chsdbacks Chapter 105 Old Grandma
Chapter 105 Old Grandma
The afternoon sun slanted through the broken windows of the Rose House, casting dappled light and shadow on the floor, while the air was filled with dust and a faint smell of blood.
Lin Bei's figure stood out prominently at the boundary between light and shadow, exuding a chilling sense of oppression. His casual remarks, "Your expression is off" and "You guessed right," were like cold pebbles thrown into stagnant water, stirring up a storm in the hearts of the remaining seven people.
Seven faces, seven pairs of eyes, all froze at that moment.
They felt their cheek muscles twitching uncontrollably, and an indescribable sour feeling shot from their teeth straight to their brains, as if they were biting into a mouthful of bitter herbs.
What does "the expression is wrong" mean? What does "you guessed right" mean?
These two seemingly casual words conceal the tragic reality that Dong Li's fate is currently unknown!
So this ruthless Lin Bei didn't even hear what Dong Li was muttering. He just relied on a vague "mutter" and then attacked, beating the man into this state!
A chill ran up my spine from the soles of my feet.
What... what kind of madman is this?
His actions are completely illogical and driven entirely by his whims, making him even more capricious and terrifying than the infamous, brutal demon imprisoned in the underground chamber!
The seven people's hearts felt as if they were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, sinking heavily, each beat accompanied by a profound weariness and a deep-seated fear.
Lin Bei before them was an unfathomable abyss; the demons in the underground chamber were a purgatory that devoured its prey. Both sides were beings they could not afford to offend. Caught in the middle, they felt utterly exhausted, their future shrouded in gloom.
However, the allure of "immortality" is like the only beacon shining in the darkness, exuding a fatal attraction.
It was like a scorching hot iron, burning away their reason and ultimately overwhelming their almost tangible fear of Lin Bei.
Reason told them that, given the ruthless methods Lin Bei had just displayed, a direct confrontation would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.
The only way out is to delay, to delay until the sun goes down.
Time ticked by in the heavy silence.
The shadows lengthened quietly, slowly shifting from one end of the window to the other.
The afternoon was passing quickly, and a faint twilight was beginning to appear on the horizon.
Soon, the sun will soon sink below the horizon.
When the last ray of sunlight is swallowed by the night, the evil spirit in the underground chamber can emerge without any fear.
The seven people's eyes met briefly in the air, and they all understood the flame of hope that had ignited in each other's eyes.
They firmly believed that the evil spirit underground was far beyond human power to withstand.
Even with Lin Bei's formidable strength, he would inevitably suffer a bitter defeat under the overwhelming ferocity of the evil spirits!
At that time, they will be able to easily extract information about Lady Rose's whereabouts from Lin Bei, complete that mission, and touch the threshold of their long-desired "immortality".
The thinking is clear and the direction is well-defined.
But who exactly will carry out this "delaying" task?
This real problem was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the newly ignited flame of hope.
The seven looked at each other again, their eyes darting around, each trying their best to shrink into the shadow of their companion.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the sound of suppressed breathing.
Who would want to confront Lin Bei, that capricious and ruthless fiend who can cripple people at any moment?
A single misstep, a wrong word, or a single glance could lead to Dong Li's tragic end, leaving him "unknown to his fate."
Only three days remain until the fruit of "immortality" ripens!
Three days!
At this crucial moment, no one was willing to risk their life or gamble on Lin Bei's unpredictable temper.
Silence, like a physical entity, weighed heavily on everyone's shoulders.
Time waits for no one; dusk is silently urging us on.
Finally, the seven heads involuntarily drew closer, and in the oppressive silence began to whisper rapidly and urgently. Their voices were extremely low, their pace was rapid, and they were occasionally punctuated by intense eye contact and silent shoving.
Finally, several gazes, filled with an undeniable sense of evasion and a hint of wishful thinking, all fell upon the old woman who had seemed rather harsh in the secret room earlier.
The reason seems "sufficient": No matter how inhuman Lin Bei is, he should still retain some basic humanity of "respecting the elderly and caring for the young", right?
Surely he wouldn't just attack a frail, wrinkled old woman like he did with Dong Li? The risk seemed to have been minimized.
The old woman who was chosen had a fleeting look of reluctance and resentment on her deeply lined face, but she quickly suppressed it.
Her cloudy old eyes swept over those faces that seemed to say "you're the only one for me," and she understood perfectly.
The minority must submit to the majority; at this critical moment of life and death, she had no choice but to obey.
Moreover, deep down, her desire for "eternal life" burned brighter than anyone else's!
She was old, with the earth reaching her neck, and the shadow of death haunted her day and night.
Becoming a ghost and gaining a long, almost eternal life was her only and greatest obsession for the rest of her life. This obsession was enough to suppress her fear of Lin Bei.
The old woman took a deep breath, the breath seemingly carrying the scent of rotten wood.
She hunched over, trying to straighten her back, which was almost bent at a ninety-degree angle. Her cloudy eyes rolled around in their deep sockets, as if she were brewing something.
She stretched out her withered, claw-like hand and tremblingly straightened her faded coarse cloth clothes, then raised her hand to gather a few sparse, graying strands of hair from her forehead.
The wrinkles on her face resembled crumpled tree bark, struggling to form an arc as her muscles moved.
She strained to use every controllable muscle in her face, trying to completely conceal her usual sharp tongue and calculating nature. She pulled the corners of her mouth upwards, deepening her nasolabial folds, and piling up the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.
Finally, a smile that could barely be described as "kind" took shape on her face, though it was stiff like a cheap mask.
She moved forward a few steps, her steps unsteady, with the slowness characteristic of the elderly.
Every step seemed to be taken with all one's might, deliberately creating the illusion of someone frail and harmless.
After standing still, she raised her deeply lined old face, trying to make her voice sound gentle and slow, carrying a weariness born of life's trials and the care of an elder:
"Young man..." Her voice was deliberately made hoarse and soft, with a slight tremor.
"Your name is Lin Bei, right?"
She nodded slightly, as if savoring the name.
"What a great name! It carries the boldness and strength of the North. It's extraordinary, truly extraordinary!"
She paused, her cloudy gaze sweeping over Lin Bei, a deeper "admiration" settling in.
"This young man is also... handsome and imposing! And his skills are... truly remarkable!"
She nodded vigorously, as if to reinforce her conviction.
"I've lived for almost eighty years, and I've seen my fair share of heroes and talented young men, but I've never seen anyone like you, young man... with such extraordinary abilities at such a young age! It's truly the first time I've ever seen anything like it!"
Her words were full of exaggerated praise, attempting to wrap Lin Bei in a sugar-coated bullet.
Then, she changed the subject, her voice filled with deep sorrow and longing: "Alas... seeing you, young man, this old woman can't help but think of my poor grandson..."
She raised her withered hand and vigorously wiped the corner of her eye, which had no tears, with her sleeve.
"If...if my poor grandson were still alive...he should...he should be as tall and as old as you..." Her voice choked with emotion, her performance full of genuine feeling.
"You two... will definitely become the best of friends! Really, this old woman is never wrong about people... you're both such energetic and capable young people..."
After laying the groundwork for this fake "grandmother-granddaughter relationship" and the forced closeness, the old lady finally revealed her true colors and got down to business.
Her tone became "sincere" and "understanding": "Besides, my grandson... he was also a hunter in his lifetime, although his skills were far inferior to yours, young man..."
She added cautiously, constantly observing Lin Bei's reaction, "I've lived a whole life, and I understand perfectly well that withholding a hunter's bounty is the most heinous and heartbreaking thing in the world!"
"Young man, it's perfectly understandable that you're angry! It's only natural!"
She nodded vigorously, indicating that she was on Lin Bei's side. "Although, the portion of the bounty that Rose House withheld from you has already been reimbursed by Jasmine."
"Dong Li also received... cough, a very severe punishment..."
She vaguely touched upon Dongli's tragic situation, then abruptly changed the subject, her tone becoming heavy and accusatory:
"But! Young man, you...you absolutely shouldn't have!"
She suddenly raised her voice slightly, with a tone of heartbroken reproach.
"You shouldn't have come here to challenge us! Look, look at this..." Her trembling finger pointed to the hall where there were still traces of chaos.
"How many of the hunters from Rose House... have you wounded? How many skilled ones are now lying on the ground, unable to even get up?"
Her voice grew increasingly mournful, and she began to steer the conversation toward the moral high ground of "righteousness."
"Young man, you should know better than anyone how terrifying those evil spirits, those monsters that can only crawl out in the darkness and suck human flesh, are! They can't be dealt with by ordinary swords!"
"Ordinary people are nothing but lambs to the slaughter in their presence!"
She beat her chest and stamped her feet, as if she were lamenting for all ordinary people.
"The Rose House! The Rose House is the only barrier that Saitama Prefecture has erected for its innocent people during this long, dark night! It is our last bastion against evil spirits and to protect our homes!"
Her voice carried a sacred sense of mission, "These hunters you wounded... they are the sharpest and most resilient knives and swords that Rose House uses to fight against evil spirits! They are our hope in the darkness!"
The old woman's performance reached its climax; her voice, trembling with sobs, was filled with a desperate accusation.
"But now... now all these swords and blades are... all broken because of your momentary anger!"
She spread her arms wide as if to embrace the entire broken world.
"Darkness is falling! The sun is about to set! The evil spirits are about to emerge! But... what can we use to defend ourselves? Who can protect the unarmed women, children, and the elderly in this pitch-black night? Who can protect our fellow villagers who have worked hard all day? Their lives... their homes... are about to be plunged into utter danger!"
When things get emotional, or rather, when it's a carefully planned moment.
The old woman suddenly lowered her head, her shoulders shaking violently. Her withered fingers rubbed her sunken eye sockets hard, and with decades of "skill" and the stinging sensation in her eye sockets, she managed to squeeze out two more turbid tears from her dried tear ducts.
Tears struggled to spill from the corners of her wrinkled eyes, trickling down her dry, rough, and deeply furrowed skin, which resembled the bark of a thousand-year-old tree.
The tear tracks struggled through the deep wrinkles, eventually succumbing to gravity. "Plop," "plop," two clear, somewhat abrupt dripping sounds, the teardrops fell onto the dusty floor, spreading into two small, dark dots.
At this moment, she tried her best to portray herself as a kind elder who cared deeply for the common people and was heartbroken by the impending catastrophe, a stark contrast to the sharp-tongued, resentful old woman in the secret room earlier.
Lin Bei stood there, tilting his head slightly, his face showing no sign of being moved, only a look of annoyance... and blankness.
His thick, dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and his deep eyes were filled with undisguised bewilderment and... a sense of absurdity, as if watching a fool perform.
What on earth is that old man doing?
She babbled on and on, saying all sorts of random things, praising, scolding, and crying all at once?
What exactly is this incoherent and illogical performance trying to express?
In the end, he even managed to squeeze out two tears.
Is this... staged as a tragic drama for him?
Lin Bei felt as if hundreds of flies were buzzing around his ears, making his head ache. A sense of irritation, like vines, began to creep up on his heart.
The old woman lowered her head, but out of the corner of her eye, she keenly caught Lin Bei's "dazed" expression.
A barely perceptible, cold laugh, a mixture of smugness and resentment, quietly spread through her heart.
Having lived for nearly eighty years, how many storms had she weathered, and how many different kinds of people had she met? The salt she had eaten was probably more than the rice that a greenhorn like Lin Bei, who hadn't even grown up yet, had eaten! The bridges she had crossed were definitely longer than the roads they had traveled! She had her own tried-and-true method for dealing with this kind of young brat who was all brawn and no brains!
The first step is to praise!
They used the most flowery language to praise him to the skies, making him dizzy and confused, so that he truly believed he was some extraordinary chosen one, a peerless genius.
The second step is to pull!
Using their status as elders, they cleverly weave a web of "closeness," using fabricated commonalities and the care of "elders" to shorten the distance between each other and lower each other's guard.
The third step is kidnapping!
Using the most noble names of "responsibility" and "righteousness," they firmly bind the other party.
A young person who is flattered and basking in the glow of "family affection" will often be swept away by the lofty slogan of "with great power comes great responsibility" and willingly jump into her carefully designed trap, following her script step by step.
She had long since mastered this combination of techniques, and countless self-important and arrogant young talents had fallen victim to this seemingly kind and harmless old woman.
Deep down, she felt a deep-seated loathing and jealousy towards these so-called "young and promising" young people.
Why? Why are they allowed to live such a bright and dazzling life, full of energy, as if they have an endless future?
And her grandson, on whom she had placed all her hopes and whom she considered equally "excellent and adorable," was to die young, and in such a wretched and despicable way!
Whenever she thought of her grandson's death, a twisted hatred grew wildly in her heart.
At this moment, the old woman's scheme went far beyond simply stalling for time. Her greedy gaze seemed to pierce through Lin Bei, revealing a much deeper picture.
Her decaying soul, on the verge of transforming into a ghost, yearns for greater power and a smoother path.
The four major families of Saitama Prefecture, who possess the power to hunt demons, have always been a major concern for her.
If we could use Lin Bei's incredibly sharp "blade" to deal with the four major families... and make them both suffer heavy losses, how wonderful that would be!
This is a brilliant plan that kills two birds with one stone!
On the one hand, it can greatly weaken or even eliminate the power of the four major families, making them lose the ability to threaten him and clearing obstacles for his future "ghost life".
On the other hand, it can also cause Lin Bei to deplete his strength in the struggle with the four major families, and even suffer serious injuries.
In this way, when the evil spirit makes a move, wouldn't it be easy to deal with a weakened Lin Bei, saving time and effort?
Thinking of this perfect ending, the old woman's withered heart couldn't help but beat faster with excitement, as if she could already see herself transforming into a vengeful ghost and controlling everything in the future.
However, just as the old woman was feeling smug, Lin Bei turned his head slightly and asked Mrs. Rose behind him in a low voice.
"Rose," Lin Bei's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, his tone revealing undisguised disgust.
"Who exactly is this chattering, endless old turtledove?"
He paused, as if even describing it was a struggle for him.
"She's so annoying... so incredibly annoying!"
He asked directly, as if seeking consent or stating a fact that was about to happen.
"Can I...hit her?"
Beneath the veil, Lady Rose's beautiful lips curved upwards in an irrepressible, subtle arc.
Seeing Lin Bei's expression, as if he was about to explode from the noise but was still trying to get her opinion, a long-lost, slightly helpless smile welled up in her heart.
She leaned forward slightly, her red lips parted slightly, and her clear, calm voice was also very low, yet loud enough for Lin Bei to hear clearly:
"Her..."
Lady Rose's gaze swept indifferently over the old woman who was still trying to maintain a compassionate posture, her eyes devoid of any warmth.
I usually call her "Grandma".
Her voice, like a clear mountain stream, revealed the old woman's past without a ripple.
"Thinking back, she was indeed one of the earliest people to follow me. Back when Rose House was first established, everything was in ruins and there was a shortage of manpower, and she was there."
Lady Rose's voice carried a hint of distant reminiscence, as well as an all-knowing calm: "At that time, her village was attacked by evil spirits, and almost... no one was spared."
"Only she and her grandson managed to escape, but they ended up on the streets, barely alive. I felt sorry for them, that they were helpless and alone, so I took them in and let her help with chores like cleaning and cooking in the house."
"Old Granny," Mrs. Rose paused, then commented in a flat tone, "is actually quite ordinary, with no special skills whatsoever."
"But she is quite serious about her work and quite diligent. She rarely makes mistakes when given miscellaneous tasks."
"Gradually, I saw that she was quite reliable, so I entrusted her with some of the more important... such as inventorying supplies, registering personnel, and initially assigning tasks. That's how she became one of the most senior managers in Rose House, besides me."
At this point, a hint of sarcasm crept into Lady Rose's voice: "As for her grandson... ha."
She chuckled softly, a laugh devoid of any warmth.
"Don't be fooled by her flowery praise just now. What 'I was a hunter in my past life' and what 'we can definitely become good friends'... it's all just her embellishing herself and weaving a beautiful dream for her good-for-nothing grandson."
"That kid... is essentially a complete and utter scumbag, utterly hopeless!"
Lady Rose's voice turned cold.
"Our Rose House is an organization whose mission is to hunt down evil spirits and protect the region."
"Every hunter who joins must face danger and shoulder responsibility. But what about her grandson? Every time he gets a ghost-hunting mission, he either makes excuses to avoid it, or he deliberately fails after accepting the mission, or he simply hides during the mission, becoming a complete deserter!"
"This behavior not only severely damaged the reputation of Rose House and made the people question our capabilities, but what's even more hateful is..."
Her voice was chilling. "His cowardice and betrayal have repeatedly dragged his teammates down with him! Several excellent hunters have been isolated and helpless because of his desertion in the face of battle and his betrayal of information, ultimately dying tragically under the clutches of this demon!"
"If it weren't for the old lady kneeling on the ground, pleading with tears streaming down her face, and out of consideration for her years of hard work, her grandson would have been kicked out of the Rose House long ago."
Lady Rose shook her head slightly, her tone tinged with regret.
"But ever since then, the old lady's grandson has become a despised and looked-down-upon figure in the Rose House. His face is the mark of a coward and a traitor."
Lady Rose paused, as if recalling an unpleasant incident: "In order to help her grandson regain his footing in Rose House and restore his reputation, the old lady actually... had the audacity to come to me and beg me to marry her good-for-nothing grandson!"
Her voice carried a hint of disbelief and disdain.
"She said that as long as I become her granddaughter-in-law, with my 'guidance' and 'discipline,' her grandson will definitely be able to turn over a new leaf, become a new person, and even inherit the Rose House business... That's just wishful thinking!"
"I naturally and categorically rejected her absurd request," Lady Rose said firmly.
"And then what?" Lin Bei seemed to be intrigued by the bizarre story and temporarily suppressed his urge to hit someone.
"later?"
Lady Rose let out a barely audible sigh.
"Then, a few years later, one night, her good-for-nothing grandson couldn't resist the temptation and went to the lowest-class brothels in the city to seek pleasure. As a result... he ended up with a female ghost disguised as a prostitute."
Lady Rose's tone was flat, yet carried a cruel truth: "It is said that he... in the end... died of 'pleasure'."
"When he was found, he had been drained of all his energy and was just skin and bones, barely clinging to life. The scene was... horrific."
"After hearing the news, the old woman rushed to me like a madwoman, begging me to save her grandson."
Mrs. Rose narrated calmly.
"But where would I get that ability? I'm not a god, nor a divine healer. Faced with someone who had been completely drained by evil spirits and was on their last breath, I was helpless. I could only watch helplessly... In the end, her grandson died right before her eyes, amidst the old woman's heart-wrenching cries."
Lady Rose paused for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the old woman in the distance who was still maintaining a "kind" posture, and lowered her voice.
"I think... that resentment the old lady harbored towards me probably started to take root and sprout from that time."
"Perhaps in her mind, if I had agreed to her request and condescended to be with her grandson, using my status and 'discipline' to restrain him, her precious grandson would not have frequented those filthy places, and would not have... died at the hands of evil spirits."
The last rays of the setting sun completely disappeared outside the window, and the light in the hall quickly dimmed.
The old woman was still sobbing with her head down.
Lin Bei's impatience grew as Madam Rose continued to explain.