Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"Leave Beijing?"

Liu Guangqi's voice suddenly rose, carrying an undisguised panic.

"Then...what about me? What will I do after you leave? Where will I go on vacation?"

Li Zhaodi gripped the microphone tightly.

I wanted to say, "Stay at school and be good to yourselves," and "You're all grown up now, you should take care of yourself," but I swallowed the words back.

Pity the parents of the world.

She didn't want to leave either, but her life was more important.

"Thump... Meow~~"

A stray cat darted across the alleyway in the distance, kicking over a tin trash can and startling Li Zhaodi.

"Guangqi, take care. Remember what I said. I'm hanging up now."

Li Zhaodi hung up the receiver without waiting for her son's reply, tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away repeatedly, but they only flowed more.

Pushing open the metal door of the phone booth, a blast of cold wind hit her face, making her shiver.

The streets were deserted; there wasn't a single person in sight.

Li Zhaodi had a strange feeling that something was wrong. There wasn't a single person on the street in broad daylight. Was that normal?

"laugh……"

The sound of metal scraping together could be heard.

Li Zhaodi turned her head and saw Lin Tian holding an axe that was still dripping blood, which frightened her so much that she instinctively stepped back.

His back hit the metal shell of the phone booth.

What should I do?

Waiting online, very anxious.

The current situation is obvious without even having to guess.

As for why Lin Tian was attacking him with an axe, he must have been possessed by a ghost.

"Y-you...who are you? Are you Lin Tian or some evil spirit?"

"So noisy!"

Li Zhaodi felt everything go black before her eyes and lost consciousness.

...

Inside the Spirit Spring Space.

Li Zhaodi lay on her back on the ground, her brows furrowed, still having nightmares even in her unconscious state.

Lin Tian stood beside her, holding a basin of freshly boiled water, a smile spreading across his face.

The basin tilted.

Boiling water was poured on it.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Li Zhaodi's eyes snapped open, and she instantly regained consciousness, her scream echoing throughout the space.

She patted herself haphazardly with her hands; the boiling water had soaked through her cotton-padded jacket, scalding her skin and causing a burning pain.

"Indeed, it's not just cold water that wakes people up; boiling water is even more effective."

Lin Tian's voice came from above her head.

Li Zhaodi covered her scalded cheek, revealing a pair of terrified eyes.

"Are you even human?"

"You are not human."

As Li Zhaodi retreated, she stared intently at Lin Tian and the axe from which blood slowly dripped.

He braced his hands on the ground and kept moving his body backward.

Suddenly... my palm pressed against something soft and wet, and my fingers instinctively touched it twice.

It was cool and soft, like human skin.

She turned to look.

The body of an elderly woman, Wang Cuilan, lay beside her, her dead fish eyes half-open, pupils unfocused.

Beside the corpse, Jia Zhangshi's head was tilted at an unnatural angle, her mouth wide open.

Looking further back... Xiao Dang, Yang Ruihua, and Yan Jiedi, mother and daughter, were lying side by side.

"ah!!!"

Li Zhaodi screamed and scrambled to her feet, stumbling and fleeing in another direction.

My mind is a complete mess.

Auntie Yi, Jia Zhangshi, Xiao Dang, Auntie San, Yan Jiedi... When did they die?

Why haven't we heard anything from the police station?

And how could they have been murdered in the short time it took me to make a phone call to Auntie San and Jie Di?

They're all here, all in this place I don't even know where.

"Second Aunt, it's your turn."

Lin Tian walked towards her unhurriedly, the axe swaying in his hand, the bloodstains on the blade spilling onto the ground with each step.

"Look, Auntie A and Auntie B are waiting for you. Auntie A is your old neighbor, and Auntie B is your sister."

We used to see each other all the time in the yard, but now they've all gone downstairs, and you're all alone. How lonely you must feel.

"Neighbors should be united and friendly. Shouldn't you also show some solidarity? You can't bear to see them all alone and miserable down there, can you?"

"No...no..."

Li Zhaodi pleaded in fear, "Lin Tian...please...please let me go...I haven't done anything to wrong your family."

When you were little, I brought you medicine when you had a fever... Have you forgotten?

When your mother gave birth to Tangtang, I was the one who called the midwife...don't you remember?"

"Remember."

"I remember everything you said, but Second Aunt, have you forgotten those two difficult years of famine, when your whole family depended on Third Uncle alone?"

But Uncle San's salary is not enough to support your family of six. If it weren't for the food my family gave you, how many of you would have survived?

So... my family has already repaid the favors we owed your family.

Furthermore, you two have been taking advantage of my family and making petty demands over the years, haven't you?

My mother also told me that when you gave birth to Jie Di, she also hired a midwife for you and gave you twenty eggs.

You didn't send it back then, did you? My family doesn't owe you anything; you're the one who owes my family.

Li Zhaodi: "..."

Speechless.

Because... Lin Tian is right.

Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground: "Lin Tian, ​​I apologize to you... I'm kneeling down to apologize to you."

"I'll do anything you want, please let me go... I don't want to die... I beg you, Lin Tian..."

I promise you.

Li Zhaodi was taken aback.

Looking up at Lin Tian, ​​she couldn't believe her ears.

Did he agree?

Did you really agree?

Lin Tian revealed a harmless smile, looking both kind and innocent, just like a well-behaved child persuaded by his elders.

"I promise you, but..."

Lin Tian deliberately dragged out the last syllable.

Li Zhaodi's smile froze on her face.

"But Guangfu and Guangtian are quite lonely down there. Don't you, as their mother, want to go and keep them company?"

The most important thing for a family is to be together. If you go and spend time with them, they'll be even happier than I am.

The axe was raised.

"Don't worry, it will happen soon. Your two sons didn't suffer much when they died, and you, their mother, will be no exception."

See how considerate I am? I've thought of everything so thoroughly for your whole family, even arranging your reunion.

The axe fell.

"Pfft!"

Li Zhaodi's eyes were still wide open as she lay quietly on the ground, fast asleep.

Lin Tian shook the blood off his axe, put it away, and shook his head as he looked down at Li Zhaodi's open-eyed face.

Then he bent down and reached out to close her eyes.

A family should be together all the time; no one can escape.

Some blood debts must be repaid in blood, even if it happens all over again.

Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

If an accident happens, wouldn't I have wasted my time going through all this again?

"What's next?"

……