CH 462

The old man looked at the death portraits on the wooden table and his wrinkles folded together. “My wish was fulfilled but then I realized it was my best friend who killed my family.” Room 19 was filled with ghosts and spirits. When they were alive, they were busy with their own lives, but after death, they had all returned to this room due to their familial bond. “So how could I not hate him?”

Even after so long the hatred in the old man’s eyes never decreased, his best friend’s betrayal was his deepest resentment.

“Sir, if you want him to pay, now is the time!” Han Fei sat beside the old man with the delivery box. “The boss’ good luck is traded with a water well. The greater his luck, the more important the object he has traded with the well. When he runs into failure, he will sacrifice others. That is why he has no close family anymore.” Han Fei took out his phone. “Recently the employees at the 2nd hand shop have died one after another but the boss’ business didn’t turn for the better. The well cannot provide him with help anymore.”

“Someone as selfish as him will eventually end up dying alone.” The old man’s gaze slowly moved away from the death portraits to Han Fei. “I really want to help you but my family can’t leave this room.”

“Can’t leave this room?”

“That is the condition of the trade. When I had given up on all hope, he brought me to the mall. He said it was to show me the business that we have fought for together. In reality, he wanted me to see the altar. With the altar watching, I personally dropped my family portrait into the well. He said that it was the only way for my family’s souls to be together. But the price to pay is that they can’t ever leave this room. Once they do, their souls will be sucked into the well, and become the altar’s nutrients.”

The hatred of the old man’s family was very scary, but individually they were not scarier than 6th Finger’s son.

“Does that mean that if I fish your picture out from the well, your family can leave this room?” Han Fei remembered seeing a lot of pictures floating on the surface of the well. “I will risk my life to retrieve your family portrait so that you can have your freedom. But I hope that after that, you will come with me to seek revenge with the boss.”

The old man didn’t answer immediately. He studied Han Fei for a long time. “The dragon slayer will become the new dragon. I hope you will make a different choice than he did.” The statement appeared to contain deeper meaning. This memory world was made up of different choices.

“Does that mean you’ve agreed?” Han Fei picked up the delivery box and stood up. “I will try my best to return you the family portrait by tomorrow morning.” With his goal completed, Han Fei stood up and prepared to leave.

“Wait.” The old man raised the letter in his hand. “Aren’t you curious about what is written here?”

“I’m not but I know the mall boss values that letter a lot so it must contain something unfavorable to him. It’s too dangerous for me to carry it with me so the best solution is to return it to its original owner.” The envelope was severely rotten. The handwriting was blurry. Attempting to open it would destroy the letter.

“The letter contains your boss’ last shred of penitence. He mentioned a woman’s name to me in this letter. The woman is his ex-wife, her name is Xu Meng, she likes dresses. Your boss kept her favorite dress at home. But when I was led to the well, I saw that dress inside the well.” The old man’s face paled. His blood vessels were like chains running through his body.

“Xu Meng…” Han Fei had met a woman who was trying out dresses on the 3rd floor of the mall. She appeared to be the boss’ wife. “Understood, I would grab the dress together with the family portrait.”

“Not only her.” The old man raised his finger. “I noticed a wig in your box. Your boss’ younger brother had a wig like that. He was responsible for helping your boss organize various charity activities. In a few years, he managed to purchase a house at River Head without a bank loan.”

“The mall boss has a younger brother? But I’ve never seen him before.”

“Even his younger brother didn’t escape from his clutches. You should visit Zone 4 and Room No. 10.” The old man picked up a dumpling leaf. Looking at the bloody veins, the old man caressed it gently. “Take this with you, it might help you.”

“Thank you, I will go now.” Remembering everything the old man said, Han Fei departed. When he exited the building and felt the sun on him, Han Fei’s heart finally returned to normal. The family applied a lot of pressure on him. If not for the appearance of the old man, he would have died already. “It’s like walking on a tightrope, one careless step and I’d die.” Han Fei realized that if he failed as an actor, he could join the police and be an undercover officer.

Avoiding the cameras, Han Fei carried the delivery box and headed to Zone 4, Room No. 10. There were a lot of white flowers planted around this building. It was now winter and to Han Fei’s knowledge, no white flower would bloom in winter. The strangest thing was the flowers looked completely different in his two eyes. The white flowers in his right eye turned into swaying baby’s skulls in his left.

“These flowers are cursed.” When Han Fei reached the door, he noticed a middle-aged woman trimming the grass in the garden. “Auntie, can you open this door for me?” Han Fei stopped beside the middle-aged woman.

“I don’t live here. I came to water these plants because I noticed no one cares for them.” The auntie was very kind. Her voice was soft and mellifluous. “Did you get the wrong address? I remember this building is vacant.”

“Huh? That’s impossible.”

“The earliest owner of this building was a very young billionaire. He was very kind and had helped many children. He formed a charity foundation with his older brother. But he drowned on his 30th birthday. His older brother was heartbroken so he preserved this building as a memorial to his only family.” The middle-aged woman said with pity. “Sigh, many of the children he helped return here after they grew up. They brought many things to their benefactor but the man’s older brother refused to let them waste their money so he had them plant a flower around the building instead. Eventually this building becomes the most beautiful at River Head.” The middle-aged woman was chatty. She kept introducing Han Fei to the good things the building owner had done.

‘It is quite impressive that he managed to purchase the building with full price only after 3 years of doing charity.’ After the middle-aged woman left, Han Fei walked to the door. Huang Yin had sent Han Fei a skill book for lockpicking and Han Fei had been reading it whenever he had free time. Han Fei leaned down to check the type of lock but with a push, the door opened. The iron door wasn’t even locked. ‘The mall boss’ brother had been helping him with charity, I might find some clues here.’

From the outside, the building was the prettiest at River Head but inside the building, it was filled with wilted white petals and various trash. ‘The mall boss had the children plant the flowers here because he was scanning them for potential targets.’

Picking up a flower petal, Han Fei saw it as a flower petal in his right eye and a white moth in his left. ‘What an absurd world.’

Han Fei walked to Room No. 10. He raised his hand to knock when the door opened on its own. ‘There’s someone in?’ Han Fei hesitated whether to enter when a strange sound came from the living room.

He looked and a picture frame hanging in the living room fell to the ground. A yellowed photograph landed before Han Fei. Two men with wildly different personalities were featured in the photograph. The shorter one was the mall boss. The other man looked handsome but there was a patch of discolored skin on his face. It looked like he had a skin transplant. ‘He is Boss Gu’s younger brother?’

Taking out the wig, Han Fei pulled the door open and reached his upper body into the room. Inside the living room, a man’s pictures were strung all over the ceiling. He liked to look pretty but he was not satisfied with his face. In each of his pictures, his face was slightly different.

“Don’t just stand at the door, come on in.” A very tired voice came from the deep end of the room. The owner sounded like he was very sick.

“Sorry for disturbing you but I have a delivery for you.” Stepping on the dusty ground, Han Fei didn’t take too many steps when he saw a strand of black hair squeezed out from the door of the bedroom.

“Come here, I’m here.” The voice sounded strange, like the person was choking. The bedroom door slowly opened but it wasn't a person who walked out but a fountain of black hair. “Help me, I can’t breathe. Black hair pours out from my stomach, help me!” The black hair stuck to the wall and swept down the corridor like waves.

“I’m here for a delivery. Helping you with your hair problem will require extra payment.” The landlord’s ring didn’t react so Han Fei grew braver. He gripped the bladeless knife.

Sunlight burst inside the dim room and Han Fei stepped over the black hair to the bedroom door. With a cut, the gushing black ‘river’ was stopped. Han Fei swam against the current and grabbed the man who was drowning in the black hair. Using Soul Depth Touch, Han Fei sensed regret and pain from the man but not a shred of resentment.

“Even at this state, you don’t have hatred in your heart?”

The man was as powerful as a young Lingering Spirit and this gave Han Fei confidence. Finally he found one he could bully. Han Fei tried to drag the man to the living room but the man’s hair had grown to join with the bedroom. After severing them, they would soon regrow.

“Thank you, I already feel much better.” Whenever the man spoke, hair would come out. He was extremely thin but his stomach was large.

“You are the mall boss’ younger brother? You look so handsome in your younger pictures, what happened to you?”

“I…” The man looked listlessly at Han Fei. Then he asked Han Fei a question. “Is my brother dead?”

“You siblings sure care about each other.” Han Fei shook his head. “If he’s dead, I won’t be here.”

“He’s still alive? He has thrown his wife, children, best friend and only family into the well and someone like that is still alive?” The man lay in bed. His eyes winked out. There was a clear scar on his head, it looked like it was caused by fire.