South District of Pingcheng.
Chen Xuewen walked on the dilapidated cement road, with occasional barking of dogs in the distance.
This was the most run-down area of Pingcheng, not much different from a rural area.
His childhood friend Li Er Yong lived here.
Li Er Yong's father was a cripple and his mother was a textile worker.
In the early years, when his mother was laid off, she and his father set up a vegetable stand to make a living.
Chen Xuewen's family was slightly better off than Li Er Yong's. Back then, he had helped Li Er Yong a lot.
Li Er Yong was very smart and had the potential to do well in school.
But he had a younger brother and a younger sister, so he had to drop out of school early to work and support his family.
Back then, he helped look after a video game arcade. The owner was a gangster, and Li Er Yong ended up associating with him.
The day Chen Xuewen received his university admission letter, Li Er Yong got drunk and cried, begging Chen Xuewen to finish his college education.
But unexpectedly, before Chen Xuewen could even start his university life, such a thing happened.
And Li Er Yong, for Chen Xuewen's sake, had his hands and legs broken. This truly touched Chen Xuewen's heart.
Chen Xuewen knew that he might not have many days left to live.
He came here tonight to see this brother one last time.
After finding out the real culprit tomorrow, Chen Xuewen would take his revenge with his life. This might be the last time he saw Li Er Yong.
Chen Xuewen walked towards Li Er Yong's home, but when passing a vacant lot, he noticed a flickering light in the distance.
Curious, Chen Xuewen walked over and saw a person sitting on the ground, burning paper money. The light was coming from there.
On closer inspection, it was Li Er Yong!
Both his hand and leg were bandaged, unable to stand, so he could only sit on the ground.
Beside him were two crutches, indicating he had come out with them.
Chen Xuewen quietly hid behind a stone wall behind Li Er Yong, listening to him mutter while sitting on the ground: "Brother, back in school days, we were always short of money."
"You always said that when you had money in the future, you would buy a big TV, a car, and a big villa."
"Well, I bought you a big TV, a car, and a big villa. I'll burn a few beautiful women for you in a moment."
"I'll burn you more money. You can spend it however you like down there."
"But... but why did you have to die?"
At this point, Li Er Yong suddenly burst into tears.
Chen Xuewen, hiding behind the stone wall, felt his eyes well up.
Li Er Yong cried for a while, wiped his tears, and burned all the paper money on the ground.
Then, he struggled to stand up with his crutches, saying: "Brother, I burned enough for two people this time."
"My share, you keep for me first."
"When I'm healed, I'll definitely find out who did this to you and help you take revenge!"
"If I'm lucky and don't die, then I'll give you my share."
"If I don't have the ability, when I go down there, you have to give me my share!"
Li Er Yong said this, picked up the bottle on the ground, poured half of it on the ground, and drank the other half.
Then, he sat by the fire, humming a song.
"Let's forget right and wrong, let's remember the past, the days we shared hardships were always fun..."
Chen Xuewen, hiding behind the stone wall, softly sang along. This was the song they often sang together, "Friendship Years"!
After a long while, Chen Xuewen let out a soft breath.
He looked at Li Er Yong, who was slowly falling asleep on the ground, and a determined look flashed in his eyes.
He clenched his fists, turned around, and walked back towards the city.
Tonight, having seen this brother, he had no regrets and it was time to deal with his own affairs!
Chen Xuewen arrived outside the Pingcheng Funeral Home.
Although it was very late, there were still many shops open.
After all, people's birth, aging, illness, and death never wait for a time. Chen Xuewen bought some paper money in a store and went to the roadside of the funeral home. He knelt down and began to burn it.
His parents had already been buried, but Chen Xuewen didn't even know where they were buried.
He didn't dare to ask or look for it. Once his whereabouts were exposed, he wouldn't be able to think about taking revenge.
So, he could only use this method to pay respects to his parents.
Fortunately, such things were very common around the funeral home.
Often, people would burn paper money here to pay respects to their ancestors.
Chen Xuewen knelt on the ground, burning the paper money and silently shedding tears.
After burning all the paper money, Chen Xuewen knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed three times.
"Dad, Mom, if there is a next life, I will repay you double!"
Chen Xuewen swore softly.
The fact that he had not repaid his parents' kindness and would never have the chance to do so was the most painful and guilt-ridden thing in Chen Xuewen's heart!
After doing all this, Chen Xuewen entered the funeral home.
There were still many people in the funeral home, including staff and family members of the deceased.
Chen Xuewen found a less conspicuous place and lay down fully clothed, gradually falling asleep.
He didn't dare to go back to the hotel because he didn't know if his identity had been exposed.
He could only choose to rest here for one night to regain his strength. He needed to prepare for the revenge he was going to take the next day.
There were many families keeping vigil in the funeral home. When they got tired, they would find a place to rest.
Chen Xuewen sleeping here was no different from those families staying up all night, so no one paid attention to him.
When he woke up, it was already dawn.
Chen Xuewen put on his hat and found a breakfast stand to have breakfast.
Halfway through, when passing by a meat stand, Chen Xuewen stopped.
He noticed that the butcher's bone saw was extremely sharp.
Moreover, this bone saw was also quite hard and wouldn't get damaged when scraping through bones.
Chen Xuewen remembered the broken dagger from last night.
He didn't know what kind of situation he would face next, so he had to change his weapon.
This bone saw was the most suitable tool.
Chen Xuewen pretended to buy some meat and, while the vendor wasn't paying attention, he slipped the bone saw into the pork and took it away.
Carrying this pork, Chen Xuewen went to a secluded place and took out the bone saw, hiding it in his clothes.
With the weapon prepared, Chen Xuewen felt a little more at ease.
He entered the city and bought a copy of the Pingcheng Daily.
The wanted notice for Du Lao was still published in it, meaning that the Pingcheng Law Enforcement Team had not yet discovered Chen Xuewen's identity.
This situation made Chen Xuewen feel a little more at ease.
At least, his current actions were fine.
Next, Chen Xuewen went to the largest shopping mall in Pingcheng and hid there for the whole morning.
There were many people in this mall, so it wouldn't be easy for the law enforcement team to find him here.
Chen Xuewen stayed in the mall until around 12 o'clock at noon. He had a bowl of noodles nearby and then left the mall.
Next, he was going to meet Wu Lihong to find out who had framed him!