Chapter 43

Chapter 43

In the following many days, Xie Zhigui found himself in a dazed and muddled state.

Rare were his moments of clarity, and upon awakening, he would see Ming Fei Yu sitting beside him, who would press him down without waiting for him to speak, force-feeding him blood that sent him back into unconsciousness within seconds.

He knew there was something wrong with Ming Fei Yu's blood, but he didn't understand his purpose.

So, once when he awoke and Ming Fei Yu was about to feed him blood again, he feigned compliance, opened his mouth to drink, and then, seizing a moment of lax vigilance, he fiercely bit down on Ming Fei Yu's palm.

The taste of blood spread in his mouth.

For reasons unknown, Ming Fei Yu didn’t get angry but just waited for him to finish before pulling away his hand, which now bore the stark impression of two rows of teeth marks, bleeding, the wounds not shallow.

He looked at the injury and laughed instead of getting angry, because this was indeed something Xie Zhigui would do—pretend to behave for a while, then stab you in the back when you least expect it.

He had anticipated this kind of treatment.

Even as Xie Zhigui glared at him with hatred, there was hardly any expression on his face.

"What on earth do you want to do!"

Ming Fei Yu cleaned the blood methodically, his expression unchanging, gently covering his eyes with his palm, then bending down to lightly touch his lips, which still bore the stain of blood, and lowered his gaze.

"Sleep now, I'll wait for you to wake up."

With that almost magical soft cajoling, Xie Zhigui soon stopped struggling and fell into slumber again.

He kept slipping into strange dreams.

In his dreams, he was awash with scenes of Ming Fei Yu interacting with a young man from the past, as if he had entered the young man’s body, witnessing those bygone days through his eyes.

Their relationship was a tapestry of emotions—intimacy, quarrels, silent treatments, reconciliations, unintentional flirtations, deliberate seductions, gentle and warm love, as well as heart-wrenching hatred—each scene tugging at the heartstrings of him, the observer.

These visions were so vivid, it was as if he had been there in person, seeing, hearing, and touching everything.

Fragments of memory flickered before his eyes, exploded with sudden clarity, and then settled back into the stillness of time.

He witnessed the moment Ming Fei Yu had spoken of, when a lover plunged a knife into his heart.

In that instant, Ming Fei Yu's expression was neither anger nor disbelief but profound sorrow, as if abandoned by the entire world.

Watching this, his own heart inexplicably ached in sympathy, and for a fleeting second, it felt as if the knife had pierced his own heart.

But why should he feel heartache for this scoundrel? He couldn’t quite explain it.

Seeing Ming Fei Yu's tears, he instinctively reached out to catch them, but the tears passed through his apparition and fell to the ground.

Drip.

It was this casual glance at the floor that allowed him to see clearly the face of the young man amongst the bloodshed for the first time, sending a jolt through him as if struck by lightning!

The young man bore a face identical to his own!

Xie Zhigui had thought they merely resembled each other, but he had not expected the resemblance to be so uncanny, not just in appearance but in micro-expressions and gestures too—the way the young man bit his lower lip when hiding something, the nervous picking at his fingers—all mirrored his own habits precisely!

How could they be so alike? As if reflected by a mirror, they seemed to be the same person!

He felt a surge of panic and desperately wanted to escape, retreating continuously.

Suddenly, he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw a photo frame lying in a pool of blood, its image of a family of four obscured by the bloodstains.

A realization struck him, and he looked around frantically, breathing becoming rapid and tense, as if an invisible hand had clenched his heart!

No wonder this place felt familiar; this house, now soaked in a sea of blood, was his own home!

He was born and raised here, and every corner of the house bore traces of his existence—the crooked line of drawings on the wall, the vase with a chipped corner he had accidentally broken, the little dinosaur he glued together with red beans in kindergarten... Each one triggered his memories, how could he not recognize this place?

But why had he returned to this place? Why did Ming Fei Yu appear here, and why did he unleash a massacre in his home?!

Then, he felt something sticky in his hands. Looking down, he noticed a dagger that had appeared out of nowhere, dripping with blood that soaked his hands.

Clang!

He flung the dagger away as if it were a hot potato.

He frantically wiped the blood with his clothing until his skin was raw before he stopped. Although the blood was cleaned off, other things were already etched in his mind, impossible to erase.

He could hear his heartbeat, loud and frantic, as if it would burst out of his chest!

The space was too stifling, too uncomfortable, and he was under a severe mental and emotional assault, with memories chaotically marching in, causing an excruciating headache!

The facts he was willing and unwilling to admit were laid out before him, entangling him.

"Ah! —"

He couldn't digest those things, couldn't bear the oppressiveness and the stench any longer, he only wanted to flee, the further the better!

It seemed as if running away could solve everything.

The next second, he yanked the door open with all his might and dashed out.

But the moment he stepped through the doorway, he was blinded by a burst of white light.

When he opened his eyes again, the dream had changed.