Chapter 1169
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Chapter 1169 The Abducted Child
Wu Quan’s roar mixed with the thunder outside the window, startling Old Liu!
He quickly reached out to stroke Wu Quan’s back, gently comforting him: “Child, why do you react so strongly whenever Shen is mentioned… Don’t overthink it, that boy’s life is as tough as his bones, he won’t go down easily.”
Wu Quan gritted his teeth, broke free from Old Liu’s hand, and turned to run into the rain.
“Xiao Quan!”
Old Liu called out, reaching to grab his arm, but Wu Quan moved too quickly, in the blink of an eye he pushed open the iron gate in the rain and sprinted toward the end of the alley.
“…This child.” Old Liu stood under the eaves, letting out a long sigh.
…
In the alley.
Torrential rain poured down from the dark clouds as Wu Quan ran along the narrow alley, leaping over puddles as he rushed forward.
He frowned deeply, his eyes filled with struggle and madness. In his daze, Shen Qingzhu’s voice echoed in his ears again:
“Your name is Wu Quan? Don’t be afraid, I’ve killed all those beasts.”
“…”
“My name is Shen Qingzhu. From now on, I’m your brother.”
“…”
“Those people just look fierce and act ruthlessly, there’s nothing to fear… As long as we’re tougher and more reckless than them, they’ll be afraid of us.”
“…”
“Your dream is to become the umbrella that protects me? You’re still too weak… Grow up well, you’ll have your chance someday.”
“…”
“Xiao Quan, I’m going to join the army. From now on, you must look after Old Liu and the younger brothers and sisters for me. Don’t let anyone bully them, understand?”
“…”
Running in the rain, Wu Quan’s eyes gradually became unfocused as he muttered deliriously: “It can’t be… Brother Qingzhu, you can’t die… We made a promise that I would become your umbrella. If you die… what will I do?”
Just then, a figure approached from the other end of the alley, walking toward him.
Tap tap tap—!
Wu Quan’s figure swiftly passed by that silhouette, paused slightly, stopped, and looked back.
Lin Qiye, holding a black umbrella, also turned to look at Wu Quan.
In the rainy alley, the two gazed at each other through the misty water vapor.
“Your name is… Wu Quan?” Lin Qiye looked at the soaking wet young man with confusion, “What happened?”
Wu Quan stared at Lin Qiye, instinctively opening his mouth as if wanting to ask something.
A moment later, he closed his mouth and silently turned to walk into the rain, his emotionally turbulent black eyes gradually returning to calmness.
Seeing that Wu Quan ignored him, Lin Qiye, though puzzled, didn’t think much of it and continued walking toward the orphanage gate.
After his figure completely disappeared into the alley, Wu Quan, who had reached the deserted street corner, slowly stopped.
He looked back at the misty, rain-filled alley.
“He probably knows about Brother Qingzhu’s situation.”
“But if something really happened to Brother Qingzhu… then”
Wu Quan muttered to himself, and after a moment, his dark eyes narrowed slightly.
He raised his palm, and a raindrop flowed from his palm to his fingertip, then fell into the puddle at his feet.
A ripple spread across the water’s surface, and in the blurry reflection, behind Wu Quan, black chairs began to take shape one after another.
These black chairs resembled orchestra seats arranged in an ancient music hall, carved with dark and mysterious patterns. On more than twenty of these chairs sat grotesque monsters of various sizes and forms.
There was a black flesh mountain tens of meters tall, a double-winged axe-wielding giant with three feet, a gray plastic bag resembling a cloud…
They sat quietly in the shadows, heads lowered, like art pieces sealed in a collection gallery, or like a dark orchestra surrounding Wu Quan, ready to play music at any moment.
In the rain, Wu Quan slowly raised both hands, tracing a mysterious trajectory in the air.
The gray plastic bag rapidly expanded, encircling Wu Quan, isolating his form and presence completely.
The other monsters on the black chairs, like puppets being controlled, stiffly stood up from their seats, eyes fixed on the end of the alley, their forms breaking through the rain curtain one after another, disappearing without a trace.
“He’s Brother Qingzhu’s comrade, he must also possess some kind of powerful ability. We can’t let our guard down.”
“Also, don’t hurt him, just read his memories…”
Wu Quan’s voice was drowned out by the roaring rain.
…
Hanshan Orphanage.
Lin Qiye pushed open the iron gate and saw Old Liu standing under the eaves, sighing heavily.
“Oh? It’s you?” Old Liu was surprised to see Lin Qiye enter, “Didn’t you all leave?”
“I remembered I forgot something, so I came back specifically to get it,” Lin Qiye smiled apologetically. He looked back at the door and asked curiously, “By the way, Wu Quan just ran out… did something happen?”
Old Liu’s expression changed, and he shook his head with a long sigh:
“Nothing much, the child just got a bit upset… His childhood experience was special, so his personality is rather extreme. He gets easily agitated when facing issues, especially those related to Shen…”
“Extreme personality?”
“Yes.” Old Liu nodded slightly, his eyes showing a reminiscent look.
“That child wasn’t sent here for foster care, nor was he abandoned… He was kidnapped by traffickers and then rescued.”
“A trafficked child?” Lin Qiye frowned. “Such things still happen in this day and age?”
“More than you’d think.” Old Liu sighed. “This child was drugged and kidnapped when he was four or five, then sold to a begging gang.
Those people broke his hands, starved him for days, and when he was nothing but skin and bones, they had a crippled old man push him around the streets to beg. All the money went to the gang, and his daily food was just a few pieces of moldy steamed buns. If he didn’t bring in enough money on any day, he would be severely beaten when he returned…
Almost every two or three months, the gang would move to a different city to avoid being caught by the police. He was tortured like this for nearly four years. All those dirty tactics you can imagine, this child experienced almost all of them.
If they hadn’t happened to come to Linjiang that year, if he hadn’t happened to be spotted by Shen, this child might never have seen the light of day. Even if he had grown up, influenced by that environment, he would eventually have transformed from a victim into an abuser…”
“Shen Qingzhu saved him?”
“Yes, at that time Shen was only in his teens, a fearless troublemaker.
That day he saw Xiao Quan begging on the street, grew suspicious, and secretly followed them back to a dilapidated house on the mountain. After discovering the truth, he released all the enslaved children under the cover of night.
Later, they were discovered, and he fought those desperate criminals with just a dull knife, stabbing four or five of them to death, nearly losing his own life in the process.
That day, covered in blood, he carried the unconscious Xiao Quan down from the mountain. My old bones were terrified at the sight.”
Some people die, but not completely…
