"Among these people, who do you think it is?" the Blood-Eyed Ghost asked directly.
Qin Nuo smiled, "Without the necessary clues, anyone could be possible, but if I had to say who I suspect the most right now, there is indeed one person."
"There will be progress tonight; that guy knows time is running out."
"It seems to be preparing something, and both of us are just waiting for the right moment."
Qin Nuo put away the two items. "Before that, there's still that scumbag father to deal with."
"That guy is cunning. Without my help, your small frame won't be able to handle him," the Blood-Eyed Ghost said.
"But no matter what, the neighbor's debt must be repaid, and only he can do it."
Qin Nuo looked at the disposable cup on the table and said softly, "There will be a way."
...
Night quickly fell.The mysterious and unknown night once again engulfed Younan Town.
On the dim roadside, a figure staggered along.
Draining the last drop from the bottle, he smashed it against the corner of the wall. Qin Bei's face was filled with sinister intent as he raised his right hand, his wrist covered in a dense network of stitches.
"That damn brat, he's really turned the world upside down, daring to lay hands on his own father!"
"If it weren't for that ghost girl suddenly showing up, I'd have chopped him up!"
The more he thought about it, the stronger the malice in his eyes grew. The whites of his eyes slowly faded away as he lit a cigarette, drew out a machete, examined it, and then tucked it back into his waistband.
Then, he headed towards home.
"He needs to understand clearly that as long as I'm around, I'll always be the head of this family!"
The fierce night wind swept through the alley, surging out of the alleyway.
Qin Bei emerged from the darkness, first glancing at the neighbor's house, noticing all the lights were off, which gave him some relief.
Then he looked at his own house, where the lights on the second floor were still on.
"That brat isn't asleep yet?"
Taking the last drag of his cigarette, he flicked it to the ground and stomped it out, heading in that direction.
He tried to unlock the door with his key, but it wouldn't turn. He cursed under his breath, "That brat changed the locks!"
Circling to the backyard, he found a window left open and easily climbed inside.
Once inside, still uneasy, he picked up a kitchen knife and silently headed towards the living room.
In the living room, a figure sat motionless on the sofa, as if asleep.
On a nearby cabinet, a music box played a soothing melody, making one involuntarily relax.
Qin Bei, holding the kitchen knife, almost merged with the darkness, his sinister eyes radiating malice.
"Since you're here, why not sit down?"
"We're father and son, not enemies. Why harbor such deep resentment? Put down the knife, and let's have a good talk, shall we?"
"Many father-son relationships suffer from a lack of communication, don't they?"
Qin Nuo spoke as he turned to look at Qin Bei, who was brimming with hostility and holding a kitchen knife. Without a trace of fear, he smiled slightly, "Isn't that right?"
Qin Bei squinted his eyes, sneering coldly, "You sly fox, what tricks have you prepared to entertain your dear father?"
"Why imagine so much and think so poorly of me?"
Qin Nuo peeled an apple and placed it in the fruit bowl, which was filled with neatly cut fruits, exquisite pastries, and fine wine.
Ignoring the fruits and pastries, Qin Bei's gaze fixated on the wine, unable to look away, his throat involuntarily swallowing.
Pushing the fruit bowl to the center of the table, Qin Nuo turned to Qin Bei, "I've saved a seat for you. Don't you want to try?"
Qin Bei let out a cold laugh, pointing to his right wrist, "Do you think I'm easy to fool? This hand is your masterpiece."
Qin Nuo flicked his right hand, and the fruit knife instantly embedded itself in the opposite wall. He spread his hands, "How about now?"
"You, the head of the family, reduced to such a sorry state."
"Are you my father or my Sun Tzu?"
The taunts made Qin Bei's face twitch, the scar on his face writhing like a living thing.
He licked his crimson tongue and sat down in front of Qin Nuo, staring at the wine.
Qin Nuo poured a glass, took a small sip, and said, "If you're afraid it's poisoned, just watch."
Qin Bei, who was addicted to alcohol, surprisingly held back and asked, "Who taught you to drink?"
"With parents who are both heavy drinkers, isn't it good that I inherited this fine tradition?" Qin Nuo replied with a smile.
"I'm sitting here now, so what next?" Qin Bei's eyes were full of disdain, but he didn't let go of the knife in his hand.
"It's rare for the whole family to be together, so we might as well have a family meeting."
Qin Nuo used a toothpick to pick up a piece of fruit and put it in his mouth.
Just as Qin Bei's face showed suspicion, someone sat down in the seat next to him.
It was Qin Feng's mother.
She grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and took a swig.
"You old hag, you're not dead yet?" Qin Bei looked at Ling Xia and sneered coldly.
"I thought you had died on another man's bed."
"A scumbag who sells his wife and children, how much better are you?" Ling Xia retorted, looking at Qin Bei.
Qin Bei laughed indifferently, pulled out another cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
"My mom and I have been discussing something recently, but after thinking it over, we still want to hear the opinion of the head of the family."
Qin Bei dug into his ear, "Let's hear it."
Qin Nuo leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with Qin Bei, "My mom and I have been discussing how to get rid of the head of the family. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Qin Bei exhaled a puff of smoke and asked with a cold smile, "Just the two of you?"
"A woman I've trampled on for years."
"A brat who thinks he's grown wings?"
Qin Nuo said, "So, we've decided to try a different approach."
"As a father, you've never taught me any life lessons, but I remember one thing: everything in the world has a cause, debts must be repaid, and when the music ends, people part ways."
"This was taught to me by my teacher."
Qin Nuo looked up at Qin Bei, his gaze calm, as if he had already accepted the situation.
Qin Bei sensed something was wrong and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"
Qin Nuo picked up the fruit bowl, examining it as he spoke, "This fruit bowl is made of special ceramic material, the fruits are imported, the pastries are crafted by a chef, and that bottle of wine is quite expensive."
"Do you think a family like ours can afford these?"
"When you were fiddling with the key at the door, thinking I changed the lock, did you ever consider that it wasn't our door at all?"
When he said this, even if Qin Bei was foolish, he could see the problem. He swung the kitchen knife in his hand towards Qin Nuo's neck.
In a flash, a hand reached out, grabbing the knife, but the terrifying force still cut into the palm, blood dripping onto the fruit in the bowl.
Ling Xia looked at Qin Bei, her face expressionless, "You truly deserve to die."
Qin Bei's face twisted, a hoarse voice emerging from his throat, "I'll kill you both right now!"
Whoosh!!
As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept through his massive body.
At the same time, the surroundings transformed visibly.
The worn-out furniture faded like a painting, replaced by brand-new, expensive furnishings.
The cracked, moss-covered walls turned into tiled surfaces.
The large living room took on a new appearance, completely transformed.
When the surroundings were fully replaced, the music box on the cabinet also stopped playing.
From beginning to end, Qin Bei had entered the neighbor's house, just as before, climbing in through the backyard window.
Qin Bei's heart raced, and he quickly rushed towards the window.
But all the doors and windows shut tightly in an instant.
Qin Bei's eyes turned blood-red as he looked at his wife and son, "You two damned things, teaming up to fool me?"
"Qin."
The middle-aged woman appeared at some point, brewing a cup of coffee, stirring it gently with a spoon, and spoke softly, "Tonight, it's time for you to repay your debt."
"Since that day, my daughter has been thinking about you constantly, but you've always avoided us. Now that you've come to us, don't think about leaving."
The middle-aged woman looked up at Qin Bei, black threads spreading from the corners of her eyes, her eyes covered in darkness.
Terrifying ghost aura, mixed with resentment, emanated from her decaying body.
Qin Bei's eyes twitched wildly as he turned and desperately rushed towards a window, only to be repelled by an even more terrifying ghost power.
A layer of ghost aura enveloped the entire house, transforming into countless black threads that wrapped around Qin Bei.
Qin Bei had no room for resistance, his right hand shredded into pieces, scattered on the ground.
Bang! In a distant corner, a door suddenly opened, and a chilling wind surged from the room.
In the darkness of the room, a pair of eyes stared at Qin Bei, the intense resentment making the air in the room unbearably oppressive.
"My daughter is inviting you in."
"She has a lot to say to you."
The middle-aged woman spoke.
The ghost aura transformed into countless black threads, piercing Qin Bei's body, rendering his nerves uncontrollable as he walked step by step towards the door.
Qin Bei's eyes shrank to pinpoints, his mouth twitching.
"Wait, if you want repayment, I can offer something else, anything!"
"This is exactly what my daughter wants most," the middle-aged woman said leisurely, taking a sip of her perfectly brewed coffee, seemingly unsatisfied, adding two more sugar cubes.
Qin Bei struggled desperately, but the more he resisted, the more his body was torn apart, his skin sliced by blade-like threads.
Even more terrifying, his body's nerves were paralyzed, but his mind remained painfully clear.
Qin Bei's scalp tingled as he looked at Qin Nuo, letting out a hysterical scream, "Damn brat, I should have strangled you at birth! And you, you wretched woman, I should have chopped you up and flushed you down the toilet!"
Facing Qin Bei's screams, Ling Xia remained calm, taking a sip of wine and lighting a cigarette, her expression unruffled, even enjoying the nicotine spreading in her throat.
Qin Nuo was the same, saying to Qin Bei, "Goodbye, don't come back as a human in your next life; you won't get it right!"
No matter how Qin Bei screamed, how he raged and cursed, he couldn't provoke any emotional response from Qin Nuo or Ling Xia.
Turning back, the encroaching darkness resembled the gates of hell, the eyes in the room like the gaze of death.
When Qin Bei's body was swallowed by the darkness, the sound abruptly ceased, and the door slammed shut.
In the vast living room, the terrifying ghost aura rapidly dissipated, the doors and windows opened on their own, and moonlight streamed back in.
The middle-aged woman blew gently, finishing her cup of five-sugar coffee, and looked at Qin Nuo, "You two guests may leave now."
Ling Xia stood up, holding the bottle of wine, "Son, let's go home."
She took a few steps, then stopped, shaking the bottle in her hand, looking at the middle-aged woman, "Do you have more of this wine? It's quite good."
"My husband, though worthless, should be worth a few bottles of wine, right?"