The footsteps grew heavier and heavier, carrying a penetrating force that echoed far into the dark night. The floorboards seemed hollow, thumping and clattering, creating a concerto-like sound that, along with the clattering footsteps, made the entire building tremble.
It grew darker and darker, to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The wind howled past Ma Fuqing's ears, but it couldn't drown out the thumping and clattering of the floorboards.
The sound seemed to strike directly into one's brain, even making the heart pound.
Ma Fuqing felt unwell; his stomach was churning, and he felt like vomiting but couldn't, as if he were experiencing motion sickness.
" Teacher Qingmu, have you thought it through?" He was getting a little anxious.
He couldn't see anything in the darkness, only hearing Qingmu's voice. "Have you thought it through?"
Ma Fuqing smiled smugly, "Alright then, I keep my word. The one million here is yours, and you can stay in that villa in Sanya anytime you want. But you have to do something for me! It doesn't have to be much, just a small favor, and I'll definitely share my earnings with you in the future."
Qingmu said, "Oh, you think I'm thinking about these things? Why would I be so bored as to think about these things?"
"What are you thinking about?" Ma Fuqing asked, puzzled.
"I'm thinking about how you should die!" Qingmu said.
"You..." Ma Fuqing was a little annoyed, but more importantly, the clattering footsteps irritated him immensely. "Aren't you afraid those videos will be uploaded online? If I die, you'll be in endless trouble yourself. And aren't you worried about your flight attendant girlfriend?"
"Scared? Of course I'm scared!" Qingmu's voice drifted on the wind, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. "But those are things that won't happen until tomorrow, are they? Whether it's uploading the video online, or sending someone to hurt my girlfriend—oh, right, let me clarify, she's my friend, not my girlfriend—those are things that will happen tomorrow, right? You've schemed so much, but you've forgotten that I'm a very lazy person. You don't understand lazy people; lazy people never think about tomorrow. But how you die is something that's about to happen right now!"
"You... you're bluffing me!" Ma Fuqing said angrily, "Don't think I'll believe you just because you say that! If you kill me today, you'll be finished just like me tomorrow!"
Qingmu said, "I told you I wouldn't think about tomorrow, and you're still using tomorrow to threaten me."
Ma Fuqing realized that what Qingmu said might be true, but he absolutely did not believe that a person could be so lazy. So now he was starting to suspect that the guy in front of him wasn't lazy, but rather mentally ill!
He suddenly felt a deep sense of frustration. It was like being in a boxing ring, having painstakingly studied his opponent's weaknesses, observed their attack routes, and devised a series of follow-up moves, then unleashing a powerful punch, fully expecting to knock out his opponent. However, after his fist landed, he discovered that the guy was already on the ground before he even landed the blow. You can't hit someone who's lying on the ground refusing to get up. Not only that, you also have to constantly worry that this rule-breaking guy might kick you.
"What do you want?" Ma Fuqing asked somewhat guiltily.
Qingmu said, "There are many ways to die. For example, you could jump from here. It would only take five seconds for you to die completely. But that would be too easy for you. How can someone like you die so easily? I want to make all the suffering that you've caused you go through on you. If you can survive until then, then we can discuss how you will ultimately die."
Ma Fuqing was horrified. Suddenly, many people appeared before his eyes, and the boundless darkness made these figures incredibly clear.
He didn't want to stay there any longer; he wanted to escape. However, just as he turned to run, he bumped into something. He reached out and touched it; it was a cold iron bar, standing upright in front of him.
He found himself locked in an iron cage. He heard the sound of rushing water. Then he realized the water was rising and had already reached his ankles.
"How is this possible? How could I be locked up here? Where is the Medicine Granny? Let me out!" Ma Fuqing shouted loudly.
"So you really do know this place. Not only do you know it, you're very familiar with it, even knowing the details of the water level changes." Qingmu's cold voice came. "It seems your brother really was driven insane by being locked up here!"
"No, impossible! How could you know? How could you lock me up here?" Ma Fuqing shook the iron cage. "Let me out!"
"It wasn't me who locked you up, why would I let you out?" Qingmu said. "It was your brother who locked you up. You have to go through all the suffering he went through, otherwise he won't let you out."
Ma Fuqing said, "Impossible! He's locked up in Wuzhong Mental Hospital, how could he possibly lock me up here!"
The water level rose rapidly, submerging his knees and waist, and soon reaching his neck. Ma Fuqing felt icy cold all over, and the pressure of the water made it hard to breathe.
"Let me go!" he pleaded.
"Actually, I really want to know, why did you lock your brother up and drive him insane? You're brothers after all!" Qingmu asked.
The water level slowed down, stopping at Ma Fuqing's chin. He tilted his head back, gripped the top of the cage with both hands, spat out the water he had swallowed, and sneered, "Brothers? Bullshit! From childhood to adulthood, I've never felt like we were brothers! In other families, the eldest brother gets new clothes, and when he can't wear them anymore, the younger brother gets to wear them. In our family, it's the other way around. He always gets new clothes, and I only get to wear them when they're worn out. When I was little, my clothes were always too short and small, and my classmates would laugh at me every time I went to school. If I moved around too much during PE class, my crotch would pop open. I would go home and cry, but my mother wouldn't buy me new clothes. At most, she would give me a few scraps of cloth to add a sleeve or pant leg. But my brother, he always had everything he needed."
"From childhood to adulthood, he always ate the meat while I only drank the soup; he could sit at the table to eat, while I could only squat on the doorstep to eat; he could play with toys and watch Saint Seiya at home, while I was doing farm work in the fields... Sometimes I wonder, am I even his biological child? We were born of the same mother, so why is it that he gets to eat like this!"
"But that's one thing, I can tolerate it. I study hard, I want to go to university. As long as I get into university and go to a big city, I can live the life I want. But even though my grades are not bad, they won't let me continue my studies and make me go out to work to support my younger brother's schooling."
"You call this brothers? Blood brothers? Hahaha... What kind of blood brothers are these?!"
Ma Fuqing burst into laughter like a Madman.
Qingmu said coldly, "Just because of this, you tricked your brother into going to Southern Yunnan, locked him in a pig cage, and drove him insane? Why didn't you just drive him to his death? Why send him back to Wuzhong?"
Ma Fuqing said, "Force him to death? Of course I wouldn't force him to death, he's still my brother! I brought him home so my mother could see what kind of person her once-precious son had become. The more pain she suffers, the more relieved I feel! I want him to know that this family can only survive because of me, and I want him to regret everything he did."
Qingmu sighed, "It's a pity your mother doesn't seem to buy into your ways. Even though your brother is crazy, she still loves and cares for him. No matter how much money you make, she won't like you."
Qingmu's words pierced Ma Fuqing's sore spot like a thorn. He screamed hysterically, "That's why I want her dead! They should all die!"