Chapter 118
Chapter 118
The video my father sent was one he had recorded with my grandfather.
The setting was our home. The two of them sat stiffly before the camera, looking cramped and nervous.
It felt like a confession video.
By now, Song Xiaotian and the others had gathered around. I pressed play right in front of them.
“Chen Mo, forgive me for telling you the truth this way. I simply didn’t have the courage to say what I’ve done to my son’s face.”
In the video, my father’s face was filled with guilt. He kept his head bowed, not even daring to look at the lens.
“Fifteen years ago, when you were eleven, you fell gravely ill. At the time, no one knew why you were so sick. Even the best doctors in our city couldn’t find the cause. Your grandfather was superstitious, so he went to find a Fortune-Teller to read your fate.”
“That Fortune-Teller said you were destined for this tribulation and wouldn’t be able to cross it. He said if you fell into a heavy illness, even a divine physician would find it hard to save you. Within two months, you would be dead. Those were his exact words.”
“And your situation at the time was indeed grim. The doctors had already issued a critical condition notice. We had no choice but to believe the Fortune-Teller’s words. But as parents, how could we accept that the child we had raised for eleven years was just going to be taken away?”
My father looked up, his eyes reddening toward the camera. “I couldn’t accept it, your grandfather couldn’t accept it, and your mother certainly couldn’t accept it. We had no other choice but to beg that Fortune-Teller to find a way to save you.”
“Later, he taught us a method… the Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique. He taught it to your grandfather because performing such an occult art required a certain understanding of metaphysics to ensure a high success rate.”
“As for the necessary conditions for Seven Deaths for Life Exchange, you know them now. It requires the lives of seven people. Your grandfather and I… we didn’t hesitate for a second back then. We had only one thought: to keep you alive. Forget seven-even seventy… But your mother didn’t agree. Your mother is a very kind person. She couldn’t accept you dying, but she could even less accept using the lives of seven innocent people to trade for her son’s life.”
“However, she couldn’t stop your grandfather and me. To keep her from interfering, we locked her away and began planning the murders. But as you know, your father is a coward. I wouldn’t even dare to kill a chicken, let alone a person. Your grandfather was old and had no way to kill seven people himself. He was afraid that if a mistake happened halfway through, he wouldn’t be able to save you.”
In the video, my father took a breath to steady his emotions before continuing. “Later, I met Lv Zhengxian online. At the time, he and Li Yujiao were in desperate need of money, so they took on this killing business for me. I just didn’t expect that man to be a natural-born monster. He targeted his landlord, and to steal the family’s money, he killed the entire household, creating the Qindao Mass Murder Case.”
“Later, he gradually killed enough to reach seven people, and because of that, you were saved…”
“But things didn’t end there. After he finished the killings, he fled to Lanjiang City and begged your grandfather to teach him the Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique. He was a man who could kill without blinking. We were terrified of him, afraid he would turn on us. In our panic, your grandfather had no choice but to pass the technique on to him.”
“But your grandfather was cautious. We were afraid of being hounded by such a brutal man for the rest of our lives, so we decided to finish him off once and for all. The Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique we gave him was one where your grandfather had deliberately modified certain details. What he received was actually the Erroneous Version.”
“We intended to use the Erroneous Version of the technique to lead him to his death. But we didn’t expect that his time hadn’t come yet. Even we didn’t realize that the Erroneous Version would actually allow him to achieve Soul Seizure, successfully transferring his soul into another person’s body.”
“That’s pretty much how it happened.”
After my dad finished speaking, he added, “Lv Zhengxian killed Li Yujiao with his own hands, but I was the one who cut out her tongue and bricked her into the wall. It wasn’t my idea; Lv Zhengxian forced me to do it.
“I was also the one who hired the hitman to run over Fang Man, but I didn’t know she was your girlfriend at first. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to do it, but Lv Zhengxian threatened me. To hide what happened all those years ago, one mistake led to another, and I ended up silencing Wang Shujun as well.”
As he spoke, my father began to sob again, unable to find more words.
My grandfather took over. “Chen Mo, your father and I haven’t done anything else bad in our lives. But that one thing we did back then was an unforgivable crime. We were wrong. We deserve to die. But your father and I thought about it-if we turned ourselves in, you’d never be able to hold your head up again. People would point fingers at you, and you wouldn’t be able to find a place in this society.
“You’re grown now; you can support yourself. We have no more lingering attachments. It’s time to atone for our sins. It’s only right that we die.”
My father’s eyes were bloodshot as he let out a heavy sigh. “Live a good life from now on. Don’t make mistakes like I did. Once some things are done, there’s no turning back.
“I’m sorry, son. Your old man has caused you too much trouble.”
The video cut out abruptly. It was over.
Tears were already streaming down my face. This was a farewell-my father and grandfather were saying their final goodbyes to me.
The video had been sent last night. The two of them…
“Dad, Grandpa…”
My body felt numb, and my mind was a complete blank. I struggled out of bed, intent on going home.
No one stopped me this time. Song Xiaotian, Meng Yifan, and Old Zhao Seven all followed me back.
When the car pulled up to my building, everything looked normal.
I prayed that my father and grandfather hadn’t done anything foolish yet, that they were still at home waiting for me just like they always did.
As we neared the front door, Old Zhao Seven stopped me. He held out his hand. “Give me your keys. I’ll go in and check first.”
Shaking uncontrollably, I fumbled for my keys and handed them to him.
I was worried, but more than that, I was terrified. I didn’t dare go in. I was afraid of what I might see.
Old Zhao Seven took the keys, opened the door, and stepped inside.
In that brief moment, my heart had never been in such a state of turmoil. I couldn’t stop trembling.
After about half a minute, Old Zhao Seven walked back out. His expression was grim.
“Chen Mo, your father and your grandfather…”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
My gaze went vacant. I froze for a few seconds before wandering aimlessly toward the door.
Old Zhao Seven blocked my path again. “Don’t go in. Don’t look.”
I became as stubborn as an ox, fighting desperately to get inside.
Old Zhao Seven could barely hold me back. He quickly signaled Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan. “Help me stop him!”
The two of them rushed over to grab me. “Chen Mo, it’s already happened. Let’s just prepare the funeral arrangements…”
“Get away from me! I’m going home!”
I let out a primal roar. I was like a madman; the three of them together couldn’t hold me down.
I burst into the house and froze in the living room as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
The doors to both bedrooms were wide open. There, hanging from the curtain ropes, were my father and my grandfather.