Qiao Erlang said, patted Liu Rong's hand gently, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve bag, and handed it to her.

"My father went there early. I was only five years old at that time. My family sold tofu. My mother suffered a lot in order to let us brothers study. Even..." Qiao Erlang said, secretly glanced at Qiao Dalang and pinched his palms.

Some things are hard to say, and every time they mention them, they make him very sad.

"For the money to go to a private school, my mother committed to Chen Tai, the current housekeeper of the Qiao family. At that time, he was the instructor of a martial arts school and had a family. Therefore, she had high expectations for us. If she was not good at studying, she would beat me and scold me and my brother, saying that it was because of us that she had just asked her..."

"This happened almost every day since I was confused. After my brother became a scholar, his family had a bright future, and Chen Tai also went to another place. We thought a good day had come, but we didn't expect that it was not long after I married Rong Niang and entered the door."

"Not only did Chen Tai come back, but he also became the butler of the Qiao family. My brother and I are now in Lingling, so we have a small status, so we will not agree. But Chen Tai actually said..."

Qiao Erlang clenched his fists, "I actually said that he is my biological father. I said that my mother had an affair with him long ago... I questioned my mother, and she admitted it in a very embarrassing way.

I thought my mother endured humiliation for us, and I thought she beat me and my brother because she suffered too much pain. But I didn’t expect that everything was a lie, and she was a complete evil person.”

Qiao Erlang said, his voice choked up a little. He cleared his throat and continued.

"My brother and I have limited qualifications and have no hope of winning the imperial examination, so we opened a private school. At that time, a chastity archway had been erected at the door of our house. We had nothing, only a good reputation. Once these dirty things were spread, we would have no place to stand in Lingling."

"Also, Chen Tai is a boxer, and we are weak scholars without any power, so we had to swallow our anger. But I never expected that my mother and Chen Tai would actually..."

"My mother only said that she was sick and kept it very well. But when Rong Niang was experiencing illness, she accidentally discovered it. She was pulling it and the child in her belly was gone. The child was eight months old at that time. Because the fetus was too big, Rong Niang was injured and could never have a child again."

"My mother was very happy and sent the child she gave birth to to our room... My eldest brother is honest, I am gentle and have good face, and I never dared to resist. But this time I really can't stand it."

"Erlang!" Liu Rong said, hugging Qiao Erlang and crying.

Qiao Erlang touched her head, "I bought arsenic and wanted to poison the adulterer to death and then commit suicide. But when things came to an end, Rong Niang stopped her."

"That was about two months ago. I was upset. I took advantage of Rong Niang's sleep and sat at the back door, wanting to breathe alone. At this time, a man wearing a mask came."

Chi Shi was so excited that the key point came.

"What mask are you wearing? What are your characteristics?"

Qiao Erlang's lips moved and he shook his head gently, "I just wore a coarse linen, and I couldn't tell anything special. The mask he wore was also the kind of New Year painting dolls that many people brought during the temple fair."

Chi Shi's eyes moved slightly and glanced at Zhou Xian. Zhou Xian smiled at her and nodded gently.

Qiao Erlang did not tell the truth completely.

"What?" She pulled the chair again, sat down, and took a cup of hot tea from Jiule's hand.

"As soon as he spoke, he said he knew I wanted to kill someone. He also said that soon my mother would die as I wish and someone would kill her for me. All I needed to do was kill another person and go back."

"I didn't believe it, thinking about where the madman came from. But soon after, my mother was really killed. Only then did I realize that what the man said was true. That night, he appeared again and asked me to kill Li Debao."

"Since my mother can die if she says she dies, then Rong Niang and my child can die if she says she dies. I really have no choice but to put the arsenic she bought before in sugar water and let Li Debao drink it."

Qiao Erlang said, his face darkened, "I killed someone and got seriously ill. I thought this would pass, but I didn't expect that one person after another... just after the shopkeeper of the Big Skeleton Tavern died... that person appeared again."

"For the first time I saw six other people on the boat under Muyun Bridge."

Qiao Erlang sighed a long time, his expression twisted a little. Every time he thought of that night, he felt like a dream, and everything he experienced was like a nightmare.

Muyun Bridge is a famous bridge in Lingling City. It arches high and sits on a small boat in the river. Looking up at the bridge, it seems to be towering into the clouds, so it is called Muyun Bridge.

The north wind blew in winter. Although the river was not frozen, almost no one would come here at midnight. When Qiao Erlang entered, it was already full of people.

The man was sitting at the bow of the boat, "The reason I asked everyone to come today is to let everyone recognize their familiar faces. Everyone has gained benefits. They should be loyal and close to each other as their brothers and sisters."

"There is a word that one loses one's own losses and one's own prosperity. If anyone wants to say it, it depends on the knife in the hands of others. Do you agree or not?"

Qiao Erlang touched his arm, and his head was covered with goose bumps. The man's mouth opened and closed, making people buzz, but it seemed that he didn't hear anything in his mind.

Seeing that no one was talking, the man said again, "Okay, I'm the ugly one before. We are all kind people who are bullied. Those who do many evil things will be killed. If they kill bad people, they will have to be in prison? Ask God, see if God agrees?"

"Today we will talk about it. After today, we will return to the bridge and the road. We will never meet each other in our life. This matter is also in our hearts, so don't mention it again."

"But, let's talk first."

Qiao Erlang looked at the man's gaze, and opposite him was a strong man who looked very fierce. He sat with his legs wide open, his pig-killing knife on his waist was shiny, and there was some meat scraps on his head, emitting an unpleasant smell.

"My wife is a shameless woman and has an affair with others. If I hadn't been afraid that my son would starve to death after killing her, I would have chopped off her head directly. I don't know which hero she was, so powerful that she actually burned the woman to carbon. The pig slaying person will thank you here first!"

He said, chuckling, revealing his mouthful of yellow teeth. Before Qiao Erlang could breathe a sigh of relief, his face suddenly changed, he pulled off the pig-killing knife at his waist, and said angrily, "Sir, speak in a very literary manner, I'm afraid you don't understand. We are all grasshoppers on the same boat now. Who dares to rebel and ruin my good deeds? I'll kill him by the first one."

"I'm done, that little baby over there, you are so young, you are cruel and ruthless!"

The butcher said, raised his hand and pointed at the little girl sitting in a corner of the cabin.

Qiao Erlang looked closely and felt a buzzing sound in his head. He knew that the child was Li Debao's real sister.

The little girl's face turned red, her voice was like a mosquito screaming. She took a deep breath and then became depressed again, "Since my mother gave birth to my little brother, no one at home has loved me."
Chapter completed!