Tak'o Hirai kicked the muddy ground with his feet, his eyes full of fear. He stared at the figure standing next to the black bear's body, exposed in the rain. He covered his shoulders and tried his best to escape from the cliff.
Thunder rumbled in the clouds, like the roar of a devil, but to Takao Hirai, it sounded like a sarcastic laugh.
The shadow that had kept him awake for the past year and appeared repeatedly in his dreams was back!
He was standing on the edge of the cliff, still wearing the same outfit, the rain dripping along the edge of his raincoat, every wrinkle was clearly visible!
"Impossible... Impossible..."
Takio Hirai crashed into a big tree. He lost too much blood and felt cold and frightened all over. He no longer had the strength to escape. He had to face the dark shadow and the darkness hidden in the deepest part of his heart.
"You're dead...Yes! You're dead!"
Hirai Takami's spirit was on the verge of collapse. He shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I will nail you into the coffin with my own hands. There is no way you can escape!"
The figure opposite did not speak, but just looked down at the black bear's body, his eyes full of pity, and raised his hand to gently stroke the black bear's forehead.
This action made Hirai Takami's eyes wide open, and he suddenly became angry:
"So it was you who ordered it to attack me! What a damn beast! If it weren't for you, it would have died at the hands of my gun!"
Kidd raised his head, his cold gaze was like a flying knife, piercing Hirai Takao's heart, and the corners of his mouth that were slightly raised seemed to be sneering at his brother for being an incompetent hunter.
“You bastard….”
Takao Hirai couldn't stand this kind of gaze, so he reached to his waist with his uninjured right hand, fumbled around, and searched for the double-barreled shotgun with a ferocious look on his face.
He touched nothing.
The gun was no longer in his hand.
Kidd took out a double-barreled shotgun from the bottom of his raincoat, raised the muzzle and pointed it at Takao Hirai.
“No…don’t!”
Takao Hirai looked at him in horror, with the back of his head pressed against the tree trunk, as if only the huge tree behind him could give him a faint sense of security at this moment.
Bang!
Gunshots rang out, the sound even drowning out the dense thunder in the clouds.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Takao Hirai let out a shrill scream and groped around his body. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his relatively intact body. Only then did he realize that the other party was playing a trick on him.
Without the luck of surviving the disaster or the trance of escaping death, Takao Hirai completely collapsed.
He held his head with one hand, recalling the scene last year when they did the same thing, holding a shotgun and forcing his brother to jump off the cliff little by little.
"You have always been better than us since we were little..."
Hirai Takami murmured in despair:
"Father loves you the most and often takes you into the mountains. You even got to know some important people because of this... We envy you and are jealous of you, but at least as your brother, I have watched you grow up. Even if I feel uncomfortable, I will not harm you..."
He had been holding these words in his heart for a long time. Over the past year or so, he had rehearsed them countless times in his dreams. Even though he knew it was just a dream, he still wanted to say them. Perhaps it was for the last bit of conscience in his heart, or perhaps it was to repent for his actions. No matter what, what was to come would always come.
"But you shouldn't stop us from killing the bears... The timber business is no longer viable, and the village can only rely on the mountains for food. There are many bears in the mountains, and you agreed to the town's proposal to set up a hunting ground. Why... It's just a few bears... Even the government agreed, but you repeatedly stopped us... Speak up!!!"
Takao Hirai picked up a stone on the ground and threw it over.
The stone hit the black bear's body, bounced, and fell into a puddle, splashing ripples.
"Father understands you, the villagers understand you, they gave the hunting ground to you because they don't want you to meddle in other people's business! Why don't you understand?!"
"Uncle Nakahiro's family needs to raise money for his daughter Riho's college tuition, Grandpa Kazuki's grandson has a congenital heart disease, Grandma Chiyo is in poor health, and his own son is not doing well. He hangs out in town every day and often comes home to ask for money..."
"You know all these things. You know clearly that when you were a child, you broke your leg and sprained your foot, and it was Riho who bandaged you. Everyone loves you and treats you so well. Why do you want to make everyone's life miserable?"
When the dusty history is unveiled, the bloody truth will surely be revealed. Everyone keeps their mouths shut and does not want to talk about it, nor does they want to mention it, let alone meet Domon Yasuki.
Only the innocent dogs knew what their owners were thinking and roared at the outsiders, but they did not understand human nature, so they were scolded by their owners.
"Just a few bears... a few beasts... are they comparable to the villagers who watched you grow up?"
Tears mixed with rain flowed down, and Hirai Takao's tone was mixed with blame and misunderstanding, as if he was covering up the mistakes he had made:
"You died well! You deserved to die!"
He laughed madly, his eyes red, like an angry bull:
"If you don't die, no one can survive! If you don't believe me, just look at how happy the villagers are now! Uncle Zhongguang's daughter got married this year, bought a house, and is pregnant. She's going to have a baby soon!"
"Grandpa Heji's grandson's heart disease has also been cured and he can walk now!"
"And Granny Chiyo... Although her son is still lazy and unlearned, at least she can give him money when he comes home, and he is willing to come back!"
“Even the dogs no longer have to worry about black bears running into the village at night!”
"Tell me whether you should die or not! Is it worth dying!!!"
Kidd looked at him silently, without saying a word.
After hearing the whole story, he finally understood that it wasn't just the three Hirai brothers who had problems, but the entire Hirai Village as well.
The villagers, consumed by desire, like King Solomon, signed a contract with the devil and opened the gates of hell.
They were partying, singing to their heart's content, and enjoying the fruits bestowed upon them by the devil. They could now pick the apples that originally grew in the Garden of Eden at will, no longer having to pay attention to God's sighs and questions.
They were already in hell, where else could they be exiled to?
Who to sacrifice and who to save has always been a difficult problem since ancient times.
Even saints cannot answer it.
Although the village is small, the problems exposed are undoubtedly worthy of deep thought.
A Qing's death brought the villagers a carefree life. Some people may think that this is wrong, but if we look at it from a macro perspective, what if the village becomes a huge country?
Who to sacrifice, who to save, and what is right and wrong may not be so difficult to determine.
As they were talking, four figures suddenly appeared on the hillside not far from the cliff. The two leading them were Takashi Hirai and Yukio Hirai.
They managed to escape the black bear's pursuit with great difficulty, but the team was dispersed and it took them a long time to gather the two scattered people.
They returned to the cave in the hunting ground, looking for Takao Hirai, but found that he was not there at all. After searching everywhere, they finally found him on the edge of the cliff.
but...
The situation facing Takao Hirai does not seem optimistic.
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