It Never Changes

The crowd dispersed and the old man was taken away. Huan Wei just waited in his room without making a sound. It was no longer safe outside. He didn't want to go out even if he had to. He never knew where the attack would come from.

He held his breath when he heard a knock at the door. He approached the window with heavy steps. He tried to see who was coming without showing himself. When he saw the guard holding a wooden box, he let out a deep breath.

He put the piece of wood down and went to open the door. Huan Fu's supply of provisions must have arrived. When he opened the door, he saw that the guard had not come alone. There were two others with him, but they were not carrying boxes.

"Welcome," he said, looking at them. At the same time he was checking the street. There were still a few people looking at his house.

The guards went in without asking him. Huan Wei closed the door. The smell of the house disgusted the men, but there was nothing they could do. This was Huan Chao's house. Huan Wei had gotten used to it over the years, so he no longer smelled it a few seconds after entering the house. As long as he didn't get too close to his father.

"Huan Wei, we have a few questions," one of the guards said. He put down the box in his hand. "First of all, this is the food supply that Huan Fu sent."

"Thank you." The young man wanted to put the box away but remembered his wounds and gave up.

"We have some questions about today's attack."

"Sure, go ahead, I'm all ears."

"Did you know them?"

Huan Wei remembered what the old man had said. "I think it was Huan Hong's grandfather. He was executed for stealing pills from the caravan and setting a fire. They wanted to avenge him on me."

"Who attacked first?"

"They did. One of them stabbed my father in the stomach. Everyone saw."

"But they didn't hear the whole conversation. Tell me what was said before the fight."

Huan Wei took a deep breath. Still surprised, he began to describe the events. "They wanted to kill me. My father wouldn't let them. When they offered money, he kicked them out, but they didn't want to go. Then they provoked my father. When they attacked first, my father stopped holding back."

"All right. That's all we have to ask." The guards headed for the door. The stationed guard turned back to Huan Wei. "These two friends of mine will now patrol this street. Huan Dong is in critical condition. If he dies, your father will be in prison for a while. If he survives, he will probably be released soon. Until then, enjoy your father's absence and don't go out too much."

Huan Wei bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you."

"We're doing our job." They left the house. When they left, Huan Wei opened the wooden box. Inside was enough food for the house for a week. They probably planned to bring a box every week. At least Huan Wei hoped so.

In any case, Huan Chao would not be home for a while. The young man couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad. Yes, he was rid of his father for a while, but unfortunately there was little to stop people from approaching this house. The city guards hadn't even caught Huan Wei when he had set the house on fire. So the young man didn't trust them.

He cooked himself a meal and ate well. After all, he needed food to heal his wounds. Then he began to think about what he could do.

He had to talk to the guards from time to time and keep them close to the house. He couldn't let them slack off.

Huan Kong had lost his son. His father was badly wounded. He could try anything. He had to be on full alert for him.

Huan Quon didn't make such simple moves. He chose to make Huan Wei crawl instead of killing him outright. The guards patrolling the street might have deterred him. At least he wouldn't have sent anyone to approach this house.

But as it was, Huan Wei was only delaying the inevitable. Somehow he had to provide real reassurance.

Huan Chao's actions constantly confused him, so he couldn't think straight. What did that man want? He hated Huan Wei and wanted him dead. At the same time, he was resisting those who came to kill him. He couldn't understand Huan Chao's real motive. Maybe he was drunk and didn't realize what he was doing? Maybe he forgot that it was Huan Wei he was protecting? Otherwise he would have let him. After all, it was only Huan Wei who had ruined his life.

But Huan Chao had not abandoned him. Lately there had been a drastic change in his behavior. When he came home, he looked meaningfully at Huan Wei and asked him why he wasn't dead. He didn't seem to expect a real answer. He was not curious about the young man's injuries. Was he measuring his commitment to life?

Huan Chao was not like that. He was useless, uncaring, an asshole. He never cared about his child. Why had he protected him this time?

Huan Wei shook himself. He had more important things to worry about than his father. He shouldn't have cared what happened to that bastard.

It didn't take him long to realize that he couldn't do anything until his body recovered. If he wanted to run, he couldn't. If he wanted to jump, he couldn't. Either way, he had to recover completely. He had to rest.

He went to his room to get some sleep. He closed his eyes and waited for hours to fall asleep, even though he was not sleepy. Eventually he managed to fall asleep.

Sleep was beginning to lose its meaning for him. The nightmare called the Black Void was with him almost every night. Sometimes the young man would wake up screaming, unable to sleep through the night. The bottomless darkness was slowly changing. Sometimes he felt something watching him in that endless void. He could never see them, but he knew in his heart that they were there. They were trying to get close to him.

Two weeks passed. Huan Wei just stayed at home, ate and went to bed. A few times he went to Old Zihao to have his wound dressed. Every step on the way made him nervous and he always hurried home as soon as he was done.

He didn't know about Huan Dong's condition. He did not know how long Huan Chao would be in prison. There had been no other attacks on his house, but he felt strange.

The house seemed empty. It was strange not to hear the sound he had gotten used to for years for two weeks. The smell of the house was changing. Huan Wei had tidied up and aired it regularly. For the first time in years, the house looked clean. There were no beings there to contaminate it.

He was supposed to be happy. Why didn't he feel happy?

Life was easier without Huan Chao. No one yelled at him, no one insulted him or acted as if he was the only thing in life that prevented him from being happy. His soul should feel at ease, but it didn't...

He ate and cleared the table. He was going to talk to the guards later. Otherwise they would be too busy chatting with each other and forget about work. Huan Wei couldn't go to Huan Fu now. If he gave the town leader any more trouble, he would lose what he had. So he shouldn't make any complaints.

He was on his way out when there was a knock at the door. The young man immediately hid to the side. He slowly made his way to the door and called out, "Who is it?"

"Open the damn door before I break it down."

He felt a strange sense of security when he heard his father's voice. No matter how much of an asshole he was, having him around would scare the others. He quickly unlocked and opened the door.

Huan Chao walked in, scratching his belly. He pushed the young man aside as he entered. "Get out of my way."

The prison didn't make him collapse. Because Huan Chao was already at rock bottom. How much lower could he go?

He went to the food on the stove and spooned it there without putting it on the plate. Huan Wei closed and locked the door.

"They released you. That means Huan Dong is not dead."

His father didn't even bother to answer him. He just ate his food. Whatever food they serve in prison, he was very hungry.

"I haven't eaten for two weeks, don't spoil my appetite with your disgusting face. Get out of my sight."

Body Tempering increased the human body's resilience to all situations. Huan Chao was at the Stonebody stage, Tier 2 Body Tempering. He didn't need to eat two meals a day. Or sleep every day. Thanks to Body Tempering, he still didn't get cirrhosis despite all the alcohol. His body was recovering faster. So he didn't even care about the wounds he got. It would heal anyway.

"I've been thinking about something since you left, but I can't find the answer." Huan Wei spoke.

"I don't care."

"I didn't ask if you cared."

"Do you want me to take you back to the day you fell off the cliff, boy?"

Huan Wei frowned. He didn't hold back this time. He had to get the answer. "Why did you protect me?"

Huan Chao turned his head and looked at him. Then he started laughing sarcastically with his mouth full. When he swallowed his mouthful, he was laughing. "I protected you? Hahhahhahahhahhah! I protected you? Hahhahhahhahhahhahhahaha!"

Huan Wei's nerves were frayed. The man had only come home a few minutes ago, but he had already made him miss his absence. "Yes, you protected me."

"Hahhahhahhahhahahahaha!" He wiped a tear from his eye. Then he turned back to the young man. His mouth was full of food again. "Did you think it was you I was protecting? You must have felt important for a moment, but I have sad news for you. I don't care about you."

Huan Wei couldn't take it anymore. "Then why did you protect me, you piece of shit!? If you'd let go, everything would have been solved!"

Huan Chao swallowed his mouthful. He was looking at Huan Wei with pitying eyes again. "Look at you. You're still looking for a reason to feel worthy. You haven't lost any of your patheticness. Are you standing in front of me and expecting me to tell you that I love you or something?"

Huan Wei clenched his teeth. His father spoke, emphasizing every word.

"I hate you, it makes me sick to look at your wet eyes." Then he went back to his food. "Now go to your room. Or I will take you."

Huan Wei turned around and went to his room without saying anything. Anger swept through him again. He was angry with himself for almost having a good opinion of this man. Huan Chao was always Huan Chao. He never changed. He would never change.