Chapter IV| The Past

|The Past

Normal

Zeng Yaozu was completely... normal

His past life was simple, just a young Ge'er with an odd appearance that attracted the eyes of many. His 'husband' always told him to never let anyone who harmed him go unpunished, That they deserve whatever is thrown to them, and Yaozu can't help but agree with him.

After all, everything they did to both him and his family is deserved, and he'll make them suffer for it, his older brother, father and mother didn't deserve to go through that, it was all their fault and they went unpunished he want to physically and mentally torture them.

He remembers everything down to the smallest of details, the crying, blood, and bruises. It hurts Zeng Yaozu remembering his parents and big brother in such a state, the same people who loved him and pampered him dearly.

His big brother curled into a ball with bruises all over his body cuts that could be described as large slashes from whips, he was stripped of any warmth from the harsh cold winter, and the snow around him had stained a deep red of his blood, He bled out and froze to death, then his poor a-Niang who was assaulted when his Bófù lured him out of our house, claiming Zeng Yaozu needed help and took him to a desolated house where he was attacked by a few men at always had eyes on him, his death was from internal bleeding, then his a-Die died from a broken heart after Zeng Yue died and nobody ever bothered to check on him, and I don't think they cared but Yaozu and he couldn't save him as well, even he was still grieving the loss of his older brother and mother-father

But the first death that made me go absolutely crazy and lose it all was his babies...

It was horrible scene

He didn't even have a chance to name them before they died, only after a week of having them, he wasn't allowed to see them because the maids were always mean to a-Zu, saying they didn't feel like carrying the babies to him but when his father or grandfather was around they listened, Yaozu only ever held them twice in his past life, he just smiled pretending it was ok for a mother not being able to hold their own baby.

Then that night stuck, the night he began to lose his sanity

Zeng Yaozu was on his second week of resting when he awoke at dawn to one of his babies crying a scream. Yaozu got scared by the sudden cry and ran to the sound only to see his youngest baby in a blank full of blood on the ground. His scream and cries were deafening to others. It was heartbreaking to see that scene.

Not long after Zeng started going crazy he swore he saw the murderer every night in his dreams tormenting him about the death of his baby, laughing at him, then he started to see the future of his other baby's deaths. Each one was more brutal the day that it approached.

He tried to save them but failed as well and nobody believed me when I told them

Please...

my baby...

Not my baby...

"I beg you!PLEASE!!" My voice cracked as I wept on the floor, father at my side holding me close to him trying his best to comfort me but blocking me from the scene before us. "Please a-Die, maybe he'll make it, please!" I pleaded and cried as the horrific image in front of me, blood stained the white blanket and the wooden floors my baby lay on the floor covered in its blood

No movement was made as I continued to cry. My poor baby...

Zeng Yue pulled him away from the scene and took him back to his room. "Who would have hurt my baby a-Niang, who!?" He cried into his mother's chest pleading for answers but never got any.

Everything felt blank after that I didn't move, I didn't speak nor did I sleep.

Suddenly I was in a crowd next to my husband as my Zûmû, Āyí, and Biâo gē were forced onto the platform to atone for their sins, they killed my babies, first, it was my Ger baby who they brutally killed then my first son who when 'missing' and lastly my second who was poisoned...

I remember looking over at my husband, he looked at me pulling me close to his chest so I wouldn't see their heads being chopped off, I felt more tears stream down my face "Why..." I whispered to him he leaned over me, his mouth close to my ear, "they said they didn't want you to be happy" He hissed out, Jealousy was their reason... why them and not me, I don't care if they chose to hurt me but why them!?

why?

why...

WHY

WHAT DID MY BABIES EVER DO TO YOU!!!

They treated me like a crazy lunatic after that, the maids feared going near me, my reputation went downhill drastically, nobody came near me to comfort me minus my own family and my hubby didn't know until the news reached his ear, a two month later a trial was held as hubby revealed that the babies where his and my Zûmû, Āyí and Biâo gē where executed for the murder of a royal child

I on the other hand, felt nothing but emptiness, my family was gone within those two month, and my hubby became distant to me after the trial, he kept me away as he didn't want the empress to attack me for having a royal baby, I was tired of it and choose to take everything single medicine I had kill me from an overdose

Then I woke up and I was in a space with shooting stars falling over my head the one stopped in front of me

*{omg my first host is so pretty!!}* The star shone brighter than before it turned into a blue panel, then it startled me as it quickly started going around me, checking every part of me "Who are you?!" I cried out as I collapsed onto the ground in shock at the entity *{Oh... Me?  Well, I am system S-104 but you can call me System}* the voice cheered in excitement "System?" I murmured out "Yes now do you accept my offer for a second chance at life, please say yes, I don't want to wait another 1,000 years" The panel dimmed once it said that like it was trying to give me puppy dog eyes in a plea "I promise to help you a lot and protect you!!" The panel got big like it was puffing its chest out "Second chance..." a second chance to fix my mistakes and save my family "I accept!!" The Panel brightened at my response before I closed my eyes feeling myself slowly losing consciousness

I woke up in my 5-year-old self that is when it began I started acting crazy to make people fear coming around me so when I have my children they would refuse to go near me and they wouldn't disobey me considering if I don't get what I want I'll attack them

Honestly, I am happy I chose this, I mentally tortured my Zûmû with my actions but protected my family from them a bit and now that I was out of the house I'm happy, I now have my babies lying next to me as the sun was finally beginning to rise, starting a new day.

I'll make sure to protect them this time

"System?"

The blue panel appeared in front of him as white text began to appear on the screen saying

Loading...

{Yes Host?!} The system yelled out in the same cheery voice as all those other times since they met "did you hide the stuff in their rooms like I asked?"

{of course I did, host!} A smiley faces appeared on the panel as it showed items being placed in room of Zeng Yaozu's family except his father, mother-father, and older brother "Good" He smiled the trap was set

Lie about what his family did to him, tell them they beat him and stole from him, tell them Zhuilan tried killing an infant and all the things his Uncle tried to get him to do and was forced to do.

He wasn't going to frame the whole family just the people who hurt him and his family.

But first he had to buy a few things from the system shop.

"System Can you tell me the total points I have again?" {Of course hostesses!} The cheery blue panel shined brighter as it brought up another hologram panel in front of Zeng Yaozu.

{Host, you currently have '1,340,800 from ten current missions' and currently only spent '80 points on three baby cribs' would you like to buy anything?} He smiled to himself, All those quests were definitely worth it.

{Yes I would, System? What do you have in the shop today? Currently we are having a 50% off market, so everything is on sale today anything you wish is half off}

he smiled widely "wait really I thought the market was in a week!?"

'Finally I can get the stuff I need to protect me and my family and I get to spoil myself and my family' he thought

"everything in my wish cart I would like to buy"

{wait? Everything!? But you have over 1,000 items you wish to buy?}

Yaozu chuckled at the cry of the system "I know everything will be moved to my storage unit" "b-but host!? You barely have room left you either have to buy another or expand and both are expensive about 6,000 points"

"System, it's fine just expand the unit"

A cash sound Amited and removed -6,000$ points from my account then the sound kept coming and little by little the items I wanted were being sent to my unit -40$ -10$ -30$ -80$

'god this was taking a while'

"ok System, I'm going to leave to get my babies you keep doing that, ok? bye!" He quickly left the Virtual shop before the System could protest, as soon as he left the shop, he made his way to an Ox cart where a small group of people were waiting to go to the two markets as he got there he noticed the same boy that he gave those snacks to, he seemed to be waiting for someone.

The small boy noticed Zeng Yaozu and immediately got up and clung to his side like a baby chick running to his mother to hide from a predator "Shūshu, can A-Lan stay with you" his face was a flushed red, he was embarrassed holding onto the lunatic like this in front of other people.

"Ok" the people around them froze by the quick response he gave, nobody want to think mean thing about the lunatic now that they knew why he went crazy and tried to think of a good explanation or maybe Zeng Yaozu doesn't need and explanation to want to help a poor child on the streets after all the people on the streets suffered from a disease that killed half of the town people.

They payed the Ox cart driver 10 coins and got off by the time they got to the town the sun was barely reaching the highest of its peak but on his way Zeng Yaozu noticed the stares of the other townsfolk, they stared at him with worry, fear and disbelief, Yaozu honestly don't blame them with the thing he had done everyone has the right to fear him, when Yaozu and 'a-Lan' finally arrived to the house of the head chief women were pulling their sons and daughters close to them and quickly walking past him like a damn disease "hello?" Yaozu and 'a-Lan' noticed the old man next to them looking at Yaozu worriedly "do you need something little Ge'er?" He smiled a sweet smile that made him drop his guard for abit "yes actually I'm here to buy a house and some land" everyone around him immediately began to eavesdrop on the situation "why if I may ask aren't you supposed to live with your family until married?" Yaozu continued even thought he knew exactly why he asked, why is the lunatic of the Dai sect buying a house all by himself

"well you see Shūshu, my Zûmû kicked me out because she didn't like that my husband was sending me money and after my Biâo gē tried to kill my babies Zûmû got scared I would take my money and run away so she beat me and stole my stuff before kicking me out in the middle of the night saying she didn't want me or my babies" this response shock the people around him

Yaozu smiled behind his sleeve as 'a-Lan' hugged Zeng Yaozu around his waist as a form of trying to comfort the 'crying teen'

'telling the people before my 'Zûmû' could say anything, Check'

"young Ge'er I don't wish to pry but where did you sleep last night if she kicked you out at midnight" The old man got more nervous, I let out a fake sob as I responded "I had to sleep in that broken shrine shed with my babies it was cold and I was barely able to keep my babies warm" babies, this poor boy gave birth to babies and his own Zûmû left him and them out in the freezing cold to die, everyone around him began to pity him for having such a cruel Zûmû and worst throwing him out when he is most likely still recovering a women needs at least a week or two weeks of recovery while a Ge'er need four weeks and a half of recovery heck even a month depending on how bad it is and considering he gave birth only a week and a half ago he is most likely still weak, it's a miracle this boy still breaths and walks.

Turned out the old man was the village chef he wanted to see why the town lunatic was here and pretended to be an old man, Yaozu smirked as he walked off with the key

'well better for me in case my family choose to come to him to want to kick me out the village like last time'

Zeng Yaozu finally arrived at the small house he bought he could have bought a mansion if he wanted to but for now he had to pretend to be a poor lunatic, and that his grandmother stole all his money and riches from him

It wasn't much just a box shaped house with two rooms, a large L shaped room with a kitchen on one side, a small bed frame in the corner and a table on the other corner with a small washroom as the second room outside was a small patio and half an acre backyard.

With a forest surrounded it making it easy to harvest natural resources like fruits, mushrooms, vegetables and wood

"Ah! Zu-Shushu let a-Lan help you"

The small boy opened the door for me and we went inside.

'Now how am I going to tell my husband I moved'