Chapter 97.4: The Memory of Fire

Behind him, Tan Wenbin was grinning from ear to ear. He leaned back, hands on his hips, strutting forward in a swaggering gait to catch up.

Li Zhuiyuan had originally come with some hope of checking in on Runsheng and Yin Meng.

What he saw, however, was Runsheng lying on the ground, barely breathing. His entire body was crisscrossed with red welts—his flesh split open everywhere.

Uncle Qin stood nearby, fists clenched.

Still bearing sixteen coffin nails in his body, Runsheng could barely move, and any exertion caused excruciating pain. Even in this state, Uncle Qin had beaten him.

Clearly, Uncle Qin hadn’t even gone all out yet.

He knew this would be his only chance to pass on his knowledge, so he was making every second count, no matter the cost.

"Runsheng," Uncle Qin said, "eat an extra bowl at dinner. Before bed, I’ll have to split your flesh open again."

"Okay…"

Uncle Qin looked toward the young man entering the room. "Xiaoyuan, I’m loosening up Runsheng’s flesh."

"I saw. Thank you, Uncle Qin."

Judging by the way this training was going, Runsheng would be hovering on the edge of death for days. Even if they stopped now and gave him one day to recover, he’d still have to be carried on a stretcher to the circus the day after tomorrow.

"Xiaoyuan… you’re here…" Aunt Liu stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame, the other on her forehead. "What do you want for dinner… I’ll cook it for you…"

Her voice was hoarse, and she looked feverish and deathly ill.

There was no need to check on Yin Meng back in the old building—if she was still alive, she probably wished she weren’t.

"Aunt Liu, no need to cook. Just go pick up some takeout from a restaurant."

"The old lady… doesn’t like restaurant food…"

"It’s fine. I’ll do the takeout. She won’t blame me."

"Okay… if you say so…"

"Aunt Liu, go get some rest."

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at Tan Wenbin, and the two of them headed out.

At Old Sichuan Restaurant, the dinner rush was in full swing.

Tan Wenbin ducked into the kitchen to speak with the owner, asking him to bump their order to the front—they’d be taking it to go.

The owner agreed, saying the first floor was sweltering and told them to find an empty private room upstairs where they could wait with a fan. Once the food was ready, someone would call them down.

It was the height of summer, and with the place specializing in grilled fish over charcoal, the heat was stifling.

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin headed up to the second floor, found an empty room, turned on the ceiling fan, and sat beneath it.

"Xiaoyuan-ge, want something to drink? Soy milk?"

"Sure."

"Wait here, I’ll grab it."

Tan Wenbin returned with the drinks and was opening a bottle when suddenly, from the private room next door, came the furious voice of an older man:

"Shi Yuqing, have you gone mad?"

The name “Shi Yuqing” was growled, but the man quickly lowered his voice for the rest of the conversation.

The walls weren’t soundproof to begin with, and Li Zhuiyuan had exceptional hearing. He caught every word.

"I think Runsheng could use more nourishment. Should I ask the boss for extra—"

Li Zhuiyuan raised a hand.

Tan Wenbin shut up immediately.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered the name “Shi Yuqing.” That day when he walked the river, a thunderstorm had struck, and the lightning fried the electronics in their residential compound.

Afterward, the old professor’s wife next door had stood in the rain cursing the heavens for not killing Shi Yuqing along with their TV.

From the neighbor’s complaints, he’d learned that Shi Yuqing was one of the professor’s former students, now divorced.

Apparently, the wife’s intuition had been spot on. Her husband clearly had a special relationship with that student—otherwise, they wouldn’t be sneaking around in a restaurant’s private room despite the risk of gossip.

The voices from next door stayed hushed, so Li Zhuiyuan leaned closer to the wall to hear.

"I’m not crazy. I divorced for you—so why haven’t you divorced yet?"

"You know I can’t. You’ve met my wife—you know how fierce she is."

"Fierce? She’s just some village hag. What can she do? I know—you just don’t want your precious children to disown you, is that it?"

"No, it’s not that."

"Don’t forget—I gave you a son, too. Even if the court gave him to my ex-husband after the divorce, if you marry me, I’ll fight for custody and take our son back."

"Yuqing…"

"Tell me—when are you getting divorced? I’m out of patience. If you keep stalling, I’ll go public with what you did to me back in school. Let the world see what kind of man this respected professor, this former vice principal, really is."

"Yuqing, don’t be rash. Besides, it was consensual—who’s to say what really happened?"

"Oh? You plan to deny it?"

"No, no, of course not."

"You might get away with denying me—but what about the others? This scandal was all over campus not long ago. The police came more than once."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You don’t? No problem—I can jog your memory."

"Yuqing, I’m warning you—don’t spout nonsense."

"Nonsense? What are you so afraid of?"

"I’m… I’m not afraid."

"Afraid that your precious Qiu Minmin will crawl back from the underworld to drag you down with her?"

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