Xiao Weiguo stepped out of the bar, his fingers just resting on the door handle of his luxury car. Suddenly, a suffocating, searing pain pierced his back. A sharp blade drove straight into his heart.
Struggling to turn around, his eyes met a face filled with venomous hatred.
"Xiao Jian!"
He gasped softly.
It was his own younger brother, Xiao Jian. For more than twenty years, he had waited for this very moment.
At last, release...
A look of relief washed over Xiao Weiguo's face before he collapsed forward onto the ground, and the entire world plunged into darkness.
...
When he regained consciousness, the sky was faintly growing light. Taking in his surroundings, he found himself lying in the middle of a cornfield.
His body was covered in bruises, and his head throbbed as if it were about to explode.
The scene was intimately familiar. Xiao Weiguo remembered: wasn't this the exact moment thirty-eight years ago when, after losing everything at gambling and refusing to pay up, he had been beaten senseless and thrown out in the wilderness?
Could I have been reborn?
Xiao Weiguo slammed his hand against his head hard. This wasn't a dream—it was real. He had truly been reborn.
The year was the summer of 1986.
Suddenly, as if recalling something crucial, he bolted to his feet and ran toward home like the wind.
In his past life, today was the day his younger sister, Xiao Shanshan, was to be married off.
And from this very day onward, his sister stepped into a living hell. The man she was forced to marry was the village chief's nephew—a simpleton who couldn't even count to three.
The fool knew nothing, and because she couldn't conceive children, her parents-in-law beat and cursed her relentlessly, never letting her have a single good day.
Before long, unable to bear the torment any longer, Xiao Shanshan hanged herself.
The one responsible for all of it was none of other than him—Xiao Weiguo. For the sake of a two-hundred-yuan bride price, he had personally ruined his sister's entire life.
To make matters worse, just last night, that very two hundred yuan had been completely squandered at the gambling table.
Running desperately, Xiao Weiguo slapped himself across the face again and again. How utterly despicable could his past self have been?
He thanked the heavens for granting him a second chance. In this lifetime, he would never let his sister repeat that tragic path.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, he returned to his dilapidated home.
Inside the three earthen-walled rooms, aside from a brick kang bed and a few ragged quilts, there was hardly a single decent piece of furniture left.
Their parents had passed away four years ago, and almost everything of any value had been sold off by Xiao Weiguo.
His younger sister, Xiao Shanshan, wore a washed-out, faded old outfit covered in patches—this was to be her bridal gown today.
In the corner sat their eight-year-old twin siblings, Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue.
Seeing Xiao Weiguo enter, they shrank back in fear, their eyes filled with quiet anxiety.
Xiao Shanshan sat blankly on the edge of the kang, her face devoid of any expression. She didn't even twitch when Xiao Weiguo walked through the door.
"Shanshan..."
Xiao Weiguo choked on his words.
His sister's icy gaze sent a sharp pang through his heart. Just how profoundly desolate must a person be for their eyes to turn into such pools of lifeless ashes?
"Lost it all again?"
From his disheveled appearance, Xiao Shanshan had already guessed the answer.
"Heh."
Her cold, bitter laugh made Xiao Weiguo bow his head in profound shame.
Outside the door, a commotion of voices arose; the wedding procession must have arrived.
Xiao Shanshan stood up, brushed past Xiao Weiguo, and headed toward the door.
This home and this brother had pushed her to the absolute depths of despair. Even knowing she was walking straight into a fire pit, she had no choice left but to jump.
With a sudden turn, Xiao Weiguo caught her by the arm.
"Shanshan, we're not getting married!"
"If I don't marry him, what will we eat? Can you support Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue?"
Xiao Shanshan shrieked hysterically, two streams of tears cutting paths down her delicate cheeks.
She whipped her arm violently, trying to break free from Xiao Weiguo's grip.
Yet Xiao Weiguo refused to let her go. With unyielding determination, he pulled her back and pressed her down onto the brick kang.
"I will handle everything! In this life, your brother will never let you suffer another grievance."
Without waiting for her to say another word, he turned, strode out, and pulled the door shut behind him.
The wedding procession walked in amid chatter and laughter, led directly by the village chief, Xiao Changsuo.
As the groom's uncle and a senior clansman of the bride, he naturally acted as the man in charge for the day.
Spotting Xiao Weiguo standing in the courtyard, Xiao Changsuo pulled out a pack of Red Pagoda Mountain cigarettes and stepped forward with a broad smile.
"Weiguo, have a smoke. Where's the bride?"
The wedding guests behind him joined in with playful jeers.
"That's right, where's the bride? Come on out and let people see!"
Xiao Weiguo shot Xiao Changsuo a cold look and swept a hand to bat the cigarettes away.
"Uncle, my sister isn't getting married."
By seniority, Xiao Weiguo should have called Xiao Changsuo "Big Uncle," though locals simply addressed him as "Uncle."
Xiao Changsuo's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and he asked in disbelief, "What? What did you just say?"
Looking straight into his eyes, Xiao Weiguo enunciated each word clearly: "I said, my sister is not getting married. This match is canceled. Did you hear me?"
His words carried to every ear. After a brief moment of silence, a wave of fury instantly washed over the crowd.
"Son of a bitch, what did you just say?"
"Playing games with us, are you? Believe it or not, we'll break your legs right now!"
...
The entire wedding party consisted of strapping young men from the groom's side, and several surged forward, eager to rough up Xiao Weiguo.
Xiao Changsuo raised a hand to signal for quiet. His face was as dark as the bottom of a cooking pot.
"Weiguo, what do you mean by this? You took the bride price, the date was set, and now that we've come to fetch the bride, where do you get off pulling a stunt like this?"
"Uncle, what kind of family they are is something you know better than anyone. I can't stand by and watch my sister jump into a fire pit. I'll return the bride price to you. Sorry for the trouble today, you all should head back."
Xiao Weiguo's words finally pushed the wedding party past their breaking point.
"Damn it, beat him..."
The crowd swarmed forward, intent on teaching Xiao Weiguo a lesson.
With a sharp snap, the main room door flew open, and Xiao Shanshan burst out in tears and shouts.
"Stop, everyone stop! I'll marry him, all right?!"
She spread her arms wide, blocking Xiao Weiguo behind her to keep the men from harming her brother.
Even at a moment like this, she hadn't forgotten that this was her own flesh and blood of a brother.
Taking advantage of the moment, several men rushed up and grabbed Xiao Shanshan, hauling her toward the exit.
"Brother, take care of Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue!"
Xiao Shanshan called back desperately, pleading with her brother.
Xiao Weiguo's eyes turned bloodshot. Having lived a second life, how could he possibly let the tragedy of his past repeat itself?
He bolted like a madman into the kitchen, snatched a vegetable cleaver from the counter, and in a few giant strides caught up to them, yanking his sister back behind him.
The men tried to rush forward to snatch her away again, but the sight of the gleaming cleaver in his hand forced them to a halt.
Raising the blade, Xiao Weiguo glared at the entire group, his eyes burning with the vicious glare of a wild wolf.
"Fuck your mothers, all of you get out of here! Want to marry my sister? Fine! Come kill me and try. Let's see how many lives you've got to trade for my sister."
His single declaration brought the crowd to a dead halt.
No one doubted that if they charged forward now, Xiao Weiguo would sink that blade into them without a moment's hesitation.
Xiao Weiguo had always been the neighborhood's most notorious punk; taking a beating was one thing, but risking their lives in a death match? They all had families and proper livelihoods—how could they possibly trade blows with a reckless hoodlum?
People stared at each other in dismay, completely at a loss for what to do next.
At last, Xiao Changsuo stepped forward, his face so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water.
"Weiguo, how can you be so utterly lawless? How do you expect me to answer to the other family now?"
Unmoved, Xiao Weiguo kept his grip on the cleaver steady and unwavering.
"If you want to marry my sister, there's only one way: kill me. If you don't have the guts, turn around and go back. I'll have the bride price delivered to your house within three days."
"You..."
Xiao Changsuo was choked with rage.
When Xiao Weiguo acted this unhinged, there was truly nothing they could do with him. They couldn't actually murder him, could they? Who had the courage to pay with their life?
With things reaching this impasse, it was clear the wedding could no longer go on.
"You just wait! As long as you stay in Xiaotun, I'll deal with you sooner or later. Let's go!"
Pulling a long face, Xiao Changsuo led the crowd and retreated from the small courtyard.
Watching the crowd disperse, Xiao Weiguo finally let out a long breath and lowered the vegetable cleaver.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shanshan slumped onto the ground, hugging her knees as she wept bitterly.
"Brother, what are you doing? We can barely afford to feed ourselves—how are we supposed to pay back two hundred yuan in bride price?"