Chapter 12: Going Home.

The shop owner and his henchman were beaten black and blue, kneeling on the ground and desperately kowtowing for mercy. Just then, the man upstairs, clutching his injured eye and covered in cold sweat, ran downstairs. As soon as he came down, he saw Shi Yue and a group of strangers beating the shop owner. He was shocked. When the beggars saw another person coming, they pounced on him without saying a word and grabbed him. But when they saw his bloodshot eyes and his horribly disfigured face, they were horrified.

“Oh, this…” The lead beggar recoiled in fright, “This is too ruthless!”

“I did it,” Shi Yue said.

“Hey…” The beggar was taken aback, then quickly turned around and pointed at the guy, “Oh…you, you’re in cahoots with this shady shop, aren’t you? Good beating! Ah, you deserved it! You deserved to have both of your beads smashed! Humph.”

The beggars, still not satisfied, kicked each of them once, and then began to extort money from the shop owner. They threatened the shop owner to give Shi Yue a free stay, hand over her phone, and not to make any noise, or they would call the police. They also robbed the shop of all its cash, which they divided among themselves and Shi Yue. Then they locked the shop owner in a private room and threatened the other two henchmen not to call for help, or they would kill the shop owner first. Seeing that they only dared to nod and agree, they finally let them leave.

Having taken over the inn, the beggars cheered and wanted to have a big celebration, but Lao Jin was worried about Shi Yue being alone and also afraid that the innkeeper would run away and report them. So, the group decided to stay at the inn for a few days to keep an eye on the innkeeper until Shi Yue had finished her revenge. Besides, it was a free inn, and there were so many empty rooms anyway.

With money, Shi Yue and the beggars no longer had to deprive themselves of leftovers or scavenging. Instead, they ate out every day, and after a few proper meals, Shi Yue’s complexion improved considerably. Gradually, Shi Yue exchanged names with them and they became quite familiar with each other. For the next three days, Shi Yue spent his mornings and evenings waiting outside Mo Changhu Middle School to spy on the young master and his friends. The rest of the time, he stayed in his hotel room to rest and recuperate, occasionally chatting with the beggars. However, for three days in a row, Shi Yue couldn’t find an opportunity to catch them alone. Friday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Shi Yue couldn’t possibly stay there forever. His anxiety grew.

By Friday night, Shi Yue finally couldn’t resist the urge to follow them home. However, she saw that instead of going straight home as usual, they were with several unfamiliar classmates, walking in small groups towards the shopping street, eating, drinking, and chatting happily. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Shi Yue quietly followed them, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, pretending to be an ordinary passerby.

After turning several corners, Shi Yue watched them disappear into a nightclub, so she quickly followed them inside. As soon as she entered, a cacophony of noise assaulted her ears. A large group of people were gathered at the bar near the entrance, making a racket, and the lobby was even more outrageous—glare, smoke, and noise all mixed together. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people yet, so Shi Yue didn’t lose track of them.

The nightclub was huge. Besides the dance hall on the first floor, there were various private rooms and other entertainment facilities upstairs. Shi Yue saw the group of young men quickly enter a private room, presumably to sing. Afraid of arousing suspicion, Shi Yue hid in the restroom to observe. However, after a while, some passersby noticed her and questioned her about what she was doing squatting alone by the restroom door. Shi Yue had no choice but to make room. After thinking for a while, Shi Yue ran into a private room across the street. There, a couple was being intimate. Seeing Shi Yue frantically searching for her scattered clothes, they loudly demanded to know who she was.

Seeing that there were only two people in the private room, Shi Yue didn’t explain. She knocked them unconscious one by one by the back of the head. Through the door, she stared intently at the opposite private room, like a lioness lurking in the grass with her prey locked on. After waiting for almost an hour, Shi Yue saw the male and female students come out first, and they walked towards the stairwell together, all lovey-dovey.

Shi Yue guessed that since the two of them were a couple, they would definitely say goodbye to their friends and go on a date somewhere secluded, which was a perfect opportunity. Even if they just wanted to go home, she could find an opportunity to catch them alone on the street. As for the rich kid, she could coerce the two of them and then have them call him to trick him into coming out.

Looking back, Shi Yue couldn’t help but feel that her thoughts at the time were a bit naive. But when you’re involved, you’re blinded by your own perspective. At that moment, Shi Yue thought her plan was flawless, so she acted without hesitation. The male and female students strolled around the streets for a while, then hid in an alley to be intimate. Shi Yue followed them, and the strange metal handguards unconsciously covered her hands again. Shi Yue had intended to launch a sneak attack, but they noticed her as soon as she showed herself.

Driven by a thirst for revenge, Shi Yue acted swiftly. Killing the female student was easy, but the male student struggled too fiercely. Since Shi Yue had no weapon, she impulsively picked up a plastic bag and smothered him, just like in the movies. As a result, although the man died, Shi Yue herself was left terrified and in a sorry state.

“I can’t let this continue.” Shi Yue learned her lesson and thought to herself that she needed a weapon. Fortunately, she had robbed that shady shop a few days ago, so she bought a fruit knife. She repeatedly rehearsed in her mind that when she encountered that young master and his companion, she must not panic, but remain calm and finish them off with one stab each.

Returning to the private room at the nightclub, Shi Yue pushed open the door only to find it empty. She immediately wondered if the others had checked out and gone home. Flustered, she tried to find a waiter or someone to ask, but by some strange coincidence, she caught sight of the young man in the crowd in the lobby. She realized they had probably just gotten tired of singing and were looking for something different. She went downstairs and, using the crowd as cover, continued to keep an eye on them. A moment later, she saw the young man and his companions enter the men’s restroom arm in arm, and she immediately followed them.

At the toilet entrance, a boy was washing his face, while several others squatted in the stalls chatting and laughing, but didn’t come out for a long time, probably waiting for someone to relieve themselves. Shi Yue thought she couldn’t miss this opportunity, so she sneaked up behind the boy washing his face at the door, grabbed the back of his head with both hands, and shoved his entire face into the sink!

Suddenly, someone forced her head down into the sink. The man choked on a mouthful of water, his lungs burning with pain, and he struggled even more fiercely. Shi Yue was strong enough to hold him down, but his hands thrashed about, splashing water all over her. A few drops stung her eyes, and Shi Yue could only close her eyes and use all her strength to hold him down, raising her hand to beat him repeatedly on the back of the head. The music in the dance hall was deafening, and several people were laughing and joking in the toilet stall. Shi Yue’s clothes were half-soaked, and the man finally stopped moving.

Shi Yue glanced around nervously, thankfully no one had seen her. She quickly closed and locked the toilet door, the music outside seemingly shut out for a moment. Just then, the young master finished relieving himself and pushed open the door to go out. His friends, who had been chatting with him, also came out when they heard the door open, only to see Shi Yue’s masterpiece at first glance.

Facing so many people at once, Shi Yue was still a little scared, but then she remembered she had a knife, a strange gauntlet… she even had bullet time. So she was no longer afraid and went in to stab, but an unexpected thing happened: the knife got stuck in her bone and she couldn’t pull it out for a moment!

Shi Yue had mentally rehearsed countless times how to kill them one by one with a single stab, without missing a beat, but she had never considered this situation. In desperation, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and fight head-on. Fortunately, Lady Luck was on her side, and after a fierce battle, Shi Yue finally managed to kill them one by one and escape unscathed.

On her way home, she kept thinking about where her abilities came from, and what that thing she encountered in the lake was and how it had such effects. But she couldn’t figure it out, so she could only accept that she was different from ordinary people.

After many years, Shi Yue killed again, and unexpectedly discovered that killing a few people wasn’t as terrible as she had thought. Perhaps the suffering of these years wasn’t caused by the killing itself, but by her mistake of killing in the classroom; if she had just carried out a secret assassination, there wouldn’t have been any problems.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of her residential compound. Shi Yue paid and got out. She had only walked a few steps when she saw a missing person poster with her picture on a utility pole not far away. Upon seeing it, Shi Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickened her pace. The Mianshun District where Shi Yue lived was much older than the upscale neighborhoods of Mochanghu. Shi Yue rushed upstairs and hurriedly knocked on her door.

After knocking seven or eight times, the door finally opened with a bang. Shi Yue immediately saw that her father’s head and hands were bandaged, and he was leaning on a cane. Before her father could say anything, she couldn’t help but cry out.