Chapter 45: Crisis of Trust (2nd Update)

Sweet Flower Lane.The night was deep.

The street was pitch black.

Only one house still had candlelight flickering within.

The night wind blew, casting the long shadow of a woman.

She sat at the table, worried at times, and at others wiping away tears as she sobbed.

The night was long, and she waited the entire time.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the house.

On the quiet street, they were distinctly clear.

Step—

Step—

Step—

The footsteps, from far to near, finally stopped before the front door.

The woman leapt up, her emotions a mix of shock and excitement as she rushed forward and crashed into the newcomer’s embrace.

"Diao Deyi! Thank goodness! You’re alright!"

"What can possibly happen to me when we’ve got connections up high!"

Fang Yu laughed heartily while patting his older sister’s back.

Being cared for with such intensity was something Fang Yu wasn’t quite used to.

"Who knew what the Foolish Underworld would do to you – you killed someone!"

Thinking about the past events made his sister turn pale even now.

Although the Underworld had dealt with the corpses in their home.

There were still large amounts of dark red, viscous blood left on the ground.

And the smell of blood lingering in the air hadn’t dispersed yet.

Their house had only one window facing another person’s wall.

Only during a very specific time in the early morning was the sunlight able to penetrate through the height differences in buildings and illuminate the room.

Thus, the ventilation in the house was poor, and if nothing unexpected happened, the stench of blood wouldn’t dissipate for three to five days.

Then there was the front door that had been kicked broken, the smashed rice container... and even the new clothes they had bought were thrown and trampled on the ground.

The total disarray at home had deeply upset his sister.

Although she had tidied up briefly, it was just a cursory effort; without seeing Fang Yu, she couldn’t sleep and had no heart to properly clean the house.

Now that Diao Deyi was back, they could properly tidy up the place.

"It’s good you’re back. Now, Diao Deyi, you first fix the door and block it up. Then, I will sweep the floor, and you handle the bloodstains... Let’s clean up the house together."

Seeing Diao Deyi unharmed, his sister began giving orders.

But Fang Yu quickly grabbed hold of her.

"Older sister, let’s stay at the inn tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll find another place to live. We’re not poor anymore; we don’t have to live here."

As soon as Fang Yu finished speaking, his older sister slapped his hand away and glared with eyes wide, a stunned expression on her face as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Even her expression was a thousand times more shocked than when she had seen Fang Yu commit murder.

"You, what are you saying? You want to move out and live elsewhere?" Her voice trembled.

"It’s us, we’ll move out together."

This time, his sister heard him clearly.

She stared blankly at Fang Yu, her mind in disarray. She closed her eyes for a long while, trying to think, and finally, she opened her eyes to look directly at Fang Yu.

Her lips parted.

She asked a question Fang Yu hadn’t expected.

"Who... are you?"

Fang Yu was taken aback.

"I am Diao Deyi."

"Diao Deyi would never say such things; Diao Deyi would prefer to die in this house!" His sister’s voice suddenly rose, sharp and piercing!

Tears filled her eyes as she stepped back.

A sense of dread crept into Fang Yu’s heart, as he faintly realized something was amiss.

"I originally just had my suspicions..."

"You’ve had too many abnormalities. Ever since you came back from the Foolish Underworld the first time, I felt that you were entirely different."

"But I didn’t dare to speak out, I was afraid I couldn’t bear the truth..."

"But why... why did you have to say those words!"

"The original Diao Deyi would never leave this house; this house is everything to Diao Deyi! Why are you using his body to say such things! You... demon!!"

Elder sister cried out and screamed furiously.

She had still harbored a glimmer of hope.

But now, hope was completely shattered.

Because her brother would never say he wanted to move out of this house. It’s as if he was denying Diao Deyi’s entire life!

"Demon, demon? Elder sister, you must be mistaken. If we’re not moving then we won’t move; we’ll stay here."

"Stop pretending, I can’t keep it up either. Big Brother has disappeared, his life or death is uncertain. And you’ve turned into a demon..."

Tears rolled down Elder Sister’s cheeks, falling non-stop like pearls.

"How did it become like this, how did our home turn out this way... I don’t want to live anymore, just kill me, demon."

"Elder sister, why would I kill you? I really am Diao Deyi!"

Elder sister laughed bitterly in extreme anger.

"Fine, if you really are Diao Deyi, then tell me, what did we do at the door six years ago?"

Fang Yu was silent.

Because he didn’t know.

Raising his head, Fang Yu admitted frankly.

"I don’t remember."

"Don’t remember? A good response, ’I don’t remember’... Six years ago that day, Big Brother got caught stealing cookies and was beaten so badly he was bedridden with serious illness. We were so hungry we couldn’t move and lay at the doorstep waiting to die. In the end, heaven-sent sweet dew fell, and we drank the rainwater to survive. You swore to the heavens that you would earn a lot of money in the future and never let us starve again."

"Do you know why Diao Deyi would rather die than leave this house? Because our parents died because of this house; staying here to protect the last legacy they left behind was the solemn oath we three took at our parents’ graves."

"Diao Deyi said, unless he died, he would never leave this house, not even if he had the opportunity to marry and have children in the future!"

Recalling the past, tears streamed continuously from Elder Sister’s eyes.

Memory is the vessel of a person.

Without memories, a person is just a walking corpse.

"You don’t remember, but I remember it very clearly. But you shouldn’t forget! The terrifying experience of nearly starving to death at home. The memory of taking a deadly oath at the gravesite... These things are impossible to forget in a lifetime. If you say you don’t remember, there is only one explanation."

"That is, you are a demon! That’s why you don’t know anything about Diao Deyi, you don’t know anything about me..."

"How could I be so foolish to believe you were Diao Deyi, I should’ve spoken out long ago, I should’ve been killed by you already."

"They are all gone, I don’t want to live anymore, go ahead and do it."

Elder Sister spread her arms, closed her eyes, and waited for death.

But...

To hell with action!

I have no reason to kill you.

Killing you, with your meager 4 points of maximum life value, wouldn’t even be worth my while!

Fang Yu’s mind raced, and finally, he said.

"Elder sister, I really don’t remember. You forgot what I told you, my head was chopped by a demon, affected by a Demon Curse?"

"Since my head got separated, I’ve forgotten everything before, but I still remember my family! I remember you!"

"I’m really not a demon, have you ever seen a demon that can go into the Underworld and still come out alive?"

"Have you seen a demon killing another demon?"

"Have you seen a demon fight to death for humans? I risked my life to save you, and you still don’t believe me."

These words shook the Elder Sister.

She opened her eyes, hesitating in her expression.

"Also, Elder Sister, if you don’t believe me, Li Qianxuan said that in two days the Foolish Underworld will send someone to remove my Demon Curse."

"By then, let them prove that I really am Diao Deyi!"

My identity is rock-solid!

I am definitely good!

I can prove it myself!