Lin Yingbin's Unfortunate Childhood 3

With a heavy thud, the freezing sound of the front door slamming shut felt like the gates of heaven were being bolted, without a shred of hesitation, cold and merciless.

Outside the door, little Lin Yingbin blankly stared at the blade his father had thrown on the ground, unable to snap back to reality for a long time. For a while, his stomach rumbled, finally bringing him back to his senses.

Sigh! There's no food for me today again...

Helpless, little Lin Yingbin picked up the knife his father had tossed aside. I have to fend for myself again! He looked at the courtyard gate with a hint of disappointment, desperately hoping someone would secretly open it and let him inside. However, after waiting for some time, no one came to open the door for him, and he finally made up his mind, walking toward the direction opposite his home.

The sky gradually darkened, a bright moon hung high in the sky, and wisps of cooking smoke could be seen rising. A reasonably bright fire flickered in a shallow part of the woods. Little Lin Yingbin lay on a stone pier beside this pile of fire. With a roasted sweet potato clamped in his mouth, he looked up at the familiar starry sky—familiar because it was not his first time gazing up at the stars like this. Every time he failed to meet his father's requirements, he was forced to come here and spend the night.

Why do I have to suffer like this?

For some reason, a grievance surged from the bottom of his heart. It was probably because he had seen children his own age on the way home! Prior to this, little Lin Yingbin had practically never even seen peers. In his impression, the only reason adults grew up was because they went through the trials he was experiencing. He also felt that children his age were all enduring this kind of test. Yet, today on his way back, he had accidentally passed by a small village and found that although the children there lived a frugal life, they did not face hardships similar to his.

His trust was shaken!

Deep inside everyone who suffers unfair treatment, the desire for fairness is powerful. Even when facing his father earlier, although he showed no outward disgust, deep down he had long grown weary of this trial.

The fire was still burning fiercely. He turned his head and kept his gaze locked on the dancing flames, as if a fire were burning his soul deep within. A different look appeared in his eyes, and his pupils actually turned an emerald-like dark green.

Power! Little Lin Yingbin still had a very vague understanding of what power meant, but he could sense that his body was undergoing a change unlike anything before.

Before long, he fell asleep. However, the moment he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying outside the forest. He slowly crawled up and looked around, only to realize that he was still right on top of the original large rock, except that the surrounding woods looked as if they had all been through a storm, with trees snapped off at the waist. He did not know what had happened during the night, and the campfire beside him had vanished. Fear gripped him at the changes around him, and carrying that terror, he walked toward home.

How can this be?

Little Lin Yingbin returned to where his home was, but the sight before him shocked him. He simply could not believe his eyes—the sprawling estate that used to be the Lin Family manor had vanished overnight.

What an extraordinary thing! In the span of a single night, a mansion the size of a city had simply disappeared into thin air. Anyone would consider this a deeply unusual and terrifying event.

No... no... it's gone? Gone?

Looking at the barren landscape before him, little Lin Yingbin's mind reeled with shock.

Unable to believe everything that had happened, the little boy stood frozen in place from morning until the third day. He simply could not accept the reality before him, but hunger and exhaustion eventually forced him to quietly accept it.

In the months that followed, Lin Yingbin spent them all alone until one day he met an old man. The old man had no wife or children and took him in as a solitary person. However, even this kind of life did not last for many years before the old man passed away. Yet on the day the old man left, Lin Yingbin clearly remembered that he did not shed a single tear. This was not due to callousness toward the old man, but rather because he simply could not cry.

Lin Yingbin told Ryuseki that this series of blows had caused his inner self to warp. The extreme personalities that had formed under his father's trials split due to this succession of blows, eventually creating a dual personality. One was his usual self, his original personality; while the other was that previous state—dangerous, irritable, trusting no one, and harboring intense hostility toward everyone.

He told Ryuseki that he would never forgive his father for what he had done to him, nor the profound indifference of his family.

Lin Yingbin also told Ryuseki that his alter ego was extremely dangerous. Because of his father's lifelong trials, that personality's aggressiveness was far more intense than normal. In truth, everyone possessed many personalities, some good and some bad. But normal people kept them integrated; once they encountered severe trauma, these personalities were likely to split into two or multiple extremes along the lines of darkness and benevolence.

This condition generally did not erupt under normal circumstances, and people with it usually kept it well-controlled. Yet if subjected to excessive external stimuli, this psychological balance would shatter, erupting into the dangerous second personality out of control. Lin Yingbin's dangerous personality had surfaced because of Zhi's underlings harassing him recently, which triggered a crisis in his subconscious and made it feel that formidable power was needed to bring a sense of security, leading to this situation.

Hearing Lin Yingbin's account, Ryuseki vaguely sensed something. He drew a sharp breath and recalled his own childhood. Although he had never even seen his mother's face—only photographs—and his father had passed away when he was very young, he still had an older brother who treated him well and looked after him. Though he sometimes found his brother nagging, it was precisely because of his brother that he never felt his childhood lacked anything compared to other children.

"You actually had such a torturous childhood! And a father like that!" Ryuseki raised his head and stared at the ceiling. "Come to think of it, I've never even seen my mother's face! My father passed away when I was little too, and I have no memory of them at all. I only know that as far back as I can remember, it's just been me and my brother relying on each other!" At the mention of his brother, a faint smile hung on Ryuseki's face.

"Um! Actually, you guys don't have to worry, I can control myself normally! It's just because that day—"

Ryuseki interrupted Lin Yingbin's words: "You don't need to say it, we all know. We're good brothers, aren't we?! I trust you!"

"We... sigh! Let's not talk about these sad things!"

Lin Yingbin turned his head away to look at Ryuu Mufei lying in the neighboring bed. Ryuu lay there exceptionally peaceful, and just looking at him stirred a wave of guilt within his heart.

"Sigh! I'm really sorry for him! Making him suffer such heavy injuries, poor guy!"

"Don't say that. Of course, you couldn't control yourself back then, and you didn't mean to hurt him!" Ryuseki stood up, dusted off his rear, and said, "The doctor said your injuries aren't severe and you'll be discharged soon!"

Lin Yingbin pondered for a moment and said, "Forget it! I'd rather stay and keep him company!"

"You stay? Forget it!" Ryuseki smiled. "In case you go—"

"I won't! I won't be like that again! And didn't you say you trust me?" Hearing Ryuseki's deep distrust, Lin Yingbin suddenly grew agitated, and as he spoke, he tried to climb out of his hospital bed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Lie back down! I was just joking!" Ryuseki pushed Lin Yingbin back onto the bed.

"Then you should stay too. We can't 'give up' on him!"