Fang Shuwen let go, and Liu Mang's body collapsed limply to the ground.
This was the first time he had killed someone.
But strangely,
his heartbeat was steady, his hands were steady, and his mind was perfectly clear.
In his previous life, he hadn't even killed a chicken.
Now, two lives had ended at his hands.
He felt none of the disgust, fear, or other negative emotions described in the novels of his previous life.
Instead, he was remarkably calm.
He had changed.
And this world was different, too.
The old dynasty had collapsed, and the Great Flame New Kingdom had risen.
The land was in turmoil, with warlords locked in battle.
Within its borders, demons devoured people; beyond them, foreign powers watched hungrily.
A bootlicking lackey was willing to kill him for the chance, however slim, to become a student's companion.
Another street thug was ready to kill for just a dozen or so silver dollars.
Human life was worth nothing in this world!
Fang Shuwen crouched and searched Liu Mang, pulling out a worn-looking wallet.
He weighed it in his hand. Silver dollars clinked crisply inside.
Fang Shuwen didn't bother to look. He simply stuffed it into his cloth book bag.
Then,
he dragged the two bodies to the nearby Clear Water River and pushed them in under cover of darkness.
There were two muffled splashes. The water churned a few times, then swallowed them whole.
Once he had finished, Fang Shuwen made sure there wasn't a trace left in the alley before turning to leave.
He didn't go straight home. Instead, he wound through the county town's alleys, turning seven or eight corners.
Only then did he head toward Zhao Estate. He kept walking until he glimpsed the shadow of the old locust tree by Zhao Estate's back gate in the distance, and only then did he slow down.
As soon as he turned into the alley, Fang Shuwen spotted two figures standing around the corner up ahead.
One was slender and willowy, with a thick braid down her back. From behind alone, he could tell she was Cuicui, Mother Wang's daughter.
A young man in a short jacket stood facing Cuicui, the two of them close together.
He didn't know what they were saying, but the young man reached out and wrapped an arm around Cuicui's waist. Then they kissed.
So this was the "good student" Mother Wang kept talking about!
Fang Shuwen felt no stir of emotion. His step faltered slightly.
He slipped along the wall and into another side alley, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
Once he entered Zhao Estate through the back gate, the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen reached him from afar.
He followed the covered walkway inward. Before he had even reached the door to his room,
Fang Shuwen heard Mother Wang's booming voice.
"Old Fang, you have no idea. My Cuicui is so diligent. She gets up before dawn every day to review her lessons, and at night she even tutors her classmates from school."
"Not only do they feed her while she tutors, they also give her a few extra copper coins for her trouble!"
"Tell me, what do you call that? Talent! A girl who can earn her own copper coins—who could compare?"
Fang Shuwen shook his head slightly as he listened, but said nothing. He simply kept walking.
At that moment, Old Fang was putting on a wooden expression as he dealt with Mother Wang. When he saw Fang Shuwen come in,
his cloudy eyes immediately lit up. The corners of his mouth lifted, revealing several chipped teeth.
"Shuwen, you're back? Tired? Hungry?"
"I'm fine."
Fang Shuwen took off his cloth book bag and handed it to Old Fang.
Mother Wang spotted Fang Shuwen. The wrinkles on her face bunched up like a chrysanthemum as she asked, unmistakable pride in her voice:
"Little Fang, school starts the day after tomorrow. How are your preparations coming along?"
"I'm fine," Fang Shuwen replied.
Then he walked past Mother Wang and went back to his room.
"Madam, I still have to go find Hu Da and get Little Fang some food. I'd better be off."
Old Fang turned and left, leaving Mother Wang alone in the courtyard.
"Pah!"
"Old Fang spoils Little Fang rotten. He'll pay for it one of these days."
"My Cuicui is so much better. She knows how to get ahead. Once she gets into the Elite Class, she'll surely marry into a rich family and live a good life."
Mother Wang muttered to herself. The annoyance on her face at being interrupted while bragging about her sensible daughter faded, and she sashayed away.
Fang Shuwen returned to his room.
He took out a jug of wine and two oil-paper-wrapped roast chickens and set them on the table.
Old Fang's eyes nearly popped out. He looked from the roast chickens to the wine jug, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he didn't reach for them.
"Shuwen, th-this... where did you get these?"
He raised his head and looked at Fang Shuwen, his lips moving twice.
"Dad, I bought them for you. Go ahead and eat."
Fang Shuwen sat down opposite him, tore off a glossy chicken leg, and held it out.
Old Fang took the chicken leg, but didn't eat it.
He turned it over and over twice, then carefully wrapped it back up in the oil paper.
His cloudy eyes grew moist.
Little Fang had just called him Dad, just like when he was a child.
When he had first learned to walk, he'd babbled and called out for his papa all day long.
But later, after Little Fang started school, he gradually stopped calling him Papa.
He just called him Old Fang.
He knew Little Fang was bound to make something of himself one day.
He'd wear a suit, keep a fountain pen in his pocket, and become an official—a high-ranking one, too.
It was a good thing Little Fang no longer called him Papa. That way, he wouldn't embarrass Little Fang.
And now,
Little Fang had called him Dad.
That was what people from wealthy families called their fathers after learning Western culture.
Little Fang had not only bought him roast chicken and wine today, but had also called him Dad!
"I've already eaten. Save this chicken for yourself tomorrow."
Fang Shuwen watched him being too reluctant to eat and shook his head.
He wasn't like the original Fang Shuwen, who did nothing but leech off Old Fang while looking down on him.
But he also knew what kind of person Old Fang was.
So he immediately put on a stern face and said in a chilly voice:
"Dad, if I give it to you, eat it. Otherwise, I'll throw it away."
Sure enough, Old Fang picked up the chicken leg at once.
He ate it happily.
After he finished, Old Fang spat the bones from the half chicken leg onto the table, then picked up the wine jug and opened it to take a sniff.
But he couldn't bring himself to drink it. He screwed the lid back on and set it in the corner of the table.
"Shuwen," Old Fang said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, his voice a little dry.
"Your Mother Wang came by just now and said Cuicui did really well reviewing this time. She's sure to get into the Elite Class. Maybe you should stop selling things for the next couple of days and spend more time studying..."
His voice grew quieter and quieter.
It wasn't that he didn't know Little Fang's grades had always been poor. He simply didn't want to believe it.
He kept thinking that Little Fang was so smart, had learned to talk earlier than the other children when he was little.
He'd surely worked hard this time. There was no way he'd fail.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine."
Fang Shuwen replied, picked up his cloth book bag, drew back the curtain, and went inside.
Seeing this, Old Fang said nothing more. He quietly cleared the table, then hid the wine jug and chicken in the cupboard.
Then he went out to find Hu Da, not wanting to stay in the room and disturb Little Fang's studying.
After Old Fang left,
Fang Shuwen took the wallet from his cloth book bag and emptied its contents.
"Twelve dollars and seventy cents. This guy really had money."
After counting it, Fang Shuwen noticed there was also a copper disc among the contents.
The disc was a little larger than an ordinary copper coin, and it felt surprisingly heavy in his hand.
Several lines of crooked writing were carved into the front. The rough strokes were steeped in a wild, primitive aura.
It was neither the standard script used throughout the Great Flame New Kingdom nor the seal and clerical scripts favored by the previous dynasty. It looked more like a spell.
He turned the disc over. A vertical eye had been cast into its back.
The pupil was a narrow slit, like a snake's eye.
Fang Shuwen's brow furrowed.
He stared intently at the vertical eye.
The next instant, in the dim yellow glow, the vertical eye seemed to blink!
Immediately afterward,
a violent wave of dizziness swept over him.