Chapter 3

Midnight.

Shi Mu’s parents who were already asleep were woken up by a sudden knocking on their door.

It was old lady Shi who came in with a rather gloomy expression.

Seeing his mother’s expression, father Shi immediately lost all his sleepiness: “Mom, why aren’t you asleep?”

“With a troublemaker in this house, I can not sleep.” she said while stepping into the room.

Father Shi naturally knew who this ‘troublemaker’ referred to, and his expression became difficult to look at.

“Mother……”

“I came here in the middle of the night to discuss something with you two.” the old lady interrupted him and continued “we can not keep raising this child.”

Father Shi scratched his head and embarrassedly said: “Mother, Shi Mu is still young. Who will raise her if we don’t……”

The old lady said: “Before his death, didn’t her grandfather give all his inheritance to her? It will be sufficient for her to live.”

Father Shi: “How much money could her grandfather have made from fortune-telling? There is only a small, run-down house. No one would even want it for free. I know you have your opinions against Shi Mu, but if you are going to make her be independent, at least wait until she becomes an adult……”

The old lady snorted coldly: “Wait until she is an adult? When she becomes an adult, she will send this family into the ground out of shame. Besides, her household registration permit is located where her grandfather lived and he raised her for most of her life. And here you are raising this white-eyed wolf1 who might not even be grateful towards you.”

Father Shi was rendered speechless by her words.

“I agree mother.” The quiet mother Shi suddenly spoke up, “Before my father died, he sent me a letter. It said that the Gu poison in Shi Mu’s body would reappear when she is an adult. He originally said he would solve this problem before she reached adulthood but who expected this…”

Sighing, she continued: “My aunt was killed by her own Gu poison so I have witnessed how evil the thing is. I can not let her harm my Li Zi and Rong Rong.”

Mother Shi was born in the land of Miao Jiang and was deeply afraid of her hometown and that daughter she gave birth to.

She still remembers that night of the birth, blood red moon, withered flowers, and the child’s cries were accompanied by the sound of thunder. It was as if the birth of the devil.

Father Shi fell silent, contemplating, and finally raised his head.

The next morning, Shi Mu was called into the living room. It was a Saturday, Shi Li and Shi Rong had gone out to play and her parents did not go to work. Instead, they sat side by side on the sofa with solemn expressions.

Seeing Shi Mu’s new hair cut and near-identical face to Shi Li, old lady Shi was taken aback, then sneered ” Even if you shaved your head like a boy, you will not become your older brother.”

Thinking of her older brother’s pale and unhealthy face, Shi Mu curled her lips and retorted: “It’s not like I want to look like that sick man anyways.”

This infuriated the old lady.

“And who caused all of that? You are a plaque, monster! You will be burned by the heavens!!”

Shi Mu remained expressionless as if she heard nothing. She calmly sat down and even grabbed an apple along the way.

Her nonchalant attitude instantly sent the old lady’s anger to the max.

Old lady Shi never liked her daughter-in-law in the first place. She felt that the Li family people were evil. When mother Shi later gave birth to a son, old lady Shi’s dislike for her faded a little. Yet this devil was born alongside Shi Li.

“Mother, that’s enough.” the quiet father Shi finally spoke up.

The old lady glared at Shi Mu and sat down with her arms crossed.

He looked towards Shi Mu, and calmly said: “You were brought here because we have something we want to tell you.”

“Yesterday, Ms. Fu’s words were very clear, with such behavior, you can not remain at First High School anymore. Besides….you’re not that good with your studies anyway.”

First High School2 is one of the top high schools. Both the other two siblings got in based on their ability. Only Shi Mu was admitted after father Shi bribed the school. Despite not having much expectations, father Shi hoped that she would at least get a diploma. Who knew that Shi Mu would either be getting into fights or hanging out at bars with street ruffians.

The school had called him countless times after that scandal with the hotel. She can not continue to study at First High School.

“There is a vocational college in the neighboring city, would you……”

Shi Mu who was busy playing with the apple laughed.

“No thanks.”

“What?”

“I said no thanks.” Shi Mu put the apple down and straightened her back, “Give me a hundred thousand fifty-thousand yuan and I will leave immediately.

O-One hundred and fifty-thousand?

The family was stunned.

The old lady was first to come back to her senses:”Are you a bandit? You open your mouth and straight up ask for a hundred and fifty thousand!”

Shi Mu crossed her legs, expression smiley: “Exactly because I am not a bandit, I have only asked for this small amount.”

“You……”

Shi Mu did not give them a chance to speak: “For the last ten plus years, you have never cared about me, fulfilled your responsibilities as my parents, nor sent grandfather a single penny. There is still a year left before I become a real adult, add that to all you own me for the past, one hundred and fifty thousand is not that much is it?”

She laughingly mocked: “To you guys, one hundred and fifty-thousand is alright to buy a piano for Shi Li, yet you won’t even give it to me.”

Hearing these words, father Shi bowed his head in shame.

“Fine, I’ll give it to you. Before next week. I will prepare the money and your school withdrawal documents. You can stay at home for the rest of the few days.”

“I’ll rather not ruin your moods. Give me ten thousand first, I will go live in a hotel. When you’re done preparing, just call me and I will come over to take it.” While speaking, Shi Mu opened her palm at her father.

He frowned and ignoring his wife’s expression, took out a credit card from his wallet and handed it to Shi Mu, “There is exactly ten thousand in here. The password is your and Shi Li’s birthday. Use it for now.”

Shi Mu took the credit card and left nonchalantly.

Staring at that arrogant figure, mother Shi gritted her teeth and pinched him: “Why did you give her that money? Can’t you see that little scoundrel just wants to suck your money dry?”

Father Shi was a little irritated: “Who calls their daughter a scoundrel. watch your mouth.”

“I should watch my mouth?” mother Shi suddenly spilled tears out of her eyes, “Am I not speaking the truth? Ever since she arrived, I have been frightened every moment, afraid that she might do something. If you can’t let go of this daughter, you can leave with her.”

Father Shi had been very irritated by all the commotion and left with a frown, not wanting to speak to his wife any more.

Shi Mu did not have a lot of things. She picked out some clothes and then laid on the ground to pull out a box under the bed.

The box was very dusty for it has not been opened for a long time. She wiped away the dust and carefully unlocked it. Inside it was her grandfather’s relics, books, and a bunch of talismans and incense sticks.

A few of the books were about divination, the one at the very bottom was her grandfather’s work < <talisman>> and < <exorcism>>. The rest were little objects used to draw talismans and exorcist spells. Shi Mu took them all with her.</exorcism></talisman>

Carrying the little luggage, Shi Mu left this so-called ‘home’ without hesitation.

Having already reserved the hotel, she only needed to check-in.

Perhaps it was because she stayed in that small attic for so long, seeing the large comfy hotel bed and clean bathroom, she felt an intense satisfaction in her heart.

She excitedly took a shower, rolled around on the bed, and only settled down until she had messed around enough.

“Hey, can you give some information on that Fu YunShen?”

System: [Do you want to use the system search function?]

“Yes.”

System: [One search costs 100 Bro Points.]

Shi Mu who was currently resting widened her eyes: “Are you kidding me?”

System: [I am a professional, I never joke.]

Shi Mu gritted her teeth: “I haven’t even touched Fu YunShen’s hand, where the hell am I gonna get you Bro Points?”

System: [You can take a loan, with 10% interest.]

“……”

She finally couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up: “Are you a bandit? You better be careful, if you make me unhappy, I’ll suicide.”

After a long silence, the sound of the system fluttered around her ear.

“[Ah.]”

“……”

[Just answer if you want a loan or not.]

Shi Mu grit her teeth: “Loan!”

Quickly, the system had retrieved all relevant information regarding Fu YunShen and presented it on the screen in front of Shi Mu.

Originally in the manhua, it was only specified that Fu YunShen murdered someone at age 10. But later, due to his younger brother’s death, he became a bloodthirsty demon.

On the information that the system showed her right now:

Fu YunShen and Fu YunRui are fraternal twins. Born with a surly personality, Fu YunShen was not liked by Fu Qian. On the contrary, his younger brother was smart and gentle, a suitable successor to the family enterprise.

When he was five, his parents divorced. Fu YunShen went with his father, who quickly remarried. His stepmother was a cruel woman, on the outside she pretended to care for him, but behind the mask, she beat and threatened him. His father soon passed away due to illness and left all his will in Fu YunShen’s name which made his step-mother extremely unhappy causing her to torture the boy every more. Finally, she took the advice of her lover and decided to kill Fu YunShen.

Thus during one midnight, his step-mother broke into his bedroom with a knife and slashed his shoulder. Fu YunShen who awoke completely lost his mind and killed his stepmother.

News of a ten-year-old boy murdering his stepmother quickly spread throughout the city. As he was not yet 14, the police could not arrest him.

Yet this was just the beginning of hell.

Due to the media’s malicious fabrication, Fu YunShen was attacked wherever he went. His neighbors avoided him and his classmates discriminated against him. His presence became that of a plaque God, no family, no friends, just a lonely wandering spirit.

His deceased stepmother became an evil spirit and appeared every night, reenacting the scene before her death.

She wanted Fu YunShen to always remember that scene. Remember it until his death, until the day enters the Yellow Springs3.

From the initial horror to eventual numbness, Fu YunShen’s personality became more and more gloomy as he grew. Three years later, the 13-year-old Fu YunShen was found by his Uncle and transferred to Ling Cheng. He currently studied at Ying Nan Affiliated High School.

Scrolling down the system’s screen further was a censored photo of Fun YunShen, blurred from head to toe.

Shi Mu had an ugly expression: “Why did you blur the photo?”

System: [It will be unblurred when you have made contact with the mission target.]

Shi Mu: “If I already made contact with Fu YunShen, why would I still care for this photo?”

But it didn’t matter, if the system was not going to show her the photo, she would find it herself.

Typing the relevant words into the search bar, results quickly appeared. Seeing the headlines that came up, Shi Mu frowned.

[Evil Teen Kills Step-Mother.]

[Dissatisfied with father’s new wife, he picked up his knife.]

[Devil……]

[The wrong way to raise a child, he is not worthy to be called human.]

[……]

Each headline was as eye-catching as the other. To protect the teen, the press had only uploaded a blurred photo and there were rarely full-body shots. In none of them could his face be seen.

She then searched for information on Ying Nan Affiliated High School.

Ying Nan Affiliated High School was located on the outskirts of Ling Cheng. It was half-heartedly managed and built for the parents who had no intention of disciplining their child. The school was responsible for the students’ studies and living. It was a well-known school for wealthy people, filled with rich second-generations who had no interest in studying.

Shi Mu closed her eyes and thought, if she were to get close to Fu YunShen, she must attack from the inside!

But–

She could not approach Fu YunShen with her current identity.

Fu YunShen’s biological mother treated him with a cold shoulder, his second mother verbally and physically abused him. He had also seen his stepmother sleeping with her lover many times which had scarred him psychologically causing him to dislike contact with women. If Shi Mu were to approach him tactlessly and said I want to be your bro, she would die miserably. Moreover, Fu YunShen occasionally met with his younger brother, if she was recognized by Fu YunRui, she would also die miserably.

Even moreover, as the heartthrob female villain, if she went to that school filled with rich kids, who knows what will happen.

The only thing she could do is–fabricate a fake identity!

A fake male identity!

A man and another man being bros, there was no problem.

So–

“System, can you not transition me?”

System: “[Scram]”

Ugh, this world was too cruel. Looks like she can only rely on herself.