PD -Chapter 116 Patricide and Matricide

I tightened my grip on the door handle and slowly turned it. The peeling green door let out a strange creaking sound, like an old woman chuckling eerily.

The boy who had been standing in the middle of the corridor and refusing to come closer finally rushed up to me. He grabbed my hand tightly, trying to stop me from opening the door.

This boy was the subconscious manifestation of Liu Xiaopeng. Clearly, it indicated that deep within his childhood, there was a past in this tenement building that he desperately did not want to remember.

A sudden surge of irritation rose in me. I grabbed the small Liu Xiaopeng and tossed him behind me.

“Don’t be insolent. Stand behind me and watch properly. I’m helping you here!”

The child refused to back down. His gaze toward me turned even more venomous. He suddenly lunged forward and clamped onto my leg, biting down hard.

Although this wasn’t the real world, my current body was still a form of spiritual manifestation. I still felt a sharp pain in my thigh, almost causing my consciousness to be jolted out of Liu Xiaopeng’s dream and back to reality.

Frowning, I shoved him away. At the same time, I twisted the handle harder and pushed the door of Room 309 open.

The moment the door opened, I realized the corridor behind me had gone silent. I turned around—just moments ago, the little Liu Xiaopeng who had been standing behind me was gone, as if he had vanished completely.

I frowned and looked into Room 309. The inside was pitch black. After hesitating for a moment, I stepped inside.

The room was completely dark. I reached out along the wall near the door, searching for the light switch. The moment my fingers touched it—

A blinding burst of fire erupted inside the room.

A wave of scorching heat slammed directly into my face.

I was instantly blasted backward by the force, my feet lifting off the ground as I flew out of the room.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. I only felt a heavy blow to my chest, like I had been struck hard, and I groaned as I crashed onto the corridor floor.

Gritting my teeth, I sat up and immediately looked into the room.

Within the blazing firelight, a massive beast was roaring. The flames seemed to be spewing directly from its mouth.

Inside the fire, there were three figures—two adults and a child. Their bodies twisted and distorted as they screamed in terror.

Before I could process what I was seeing, the door slammed shut with a bang.

I rushed forward again, trying to open it once more. But the moment my hand touched the handle, an invisible force struck me and sent me flying. My spiritual form collapsed instantly.

Cursing under my breath, I had no choice but to withdraw my consciousness and return to the real world.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Liu Xiaopeng sitting upright on the sofa, drenched in sweat, as if he had just been jolted awake from a nightmare.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, my mind replaying everything I had just witnessed.

That tenement building must have been Liu Xiaopeng’s childhood home—but that fire was far too strange.

And the beast within the flames—dragon head, fish tail—that was clearly the same Chiwen, the spirit beast Liu Xiaopeng summons.

A terrifying conclusion began to form in my mind.

Before I could think further, Liu Xiaopeng’s trembling voice rang out:

“It… it was me. I… I killed my parents!”

I sighed. As expected, what he concluded was the same as my deduction.

He stared at me in terror, eyes wide, like a frightened and helpless child. Then he raised his hands, as if they were stained with his parents’ blood.

His entire body began to spiral into hysteria. His gaze drifted, and he kept repeating, “It was me… it was me!”

“Calm down,” I said, stepping forward and patting his shoulder. “From just a dream alone, you can’t determine the truth.”

“What you just saw doesn’t prove anything. It’s only your partial interpretation.”

Liu Xiaopeng suddenly looked up and shouted at me, “That fire clearly came from Chiwen! If it wasn’t me, then who was it?!”

“Calm down!” I raised my voice again, trying to steady him.

But he was already on the verge of collapse, his consciousness chaotic, as if he had gone insane.

I sighed. I could understand his reaction—this memory had been buried in his subconscious for nearly twenty years.

Now that it had been forcibly exposed, anyone who learned they might have killed their own parents would likely break down instantly.

But this was not the time for collapse. I couldn’t afford to let him fall apart while Tang Shanshan still needed saving.

Thinking of this, I gritted my teeth, looked at the disoriented Liu Xiaopeng, and made a harsh decision.

I raised my hand—

Smack!

I slapped him hard across the face.

“Wake the hell up!”

Liu Xiaopeng froze completely, a red handprint appearing on his cheek. He stared at me blankly, then anger briefly flared in his eyes—only to be replaced again by confusion and despair.

“Do you remember what you said before?” I shouted. “We can’t turn back now. Only by staying strong can we finish this road!”

“You haven’t even seen the truth yet, and you’re already like this. How am I supposed to trust you?!”

Just then, the door to the office opened.

A curvaceous figure appeared at the entrance.

Shen Tu was wearing a silk slip nightdress—apparently belonging to Tang Shanshan. On her, it looked a bit too small. Her fuller figure made the fabric stretch tightly across her chest, as if it might tear at any moment.

“So late at night and you’re still… flirting?” she said sleepily, whether genuine or acting unclear. “Can you keep it down? You’re disturbing my sleep.”

She glanced at the two of us on the sofa and smirked mischievously.

“Didn’t expect you two… hehe. No wonder you didn’t come keep this big sister company—you were busy having a private date down here.”

I cursed inwardly and quickly stood up, putting distance between myself and Liu Xiaopeng, trying to prove my so-called heterosexual innocence.

After seeing Shen Tu, Liu Xiaopeng seemed to regain a bit of clarity. He wiped his face, stood up, and sighed.

“Sorry, Brother Heng. About just now…”

“I’ll go rest first. Early tomorrow morning, please come with me to my hometown. I need to find out the truth about what happened back then.”

His eyes rekindled with determination.

Without another word, he walked past Shen Tu at the door and went downstairs alone.