"Dio, is everything Mr. Steve said true?"
Hearing Fang Mo's statement, Jonathan couldn't help but shout: "You... you even despise your own biological father's grave?!"
"It's... it's over..."
Dio's pupils shuddered violently, and he was instantly covered in cold sweat: "I... I'm a fool! I actually... actually let such words slip out by accident! It's terrible... this is bad, so bad!!!"
"Dio! I'm going to tell father about this!"
Seeing this scene, Jonathan next to him immediately shouted: "I'm going to show him your true face! You really are a complete bastard!"
"JoJo... you... this guy..."
Dio, who was originally in a state of panic, suddenly became angry after hearing Jonathan's words. He looked at Jonathan fiercely, gnashing his teeth. Yes, he indeed could not afford to provoke this mysterious magician at the moment, after all, he was still a child, with no power to contend with adults or anything, but since when did Jonathan dare to step on the head of him, Dio the great?
But Dio knew that he must not be impulsive at this critical moment, he had to stay calm!
So, in the next second, all the hatred and ferocity on his face mysteriously disappeared, replaced by an expression of grievance and sadness, and he knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Mr. Steve... I... I was wrong..."
Dio knelt on the ground, trying to show a sobbing and tearful appearance: "I shouldn't have done that... but father really went too far! It was he who killed mother!"
"What... what?"
Jonathan, after all, was still a child, and was also shocked by Dio's statement.
"Explain in detail."
Fang Mo's expression didn't change much.
"Father developed the bad habits of gambling and heavy drinking, and when he lost at gambling, he would take it out on mother, hit her, and even took all the money from the house to pay off debts. Ever since I can remember, my mother has not had a full meal a day, and the money she earned from working hard was also taken away by father to buy alcohol." Dio accused with tears and sobs: "It is because of his exploitation and coercion that mother died early in the cold and hunger!"
"How could this be possible!?"
Jonathan, upon hearing this, also showed an incredulous expression: "How can there be people in the world who treat their own family like this..."
Of course, Jonathan was also a bit puzzled.
Didn't Mr. Steve say that Dio's father loved his mother very much? But the situation now doesn't seem to look like that at all, what exactly is going on?
However, before Jonathan could figure it out, Dio suddenly looked up sharply, crying as he looked at JoJo.
"JoJo, I was wrong about what happened today, please forgive me!"
Dio said this and directly pressed his forehead to the ground, his hands clutching the soil so hard that veins bulge, and his shoulders trembled nonstop: "I didn't mean to do that to you, my upbringing was just so harsh, so seeing you, I was too envious, please forgive me!"
"Uh..."
Jonathan had never seen such a display before, and the small grievances in his heart instantly vanished.
"It's… it's okay, Dio."
Jonathan took a step forward and crouched down trying to comfort him: "If I had grown up in a family like yours, perhaps I would have been the same. I forgive you, Dio, let's be friends from now on."
"JoJo..."
Dio did not look up, just clenched the soil in his hands even tighter.
"..."
Fang Mo watched this scene silently without speaking.
He had read the original story and knew about Dio's family situation. The other party wasn't lying; Dario was indeed a real scumbag, indeed it was his squandering and alcoholism that led to his wife leaving this world early.
But how to put it.
This part of Dio's story was indeed not a lie.
But his apology to JoJo and such, not a single word was heartfelt.
You see Dio kneeling on the ground, looking like he is repentant, but in fact, it's all out of anger... why does he keeps his head down, most likely because he's so angry he could have a cerebral hemorrhage, his eyes all red, haven't you seen his hands constantly digging into the soil?
Does a normal person apologize by squeezing the soil so hard?
Is he trying to emulate Nüwa creating humans?
That's where Dio's cunning lies. He's only twelve years old, yet he can already weigh the pros and cons, to yield or to stand tall, to temporarily show weakness when facing an unbeatable opponent, to find an opportunity for revenge later on.
Jonathan thought Dio was apologizing to him to put their past differences aside and become friends.
But Dio didn't think so. In his view, it was all Jonathan's fault, it was because of Jonathan that he had been humiliated, and now he wished he could chop up his opponent and feed him to the dogs.
It's just that he didn't have the ability to do so yet, so he had to endure it for the time being.
"Hmm... Dio."
Fang Mo looked at 'tearfully weeping' Dio, thought for a moment, and then said, "I don't intend to comment on your childhood or personality, I just want to teach you one thing."
"What?"
Dio wiped his face and looked up at Fang Mo.
"Only those who are prepared to be shot have the right to shoot." Fang Mo walked slowly up to Dio and said calmly, "I don't know if you can understand or are willing to believe, but I just want to remind you of one thing... No matter who it is, if you do something wrong, you will definitely face the consequences."
"Today you threw a stone and hit Jonathan's leg, causing him to sprain his foot, which was your fault, so I will make you suffer the same injury."
As he spoke, Fang Mo bent down to pick up a stone and threw it at Dio's leg.
The stone hit Dio's leg, and he immediately widened his eyes in pain, gaping like a fish out of water, and it took a long while for him to recover, curling up on the ground holding his leg and trembling.
"Mr. Steve!"
After Jonathan saw this scene, he showed a look of distress on his face: "I... I didn't get hurt that badly, please don't punish Dio anymore, he was just confused for a moment, it would be enough if you just give him a slight reprimand."
"A reprimand? For him?"
Fang Mo looked at Dio on the ground, who still had a vicious glint in his eyes like a poisonous snake, and seeing this Fang Mo couldn't help but shake his head and laugh: "Reprimands are useless, broken bones are a better textbook."
"Dio, remember what I said today."
Fang Mo said: "If you do something wrong, you must bear the consequences, debts must be repaid, and a life taken must be atoned for. This has been an iron rule since ancient times. I won't pursue the things you've done to Dario in the past, I know your brain works better than JoJo's, so I hope you think carefully and don't do anything foolish on an impulse again."
"!?"
Dio on the ground was still holding his leg and enduring the severe pain, but when he heard Fang Mo's words, something clicked in his heart, and an extremely bad guess came to mind, making his face turn pale.
This guy...
Could it be that he even knows how the old thing died?