Chapter 4 Mysterious Patterns

  Choi Mu-baek remained silent until he saw me sink into silence, then continued: "Child, I know it's hard for you to believe, but what you're going through now, I also went through 30 years ago. This experience is something that every generation, every Choi family member must go through. I too lived alone for nearly 30 years, lonely and helpless, cursing heaven and earth. When the messenger told me about my origins back then, I was even more furious and hurt than you are now, so I know how you feel at this moment.

  At least you are happier than I am, we can be together, but when I returned to the Cui's house, all I saw was a new grave and parents that I would never see again. You are a university student at Jiangbei University, so you must believe in science more. To eliminate your concerns, before I tell you the whole story, here is a DNA test result between us, take a look first."

  Before I could react, a man named Cui Mubai shouted "Tie Yi" towards the outside of the door.

  A man in a black double-breasted windbreaker quietly pushed open the door and entered, his tall and robust figure clad in leather boots that clicked on the wooden floorboards with an unusual sound. He looked to be around my age, probably over 1.8 meters tall, with long hair covering his forehead and piercing eyes that gave off a cold, celebrity-like aura, as well as a hint of supermodel charm.

  If I'm a sunny handsome guy, then the one called Tie Yi is surrounded by an aura of depression. I took over the stack of papers handed over by Tie Yi without even looking at it and said: "In this era, what's not fake? It's so easy to forge a paper like this, food, drink, clothes, everything is fake, let alone emotions, let alone a pile of worthless paper!"

  I tore up the appraisal document in front of me, and the paper scraps scattered around the room like flower petals. In fact, everything in front of me was what I had been longing for all along, but when it really happened, I just wanted to escape, but what exactly I wanted to escape from, I couldn't figure out.

  I don't know why I'm being so unreasonable, but there's a burning fire in my heart that wants to be vented. I know I don't hate Zhou Cheng, nor do I hate anyone else; I just don't know what I'm hating? Maybe it's fate! Long-term bad luck will always leave me with some mental illnesses that can't be cured.

  I stared at the three people in front of me, one of whom was loudly claiming to be my father. A torn identification card lay scattered on the ground like fallen leaves, turning into tiny pieces of paper. I was confused, everything in front of me made me confused, and I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. My small throat wanted to let out a thunderous roar.

  I looked at Tie Yi and the so-called messenger Xu Bo standing on either side of Cui Mu Bai in his wheelchair, one with an icy expression as if the whole world owed him money. The other held a black paper umbrella in his stiff left hand, his right hand resting on the back of Cui Mu Bai's wheelchair for a long time, maintaining this same pose, like two statues, one cold and one smiling.

  After a brief pause, Cui Mubai looked at my gradually calming chest and said: "Child, your real name is not Zhuo Fan, but Cui Ming. You are 27 years old now, and 27 years ago, I personally sent you to the Ande Welfare Institute! We lived in Fendou, you in the east, me in the west, and we haven't seen each other since your birth.

  "Of course, Zhuo Fan's name was also given by me, hoping that my child can be extraordinary." Cui Mu Bai's calm words seemed to have nothing to do with this story, natural and unadorned, such a cruel plot was truly performed!

  "Extraordinary! What an extraordinary person I am, thank you for your kind intentions, I'm indeed extraordinary now, a suicidal extraordinary person! If you were my father, if you didn't want me, why did you give birth to me? If you didn't want me, why did you acknowledge me? Is it fun? Is it really fun?! What is this now? Pity or sympathy? Take back your pity! My loved ones have long been dead!" I screamed hysterically, and the reason was clearly beyond my acceptable range: I was actually sent to an orphanage by my own father!!!

  My whole body is chilled, trembling all over, the surging adrenaline makes every cell furious, losing all rationality.

  His words made me deny all the miserable reasons I had imagined for my family to abandon me. The contrast between my miserable experience and the luxury in front of me was striking. The home I had been searching for was actually in this city where I grew up, under the same sky, on the same land. There were no tear-jerking scenes like in TV dramas, only stark abandonment. Looking at Cui Mubai smiling in front of me, I felt an uncontrollable anger and threw the blue porcelain vase beside my bed at him. After throwing the vase, I regretted my impulsiveness, realizing that beating a disabled person was clearly a crime!

  But just as I made my move, the young man called Tie Yi stepped forward to protect Cui Mu Bai, and all that was heard was a loud "boom". The vase did not smash into Cui Mu Bai's face as I had hoped. Tie Yi threw out a single punch, which didn't even touch the vase, and yet the Qinghua porcelain vase I had thrown instantly turned into a cloud of smoke - yes, smoke, without any shards or fragments, all transformed into a puff of powder. The scene before my eyes was so bizarre and unreal that it left me unable to think straight, like something out of a martial arts movie come to life.

  Tie Yi's punch shook me deeply, but Cui Mu Bai didn't get angry, instead he calmly shouted "Tie Yi" to stop him. The man in black retreated a step back to his original position, as if nothing had happened. There was no words, no expression, the long hair covered those bright eyes, leaving me with my mouth agape and an exaggerated expression due to shock.

  It was anger and shame that awakened me, I shouted: "Huh, father, you say this thing proves you are my father? Even if you really are my father, if you died, I would acknowledge you; if you said you were poor and helpless to raise me, I would acknowledge you; if you said you had a serious illness and couldn't raise me, I would acknowledge you; if you said I was stolen by human traffickers, I would acknowledge you! But what is this? My own father personally sent his own child into an orphanage, while living such a luxurious life himself. If he didn't want me, why did he give birth to me? Was it just for fun? Can't even be bothered to come up with a reason?

  I let out 27 years of pent-up resentment in this moment, fear and shock mixed together, leaving me almost no capacity for thought except anger. A strong sense of indignation prompted me to struggle to stand up, wanting to pounce over, but facing this frail old man, what could I do? I did nothing, just standing in front of him, sobbing angrily.

  "I know this is hard to believe, but it's a long story! " As he spoke, Cui Mubai turned his head and nodded at the person beside him called Tie Yi. What was he going to do? Watching his strange behavior, I started to feel uneasy.

  Tie Yi took a step forward and bent down, undoing the buttons of Cui Mubai's black cheongsam one by one. The strange scene in front of me made my breathing slow down. Obviously, this was not the rhythm of the beauty trap, but fortunately, the answer was revealed soon. As Tie Yi removed Cui Mubai's outer garment, a strange tattoo appeared on his chest, looking dark and mysterious, with a pattern that seemed to be both a snake and a turtle, or perhaps a combination of the two.

  When I saw this pattern, I felt like I had seen it somewhere before. Ah, yes, it's Xuanwu, one of the Four Symbols. In the past, in order to please Zhou Mo, with the intention of reading his palm, I also studied a simplified version of the Book of Changes, so I have some impression. If I'm not mistaken, Cui Mubai's strange behavior should be to make me see this Xuanwu tattoo on his chest. But what does it represent? Is he trying to tell me that he is also a tattooed person and if I make any sudden moves, I will die miserably? Is he the so-called big brother of the underworld?

  The crimson upper body of Cui Mu Bai, sitting in a wheelchair, his chest muscles were robust and didn't match his age at all. Looking down further, he even had abdominal muscles and a six-pack, just like mine. Further down, it was just his pants. But what's strange is that, contrasting with his strong upper limbs, his arms and legs hung limply, like they had no bones, on the armrests and below his waist. The skin on his arms reflected the texture of his veins, as if they were painted on, making it seem like the bones in his limbs had been extracted, giving off an eerie feeling that made me want to avert my gaze.

  Is it that Cui Mubai has given up on the idea of forcing me, but instead wants to use his own physical disability to gain my sympathy, let go of my anger and acknowledge him as my father? I've always been someone who yields to softness but not hardness. If he really squeezes out a few tears and wails loudly, maybe I'll really be moved. What's the meaning behind this mysterious turtle pattern?