Endless Debt-Chapter 925 - 43: Day of Misfortune (Part 3)

Hill looked at the man helplessly, he was still just a child. To him, his world was very narrow, only as big as the village, and there were very few people in his world, just a handful.

"Then let me give you another piece of advice, how about that?"

The man whispered those sinister words into Hill’s ear, words that engraved themselves into Hill’s soul like a curse.

Hill thought the man was willing to help him, a brief joy spread over his tear-streaked face, only to plunge into endless darkness because of the man’s words.

After speaking, the man stood up, scrutinizing Hill, anticipating what Hill might become.

The man left without looking back, "We will meet again, Hill."

The pitch-black figure walked out of the house, the door closing behind them. Hill tried to chase after the man, opening the door again, but behind the door was nothing but a murky darkness.

It surged in like a tide, directly overwhelming Hill’s body. Bouncing between the walls in unbearable pain, the swirling darkness drowned Hill, the intense sensation of suffocation gripping his throat until the darkness completely filled his eyes.

"Ah!"

Hill sat up abruptly from his bed, screaming in terror, drenched in cold sweat. After a brief daze, he reached out to touch his neck and chest.

Nothing had happened.

The warm sunlight fell from the window sill onto Hill, gently warm. Hill looked around, he was sitting on his own bed, the door already open, and the sound of his mother working came from outside. The sunlight was brilliant, with not a trace of a shadow.

Hill stood up in confusion and then walked outside. Everything outside was just as he remembered, the ground dry and soft, the sky clear and cloudless, as if the stormy night was just an illusion, just a strange nightmare.

"Hill, are you okay?"

The woman stopped her work, looking at Hill with concern, and gently rubbed Hill’s face, "Poor child, nightmares are scary, aren’t they?"

"Nightmare?"

"Yes, you had a nightmare last night, you cried for half the night, no matter how I called, you wouldn’t wake up." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The sincere concern in the woman’s weary face made Hill suddenly realize that in this world, perhaps only the mother before him could show him such an expression.

Hill recalled everything that happened in the dream, it was just a dream...

"Sorry."

Hill embraced the woman, tears welling up in his eyes, whispered in a very low voice, "I can’t save anyone."

"It’s okay, it’s okay."

The woman fondly rubbed Hill’s head, thinking he was scared of the nightmare, comforting the child.

Hill asked, "Are you leaving again?"

"I have to work, don’t I?"

"But your health..."

Hill looked at the woman’s thin frame, feeling heartbroken. The pressures of life were almost crushing this woman.

"It’s okay."

The woman waved her hand, comforting Hill instead, "It’s nothing."

And so, the calm days continued for a long time. After confirming repeatedly, Hill realized the man’s presence was just a dream, and in the days that followed, Hill never again dreamt of the man.

Hill usually couldn’t remember what he dreamt about, but strangely, after so much time, he still remembered clearly the conversation with the man in the dream, even the advice the man gave Hill.

Every time he thought of that advice, Hill felt an inexplicable fear and guilt.

But he also understood that for the current situation, that advice might be the most correct thing.

Soon, the day that changed Hill’s life arrived, a day that Hill often recalled in the years to come, lamenting that it took him so many years to understand the man’s words.

It was an extremely ordinary day, no different from any other.

Hill got up as usual, but this time he couldn’t find the woman working outside.

"Mother... are you okay?"

Hill cautiously opened the door, finding the woman lying in bed in another room, her face pale, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

Eventually, the woman fell ill too, causing Hill to panic.

"It’s okay, Hill," the woman showed him a strained smile, "I’m just a little tired, a bit of rest will do."

"You can’t work anymore."

"But if it’s not for work, what will he do?"

The woman caught Hill off guard, the hateful coughing from deep within the house resounding, Hill couldn’t help clenching his fists.

"Hill, you know what to do."

The man’s words echoed in Hill’s mind, stirring up the evil at the bottom of his heart, igniting the fire of sin.

Hill silently left the house, the man’s words incessantly following him, repeatedly persuading him. Hill stood motionless in the living room, his eyes locked onto the tightly closed door.

"Mother can’t work anymore, it will kill her."

"She needs rest, she can’t keep running around."

"Yes, she shouldn’t give her life for this, she’s already done enough."

Hill’s eyes sank, dark as if cursed, he laboriously moved his steps, heading toward that door.

"We don’t have enough money to cure the illness."

"I’m too powerless, I can’t help anyone."

"But there is one thing, one thing I can do."