkness of the room day and night, staring blankly in the direction where Xiaoling's place used to be, with eyes like a mouse.

"bell"--

He wrote the word on the ground with his finger again and again. He had thought it was difficult, but after writing it countless times, he found it to be so simple.

It's so simple that just ten strokes can depict Xiaoling's entire life.

Who would have thought that on the day the stable boy was about to faint from hunger, it was Xu's mother who happened to pass by the courtyard and gave him a sip of sweet water.

The sweet water moistened his cracked lips, awakened his fading consciousness, and warmed his hungry, throbbing stomach.

Xu's mother didn't speak, but he felt that she knew him, after all, he had seen this taciturn lady in front of the study door before.

After that, a maid secretly brought him a bowl of food every day.

The stable boy couldn't understand it.

Is this yet another form of torture? First Xu Yi, then Xu's mother, do they really have to torment themselves like this?

But the horse slaves couldn't go without eating.

The hatred in his heart almost burst his heart, almost ruptured his mouth, and almost strangled him.

Manu forced himself to eat it, determined to avenge Xiaoling and himself. He forced himself to ignore what might be a sliver of kindness from Xu's mother, vowing to tear Xu Yi to pieces.

Filled with rage and hatred, the stable boy finally saw a perfect opportunity.

That night, no one cared about his night. He clearly saw many outsiders sneak into the Xu residence. They carried flints and, like nimble crows, surveyed the terrain of the Xu residence.

Manu looked up at the nimble men in black, his eyes regaining their light.

The man in black hadn't expected there to be anyone in such a remote place, nor had he expected the stable boy to discover them.

Someone tried to kill the stable boy, but was stopped by the leader. They stood on the roof and stared silently at the stable boy.

"There is a thatched house behind the yard, piled with tattered clothes that can't be disposed of, and it's an easier place to start a fire."

The slave's voice was as soft as a feather, but his eyes flashed with deep hatred.

"Don't you care about the Xu family?" the man in black asked.

“My world is already dead, why should I care about the life or death of the Xu family?” The stable boy tilted his head, his tone surprisingly cruel.

The man in black went to the thatched house behind the courtyard and, seeing that it was indeed as the stable boy had said, nodded to each other and disappeared completely into the night.

It's coming soon, it's coming soon.

Manu's heart pounded. He turned his gaze to Xu Yi's room and slowly revealed a twisted smile.

He began counting down the days, hoping that day would come soon.

But he waited and waited, and those men in black never appeared again, as if that night was just a hallucination he was consoling himself under pressure.

Manu gazed at the sky every night, praying that today would come, that today would come. He murmured this countless times, but the heavens never responded to him.

The light in his eyes dimmed again.

That day, the maidservant next to Xu's mother came to bring him food again. He learned that Xu's father and mother would be coming to the courtyard to live with Xu Yi for a while in a few days.

This is a special day for the family of three, to celebrate the birth of Xu Yi and to express gratitude for the legacy of Duan Yan.

Manu's eyelids twitched, and in that instant, a very wicked idea suddenly came to him.

The family of three gathered together—what a perfect opportunity to get started!

But if he looked down, Ma Nu could see the food that Xu's mother had prepared for him, warm and comforting.

Manu gripped the bowl tightly in his hand. He ate bite by bite without feeling any taste, finding it difficult to swallow. The bowl, which was supposed to be light, felt too heavy for him, and he could hardly hold it up.

In that instant, he thought of many things: Zheng Datou's bullying, the servants' complicity, Xu Yi's feigned comfort, the mental torture, and Xiao Ling's tragic death before his eyes...

This bowl of rice is too light.

The stable boy suddenly spoke up: "Sister, I've been feeling a bit cold lately, could you please bring some charcoal over?"

The maid didn't think much of it; it was just a little charcoal. Every servant had some left over, let alone someone as popular as her.

She glanced into the manor's dark house, which was indeed chilling. So that afternoon, the manor received a few pieces of charcoal and a tinderbox.

The man clutched the charcoal tightly, his face a mixture of pain, hatred, denial, and struggle, which finally settled into a deathly calm.

He didn't want to gamble on whether the man in black would make a move, nor did he want to hand over such a good opportunity for revenge to someone else.

The stable boy started counting down the days again, eavesdropping on the servants' conversations every day to guess the time.

He had never looked forward to Xu Yi's birthday so much; as he waited, a happy smile even appeared on his face.

It turns out that Heaven didn't refuse to help him; rather, it wanted him to end it all himself.

Finally, the stable boy's long-awaited day arrived.

It was so obvious. Xu's parents came to Xu Yi's courtyard alone. They ate with Xu Yi and played with him. Xu Yi had a genuine smile of happiness on his face. The stable boy watched from the corner and had the same smile on his face.

The stable boy secretly watched the family of three enjoy their rare moment of happiness, but he didn't find it unbearable. He looked forward to it, and finally, night fell.

A gentle evening breeze was blowing, and even the heavens seemed to be lending him a hand. As soon as the fire started, the wind would surely fan the flames, burning down the filthy Xu residence as fiercely as his hatred.

Manu walked briskly and soon arrived at the thatched hut. He almost burst out laughing. He never expected that after so long, the tattered clothes in the room had not been dealt with, but had instead piled up more and more!

The Xu family's fate was sealed!

Manu grinned as he lit the charcoal fire, as if striking every match. He gently tossed the embers into the thatched hut, and the tiny spark touched the clothes like a greedy venomous snake, slowly licking at the nourishment of hatred.

The ever-growing fire reflected a crimson glow in Manu's eyes, filling him with immense pleasure. He couldn't help but let out a joyful smile, yet a tear rolled down his cheek.

Xu Yi's birthday is indeed a good day.

The fire spread quickly. The stable boy's prediction was correct; the evening wind amplified the flames, and it wasn't until the flames reached Xu Yi's room and the roofs of every servant's house that they realized something was wrong.

"Fire!!" Someone screamed, thus beginning this drama of revenge.

The entire Xu residence was in chaos. Some were fleeing in panic, some were screaming and carrying water, and some were desperately trying to steal money...

Each person is a microcosm of humanity, revealing their most repulsive and ugly side in the face of the merciless fire.

The servant watched coldly as the fire was about to destroy the house, but Xu Yi's room remained completely still, as silent as a graveyard.

Fearing that Xu Yi might have sensed something was wrong and left, Ma Nu felt a moment of panic and fear. He gritted his teeth, wrapped a wet garment around himself, and pushed open the door to Xu Yi's room.

Surprisingly, not only did Xu Yi not leave, but even his parents were still there.

When Xu's parents saw someone push the door open and enter, they immediately burst into tears. Looking at the raging flames, they clung to the stable boy as a lifeline, pleading, "Please, save Xu Yi! Please take him away!"

The stable boy then realized that all three of them had had their tendons severed by someone. Xu's parents were lying helplessly on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, while Xu Yi had inhaled too much smoke and dust and had fallen into a coma.

The blood was as hot and red as flames. The stable boy stared intently, his gaze sweeping over the pleading faces of Xu's parents, finally settling on the lifeless body of Xu Yi.

How ridiculous!

Xu Yi claimed that he was the same kind of person as the horse slave. He said that he could not get his parents' love, that he could neither live nor die, and that he hated his parents.

But now, at this critical moment of life and death, it is Xu's father and mother who are shedding tears and constantly rubbing their heads against Xu Yi's cheeks, and it is they who are humbly begging a servant to save their beloved child.

They have never been the same, never have been.

The stable boy walked in step by step. He helped Xu Yi up, and under the increasingly expectant gazes of Xu's parents, he took the Broken Goose Blade and the half-section of the sword technique that Xu Yi had placed in his heart.

Through the misty tears in Xu's parents' eyes, the stable boy locked the door.

Tonight, all evil will die, and all injustice will be destroyed.

Manu straightened his back, and in the towering flames, he looked one last time at Xiaoling's room, as if someone was still standing there, gently saying to him, "My name is Xiaoling."

He had avenged his great grudge, but he was not as happy as he had imagined. The stable boy knew that the raging fire had not only destroyed the Xu mansion, but also blackened his heart.

He remembered the meals his mother had cooked for him, the sweet water that tasted like a gentle rain, their pleading eyes before they died, and the silent love that Xu Yi had ignored.

It doesn't matter.

The stable boy gripped the Broken Goose Blade, thinking, "From now on, my name will be Xu Yi, and I am Xu Yi."

Xu Yi left the mournful and painful mansion, carrying the Broken Goose Blade that seemed ready to take flight, and embarked on his own journey.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Check out my new cover and character cards [sunglasses]