The two hurriedly walked out from a narrow alleyway behind the night market, as the cacophony of the bustling streets gradually faded into the distance.
The tires scraped against the old bluestone pavent, treading upon the shadows cast by the moonlight. It seed as if the whole world was reduced to nothing but the sound of footsteps.
Deep within the alley, there stood an old tenent building, resembling a frail, aging elder who was barely clinging to life.
The man abandoned the tricycle and rushed to the second floor.
A lone lamp illuminated the building’s entrance, but it flickered unsteadily, much like the decrepit tenent itself. The uncertain light seed to hint at lurking dangers in the unseen corners, stirring an involuntary sense of dread.
Rong Xianning stepped into the entranceway. The walls were peeling and mottled, covered with patches of advertisents sticking like ringworm growths. The stair railings were rusted beyond recognition.
Qingzhou, while not a top-tier tropolis, was still prosperous and refined. It was hard to imagine such a decrepit and fragnted side hidden within the city.
The second room on the right-hand side of the second floor stood with its door wide open. From inside ca hysterical screams, shrill and piercing, like the venting of all grievances and discontent against the world.
Rong Xianning walked to the doorway.
One injection. The screaming abruptly ceased, and the woman in the wheelchair slumped back like a punctured balloon deflating in an instant.
The man bent down to lift the woman from the wheelchair. The legs of her trousers hung limply, swaying in midair.
Light shifted from shadow to clarity, and the woman’s face was finally exposed.
One half of her face was covered in grotesque scars, horrifying to behold.
Under the lamp’s glow, her ghastly visage and the empty trousers were a chilling sight.
Rong Xianning stared blankly, his dark eyes seeming to ignite with raging flas that flicked and engulfed all living things.
It was as if his skin could still feel the searing pain from when the flas burned.
"Young man, you’re still here?"
The man walked out of the room and saw the boy frozen in place at the doorway. He approached with concern.
The boy stood dazed, his entire being seemingly trapped in a state of numbness.
The man couldn’t resist patting the boy’s shoulder. "Young man? Are you alright?"
The boy snapped back to reality with a start, taking a step back as fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"I... I’m alright, Uncle Qian."
Qian Zhuang paused in surprise. "How did you know my surna is Qian?"
He didn’t think he had ntioned it.
Rong Xianning lowered his gaze. "Qian’s Fried Glutinous Rice Cakes."
"Oh, oh, young man, you really helped out tonight. I have to thank you properly. Next ti, bring your friends over—my rice cakes are yours till you’re full!"
The boy glanced toward the end of the corridor, where darkness consud everything, like an abandoned wilderness left behind by the world.
"What illness does Auntie have?"
The boy’s voice was gentle, devoid of any hint of intrusion.
Qian Zhuang unconsciously began to confide, "You see how dilapidated this building is, don’t you? But this is already after repairs. Ten years ago, a severe fire broke out here. I wasn’t ho at the ti. My wife couldn’t escape in ti... Fortunately, a firefighter braved the danger to carry her out. She was disfigured and lost both her legs, but luckily she survived. The others in this building weren’t so fortunate. Many lives were lost back then..."
Qian Zhuang’s tone grew heavier as he spoke.
That year’s fire devoured countless lives and left those who survived with unending nightmares.
Though his wife narrowly escaped death, the trauma the fire left behind shattered her psyche. She could no longer live as a normal person.
He noticed the boy looking toward the door at the far end of the corridor and sighed in exasperation, saying, "Old Granny Zhao from next door was such a kind soul, but that fire claid her life—and her poor little grandson..."
Qian Zhuang seed to suddenly recall sothing. In an instant, his head whipped around to stare at the boy before him.
"You... you’re...?"
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