Chapter 7: Rain Crow and Bai Jieke (2)

Rain Crow froze slightly.

He raised his eyes, gazing into the raging sea of fire. The woman tied to the chair was howling at him in agony, the intense flames scorching every inch of her skin. She struggled, causing the chair to rock violently as the fire charred its white paint black.

The person looked exactly like his wife, Xia Wenna.

Yet, Rain Crow kept his distance, his gaze only wavering slightly. He wasn't foolish enough to believe the person before him was truly his wife. What shocked him, however, was that this scene proved the figure known as Bai Jieke knew his true identity inside and out. Otherwise, how could he have taken on the appearance of his wife?

The fierce fire continued to blaze, gradually spreading to every corner of the warehouse, climbing up the old equipment and peeling pillars.

As Rain Crow pondered with a grim expression, Xia Wenna's fire-engulfed face suddenly morphed. It shifted into the likeness of his daughter, Xia Zili.

"Dad, why aren't you saving me? Are you really going to watch me burn to death?" Xia Zili pleaded indignantly, her nose scrunched up. Her face was already marred by charred, reddish burns.

But the moment those words left her mouth, her tone abruptly shifted. Her facial features simultaneously morphed into those of Ke Mingqing, and her voice turned listless. "You're so cruel, old man... Are you really just going to watch your wife, daughter, and son burn alive?"

He spoke slowly. Half of his face had been burned down to a gruesome mess of flesh and bone, while the other half remained completely intact.

The fire grew more intense. Rain Crow lowered his head and took a deep breath, a cold glint swirling in his eyes. The moment he saw Ke Mingqing's face in the sea of flames, he could no longer remain indifferent.

A flock of crows erupted from behind him with a chorus of shrieks, sweeping toward the fire with a sheet of rainwater. In mere moments, the crows extinguished the massive blaze inside the warehouse.

Stepping across the charred ground, Rain Crow walked toward the chair step by step. He then suddenly raised a hand, gripping Ke Mingqing's neck tightly and lifting him high off the chair.

Rain Crow stared directly into Ke Mingqing's eyes, his own gaze like that of a ravenous beast. He demanded, biting out almost every single word, "Tell me... how do you know about them?"

"Who knows... I only know that you'd rather watch your own son be burned alive like this than save me." Ke Mingqing raised his right hand, which had been burned down to bare knuckles, and waved it at him. He asked softly, "Can you even call yourself a father?"

"Tell me!" Rain Crow roared. "How do you know about them—!"

A violent light flashed in his eyes beneath his helmet. His hoarse, low voice echoed through the warehouse, carrying an uncontrollable fury that flooded into Ke Mingqing's ears like a tidal wave.

Yet, Ke Mingqing remained silent. He simply looked up, the bulging eyeball in the charred half of his face staring unblinkingly at Rain Crow.

Rain Crow fell silent. He lowered his face and narrowed his eyes, meeting Ke Mingqing's gaze head-on. The young man's expression was calm—eerily calm, with a mocking glint in his eyes.

Suddenly, Rain Crow slowly loosened his right hand, letting Ke Mingqing's suspended body drop. Without warning, he threw a vicious punch forward.

SLASH!

The Wrist Blade on his forearm sliced across Ke Mingqing's neck, leaving a bloody trail. Rain Crow's fist smashed savagely into the intact half of Ke Mingqing's face. The blow caved his face inward, accompanied by the sickening crunch of shattering bone.

His head knocked to the side, Ke Mingqing stared blankly and spat out a mouthful of blood. It took him a long while to stiffly turn his head back. "My god... Bro Crow, do you normally beat your kids like this at home?"

His expression hadn't changed. He quietly watched Rain Crow with that bulging, bloodshot eye.

"Although it feels great, my idealized image of you is shattering. Could you not be so vi—"

Before he could finish, Rain Crow launched another heavy punch, sending his scrawny body flying over ten meters away.

CRASH!

Ke Mingqing's body instantly embedded itself into the warehouse wall, kicking up a cloud of dust. After a moment, his body slowly dislodged from the crater and slid down the cracked surface. He finally slumped onto the ground, his head and arms hanging limply.

"Get up. Let's continue..." Rain Crow muttered in a hoarse, gloomy voice, walking toward Ke Mingqing step by step.

The warehouse was dead silent, making his footsteps clear and resounding. FLAP FLAP FLAP. The flock of crows in the sky beat their wings, cawing restlessly.

As he drew closer, the dying Ke Mingqing suddenly lifted his head and coughed. "Don't you have a no-kill rule? Why hit so heavily... Please, I almost became the first criminal to die by your hands just now. But that would be fine too, because then you'd remember me for the rest of your—"

Before he could finish, Rain Crow threw another heavy punch at that sickening, mangled face. But this time, his fist struck empty air, smashing into the wall and punching a crater into it. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the point of impact.

Breathing heavily, Rain Crow slowly raised his head. Bai Jieke's body had already dissolved into wisps of residual smoke. Yet, his mocking, low voice still echoed through the air:

"Very good, very good. I'll remember your choice this time, Mr. Rain Crow... Just because I'm a criminal, not only did you refuse to save me, but you also beat me to a pulp...

"Remember when I told you earlier that the person I kidnapped was an admirer of yours?

"Well, in reality, this poor wretch I chose is a damn drug dealer. That's right... The world really is this absurd. A drug dealer actually looks up to a Superhero, when he should hate you to the bone."

Bai Jieke sighed softly and continued, "Of course, this is exactly where your hypocrisy lies... But let me ask you: if I kidnap your son next time, will you still make the same choice? Can you guarantee you'll be just as 'righteous' and 'selfless'?"

Hearing this, Rain Crow's eyes narrowed slightly beneath his helmet.

Bai Jieke paused for a moment, lowering his voice. "Oh, let me think. You have two sons. One is at a university out of town, and the other is in a local high school. Which one should I choose?"

He suddenly laughed. "Or maybe I should choose the younger one... After all, when I turned into him, your reaction was enormous. You can't fake that.

"You should be glad. It was your fury that helped me lock onto my target. Now I know who you care about the most among your family.

"And here is a preview of what's to come. I didn't broadcast it live this time; you should thank me for not leaking your identity to the outside world... But next time, not only will I kidnap your son, but I'll also expose this little game of ours to the whole world.

"I'll ruin your reputation and make sure the whole world remembers your hypocritical face."

With that haunting promise, Bai Jieke's voice vanished completely.

It's raining.

The massive roar of the rain instantly enveloped the world, pea-sized drops pelting against the broken windows. Rain Crow remained standing alone in the abandoned warehouse, silent for a long time.

It had been over twenty years since Ke Mingwei first put on his mask. Since his debut, he had strictly kept his hero life and his family separate, never allowing the two to intersect. He had fought countless criminals and made enemies of countless more, but no one had ever known his true identity, let alone dragged his family into it.

This was the first time in his life he had encountered such a situation.

"Bai Jieke..." he murmured the name softly, his head bowed.

A moment later, Rain Crow's figure suddenly dissolved into a tide of shrieking crows. The flock surged out of the warehouse, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.