Chapter 548: Chapter 548: The Wronged Soul in the Little Woods_1
The young boy’s answer left Qin Sisi stunned for a while, before she finally understood what the boy was trying to convey.
"You’re saying that these people demanded money from you, and when you didn’t give it, they beat you to death?" Qin Sisi felt as though she had touched upon the truth of the matter, yet it seemed somewhat unbelievable.
The boy silently nodded, and after a long time, he finally recounted the events.
Dong Yansen, fourteen years old, attended a local junior high school in the town. His mother ran a small shop near their home, and his father was a truck driver. Their family was relatively well-off.
But the previous year, Dong Yansen’s father died in a car accident. The family lost its pillar of support and their circumstances took a turn for the worse. That was when Dong Yansen’s nightmare began.
Perhaps seeing that Dong Yansen was now without a father, a group of school bullies began to ambush him on the way home from school, demanding money under the guise of "protection fees".
The loss of his father turned Dong Yansen into a timid and cowardly figure. He dared not tell his teacher or mother about this, opting to hand over his pocket money to those people in exchange for his safety.
However, once they got a taste of the money, their demands increased, starting from ten or twenty to fifty, and then a hundred.
The money was inevitably squandered on cigarettes, alcohol, and games.
In the days leading up to Dong Yansen’s death, they dared to demand a thousand dollars from him.
This was a sky-high price for an ordinary middle school student.
Dong Yansen’s financial situation had significantly worsened after his father’s death, and even if his mother loved him dearly, she couldn’t possibly give him that much money at once. Moreover, he had previously lied to his mother several times to get money for those people.
As a last resort, Dong Yansen finally began to resist, stating that he had no money and couldn’t satisfy the group’s demands.
The obedient lamb unexpected showed some resistance, baffling, but also aggravating the gang. The group of headstrong young boys seemed to turn into cruel, numb wolves on a whim, and their fists, sticks, and stones mercilessly rained down on Dong Yansen.
Perhaps they only intended to teach Dong Yansen a lesson, to uphold their "authority", however, the single, solitary boy ultimately couldn’t withstand the beating and his young life came to a halt on that blood-soaked evening.
Aware that what they were doing was against the law, the gang chose an isolated small grove, where no surveillance cameras were installed, to carry out their extortion.
That’s why their actions were not discovered immediately.
But they were still just a group of kids. Upon confirming Dong Yansen’s death, they couldn’t help but panic. Fighting and extorting might be minor matters, but causing a death was a major issue.
After due deliberation, they buried Dong Yansen’s body in the grove and promised each other never to divulge what happened, lest they all suffer the consequences.
Dong Yansen’s mysterious disappearance quickly spread through the town. No one knew where he had gone. Because Dong Yansen had lied about needing money a few days prior, his mother had given him a severe beating. Thus, when he disappeared, she more readily believed that he had run away from home.
Driven by this belief, the police investigation was influenced. Two months passed, and the fact that Dong Yansen had been murdered had yet to be discovered. The group of boys who had committed the crime began to feel somewhat lucky and even a little smug.
It appeared that murder without being discovered was a rather simple matter.
But none of them ever went back to that grove again, nor did any of them ever mention it. It was as if the place had become a forbidden zone for them.
Being beaten to death in this way, Dong Yansen’s soul was filled with resentment. He refused to follow the Messenger of Death to the underworld, determined to stay and seek revenge on his own.
But his ghost was trapped in the grove, and since they never returned there, he couldn’t carry out his revenge.
By chance, Xiao Jie, a playful elementary school student, skipped school one day and went to play in the grove. Slowly, the day turned into night.
Dong Yansen’s ghost sensed the presence of this life force weaker than him, and couldn’t help but think evil thoughts. Even if he couldn’t take revenge, he couldn’t die in vain. To pull someone down with him wouldn’t be so bad.
So he possessed Xiao Jie, and took the opportunity to escape from the grove. However, Xiao Jie’s life was thus endangered.
After listening to Dong Yansen’s account, Qin Sisi sighed, "It’s understandable that you want revenge, but by hurting Xiao Jie, aren’t you behaving just like them?"
Dong Yansen was taken aback for a moment, mumbling, "I... I didn’t think that much..."
Qin Sisi waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind, you’re a victim too. Fortunately, Xiao Jie is alright. Otherwise, you would have blood on your hands, turning into the very kind of people you hate the most."
Dong Ysnen was silent for a long time. He had to admit that Qin Sisi was right. If Xiao Jie had died, what made him different from those bullies who had killed him?
"I didn’t mean to hurt him. I just wanted to take my revenge." Dong Yansen quietly defended himself.
Qin Sisi said sternly, "Every debt has its debtor. You should go after those who wronged you, not harm the innocent."
"I’ll remember. So what should I do now? Can you really help me get revenge?" Dong Yansen looked at Qin Sisi with hope.
Qin Sisi paused before asking, "How do you want me to help you?"
She was willing to help him fulfill his wish, but this wish had to be within an acceptable range and not cross her personal line of principles.
"Help me kill them." Dong Yansen’s eyes gleamed with ferocity. His teeth were gritted, and his tone was full of delightful bloodlust.
Qin Sisi lightly shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Among the group who attacked you, there should be a ringleader, correct?"
In such groups, there tends to be a sort of "boss" who leads, who incites evil thoughts amongst the others.
Dong Yansen seemed to not quite understand Qin Sisi’s intent, but honestly replied, "There is, everyone calls him Brother Tai. He’s a third-year student at our school. He’s very good at fighting and nobody dares to provoke him."
Qin Sisi nodded and said, "Okay, I can help you, make Brother Tai pay for your death. However, you must not harm the others."
An eye for an eye, that seemed fair enough. Certainly, they couldn’t make several teenagers pay with their lives.
Clearly, Dong Yansen was not satisfied with Qin Sisi’s suggestion. He said resentfully, "They all laid hands on me. They’re all murderers who caused my death."
Qin Sisi explained, "Yes, but not every one of them deserves to atone with their lives."
Dong Yansen opened his mouth, unable to respond.
Qin Sisi quickly added, "Of course, it’s fine to teach them a lesson."
Dong Yansen’s eyes lit up. After a moment of hesitation, he finally agreed to Qin Sisi’s proposal.
