Mrs. Xu had been tortured to the point of numbness, she ran outside, and the child followed. She returned to the community, and the child followed her back. At first, she would be frightened, crying, and begging, but after several consecutive days, she had given up this pointless struggle, just as the child had given up speaking, fleeing, and seeking help in the face of daily beatings.
She had tortured him into a numb half-dead person, and now, he had tortured her into the same state.
Mrs. Xu opened all the windows that could be opened at home, and left the TV, computer, tablet, and phone playing shows day and night to make the house seem a little lively, and this warmth helped drive away her inner fear. The day before yesterday, she had fled the community again, intending to take a train and leave the city, but after boarding the train, she found that the quiet child was still at her side.
His skin had become increasingly pale, his lips more purple, his pupils as black as ink with no reflection of light, and he exuded a rotten fishy smell of murky water. The passengers in the car asked who had brought a dead mouse in their bag, even the police had been attracted over to check.
Just the thought that the child had been beaten to death by her husband made Mrs. Xu flee from the train. She needed to take him away, hide him, otherwise, her husband would be arrested by the police after the truth came out.
Yes, she still loved her husband, loved him very much, even though she hadn't received his care and concern when she was pregnant, even though she had been left alone in danger, she still loved him and was willing to give everything for him. She still remembered the tender words her husband said to her when they got back home that day, after learning about the death of the child. They had made up, and were even preparing to have another child, one who was even more obedient, lovely, intelligent, quiet, and wouldn't drive his mother into depression.
To her, that was the only beacon of hope in the years of her illness. All she wanted was a comforting word, a promise, and a hug from her husband.
"It's all because of you! Why did you come back? You ruined my life!" Mrs. Xu had broken down once again after returning to Moon Bay community, holding a knife and hysterically screaming at the child.
The child tilted his head in silence, calmly watching her, not even flinching at the threatening tip of the knife. He was not afraid of these things, without pain and life, no matter how he was injured, he was no longer afraid.
Mrs. Xu stabbed a few times, finding that the blood on the blade was not blood, but a thick, ink-like liquid, and then fainted from the strain. She lay on the ground for a long time, long enough for her bones to grow cold, limbs to become numb, and her head to feel like it had been repeatedly crushed, unspeakably painful. This pain even extended to her eyelids and eyeballs, making every blink of her eyes twitch in agony.
She had no strength to get up, so she could only stare blankly at the ceiling. The child seemed to know she was awake, and walked over, bent down, and met her gaze with his black, hollow eyes.
In a daze, she remembered a scene: she had beaten the child to the brink of death, but was too lazy to clean him up, and just threw him into the toilet. She then haphazardly rinsed him with the shower head, not wanting to wet her own clothes, and harshly ordered him to stand up and go back to sleep.
The child dipped his finger in blood and wrote on the floor tiles, "[Mom, I can't stand up, my eyes hurt]." At that time, he had only been in first grade and didn't know how to write many words, so he had to use pinyin.
She strained to recognize the words and cursed furiously, "What are you pretending for? I only hit you lightly a few times, how much can it hurt? Get up, get up, you get up for me..."
The rest of the crazy cursing, she was too weak to recall now, but she finally understood what "even blinking hurts" meant. It wasn't just a few light taps, it was the kind of pain that only occurred when beaten within an inch of life. She had beaten her own child to within an inch of his life...
"Haha, hahaha..." finally she stopped deceiving herself and laughed bitterly at herself for claiming she was just "educating" the child.
Seeing her distorted smile, the child tilted his head, looking confused.
At that moment, the computer, which she had turned up to the highest volume, suddenly erupted with a cry of surprise. Someone exclaimed in an exaggerated tone, "This is impossible! The Fānqiéluo has been drawn, he actually drew it, he is truly a medium!"
Hearing the name "Fānqiéluo," she saw a glint in the child's pitch-black pupil. Can you imagine it? Even the eyes of the dead can shine, lively, clear, filled with immeasurable joy and endless dependence. He immediately lost interest in his mother, and with his thin legs, he ran to the computer, completely absorbed in watching the figure on the screen.
Taking a deep breath, she watched her son for a moment and then noticed that he was actually enjoying life, relying on narrow, dim, cramped spaces, all of which had always been the child's hiding places. Their positions and situations had been completely reversed, truly ironic.
As she was about to retreat behind the door, she nervously glanced at the child, only to find that he was pulling the corners of his mouth into a smile, stiff but unusually tender. He gazed at the young man on the computer screen, like he was looking at the only light in the dark world.
Her fingers, picking at the floor seams, began to bleed, but she stared blankly at the unfamiliar child, lost in chaotic thoughts. It took her a long time to notice that the content playing on the computer screen was a reality show, and the young man who brought the child back home was an extraordinary medium, named Fānqiéluo!
Medium, corpse, revival, revenge, these bizarre and terrifying events were finally linked together by these clues! At the same time, she recalled the words the young man said when he brought the child back home, "Mr. Xu, I really had to work hard to save Yang Yang. He fell very far from the shore when he almost couldn't come back. This time, you have to take good care of him, don't let him encounter danger again."
Analyzing these words, she finally discovered the hidden and unusual information: "I had to work hard" could be translated as "I worked hard to retrieve the body," "he almost couldn't come back" meant "I know where you sank him," "take good care of him" hinted at "accept his revenge!"
These absurd, enormous, terrifying, and frightening pieces of evidence were like bombs exploding in her mind. She finally understood where her tragedy originated from, it was that Fānqiéluo, everything was because of him! Xu mother used all her strength to stand up, and ran downstairs, crazily beating on Fānqiéluo's door.
At the same time, Fānqiéluo was throwing fish food into the glass tank. The frog had woken up three days prior, but was still weak and unenthusiastic, still needing more time to recuperate.
The pounding on the door made the floor vibrate, causing the bathtub and the frog inside it to tremble. This clearly angered Fānqiéluo. He casually placed the fish food aside, and opened the door with a cold face, staring down at the visitor. His pitch-black, lightless pupils were very similar to the child's, freezing Xu mother's accusatory expression on her face.
"Did you... did you revive him?" Xu mother summoned the last bit of courage to ask.
Fānqiéluo raised one eyebrow in response.
"Take him away, I'll give you money. Will a hundred thousand suffice?" Xu mother took out her phone to initiate a transfer.
The corner of Fānqiéluo's thin and exquisite lips lifted, revealing a sardonic expression.
"Let us go, we could have lived a good life, but it's all because of you, you ruined everything! Do you know, I was very ill, and several times I wanted to commit suicide, but recently I almost saw hope for recovery. My husband and I agreed to start over, and we were going to have another child and live a happy life. You ruined me, you ruined our future..."
As she spoke, Xu mother collapsed on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
Fānqiéluo also crouched down, looking directly into her eyes, and slowly said, "Do you really think there's any hope left in your life? Let me tell you the truth: When you were tormented by morning sickness, your husband rented a house to live with someone else, because he found your scent and bloated body repulsive, it affected his mood and appetite. When you were in labor, he was celebrating his girlfriend's birthday, her well-being was more important than your safety. When you were exhausted from taking care of the child at home, he was enjoying himself with someone else. When you were tormented by depression, he secretly wished for it to be worse, even wished for you to have suicidal thoughts, to save him from the trouble of divorce. When you beat the child and later apologized out of guilt, he thought to himself, 'beat him, beat him to death, without this burden I can remarry more easily.'"
"Is this the person you love? Do you still think there's hope in your life?" Fānqiéluo whispered in Xu mother's ear like a devil.
"No, it's not possible! What you said isn't true! I don't believe you!" Xu mother couldn't even cry, just hugged her increasingly cold body tightly. "Like falling into an ice cave" turned out to mean this, that someone could cause such despair with just a few words.
Fānqiéluo chuckled softly and continued, "He hid the body for several days but didn't dispose of it, waiting for you to come back. You think he was afraid, wanting someone to rely on? No, he was only waiting for you to be framed, especially since you already have a history of child abuse on file with the police, it wouldn't be surprising for them if the child ended up dead. He made you move the body, lift the box, drive the car, take the boat, tie the stones, and finally throw the body into the water. Throughout the whole process of discarding the body, he just stood by and didn't intervene, because he wanted to leave enough physical evidence on the body and box. Haven't you noticed? Even the box for the body, he chose the one that you have always used."
Xu mother's eyes widened, tears falling uncontrollably, as Fānqiéluo continued, "If I hadn't brought the child back, he would have found an excuse to argue with you, handing over the most easily damaged furniture and appliances to you, letting you smash them, and then finding an excuse to leave home, telling everyone that you're crazy and your violent behavior is escalating. So when one day the child's body is found, it would be straightforward to blame everything on you. After all, he has been kicked out of your house, doesn't know anything, would you use the child to vent your anger? The answer is yes; would you accidentally beat the child to death? The answer is also yes. How many bacteria are there in the summer lake water? Those large male footprints would rot and disappear in a few days, leaving behind only the massive internal bleeding. And who caused the child's internal injuries? It was you, because the police have the child's injury report, and everyone knows your beloved husband never laid a finger on the child."
Fānqiéluo leaned close to Xu mother's ear and said, "The warmth you thought of was just bait from the devil; the new life you thought of was just a requiem for the funeral; and the hope you thought of was just another despair. That is the entire truth of your life."
He stood up, looking at the extremely disheveled woman with an exceedingly cold gaze.
Xu mother looked up at him, her mouth opening and closing, but only being able to emit a series of silent screams. It turns out that when fear reaches a certain point, the throat really becomes paralyzed.
In her field of vision, the young man's face, bathed in sunlight, was unbelievably holy, while the words spoken made it feel like descending into hell. Meanwhile, her son silently walked past her and into the young man's apartment, peeking at the glass fish tank placed on the balcony.
He extended his short fingers and traced a frog in the bathtub. His mouth, which had never made a sound before, opened and let out a shattered, piercing, yet joyful laughter.
"Ribbit?" He turned to look at the young man, his eyes reflecting tiny sparks of light. Here, next to the young man, he was normal, alive, just as naïvely adorable as any other ten-year-old child.
The young man walked back to the balcony, picked up the fish food, and continued to sprinkle it in the tank, sighing sadly, "He hasn't fully recovered his strength, he's not eating much."
The child tapped the glass tank with his small hand, then pointed at the fish food, and continued shaking his head, as if expressing his own opinion. He was communicating with the young man, displaying an open and lively personality, something Xu mother had never seen in him. She had been tormenting him since he could walk, and for so many years, she had never seen a smile on his face.
Yet, after becoming a body, he had learned how to smile, communicate, and express himself. How ironic was this scene for Xu mother?
She stared in a daze at the bright and sunny child, as if she was looking at a figment of her imagination. The docile, cute, intelligent, and quiet child she had dreamed of, had been right by her side all this time, and yet she had ruthlessly destroyed him!
She slowly hugged her head, filled with pain, and looked fearfully at the bright balcony and the affectionate and happy silhouette.
Hearing her heavy gasps, the young man turned back and said with a smile, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, you saw your husband's lover in the pantry a few days ago. They got together when you were just pregnant, and it wasn't until she went on a business trip recently that your husband started coming home every day, and even committed murder while drunk."
Xu mother emitted a silent scream once again and then scrambled to the elevator with all her limbs, frantically pressing the down button. She had to go find her husband and get some clear answers, even if it meant dying!