Chapter 235
Chapter 235
Rat was dead, but he was still taking care of Xiao Xuan.
If we performed an Exorcism on Rat, then Xiao Xuan would find out that Rat was dead.
For a child with no father, no mother, and no family, that blow would be far too great. It would be devastating.
And without Rat, Xiao Xuan would only have the Blind Old Man left. The Blind Old Man was good to him and had taken him in, but at his age, and with his disability, there was no way he could properly look after Xiao Xuan.
Besides, if Rat was gone, then who would protect Xiao Xuan when he was bullied in the future?
When we performed Exorcisms for the dead, we were technically doing a good deed. But if you truly wanted to do good, you had to think things through. A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his intentions. If what we did failed to bring about a better outcome, then it was not an act of kindness. It was only satisfying our own desire to be kind. That was hypocrisy.
We had to consider what Xiao Xuan’s life would be like from now on.
Song Xiaotian and I were hesitating, discussing whether we should first talk it over with Seventh Master again and see if there was a better solution.
Just then, several teenagers walked over toward Xiao Xuan.
They had cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and one look was enough to tell they were no good. When they came over, they snatched away the small bag of food Xiao Xuan was holding.
“Hey, brat. Got any money on you?”
“If you’ve got money, hand it over like a good boy. Once I buy my smokes, I’ll buy you a lollipop.”
The group surrounded Xiao Xuan, grinning and laughing.
Xiao Xuan was terrified and immediately hid behind Rat.
Those people couldn’t see Rat. When they saw Xiao Xuan acting strangely, they burst out laughing even harder. “This kid’s like a lunatic. Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with his head.”
“If he’s an idiot, he probably doesn’t have much money on him.”
“But we can sell the bottles he picked up. That’d be enough for a cheap pack of cigarettes.”
As they spoke, they were about to put their hands on him, searching him and trying to snatch Xiao Xuan’s snakeskin sack.
I saw Rat walk straight into one of their bodies.
He looked almost transparent, overlapping with that person’s body.
The guy shuddered, froze for two seconds, then suddenly swung a punch at his own companion. His fist smashed right into the bridge of the other guy’s nose, making him howl.
The others were shocked. Cursing, they tried to pull him away, but before long, another one was tackled to the ground.
The guy possessed by Rat opened his mouth and bit down on another person’s ear. Another pig-slaughtering scream rang out.
Song Xiaotian and I rushed out at once.
“Fuck!”
Song Xiaotian kicked one of them flying first.
I hurriedly pulled the possessed guy up and gripped the middle finger of his left hand tightly.
When the others saw their companions being beaten, they immediately surrounded us. They even pulled out knives.
These days, not many people dared to use a knife, but these young punks were all hot-blooded. They really did dare to stab someone.
Smack!
Song Xiaotian raised his hand and slapped one of them across the face. “You think tattoos make you tough?”
Smack!
Another slap.
“Go on, try stabbing someone, you little shit!”
Smack!
Another heavy backhand.
“You little bastard. Even if I give you the chance, you don’t have the guts to stab anyone!”
“You’re barely grown and already robbing people? I’ll send every last one of you to prison!”
With several hard slaps, Song Xiaotian stunned those little thugs into silence.
“From now on, if any of you dare bully this kid again, I’ll chase you all the way to your houses and hack you to death!”
“Get lost!”
They all ran off, faster than rabbits. Typical bullies who only picked on the weak.
The possessed guy had already passed out. I didn’t bother with him and tossed him to the roadside.
Rat soon appeared behind Xiao Xuan again.
Xiao Xuan was scared senseless, but when he saw us, he quickly calmed down. Maybe he knew we could protect him.
“Rat, it was them. They’re the ones who saved me last night. They even bought me chips,” Xiao Xuan said, tugging Rat over as he introduced us.
Rat stood there, a complicated expression crossing his ashen face.
We didn’t go over.
He gave Xiao Xuan a little push and said, “Go to them. I’ve got something to take care of. Don’t come out tomorrow night, all right?”
Xiao Xuan looked confused, but he was very obedient when it came to Rat. He started walking toward us.
Song Xiaotian took Xiao Xuan’s hand, while I headed toward Rat.
Rat turned and walked away, but he didn’t run. I didn’t chase him either. Both of us silently understood that we didn’t want Xiao Xuan to learn the truth.
I followed him all the way into an alley. Once Xiao Xuan could no longer see us, I broke into a run and chased after him.
Rat took off too. Don’t let his short legs fool you-he ran even faster than I did.
“Rat, stop running!”
“Let’s talk! Don’t run, I’m one of the good guys!”
I shouted as I ran. I wasn’t planning to catch him; I just wanted to have a proper talk. But he wouldn’t give me the chance.
There was no way I could outrun a Ghost. Before long, I lost him.
Standing in that maze of twisting alleys, I thought for a moment, then headed straight for the Blind Old Man’s house.
Soon, I arrived at his door. I didn’t go in. Instead, I crouched outside and listened for a while.
There were voices inside. At this hour, the old man should have been asleep, but the voice speaking was his.
“Rat, Grandpa is already this old. I don’t have many years left. If there’s no one to look after Xiao Xuan in the future, I can’t set my mind at ease.”
“With you taking care of him, I do feel reassured. But you’re already dead. Seeing you like this, Grandpa… Grandpa…”
As he spoke, the old man choked up.
“I want to cry, but I can’t even cry.”
“I’m blind. I don’t have any real ability. There really isn’t much I can do.”
“They say when a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out. Once you’re dead, you’re supposed to go be reincarnated. Grandpa doesn’t want you to leave either, but if you don’t, and you can’t be reincarnated in the future, what then?”
“I wanted to discuss it with you. Let’s hand Xiao Xuan over to the police. The police will definitely find a way to settle him somewhere. Wherever he goes, it’ll be better than staying with me. You have to think about yourself too, Rat…”
I raised my right hand, then lowered it again.
I didn’t want to disturb the grandfather and grandson. I turned and left.
Song Xiaotian was still waiting where we’d left him with Xiao Xuan. After I got back, we prepared to take Xiao Xuan home first.
Xiao Xuan had suddenly gone quiet. He barely spoke. It wasn’t until we were almost home that he finally said, “I feel like something’s not right with my brother.”
I asked him, “What’s not right?”
He said, “I feel like my brother is about to leave, but I don’t know where he’s going. I’m scared I’ll never see him again, like I can’t see my mom anymore.”
Song Xiaotian and I didn’t know how to answer him.
His instincts were right. Rat… was already dead.
In a sense, Rat no longer belonged to this world. And when he belonged to this world again, he would no longer be Rat.
“Don’t overthink it. It’s late. Go home and sleep. See you tomorrow.”
From a distance, we watched Xiao Xuan enter the house.
Song Xiaotian asked me, “What do we do? He’s only eight, and he’s already been through so much. Now we’re supposed to tell him his brother is dead? I can’t bring myself to say it.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know what to do either.
Sometimes, there simply wasn’t a truly perfect solution.
Some people’s lives were like heaven. Others’ were like hell. For them, even surviving was a luxury.
We should wait until morning and call Seventh Master.