This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 229 Revenge? A Deal?
revenge.

A word that inherently possesses legitimacy, justice, and the power to fight.

Nie Weiyang's expression turned serious.

Nie Weiyang's gaze was calm, and his voice was gentle and reassuring: "Tell me what happened back then. In detail."

He is not incapable of reading minds directly, but some wounds need to be spoken aloud to begin to heal, and the subtle difference between language and emotions often reflects a person's truest self.

Bai Yu's pure white eyes seemed to go blank for a moment, her gaze unfocused, falling on a void, as if she had pierced through time and returned to that time filled with despair and chaos.

His narrative still carried that strange, uneventful sense of emptiness, but the chill seeping from between the lines was becoming increasingly piercing.

"That person... is called Zhao Deming. Back on Earth, he was my father's friend, a businessman."

Bai Yu began to recount, her voice hoarse: "When the accident happened, our two families were traveling together at a guesthouse in a mountainous area. Everything was fine during our dinner gathering that evening."

“Midnight. Everything changed.” He described the upheaval simply.

“We landed in the same unfamiliar woodland. At first… we were very united and relied on each other. Zhao Deming did not choose a profession immediately; he observed for a long time. Later, he chose to be a ‘criminal trafficker’.”

"The next day, we traded some wild fruits and scraps of materials we found with him to help him level up his profession... At the time, we thought it was normal, that we were all working together and getting what we needed."

“Starting from the third day, things changed.” A faint, suppressed pain finally seeped into Bai Yu’s voice. “He, along with his wife and daughter, started using certain words… certain tactics. They deliberately gave us less food, hid supplies, and then said we were using them too quickly. They took turns whispering and sowing discord, saying my dad had hidden things, that my mom was a burden, that my sister was spoiled… that our family was a burden.”

“We didn’t believe it at first, but… the environment was so bad, everyone was hungry and scared.”

The seeds of doubt, once sown, will soon sprout into poison ivy.

“Half a month,” Bai Yu said. Beneath his calm narration lay a shocking cruelty: “They made it so that we… couldn’t even get a single bite to eat. It wasn’t that there was no food, but that the food ‘just happened’ to pass through their hands first, and ‘just happened’ to never reach us. And when we did our work, ‘just happened’ that all sorts of problems would arise, causing us to get injured, sick, and our overall contribution to be much lower than theirs.”

Nie Wei listened quietly, his eyes growing colder and colder.

“Then, Zhao Deming ‘opportunistically’ proposed a deal,” Bai Yu continued. “He said that, out of consideration for our old friendship, he could ‘lend’ us food, but we would need to provide collateral.”

"In the beginning, it was me. I mortgaged a loaf of bread with my 'labor'."

“I thought I would just need to help them hunt, farm, and kill monsters, but I didn’t expect that he would modify the labor standards in the contract. After the contract was established, I became his potential slave. I had to carry out any orders he gave me.”

"Later, it was my parents. In order to get my sister some food, they said they were willing to 'obey'... I don't know the specific terms, but after they signed, their eyes... were completely empty. Later, I heard from his daughter that he had bought my parents' souls."

"Finally..." Bai Yu's voice trembled slightly, "When they were preparing to leave, I was sick, my sister was sick too, and she was still young. They thought we had been drained of all our value."

“Zhao Deming’s daughter, Zhao Qian…” He paused, “She used to be my girlfriend, and she was also good friends with my sister Bai Hui.”

Nie Weiyang frowned.

“Before leaving, she looked at Bai Hui. My sister was already emaciated from hunger, but… she still had her best features, she was still very beautiful.” Bai Yu clenched her fists in her pockets, her knuckles turning white. “Zhao Qian told her father that she liked the pendant on the necklace my sister wore and wanted it.” “Zhao Deming said it wasn’t worth much. Zhao Qian then said…” Bai Yu took a breath, as if it were icy, “She said, ‘Then I’ll take her heart. That piece of flesh would make a very unique specimen.’”

Nie Weiyang had no expression on his face.

“Zhao Deming smiled and said ‘okay’ to Zhao Qian. Then he looked at me,” Bai Yu raised her eyes, her pure white eyes clearly reflecting Nie Weiyang’s figure, filled with unfathomable pain and humiliation, “He said to my parents, ‘Using your son’s life to buy your daughter’s heart, isn’t that a good deal? Anyway, his freedom is already mine, and I can make him die anytime.’”

"Then he asked my sister, 'Xiaohui, give me your heart, and I promise I won't send your brother to his death. How about that? Pretty good deal, right?'"

“My parents…they had almost lost their own consciousness at that time, they were just instinctively protecting us…but what could they do?”

“The deal is done,” Bai Yu said finally, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. “They bought everything from my family and took my sister’s heart.”

"My parents... not long after that, they were gone too, because without Zhao Deming's control, they didn't know how to eat, drink, or relieve themselves. They left with their 'spoils,' while I had nothing left."

"Because 'freedom' is in his hands, he doesn't even need to look at me. Whenever he wants, no matter how far away I am, I can hear his orders and must carry them out."

"He made me gather intelligence, trade with people, and help find people. I gave him all the silver rings I earned."

The forest was silent; even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Bai Yu stood there, dressed in white with white hair, like a tombstone sealed by ice and snow, engraved with silent grief and hatred.

Nie Weiyang remained silent for a long time. He looked at Bai Yu, and through that calm exterior, he could see the surging, almost tearing pain and anger beneath.

This is not just a tragedy, but a meticulously planned massacre that exploited trust and the environment.

The profession of crime trafficker amplifies the deepest evil in people's hearts and gives it the ability to be put into practice.

Although Bai Yu didn't know why he thought Nie Weiyang might be able to help him fulfill his long-cherished wish... Nie Weiyang knew about this, so he couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.

In particular, the person who started this was a criminal trafficker.

“I understand.” Nie Weiyang finally spoke, his voice low and gentle: “Then, do you know why Zhao Deming traded souls? And, does Zhao Deming know you came here?”
"Also, you said you were staying at a guesthouse or farmhouse. So, where are the people who run guesthouses and farmhouses? Where did they go?"

"..." Bai Yu closed his eyes.

“I don’t know. He knows,” he answered briefly, offering no defense. “I killed them.”

But Nie Weiyang could hear more.

He asked slowly, "Did you kill them—or did he make you kill them? Do you know you're being 'pruned' by him?"

(End of this chapter)