God damn Empire! Are you from the Shimada family!
After Huai Shi opened his eyes, he felt like he had a belly full of gripes to spew. Shouldn't this be the time when, after defeating a formidable enemy, my health bar would have refilled and even granted me two extra Skill points?
He gazed at the dust on the ceiling, utterly dejected.
Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going?
"Do you want to continue?"
The Raven seemed to snicker.
He sighed, recalling the killing intent he had once experienced, as if he could still sense that watchful gaze lurking in the shadows.
Just how much bad luck have I had in my past lives?
"Continue!"
Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and sank back into the darkness.
The Raven shook its head in what looked like pity, took out its phone, and under the recent meme image, it added one more line: *Two servings are also fine.*
So, the thrashing continued.
The beating went on until the next afternoon. By the time Huai Shi was finally able to clear the level without injury, he felt like he was about to cry.
Red Gloves, that guy, he really wasn't easy!
After refusing the Raven's suggestion for more relentless rounds, he took a rare hot shower, using the electricity Old Liu's last payment had covered. He changed into the black suit he only wore for formal performances and prepared to go out.
"You rarely dress up so smartly," the Raven teased. "Where do you plan to take a young lady?"
"...To the funeral home," Huai Shi sighed.
What young lady?
Today was Old Yang's cremation day; no matter what, he had to make the trip.
The couple had always been kind to him, although the kindness had mainly come from Old Yang's wife. But in this day and age, how many people are willing to give you a chance to stand on your own two feet when you're at your wits' end and most in need?
Even though that damned guy had conned him quite a bit, he had still given him a hand in the end.
In some ways, he had been able to maintain his dignity and survive to this day without resorting to manual labor, scavenging, or illegal work. This was all thanks to Old Yang.
Besides, Old Yang might have been unreliable at times, but Huai Shi was no high-end talent either. Over the years, they had been conning each other back and forth so much they had almost gotten used to it.
Isn't that what friends are, after all?
Now that Old Yang was gone, he had to see him off, no matter what.
Even though he rushed the whole way, by the time he arrived at the funeral home, the farewell ceremony was nearly over.
Old Yang had been a broker his whole life, with broad connections and many friends. He also had many local relatives. A dense crowd of people had come to bid him farewell.
Huai Shi followed the queue silently. When it was his turn, not daring to look too closely, he placed the flowers he had brought down, avoided his sister-in-law's gaze, and hurriedly retreated to the back.
Even though Old Yang had died in Lao Tang's church, the announced cause of death was a car accident. After the funeral home's restoration, Old Yang's unrecognizable face had somehow regained some of its former liveliness. He looked as if he were just asleep, carefree and untroubled—a sight that was unsettling.
That bastard spent most of his life chasing money, and finally, he managed to sell himself at a good price, achieving his wish to die without any cares.
Listening to the mourners, he heard them say that Old Yang had indeed left his wife a sizable sum of money, enough to cover her subsequent treatments.
Huai Shi listened for a while and then distanced himself, not wanting to hear any more.
After the viewing of the body was over, it was taken to be cremated. Contrary to Huai Shi's expectations, although her eyes were a bit red, Old Yang's wife didn't cry from start to finish. Instead, she managed Old Yang's last farewell ceremony so well that it allowed him to depart with dignity.
How the hell did that bastard manage to marry such a good wife?
Huai Shi's emotions grew more complicated.
Soon, the funeral ended. As the guests were dispersing, his sister-in-law asked him to come to the back.
In the family rest room of the funeral home, the woman dismissed all the unrelated people, closed the door, and pulled out a thick envelope from her bag to give to him.
"...What's this about?"
Huai Shi was astonished, looking at the envelope on the table. If it contained money, it must be at least ten to twenty thousand.
"Take it. This is what Old Yang owed you."
She smiled sheepishly. "In the past, he did all those things for me. Ultimately, it's I who should be sorry, Little Shi.
"You're a good kid. You've always been swindled and never said a word, but we can't keep owing you this money. Now that he's gone, I thought it was only right to settle his debts.
"If you really want to make me feel better, then please stop refusing."
Huai Shi was silent, looking at the envelope on the table for a long time before slowly shaking his head.
"What's this about owing or not owing?"
He said softly, "Back when I was young and foolish, I always thought kindness from others was a given, because I was certain I'd repay them a hundred, a thousand-fold in the future.
"But after growing up, I gradually understood that sometimes, when people were helping me, they never expected anything in return.
Even Old Yang would laugh at me, right?
"For me, the fact that Old Yang extended a hand to me during my toughest times—that's enough. Nothing else matters. There are no debts, no 'you owe me, I owe you.'"
He slowly pushed the envelope back across the table, saying earnestly, "So, even if there's just a tiny bit in here that came from me, please consider it a modest token of repayment from someone you've helped."
His sister-in-law was silent for a long time and didn't press him further.
She only lowered her head, wiped her nose, and forced a smile. "If Old Yang were still alive to hear you say that, he would surely feel ashamed."
No, that guy would definitely be smug, right? He'd be tidily pocketing the money, stuffing it into his wife's purse. Then he'd excitedly tell me it was *I* who had refused it, and it was too late for regrets now. He'd gloat, 'Tonight, I'm treating my wife to something nice!'
How on earth did that bastard end up marrying such a wonderful wife?
Huai Shi sighed.
Huai Shi did not attend the rest of the funeral proceedings. Attending one farewell was sad enough; there was no need to grieve for Old Yang twice.
Moreover, he really didn't want to see his sister-in-law cry.
After saying goodbye, he prepared to go home.
Unlike the trip here, where he was in a rush and took a taxi, on the way back he chose to take the bus to save some money. This meant he had to change lines twice, crossing the entire city to reach his home on the other side of Xinhai.
It was said that life would be easier after the subway opened. However, the Xinhai subway was rumored to have been under construction since Huai Shi was born, and after all this time, there was still no sign of it.
Besides, Xinhai was a mid-sized city with a constant flow of people. Though it could get a bit clogged during peak commute hours, the idea that it couldn't function without a subway was just implausible.
Eventually, everyone stopped holding out hope.
During the long wait, he opened his seldom-used WeChat, which felt like it had been inactive for eons, just to see if there were any updates.
Thanks to the persistent pressure of poverty, his social circle was nothing to brag about. He had only one or two acquaintances, and since they mostly understood his situation, few people had bothered him all summer.
Apart from the class WeChat group, which had devolved into a mobile gaming group, there were hardly any messages.
Huai Shi scrolled up. Aside from daily gaming team-ups and dinner invitations, there were only notifications about adjusting the piano room schedule after the school term started and a bunch of silly images.
And to his dismay, Huai Shi found that the photo of him standing in front of the Cowherd Club had been turned into a meme image...
"Could you guys act like human beings!"
Huai Shi was furious. He dug out photos of the group members who were spamming his meme image, slapped Panda head stickers onto each one, and posted them in retaliation.
Amidst this meme battle with his online buddies, his movements suddenly halted. He felt a malevolent gaze from the back of the bus fixed on him.
Perhaps it was Raven's claim that puberty improved perception, or maybe he was just used to the sensation triggered by Death Perception. Whatever the reason, Huai Shi had grown increasingly sensitive to ill intentions from others.
Though he couldn't read minds, being stared at for so long made the back of his neck prickle as if caterpillars were crawling on it, causing him to tense up.
Using the reflection from the bus window, he barely caught sight of a man in the back row. The man wore a duckbill cap and was hunched over as if asleep, but he was definitely the source of the malevolent gaze.
Seeing the man appear to take out his phone and send a message, Huai Shi abruptly stood up and swiftly disembarked as the bus came to a stop.
As expected, the man hesitated for a moment before discreetly following him.
He was in the bustling city center, on the most crowded pedestrian street. He strolled leisurely, as if taking a walk, even stopping to buy a pack of cigarettes. Yet, all the while, the stranger followed closely behind, never letting Huai Shi out of his sight.
The man's odd expression, lecherous gaze, and prominent pectoral muscles straining against his shirt made Huai Shi shudder. He clenched involuntarily, a troubling thought flashing through his mind:
Damn it, could he be a perverted stalker?
After loitering for ten minutes, Huai Shi was certain that the guy behind him was tailing him.
It couldn't be a coincidence that he followed me even into the same public restroom, right?
Pretending nothing was amiss, Huai Shi quickened his pace amid the throng on the pedestrian street. He cut through two malls, rounded several corners, and made his way into the old town's civic plaza.
The man following him kept up with every turn Huai Shi took, ensuring he didn't escape his line of sight. But just as Huai Shi turned a corner, the man found that he had vanished from the street.
As he looked around, bewildered, the stalker saw through a glass door. The young man was pulling out five yuan from his pocket. After haggling with the woman at the counter for what felt like an eternity, he shamelessly exchanged the five yuan for a locker token.
Then, he walked through the door behind the lobby.
The stalker paused, stunned. Looking up, he saw the sign:
Spring Great Bathhouse.