Xu Mo's head throbbed with a sharp pain, as if it might split open at any moment. Countless images flashed in his mind like a movie. He wanted to wake up, but his eyelids remained stubbornly shut.
Was it sleep paralysis?
A thought flickered in his mind as his consciousness continued to struggle. Finally, his left hand twitched, feeling cold and sticky, while his right hand seemed to be pressed under something heavy, already numb.
"Phew..." Xu Mo finally opened his eyes, gasping for breath, feeling extremely exhausted.
Sensing something, Xu Mo quickly raised his left hand to take a look. His palm was stained red, shocking him and making his eyes glaze over as his heart raced.
His right arm still couldn't move. He turned his head slightly to look at it and saw a small body curled up there, its tattered clothes also stained with blood. The young face had both blood and tear marks. It was a girl around five years old, still sobbing even in her sleep.
Xu Mo carefully turned his body, bending his arm and propping himself up with his elbow to sit up, letting the girl lean against his chest.
Sitting up, Xu Mo looked around him, his heart clenched violently with a sudden, intense pain.
In the small house, two cold bodies lay on the floor, already faintly turning dark purple, with bloodstains coloring the floor. They had obviously been dead for some time.
A memory floated to the surface of Xu Mo's mind, bringing a piercing pain along with a strong sadness and heart-wrenching sorrow. He seemed to have lost his sense of who he was.
Looking down at the sobbing girl in his arms, he felt even worse.
Xu Mo vaguely realized what had happened to him. He looked down at the floor, scattered with broken furniture. Xu Mo found a piece of broken mirror, shifted his body, and picked it up with his left hand. As he looked into it, he saw a slightly youthful face, around fifteen years old, pale with a sickly pallor.
The girl's eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes and called out, "Brother."
As if she remembered something, the girl suddenly started crying harder, struggling in Xu Mo's arms. But Xu Mo grabbed her head, his right hand tightly holding her neck, his arm exerting just enough pressure to keep her from breaking free.
"Don't look."
Xu Mo said softly, his heart aching, each breath filled with pain.
A five-year-old girl witnessing her parents and brother being beaten to death—what a horrific scene?
"Brother, I'm scared..." the girl sobbed and trembled in Xu Mo's arms, her small hands clutching him tightly. Xu Mo's heart quivered with the sound of her crying, and his grip tightened.
"Don't be afraid, Brother's here." Xu Mo tried to make his voice as gentle as possible.
"Brother, are Mommy and Daddy asleep? Why are they bleeding? Brother, can you wake them up?" the girl cried.
"Yaoer, Mommy and Daddy are tired. Let's let them sleep a bit, okay?" Xu Mo looked down at the girl and said softly, forcing a smile.
"Okay." The girl nodded obediently, though still crying.
Holding the girl, Xu Mo stood up and looked around. The shabby room was only about twenty square meters, with the living room and kitchen combined, dust everywhere, and only one small bedroom.
Xu Mo carefully walked into the bedroom, placing the girl on the bed. She looked at him, seemingly a bit scared.
"Yaoer, sleep for a while. Brother will stay with you, okay?" Xu Mo whispered to the girl, who nodded, still clutching his hand.
"Go to sleep, everything will be better when you wake up." Xu Mo gently stroked the girl's hair, moving from her forehead down, helping her close her eyes.
The girl obediently complied, not resisting. Xu Mo stayed by her side for a while, then gently pulled back his hand and covered her with the quilt.
The room was a mess, with clothes piled up. Xu Mo found two old quilts, walked out of the bedroom, and covered the bodies with them. He searched his memory for what to do in this situation, but the original owner clearly had no such knowledge. At not quite fifteen, he lacked life experience.
He only vaguely knew that the dead could be buried or cremated.
"Money!"
Xu Mo glanced at the messy room, which had already been ransacked. Anything of value was likely gone. This world seemed even crueler than the original owner remembered.
Thump, thump, thump...
There was a sound; the door, left ajar, was pushed open. A middle-aged figure walked in, glanced at the bodies covered with white cloth, and then at Xu Mo. His eyelid twitched as he asked, "Was it the people from the munitions factory?"
"It should be," Xu Mo nodded. In his memory, his parents were ordinary workers at a munitions factory, but one day they suddenly rushed home and dared not go back. They even went to the Law Enforcement Team, seemingly encountering something.
According to Xu Mo's memory, his parents hadn't told him what happened, but he vaguely heard them discussing that the munitions factory was hiding some secrets. They were frightened, wanted to report it, but ended up like this. The entire family of four, except for not quite five-year-old Xu Yao, were beaten to death.
"Fools, I told them not to meddle in other people's business. They wouldn't be in this mess if they'd listened," the middle-aged man said. He was Xu Mo's father's brother, Xu Mo's uncle.
Xu Mo looked at him and noticed his eyes lacked any sorrow or anger, too calm to be a genuine sibling.
From his memory, Xu Mo knew his parents were honest people, while his uncle was sly. The brothers rarely interacted.
"Xu Mo, what's done is done. We need to take care of your parents' funeral," Uncle Xu sighed. "But cremation costs money, and I don't have much savings. I'll try to borrow some to make it presentable, and then we'll sell this old house. What do you think?"
Xu Mo looked at him warily. In his memory, his uncle wasn't so agreeable.
"Where will I and Yaoer live?" Xu Mo asked.
"I'll apply to be your guardian. You and Yaoer will come live with me," Uncle Xu said.
"But your house isn't big. Adding me and Yaoer, it might be crowded, and Yaoer will grow up. It won't be convenient," Xu Mo replied.
Uncle Xu's eyes flashed with impatience. This Xu Mo was usually timid and naive. How could he suddenly be so aware, thinking about the future?
"Don't worry about that. I'll find a way," Uncle Xu said irritably.
Xu Mo stared at him for a moment, then said, "Thank you for the offer, Uncle, but we won't trouble you. I'll take care of Yaoer myself."
"What do kids know?" Uncle Xu barked, glaring at Xu Mo, his eyes filled with a fierce look. Scaring him, he said, "You're lucky to be alive. How will you protect Yaoer? Follow me, and don't worry about her. She's young; she'll forget in a few years. I'll find her a good family. If a big shot wants to adopt a child, Yaoer might have a good life."
He added assertively, "That's final."
Xu Mo looked at Uncle Xu with a cold heart. In his memory, Xu Mo could get by on his own. He couldn't make a lot of money but enough to live. Yaoer needed care, and Uncle Xu wanted to send her away, "send" or "sell," he didn't know. The chance of finding a good family was almost zero.
This was a ploy to seize the house, taking advantage of his brother's death.
Uncle Xu felt uncomfortable under Xu Mo's gaze. This little brat seemed different now, more daring. But he still didn't believe he couldn't handle a boy not even fifteen.
"I don't want to," a childish voice came. Xu Mo turned to see Yaoer standing barefoot in the doorway, clearly frightened awake. Tears welled up in her big, damp eyes as she looked at Xu Mo, "I don't want to be given away."
Seeing the tears in the girl's eyes, Xu Mo's heart ached. He walked over and hugged her, "Brother won't send you away."
"Children shouldn't speak out of turn," Uncle Xu glared at Yaoer.
Yaoer shrank back, looking at Xu Mo.
Xu Mo felt a surge of anger. He placed Yaoer on the bed, ruffled her hair, and said, "Be good, Yaoer. Brother will protect you. Stay in the room, okay?"
"Okay, I'll listen to Brother!" the girl nodded obediently.
"Good girl!" Xu Mo kissed the girl's forehead and walked out, closing the door.
"Uncle, you should leave. I'll handle things here," Xu Mo said to Uncle Xu, not expecting his help.
Uncle Xu glared at him with a vicious look, his mouth curling into a sneer as he stepped toward Xu Mo. Coldly, he said, "You ungrateful brat. Your parents are dead, understand."
He kicked Xu Mo, who, already weak, fell to the ground. Uncle Xu said, "Just cooperate, and things will be fine. Do you think I want to take you in? Yaoer will fetch a good price; some men in the black market love this type."
Xu Mo coughed, his clenched fists trembling.
"Hmph," Uncle Xu glanced coldly at Xu Mo, stepping over him and heading toward the room, "Yaoer, Uncle will take you to play."
He pushed the door open.
Suddenly, there was a sound behind him. Uncle Xu turned, a murderous look in his eyes. He thought Xu Mo might still be useful, to make some money. But now...
No one would care what happened here.
As he turned, he saw a sharp piece of glass coming at him. His pupils contracted violently. He never thought his usually cowardly nephew would do such a thing. Panicked, he tried to block, but it was too late. Xu Mo used all his strength, and the glass shard plunged from his eye downward!
PS: I've been writing fantasy for over ten years. Now, I want to write an interstellar sci-fi novel. My new book is available on Qidian Chinese Network. It's my first time publishing there, so I hope for your support!!!