Chapter 11: Debugging

He wanted to mutter the word "absurd," the phrase hovering on his lips, yet he found himself unable to utter it.

Is the world ever short of absurdities? Having lived to his age, what had he not heard? The dramas on stage, the tales written in scripts—sometimes even these paled beside the sheer folly of life itself.

Zhu Congyun sighed, lightly fanning himself, watching the sparrows flit about with Wang Chan.

Tsk, who would have imagined that such a tiny creature could be branded a family thief?

…

“A thief in the household! Such misfortune in our family, to be betrayed from within!”

At the end of Apricot Blossom Street, beside the river lined with weeping willows, a fierce shout erupted from the Liu household.

The old matriarch pointed a trembling finger at someone.

She had never imagined that after suspecting everyone and cursing her former son-in-law Bai Shimao as a cowardly green turtle, the true betrayer was right there beside her.

“Mother—” Aunt Cui’s daughter-in-law Zhao was at a loss, glancing anxiously between her enraged and heartbroken mother-in-law and her husband, not daring to step forward.

“What on earth is going on?” she cried, bewildered.

Meanwhile, Liu Congsong had fallen to the ground, being scolded with a finger pointed at his nose by his mother. His eyes sparkled with dizziness and confusion; he couldn’t fathom what was happening.

When he returned, he had just seen his mother and his blind sister. Before Aping’s seemingly restored eyesight could astonish him, an unexpected change occurred, and in the blink of an eye, he was thrown to the ground.

There it was again!

That strange thing was back!

Liu Congsong’s gaze fixed on an empty spot, as if seeing something unseen, his eyes suddenly widening, his face paling. Using all limbs, he scrambled backward, mumbling frantically:

“Don’t come closer, don’t come closer…”

“I told you, stay away—ah!”

With a final scream, he broke down, his voice cracking, shielding his face with his hands.

A mighty roar followed—

The Xiezhi beast emerged from the void, digging its hooves into the ground, whipping up gusts of dust. Lowering its neck, it charged fiercely at Liu Congsong.

His soul was thrust out, then fell back, only to be shoved out again, falling and rising repeatedly.

To onlookers, it appeared as though Liu Congsong was fainting repeatedly, his mouth twisting, eyes rolling back, drool spilling, shaking like a sieve, only to regain consciousness moments later.

After several rounds, he wept uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.

Pain, pain, pain!

Though without wounds or blood, the pain was unbearable, as if being gored by a bull again and again.

“There’s a monster, a monster is butting me,” Liu Congsong weakly pleaded, “Help me, please.”

Aunt Cui cursed vehemently, then beat her chest in despair, her aged face etched with unbearable sorrow.

“What sin, what sin! How could I raise such a beast, harming even his own sister!”

Liu Xiaoping was distraught, “It’s you, how could it be you… how could it be you?”

She shook her head, unwilling to believe, yet the undeniable truth was before her.

“Why, big brother? All my life, I’ve never wronged you—why treat me like this?”

Though she vowed not to cry, tears fell uncontrollably, splashing onto the dirt one by one.

Zhu Fenglian watched, feeling uneasy inside.

“Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding,” she said insincerely, trying to comfort them. “Let’s hear what Big Brother Liu has to say. Even at the magistrate’s office, the accused get to defend themselves.”

Indeed, while uttering these words, Zhu Fenglian had already labeled him a murderer in her mind.

“It’s him, it’s definitely him!” With her sight restored, the one who trusted Wang Chan the most was Liu Xiaoping.

“You saw for yourselves; Ah Chan asked the Xiezhi stone statue to stay with me for a while, precisely to prevent anyone from harming me again. She said the Xiezhi is just and impartial, an expert at discerning right from wrong—it’s its nature.”

“Throughout this journey, we’ve seen many people; it never stirred. But as soon as it saw Liu Congsong, the stone heated up and immediately charged at him.”

Out of hatred and disappointment, Liu Xiaoping no longer called him brother; her clear, sharp eyes pierced Liu Congsong, full of contempt.

“If not him, then who? It’s him!”

The Xiezhi, resembling a giant bull, appeared exhausted from butting. After one last push that sent Liu Congsong’s soul flying high and crashing down, it left him be.

The Xiezhi paced arrogantly in a circle.

Finally, it stopped before Zhao, Liu Xiaoping’s sister-in-law, bringing its large eyes close to her.

Zhao was terrified, her spirit shattered. “I’m not, I didn’t, I know nothing!”

She waved her hands frantically, too scared to breathe, staring at the giant beast so near, wondering where it had come from. Her heart felt lodged in her throat.

…

Whether she knew or not, whether she was innocent or guilty, the first response was denial.

The Xiezhi paid no heed.

Its cold, beastly eyes fixed on her, as if assessing.

Then, a gust of wind rose, flipping Zhao over and crashing her against Liu Congsong.

“Good! You hurt Aping too!”

In the eyes of the matriarch, when both daughter-in-law and son were at fault, it was always the daughter-in-law who led the son astray.

Aunt Cui, fuming, looked around the courtyard, spotted a broom by the woodshed, grabbed it, and began chasing them with it.

“Mother, mother, mother!”

Zhao only stumbled once, but after the broom struck her, her flesh stung, and she jumped up vigorously, running around the yard.

Covering her backside, she called out to her mother.

“I truly don’t know anything about Sister Ping’s matter!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you everything!”

“In just one night, I heard my husband talking in his sleep, chuckling, mumbling something about selling someone, that the silver would be no small amount! The rest I don’t know, really, I don’t!”

Zhao was also wronged.

Heaven knows how shattered she was upon hearing that, dazed for days.

By day, she looked at her mother-in-law, then at the returning younger sister-in-law, hesitating to speak.

In the end, greed and cowardice won out.

She didn’t know, she didn’t know! She slept soundly through the night!

She heard nothing of her husband’s words!

If the household suddenly had more money, she, a mere woman, would just spend it—how could she care how her husband earned it?

As for the younger sister-in-law—

She could only blame her bad fortune for failing to meet a good man, and that her brother was heartless.

The more she spoke, the more real it sounded, until it became truth.

Closing her eyes, Zhao pretended ignorance of the evil intentions her husband had harbored against her sister, plotting to sell her away.

Out of inexplicable guilt, she helped with the many chores the blind younger sister could not manage, often grumbling and muttering but still lending a hand.

Because of this, others said she was tough-talking but soft-hearted—an unexpected compliment.

“I’ve told you, I really don’t know!” Exhausted from running, Zhao finally stopped.

She grabbed the broom from Aunt Cui, tossed it onto Liu Congsong, placed her hands on her hips to catch her breath, and her long-suppressed temper flared.

“Fine, I see through it now. Mother, you pick on the softest target—why hit me? My husband’s here—you didn’t see that big horn just now only butted him?”

“When it came to me, it just blew a gust of wind and sent me away… Who really did wrong? Don’t you have the sense to figure it out?”

“Pah, pah, pah!” She spat the dirt from her mouth, shouting fiercely, “If this keeps up, I’ll just go back to my mother’s home!”

Married women returning to their natal homes lived hard lives, but the Liu family wouldn’t gain any favor. Marrying a wife cost a fortune—so much silver!

Aunt Cui’s steps faltered.

Zhu Fenglian saw her trembling lips suddenly lose their usual sharpness and vitality.

Looking around in confusion, she appeared utterly pitiful.

At that moment, Zhu Fenglian felt some regret.

Why had she come along? Living on Apricot Blossom Street, she should have simply gone home and rested.

The matter with the Liu family felt deeply unsettling.

Only Ah Chan and the old man saw things clearly!

…

“Tell me, why would you harm your own sister?” Aunt Cui fixed Liu Congsong with a weary but chilling gaze.

Liu Congsong’s face drained of color, his limbs weak.

Meeting his mother’s stare, he averted his eyes, tempted to remain silent or make excuses. His gaze flicked to Liu Xiaoping, who also stared back—not only had her blind eyes improved, but a plum-colored pouch hung at her waist.

That huge, butting monster had emerged from there and returned to there.

Suddenly, he dared not lie.

“I… I… my sister is beautiful. I heard of a place where the girls are blind but worth a fortune, frequented by nobles and wealthy landlords…”

“In that place, my sister could live in splendor, served by many. She could have a good life and send back some silver, so our family could live better.”

To Liu Congsong, once Ping married, she belonged to the Bai family. Life and death, wealth and poverty were her fate; there was no reason to bring her back.

But his mother was stubborn; in the end, she lost not only the bride price given by the Bai family but risked her life to bring the girl home.

Foolishness!

That bride price—

Given to his parents, it was his own!

He was a son of the Liu family, a male heir!

Yet the money in his parents’ pockets was sent back to the Bai family! How could he not hate it?

Day and night he fretted over the lost money, his heart burning like a coal, his eyes red.

Everyone said his mother was compassionate, a good mother, but who thought of Liu Congsong?

Adding one more mouth was not just adding another set of chopsticks—clothes for all seasons, medicine for illness… everything cost money.

As his parents aged, this sister would become his responsibility.

Even his parents’ care in old age would fall to him.

Why should this be?

Liu Congsong’s resentment grew.

By chance, he heard about the blind beauty, and a crooked idea took root.

Blind—

That meant no one would know where she was sent, no way to find her home, no clue who took her away.

Perfect!

Blind people were easy to find, but a blind beauty was rare.

Such a person was often deliberately blinded, unable to see, yet their eyes still moved. The pupils were black, the sclera white, only lacking spirit, otherwise just like anyone else.

He cursed those wealthy and powerful who liked such women.

Meanwhile, he secretly procured the drug that caused blindness.

These past two years, things were peaceful at home, partly because his mother watched over Aping carefully, partly because he did not want suspicion to fall on him.

If she were blind and lost, obviously something was wrong at home.

Aping could not have been sold; she must have been abducted by outsiders.

…

Once he began, the rest came easier.

Liu Congsong stumbled at first, then spoke more fluently, finally giving up all pretense.

He sat down heavily, stretching out his legs, exhausted and revealing his rogue nature.

“Mother, that’s just how I am, a wicked person who wanted to harm my sister! You deal with it yourself!”

“If you can bear to give up your son, give up the only root of the Liu family, then go report me to the officials and have the constables arrest me! I admit it!”

“I was the one who urged my wife, secretly stoked the fire, and she said a few words about Aping while washing clothes.”

What she said, of course, was that Aping often wept.

She was thinking of the man ahead, the child born before…

“If she disappears, it’s none of the Liu family’s business. No one can suspect me. She’s lowly, worthless—maybe she just ran away with someone!”

Rumors need no encouragement; once they start, everyone adds a word, until the torrent of gossip becomes an unstoppable flood.

“Beast! Beast! How could I have raised such a beast!”

Aunt Cui was so furious she rolled her eyes and fainted.

“Auntie—”

“Mother!”

…