Volume One, Chapter 28: The Mischievous Stepson and the Wicked Stepmother

“What’s wrong, Yongzi? What’s wrong?”
Yongzi’s face was twisted in terror. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his head and shrieking for mercy. “Aunt Lin, I won’t do it again! Please stop hitting me! It hurts!”

As the memories of his life flooded back, the ghostly body that had been forcibly stitched together with magic began to split apart—head separated from limbs, the seams held together only by the golden, spirit-charged threads Qin Yu had used to patch him up.

“I’m eating right now! This is making me sick!”
“He was dismembered! Yongzi was actually dismembered when he was alive! What kind of hatred does it take to do that to a child?”
“I’m traumatized…”
“Who is this Aunt Lin? I’m calling the police—she has to pay for this!”
“I’m never watching Master Dianqiu’s livestreams alone again. That was too sudden, too terrifying.”
“If I were Yongzi’s parents, I’d never rest until I avenged my child! Even if it landed me in jail, I’d go after the one who hurt him!”

The man stared in shock, unable to utter a single word. His arms hung trembling at his sides, his throat parched, his body burning—as if something roared up from his heart to his head.

His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging, yet when he spoke to Yongzi, his voice was gentle. “Don’t be afraid, Yongzi. Daddy will join you soon!”

With that, he groped for something on the table, then stormed out the door, rage pouring off him.

“Yongzi’s dad, don’t do anything foolish!”
“I think I just saw him leave with a fruit knife.”
“He said he’d join Yongzi soon—is he planning to end it all?”
“Why do I feel like he’s going to kill someone?”
“Will he kill Aunt Lin first, then himself?”
“It’s possible.”
“Is it worth it? Throwing away his future for someone like that?”
“It is! Because he’s doing it for his son!”

Just now, the man’s face had become a mask of death.

Qin Yu looked at the suffering Yongzi on the floor, and compassion stirred in her heart. She formed a hand seal. “Yongzi, listen to me. You’ve only just become a ghost, so there’s still a connection between your spirit and your former body. To keep your ghostly form together, you must resist thinking of your most painful memories from when you were alive.”

As Qin Yu chanted a calming spell, it was unclear whether her magic took effect first or if Yongzi truly obeyed, but his wailing gradually subsided, and his spectral form stabilized.

Seeing his obedience, Qin Yu felt comforted. Yongzi glanced around, his gaze finally landing on the phone. “Sister, is that you talking?”

In the dim light, no one had noticed his features before, but now, as he pressed his face to the camera, the viewers saw the boy’s gaunt, skeletal cheeks.

Not a single viewer failed to show sympathy.

“It’s me. You’re in my livestream.”

Yongzi’s eyes sparkled with sincerity as he looked at the screen. “Sister, you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen!”

Qin Yu felt a pang in her heart. Misfortune always chooses the already suffering.

“Sister, did you see my dad? I finally got a chance to talk to him, but I think I drove him away again.” Yongzi looked around for his father, then hung his head in guilt.

“What a good child! Why did he have to die? I’d trade my ex-boyfriend’s life for Yongzi’s.”
“There’s something in my eye. I can’t believe I’m sobbing in a paranormal livestream.”
“Streamer, can you help Yongzi’s family? They don’t deserve this fate.”
“Good will be rewarded and evil punished. Master Dianqiu, I’ll send you gifts if you deal with that poisonous woman Lin!”

“Do you want to be with your father forever?”

Though already ten years old, Yongzi barely recognized a few words. At Qin Yu’s question, he first nodded, then shook his head.

“If it were before, I’d want to be with Dad forever! Because only when Dad was home would Aunt Lin cook for me and stop beating me. But now…” His eyes were filled with longing. “Now I’m dead, Dad can’t be with me.”

He wasn’t very clever and struggled at school, but he understood the boundary between life and death. He wanted his father to live well.

“So Aunt Lin is the stepmother!”
“She’s truly vicious!”
“I was just thinking of remarrying. Now I’m scared!”
“If you remarry, be careful.”
“I remarried and treat my stepson so well—got myself a son without the pains of childbirth. It’s a blessing!”
“You’ve got the right attitude.”

“He’s gone to confront Aunt Lin with a knife for you. Only you can stop him now. Will you do it?”

Yongzi looked at the screen, his small eyes timid yet determined. “I will!”

“Even though Aunt Lin frightens you, are you still willing to go?”

Yongzi nodded. “Even though she’s scary, I’d rather face her than let anything happen to Dad!”

“Sister, I know you’re amazing, so could you promise me something?”

His shining gaze made it impossible to refuse. Qin Yu knew she should say no, but what came out was, “Go ahead.”

——

Chen Hu kicked open the door, startling the woman napping in the air-conditioned room. She sat up in shock, but when she saw it was Chen Hu, her anger flared. “Chen Hu, are you crazy? Why aren’t you at the construction site in the middle of the day? What are you doing here?”

Chen Hu said nothing, his face dark and menacing as he advanced.

Lin Xiu sensed something was wrong and noticed he was hiding something behind his back.

Fear flickered in her eyes, but remembering how obedient Chen Hu usually was, she grew bolder. “Chen Hu, what do you want? Say something!”

“Where’s Yongzi?”

His face was grim, hostility radiating from him.

Lin Xiu scoffed, thinking it was about that little bastard again. She repeated her earlier lie, word for word. “He stole some chicken feet from the fridge. I scolded him a little, and he ran off in a huff. He still hasn’t come back…”

“You know how hard it is being a stepmother. I’ve tried so hard to be good to him, but Yongzi just doesn’t seem to like me…” As she spoke, she forced out a couple of tears.

Yongzi had been missing for two days. Whenever Chen Hu asked, Lin Xiu would cry. He was a rough man, unable to stand a woman’s tears, so the conversation always ended there.

If Chen Hu hadn’t seen his son’s tragic state with his own eyes today, he’d still be spinning in circles, fooled by this venomous woman!

He looked at her worthless tears, his heart turning to ice. “Lin Xiu, give me back my son’s life!”

In an instant, the knife flashed down in his hand.