*Thwack.* The light was switched on, and brightness poured down all at once. Long Xinyu and Rao Xian closed their eyes for a moment to adjust to the sudden light. The surrounding environment came into view. They seemed to be in a cabin on a ship. All around were piled various ship’s supplies. Across from them stood a very beautiful woman. Behind her stood a young man with bandages wrapped around his head, unable to conceal his yellow hair. Long Xinyu recognized this yellow-haired youth as Wu Xing, the man Long Xiuyu had mentioned who attacked him.
Rao Xian didn’t recognize either of them. He was injured, and his hands and feet were tied behind his back. His chest and legs throbbed with pain.
The woman didn’t answer Long Xinyu’s question. She toyed with the short knife in her hand, staring at Long Xinyu with a strange gaze. Long Xinyu felt a chill run down his spine from her stare, feeling like he was a piece of meat on a chopping board, as she considered where to begin.
Suddenly, the woman laughed again, turning to beckon Wu Xing behind her, seemingly to say something to him. Wu Xing leaned close, and she suddenly grabbed his hair. The knife in the woman’s hand slashed straight at Wu Xing’s neck. Blood splattered. The woman, with unknown strength, twisted the knife in her hand, severing Wu Xing’s head.
“Holy shit!” Long Xinyu exclaimed, startled.
Rao Xian was also shocked by the woman’s actions, but he immediately felt something was wrong. The human head is connected to the spine, and severing it requires finding the precise joint and immense strength. How did this woman manage it?
Over there, Wu Xing didn’t even have time to scream before collapsing heavily. His body collided with the floor with a dull thud. The woman, still holding Wu Xing’s head, looked back at Long Xinyu, sending shivers down his spine.
Rao Xian looked at the woman, then at Long Xinyu. He couldn’t understand the woman’s actions at all – why would she kill her own companion? And the way she was staring at Long Xinyu was very strange!
The woman just stood there, holding the head and staring at Long Xinyu.
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[Please go to the source webpage to read. The following content is for anti-crawling automatic replacement] You – I, big – small, much – little, up – down, left – right….
Long Xinyu was not a timid person, but the scene before him was beyond his comprehension, especially with the woman’s blood-covered face and unwavering gaze, making his hair stand on end.
Rao Xian’s brows were furrowed. The woman’s behavior was illogical, and her physical strength even more so. Even a strong man would have difficulty severing a head with a knife. Moreover, the woman’s skillful movements suggested she wasn’t a first-time offender. Who was this woman, and what exactly did she want? Rao Xian couldn’t make sense of the current situation.
No one spoke. After a while, the woman seemed to have finished looking. With a “thud,” she tossed the head aside. The head rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood.
Long Xinyu, having never seen such a scene before, gasped.
The woman seemed completely unfazed. She raised the knife in her hand and walked towards Long Xinyu step by step. Long Xinyu cursed inwardly – was this woman going to attack him?
However, the woman seemed to notice the look of fear on his face. She paused, then looked down at her hand: a short knife covered in blood.
Immediately, the woman dropped the knife. The knife fell to the floor with a “clatter,” sending a tremor through Long Xinyu.
The woman walked up to Long Xinyu and squatted down.
Long Xinyu considered himself a brave man, but this woman was too damn scary. Even without the knife in her hand, she was terrifying. Long Xinyu swallowed hard and tentatively asked, “Who… who are you? What… what do you want?”
The woman didn’t answer. She started staring at Long Xinyu again, making his hair stand on end.
Then, the woman spoke, asking Long Xinyu in a tearful voice, “Don’t you recognize me!”
“Huh?” Long Xinyu was stunned.
The woman stared into Long Xinyu’s eyes, “You really don’t recognize me?”
“Huh?” Long Xinyu was even more bewildered.
The woman grabbed Long Xinyu’s shirt, almost lifting him off the ground. Sniffling, she asked, “You really don’t recognize me?”
Long Xinyu felt the woman’s grip was incredibly strong, lifting him, a grown man, like a small chicken. But her question was even stranger, as if he should know her. However, Long Xinyu searched every corner of his memory but couldn’t recognize the woman in front of him. He could only tentatively ask, “Should… should I recognize you?”
The woman stared at Long Xinyu, her eyes filled with a myriad of emotions, but Long Xinyu’s eyes were blank.
The woman gripped Long Xinyu tightly, her chest heaving, and shouted hatefully, “How could you not recognize me – why don’t you recognize me? Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Her words turned into a scream, a frantic scream that almost pierced the eardrums.
Long Xinyu also wanted to scream. Damn it, could some kind-hearted deity tell him who this crazy woman in front of him was? He really didn’t recognize her!
The woman kept screaming, Long Xinyu remained bewildered, and Rao Xian was at a loss for how to react.
Finally, the woman grew tired of screaming. She stopped, glaring at Long Xinyu.
Long Xinyu felt like his ears were about to go deaf. Seeing that she finally stopped screaming and was staring at him, Long Xinyu couldn’t help but cautiously say, “Madam, please don’t get excited. You… uh… you think I should recognize you, right? Why don’t you give me a hint, and maybe I’ll remember?”
The woman’s eyes slowly filled with tears. She blinked, and a string of tears rolled down her face. “Your name is Li Xu.”
“Uh—” Long Xinyu choked. He didn’t remember ever knowing a woman named Li Xu, but looking at her agitated state, it seemed like they should know each other?
Long Xinyu’s mind raced, and he said, “Li… Sister, you… um… why don’t you remind me a little more? How did we meet?”
Long Xinyu’s words made Li Xu laugh. Her eyes were still filled with tears, but she laughed louder and louder, becoming more and more hysterical. While laughing, she muttered to herself, “Heh, so you don’t remember me at all… Heh, no wonder I passed by you so many times, and you never even looked at me… Heh, hahahaha, haha… So you don’t remember me at all… Hahaha, hehe haha…”
Her laughter was shrill, sharp, and ghostly.
Long Xinyu was getting a headache from her crying and laughing, and he was also getting angry. He wasn’t a very patient person to begin with. The bizarre woman had stirred up his young master’s temper. He said in a harsh tone, “Stop laughing, damn it. Say what you need to say. Damn it, if you want to kill me, then do it already. Stop acting crazy. I’m not buying into this.”
Long Xinyu’s roar made Rao Xian’s head throb. The woman was clearly emotionally unstable and mentally unsound. Long Xinyu was only provoking her, and she might hurt him.
Surprisingly, Li Xu stopped, stunned by Long Xinyu’s roar. She stared at Long Xinyu for a long time before slowly saying, “After all these years, your temper is still so direct.” Then, she sighed softly, “You don’t remember me, so you didn’t come to save me, right?”
Long Xinyu had no idea what Li Xu was talking about. Just as he was about to retort, Rao Xian interrupted, “Sister Li, Long Xinyu suffered a head injury, so he doesn’t remember a lot of things. If we had a past connection, you have to explain it to him in detail for him to have any chance of remembering.”
Hearing this, Long Xinyu turned to look at Rao Xian with eyes full of: When did I ever suffer a head injury?
Rao Xian tried his best to wink, indicating: I can see that this woman is crazy. Just go along with it.
Long Xinyu also glared: Huh?
Rao Xian signaled: Listen to you!
Long Xinyu: …
Li Xu seemed oblivious to the silent exchange between Long Xinyu and Rao Xian. She tightened her grip on Long Xinyu’s collar, saying with some grief, “So it was because you were injured that you didn’t remember me.”
Long Xinyu cursed inwardly, wondering where all this was coming from. But he could also sense that the woman was mentally unstable. So, he blinked, trying to relax his facial expression and keep his tone gentle, although it came out rather stiffly, “Li… Li Xu, right? I… um… had a car accident and injured my head. Um… afterwards, I lost part of my memory… Yes, that’s right, amnesia…” Long Xinyu couldn’t make up any more. He secretly regretted not watching enough melodramatic dramas. Now, coming up with a plot was too difficult. He vowed never to criticize the screenwriters of melodramatic dramas again. It turned out that the amnesia plot was really useful!
Li Xu seemed to have lost all her strength and slumped down next to Long Xinyu. “So that’s how it was. That’s why I didn’t save you.”
Seeing that she seemed to have really believed his story, Long Xinyu was a little surprised, but he still went along with it. “Look, I don’t have any memories. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can you tell me what happened between us?”
Li Xu didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up a rose from the floor. Her hands were covered in blood, making the rose seem even redder.
Long Xinyu and Rao Xian didn’t know what she was thinking. They only felt that this woman exuded a strange, neurotic air.
After a long while, Li Xu crushed the rose in her hand, her eyes glazed over, and her voice mournful. “You, the most regrettable thing between you two is that nothing ever happened.” She sighed. “I had amnesia, so I don’t remember. Then tell me, what was your past like.
Do you remember, one year, when Min Bocai was celebrating Min Jun’s birthday, all you young masters came to participate. There were so many people, and the room was filled with balloons, flowers, and gifts. I hid and secretly watched you, but Min Jun discovered me. He smashed Min Bocai’s beloved ashtray on the ground. That ashtray was inlaid with diamonds. When it broke, many diamonds fell out, scattered on the floor like stars. Then, Min Jun went to find Min Bocai, pointed at me, and said that I deliberately broke the ashtray. Min Bocai then hit me, beat me to death, once, twice, again and again. It hurt so much. I thought it would be good to be beaten to death like that, and I would be free. But then you appeared…”
Li Xu’s few words evoked a scene from many years ago in Long Xinyu’s memory.
That must have been many years ago, before the Min family had become hostile to their families and before Min Jun had become so lawless. Once, he went to the Min family’s house to play and saw Min Bocai beating a little girl.
He didn’t know what mistake the little girl had made. He only remembered Min Bocai’s small palm striking the little girl’s face. The little girl was knocked down but didn’t even cry, cowering in the corner, silently enduring Min Bocai’s violence. The luxurious carpet only made the little girl seem even more lifeless under Min Bocai’s fists and feet, while Min Jun was smirking in the background.
At the time, the young Long Xinyu remembered that his father and older brother had said that women were weak and shouldn’t be hit. So, he rushed out, pushed Min Bocai away, and even scolded Min Jun. Then, he took the little girl to the garden. Was that little girl Li Xu?
Long Xinyu looked at the woman in front of him, her face covered in blood, her eyes dazed and strange, trying to superimpose the image of the current woman with that of the little girl he remembered.
Li Xu didn’t notice his expression. She only stared blankly at the crushed rose in her hand. After a long time, a bleak smile bloomed on her face. “At that time, you were like a hero. You took my hand and said you would protect me. You also took me to play, bought me food, and picked flowers for me. I was very happy that day. You said you would come to find me in the future. But that night, you left and never came back. A few days later, Min Bocai climbed into my bed. I was only 12 years old, only 12 years old—” Li Xu’s voice was desolate. “That night, I called for you. I desperately called for you, but no matter how much I called for you, you didn’t appear.”
Li Xu turned her head to look at Long Xinyu, her eyes bloodshot. “I said I would protect you. I said if you were in danger, you should call my name. But you called for me, you desperately called for me. Why didn’t I go to save you?”
Long Xinyu’s heart sank. His behavior that afternoon had been a moment of youthful impulsiveness. Afterwards, he didn’t remember it anymore. He didn’t like Min Jun and never went to the Min family again. The little girl he had only met once was quickly forgotten. He didn’t expect that she would still remember.
A dead, ashen look slowly appeared in Li Xu’s eyes. She said slowly, “Do you know how I’ve been all these years? Min Bocai, Min Jun treated you like a toy, a gift, a tool. Heh, whenever you were in so much pain that you wished you were dead, I hoped I would come and save you. But I never appeared.” Li Xu looked into Long Xinyu’s eyes and asked, “Why didn’t I go save you?”
Long Xinyu didn’t know how to explain. He could only stammer, “I’m sorry!”
“Sorry? Haha, sorry? It’s fine if I didn’t go save you. But why did I save that woman?” Li Xu’s tone turned into a question.
Long Xinyu didn’t understand. “Which woman?”
Li Xu looked at him. “That big star!”
Long Xinyu was stunned. Then, he reacted. “Are you talking about Luo Pingping?” Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind – Luo Pingping’s head had been severed, and so had Wu Xing’s just now. Long Xinyu looked at Li Xu in shock and guessed, “Did you kill Luo Pingping?”
Li Xu nodded. “Yes, I did. So what?”