The courtyard fell silent for nearly a minute before Nan Dashu’s furious roar broke the quiet.
"You little brat, you wouldn't dare! You are all my children, Nan Dashu’s children, and you’ll be my children until the day you die! Let's see who dares to sever family ties!"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, he ignored the pain in his backside, scrambled to his feet, and lunged forward to kick Nan Yu.
Nan Yu frowned. He desperately wanted to kick back, but Nan Dashu was his father. Striking one's own father was a sin that would bring down the heavens. Even though Nan Yu didn’t believe in such things and suspected that everything happening right now was just a dream, he still couldn't bring himself to kick back. Instead, he simply sidestepped. Nan Dashu’s kick met only empty air. Having lost his center of gravity, Nan Dashu stumbled, tripped over the door threshold, and crashed onto the floor inside the house.
Elder Sister Nan had reached out instinctively to help her father, but Nan Yu pulled her behind him before she could, watching as Nan Dashu tumbled to the ground.
Li Guihua sat on the floor, cradling her stomach and watching it all without making a sound. She could see that something was wrong with Nan Yu today; he was completely different from the Nan Yu of the past. Being an extremely calculating woman, she didn't scream or shout as she usually did, choosing instead to observe from the sidelines.
Nan Dashu had fallen face-first, and as he tried to catch himself with his hands, he sprained his wrist and scraped his skin against the gravel on the ground. He glared at Nan Yu with bloodshot eyes. "You damn bastard, are you trying to rebel? You dare raise a hand against your own father?"
Nan Yu let out an impatient click of his tongue. "Are you done yet? I said, if you want that woman, then we sever family ties. This path is one you chose, and that woman is someone you insisted on keeping. What are you still yapping about?"
Before this dream had begun, Nan Yu had been a wealthy boss worth hundreds of millions; nothing annoyed him more than someone droning on and on. If not for the fact that Nan Dashu was his biological father, he wouldn't even have bothered to speak to him.
"Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? Who are you calling 'yapping'?"
The word "yapping" was something one used for a dog. To have Nan Yu use it on him was more than Nan Dashu could take.
"Can you stop with the nonsense? You keep repeating the same two sentences. You’re not tired of it, but I’m sick of hearing it."
Nan Yu’s face was etched with irritation. Anyone could see how much he loathed his father at this moment. Ignoring the man on the floor, he turned to his younger siblings by the door. "Go, bring the Brigade Leader and the others here. Listen to your brother—we are done taking their abuse in this house."
Nan Xing, the third child of the family, was twelve years old. Though he was timid from years of bullying, he always listened to his older brother and sister. Seeing that his brother was serious, he nodded and turned to run out.
He didn't see someone approaching, and he ran headlong into a wall of flesh. Having been worn down by Li Guihua’s mistreatment over the years, Nan Xing was thin and much shorter than his peers. Running into Li Hai, who was the same age but plump and sturdy, didn't phase Li Hai at all, but it sent Nan Xing tumbling to the ground.
Li Hai’s chest stung from the impact. He rubbed the spot and began to curse at Nan Xing. "Are you blind, you little bastard? Running into me like that, are you looking for death?"
Hearing this, the fire in Nan Yu’s heart grew even hotter. He ignored Nan Dashu, who was still sitting on the ground cursing, and strode to the gate in a few quick steps. Without a word of warning, he put all his strength into a slap that landed squarely across Li Hai’s face.
Ever since Li Hai had moved in with his mother, Li Guihua, he had been accustomed to lording over the household. No one dared to scold him, let alone hit him, except for his mother.
Nan Yu’s slap was fueled by hatred and delivered with his full force. Although Li Hai was sturdy, he was still just a twelve-year-old child. The blow not only split his lip until it bled, but also caused his ear to begin seeping blood. It was only due to Nan Yu’s currently malnourished body that Li Hai’s ear was merely bleeding rather than being deafened by the strike.
Li Hai rolled on the ground a few times before looking up in a daze at the hate-filled Nan Yu.
That's right—it was hatred!
Nan Yu’s little sister, Nan Chan, had been ruined by this little beast just after she turned fifteen. By that time, Nan Yu had already left home in a fit of rage years ago and never returned. His elder sister had been abused to death, his older brother was away, and his younger brother was up in the mountains hunting; the poor girl had no idea how to handle such a tragedy. In her despair, she had drowned herself in the river.
By the time Nan Yu learned of this, years had passed. Nan Dashu, their father, had known the truth but had said nothing for his daughter, rushing to have her buried in a nameless potter's field. When Nan Yu finally returned and wanted to visit her grave, he couldn't even find which one was hers.
Thinking of this, how could Nan Yu not hate Li Hai? If it weren't for the fact that these events hadn't happened yet, Nan Yu would have killed him right then and there.
The more he thought, the angrier he became. Unable to hold back, he lunged at the dazed Li Hai and began to kick and punch him with all his might, forcing Li Hai to roll on the ground and howl in pain.
At first, Li Guihua was too stunned to react, unable to believe that Nan Yu would dare to beat her son. But when she heard her son’s pig-like squealing, she charged at Nan Yu like a madwoman.
Nan Yu had been watching for her. Seeing her rush toward him, a cold smile appeared on his face. He released the wailing Li Hai, turned, and put all his strength into a heavy slap across Li Guihua’s face. One wasn't enough—he grabbed her by the collar, held her steady so she couldn't escape, and began to rain down blows. The sound of his palm hitting her face echoed far and wide; one only had to hear the sound to know how hard he was striking and how much pain she must be in.
The sequence of events happened so fast that the rest of the household, who had always seen Nan Yu as someone easy to bully, couldn't wrap their minds around it. Whether it was Nan Dashu on the ground or his older sister and younger siblings watching in shock, no one could react. Even Li Guihua herself had taken several slaps before she finally snapped back to reality and began to wail.
"Mom help me... Save me... This little bastard Nan Yu is trying to kill me! Nan Dashu... are you dead? Hurry up and pull this little bastard of yours off me!"
It was truly a case of someone being wretched and oblivious to their own peril. Even while being held by the collar and slapped, she still couldn't keep her mouth shut or stop with her filthy language.