Chapter 129
Chapter 129
After hearing what Old Zhao Seven had to say, I felt a sudden jolt of apprehension.
When the Su Family went to the Daoist Temple to find that Daoist Priest, Du Yuwei and her sister were only about a year old. Yet, that Daoist Priest had already predicted the lives of these two sisters. This inescapable sense of destiny was suffocating.
If a person’s life is predestined from the start, then whether it is a blessing or a curse, is it truly impossible to avoid?
“So back then… the Su Family decided to send away Du Yuwei’s older sister?” Song Xiaotian asked.
Old Zhao Seven nodded. “I went to Du Yuwei’s hometown to investigate and asked the relatives of the Su Family. At that time, both of Du Yuwei’s parents were reluctant to send either away, but they had no choice. One disaster after another hit the family; they had to believe it, whether they wanted to or not.”
“But to send both away was more than any parent could bear. As for which one to ultimately send away, they agonized over it for a long time.”
“In the end, they made a decision: to send away the well-behaved one, which was Du Yuwei’s older sister.”
“Because that child rarely cried and was very likable, whereas Du Yuwei cried a lot as a baby. They were afraid that if they sent a difficult child away, strangers wouldn’t treat her well.”
We all sighed.
It truly was a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease, while the sensible child gets ignored. It was precisely because she was well-behaved that she was the one sent away.
“So where was Du Yuwei’s sister eventually sent?” I asked.
Old Zhao Seven replied, “To an orphanage. After all, the Daoist Priest had said that these two sisters were villains in their past lives who had committed too many sins. They were destined to suffer in this life to atone for those sins.”
“So, the Su Family had to harden their hearts and send Su Yajing to an orphanage.”
“After Su Yajing grew up, she changed her name to Anning, taking the surname of the orphanage director.”
“Two months before Du Yuwei died, the two of them reunited.”
I was curious and asked Old Zhao Seven how he knew all this.
“Coincidence, but perhaps it was also fate.”
Old Zhao Seven said with a sigh, “At the time, Du Ruhai invited me to his villa. I went, and I unexpectedly caught Anning-that is, Su Yajing-stealing from Du Ruhai’s house. I was shocked because I already knew Du Yuwei was dead.”
“Then I saw a girl who looked exactly like Du Yuwei, and a living one at that. I ran through every bit of knowledge and skill I’d ever learned, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I nearly fainted from the shock.”
“Later, I learned she wasn’t Du Yuwei. Anning begged me not to expose her. She made the right bet, of course; there was no way I would turn her in. I cooperated with her and let her go.”
“I contacted her later and had a long, heart-to-heart talk with her. That’s when I found out who she really was.”
Thinking back on recent events, I asked Old Zhao Seven, “Have you been working with her and Du Yuwei for a long time now?”
Old Zhao Seven nodded. “That night when you and Meng Yifan insisted on going to the villa to investigate, do you know why I refused to go? It was because Anning and I had already planned to find a way to steal her sister Du Yuwei’s remains.”
Meng Yifan said indignantly, “But we were also planning to steal Du Yuwei’s remains! You could have just worked with us.”
Old Zhao Seven glanced at the two of us. “That girl Anning is sharper than both of you, she’s a better fighter than both of you, and she has faster reflexes than both of you.”
Meng Yifan turned his head away. “Seventh Master, that’s just hurtful…”
Old Zhao Seven chuckled. “She grew up without a father’s care or a mother’s love. She’s suffered more than you can imagine. A child like that doesn’t grow up to be simple.”
At this point, Old Zhao Seven’s smile vanished. “But I didn’t expect that the girl would later sneak off and steal Du Yuwei’s remains. She didn’t tell me, and she’s been deliberately avoiding me ever since.”
“Those two are twins, and their bond is deep. They were each other’s only family in this world.”
“Anning is hell-bent on helping Du Yuwei get revenge. I’ve been trying to talk her out of it, telling her that revenge can be taken slowly, but she must never take the wrong path. Once you go down that road, there’s no turning back. But it was useless. Just like you, she won’t listen to my advice.”
I didn’t agree with Du Yuwei’s killings.
Yet, I deeply understood her desire for vengeance.
Cruelly, the reason Du Yuwei’s life was so tragic was that my father had hired Lv Zhengxian to kill her parents fifteen years ago.
And my father had done it to save me.
My mind was a mess.
I asked Old Zhao Seven, “Do you really have to kill Du Yuwei…”
Old Zhao Seven looked at me. “You don’t want her to die?”
“Of course not,” I said. “She’s this miserable because of me, because of my father. Our family destroyed her.”
Old Zhao Seven remained perfectly calm and countered, “Just because her life is tragic, does that give her the right to harm other innocent people? Was He Tao’s life not tragic? What did He Tao do wrong? He Tao is dead now, and his father has cancer. Would you say his family isn’t tragic?”
“He Tao likely wasn’t the first person she killed, and he won’t be the last. Don’t the people she’s murdered deserve sympathy too?”
I lowered my head, not knowing how to answer.
Song Xiaotian sighed. “Back then, we only helped Du Yuwei find her child because we wanted to find Xiaoman’s killer. Who knew things would turn out like this?”
Old Zhao Seven shook his head. “That’s why I say some things are predestined. Many things simply have no answers, and for some answers, there is no right or wrong. I can only act based on the current situation to prevent more people from being hurt. I have to let her die.”
We were supposed to go out for a meal together.
But because of the matter with Du Yuwei, Old Zhao Seven left, leaving only the three of us to eat.
At the table, I didn’t say a word, my mind consumed by thoughts of Du Yuwei.
I kept thinking that if I had just died of that illness fifteen years ago and no one had saved me, perhaps all these tragedies wouldn’t have happened.
I was truly overcome with guilt. I felt like a curse, a blight that had harmed so many people and ultimately destroyed my father and grandfather.
“Sigh, your life really is a tragedy.”
Song Xiaotian patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me. “You didn’t actually do anything, yet everything is connected to you. I understand how you feel, but if you overthink it, you’ll end up with… what do you call it? Depression.”
I kept my head down and remained silent. In truth, I felt like I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
The matter with He Tao’s house had been settled now. Meng Yifan had listed the property online.
A house worth a million was listed for six hundred thousand. Despite it being a Stigmatized Property, quite a few people actually came to inquire.
Within a week, the house was sold for five hundred and fifty thousand.
In other words, we made two hundred and fifty thousand on this house.
We had previously told He Tao’s Mother we’d give her three hundred thousand, and she had said that was all she wanted. However, Meng Yifan was a man of principle; he gave He Tao’s Mother three hundred and fifty thousand and gave Song Xiaotian five thousand.
He originally intended to give me twenty thousand as well. Although I took it, I ended up giving that twenty thousand to He Tao’s Mother as well.
A week later, I received a text message from an unknown number.
The message invited me to Tianxing Amusement Park at the Zi Hour.