HBWMA -Chapter 325 Don’t Stay in Hell

The flames at the detention facility were contained within a very small area. Half an hour later, firefighters, patrol police, and ambulances all arrived at the scene.

The firelight lit up the overcast winter sky.

Shen Guiling stood on the watchtower, staring unblinkingly at the blaze. Thick black smoke rolled upward like mushroom clouds, drifting into the sky. Cries for help were chaotic, rescue efforts were orderly—everything felt both eerily familiar and strangely detached.

……

“Mom! Mom!”

Ignoring everyone’s attempts to stop him, Shen Guiling rushed straight into the firelight alone. Inside, thick smoke billowed so heavily that he could barely see. He searched through the ruins, his voice hoarse and breaking.

“Mom! Mom!”

Finally, he found a familiar figure in a corner of the living room.

“Mom! Don’t be afraid, I’ll get you out.”

Shu Mu’s face was covered in soot, her expression hollow. She pushed his hand away and questioned him as if he were a stranger.

“Who are you?”

Shen Guiling knelt down and pulled up the relatively clean hem of his clothes.

“I’m your A-Ling.”

Shu Mu shook her head. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, streaking through the burnt ash on her face, making her look unbearably disheveled.

She looked at him seriously and corrected him.

“You’re not A-Ling. My A-Ling is already dead.”

Shen Guiling’s fingers paused. He gently wiped away her tears and said softly,

“I am A-Ling. I will always be your A-Ling.”

Shu Mu suddenly broke down, pushing him away forcefully.

“You’re not! You’re not!”

She cried uncontrollably, holding up a small fragment of bone.

“They said my A-Ling was strangled to death. They broke his bones and threw him into a steel furnace, burned him until not even ashes remained. AHHHH!!!”

Shen Guiling shook his head and pulled her into his arms.

“No… they lied to you. Let’s get out of here first, okay?”

Shu Mu kept shaking her head, her mind in chaos.

“I can’t leave… I can’t leave…”

The fire grew more intense. If they stayed any longer, they would both be buried in the flames. Shen Guiling didn’t hesitate—he immediately carried Shu Mu onto his back.

He had lived in this house for fifteen years. He could find the escape route even with his eyes closed. But the temperature was rising rapidly, smoke invading his senses. Even breathing was becoming difficult, and the path ahead was increasingly hard.

Shu Mu suddenly grew quiet.

She leaned her face gently against his back. Even though the boy’s shoulders were still thin and fragile, at that moment, she felt an unexpected sense of peace as a mother.

The home’s escape door had been specially designed by Shen Qian to prevent emergencies like this. Shen Guiling relied on his perfect memory to locate it, and the two of them barely escaped into the safety hatch before being swallowed by flames.

The hatch blocked the fire and smoke, finally giving them a chance to breathe.

But soon, Shen Guiling discovered another crisis—the outer exit hatch had been locked from the outside. At this rate, if no one found them, the hatch would eventually be burned through, and they would still die.

Bang—bang—

“Is anyone outside? Anyone there?”

Shen Guiling kicked and slammed the hatch, trying to make as much noise as possible.

Shu Mu sat slumped in the dim passage, staring blankly at him, lost in thought.

The boy gritted his teeth and kept pounding the steel door. His hands were already bleeding, but he didn’t stop.

Finally, there was movement outside. A heavy vibration echoed through the hatch.

“Is someone inside?”

At that moment, Shen Guiling’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! Open it! Someone is inside!!”

“Is it Young Master A-Ling?”

He turned back to glance at Shu Mu, then shouted with all his strength,

“Yes! Save us!”

“Young Master A-Ling, is that woman with you right now?”

Shen Guiling froze. His expression stiffened instantly.

A voice continued from outside.

“The Madam told me to tell you—the game is over. As long as you personally send that woman to hell, you’ll be completely free.”

Shen Guiling lowered his gaze. His clear black-and-white eyes were instantly stained with crimson. He turned around and looked carefully at Shu Mu, his voice trembling.

“Don’t believe them, okay?”

The voice outside continued: “The Madam said once this is done, you’ll have a new life. But if you can’t do it, you’ll go to hell with that woman.”

Shen Guiling felt as though his only belief in life had collapsed in that instant. He lost all strength and dropped straight to his knees.

He didn’t know what to do. He could only beg her.

“Please don’t believe them… I’m begging you… Mom…”

Shu Mu looked at him through the narrow corridor. She wanted to hug him, but she couldn’t.

“A-Ling,” she said softly, eyes full of sorrow. “Do you love Mom?”

Shen Guiling lowered his head. Tears silently fell.

He did.

Even though he learned at six years old that he was not Shu Mu’s biological son, he had never hidden even a trace of his sincerity.

At six, Yao Ge suddenly appeared in his life.

She told him he was not Shu Mu’s son—that he was an unwanted child, a “wild seed.” She said she had swapped his fate and given him a different life.

From that day on, Yao Ge controlled his entire existence. She constantly fed him hatred, trying to turn him into a weapon to destroy Shu Mu.

He tried to seek help, but Shen Qian showed him no affection. In Nanwan, Yao Ge held absolute power. He was too young, too weak—he couldn’t escape her control.

For nine years, he lived like a puppet. Any resistance meant beating and abuse. To control him, Yao Ge even fed him psychiatric dependency drugs regularly, only stopping when he obeyed like a dog.

Only later did he realize: Yao Ge’s hatred for Shu Mu had already seeped into her bones. She spent fifteen years weaving a hellish nightmare just to completely destroy her, ensuring she would never find peace even in death.

So Shen Guiling made a silent vow—he would grow up quickly, and take Shu Mu away from this nightmare.

But in the end, he was still too late. Before he could grow up, he had already fallen into the abyss himself.

Now Shu Mu knew everything. Her biological son was dead, and the child she had raised with care was actually the enemy’s pawn sent to destroy her. Her faith as a mother completely collapsed.

Shen Guiling didn’t know how to explain. Yao Ge must have plenty of evidence to prove his “malice,” and in the end, he had deceived her.

“A-Ling,” Shu Mu looked at the boy bent over in front of her, her heart breaking, “remember this—Mom loves you.”

She smiled faintly, then opened the escape hatch door and rushed into the sea of fire without hesitation.

Everything happened too fast.

So fast that Shen Guiling had no time to react.

When he came back to his senses, the narrow passage no longer held his mother’s figure.

He ran up the steps like a madman and tried to pull the door open, but no matter how hard he pushed, the hatch remained completely unmoving.

“Mom!! Open the door! Open it!!!”

Only then did he realize what he was about to lose.

He collapsed, crying as he hammered the door.

“I’ll take you out! Let me take you out!! Please!! Please!!!”

“Xiao Ling, run! Run! Don’t worry about me! Run!!”

Shu Mu pressed against the door, looking at the raging flames outside, screaming as she knelt.

“It’s my fault! It was my mistake! Please don’t hurt my child… my child… I’m going to find my child…”

“My A-Ling… go. Don’t stay in hell.”

Night slowly fell. The overwhelming flames were finally extinguished. Brave firefighters smashed open the iron gate, carving out a path of survival.

Shen Guiling blinked and tore himself free from the memory.

Perhaps the final outcome of that fire had pleased Yao Ge completely. In rare mercy, she threw him a sum of money and told him to get as far away as possible.

Seeing his unwillingness to accept it, he secretly tried to sneak into Shen Qian’s residence to tell him the truth.

That day, he personally witnessed Shen Qian and Yao Ge having a huge argument over Shu Mu’s death. From beginning to end, Shen Qian only blamed Yao Ge for dragging him into trouble and never once mentioned Shu Mu’s death.

Realizing this, he completely gave up hope.

He had long known that Shen Qian did not love Shu Mu—he merely coveted her beauty. But what he never expected was how despicable Shen Qian truly was. He forcefully took Shu Mu, ruined her life, and kept her like a canary in a cage.

Even without love, he had enjoyed the physical pleasure she gave him, and even let her bear his child. By all reason and morality, he should have protected her at least once.

In Nanwan, the greatest “heaven” was not Yao Ge—it was Shen Qian. It was Shen Qian who pushed Shu Mu into the storm, yet refused to protect her, allowing her to be swallowed by demons and dragged into hell.

Yao Ge used him to control Shu Mu—but didn’t Shen Qian do the same?

From a very young age, he already knew his mother was unhappy. Once, he asked Shu Mu: if she was so unhappy, why didn’t she run away?

Shu Mu would always stroke his head and give the same answer:

“Wait until A-Ling grows a little older.”

But in the end, she never got to see him grow up.

He was a “bastard child,” but he had a mother. And his mother had been dragged into hell by demons. How could he simply walk away and live for himself?

If he had left, he would never be able to stand tall in this life.

So he buried his hatred deep in his heart and appeared before Shen Qian in an innocent, harmless form.

He had no feelings toward Shen Qian before—father and son were barely more than strangers. But after deliberately approaching him, everything changed. He used Shen Qian’s remaining compassion to gain his initial trust.

Yao Ge was furious about this and repeatedly tried to silence him. So he seized the opportunity and proposed to Shen Qian that he be allowed to move into Shen Manor.

In Nanwan, Shen Qian was “the sky itself.” If he wanted to overturn that sky, he needed an even greater force—and that power lay within Shen Manor.

Shen Qian was initially unwilling, but he understood Shen Qian’s ambition deeply and presented three advantages:

First, he could enter Shen Manor as an inside agent.
Second, he could bring the main branch closer to the old master.
Third, he could prepare for Shen Nian’s return to the country.

After careful consideration, Shen Qian was finally moved. That was how the scene of him being brought into Shen Manor to “acknowledge his family” came to be.

Up to this point, every step he took had been on thin ice. His path ahead was as hopeless as it had been three years ago in that fire.

“Young master.” Lei Xing looked at the extinguished fire and reminded him softly, “It’s getting dark. Miss Jiang is still waiting for you to come home for dinner.”

Shen Guiling’s thoughts were abruptly pulled back. He took one last look at the fading smoke and then turned and walked down the observation tower.

Streetlights lit up along the harbor coastline, their warm orange glow guiding the way home. Outside the speeding car window, the city’s chaos flickered past like a moving lantern show.

After being exposed to cold wind all afternoon, Shen Guiling felt a faint throbbing in his head. He checked the time and asked casually, “What has Jiang Huasan been doing all afternoon?”

Lei Xing glanced at him through the rearview mirror and replied mechanically, “Assistant Mo said that after you left, Miss Jiang locked herself in her room and hasn’t come out since.”

Shen Guiling’s fingers paused at his brow. “She’s not feeling well?”

Lei Xing shook his head. “Probably not. Assistant Mo said Miss Jiang even asked her to buy a lot of groceries. If she were unwell, she wouldn’t have the energy to eat.”

Hearing this, Shen Guiling said nothing more and closed his eyes to rest.

The black car sped through neon lights and soon arrived at the underground parking lot.

“You don’t need to follow me.” Shen Guiling got out of the car and headed into the building. As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw a group of people coming out of the elevator.

“This is weird. First the basement caught fire, now smoke from the top floor. I’m definitely not staying here tonight.”

Shen Guiling’s nerves tightened instantly. He grabbed the man who had spoken.

“What did you just say? Smoke on the top floor?”

The man froze. “Yeah… the fire alarm even went off. The fire department’s already been called.”

Shen Guiling’s face changed drastically. He rushed into the elevator without hesitation.

The man called after him, “Hey! Don’t go up—no one knows what’s going on!”

“Ding—”

The elevator doors closed tightly.

—

Upstairs.

In the kitchen, Jiang Huasan was frantically jumping around in panic.

She had originally just wanted to calmly pan-fry a steak and prepare a romantic candlelit dinner, so that when Shen Guiling came home after a long day, he would feel the warmth of home and companionship.

But she had overestimated her cooking skills. Somehow, something went wrong, and suddenly the frying pan burst into flames.

“How did this happen?!”

She grabbed the pot lid like a shield and carefully approached.

The fire in a grease pan shouldn’t be doused with water—the best method was to cover it and cut off the oxygen.

Just as she was about to aim and throw the lid, someone suddenly walked up beside her.

He took the lid from her hand and forcefully pressed it down over the flames, simultaneously turning off the gas valve.

Jiang Huasan froze.

Through the smoke, Shen Guiling’s eyes were sharp and cold, like a blade drawn from its sheath.

Before she could react, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the kitchen.

She glanced back at the extinguished fire.

Was Shen Guiling no longer afraid of fire?

Just as she was confused, her gaze stopped.

His hand was red.

“You’re injured?”

Shen Guiling looked down briefly but didn’t care.

At that moment, Mo Ran rushed in from outside. Seeing both of them safe, she let out a long breath.

“Master, Miss Jiang, are you both alright?”

Shen Guiling’s expression was dark. “Where were you?”

Mo Ran immediately realized the seriousness and lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Young Master A-Ling. It’s my fault.”

Jiang Huasan lightly tugged his little finger. “Don’t blame her. I asked her to go buy something.”

Shen Guiling turned to look at her, his emotions unreadable.

She immediately let go and stepped back. “What, are you even going to scold me too?”

Shen Guiling closed his eyes and walked into the room.

“….”

Jiang Huasan looked at his back, then at the burnt pan in the kitchen, and rubbed her forehead in frustration.

Are they natural-born enemies? Why does nothing ever go according to her script?

—

Inside the room, Shen Guiling yanked off his tie and threw it on the floor.

“Knock knock knock—”

A knock came at the door.

His expression shifted slightly. He quickly sat down at the edge of the bed.

His eyes caught the tie on the floor. He hesitated for a moment, just as he was about to get up, the door opened a crack. He sat back down again in haste.

Jiang Huasan peeked in first, then walked in slowly carrying a medical kit.

After a few steps, she stepped on the tie.

“….”

She glanced down, pretended not to notice, and walked straight toward him.

“Your hand is injured. I’ll help you apply medicine.”

Shen Guiling kept his head lowered and didn’t respond.

“Alright,” she said, turning to leave immediately.

He suddenly grabbed her little ponytail.

His voice sounded exhausted.

“Didn’t you say you were going to apply medicine?”