Chapter 68: Revenge
Just then, the 'brother' on the wooden frame was burned on the thigh by the flames, and the intense burning pain caused him to let out a shrill, hoarse moan from his throat. Although the sound was not loud, it was like a heavy hammer, fiercely waking up the distraught parents.
That's right! Who cares if he's a Chrysos Heir! He is still their son!
"My son!" The uncle's eyes were bloodshot, and he struggled like a madman. The few people holding him down, perhaps startled by the sudden turn of events, loosened their grip a little.
The uncle suddenly broke free from his restraints, charging towards the burning wooden frame like a wounded beast, roaring. The fire had already spread, and waves of scorching heat assailed him, almost devouring him. The 'brother's' screams grew more tragic; the flames had already reached his chest, and his distorted face was filled with despair and pain.
The uncle's eyes saw only his son struggling in the fire; he cared for nothing else and plunged headfirst into the sea of flames!
"Sizzle—" The flames instantly engulfed his clothes, wrapping around his entire body. He let out an agonizing scream but still struggled to reach out… to untie the ropes binding his son. However, those flames were even fiercer than the ones on his son; as soon as he touched the knot, he became a man of fire, rolling and wailing on the ground.
The surrounding crowd screamed and scattered, clearing an area. The tongues of fire mercilessly devoured him, and his cries gradually weakened. Finally, he curled up on the ground, silent, and a sickening smell of char permeated the air.
The leading middle-aged man glanced disdainfully at the charred corpse: "A Chrysos Heir, is he worth all this?"
At this moment, the 'brother' was also completely covered by flames, having exhausted even the strength to scream, leaving only faint twitches.
Aunt watched her husband and son turn into charcoal before her eyes; the heart-wrenching pain almost made her faint. "Ah—! My son! My husband!" She collapsed to the ground, pounding the earth like a madwoman, weeping bitterly, utterly desperate.
The crowd watched all this indifferently. After a while, someone brought buckets of water and poured them on the wooden frame to extinguish the flames.
On the wooden frame, only a charred body, barely maintaining a human form, remained. Several people stepped forward and inspected it carefully. "Boss, he's dead, this Chrysos Heir didn't make it," one person reported to the leading man.
"Go!" The leader waved his hand, no longer bothering with the woman, and was about to lead his people away.
But Aunt suddenly pounced, tightly hugging the leader's leg, shouting: "You can't leave, you killed people! Is there no law anymore! Breaking in and committing murder… you must pay with your lives! Pay with your lives!"
The leader frowned in disgust and kicked Aunt hard on the head. Aunt grunted, was kicked a few steps away, and blood seeped from her temple.
"Harboring a Chrysos Heir is a crime punishable by death! Not taking you with us is already letting you off easy!" The leader disdainfully threw down a sentence and quickly disappeared into the night with his men.
Throughout the entire process, you watched clearly from the rooftop. Every detail, every expression, every desperate scream, all fell into your eyes. Your scheme succeeded. This plan of using a borrowed knife to kill, and returning evil with evil, although it involved a gamble, actually proceeded more perfectly than you had anticipated. The pleasure of revenge flowed like a warm current through your cold body.
After a while longer, confirming that those people had gone far, you leaped from the rooftop and landed in the courtyard. You slowly walked towards Aunt who was collapsed on the ground. She still stared with hollow eyes at the ink-black sky, muttering something unconsciously, as if her soul had left her.
You walked in front of her, raised your foot, and gently stepped on her neck. "How do you feel?"
Aunt's pupils suddenly constricted, and she slowly turned her head, seeing your face. First, there was a moment of blankness, then, on her face, distorted by grief, surprise and venom appeared.
"It's you?! You jinx! How did you get out?!" She shrieked hoarsely. She suddenly grabbed your ankle, which was pressing on her neck, trying to push it away. However, that foot seemed to have taken root, unmoving.
Beneath that seemingly slender ankle, there was an immense force she could not resist. The feeling of suffocation made her face turn crimson, and she couldn't even call for help.
Seeing this, you moved your foot. Aunt immediately coughed violently, greedily gasping for air. She struggled to get up from the ground, pointed at you, her eyes spewing mad hatred: "You, you're out… why didn't you stop them when those people came just now?! Why didn't you save them?!"
"It's all your fault! You killed my son! You killed my husband!" She seemed to have gone completely mad, shouting at you without restraint.
You just quietly watched her, no ripples in your golden eyes. Even at this point, this woman was still so harsh and unreasonable. Well then, send their whole family neatly to the River Styx to report, never to be reincarnated.
"That's right," you nodded, "It's all my fault. Actually, I killed them."
Aunt's wailing and cursing stopped abruptly. She looked at you in surprise, as if she had thought of something. Then, her gaze fell on your arm, casually hanging at your side, on the exposed skin… there was a golden scar. A terrifying thought entered her mind.
"What… what did you say?" Her voice trembled, "You… what did you do?!"
You smiled, that smile pure and cruel: "I just, like you wanted to do to me before, reported to those guys who hate Chrysos Heirs, saying there was a Chrysos Heir hidden here…"
"Then, they came. Didn't do much, just… let them help me judge your precious son."
Aunt was struck by lightning, her entire body stiff. She looked at your childish but strangely smiling face, then at her son's charred remains not far away, and her body began to tremble violently uncontrollably.
"It, it was you… you planned all this?!"
"Indeed! You're a monster! A born jinx!" Aunt shrieked, like a crazed mother beast, pouncing at you without restraint: "I'll kill you! I'll kill you, you little beast!"
However, you merely shifted slightly, avoiding her pounce. With a back kick, you accurately kicked her in the back of her lower leg. With a "thud," Aunt's knees buckled, and she fell heavily to her knees before you.