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Published at 6th of April 2022 05:55:39 AM


Chapter 150: A Painful Teaching Pt.3

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What the old man said were considered just passing words he spoke to a child. He would never know that those exact words had imprinted onto her mind and become a reality sometime in the future. However, that was another memory for another time. In that moment, all she remembered was how those words were etched into her heart carefully. To have a home and warm bed with a little food was a heaven she could not imagine. 

Her little feet were stretched out in front of her in an attempt to get closer to the heat. She tried pressing her feet against the bin but quickly took her feat back from the slight sting. It was too hot for her to touch and she was too short to be close to the flame itself, she just had to settle for the distance she was sitting in. 

Looking back up at the old man she debated on speaking to him, she felt fairly relaxed but still hesitated regardless. This did not deter the other from speaking to her but it was currently a one-sided conversation. It did not seem to bother him however, she could still feel that he liked talking to her. There was no irritation or change in his voice, the same gruff voice spoke at his normal pace. He never rose his voice nor got mad her for not speaking, instead he offered her food and water while working off her yes or no's. 

"Are you listening to me child? Listen to this old man's dream, at least somebody has heard this wish of mine. Even if it is a wish, I hope the best for you. I'm not sure where you stay at night but come back here often okay? If you see this old man come over, I can give you food and water if I have any on me. I may not have much but I can spare a couple rations for someone your size. Haha, maybe I can make this my final good deed. You know I'm very old?"

She nodded in agreement, thinking that he had asked her another question -'yes old.'

Her innocent reaction made the old man burst into laughter. It was not as if she purposely agreed to hurt the man or wound his ego but answered as truthfully as possible. The old man had been in a reminiscent mood but this scene is what made his aura become joyous.

"Yes, yes this man is old. Compared to you I'm probably a dinosaur. Sigh, how time has gone so quickly. Look at your skin and look at mine." He pushed his hand out and showed the harsh lines that were against his skin. There were parts that sagged and wrinkles covering it all as if it was a mountainous range. This was just the one side of his hand too, once he flipped it she could see a more rougher scene. Partly to age but mainly due to the harsh conditions of the streets, there were large scars and burn marks etched into his skin. The palm was supposedly the soft part of a human but this man's palm could be compared to sandpaper. 

She looked on at the hand with curiosity, it did not scare her nor disgust her. Pulling out her hand she pushed it forward to him to show what her's looked like. Her small hand was a little dirty from the ground and buns she ate but looked fine. Only issue was that you can see her bones stick out, opposite of what her hand should have looked like at that age. She did not see it as so but the old man's eyes dimmed while looking at her malnourished state. 

His mood did not last long when he saw the look in her eyes. It was pure childlike curiosity and when he stayed silent, she pushed her hand again in front of him to look. 

"You want me to look at your hand? Oh what a beautiful hand, you see this old man's its bad. I've been here too long but you, can still save yours. This bad, your's good."

She may have been young but could understand the depreciating tone he used when referring to his. Her curious eyes become angry and she shook her head from left to right. 

"Hmm why are you shaking your head, what has got this child so mad. Don't think I don't see you glaring at me...oh haha are you trying to tell me that my hand is good? Alright don't be mad, my hand is good okay? Your hand is good and so is mine."

Seeing that his response was what she wanted, her angry demeanour was satisfied quickly. A little smile creeped out on her face as she passively nodded her head. The old man smiled back to her and she felt an emotion well up inside of her. The warmth was comforting and the noises from the streets near them faded away. What was left between them was just the sound of the flame crackling and their bodies shifting around. 

This was a peace she treasured in her heart but it did not last long. Breaking the silence between them there was a loud clang from down the alleyway. The old man quickly dropped his smile and there was a coldness around him. Picking up her water and closing the bottle lightly, he pushed it inside the bun bag and handed it to her. Speaking quietly he pulled her up and pushed her in the other direction. 

"Go, go hide behind that bin now. Remember do not come out, no matter what do not come out till I tell you okay?!"

"No stop go, hurry!" With one final push she finally followed his orders and went back to her original spot. There were a couple of boxes so she dropped the heavy items there and hid behind a larger bin. She crouched down on her feet and held her knees inside her arms. Her heart was pumping and she took small breaths to control the pacing. 

She did not understand what was going on, her mind was in a haze but knew to listen to him. For such a change to happen to the old man it must be serious, she was always good at reading moods and could tell he meant it. The clatter from the end of the alleyway was just the beginning to the horror of what was about to happen, something she wish she could erase from her mind entirely. 

A dull set of footsteps resounded throughout the space and got louder as someone drew closer to them. The old man had kept his position in front of the bin but his position was stiff. He did not look at the person drawing towards them and pretended as if he had not seen him. This would be believable if not for the body language and cold look in his eyes. 

After a couple of minutes the footsteps stopped as a younger man stopped in front of the old man. By the looks of the mysterious person, he was in his early thirties but had a crazed look in his eyes. A shiver ran down her spine as she caught the look, even from her distance she could feel that this person was very evil. 

"Why have you come here?" The gruff voice spoke out and unlike its previous gentleness, held a cold and hatred filled tone. 

"You know why old man." Ignoring the obvious hatred, the young man spoke in a weird leering kind of way. It was as if he was watching a funny act because there was an unmovable smile positioned on his face. 

"I have nothing for you, get lost."

"Ohhh, but you do. Don't lie to me, I've spent many years with you after all."

"And because of those years I have left you alone for this many years. It was truly by horrible luck to help a vile man like you. If I could go back in time I would not do it even if I had a gun to my head. Now leave, there is nothing for you here."

"What do you...-" The old man's words were cut off when the sound of a knife stabbing his stomach was made. "What HOW COULD YOU. YOU YOU." 

The old man yelled and tried to fight off the other but in vain. The other was too strong for him to fight off at his age. Ying Yue's eyes were filled with tears and she held a hand over her mouth to stop her scream. For the next five minutes she watched as the younger man repeatedly stabbed the old man and the grunts of pain coming from him with each stab. '

'Nooo, NOOOO'




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