Chapter 69: Shelter
The next instant, a cold blade pressed against her throat. A dagger had appeared in your hand at some point, its sharp tip pressed tightly against the skin of her neck. Aunt froze, all her movements halted. She could clearly feel the chilling killing intent emanating from the dagger.
"You… you…" She looked at your emotionless golden eyes, her own filled with despair and regret. "I knew it… I shouldn't have adopted you back then! You little beast with inauspicious blood! I… I should have strangled you in your cradle back then! Drowned you directly in the river!"
"Shouldn't have?" You chuckled softly. "You certainly shouldn't have. Go and repent to your husband and son."
Before her words even finished, Aunt felt a stinging pain in her neck, and a chill rapidly spread. The dagger had already cut open a small part of her skin, and warm blood began to seep out.
The extreme fear of death instantly seized her. She panicked, completely panicked. "Wait… wait a minute!" She shrieked, her voice distorted by fear, "Please! Please, spare my life! Spare me!"
She began to beg incoherently, tears and snot smearing her face, not a trace of her usual harsh arrogance remaining. You watched her indifferently, your heart unmoved. "Now you know how to beg for mercy? Unfortunately, it's too late."
With that, you prepared to completely sever her throat. Just then, Aunt, as if grasping at a last straw, screamed hoarsely: "You! Don't you want to know where your birth parents are?! If I die… you'll never! Never know!"
Your hand, holding the dagger, paused slightly. "My parents? Aren't they already dead?"
"No!" Aunt, seeing you stop, raised her voice in urgency. "They're not dead! Now, only I know where your parents are! Only I!"
"They're all alive? Where are they?" You pressed.
"You… you let me go first, then I can tell you. Otherwise, if you kill me, you'll never know!"
You didn't speak, but merely moved your wrist. "Chh—" The dagger sliced a half-inch cut into her neck, and blood gushed out, staining the front of her clothes. The intense pain and the fear of impending death made her tremble all over.
"Ah, I'll tell! I'll tell!" She broke down, screaming. "In… your mother is alive! In Ohema, she's in Ohema!"
"Where in Ohema? What's her name?" You pressed.
Aunt gasped for air, blood continuously pouring from her neck. She felt her life rapidly slipping away. She looked at you, her eyes full of pleading: "You… you let me go… as long as you let me go… I'll… I'll definitely tell you the exact location and her name later… please…"
She still wanted to use this secret to buy herself a chance at survival. However, before she could finish her sentence, she felt a cold blade flash across her neck. The hope in her eyes instantly froze, turning into extreme astonishment and incomprehension. She looked at you in disbelief, a gurgling sound coming from her throat as blood spurted out like a fountain.
You watched her without any expression. "If you don't want to say, then don't. I have no interest in them."
Aunt's body fell heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then completely fell silent. In her wide-open eyes, there remained intense unwillingness, confusion, and a hint of regret. Even in death, Aunt couldn't understand why this child, whom she regarded as a bastard and who had lacked maternal love since childhood, would be so indifferent to his own birth mother. She thought this was her last bargaining chip, but she never expected it to be worthless to you.
You retracted the dagger, looking at Aunt's gradually cooling body on the ground, your heart without much ripple. So-called parents. Even if they were still alive, what then? Since you could remember, you had always been alone. Warmth and family affection, for you, were too luxurious fantasies. You had long grown accustomed to it.
Now, this family that had brought you humiliation and pain had finally met their deserved end. That was enough. As for those blood relatives you had never met, who were no different from strangers to you, whether they lived or died, or where they were, what did it matter to you?
You only felt that the long-stifled turbid air in your heart had finally completely dissipated. [Revenge for the extermination of the family, Villain Value +300!]
You ransacked your uncle's house for some valuable-looking objects and all the Liheng coins you could find—there weren't many, as he preferred to hoard treasures that were difficult to carry. You clutched these things tightly in your arms and, under the cover of the Evernight, left that cage.
Dolos City, shrouded in Evernight, had lost some of its former vitality as the "City of Schemes." Pedestrians were scarce on the streets, and the atmosphere was oppressive. You walked on the empty streets, feeling lost for the first time. How vast Amphoreus was, where was your place of refuge?
The shouts of killing against the Chrysos Heirs in the city grew louder day by day. The fear and anger brought by Aegler's assassination were all transferred to all Chrysos Heirs. You carefully wrapped the wound on your arm with cloth strips, avoiding exposing the golden scab, and walked with your head down, blending into the sparse crowd, trying to be inconspicuous.
You knew those treasures were small but valuable, but as a child, you had no way to fence them. Acting rashly would only invite greater trouble, or even expose yourself. After much deliberation, you carefully dug a pit in a part of Dolos City, wrapped the treasures in oilcloth, and buried them, keeping only some Liheng coins for yourself. The next day, your uncle's empty house was visited by other thieves in the city and was almost completely emptied.
You thought of Cipher, the gray-haired girl with cat ears. In this dark world, it seemed only she had ever shown you a glimmer of kindness. But she had said she was leaving for a few days and hadn't mentioned where she was going.
Two days, five days, ten days… You wandered aimlessly in Dolos City, waiting. The Liheng coins were quickly used up. You avoided crowds, eating and sleeping in the open. A month passed… she still hadn't returned. You secretly snuck back to your uncle's house, but found no signs of her having been there. You became a child wandering the streets. But in Dolos City, you weren't the only such child.
You squatted in a secluded street corner, watching the hurried passersby. The light in your golden eyes gradually faded. Just as you were about to lose consciousness from hunger, a hand holding a piece of bread suddenly appeared in your line of sight. You struggled to focus, looking up along the arm—beneath the hood, a pair of bright blue eyes, still shining in the Evernight, were staring at you.