Zhang Roujin's attitude was surprisingly calm at this moment, while Yang Zhiqiang was very surprised. If there was a mirror at this moment, I think my expression would have looked like I had just eaten excrement.
The young man who turned Zhang Roujin into a zombie was actually the same person who taught Yang Zhiqiang how to dissect and imprison Zhang Roujin, and this relationship sounded very complicated.
At the sound of my exclamation, Zhang Roujin let out a piercing, eerie laugh, and Yang Zhiqiang suddenly squatted down, covering his face with both hands.
I stood in shock, An Duo'er's voice came from inside the room, "Big brother, hurry and save me!"
She had already spat out what was in her mouth, looking at me with an anxious and frantic expression.
Ignoring Zhang Roujin and Yang Zhiqiang, I hurried in and untied all the ropes on An Duo'er's body, then pulled her outside.
Zhang Roujin did not stop me, just glanced at me and said that my task was already completed, asking me to quickly take An Duo'er to the hospital, or else it would be too late after the seventh day.
An Duo'er looked at me pitifully, clearly reluctant to stay in this place any longer. At this moment, there was plenty of time, and I needed to figure out what exactly was going on with that young man, because he was involved in too many things.
Standing behind Yang Zhiqiang, An Duo'er kept tugging at my arm, but I turned and told her to leave first. She kept shaking her head, saying she dared not go back.
Ignoring her, I cleared my throat, asking in a low voice, "Why did that young man do this?"
Yang Zhiqiang took his hands off his face, stood up, glanced at me, and then looked at Zhang Roujin, saying in a low voice, "I think I already know his intention."
"Oh?" I said incredulously, looking at Zhang Roujin. She showed no emotional fluctuations, staring unwaveringly at the man opposite.
Yang Zhiqiang said in a deep voice, "That young man wants me to kill my beloved person with my own hands. He wants to torture me, he wants to break down my psychological defenses!"
I asked in confusion, "Isn't that highly unlikely? Is he using these twenty years just to see how you struggle in pain?"
Yang Zhiqiang shook his head and sighed, "Indeed, that's how it seems. He turned Roujin into a zombie and then told me how to kill zombies. On the surface, this doesn't benefit him at all, but why would he do this?"
I blurted out, "Is he testing you guys?"
It was just a random remark, but it made Zhang Roujin's sharp gaze suddenly turn towards me.
Her stare made me feel a bit creepy, and I instinctively asked, "Do you know anything about the identity of that young man?"
"We don't know," Yang Zhiqiang shook his head and sighed.
Zhang Roujin shook her head and said to me, "Take the little girl and leave here. This is a matter between me and Yang Zhiqiang. I don't want you to get involved."
I was about to speak when Yang Zhiqiang turned to me and nodded, saying, "Young man, go back. I have been waiting for over twenty years. It's time to repay the debt to her."
Looking at the trembling An Duo'er, I quickly said, "I will take care of her and come back to see you."
Climbing up the iron ladder with An Duo'er, the sunshine outside was strong, so I avoided her soul from being burned. I covered her with a sunshade in the living room and walked outside.
When we arrived at the hospital, An Duo’er lay at the window of the ward, hesitating while looking at the body lying on the sickbed. I stood by her side and asked if the woman on the sickbed, who was over forty years old, was her mother.
The moment the word "mother" was spoken, An Duo'er's body visibly trembled, and her eyes instantly turned red.
Seeing that she had already acknowledged, I didn't say anything more. I shook her arm and said, "Hurry, go inside."
An Duo'er took two steps back and shook her head, saying, "Big brother, I don't want to live!"
"What?" I was very surprised.
An Duo'er leaned against the wall, slowly squatting on the ground, looking at me with teary eyes, saying, "My parents have been divorced since I was a child. Even though I was awarded to my mother, she abandoned me to my grandmother and never cared for me. She only cared about her own work, and I didn't even get to see her once a year."
I didn't say a word, and walked over to squat beside her, quietly gazing at her.
An Duo'er wiped away the tears and continued, "From childhood to adulthood, I envied other children who had their parents with them. My parents brought me into this world, but they never fulfilled their parental responsibilities."
I sighed and comforted her, "Perhaps they had their own difficulties."
"What difficulties!" An Duo'er cried, "Big brother, you've never experienced this feeling, so you don't know how much pain is in my heart."
"Who said I haven't experienced it?" I stood up, looking at the woman lying on the sickbed, and said in a low voice, "When I was just a month old, my parents went to work and left me with my grandparents in the countryside. It's been over twenty years, and I've only seen my parents four or five times."
"Big brother!" An Duo'er raised her head to look at me.
I said calmly, "No parent would not miss their child. Now you can see that your mother is lying on the sickbed, she probably didn't sleep at all last night."
"But..."
"There's nothing more to say. Now that your mother is by your side, you should pull yourself together. You'll have plenty of time to spend with her in the future." I finished speaking, helped her up from the ground, pushed open the door to the sickroom, and went in.
The woman on the sickbed saw me and hurriedly stood up, using her hands to wipe her swollen eyes, and asked if I was An Duo'er's friend. I shook my head and looked at An Duo'er; tears once again filled her eyes as she murmured the word "mother."
"Go back," I said softly. An Duo'er nodded to me, walked towards the body on the sickbed, and slowly lay down.
After chatting with An Duo'er's mother for a while, when I saw An Duo'er's hand move slightly, I went out to call the doctor, and then left the hospital.
I drove to Tianxiong Purple Manor, and after entering the basement of the villa, I found that there was no one inside, not even the clay pot that held Zhang Roujin was anywhere to be seen.
As I climbed back up to the living room, about to leave, I saw a piece of paper written with words lying on the white cloth on the sofa.
"Young man, thank you for letting me release the guilt that has been weighing on me for over twenty years. I have left with Roujin's body. She and I will go to the place we once wanted to go but couldn't. Thank you for your presence! Yang Zhiqiang."
I folded the paper and put it in my pocket. After a long sigh, I finally stepped out of the villa. The sunshine outside was particularly bright. Although I didn't know where they were going, perhaps this was a perfect explanation for Zhang Roujin's life over the past twenty years.