Volume One, Chapter 173: The Illusory Realm (2)

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Widow Shea was dead.

That was the best news Doggie Li heard when he awoke in his hospital bed.

At last, he had gotten rid of the woman who might steal his father from him!

Now his father belonged to him alone!

Doggie Li smiled until tears of relief slipped from his eyes.

But one thing deeply displeased him: his father had taken in Widow Shea’s only daughter.

With a troubled frown, he asked in confusion, “Dad, you and Widow Shea never even registered your marriage. Why are you taking care of that little burden?”

Old Li gave him a long, meaningful look. “Doggie Li, remember this. You and I owe that mother and daughter our lives.”

Doggie Li obediently agreed aloud, but inwardly he dismissed the words.

He had survived a venomous snakebite. That proved he was tough enough to defy death. What did Widow Shea and her daughter have to do with it?

He quietly watched Swallow, whom Old Li held in his palm as though she were a precious treasure. His eyes gleamed with malice.

Sooner or later, he would get rid of that little burden too!

Nearby, Muling clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He wanted nothing more than to beat the boy senseless.

But he held himself back. The time had not yet come.

Life returned to the way it had been when Old Li was single. The only difference was that Doggie Li now had a baby to care for.

He pretended to be obedient for quite some time before finally winning Old Li’s complete trust.

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One fine, breezy afternoon, when Old Li had gone to work at the construction site, Doggie Li carried the baby out alone.

The infant slept soundly, making no sound all the way.

When Doggie Li reached the stream, he took one last look at the sleeping child.

Widow Shea had been beautiful, and her daughter had inherited her looks. The baby had large eyes, rosy lips, and soft, round cheeks.

Doggie Li shook his head regretfully. “You can’t blame me. Dad can belong to me alone.”

Then, hardening his heart, he threw the baby into the stream.

With a splash, the infant plunged into the water.

The icy stream roused the baby, who wailed twice before falling silent.

Bubbles rose from the surface with a soft, gurgling sound.

Gradually, even the bubbles disappeared.

Doggie Li returned home in high spirits.

On the way, he passed the woods where Widow Shea had died.

Recalling the familiar sensation from that day, he felt warmth spread through his chest.

Mother, was it you who saved me that day?

—

There was a saying in the village that Old Li’s first wife had abandoned him because she despised his poverty and run away with another man.

But Doggie Li refused to believe it. He had always been certain that his mother would return.

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Apart from his mother, no one was allowed to take his father away from him.

That was why matchmakers were the people he hated most.

Whenever one came to their house, he would make her drink a cup of boy’s urine, driving the matchmakers away so thoroughly that not one dared visit again.

Old Li knew about everything he did, but he never interfered.

He disliked all the women the matchmakers introduced.

His son was merely helping him reject them by indirect means.

Later, however, he gradually realized that something was wrong. His son’s mind seemed to be developing serious problems, and he understood that a household could not go on without a woman at its head.

As fate would have it, an acquaintance introduced him to Widow Shea.

Shea was gentle and virtuous. More importantly, she had received an education. Surely, she could straighten out the crooked tree that was Doggie Li before it grew too far astray.

That had been his original intention.

But the more time Old Li spent with Widow Shea, the more deeply he was moved by the maternal warmth that radiated from her.

So this time, disregarding his son’s objections, he insisted on marrying her and bringing her into the household.

Widow Shea had heard about his family situation as well. Before accepting his proposal, she repeatedly confirmed whether Doggie Li truly agreed.

To set her mind at ease, Old Li lied.

He had never imagined that this lie would become an irreconcilable conflict haunting their family of three for the rest of their lives...

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