With a dull thud, I felt a fist land squarely on my mouth, knocking me to the ground.
Up in the sky, the red moon looked strange. The rosy clouds that once lingered near its crescent edge now seemed like dye, slowly seeping into the moon itself.
"What's wrong? Not fighting back?"
John Chou sneered coldly, stepping closer with each stride.
A surge of warmth—I wiped it away and saw blood at the corner of my mouth. That punch had split my lip. Clearly, he meant business.
I got back up.
"Brother, you can see it, you know what's coming, you know how to stop it—so why do you run away?"
I lowered my head, feeling a cold sadness. Childhood memories, like shards of glass, pieced themselves together in my mind.
I seemed to see pairs of children's eyes, all burning with anger. I hadn't done anything—not because I couldn't, but because I ran away. Always running, never facing it.
And not just when I was young. Back in high school, behind the dorms in the little grove, I once heard someone calling for help. The voice was faint—it was just after I'd started school. I chose to walk away, never looking back.
The next day, the body of an older girl was found in that grove.
"And it wasn't just that girl, brother. Remember? Sophomore year, you and a bunch of classmates went out to play—don't you recall? In that cave, you all found something. You must've seen what happened, so why didn't you stop them? You weren't a child anymore, right?"
The gate of memory swung wide open. One thing after another—things I saw but never spoke up about. Some even spiraled into disaster.
"You remember now, don't you, brother? And what about college? Did you forget? When you and Lily Wu just got together, didn't you go boating? You saw a child being dragged by a ghost, but you said nothing. What happened? That child must still be in the lake, since they never even found the body, right?"
Every memory stabbed at my heart. I lowered my head and covered my ears, as those memories flooded in like a tidal wave.
"Oh right, I almost forgot—do you even know how Lily Wu's father died?"
I slowly lifted my head and looked at John Chou. He seemed to know everything. Deep down, I knew the truth—Lily Wu's father died when I was a junior, and I watched the whole thing happen.
Suddenly, John Chou grabbed me by the chest and lifted me up.
"Brother, tell me—do you think ghosts are scary? Hateful? Pitiful?"
My gaze was vacant as I stared at John Chou. His eyes were cold as ice, fixed on me.
"Do you hate those ghosts? They wreak havoc and take lives. The world of the living is like this, and so is the world of ghosts. Do you hate them?"
"I..."
A wetness spread across my face. Though the night sky was clear, rain began to fall—big, heavy drops. I looked up; there wasn't a single cloud.
"Brother, how long do you plan to keep turning a blind eye? Next time, it might be your parents."
"No, I... I..." My breathing grew rapid.
John Chou leaned in close, grinning at me.
"What's truly terrifying is the human heart..."
As he spoke, John Chou pointed at my chest. I lowered my head, dazed, staring at his hand.
"I've said so much, but what about you? What's in your heart?"
Suddenly, I screamed at John Chou. He burst out laughing.
"At least... I've never regretted, grieved, or run away from what I've done. But you—you're different, brother."
I stared at him in shock. Suddenly, his hand at my chest turned into a fist, and with a dull thud, I fell onto the slick, wet ground.
"Think about it—weren't all those people who died in accidents with you killed because of you?"
"No... no, I..."
With a whoosh, John Chou floated over, grabbed my neck, and lifted me overhead. I struggled desperately.
"Let go... let... go..."
I gripped John Chou's hand with all my strength.
"See? It's only when your life is threatened that you fight for it..."
"Let go, let go..." I felt like I was about to die.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."
John Chou let go, and I collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.
"You don't want to die—but what about those people? You caused it all. I've told you before, brother, you bear the Sevenfold Curse."
"No, it wasn't me..." I stammered, scrambling backward.
With a scream, I cried out in pain as John Chou raised his foot and kicked me in the chest. The force sent me flying.
He immediately approached and kicked me again, sending me tumbling through the rain. He toyed with me like a soccer ball.
"Stop, stop..." I begged, but John Chou ignored me completely.
I lay on the ground as raindrops pelted my face, washing away the blood trickling from my mouth. My jaw hung open.
Pain swept over my entire body, but John Chou was relentless, still coming closer.
I've always been a coward, ever since I was young. Whether as a child or an adult, I always went along with whatever others said, letting things take their course.
Staring at the sky, I felt strangely calm. My mind was empty, and I couldn't hear anything from the outside world. Yet inside, there was a deafening roar, as if I was about to explode.
"Heh, still the same? Then what's the point of keeping you around? I, John Chou, have no use for trash like you. Die."
Suddenly, John Chou withdrew his foot and reached out, strands of Deathbane Aura swirling from his hand. A black blade appeared, and he swung it at my head.
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"Have you said enough? That's enough..."
I reached out, black energy swirling, and grabbed the black blade. At that moment, John Chou started laughing.
"Still too naive." He raised his foot and kicked me in the chest, sending me flying.
The instant I hit the ground, I screamed loudly. Inside, I was filled with resentment—resentment for everything that had happened. Why was my life like this? Why was I forced to see it all?
My eyes burned red as I stood up.
"Ah..." Black energy surged from my body, and the falling rain seemed to be blocked, bouncing off.
With a whoosh, John Chou floated over, brandishing his black blade and slashing down. Suddenly, I raised my hand, and in it appeared a black blade identical to his.
I gripped the black blade with both hands, blocking the attack. The force nearly drove me to my knees as Deathbane Aura burst out. John Chou kept slashing relentlessly.
"Ah..." I screamed, clutching the black blade and fighting John Chou. Each clash made my wrists feel like they were about to break.
I kept enduring, never looking away.
Suddenly, after I blocked John Chou's black blade, it transformed—vanishing instantly. The Deathbane Aura swirled around me, morphing into black vines that bound my limbs and rooted me to the ground. I couldn't move.
John Chou stepped closer, now holding a short black sword, and lunged straight at me.
In an instant, the broken sword was right in front of me.
"Ah..." I cried out, twisting my body with all my strength. Then I noticed something and let go of the black blade. As soon as I released it, the blade turned into Deathbane Aura and vanished.
A shield and a longsword flashed through my mind.
With a ripping sound, a longsword appeared in my right hand and sliced through the vines, freeing my body. I raised my left hand to block, conjuring a Deathbane Shield that stopped John Chou's short sword. My right hand lifted the longsword, thrusting upward without mercy.
"Haa..."
I felt my longsword strike John Chou's body. With a swish, I cut him—a huge gash ran up his left side from bottom to top.
Our eyes met. Instantly, I dropped the longsword and shield, and swung my fist at John Chou's face.
Punch after punch, I hammered at John Chou. Suddenly, he grabbed my hands, and the wound I'd just inflicted on him slowly healed.
"You're starting to get it, brother. But you're still too naive..."
As he spoke, I saw streams of Deathbane Aura burst from his body, suddenly transforming into dozens of fists. All I could see were fist shadows, raining down on me like a downpour.
John Chou held my hands tight—I couldn't move at all.
With a loud bang, I threw my head back as blood spattered and a tooth flew from my mouth.
John Chou let go of me, and I collapsed straight to the ground.
My mind buzzed as memories flashed by—one after another. I knew, I understood, trouble was coming, but I kept watching coldly, kept running away.
"Enough. It's all enough. Enough..."
I stopped myself from falling, clenched my fist, stepped forward to steady myself, and swung a punch at John Chou.
Black Deathbane Aura exploded from my body, surging wildly. John Chou stood still, smiling as he watched me.
The rain stopped.
Deathbane Aura shrouded my hand like mist. I stared at my punch, which had passed right through John Chou's body. I pulled my hand back as John Chou staggered backward, pain etched on his face.
"Easy there, brother. That punch wasn't bad—I'd say you passed."
For the first time, I saw John Chou smile—a genuine smile. Then I collapsed from exhaustion.
John Chou came over and reached out his hand. I grabbed it.