The Vampire Family Who Came to Claim Kinship 08

“If your leg is injured, does that mean you can’t work anymore?” Wang Ling asked.

If Fang Zhiyi hadn’t been intent on maintaining the status quo, he would have jumped up and slapped her across the face. Instead, he gritted his teeth and nodded after a moment.

“You unfilial brat!” Wang Ling screamed as she saw Fang Zhizu struggling to crawl to his feet. “Eight thousand! You wouldn’t be worth eight thousand yuan even if I sold you!” She hated Fang Zhizu to the core. She had only brought him along to make their act look more convincing, but now that they were back, this boy was nothing but dead weight!

Amidst her angry curses, Zhang Daming attacked again, joined this time by Zhang Xiong.

It was no joke; Mom had told him today that from now on, Fang Zhiyi’s wages would be managed by her. Eight thousand—that was eight thousand yuan! Zhang Xiong, who had previously only felt disgust for Fang Zhiyi and Fang Zhizu, was now furious as well.

Fang Zhizu endured a third brutal beating. At first, he could still fight back, but facing the combined assault of his biological father and eldest brother, he gradually fell silent.

Even so, Wang Ling didn’t say a word. She only looked at Fang Zhiyi’s leg with an expression of pained greed, as if the injury were costing her money directly.

Fang Zhizu wasn’t beaten to death, and Fang Zhiyi was helped back to his room to recover. The Zhang family certainly couldn’t bear the expense of calling a doctor for him.

That night, the sounds of mutual recriminations drifted in from the next room. The complaining gradually escalated into the sound of things being smashed, followed by a physical brawl between the man and woman. It was exactly like the memories of the original host’s childhood.

“I said we shouldn’t go, but you insisted on finding them! Look at what we brought back: an unfilial brat and a useless cripple who does nothing but eat!”

“Shut up! If you’re so capable, why don’t you go earn the bride price for our son yourself?”

“You stinking bitch!”

“I’ll scratch your face off!”

Fang Zhiyi still slept comfortably; he didn’t care about any of it.

Meanwhile, Fang Zhizu’s eyes were hollow. Before dawn the next day, he got up on his own and began working like a man who had been stripped of his soul, not saying a word.

This left Zhang Xiong, who had been looking for a reason to pick a fight, with no opportunity to vent. He could only hurl indirect insults throughout the morning.

Fang Zhiyi’s treatment also began to decline. Unlike the previous few days, Wang Ling merely gave him a curt call when it was time to eat.

Fang Zhiyi hobbled to the table on his crutches. Before he could even sit down, Zhang Daming let out a grunt of disapproval.

Wang Ling immediately asked, “Second Son, when do you plan on looking for work again?”

Fang Zhiyi looked startled. “Once I’m better. There are plenty of jobs in this town.”

Wang Ling paused. “How about I have your elder brother go with you to look? You know the family isn’t well-off right now, and there are so many mouths to feed... Why don't you contact those adoptive parents of yours? How about asking them to borrow some money?”

Fang Zhiyi smiled. “That’s not a good idea. I cut ties with them when I brought my brother out. After all, you are my biological parents. You’re not... rejecting me, are you?”

Wang Ling looked uncomfortable. “How could we...”

Fang Zhiyi said no more, simply closing his eyes to rest with a calm and composed air.

Wang Ling turned her head and saw the dazed Fang Zhizu. A surge of resentment rose within her. “If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened!”

Fang Zhizu visibly trembled. Since being recognized by his biological parents, he had received more and more brutal beatings than he had in the previous ten-plus years combined.

But Fang Zhiyi knew this guy was definitely not a pushover. He wouldn't cave in so easily. After all, he was something of a little demon.

Sure enough, after receiving another beating, the look in Fang Zhizu’s eyes changed. He now looked upon everyone in the Zhang family with equal hatred.

Because Fang Zhiyi used his leg injury as an excuse to avoid working, and instead stayed home every day making demands and putting on airs, Zhang Daming several times felt the urge to curse him out. However, Wang Ling held him back, her reasoning being that they still relied on Fang Zhiyi to earn money in the future.

Consequently, the frustrated Zhang family took all their anger out on Fang Zhizu.

But Fang Zhizu had reached his breaking point. He silently endured the blows from his biological parents and elder brother, while the hatred in his heart became increasingly evident. He had no money and nowhere to run—he understood that much. But did they really think they could treat him like this forever? I’ve yielded time and again, and you lot just keep pushing your luck. Don’t blame me for being heartless!

After a round of slightly delusional self-justification, Fang Zhizu made up his mind.

That night, Wang Ling got up to use the latrine and was startled by a figure sitting in the courtyard. Once she recognized him, she immediately broke into a tirade. “You brat! What are you doing sitting out here in the middle of the night? Trying to scare your mother to death?”

Fang Zhizu stopped what he was doing and slowly turned his head, looking at Wang Ling with a sinister, predatory gaze.

Wang Ling saw the kitchen knife in his hand, which had been sharpened until it gleamed. Her heart leaped in terror. “What are you doing? You little bastard...”

“Even if I’m a bastard, I’m the one you gave birth to!” Fang Zhizu suddenly leaped up and swung the kitchen knife at Wang Ling. She screamed in terror and turned to run.

Her screams drew Zhang Daming out. He emerged with his coat draped over his shoulders, grumbling, “What’s all the noise about?”

The next moment, he saw his youngest son looking like a crazed madman.

“Stop!”

Fang Zhizu wasn’t about to listen. He followed through with a swing of the knife toward him, forcing Zhang Daming to scramble out of the way.

“Sangou, calm down! We’re your parents!” The Zhang couple was genuinely cowed as they looked into Fang Zhizu’s bloodshot eyes. But Fang Zhizu, covered in bruises and wounds, was already immersed in the thrill of finally taking control.

“Bah! I’m your damn father!”

Inside his room, Fang Zhiyi silently applauded as he listened to the chaos outside. Good job! This was Sangou’s true nature!

However, the knife-wielding Fang Zhizu didn’t stay rampant for long. He was eventually tackled from behind by Zhang Xiong, who had crept up on him. He continued to struggle, shouting curses.

Zhang Daming breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to strike him.

“Go ahead, kill me if you have the guts! If you don't kill me, I’ll wait until you’re all asleep and butcher you one by one!”

Zhang Daming felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

If nothing else, those words sounded hauntingly familiar... He seemed to recall saying something very similar when he was young...

This unsettling realization stopped Zhang Daming from beating his son further. He simply had Zhang Xiong throw him into the woodshed and lock him up.

The atmosphere in the house became eerie. For the first time, Zhang Daming looked seriously at his youngest son, who looked almost exactly like him, and felt a sense of trepidation. He knew all too well what kind of scoundrel he himself was.

Fang Zhizu also seemed to sense the shift in his status. He stopped working altogether. Believing he had finally stood up for himself, he returned to his old ways from the Fang family—idling about all day, coming home when he was tired, and eating whatever was available. After being terrified by him once, Wang Ling didn’t dare speak loudly to him anymore, resorting instead to quiet muttering.

Fang Zhizu even tried to act tough in front of Fang Zhiyi, but Fang Zhiyi didn’t indulge him for a second. He raised his hand and delivered a sharp slap. “I’m disciplining you on behalf of our parents!”

“You!” Fang Zhizu was stunned. I’ve become so fierce, and yet you still dare to hit me?

He turned around and began searching for a knife, but as soon as he grabbed one, he received another slap. He raised the knife, and another slap followed. Fang Zhizu began to see stars.

“I was wrong, Brother! I was wrong!” Fang Zhizu was terrified. He never knew Fang Zhiyi’s slaps could come from such tricky angles—so fast and so precise.

With the rise of these two outsiders and their blatant refusal to lift a finger, the Zhang family’s greatest victim emerged: Zhang Xiong. He had initially hoped that his two newly-reclaimed younger brothers would wait on him hand and foot; instead, one claimed he was still nursing his injuries, while the other simply went on strike. Most frustratingly, his parents refused to intervene, leaving all the menial chores to fall back onto Zhang Xiong’s shoulders. As a result, a bitter resentment began to fester in his heart.

Meanwhile, following his recent tragedy, Fang Zhizu had snapped back like a compressed spring. In the village, he rediscovered the same reckless hooliganism he had once practiced while roaming the city streets. Disdainful of the meager fare served at home, he took to stealing chickens from the neighbors. When the owners came to his door to confront him, he would brandish a knife, pointing it at their faces while hurling abuse. Yet, to Fang Zhiyi’s utter astonishment, a drunken Zhang Daming actually praised Fang Zhizu, telling him he had done a fine job.