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Seeing Gu Jiuque's shocked, anguished expression, the man smiled and leaned closer. "...Yuesheng told me himself. If it hadn't been for taking you to the hospital, your parents wouldn't have died in that car accident. If your grandmother hadn't heard that your parents were dead and you were severely injured in the hospital, she wouldn't have suddenly died of a heart attack. If so many people in the Gu family hadn't died one after another, and even the ancestral residence hadn't been burned to the ground, your grandfather wouldn't have suffered such a devastating blow that he became muddleheaded and mistook a fake for a rare treasure while authenticating antiques for someone. Antique Appreciation Studio's centuries-old reputation was destroyed overnight, and he too died in disgrace and depression."

"The Gu family ended up like this all because of you, you jinx! You killed your entire family. How do you still have the nerve to stay alive?"

Those whispered words were like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, striking Gu Jiuque's weak point with deadly precision.

Gu Jiuque shuddered, his entire body going rigid.

Watching Gu Jiuque stop struggling at once, the man revealed a satisfied, pitying smile. "Yuesheng worked so hard, tried so hard, all for your sake. He even sold himself and agreed to marry that hypocrite Jin Weixie. All because Jin Weixie promised to clear your grandfather's name after the wedding."

Gu Jiuque's eyes widened in disbelief.

How could that be? He had clearly uncovered the truth. He had learned that the reason his grandfather had made that mistake back then was because Jin Weixie, the antique auction house, and the client who had invited his grandfather out of retirement had all conspired to set him up. He had already found evidence proving his grandfather's innocence. Why would Yuesheng still sacrifice his own happiness to marry Jin Weixie?

Gu Jiuque's mind went blank. He did not know what Shengsheng was thinking. Nor did he know why the man was saying this. He desperately reached for his phone, wanting to contact Bai Yuesheng, but his body was firmly restrained by the man.

Gu Jiuque struggled furiously, his eyes bloodshot, but he could not break free of the man's grip. He could only watch helplessly as the lunatic kept talking to himself. "It would have been better if you had obediently died ten years ago. You should have died in that fire ten years ago. If you had died back then, Shengsheng wouldn't have suffered so much. You despicable, filthy, ungrateful bastard—how dare you try to take advantage of Shengsheng's kindness and softness to bind him to your side for the rest of his life. Did you think he would keep carrying dead weight like you forever? Did you think you could cling to him for the rest of your life?"

"Dream on!"

The man tightened his grip around Gu Jiuque's throat. As his breathing grew thinner and thinner, Gu Jiuque's heart was filled with confusion. He did not know who this madman was, nor did he know what Bai Yuesheng was thinking. Why would he marry the enemy who had killed his grandfather? He had clearly told Bai Yuesheng that he had found evidence of Jin Weixie framing his grandfather. Why was Shengsheng still sacrificing himself?

"...Yuesheng's heart is too soft. I can't tolerate him sacrificing a lifetime of happiness for trash like you." The man twisted his neck nervously, his face grotesque as he muttered to himself.

He could not bear to see that kind, innocent little person, as clear and pure as crystal, burdened by such heavy shackles for the rest of his life. He did not want to see lively, cheerful Bai Yuesheng look worried and miserable every time Gu Jiuque was mentioned. He hated how Bai Yuesheng talked about nothing but Gu Jiuque, so he chose the day Bai Yuesheng was holding a wedding with someone else to burn this ugly freak to death.

As long as this ugly freak dies, Yuesheng can live easily and freely. He would tell Yuesheng the good news. Without Gu Jiuque as his weak spot, Yuesheng would surely stop being so depressed, and he would not marry that hypocrite Jin Weixie.

Then Yuesheng could accept his pursuit!

The man sank into his sweet fantasy, yet his eyes grew increasingly crazed. His gaze upon Gu Jiuque was also filled with chilling murderous intent.

But Gu Jiuque had no time to be afraid. He had endured miserably for ten years, not because he truly feared death, but because he wanted to restore the Gu Family Ancestral Residence to its former state and revive Antique Appreciation Studio. Only then would he have the face to meet his parents and family in the afterlife. Yet this fire had once again burned all his painstaking efforts to ashes.

"No... don't..." Overwhelming pain and unwillingness gathered into a torrent and broke through the shackles binding him. Gu Jiuque managed to force out a few broken words, pleading with difficulty, "...burn... the residence!"

"What?" The man deliberately pretended not to hear, twisting Gu Jiuque's words. "You want this residence burned to accompany you in death?"

Gu Jiuque shook his head desperately. "No, don't burn—"

Seeing Gu Jiuque sprawled miserably on the ground, clearly at death's door yet refusing to beg for mercy and instead begging him not to burn the residence, a strange glint flashed through the man's eyes. It was as though Gu Jiuque's actions had amused him.

"Die here!" A trace of barely perceptible pleasure surfaced in the man's eyes. "This is the resting place I carefully chose for you. Only when you die can Yuesheng completely break free from the past and walk toward his new life."

As he spoke, the man released Gu Jiuque's throat. He rose to his feet and left without looking back.

Unable to move his legs or speak, Gu Jiuque lay helplessly on the ground, coughing violently. Billowing smoke blackened his scar-covered face. The flames continued to spread, and sparks raining through the air fell onto Gu Jiuque's body, setting his clothes alight. The pain that sank into his bones spread from outside to within. Gu Jiuque felt as though his flesh, blood, veins, and marrow were all slowly burning away and evaporating in the sea of fire.

At the edge of death, Gu Jiuque closed his eyes numbly. In the end, he still had not been able to save the Gu Family Ancestral Residence. Even in death, he would have no face to meet his family.

The rising flames warped and twisted everything around him. Amid the roaring blaze, Gu Jiuque vaguely returned to ten years ago. Only this time, he no longer had the strength to escape the inferno. A living person was reduced just like that into a charred corpse whose features could no longer be seen.

He was buried in the flames, dying with his eyes open.

[Upon learning of Gu Jiuque's death, Bai Yuesheng was devastated. He clenched his right hand, which appeared no different from an ordinary person's, and vaguely recalled how Gu Jiuque, before he had been disfigured and crippled in that fire ten years ago, had been breathtakingly handsome and unmatched in brilliance. If not for that fire, he should have had a life of extraordinary talent and splendor. Alas, heaven envied genius. The man who had made his heart stir for the first time had ultimately died in pain and ugliness. He died in some unknown corner.]