14
My husband had never touched me since we got married. He said I was still young and he wanted to cherish me. Later, he got sick, and we started sleeping in separate rooms. After that, he never brought it up again. But now…
After dinner, I slipped into the bathroom to text Lộc Hà.
Tống Thuận Dương’s belongings had been moved into the master bedroom, and my parents-in-law had even redecorated it a little. The eerie, gloomy atmosphere made me afraid to look directly at anything.
[I’m afraid of provoking them, so I don’t dare expose their lies. But it feels like they’re keeping me prisoner. I trust you, Doctor Lộc. What should I do? Should I call the police?]
The tub was nearly full before Lộc Hà finally sent a brief reply. But what she said sent a chill through me, and my heart turned more than half to ice: [If your husband was already dead to begin with, how could he have children with you?]
15
[His family spent a fortune to put the corpse-wrapping ring on your finger. They won’t leave you any opening to call the police.]
[If you still call him your husband, don’t ask me what to do.]
I was just about to lower my head and type a message when, from the corner of my eye, I spotted someone outside the door…
“Honey, who are you texting? Why haven’t you taken a bath yet?”
A pair of glossy black eyes pressed close to the bathroom’s louvered door, staring greedily at me!
Tống Thuận Dương was spying on me!
A chill shot down my spine, making my scalp prickle. I hurriedly turned off the bathroom light and put on a sweet voice. “Don’t look, don’t look! I’m getting a surprise ready for you. I’ll be done in a minute!”
Tống Thuận Dương hesitated for a moment, then slowly climbed into his wheelchair and wheeled away.
“Then remember to put your wedding ring on… I want to have all of you.”
In the darkness, I gradually calmed down.
Lộc Hà was right. The problem had to be the ring.
If this whole family really was plotting against me, there was no point in being afraid. I had to find a way out myself.
About twenty minutes later, I put on my nightgown, picked up a glass of warm milk, and went into the master bedroom.
Tống Thuận Dương took medicine every day. I pretended not to notice and handed him the glass of milk. “Drink this. It’s good for your health.”
“It’s good for men.”
Tống Thuận Dương let out a few chuckles, his eyes fixed on me, full of lust.
“Honey, you’re so beautiful. Our child is sure to be exceptional.”
Not long after he said that, Tống Thuận Dương suddenly slumped forward onto the bed and went still.
16
I had added a strong sleeping pill to the glass of milk.
I wasn’t in good health and had seen many doctors. One had once prescribed sleeping pills, but since I slept well, I’d left them in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
If Tống Thuận Dương could take other kinds of medicine, he could certainly take a sleeping pill.
My heart pounding, I locked the bedroom door from the inside, lifted him onto the bed, and arranged him there. After thinking for a while, I knelt on the floor and started shaking the bed.
At the same time, I texted Lộc Hà:
[Please tell me what to do. Should I call 110 or 120?]
[I had an identical fake wedding ring made. It’ll be delivered tomorrow morning.]
[This is my home, the house my parents left me. I’m not afraid of them. How can I throw this trash out of my house?]
A few minutes later, Lộc Hà replied:
[Looks like you’re pretty smart—you even thought to use sleeping pills. All right, I’ll help you this time.]
[Look at the news stories I sent you earlier. Don’t they seem familiar?]
…
17
Lộc Hà had sent three news articles.
One was an advertisement: “Terminally ill man comes back to life after taking a tonic.”
One was a news story from years ago: “Infant’s body found buried in a manure pit in a rural area.”
The third was about inheritance law: “Spouses, children, and parents are all first-priority heirs.”
I quickly connected the three articles, and an outrageous thought came to mind. If everything had been planned, then the Tống family didn’t just want my life—they wanted to wipe out my entire family line.
[Doctor Lộc, you once said Tống Thuận Dương had used black magic three times… Whose lives did he trade away those three times?]
A long time passed before Lộc Hà sent a curt reply:
[Do you understand now? Keep stalling. Don’t provoke them. You can’t kill a bunch of greedy monsters.]
[I’m up in the mountains; the signal is bad. We’ll talk when I get back.]
Understand what?!
Lộc Hà, why didn’t you tell me the most important part!
18
As I’d expected, Lộc Hà stopped answering my messages after that.
The next morning, Tống Thuận Dương didn’t remember a thing. He even tried to pull me close. He hadn’t been dreaming, and most importantly, he had no sense of time. When he slept, his brain was completely inactive—he wasn’t like a living person.
I pretended to be bashful and pushed him away, playfully scolding him for forgetting what happened the night before. Then I went out to get the package.
Chu Thải Phượng came into the room to clean, beaming as she praised her son for working so hard all night. Tống Thuận Dương believed her without question.
Standing outside the door, I switched my real wedding ring for the fake one that had just arrived. I used chewing gum to stick the deadly ring underneath a flowerpot, hiding it where no one could easily find it.
As soon as I finished and turned around, I saw Chu Thải Phượng standing behind me. I had no idea how long she’d been there!
19
“What are you standing around for? You sleep till this hour and you’re still not going to make breakfast?” Her face was icy as she shoved me hard.
The sudden change left me baffled, but I still remembered Lộc Hà’s advice and obediently went into the kitchen.
As I washed the vegetables, I deliberately asked, “How have my four sisters-in-law been lately? Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. How about the whole family gets together?”
Chu Thải Phượng’s voice suddenly turned cold. “Those four sluts are doing just fine. They’re all filthy like you, so why wouldn’t they be?”
I froze. Maybe this was what she really thought. She wasn’t going to pretend anymore.
I didn’t want to provoke her, so I lowered my head, picked up a glass of water, and went into the bedroom.
Tống Thuận Dương sat blankly on the bed, unresponsive when I called him. All I could do was step forward and give him some water.
As I was giving him water, his right hand, which was holding the glass, suddenly went limp like a deflated balloon, gradually growing softer.
A few small cracks sounded from the bone, like a cookie being crushed. In the blink of an eye, only a thin layer of skin remained, dangling from his elbow and swaying gently!
It all happened so fast that my scream was still caught in my throat.
“This wretched body, honestly…” Tống Thuận Dương muttered, then lowered his head and bit down on my right hand, greedily licking the wedding ring.
Crack!
The fake ring split open and slid down his throat into his stomach.
At that moment, we both froze.
He slowly raised his head and roared at me furiously. “Where’s the real ring? Why aren’t you wearing it!”
“There are only eight days left. You’re planning to run away, aren’t you?!”
20
My lunar birthday was eight days away. I didn’t have much time left.
Tống Huyên wasn’t home. The moment Chu Thải Phượng heard the commotion, she rushed in and slapped me without even asking what had happened. “You filthy woman, where’s your wedding ring?”
I trembled, quickly thinking of an excuse. Through my tears, I said, “I took it off on purpose.”
“I’m an unclean woman. Even you said so, Mother. I don’t deserve to wear this ring, much less be a daughter-in-law of the Tống family.”
The mother and son looked at me suspiciously. I took the wedding ring from beneath the flowerpot and pretended I was going to give it back.
Chu Thải Phượng hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and tried to comfort me. “What are you saying, silly girl? I was wrong. You’re a good daughter-in-law to the Tống family. Put the ring back on.”
Just as I’d expected, once I put the ring back on, Tống Thuận Dương’s spirits immediately improved. It was as if fresh water were constantly flowing into a dead pond, and his eyes grew bright and clear again.
I quietly slipped my hand into my pocket and switched it for a fake ring.
Did I really buy only one fake ring? I’d bought ten. The other nine were still in my pocket.