Chapter 96: The Future Is Created by the Present
"Huff... Huff..."
After Yun Han’s tiny figure disappeared into the rain, dragged away by the villagers, Shen Yu finally shook off the people chasing him and sprinted toward the village entrance.
His footsteps abruptly slowed.
Blood.
Fresh blood stained the muddy road.
Dozens of crimson paper cranes lay scattered across the ground, soaked by the relentless rain.
Shen Yu silently crouched down and picked one up.
The delicate paper had already begun to fall apart.
His heart sank.
"...We still failed."
His fingers tightened around the bloodstained paper crane.
"Xiao Han..."
There was no miracle.
No happy ending.
Only a lonely trail of blood stretching all the way back toward the Wang family’s courtyard.
Shen Yu stood silently for a long moment before following that crimson path.
At the same time...
Inside the small room on the eastern side of the courtyard...
Mo Han peeked nervously through the crack in the wooden door.
The chaos outside had gradually died down.
Rain poured relentlessly.
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the room in stark white before plunging it back into darkness.
"So..."
Mo Han muttered.
"Is this the end of the timeline Shen Yu was talking about?"
Curiosity finally overcame caution.
He slowly stood and prepared to step outside.
Before he could...
A burst of laughter echoed through the courtyard.
"Old Wang!"
"You damn fool!"
"Your daughter-in-law almost escaped!"
"What were you doing? Sleeping?"
Another voice laughed crudely.
"Don’t tell me your son died, and you’re already planning to find him another wife!"
The courtyard erupted in vulgar laughter.
The front door creaked open.
A middle-aged couple hurried outside.
The instant they saw Yun Han’s broken body lying in the rain, the man’s face darkened.
"She actually crawled out of the coffin."
"So desperate to leave us?"
He sneered.
"In Hezong Village, does she think she can come and go whenever she wants?"
"An outsider woman is nothing more than property."
"If the head of the household doesn’t agree..."
"How could she possibly leave?"
Another villager spat onto the muddy ground.
"This little brat has been here ten years."
"And she’s tried to escape ten times."
"Every single time she gets beaten half to death."
"Still hasn’t learned."
One man grabbed Yun Han’s limp body and tossed her at Old Wang’s feet.
"So?"
"Should we throw her back into the coffin?"
Old Wang glanced at the shattered coffin before shaking his head.
"The coffin’s ruined."
"What’s the point?"
His eyes became frighteningly cold.
"Since she likes running..."
"Burn her."
"Burn her together with my son."
"When she’s alive..."
"She’s my son’s wife."
"When she’s dead..."
"She’ll still serve him."
Several villagers burst into laughter.
"Old Wang..."
"That’s a wonderful idea."
Old Wang waved them away impatiently.
"You deal with it."
"I’ll continue guarding the village entrance."
The two gatekeepers carrying shovels disappeared into the rain.
Old Wang returned to the house.
Moments later, he made a phone call.
Not long afterward...
Several men dressed in white funeral robes entered the courtyard.
The leader glanced at Yun Han.
"You’re sure?"
"We burn both bodies?"
Old Wang nodded without hesitation.
"Everything."
"Even her belongings."
"Burn every last thing."
"She’s nothing but an untrainable dog."
The leader laughed.
"City girls are all the same."
"The more you try to control them..."
"The harder they struggle."
The funeral workers split into two groups.
One dragged Yun Han’s body toward the kitchen.
The other carried the groom’s corpse after them.
A third group...
Walked directly toward the small room.
Inside...
Mo Han’s face instantly turned pale.
"Damn..."
"I thought this room was safe!"
The footsteps grew closer.
There was nowhere to hide.
The room wasn’t even ten square meters.
No matter where he stood...
He would be found.
His heartbeat thundered inside his chest.
Run?
Outside was packed with villagers.
Hide?
Impossible.
For the first time...
Mo Han felt genuine despair.
Grinding his teeth, he suddenly charged toward the doorway before the funeral workers could enter.
"What kind of cursed dungeon is this?!"
"I have to find Shen Yu!"
"Where the hell are you?!"
He hadn’t taken more than two steps—
BANG!
A heavy shovel slammed into the back of his neck.
His vision blurred.
A middle-aged man slowly lowered the shovel.
"So."
"The outsiders really did come to Old Wang’s house."
He looked toward the funeral workers.
"Take this one too."
"My son could use another servant."
The workers nodded casually.
"That works."
Mo Han struggled desperately.
But his body had already gone numb.
Someone grabbed his ankle and dragged him across the muddy courtyard.
Toward...
The kitchen.
A strong smell of alcohol assaulted his nose.
The funeral workers casually splashed liquor over the corpses.
Then...
They picked up a rusted handsaw.
Creak...
Creak...
The blade bit into flesh.
Mo Han’s pupils shrank violently.
They...
Were sawing apart Yun Han’s body.
And the groom’s corpse.
One piece after another.
A fire was lit beneath the old stove.
The alcohol-soaked remains were thrown inside.
Whoosh!
Flames roared upward.
"What..."
"The hell..."
"So..."
"So that’s what happened..."
"The banquet..."
"The kitchen..."
"It was..."
"It was all because of this..."
His voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Shen Yu..."
"Shen Yu..."
BANG!
Another shovel smashed into the back of his head.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Only thick smoke continued rising from the Wang family’s courtyard.
Outside...
Shen Yu rushed back through the rain.
Before he could even assess the situation—
Old Wang spotted him.
"Who’s there?!"
The shout echoed through the courtyard.
Instantly...
Three funeral workers rushed out of the kitchen, gripping bloodstained shovels.
One of them immediately recognized him.
"It’s him!"
"The idiot shaking the rattle drum last night!"
"Good!"
"Another outsider!"
"I’ll break your legs before throwing you into the mountains!"
More villagers poured out from every alley.
Within seconds...
Shen Yu was completely surrounded.
Shovels reflected the flashes of lightning.
Escape...
Was impossible.
Old Wang narrowed his eyes.
"Speak."
"Who are you?"
"What are you doing in my village?"
Shen Yu slowly clenched his fists.
His heartbeat remained steady.
Just as he prepared to fight...
His gaze landed on the small room where he had left Mo Han.
Suddenly...
A sentence echoed inside his mind.
"The future me survived..."
"The future is created by the present."
His eyes flashed.
Instead of resisting...
He slowly raised both hands.
Then smiled.
"Everyone..."
"Look at me."
"I have something to announce."
The villagers paused.
Even Old Wang frowned.
"What nonsense is this?"
Shen Yu smiled calmly.
"I’m on your side."
Silence.
The villagers looked at each other in confusion.
"What?"
"Our side?"
"We’ve never seen you before."
Old Wang’s voice became colder.
"Who exactly are you?"
Shen Yu shrugged casually.
"You think I came all the way to this backwater village for sightseeing?"
"I’m here..."
"To do business."
Old Wang narrowed his eyes.
"What business?"
Shen Yu’s smile widened.
"The kind that makes money."
He looked around slowly before speaking in an indifferent tone.
"Children under eight..."
"Ten thousand yuan."
"Children under six..."
"Twenty thousand."
The entire courtyard fell deathly silent.