Chapter 116

Chapter 116

In the Old City District, neighbors saw each other day in and day out. Unless there was some major conflict of interest, people generally didn’t harbor any deep-seated hatred.

But there were exceptions.

On a nearby street lived a family surnamed Huang. They had hidden and dodged their way through giving birth to six daughters before finally managing to get the son who would “inherit the throne.”

They named him Huang Jun.

As the family’s only precious boy, with six older sisters serving as his blood banks and unpaid servants, Huang Jun had been handed the full “beloved family treasure who brings honor to the ancestors” script.

The whole family doted on him. If he asked for the stars, they wouldn’t dare give him the moon.

Under those circumstances, Huang Jun was spoiled into a lawless little tyrant.

The atmosphere in the Old City District had been terrible back then, and after growing up around it, he picked up every bad habit imaginable.

At fourteen or fifteen, he dyed his hair into a feathery rainbow rooster’s nest and spent his days riding some flashy modified motorbike through the streets in the middle of the night, revving it loud enough to wake the dead.

The neighbors in Old City weren’t the type to swallow their anger and fear him.

They blocked the Huang Family’s front door every day to curse them out and demand they rein him in.

But every member of the Huang Family brushed it off. They wouldn’t even say a harsh word to him, let alone discipline him.

Huang Jun was rotten through and through, and he did plenty of despicable things.

He was four years older than Qin Ying. Qin Ying had been pretty since she was little, though her personality was rather solitary, and she liked coming and going on her own.

Huang Jun saw Qin Ying a few times and got ideas, then started pestering her.

Who knew what novels he had read, but every day he walked around spouting greasy, dyed-hair delinquent lines, thinking he was irresistible.

Qin Ying had an extreme intolerance for stupidity. Seeing him act so dumb he deserved to be displayed in a museum, she had no desire to give him the time of day.

Huang Jun gathered a group of people to corner Qin Ying.

Facts proved that dyeing your hair blond did not boost your combat power.

The six scrawny little punks were beaten black and blue by Qin Ying, who had trained since childhood, and then Qin Zhiguo dealt with them all over again.

On the surface, Huang Jun restrained himself after that. In reality, however, he went on to do something far more vicious.

One time after school, Qin Ying heard crying coming from a narrow alley, along with Huang Jun’s impatient urging and curses.

She went over to check and discovered that Huang Jun had trapped an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl in a dead-end alley. His hand was down the girl’s pants, and he was recording it with a cheap phone.

Qin Ying charged over and swung her schoolbag straight at Huang Jun’s head.

A few blows from the schoolbag gave Huang Jun a concussion, and she nearly kicked his vile root clean off.

Only after the police investigated did they learn this was not Huang Jun’s first offense. He had even posted the videos online.

All the evidence in the case was on Huang Jun’s own phone. The evidence was conclusive, and the facts were clear.

The victims were all minors. The circumstances were vile, and the consequences severe. Huang Jun received a heavy sentence.

Afterward, the Huang Family’s home was smashed up by the families of several victimized girls, and they paid out a great deal of money in compensation.

Every single member of the Huang Family believed Qin Ying had blown a minor issue out of proportion and ruined their precious only son. From then on, they became enemies with the Qin Family.

That incident had happened a long time ago. When Qin Ying first heard Aunt Xu mention Huang Jun’s name, she even had to think back for a moment.

Afraid Qin Ying might let down her guard and suffer for it, Aunt Xu said sternly, “Not a single person in the Huang Family is any good. And Huang Jun isn’t the sort of person who would change just because he was locked up for a few years.”

“You must take this seriously and keep it in mind. Don’t get careless and end up hurt.”

Qin Ying also answered seriously, “I know. I’ll buy some self-defense items in a bit.”

Only after receiving her promise did Aunt Xu leave with peace of mind.

After dinner, Qin Ying planned to go burn the paper offerings she had bought.

Most importantly, the designated burning area was in the south of the city. She needed to go scout it out first.
She needed to figure out which route to take to fish Han Lie and Fuzhu back home.

The moment Qin Ying thought about their current size, her head started to throb.

Han Lie wasn’t so bad. Qin Ying had deliberately kept Zhang Lang’s Black Trench Coat.

That Black Trench Coat was made of some unknown material and could conceal a distorted body.

Han Lie could just barely wear it.

The real problem was Fuzhu. A white deer as tall as two people would stand out like a road sign wherever it went.

Just thinking about it made Qin Ying feel like her head was going to split.

Under the fine, drizzling rain, Qin Ying found a loose hoodie to put on and carried a backpack stuffed with food on her back.

In front, she wore a crossbody pet carrier meant for dogs. Inside it was Huodou, sleeping in a dazed little heap.

She also called a courier service and had them deliver the paper effigy siheyuan and mahjong machine she’d bought to the designated burning site.

Even rain could not dampen people’s longing for their departed loved ones.

When Qin Ying arrived, the open ground was packed with bonfires burning paper money.

Beneath the deep purple sky, not yet fully dark, those fires looked like sparks fallen from the heavens.

Qin Ying found a spot sheltered from the wind and lit the fire.

The paper offerings she had bought were piled into the roaring flames.

Huodou was unlike an ordinary puppy. In the smoke-filled air, it actually woke up.

Staring at the ashes being swept up into the sky by the wind, it grew so excited that it huffed out two breaths thick with the smell of sulfur.

If Qin Ying hadn’t been pinching its head with one hand, it might already have transformed into its true Huodou form, dived into the fire to roll around, then swept the flames up and run all over the city.

Paper offerings were unlike underworld money packets. Once the fire caught, they were reduced to ash.

Qin Ying tugged down the baseball cap she was wearing and turned to leave.

She wanted to see if she could get to the underground cavern and bring Han Lie and the others some food.

But the moment she turned around, she heard someone call out, “Qin Ying? That is Qin Ying, right?”

She stopped and looked up.

A man with a close-cropped haircut stood three steps away.

He wasn’t tall, and there was something indescribable about him. At a glance, he seemed honest enough, but the way his eyes kept darting around gave him a slippery air.

It was Huang Jun, fresh out of prison.

Qin Ying felt disgusted the second she saw him, and her expression darkened.

As if Huang Jun couldn’t read faces, his gaze swept greedily over Qin Ying’s face twice.

Having only shed her skin that afternoon, Qin Ying’s complexion was as white as unglazed porcelain.

Huang Jun lowered his eyes and rubbed his hands together. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”

Qin Ying looked at him expressionlessly, listening to his lies.

“I really did wrong back then. I deserved what I got. I’ve never blamed anyone. All I feel is guilt toward the victim.”

Lie.

“Back then, it was lucky you stopped me. Otherwise, who knows how many more mistakes I would’ve made.”

Lie.

“I stopped you only because I sincerely wanted to say thank you.”

The corners of Huang Jun’s mouth lifted. Firelight flickered across his face as he cracked a smile. “Thank you. I’ll repay you.”

Truth.

Qin Ying tugged at the corner of her mouth in a smile that did not reach her eyes. “Don’t mention it.”

Stroking Huodou’s head, she walked around Huang Jun and past him.

Even after she had gone a long way, she could still feel that sticky gaze, like writhing maggots, following her back.

A dog could never stop eating shit. She would be waiting for his repayment.