Nightmare

Chapter 30

With her hands and feet bound behind her back, Lin Hong was unable to resist. In despair, she instinctively cried out, "Old Qin, come save me!"

Her shout was merely a subconscious reaction born of her trust in Qin Fangcheng, without any expectation of response. Unexpectedly, this shout, like a powerful spell, instantly broke the predicament before her.

Suddenly, the lights in the room turned on, and Qin Fangcheng's voice rang out unhurriedly: "I'm here."

Du Hongyuan seemed to have been stung by a scorpion, he jumped up suddenly, turned around, and stared at the door in disbelief.

A man stood in the doorway, his shadow flickering in the lamplight—it was indeed Qin Fangcheng. He gazed thoughtfully at the room, then calmly took out a cigarette and lit it for himself: "Lin Hong, are you alright?"

Upon seeing him, Lin Hong blinked in disbelief for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears.

Du Hongyuan stared at him in utter shock, and after a long while, he blurted out, "You...you...how did you get here?"

“I’ve been here all along,” Qin Fangcheng replied. “I’ve been waiting for you on the third floor for the past few days. I knew you would show up sooner or later.”

"How did you expect it to be me?" Du Hongyuan's fat face contorted in shock.

"It's not hard to know that you were behind this." Qin Fangcheng replied with a smile: "I remember that not long after Lin Hong and He Ming got married, Lin Hong started hallucinating because He Ming put something in the food at home. She kept hearing strange noises, so she called Zhao Zhuo and me to help. As a result, I found this white powder on the tea leaves in He Ming's house."

As he spoke, Qin Fangcheng held up a paper package in his hand so that Du Hongyuan could see it clearly: "I took some samples and had a pharmacist do the ingredient analysis. The results showed that it was Ghost Face Green. So I knew that someone was secretly plotting to drag Lin Hong into an abyss of no return."

Stepping forward, Qin Fangcheng continued, "Zhao Zhuo also discovered this, but his wife, Huang Ping, because of her affair with you, secretly added 'ghost face green' to the food and water in his house on your orders. As a result, the real events and the hallucinations became mixed up, and in the end, Zhao Zhuo was sent to a mental hospital by you. Fu Xiuying was also killed by you for getting in the way, and afterwards, you secretly transported the body out. In order to find out the truth, I first found Xiao Zhu, who was almost killed by He Ming, and then I found Ma Caishen, who had not yet been silenced by you. After asking him, I learned that He Ming had not come to him to treat his father, but to intimidate He Zhenggang. From that day on, we never dared to leave here again and have been hiding upstairs to protect Lin Hong."

"So, you saw everything?" Du Hongyuan asked sullenly.

“I saw it.” Qin Fangcheng stepped forward: “After He Ming attacked Xiaozhu, you launched a series of actions. First, you used sleeping pills to make all the He family members unconscious. Then, you took them away one by one each night, hiding them in the ruins. Finally, you meticulously designed a trap, placing the hypnotized Lin Hong and the He family members together on the concrete slab on top of that concrete pillar. Then, you deliberately let He Ying, who had rushed back from abroad upon hearing the news, see all of this. Then, you set up a series of traps, making the hypnotized Lin Hong take all the blame, and then sending He Ying away. That way, no one will hold you accountable anymore. Du Hongyuan, am I right?”

“What’s wrong with this?” Du Hongyuan said angrily. “You surnamed Qin, your father did so many evil things back then, and even now, you show no remorse whatsoever. You even dare to ruin my plans. I won’t let you get away with this.”

"Du Hongyuan, you'd better stop now." Qin Fangcheng stepped forward: "I've investigated what happened back then. He Zhenggang is certainly unforgivable, but your hands aren't clean either, and they might be even dirtier than He Zhenggang's. In fact, you yourself gave your wife, Sister Zhu, to He Zhenggang to vent his frustrations, just because you wanted to cling to He Zhenggang's leg and climb up the social ladder."

"Nonsense!" Du Hongyuan's face turned purple. "Qin Fangcheng, I sent my wife to work as a nanny at He Zhenggang's house, but I didn't ask He Zhenggang to kill her."

“You don’t hate He Zhenggang because he killed Sister Zhu. The real reason you hate He Zhenggang is,” Qin Fangcheng stepped forward and pointed his finger sharply at Du Hongyuan’s nose, “because He Zhenggang went back on his word. After he raped and killed your wife, he not only refused to agree to your conditions, but also sent you to prison to eliminate future troubles once and for all.”

“Hahaha,” Du Hongyuan suddenly burst into laughter: “That’s right. He Zhenggang doesn’t believe in retribution because he’s always been reckless and unscrupulous when he does bad things, leaving no trace of trouble. He raped Sister Zhu and killed her to silence her. Similarly, he sent her to prison to silence her. What he didn’t expect was that I was lucky and finally got out alive again, hahaha.”

"Since you escaped death, you should repent for your evil deeds. To have achieved what you have today, you are no longer the Du Hongyuan of the past; you bear greater responsibilities and obligations," Qin Fangcheng rebuked. "If you do not repent, you will forever regret your mistakes today."

"Regret? I doubt it." Du Hongyuan sneered, "But you, Qin Fangcheng, should be worried about your fate, wife." He suddenly clapped his hands a few times.

He Ming, who had been standing there dumbfounded, immediately replied, "I'm here. What's up?"

"See this guy in front of you?" Du Hongyuan pointed at Qin Fangcheng and said to He Ming, "This is the guy. He cruelly tortured and killed you. Now is the day for you to avenge yourself. Go and let him taste the pain of your vengeful fire."

He Ming, chisel in hand, glared fiercely at Qin Fangcheng as he walked towards him step by step: "It's you, so it was you. You cruel beast, you didn't expect me to come back, did you?"

Qin Fangcheng frowned. He had anticipated this outcome, and it was also his purpose in appearing. Only by luring this mentally confused individual over could he possibly rescue Lin Hong. He darted towards the door, and He Ming immediately let out a chilling scream and skipped after him.

Suddenly, a person jumped out from behind the door, wielding a wooden stick. He struck He Ming, who was relentlessly chasing Qin Fangcheng, from behind. He Ming staggered a few times, then turned around in surprise, looking at the girl behind him who was holding the stick, her head wrapped in bandages, and who seemed somewhat bewildered: "Who are you? Why did you hit me?"

That girl was Xiaozhu. He Ming suspected that Sister Zhu was her and tricked her out of the hospital in an attempt to kill her. However, Xiaozhu was physically strong and only fainted. After waking up, she hid here with Qin Fangcheng, waiting for the mastermind to appear.

Now that Du Hongyuan has appeared, Little Pig has jumped out without any hesitation. Although He Ming has lost his true nature, she showed no mercy because he had tried to kill her in the past. She jumped up suddenly and hit him with the stick again. With a bang, the stick hit He Ming's head and broke due to excessive force.

He Ming glanced at Little Pig again in surprise. Since he hadn't received Du Hongyuan's order to attack her, he ignored her, letting two large blood blisters rapidly rise on his head, and continued to swing his chisel as he approached Qin Fangcheng. Little Pig panicked and suddenly saw the strange red-scaled turtle crawling out of the door. She leaped up, grabbed the turtle, and smashed it hard on He Ming's head. With a crack, He Ming looked back in surprise once more. His gaze met the turtle's eyes. He blinked, and a jumble of light flashed in his pupils. His body slowly slid down and sat motionless on the ground.

Qin Fangcheng walked over, looked at the turtle lying on its back on the ground, and couldn't help but laugh: "I never thought that Du Hongyuan would use this turtle to hypnotize He Ming."

10)

Seeing this, Du Hongyuan instinctively turned around and pounced on Lin Hong on the bed, trying to take her hostage and find a way to escape.

Unexpectedly, Lin Hong's confidence and courage increased greatly upon seeing Qin Fangcheng. She no longer took Du Hongyuan, such a fat man, seriously. She twisted her body on the bed and kicked out hard at Du Hongyuan's big belly with both feet. Du Hongyuan cried out and his legs slid backward. His fat body pressed down and pinned Lin Hong down.

At this moment, Qin Fangcheng and Xiaozhu had caught up. Xiaozhu gritted his teeth and used the broken wooden stick to beat Du Hongyuan’s fat body indiscriminately. Qin Fangcheng, concerned about Lin Hong, rushed forward and grabbed Du Hongyuan’s sparse hair, pulling it back forcefully.

Du Hongyuan screamed in pain, and suddenly, unexpectedly, he delivered an elbow strike to Qin Fangcheng's stomach. Qin Fangcheng crouched down in agony, while Du Hongyuan, panting heavily, fled towards the door. It turned out that this fat guy, though clumsy in stature, was incredibly quick-witted. His purpose in lunging at Lin Hong was merely to lure Qin Fangcheng and Xiao Zhu away from the doorway; with those two blocking the entrance, he wouldn't be able to escape. And now, he had practically gotten away.

Qin Fangcheng and Xiaozhu hurriedly followed. Although Du Hongyuan was fat, he ran very fast. Qin Fangcheng was also thinking about Lin Hong, who was still tied up. Just then, Du Hongyuan was about to escape to the stairwell.

Du Hongyuan could truly be said to have escaped, if—if it weren't for that turtle.

The turtle was used by Du Hongyuan to hypnotize He Ming, so He Ming always thought of himself as Sister Zhu and the turtle as his own child. But just now, the little pig used the turtle to hit He Ming on the head, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. The poor turtle also fell to the ground, its shell on the ground and its four legs in the air, unable to turn over. Just as it was struggling, Du Hongyuan suddenly ran over. In his haste, he didn't even look where he was going and stepped on the turtle's plastron.

With a whoosh, because the turtle's shell was round, Du Hongyuan felt as if he had stepped on a pulley, and with a scream, he slid off.

Du Hongyuan's obese body slid to the top of the stairs and was suddenly launched into the air. He screamed in panic as he watched the floor-to-ceiling window rush towards him, but he had no way to dodge. With a crash, he smashed through the window frame and flew horizontally outside.

Outside was the polluted river. With a scream, Du Hongyuan's man fell into the river with a splash. A series of bubbles rose to the surface, and the wicked fat man disappeared without a trace.

Qin Fangcheng untied the ropes binding Lin Hong's hands and feet, helped her move her blood vessels, and then hurriedly ran out of the building to check on Du Hongyuan's condition.

The two of them went out, but Little Pig, with a grave expression, went upstairs to He Zhenggang's room. He found a huge hole in He Zhenggang's head, chiseled by He Ming; he was already dead. Little Pig stood blankly before He Zhenggang for a long time before slowly turning around, kneeling down facing the starry sky, and whispering:

"Dad, you can rest in peace now. Although I am weak and powerless, I have still managed to give you justice. Mom, you can close your eyes in peace now too. That evil man who bullied you your whole life and made you endure unspeakable humiliation and shame has now been punished, and punished in the most just way. All the sins he committed have been washed away."

After saying this, the little pig slowly stood up, opened a paper packet in his hand, slowly poured out the white powder inside, and gave a bitter smile: "From this day forward, we can finally eat something clean."

Then the little pig came out and saw Lin Hong and Qin Fangcheng standing on the riverbank, gazing into the river.

"Du Hongyuan is a very good swimmer, he shouldn't have drowned like that." This was Qin Fangcheng saying.

Lin Hong frowned: "I hope he doesn't drown. Otherwise, the things that have happened at home these past few days will be really hard to explain."

"What happened at home?" Qin Fangcheng didn't like hearing that. "Whose home did it happen to?"

Lin Hong smiled and pointed to the house: "That's their house."

Qin Fangcheng laughed heartily and put his arm around Lin Hong: "Now that their family's business is over, shouldn't we go home?"

“Yes,” Lin Hong said with a bitter smile, “we really should go home. I can’t possibly marry a woman, can I?”

She leaned against Qin Fangcheng's chest, and after they took a few steps, Lin Hong suddenly pushed him away: "Hey, tell me the truth, are Sister Fu's five children all with you?"

Qin Fangcheng scratched his head awkwardly: "They are all very well-behaved, especially Da Niu. She studies very hard and has excellent grades. It's pitiful for the other children. Their mother was killed by Du Hongyuan and disappeared without a trace. When the children miss their mother, they don't even dare to cry, for fear of upsetting me. Looking at the pitiful state of these five children, do you really have to send them to an orphanage?"

“This…” Lin Hong lowered her head unhappily: “Let me think about it. If they push me into the sewer like they did that night, I definitely won’t let them get away with it.”

“No, it won’t happen again,” Qin Fangcheng said. “There was a reason for what happened that night. San Niu now knows she was wrong, and she will never do it again.”

“The next time, that one time almost cost me my life.” Lin Hong frowned in confusion: “I’m really confused now. That time I encountered that strange turtle in the sewer. I don’t know if I encountered a turtle or Du Hongyuan. Maybe it was all just a terrible hallucination.”

"It must be a hallucination," Qin Fangcheng said confidently. "Do you remember that time when I drank your tea laced with 'ghost face green' and suddenly saw something, I dragged you out of the He family's house? Guess what I saw in my hallucination? You'll never guess, I saw..."

The two walked away, talking incessantly. Little Pig watched their retreating figures, sighed softly, and turned to leave as well. After they had walked for a long time, there was a sudden splash on the water. Du Hongyuan popped his head out, gripping the bank with both hands, panting heavily: "That was close, really close! We couldn't let those guys get away, or things would have been very troublesome."

He muttered to himself as he struggled to climb ashore. Just as he was about to reach the top, he suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his head and looked into the darkness before him: "Is...is anyone here?"

There was no answer, but in the darkness, a mysterious force seemed to be surging, and a darkness seemed to condense from the void of darkness, slowly emerging.

Du Hongyuan shrank back in fear: "You...who are you?"

“Du Hongyuan,” the dark figure spoke, his voice low and barely audible, “You shouldn’t have climbed up. It’s all over. As the murderer, your drowning in this dirty river is the perfect ending to this case. If you climb up again, it will only cause more trouble.”

"What did you say?" Du Hongyuan blinked. "Who are you? Who are you..." Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind blew in the darkness, and Du Hongyuan's head drooped down. His hands could no longer hold onto the riverbank, and with a splash, he fell into the water. This time, he would never climb out on his own again.

The dark figure slowly disappeared. For a moment, the headlights of a passing car suddenly flashed by, revealing He Ying's cold and stern face in the darkness. But the light vanished in an instant, and it was as if nothing had ever happened in the darkness.

The silent, dark world slowly welcomed the first rays of dawn on the horizon.

(The End of Nightmare) You closed your eyes. That evil man who bullied you your whole life, who made you endure a lifetime of unspeakable humiliation and shame, has now been punished—and punished in the most just way. All the sins he committed have been washed away.

After saying this, the little pig slowly stood up, opened a paper packet in his hand, slowly poured out the white powder inside, and gave a bitter smile: "From this day forward, we can finally eat something clean."

Then the little pig came out and saw Lin Hong and Qin Fangcheng standing on the riverbank, gazing into the river.

"Du Hongyuan is a very good swimmer, he shouldn't have drowned like that." This was Qin Fangcheng saying.

Lin Hong frowned: "I hope he doesn't drown. Otherwise, the things that have happened at home these past few days will be really hard to explain."

"What happened at home?" Qin Fangcheng didn't like hearing that. "Whose home did it happen to?"

Lin Hong smiled and pointed to the house: "That's their house."

Qin Fangcheng laughed heartily and put his arm around Lin Hong: "Now that their family's business is over, shouldn't we go home?"

“Yes,” Lin Hong said with a bitter smile, “we really should go home. I can’t possibly marry a woman, can I?”

She leaned against Qin Fangcheng's chest, and after they took a few steps, Lin Hong suddenly pushed him away: "Hey, tell me the truth, are Sister Fu's five children all with you?"

Qin Fangcheng scratched his head awkwardly: "They are all very well-behaved, especially Da Niu. She studies very hard and has excellent grades. It's pitiful for the other children. Their mother was killed by Du Hongyuan and disappeared without a trace. When the children miss their mother, they don't even dare to cry, for fear of upsetting me. Looking at the pitiful state of these five children, do you really have to send them to an orphanage?"

“This…” Lin Hong lowered her head unhappily: “Let me think about it. If they push me into the sewer like they did that night, I definitely won’t let them get away with it.”

“No, it won’t happen again,” Qin Fangcheng said. “There was a reason for what happened that night. San Niu now knows she was wrong, and she will never do it again.”

“The next time, that one time almost cost me my life.” Lin Hong frowned in confusion: “I’m really confused now. That time I encountered that strange turtle in the sewer. I don’t know if I encountered a turtle or Du Hongyuan. Maybe it was all just a terrible hallucination.”

"It must be a hallucination," Qin Fangcheng said confidently. "Do you remember that time when I drank your tea laced with 'ghost face green' and suddenly saw something, I dragged you out of the He family's house? Guess what I saw in my hallucination? You'll never guess, I saw..."

The two walked away, talking incessantly. Little Pig watched their retreating figures, sighed softly, and turned to leave as well. After they had walked for a long time, there was a sudden splash on the water. Du Hongyuan popped his head out, gripping the bank with both hands, panting heavily: "That was close, really close! We couldn't let those guys get away, or things would have been very troublesome."

He muttered to himself as he struggled to climb ashore. Just as he was about to reach the top, he suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his head and looked into the darkness before him: "Is...is anyone here?"

There was no answer, but in the darkness, a mysterious force seemed to be surging, and a darkness seemed to condense from the void of darkness, slowly emerging.

Du Hongyuan shrank back in fear: "You...who are you?"

“Du Hongyuan,” the dark figure spoke, his voice low and barely audible, “You shouldn’t have climbed up. It’s all over. As the murderer, your drowning in this dirty river is the perfect ending to this case. If you climb up again, it will only cause more trouble.”

"What did you say?" Du Hongyuan blinked. "Who are you? Who are you..." Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind blew in the darkness, and Du Hongyuan's head drooped down. His hands could no longer hold onto the riverbank, and with a splash, he fell into the water. This time, he would never climb out on his own again.

The dark figure slowly disappeared. For a moment, the headlights of a passing car suddenly flashed by, revealing He Ying's cold and stern face in the darkness. But the light vanished in an instant, and it was as if nothing had ever happened in the darkness.

The silent, dark world slowly welcomed the first rays of dawn on the horizon.