Chapter 509: Hands

Up to this point, my role in this Dream Realm had remained that of a bystander. If I got involved, altered the course of the dream, or was discovered by the people in the orphanage, everything would begin to spiral in an uncontrollable direction.

So, as utterly revolted as I was by what was happening inside the room, I still couldn't intervene. I reminded myself repeatedly, 'This is just a dream. Everything I'm seeing has already happened. I can't change the past; all I can do is uncover the truth of what happened back then.'

The sickening scene in the room dragged on for a long time. Teacher Hu slowly lost his initial excitement and grew bored. "Old Wang, are these two the only girls you've taken in here? They're too skinny, and they look pretty average. Do you have any better ones?"

"Oh, getting picky, are we? You should be glad you have anything to play with at all. Stop being so choosy—this is Heaven's Gate."

"Don't give me that. Just playing with idiots is no fun." Teacher Hu's hand was still glued to the girl's back as he handed the other man a cigarette. "Do you have any pretty cripples here? The kind that are a little more responsive."

"You want to touch the cripples too? You've got some sick tastes." Old Wang tapped his cigarette mouthpiece. Compared to Teacher Hu, he looked much more like a brute, someone who clearly lacked any education.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't want anyone missing arms or legs." Teacher Hu winked suggestively. "Do you have any blind ones? Or deaf-mutes? Teaching them should be pretty interesting."

"Nope. You can play with the idiots however you want; they won't talk anyway. But the cripples are absolutely off-limits. If someone leaks it, I'll lose my job." Old Wang waved a hand in refusal, holding onto the mentally disabled girl with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"You're afraid of losing your job? We just need to find a mute or a blind girl. We won't say a word while we're at it, and we'll leave as soon as we're done. Who'd know it was us?" Teacher Hu haphazardly picked up a school uniform from the floor and dressed the girl. An outsider would never be able to tell what these two girls had been subjected to; they were mentally disabled and couldn't tell anyone themselves.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember a girl." Old Wang smacked his lips as if savoring a rare delicacy. "There's a little girl in that batch of orphans Elder Chen brought back a few days ago. Man, she's a fucking gem! Her skin is incredibly soft, like she was carved right out of jade."

"A gem? How does she compare to these two idiots?" Teacher Hu's interest was piqued.

"Give me a break. There's absolutely no comparison."

"If she was really that good, would you actually tell me? Wouldn't an old geezer like you have already helped yourself?" Teacher Hu knew Old Wang well; neither of them were good people—they were birds of a feather drawn to the same filth.

Old Wang waved his hands emphatically. "Don't talk nonsense. That girl is probably only six or seven years old. She's been here for a few days now, and I've never heard her say a single word. She must be a mute."

"Ha, what a coincidence. Hurry up and take me to see her. Let's see if she's really as unbelievable as you claim." Teacher Hu shoved the mentally disabled girl aside and dragged Old Wang toward the door.

"What's the rush? Let me tidy up the room so nobody notices anything." Because of this slight delay, the Hunchbacked Boy, who had been hiding by the window, managed to clutch his soccer ball and duck around the corner of the corridor. In his panic, he didn't notice me hiding all the way in the back.

Teacher Hu and Old Wang emerged from the room and headed straight for the second floor. There was an iron gate between the first and second floors, but it wasn't locked; the padlock was just hanging there symbolically.

The Hunchbacked Boy waited for ten seconds or so after Teacher Hu and Old Wang went up before clutching his soccer ball and tiptoeing after them. He didn't make a single sound the entire way.

This behavior matched my impression of him. How could a boy capable of playing the Hide-and-Seek Game all by himself in the dead of night be like an ordinary child?

He eased the iron gate open just a crack. The Hunchbacked Boy was incredibly cautious, only heading upstairs after confirming he could no longer hear Teacher Hu and Old Wang's footsteps.

"This kid is far from simple."

When it came to tailing and tracking, someone like me—who used to do extramarital affair investigations—was at an expert level. There was zero chance I'd be discovered.

Keeping a distance of a few meters between myself and the boy, I followed him to the second floor. I hadn't gone far when I heard Old Wang's low murmur coming from a private room just ahead. "Just taking a look is fine, but don't go too far."

"Holy shit, Old Wang, this little thing looks so delicate! Are you sure she's a mute?"

They kept their voices very low, so I could only catch the gist of their conversation. Because the Hunchbacked Boy was squeezed near the doorway and the corridor offered zero cover, I didn't get too close for fear of exposing myself.

"She really is a little beauty. She's only this old and she already looks like this; once she grows up a bit more, she'll definitely be a little siren."

"Old Hu, keep your voice down. We're on the second floor, and there are people staying in the next room. It's time to go."

"No way. If I hadn't seen her, it'd be one thing, but now it feels like a cat is scratching at my heart. I'm a teacher; there's nothing unreasonable about me giving a child a physical checkup, right?"

"You better take it easy. Don't touch places you shouldn't."

"What the hell are you afraid of? She's this young, what does she know? It's not like you don't know this place. It's filthy. If I don't make a move, someone else will just get her later."

"I'm telling you to think straight. She's not like those two idiots downstairs. The director will definitely ask about her when he gets back."

"Ask about her? Would this little girl dare say anything? Does she even know what I'm going to do? I'm just a teacher giving her a physical checkup. What are you panicking about?"

After saying that, it seemed Teacher Hu was about to make his move. I couldn't see the scene inside the room; I could only see the Hunchbacked Boy standing outside. His hunched back slowly straightened. Suddenly, he raised his hands and hurled his soccer ball against the private room's window with all his might.

He didn't have much strength, so the glass didn't break, but the loud crash scared the living daylights out of the two adults inside.

Teacher Hu and Old Wang hurriedly threw the door open to check. Their reflexes were fast; the Hunchbacked Boy had absolutely no time to escape.

"What's your name? What are you doing here? Don't you know you can't just wander in and out of the Rehabilitation Area?" Old Wang's tone was relatively polite, but Teacher Hu's attitude was the exact opposite.

"You?" Teacher Hu hadn't gotten to do his deed and had been startled into a shudder instead. He was already mad at the Hunchbacked Boy, and this just made him even more furious. "You little brat, you've got some nerve. Get over here!"

He reached out and hoisted the Hunchbacked Boy up by the collar. "Old Wang, this is a student from my class. He's way too naughty. I won't be helping you clean up the Rehabilitation Area today."

Hearing this, Old Wang immediately caught his drift. "Go do your thing. I'll take care of the rest of the work. I'll definitely clean it up spotless, leaving no loose ends."

"Got it." The moment Teacher Hu turned around, his expression completely changed. His eyes bulged wide, and the hand growing out of his left cheek clenched tightly into a fist.

As the two of them headed downstairs, I hurriedly ducked out of the way and trailed behind them.

Carrying the Hunchbacked Boy in one hand and the soccer ball in the other, Teacher Hu took a detour before finally entering the orphanage kitchen.

It wasn't mealtime, so there wasn't a single person there.

"He wouldn't actually resort to murder to silence him over something this small, would he?" Hiding outside the door, I eavesdropped on the conversation between Teacher Hu and the Hunchbacked Boy.

"What exactly did you see in the Rehabilitation Area just now?" Teacher Hu's tone was calm at first, but I could hear his suppressed rage.

The Hunchbacked Boy kept his head down, too afraid to answer. Teacher Hu's patience was quickly worn away. He started rummaging through the cupboards for something. "I will ask you one more time. Tell me honestly what you saw in the Rehabilitation Area!"

The boy's legs trembled in terror. Compared to the 1.8-meter-tall male teacher, he looked like a kitten on the brink of starvation.

"Still not going to talk? Fine." Teacher Hu pulled a juicer out of the cupboard, slammed it down in front of the boy, and plugged it in.

It was an older model of juicer, the kind fitted with spiral blades inside.

Right in front of the Hunchbacked Boy, Teacher Hu tossed in a few carrots as thick as a baby's arm. Then, he hit the switch, letting the boy watch with his own eyes as the carrots were pulverized!

"See those carrots?" Without even cleaning out the pulp inside the machine, Teacher Hu did something I hadn't anticipated at all: he grabbed the boy's hand and pressed it into the juicer. His face contorted. "Now tell me, what did you see in the Rehabilitation Area!"

The power was still on. With just one press of the switch, the Hunchbacked Boy's arm would probably end up exactly like those carrots. My heart tightened once more.

"You are the most wicked child I've ever seen. You cursed your own family to death, you killed the director's robin, and when you passed by the classroom just now, was it you who broke the window? You're so bad that if I said you got too playful and stuck your own hand into the juicer, they'd probably believe me. Your teacher is going to give you one last chance. Tell me, what did you see in the Rehabilitation Area?" Teacher Hu was like a malicious spirit reincarnated—after all, how could a human being be this vicious?

It was a long time before the Hunchbacked Boy finally spoke.

"Hands..." His voice trembled violently. "I saw your hands reaching into their uniforms."