Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Huai Shi opened his eyes. He saw the afternoon light outside the window.
Dust fell from the ceiling. It danced messily in the faint yellow light. The air was filled with a familiar musty smell, the sound of water dripping next door could be heard.
This was his home.
After a dream, he was lying on the broken sofa in the hall.
“I am… alive? How long have I been sleeping?”
He got up blankly. Touching his chest, he saw a bandage secured on his wounds. Although there was some pain, it was not hindering his movement.
In particular, he found out that the Book of Destiny was actually transformed from a physical object into his own will. He could flip it on his own when he thought about it.
Soon, he heard the voice beside him.
“Probably about ten hours or so, it seems that you are recovering well.”
Sitting in front of the window, a young lady raised her head. She looked at him. Her calm face made Huai Shi feel uneasy.
“Last night… what actually happened? By the way, Old Liu, Old Liu…”
“Liu Dongli? Ah, he is alive and the operation should be over now. He is in the intensive care unit… If he recovers, there may be a chance him of waking up in the future. But this is not your fault. It is better to say that it’s a blessing to survive when getting targeted by Green Day.”
Ai Qing said calmly, “Although a lot of things happened last night, the mastermind escaped… but for you, everything has come to an end.”
“It’s over?”
“Yes, it’s over,” Ai Qing nodded. “No matter what, the upcoming events have nothing to do with you, and no one will be targeting you in the future.”
She stared at Huai Shi and solemnly told him, “Congratulations, you can return to your original peaceful life.”
If Ai Qing told him this yesterday, he would be overwhelmed, dancing with happiness. However, he was completely unhappy hearing this now.
He did not even make any joyous response.
Ai Qing did not say anything more. After closing the book, she was ready to leave. After rejecting Huai Shi in seeing her out, she said goodbye after standing up with a crutch.
“What happened?”
When she saw Huai Shi’s trance like state, she tilted her head, “What else do you want to ask? If you are worried about Liu Dongli’s, the car that is parked here, and someone will drive it away in two days. Rest assured, they will give you a call before coming.”
Huai Shi shook his head and looked at her, “I actually have been thinking for all these days, where have I seen you before.”
“…”
Ai Qing was silent. After a long time, she shook her head calmly, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember, it’s nothing important anyway. Just forget about it.”
She walked out of the door. She took a final glance at Huai Shi, bidding goodbye while nodding.
“Then, I will immediately head off to Jinling to report my job right now. I wish you smooth sailing in the future, and hope we won’t be meeting again.”
She said, “Farewell, Huai Shi.”
The door closed.
In the silence, Huai Shi was silent, watching Ai Qing get into the car with the driver’s help. After the door was closed, it slowly drove further away. Finally, it disappeared at the end of the road.
.
.
For the entire afternoon, Huai Shi sat on the steps of the garden of his old place, looking at the bare plant nursery, daydreaming.
“Feeling lost, right?”
Crow came out of nowhere. Standing on his shoulder, she patted his head. “Don’t be sad. Come, grab a cigarette and relax?
“If it really can’t be helped, buy a bottle of alcohol and drink some of it. Sleep for a while and everything will be okay. ”
“Everything’s over?”
Huai Shi looked at her.
“Yes, everything’s over.” The crow asked lightly, “Isn’t this all over, Huai Shi? Just as you wished, you got rid of those messy and complicated things. You also got yourself back into the peaceful life you have always thought of”
Huai Shi did not answer.
Was it over?
Maybe. However, the relief he expected did not come.
He did not feel relieved. In fact, there was a trace of anger emerging from nowhere… Obviously nothing ended.
He suddenly remembered Old Yang’s face.
At the last moment, the bastard looked at himself, he was actually smiling. Once he was about to die, he seemed relieved.
Obviously, he was relieved of nothing. He just sold his life to save the life of another person. Was he going to be happy saving that woman?
What was he really pleased with?
And now there was Liu Dongli, who was in the intensive care unit.
Huai Shi once thought they were his friends. But now, one of them had been backstabbed. And the other one backstabbed him.
He lost two friends.
On top of that, the initiator behind all this had already slipped away…
“How can it end so suddenly?”
He raised his hand to cover his face. He could not bear the anger and fatigue in his heart, “Damn it…”
Crow looked at him with pity.
For the first time in such a long time, she saw Huai Shi so furious.
Other times, no matter what happened, he would only slump to the ground like an old salted fish, letting the chaotic wheel of fate run over him.
Good tempered in nature.
If others were strong, he would let them be. He was cool about it anyway.
However, she always felt something was missing in Huai Shi. Or… he was trying to hide something.
Only until now, she vaguely understood that perhaps this empty garden was his most relaxed place. Only here, he would be able face himself tranquilly.
Even though his heart was so resistant to this—
“Say, Huai Shi.” She asked seriously, “Does this place have any important meaning to you?”
“Probably…”
Huai Shi looked down at the small garden below the steps. He remained silent for a long time.
“If you don’t want to say it, just pretend I didn’t ask that before.” Crow shook her head, “After all, prying into people’s privacy isn’t something to be proud of.”
“No, there is no need to hide anyway, I am just thinking about what to tell you.”
Huai Shi rubbed his face. He pondered for a long time, thinking about it seriously.
“When I was a kid, I had a high fever,” he said.
“My parents were very angry at that time because they were having a vacation abroad. I did not take care of myself. I did not spare them the worry. Then, they sent me money, allowing me to go to the hospital.
“However, I was too sleepy and uncomfortable in that moment. So, I didn’t go and I fell asleep on the sofa in the living room.”
Huai Shi said, “I remember I had many strange dreams at the time. I dreamt that I seemed to have grown wings and was flying in the sky. I dreamt that this old house would talk, wipe my sweat, and pour water. Then, I heard someone climbing over the wall from the backyard. His face was covered and he had a knife in his hand… I was hiding behind the door and didn’t dare to speak.
“I was so scared. If I was discovered by that person, I might be dead.”
“I didn’t want to die.”
He murmured softly while staring at the elevated surface of the ground, “So I killed him.”
“…”
Crow froze, turning to look at Huai Shi’s face. She could not find any trace of him joking. There was only a disturbing calmness.
“Yes.”
Huai Shi repeated it quietly, “I killed him.”
Hiding behind the door, using an axe, he hacked the back of his head when the man came in.
The man went down with only a single swing.
Then, he swung again and again, until there was no strength left.
After discovering that the man could not move, he was at a loss initially. Then, came the feeling of insecurity and restlessness. At the final moment, the courage that terrified him emerged.
In the heated daze, he dragged the body into the garden. He dug up the ground. Then, he quietly buried it together with the axe.
He closed up the hole. After that, he returned to his bed after washing his hands.
As if nothing happened.
Since the geology centre was so remote, no one would come. Since his parents were so lazy, they would not take care of the garden. Anyway, no one would have found out that he had killed someone.
Just like this, he fell asleep in fear. He had many strange dreams, although those dreams, he did not remember. The dreams were carrying some previous memories from before. When he woke up, his high fever had retreated unexpectedly.
From that moment onwards, Huai Shi’s childhood ended.
Ever since then, day after day, year after year.
“Thinking back specifically, I am very lucky, right?”
Huai Shi whispered, “In the beginning, I was afraid that someone would come and catch me, someone would find the thing I buried in the garden, but until now it seems that no one noticed…
“Maybe if I didn’t hide it, I wouldn’t be so tired right now. No, if I was killed that year, I wouldn’t be able to live the life right now, the life that I myself can’t even stand watching ”
“…Actually, you don’t have to torture yourself.”
Crow could not help sighing, “Have you ever thought about such a possibility? Perhaps, this is just one of the nightmares you had when you were having the high fever.”
“Yeah, maybe?”
Huai Shi nodded calmly, “I bought a shovel many times, but I threw it away many times.
Every time I stand here, I hesitate. I’m afraid of what is hidden underneath. Actually, I am not afraid of digging out the body. I am afraid of the truth. ”
He said, “If I dig up this place, I can’t deceive myself anymore——when the time comes, how can I go back to my quiet life again?”
He paused for a moment. He suddenly laughed softly, “I thought I would have deceived everyone including myself for a lifetime.”
“—— Now it seems that there is no need to be afraid of anything.”
While speaking, Huai Shi picked up the rusty shovel in the corner. He then returned to the centre of the garden, looking for the original marking. He stood firmly.
Then, the first patch of soil was shovelled.
Crow was stunned.
Then came the second shovel, the third shovel.
Huai Shi’s movements were fast. Even if the wounds under the bandage cracked and bled, there was no hesitation at all.
He cut off the weeds that were in the way; he shovelled the root system underground; then, he dug out the dirt and mud that buried the nightmare.
He was sweating like rain.
“Did you know… about my family?”
Huai Shi turned his back to Crow and talked to her as if talking to himself. “Actually, I knew very well that since birth, my parents never liked me. After Grandpa’s death, they didn’t control it anymore– They didn’t need me at all.
“When they were there, I seemed like a hindrance. After they left, I became a homeless wild dog again. Just like this, the east wall was demolished and the west wall was demolished.
“Until now, if you still can’t make money, not only the tuition fees, but also to even live… I feel that this kind of life has no value at all.
“Actually, even I myself often think, what was the point living so tiredly?
“It’s always so miserable anyway, struggling was useless, and sometimes it is laughed at and despised. Wouldn’t it be easier to give up occasionally?
“But no matter the pain or suffering, I think I can handle it. It doesn’t matter if I occasionally want to betray my dignity, I won’t be angry.
“Because I know that as long as I continue to move forward, everything will be fine.
“Even this change is always insignificant.
“Some people like Old Yang is willing to introduce me to work, and occasionally find excuses to give me some more money. And Old Liu is willing to invite me to dinner, to clean up the troubles that I have caused in the clubhouse. Even if there was a gun behind, when it’s dangerous, they still let me escape…
“Doesn’t this mean that my life is worthwhile? ”
Huai Shi asked softly, but no one responded to his words. Sweat dripped from his face and fell into the pit that had been dug open.
“But now–”
He lowered his eyes, picking up then iron again, and shoveled down, trying his best.
It was like breaking the greasy face in memory.
“My value is denied!”
Clunk!
The shovel seemed to hit something, and a huge crack broke open. But nothing could be seen in the pit, no body, no bones, nothing.
Only the scattered glow of the setting sun vaguely reflected a cruel outline.
It was like an axe.
Huai Shi bent down, reached out, and grasped its handle.
“——I’m going to kill him.”
Under the setting sun, Crow looked at the outline in Huai Shi’s hands in amazement — a formless iron casted purely from pure elementium, with the burning anger and cold killing intention mixed in together, reflecting the cruel light.
That was the killing intent and death that had been sleeping deeply for seven years, a steel armament crafted by nightmares and fears.
As if holding onto fire, at that moment, Huai Shi’s right hand was ignited by some invisible power and a white flame rose.
The true form revealed in the silence.
“So, that’s the case. That is the case…”
She murmured softly, suddenly realizing that she had finally understood what happened to Huai Shi at this moment.
Breaking through the barriers of spirit and matter and realizing the transformation between iron and elementium…
After seven years, Huai Shi finally passed a long period of stress. In the burning of the elementium, nature sublimated and his own soul was ushered in.
That was the unique and real soul name given by the sea of silver at the end.
‘Hands forbidden’!