Chapter 43

Tan Yang seemed satisfied with their reactions, then said: “My becoming homosexual is all because of this man!” He yanked Hu Feng’s hair upward with force!

The crowd gasped in shock! “Let me tell you a story: Before I was twelve, my life was like that of most normal people—I had a modest but warm home, loving parents, a doting older sister. Our family lived in the beautiful Jiangnan water towns, where white walls and black-tiled courtyards, bridges over flowing streams, and the happiest days of my life existed!”

My father was a teacher who always taught us to be kind to others and obey the law! But fate always loves to torment the good and honest! My father, who had never raised his voice to anyone in his life, was crushed to death one winter night after a home visit—he was riding his bicycle home when a long-haul truck ran him over, crushing half his skull!”

Tan Yang’s voice carried boundless sorrow, trembling with tears.

“By the time my mother arrived, my father’s body was already at the funeral home. The truck driver had been arrested by police. Had things been handled properly, my mother might have accepted the loss and carried on with life.”

But! I just said—this world always bullies the honest! The police handling the case, the truck owner, the driver—you’d never believe they colluded to deceive my kind, timid mother! They twisted the truth, claiming the truck driver, who was speeding to make up time, was driving normally, and blamed my father for running a red light!

They did this only to pay less compensation! But they didn’t know my mother didn’t want money—how much money could bring back her beloved, my father? My mother wanted the truth. Worse still, they insisted on slandering a man who had lived his entire life by the rules, turning his death into proof of misconduct!”

Hmph! Maybe you can’t understand, but I know how unjust this was to my father. My mother kept going to the police officers handling the mediation, demanding justice from the offenders. But eventually, the police and the offenders grew tired of her and accused her of being unreasonable, just trying to extort more money! These words spread to neighbors and bystanders who knew little of the truth—they came to believe my mother was causing trouble. Rumors grew wilder, until eventually they claimed my mother, exploiting my father’s accident, had demanded enough to bankrupt the other side!”

Hmph! They didn’t realize how devastating these rumors were to my mother! For a couple who had always been proud and respected teachers, their reputation meant more than life itself!”

One night, at the exact hour my father died, my mother hanged herself beneath a giant willow tree at the scene of his accident. I’ll never forget what my sister and I saw: my mother’s beautiful, gentle face turned blue and twisted, her bloodshot eyes wide open—as if begging to see those who slandered her and my father suffer retribution!”

From that moment, my sister and I became orphans. Our so-called relatives feared our family’s bad luck and refused to speak a single word for us! Hmph! At that young age, I learned: there are no good people in this world—and never be one! You must be worse than others to avoid being bullied!”

All I wanted then was revenge. The source of our family’s ruin? One was the truck owner and driver; the other, the police officer—and this society itself! Hahahaha! But I had no power to touch that officer, so my sister and I headed north to find the truck owner—the Zhang brother in Daosheng!”

Gong San, listening nearby, was shaken. Could it be Zhang Bangfeng? That man had built his fortune early on with a few transport routes—he was cold-hearted, stingy, and short-sighted. If his truck had killed someone, he’d absolutely do these things! As he thought this, Tan Yang continued speaking.

“Back then, I acted purely on rage, never thinking about the consequences. After finding the truck owner’s address, I stole a boning knife from a butcher shop, rushed toward that Zhang brother, and screamed as I charged! Hmph! The result? I got beaten badly and sent to juvenile detention by that powerful brother!”

There! That damn fate thought it hadn’t tormented me enough—it made me meet this monster!”

The crowd had assumed Hu Feng’s family was responsible for Tan Yang’s father’s death and indirectly his mother’s suicide. But now that he mentioned the surname Zhang, they guessed who it was—and wondered how this had anything to do with Hu Feng?

Then, when he brought up Hu Feng, his hatred flared even higher. He yanked Hu Feng’s hair upward with his right hand, forcing Hu Feng—who was already weak from blood loss and pain—to shudder. The white gauze around his groin now soaked through with crimson!

“My parents’ deaths had nothing to do with his family,” Tan Yang snarled loudly. “But my sister and I? We owe him everything!”

“Not long after I entered juvenile detention, I met this monster!”

The crowd gasped inwardly—none knew Hu Feng had been in juvenile detention! The Hu family had hidden it perfectly!

“You didn’t expect this, did you? Isn’t it because he had a powerful father? This monster was a pervert since childhood! You’re curious how he ended up in juvenile detention? With his father’s influence, ordinary crimes wouldn’t land him there—he raped a girl under ten when he was fourteen! Yet this monster was only locked up in juvenile detention! And there, fate made me meet him! This pervert tormented me for years!”

Tan Yang screamed like a madman, yanking Hu Feng’s hair upward with even greater force. These were seasoned veterans—some already guessed what Hu Feng had done to him.

“For five years in juvenile detention, he raped me! He turned me into something less than human—destroying my ability to live normally! In prison, he threatened me with my sister; after his release, he threatened my sister with me! Our entire lives were ruined by him!”

“So today, I’m here to tell every fool in this world: the so-called social elites, the business geniuses—you’re looking at a pure, unadulterated monster!”

As he spoke, he yanked Hu Feng hard into his chest, pressed the shards of glass against Hu Feng’s carotid artery, and roared: “Tell me! Where did you take my sister?”

Hu Feng opened his mouth with difficulty, muttering something. Tan Yang went even more insane. He shouted: “Everyone! Prepare for the celebration! You’ll witness me reclaiming this filthy life!” As his words ended, he drove the glass shard deep into Hu Feng’s neck and dragged it backward!

“Whoosh!” A gush of hot blood erupted like a crimson firework in the night sky, spraying everywhere!

“Hahahaha! Father! Mother! Sister! Shan Ge! Vengeance is complete! I’m coming!”

Amid the crowd’s shouts and screams, Tan Yang bent his head over Hu Feng’s neck. When he lifted it again, his mouth was full of blood. He smiled, murmured a few words, then slumped sideways beside Hu Feng…