Chapter 196
The moment the towel was draped over his head, scalding steam hit him. The killer ripped the towel off, his face contorted in rage, and roared, "Fuck you!"
Even though he has been fully recovered for many years, he still cannot accept anything touching his burned face!
The woman seemed frightened by his fierce expression. It wasn't until the murderer saw her face clearly that he paused, then exclaimed in disbelief, "Aunt?"
The woman's eyes widened suddenly, and she angrily grabbed his ear, yelling, "You still remember I'm your aunt! Tell me, Li Yong, who were you trying to sleep with just now? Huh?"
"No." Li Yong, forgetting to dodge, stared at the woman in astonishment. "Weren't you already dead?"
When the word "death" was mentioned, Li Yong showed no qualms whatsoever, speaking indifferently as if stating a trivial fact.
The woman's expression changed instantly: "Die? What do you mean, die? So you've been hoping for my death all along? Let me tell you, even if I die, this house won't end up in your hands. I'd rather lose it or donate it than give it to you! You never dare to utter a sound when people talk behind your back, but now you're bullying me in front of your own family? I spent money and effort to save you, and this is how you repay me? I've always provided you with food and shelter, and in what way have I wronged you? Just like your two debt-collecting parents, they won't even let you rest in peace even after you're dead!"
Halfway through her sentence, the woman's eyes reddened, and she struggled to hold back her surging tears.
The bewildered Li Yong finally snapped out of his daze amidst the woman's sharp curses. Seeing this scene, he felt no remorse or heartache, but rather a surge of anger.
He was separated from his parents at a young age. The couple went to work in a big city and left him with his aunt, who regularly sent him living expenses each month.
He was living a decent life. His aunt didn't have children because of her health, and his uncle, who had a bad temper, treated him very well for the sake of money, essentially raising him as his own child.
But suddenly one day his father stopped sending money, and two years later his mother disappeared without a trace. His aunt went to look for her several times, and the last time she came back, she looked terrible and was cursing, saying that his parents were dead.
Li Yong knew his parents weren't dead and was very annoyed by his aunt's words, but she wouldn't listen. Every time she cursed him, she would use very harsh language and even indirectly insult him as well.
Whenever he showed any inclination to go find his parents, his aunt would immediately change her expression, scolding him for being heartless, calling him an ingrate, and cutting back on his food and money.
He couldn't hold back and cursed back on the spot, smashing bowls and overturning tables, and then started a fight. When his uncle found out about this, he grabbed him and beat him severely without asking any questions. With his face bruised and swollen, he didn't dare to go out and see anyone for two days.
The mean-spirited aunt's family, their cramped and dilapidated living quarters, their frugal lifestyle, and their forced dependence on others.
Li Yong had always regarded this past as the root of his unfortunate life and was unwilling to recall it, but now Xie Xubai had brought it up and laid it nakedly before him.
Feeling humiliated, Li Yong grabbed his aunt's arm, his face flushed, and demanded, "Have you said enough?!"
He suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot as if they could spit fire, and forcefully tore at his aunt's face: "Ha! I know! You're trying to humiliate me this way, aren't you? You think you can make me suffer by pretending to be my aunt? Let me tell you, you're wrong. I don't care about them at all! Change back now, or I'll kill you!"
Auntie screamed, "Li Yong? Are you crazy! What are you doing?!"
With a bang, the room door was forcefully kicked open, and the burly uncle appeared in the doorway. The next second, Li Yong felt a sharp pain in his face as his uncle punched him to the ground.
"You beast! What were you doing to your aunt just now?"
Li Yong, curled up by the bed, felt dizzy and lightheaded. When he saw his uncle's furious face and tall, strong body, he was so frightened that he fell silent. Then, he was kicked several times in the head, and he was in so much pain that he screamed repeatedly.
During the struggle, Li Yong felt something being pulled out of his nose—two long oxygen tubes!
He clutched his chest, feeling a sudden tightness and a sense of suffocation.
Then Li Yong remembered that he had moved away from his aunt's house after he became an adult. Who knew that someone had illegally brought an electric scooter into the building to charge it, causing a fire.
He rented a "chuanchuanfang" (literally "interlocking room"), which is a type of room where the landlord knocks down partition walls to turn a three-bedroom apartment into seven or eight rooms in order to collect more rent. Even the toilet can be blocked up and used as another room. The partitions are made of wooden boards and painted over. Naturally, such places will not pass fire safety inspections.
As soon as the fire spread, several prefabricated houses were instantly ignited, while he was playing on his phone in bed, unaware that he was being swept into the raging inferno.
Although his aunt's family spent a lot of money to pull him back from the brink of death, his life was ruined on that day.
Extensive facial burns left grotesque scars, making him look like a ghost. Children would cry upon seeing him, and even normal people would avoid looking at him.
His respiratory tract was severely damaged, and he had to wear a portable ventilator all the time. His internal organs were also damaged, and he could no longer do physical work. He didn't even dare to breathe heavily when eating.
Li Yong, who was lying in the hospital bed crying out in pain, developed a deep hatred for his aunt's family during that time. Why did they save his life and make him suffer like this?
The aunt, startled, leaned on the table, her face pale and seemingly heartbroken. But when she saw Li Yong struggling to breathe, convulsing, and begging for forgiveness, she rushed forward with tears in her eyes and grabbed her husband: "Enough, enough! His body can't take any more of this!"
After some arguing, the uncle finally gave in and angrily threw Li Yong onto the bed.
Watching Li Yong frantically re-insert the oxygen tube into his nostrils, paying no attention to anything else, neither apologizing nor explaining, with a hint of resentment and malice in his eyes, the uncle's disgust for Li Yong reached its peak at this moment. He turned to his aunt and said, "You just keep spoiling him. Sooner or later, you'll spoil him to death!"
Uncle stormed off, leaving Aunt and Li Yong speechless. After he left, the man seemed to bounce back from rock bottom, his arrogance instantly returning. He continued to scrutinize her with a questioning and indifferent gaze, like a hyena that bullies the weak and fears the strong.
After a long pause, the woman, heartbroken and with red-rimmed eyes, said coldly in a trembling voice, "You, get yourself ready now and go to work. We plan to rent out this room. Tomorrow you'll move to the basement. We won't give you any more money, food, or clothing, and we won't take care of you anymore. You're on your own for the rest of your life!"
A vein throbbed at Li Yong's temple; what he couldn't stand most was a woman's tone that made it seem like she had sacrificed so much for him.
Especially when the house was mentioned, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you hadn't used underhanded tricks to get my grandparents to give you the house, my parents wouldn't have gotten divorced over money, and they wouldn't have gone out to work and never come back! I wouldn't be like this now! This house originally belonged to our family, so why should you rent it out?"
In an instant, the room fell into a deathly silence. The woman slowly revealed a look of astonishment, staring at him in disbelief.
"So this is what you think of us?" The woman's face trembled with anger as she forced out the words through gritted teeth, "Your parents said that we got this house through underhanded means? Why don't they mention who took care of them when they were sick and paralyzed in bed, caring for them until their death, and who was so cold-blooded and heartless, only coming back for a quick visit right before their funeral, and then demanding a share of the house and their funeral savings?!"
"You really are...you, you!"
Li Yong, who had spoken rashly in the moment, suddenly felt a pang in his heart: It's all over.
Five minutes later, Li Yong, along with his luggage, was thrown out of the house by his uncle.
Their home was on the first floor, and the old neighborhood was mostly inhabited by retired elderly men and women. During the day, the benches and pavilions were almost always full of people. When they saw Li Yong being kicked out, they immediately gave him strange looks and whispered among themselves.
Countless onlookers felt like sharp needles pricking his back, while the sun shone directly on him, its warmth making Li Yong uneasy, because the feeling was too real, not like an illusion.
Only then did he truly panic. Seeing his aunt about to close the door, he quickly stuck his foot out to stop it, desperately pleading, "No, no, Aunt, I wasn't thinking straight just now. I was just joking around..."
Contrary to his usual behavior, his aunt not only showed no mercy but also kicked him hard. The kick directly struck Li Yong's burns, causing him to wince in pain and quickly pull his leg back.
"Whether it's just a joke or something you've kept bottled up for years, you know the answer yourself." Aunt's tone was so cold it felt like ice crystals were about to fall.
If Li Yong had paid closer attention to her expression, he would have noticed that the woman's eyes were always filled with tears.
Ultimately, those tears dried up little by little under Li Yong's slander, just like her last bit of reluctance and her last hope for Li Yong.
Like a lingering soul that has yet to pass away, finally hardening its heart to sever its attachment to the mortal world.
"Don't ever come to my house again, and my door will never be opened for you again." The woman sneered condescendingly. "Let me tell you one last thing: your father was having an affair when you were six years old, and they had a child out of wedlock. He's having a good time with his mistress in the big city! Your mother also found someone else later, and now her child is probably in high school. She even told me that if you dare to disturb her family, she'll strangle you! If you want to go find them, go ahead."
Upon hearing this, Li Yong felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
"I used to think it was because I was too harsh on you and spoke without thinking, which is why you... Ha, now I see clearly that your whole family are heartless and despicable."
The woman glanced at him as if he were something dirty, her eyes filled with disgust and remorse. She slammed the door shut with a bang: "Get out!"
Just before the door closed, the husband came to the woman and sighed silently.
A ray of golden light swept over their shoulders, seemingly a comforting pat, and then there was no more sound from behind the door, only solitude.
Undeterred by being turned away, Li Yong kept banging on the door and pleading with them, but to no avail. He cursed under his breath and kicked the door in a fit of rage.
More and more people peeked and stared from behind, having heard about Li Yong's character before, and all thought he deserved it, pointing and gossiping at him.
Upon hearing those words, Li Yong glared at them fiercely: "Are you looking for death?"
His face was covered with large, dark red burn scars, which made him look even more ferocious and terrifying when he frowned. Coupled with the fact that he had killed countless people and exuded a horrifying bloody stench, the people were so frightened that they dared not murmur anymore and left dejectedly.
Li Yong didn't have time to argue with them; his mind was filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
He didn't know anything about what his aunt said when he was arrested and executed. So how did Xie Xubai find out about it?
As the shop owner, Li Yong knew how difficult it was to create a realistic game world, but now, as he turned his head and looked at the gossipy old women, the broken and cracked floor tiles, and the untrimmed weeds, everything seemed so real.
If Xie Xubai had such ability, wouldn't it be more swift to just kill him?
Could it be that this isn't a game? Or has he really traveled back in time?
Damn it!
Looking at the tightly closed door, Li Yong regretted his actions.
If they really went back to the past, the woman would soon have an accident, and the older man who drowned his sorrows in alcohol would suddenly suffer a cerebral hemorrhage and die.
They have no children, so the house will eventually be transferred to his name.
But his impulsiveness ruined everything! Those two old geezers will definitely change the will!
Li Yong couldn't resist kicking the door hard again.
What should we do now?
No. Li Yong refused to accept it, thinking viciously, he must still be in the game, not in reality, otherwise he would be completely ruined!
Just then, someone behind him exclaimed in surprise, "Li Yong? What happened to you? Why are there clothes all over the floor...?"
Li Yong turned around at the sound and saw an unexpected face. Instantly, a news article he had seen in a newspaper flashed through his mind.
On the evening of [date], a man was struck and run over in an underground parking garage...
The man turned around abruptly upon hearing the roar of the car engine. Facing the blinding white headlights, he stared wide-eyed in surprise. Just before being hit, he saw the assailant's face and was filled with panic and astonishment.
Li Yong clearly remembers the man's expression at that moment, and even more so, the sensation of the car hitting the man and the impact on his palms gripping the steering wheel. Amidst his rapidly accelerating heartbeat, a surge of exhilarating pleasure erupted in his chest!
You might have panicked at the time, afraid of being arrested, but afterwards you were just happy.
Li Yong savored the indescribable feeling, staring at the man's oblivious appearance, and slowly curled the corners of his mouth, letting out a strange laugh.
“It’s nothing. I had a fight with my aunt. She told me to get out of the house and never come back. I know she was just saying it in anger.”
Li Yong stared straight at the man: "Could you let me stay for two days, considering we escaped from a fire together back then?"
The man hesitated for a moment, but readily agreed: "Okay."
From Li Yong's unseen perspective, a ray of golden light quietly landed on the man's shoulder.
The man was even more excited than Li Yong. His eyes rolled around blankly, exuding a chilling and eerie aura. He accidentally broke off a finger, but quickly put it back. He whispered to Jin Guang, "Thank you."
Li Yong, grumbling as he gathered his clothes scattered on the floor, didn't quite catch what he was saying and asked, "What are you whispering about?"
"It's nothing." The man's lips curled into a wide, bright smile. "I'm just thanking the gods."
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