Mu Ke watched Bai Liu (6)'s retreating figure disappear into the pale morning light. For a few seconds, his heart seemed to stop beating.
Liu Jiayi's strange smile suddenly flashed through his mind. An overwhelming urge rose in him to grab Bai Liu (6)'s hand and beg him not to enter that classroom.
But Bai Liu (6) had run too fast.
He reached the door of the other handicrafts classroom, unlocked it calmly, and stepped inside.
Mu Ke's breathing quickened. Only then did he realize—he hadn't heard a single sound from that classroom for nearly an hour.
"Bai Liu (6)! Come back!"
Mu Ke rushed forward instinctively, pounding anxiously on the door. "There's something wrong with this classroom! Come out! Forget about Liu Jiayi! Bai Liu (6), let's just run—just the two of us!"
No matter how much he shouted, kicked, or cried out, the empty corridor echoed only with his own breathless voice.
Nothing is carried into the classroom.
The Silence item had already taken effect.
Soon, Mu Ke was exhausted from slamming against the door. He slowly crouched down, clutching his chest. His breathing grew ragged, and his lips turned a bluish purple.
Footsteps echoed faintly in the distance—a teacher had heard the commotion.
Miao Gaojiang hurried over, his expression complicated. He pried Mu Ke's fingers off the door one by one and dragged the weakened boy back toward their classroom.
"Stop shouting," Miao Gaojiang whispered urgently. "You'll bring the teachers here, and then Bai Liu (6) will really be in danger. Wait ten minutes, as he said. He's stronger than us. You have to trust him."
Mu Ke's chest heaved violently. He opened his mouth as if to argue, but no sound came out. He couldn't afford to overexert himself.
He glanced at the quartz clock on the classroom wall, bit down hard on his lip, and began silently counting the seconds.
Ten minutes.
—————————————————
The Other Handicrafts Classroom
The moment Bai Liu (6) stepped inside, the thick scent of blood hit him.
In the corner, Liu Jiayi sat curled up, hugging herself and sobbing. Her clothes were stained red, and her skin bore deep bite marks.
The teeth impressions did look like something a child of Miao Feichi's age might leave.
Bai Liu (6) frowned. The balance of suspicion in his mind tilted slowly toward the possibility that Miao Feichi had indeed tried to attack someone.
Even so, he didn't approach recklessly. Maintaining a cautious distance, he asked softly, "Liu Jiayi, where is Miao Feichi? Did he attack you?"
Liu Jiayi shrank further into the corner, clutching her little cloth box, and nodded tearfully.
"Yes."
With a trembling hand, she pointed toward a shadowy corner.
Bai Liu (6) turned his head.
There was indeed a tall figure standing amid the clutter of discarded craft materials. Miao Feichi—second only to Bai Liu (6) in height among the children—was partially hidden behind piles of junk. He seemed to be holding something, as if preparing for a sneak attack.
After noticing Bai Liu (6)'s arrival, he had apparently concealed himself.
"Miao Feichi?"
Holding the candlestick, Bai Liu (6) cautiously examined Miao Feichi's soul banknote as he stepped forward.
Since he possessed the soul banknote, he wasn't overly concerned about being ambushed. He pushed aside dusty boxes and cobweb-covered debris—
—and then froze.
For a few seconds, his breathing stopped.
Miao Feichi wasn't standing.
He was suspended from the ceiling.
His limbs were bound tightly by IV tubing, stretched out like the strings of a marionette. Countless needles pierced his face, hands, back—even his tongue. Every visible vein had been punctured, thin streams of blood flowing steadily into hanging infusion bags.
He had been drained nearly dry.
His lips were cracked. His skin looked papery and shriveled. His body trembled weakly in midair. Needles filled his mouth, preventing him from making any sound beyond a faint, pained wheeze.
Dizzy and barely conscious, Miao Feichi's eyes rolled toward Bai Liu (6). He tried twice to cry out.
Despair flooded his gaze.
In his hands, he clutched a rag doll dressed exactly like himself, its head pierced with countless needles.
Behind Bai Liu (6), Liu Jiayi's sobbing slowly shifted—
into laughter.
Strange, light laughter.
She rose to her feet, hands clasped behind her back, and turned her blind gaze toward Bai Liu (6), who stood in front of the suspended Miao Feichi.
She stuck out her tongue playfully.
"I lied to you. A fool like Miao Feichi could never hurt me."
"I forced him to bite me to create those wounds. I might have reinforced your impression that he likes eating human flesh. He cried and begged me to let him go while he was biting me."
She pointed casually at the bite marks on her body, smiling sweetly.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to deceive you—Bai Liu (6), who's so clever and cold-hearted. Not like a normal good child at all."
Bai Liu (6) glanced back at the sobbing Miao Feichi. Then he raised the candlestick slightly, ready to strike.
"I don't think you're qualified to say that," he replied calmly. "You deliberately kept Miao Feichi alive because you were afraid I'd sense something was wrong and refuse to enter this classroom."
If Miao Feichi had died, the soul banknote would have shown it.
"And your skill lets you see the life-or-death status of the people you control, right?" Liu Jiayi stepped closer.
Bai Liu (6) tightened his grip on the candlestick, maintaining distance.
Liu Jiayi didn't seem concerned. Her smile remained gentle.
"A soul-control ability. Your investor—your future self—mentioned it in front of me. It's quite a perfect skill. Souls can be traded with consent, right? A heavily restricted rule-type skill… but more than sufficient for a newcomer like you."
"It's like becoming another system that can decide life and death."
Her smile dimmed slightly. Her blind eyes shifted, revealing a trace of disgust.
"That obsessive desire to control others… what a filthy personal skill, born from a disgusting adult man's ambition."
[System notification: Player Liu Jiayi's remarks regarding soul trading have been censored.]
Liu Jiayi advanced step by step. Her pace quickened.
Bai Liu (6) retreated just as quickly.
She skipped lightly over the cluttered craft materials like a doll leaping across toy boxes, her voice airy and bright.
"Bai Liu (6), at your age, you're already indulging in the pleasure of controlling others? You're just like the man who gave birth to me. No wonder you did that to my brother in the last game. It all has roots."
Bai Liu (6) continued backing away, maneuvering objects between them as barriers. His mind worked rapidly.
"You want to save Liu Huai, don't you? You've already taken Miao Feichi's blood. Combined with your own, there's a high probability you can save him. So why target me? Liu Huai and my future self are cooperating."
"Cooperating?"
Liu Jiayi's laughter rang sharply through the room.
"Is it cooperation to force my brother to choose between himself and me? To corner him with conditions and threats? That's disgusting cooperation."
Bai Liu (6) stood in the center of the classroom, alert to every possible angle of attack.
"Even so," he said quietly, "you didn't stop it."
"You could've called him and told him you didn't need saving. That way, he wouldn't have been coerced into working with my other self."
He paused.
"Instead, you watched him struggle. Watched him choose between you and his own life."
"Or maybe," Bai Liu (6) added softly, "you were waiting to see what he would choose."
"If this is a disgusting cooperation—" Bai Liu (6)'s eyes were calm. "You are also a participant in and promoter of this cooperation, Liu Jiayi."
"You obviously wanted to see Liu Huai give up his life for you. You wanted to see your brother suffer and beg for death in order to save you and protect you. If you hadn't dragged it out until the last moment—until you were sure Liu Huai would die for you—you wouldn't have exposed yourself, right? Liu Jiayi, when it comes to disgusting things, we are far worse than you."
Liu Jiayi's laughter stopped abruptly.
The faint light in the corridor suddenly flickered. When it came back on, Bai Liu (6) saw Liu Jiayi holding a doll whose head and limbs had been torn apart. There was no expression on her face. She stood very close, her head raised, her unblinking eyes fixed on Bai Liu (6).
The doll in Liu Jiayi's hand was wearing a white suit and trousers. A strange, broken coin hung around its neck, and its head was twisted almost 180 degrees. A weird, dull smile appeared on Liu Jiayi's face as she looked up at Bai Liu (6).
Even though he had never seen the future Bai Liu, he recognized that the crude doll in Liu Jiayi's arms represented his future self, based on Bai Liu's (6) earlier description.
Bai Liu (6)'s gaze stopped on the doll in Liu Jiayi's arms. His breathing faltered slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed with his rapid heartbeat. So this was the feeling of having death so close. He considered it for a moment. It wasn't as frightening as he had imagined.
Liu Jiayi's voice was very low. She lowered her head and stroked the doll in her arms, almost as if speaking to herself.
"Do you know why medieval witches made voodoo dolls? When they began to curse or love someone, they would make a doll of that person, hoping it could contain that person's soul. That way, the person they hated could die miserably, while the person they loved could stay by their side forever."
Bai Liu (6) retreated until his back reached the wall, his expression still calm. "What is the difference between your approach and Bai Liu's?"
Liu Jiayi was silent for a long time. Then she tilted her head, blinked, and smiled happily. "In essence, there is none. I am also a very disgusting person. I deserve not to be treated well by my brother."
"However, Liu Huai gave everything for you. You got what you wanted." Bai Liu (6)'s breathing was very light. His toes pressed against the wall as he looked at Liu Jiayi, whose face was right in front of his. "You got what you wanted. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
Liu Jiayi finally raised her head, her expression casual and indifferent. Her foggy eyes sat in an immature, emotionless face, creating a strange and sorrowful contradiction.
Her lips curved, and she looked like a well-behaved child who understood nothing.
Meanwhile, she spoke in a faint, airy voice.
"It is because I never dared to truly believe in my brother. I refused to trust him, so I lost him."
Liu Jiayi's eyes reflected the small Bai Liu (6). They had a foggy quality, like a soul that had left its body and imprinted itself in her gaze.
"My brother is a cowardly man. He wouldn't dare give everything for me."
"Betrayal is his bad habit. He is a coward, a repeat offender."
Bai Liu (6) looked at Liu Jiayi and recalled everything Bai Liu had told him about Liu Huai.
Indeed, Liu Huai seemed accustomed to betraying others—from Mu Sicheng to Puppet Zhang… If betrayal and cowardice were bad habits, then the person who suffered most from them would be the one who was always by his side.
Bai Liu (6) suddenly realized something as he looked at Liu Jiayi. "When did Liu Huai betray you?"
The smile finally vanished from Liu Jiayi's face as she stared straight at Bai Liu (6).
"When did he… betray me?" She let out a small laugh. "You might as well ask when he ever stopped betraying me."
Everyone spoke to her in that disgusting tone.
[The child of close relatives—how intelligent could she be?]
[Blind and a girl. Why don't you just get rid of her?]
[…My mother said inbred children can't even be registered in the household. You can't go to school. Your brother said he would cure your eyes and send you to study so you could go to university. Haha, how ridiculous!]
That man would punch and kick her when he was drunk. He slapped her across the face and forced her to fish in the pond when she was only a few years old. He viciously told her that she wasn't allowed to come out unless she caught a lot of fish.
The pond was freezing. When she stepped into it as a small child, the water nearly reached her throat. It was thick with mud. The fish brushed against her like the cold limbs of a corpse, swimming around her yet impossible to catch.
She was like her deceased mother—trapped in the pond, never allowed to come out. Liu Jiayi could never catch enough fish to satisfy that man. She knew he wanted to drown her, a useless child who wasted food.
Just like he had drowned her sister. Just like he had drowned her mother.
When Liu Huai wasn't home, Liu Jiayi would hide in the chicken coop or the pigsty during school hours. She stayed among the animals or hid in the closet or under the bed to keep the man from finding her when he flew into one of his drunken rages.
Most of the time, she hid successfully. But she had to remain vigilant at all times, or he would catch her by the hair. He would whip her with a bamboo stick soaked in water or drag her to the pond to catch fish.
In her memories, she hid in every dark corner of the house, quietly hugging her knees and counting the passage of time. When Liu Huai returned from school, she could feel the cold of the countryside night seeping through her skin and into her heart.
Sometimes she would cry uncontrollably or scream like a madwoman. She would hit the animals locked up with her, as if venting the resentment and pain buried inside her.
She never dared let Liu Huai see that side of her.
In front of him, she was always meek, obedient, innocent, and ignorant. She would raise her head and smile sweetly at Liu Huai when he came home from school—
Even if she had just crawled out of the mud-filled pond after struggling all afternoon. Even if she had strangled a goose ten minutes earlier.
Bad children were not loved.
From a very young age, Liu Jiayi understood that all the affection Liu Huai gave her was based on her disguise. So she stayed vigilant. She didn't want her true self to be dragged out by Liu Huai the way that man dragged her out from under the bed or out of a dark closet. She didn't want to be whipped and interrogated with disappointed eyes.
Perhaps even if she showed her true face and stood before Liu Huai, he would only shrink back and refuse to look at her.
Because her brother was weak. Because he was a man afraid to face the truth.
Her memories and consciousness sank together into the muddy depths of darkness.
Standing in front of Bai Liu (6), looking into his questioning dark eyes, Liu Jiayi felt as if she had returned to that broken countryside house.
She had only just learned to hide under the bed and inside closets to escape the man's drunken beatings. She would sneak out only after Liu Huai returned home, or after the man fell asleep, snoring heavily.
One day—she didn't know what had happened—the man's temper was especially violent. He searched every cabinet for half a day but couldn't find her. He was still searching when Liu Huai returned from school.
Bowls and chopsticks shattered on the ground.
Liu Jiayi covered her mouth with both hands, not daring to breathe loudly. She held her breath and listened to the man's curses.
"…Fuck, this bitch is getting better at hiding! I can't even find something to pass the time with. Liu Huai! Liu Huai, get out of here!"
A sharp slapping sound rang out, followed by a boy's suppressed cry. The man cursed again and gulped down two mouthfuls of wine. The sound of him drinking seemed to pour directly into Liu Jiayi's ears. Her breathing grew rapid, and a bitter taste rose in her mouth.
Then came the familiar sequence after he drank.
The middle-aged man's fists and feet landed heavily on Liu Huai's back. The blows were fierce and relentless. Soon, Liu Huai's trembling cries went silent.
"Fuck," the man muttered drunkenly. "You're the only root of the Liu family. I don't want to hit you. But my hands get itchy after drinking, and that bitch isn't here. She hides well. Only comes out when you're here. I even imitated your voice to trick her, but she didn't fall for it."
"Go!" The man slurred as he kicked Liu Huai. "Trick that bitch out, and I won't hit you."
Liu Jiayi waited for what felt like an eternity—so long she thought dawn had arrived.
Then she heard Liu Huai's trembling, sobbing voice.
"Jiayi… Brother is back. Do you… want to come out?"
"Can you come out for a moment? Dad went outside. You can come out. No one will hit you."
"Come out… please. I'm the only one here. I want to see you."
Liu Jiayi remained still for a long time. A sharp ringing filled her sensitive ears. Finally, trembling, she crawled out from under Liu Huai's bed, where she had hidden all day.
The man grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. Drunken slaps rained down on her body. Then he whipped her soft abdomen with a narrow leather strap, no wider than his thumb. Each time it struck, Liu Huai closed his eyes and trembled.
But he did not step forward.
He shrank into the corner, cowardly, and silently waited for the torture to end.
When it was over, Liu Huai held the half-conscious Liu Jiayi and cried.
"Brother will take you away. Brother will get into a good university and take you away!"
"Bear it a few more times! Brother will definitely take you away! Very soon! Very soon!"
Liu Jiayi opened her blind eyes blankly, listening as his voice gradually began to resemble the man's.
Her fingers slowly curled, then fell limp.
"Okay. Jiayi will help Brother bear it," she replied weakly and obediently.
She knew Liu Huai needed this shell of a "good sister" to soothe his guilty heart.
Her brother—Liu Huai—was always cowardly. He didn't dare resist. He betrayed her and deceived her. He stood in the darkness while she crawled out for him and was beaten. He closed his eyes and didn't dare watch.
Her brother was a coward through and through. Even with a weapon in his hand, he had no ability to truly harm others.
And yet—
The best thing she ever had in her life was such a cowardly brother.
Betrayal and doubt.
They were, perhaps, the most fitting pair of siblings in the world.