Chapter 045: Accepting Reality Requires Courage

There are people in this world who deserve to die, but certainly not Tong Ruan and her family.

I looked at the man in the black hat, his eyes burning with hatred, but I paid him no heed. Just then, the sound of police sirens echoed from outside.

In no time, ten police officers burst into the factory. I raised my hands cooperatively, identifying myself as the person who had called the police.

I handed over the video I had just recorded to the officers.

“Officer, it’s him! He tried to kill my sister! He even admitted he killed my sister’s father!”

Animatedly, I recounted everything to the police. As for why the culprit was bound on the ground, his body bruised by an anti-mugger baton and four of his fingers broken, I explained that I had practiced martial arts since childhood; more than a decade’s training meant no ordinary adult could beat me.

Fearing they wouldn't believe me, I even demonstrated a set of martial arts moves to prove my skills. Halfway through, one of the officers interrupted, asking me to come along and give a statement. Tong Ruan, still unconscious, was taken to the hospital by the arriving ambulance.

At that moment, an older officer suddenly recognized the man in the black hat. “Hey, isn’t that Zhang Sheng?”

Zhang Sheng, the man in the black hat, had been infamous at the police station for over twenty years. From the officers’ conversation, I gleaned the story.

Years ago, Zhang Sheng had a happy family. He was married, had built a new house, and when they moved in, his wife gave birth to a healthy son.

No one expected the new house to collapse suddenly. At that moment, his wife was cooking with gas. The sudden collapse triggered a gas explosion, killing his wife instantly.

At the time, Zhang Sheng was in the bedroom. Everything happened too fast; he had no time to react and was trapped beneath a beam, unable to move.

The fire spread rapidly, and as he suffered agonizing burns, he watched helplessly as his infant son was consumed by the flames.

That day, the fire devoured not only his loved ones, but his future, his hopes, and his very soul.

From that day on, revenge became his sole reason for living.

He blamed the explosion and fire, caused by the sudden collapse of the house, entirely on Tong Ye, the owner of the brick factory.

“Ah, back then, we suspected that Zhang Sheng was behind Tong Ye’s death. Who would have thought the truth would come to light after twenty-three years?” the old officer mused, cigarette in hand.

I took the opportunity to ask, “Officer, was Zhang Sheng’s wife and child’s death really because of bricks from Tong Ye’s factory?”

Without hesitation, the old officer shook his head firmly. “Of course not. The sudden house collapse and subsequent gas explosion, killing two people—we investigated that case for a long time!”

He sighed. “We told Zhang Sheng the results long ago, but he never wanted to believe it.”

“Enough! Stop it! Liars! You’re all liars! You just want to protect Tong Ye! Ha!” Zhang Sheng laughed maniacally. “It’s useless! I’ve already killed Tong Ye! As long as I kill his daughter, I’ll finally have avenged my wife and child!”

Now thoroughly deranged, Zhang Sheng alternated between laughter and tears, his face wet with grief. “I hate! I hate so much! Why didn’t I listen to her, why didn’t I heed her advice to transfer the backlash and the price? Then I could have had my revenge!”

I merely glanced at Zhang Sheng. This time, another officer asked the old officer what had really happened.

The old man gave a wry smile. “People shouldn’t be greedy for small gains. The bricks were fine—Zhang Sheng tried to save money by using substandard cement and failed to lay a proper foundation. That’s what caused the accident.”

In other words, Zhang Sheng’s supposed enemy was never Tong Ye, but himself.

He simply couldn’t accept this fact, so he shifted all the blame onto someone else.

Tong Ye was merely his scapegoat, his psychological crutch for surviving in this world.

I think Brother Kun from that movie was right: if you make a mistake, admit it; if you get beaten, stand at attention.

People like Zhang Sheng not only ruin themselves and their families, but bring disaster to others.

Watching Zhang Sheng as he was led away, I sighed inwardly. He was at odds with himself—he had the courage to kill, but not the resolve to admit his own mistakes.

But nothing I could say would change anything now. The ending was set: Zhang Sheng would pay the price for his crimes.

The major murder case at the brick factory, unsolved for twenty-three years, was finally closed. The killer, Zhang Sheng, was apprehended, and under police questioning, confessed to all his crimes.

However, the details were so extraordinary that the police withheld the specifics from the public.

A day later, Tong Ruan, her neck wrapped in bandages and dressed in black, stood before Tong Ye’s grave in the cemetery, holding his urn.

Beside her stood Grandma Liu Aihong, with my grandfather and me standing behind them.

The gravediggers worked busily at the graveside. When they were nearly finished, my grandfather cleared his throat and intoned:

“May the ancestors return to their resting place and the living find peace. On the bridge of fate, may you remember your three lives. Veiled in blue, your loved ones still weep. May you cross the River of Forgetfulness and return in another life. Bury him!”

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Chapter 45: It Takes Courage to Accept Reality.