Over the years, compared to Su Qingzhang who fought hard in the outside world, Chang i had been the driver steering the vehicle that was the Su Mansion. She ticulously guided Su Ziceng who developed a haughty and capricious disposition that did not endear him to others, and also trained Chang Chi to be restrained and tolerant.
Worried that the previous skid might displease Chang i, the driver sneaked a peek in the rearview mirror and saw Chang i placing her hands on her knees, spread out flat as if inspecting them. The incident on the road seed to have hardly affected her.
Years of clerical work had left so indentations on Chang i’s fingers, but beyond that, her hands were smooth and even more attractive than in her younger days. Chang i had a plain face, but her hands were the most pleasing to outsiders. Su Qingzhang always squinted and allowed those hands to knead lightly or firmly over his body.
Yet Chang i didn’t like these hands; she rembered that it was these hands that had placed a slippery cobblestone by Qiao Chu’s bedside. It was these hands that let go of Qiao Chu’s coffin, letting it be buried in the ground.
"Madam, do you want to go to the Su Family or back ho," the driver asked.
The Su Family’s servants had gotten used to treating Chang i as the mistress of the house, just as everyone knew that after the birth of the young master, Chang i’s status would be shaken.
"Drive the car to the entrance of Sixth District, I want to take a look," Chang i said this and then closed her eyes, leaning back in the seat. It had been so ti since she had last visited the Sixth District.
The Bentley stopped at the intersection, Chang i instructed the driver to pick her up after dropping off Yan Wuxu, then she walked into the Sixth District.
It had been a while since her last visit to the Sixth District. Chang i was even more familiar with everything here than with the Su Mansion. More than twenty years had passed, Mo City had undergone remarkable changes, yet only the Sixth District remained like a developntally delayed deaf child, staggering behind the gradually rising high-rise districts.
In the afternoon, every household was still basking in the post-al bliss, and the surroundings were silent, with lullabies lulling children to nap echoing in the ears.
Walking all the way to Dwarf Street, Chang i stopped in front of a rundown house, where several smashed liquor bottles and vomit, attracting swarms of flies, lay at the door.
The door was pushed open, and Chang i entered the house she hadn’t returned to in decades.
Her "once man" was slumped next to the wooden table, still clenching an upside-down liquor bottle, with the alcohol dripping down. The man, hearing the noise, opened his bleary eyes, thinking it was Chang Chi, but saw Chang i instead.
"Wife, you’re here," the drunkard swayed to his feet, leaning towards Chang i without even realizing the liquor bottle had dropped to the floor.
"Get out of my way," Chang i stepped back, her eyes void of any emotional fluctuation, as if what stood before her was not a living person but a pile of vile trash.
"You dare speak to like that," the drunkard’s neck turned a harsh red, and with the last bit of his strength in his emaciated hands, he aid to slap Chang i’s face.
A liquor bottle rolled under the drunkard’s feet; he lost his balance, stumbled forward, tripped, and tumbled to the ground with the bottle. The bottle shattered, and shards of glass pierced his hands, leaving them bloodied.
The drunkard winced in pain, but the sharp glass brought so clarity to his mind, "Wife, what are you doing? Have you forgotten who took you in back then?" The drunkard didn’t dare to advance anymore and sat obediently in place.
"I thought what I owed had already been repaid," Chang i knew that over the years, Chang Chi had been secretly sending money to him behind her back, starting from hundreds and later growing to entire thousands.
"Repay? Repay my ass," the drunkard, looking at the broken glass in his hand, felt both pain and urgency, "You and your daughter owe a debt that will never be repaid in this lifeti. After marrying you, my spine has nearly been broken by others, you abnormal madwoman."
With a "smack," a liquor bottle exploded ten centiters away from the drunkard’s face, the sheer force grazing his skin and drawing blood.
"If you dare utter another filthy word, I guarantee you’ll never get a penny from Xiao Chi," Chang i found even a glance at him too polluting for her eyes, and it was her own abnormality that made her want to see this drunkard.
"You dare, Xiao Chi is my daughter," the drunkard threatened verbally, but his bravado was already faltering.
"Daughter? You think you’re fit to have a daughter?" Chang i spat out contemptuously and slamd the door shut behind her as she left.
The drunkard’s hand was still bleeding. As he tried to stand, he realized his leg was also stuck with several pieces of broken glass. He reached for the bottle of liquor, took a swig, spat it on his wound, and then started pulling out the glass pieces, cursing as he did, "You tramp, you think I care about your daughter – what I want is the money."
Chang i walked past Dwarf Street and headed further in until she reached Yuhua’s God Stick’s residence and knocked for a long while with no response. A neighbor from next door heard the noise and poked their head out: "Looking for Old Wang? He doesn’t live here anymore."
Upon hearing this, Chang i could only turn back, as she originally intended to ask Taoist Wang for guidance on what to do next, but unfortunately, he was no longer there.
Yuhua’s God Stick’s house was nearly emptied of basic living essentials. In a corner of where the bed used to be, a piece of paper was left behind, bearing a human figure, almost identical to the Star Chart that Su Ziceng had received, except this one was tagged with three barely legible characters: "Life-Swapping Map." (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian) to cast your monthly and recomndation tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
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