How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 1 - It was a scene that only appeared in horror movies (1)
Bo Li had a splitting headache. She opened her eyes and saw that her clothes had been changed into a shirt, a vest, and stockings.
The clothing's workmanship and fabric was very rough. There were even threads coming undone in some places, and the stitches were crooked. There was a strange smell of sweat.
Where was she? Who had changed her clothes?
Bo Li propped herself up. She lifted her clothing up to check her stomach and didn't see an injury. She rolled up her sleeves. No holes from needles on her arms either.
Just as she was about to exhale in relief, she suddenly heard a loud bang coming from outside! It was followed by a burst of malicious-sounding laughter.
"This kid is really stubborn. He's been tied to a horse and dragged for so long, but he hasn't made a sound…"
"Shoot him between the legs and see if he'll continue to be so stubborn!"
There were hoots of laughter.
"You can't do that," someone said, "If we cripple him, the manager will kill us… He's the circus's golden goose."
"Golden goose? Him? He's a kid. He's not even old enough to grow a mustache."
"He's very capable," that person said with a smile. That person turned his head and made a sound like he was calling a dog. "Erik, show us your ventriloquism, your singing, your magic tricks…"
She couldn't hear what Erik said or did, but the laughter outside abruptly stopped.
Everyone fell silent. For a moment, there was only the sound of a horse pacing in place.
Someone sneered and shouted "Giddy up!" to get the horse to resume moving.
No one spoke again.
Bo Li felt a chill in her heart. If she remembered correctly, Erik was still tied to the horse and being dragged behind it.
What made her blood run even colder was that the people outside were speaking English.
Although she had lived in Los Angeles for a while, she had returned home last month. Moreover, these people didn't have a West Coast accent. It sounded more like a… French accent?
Was she kidnapped by the French? Or could it be…
Bo Li tightly closed her eyes for a moment and lowered her head to look. The moment she had a good look at her hand, her brain went blank. The back of her head felt tight, and her heart began to beat wildly.
This wasn't her hand.
She had a slight obsession with cleanliness. Her nails were always clean, smooth, and pink, and her hands were unblemished.
In contrast, this hand was rough and red. The joints looked swollen from frostbite. There was black dirt under her nails, and brown calluses on her palm.
What did people see most often every day? It wasn't their face, but their hands.
Bo Li never thought that she would wake up one day and see another person's hand on her body.
… It was a scene that only appeared in horror movies.
What was going on?
"... hey, Poli, Poli, look at me!"
Hearing that voice by her ear was like hearing a thunder strike. Bo Li's scalp tingled. She immediately raised her head.
At some point, a boy had appeared in front of her and was staring at her with big eyes. He was thin and sickly-looking. He looked malnourished. He was wearing a wrinkled flat hat, and his face was covered with red pockmarks.
"Why are you spacing out here?" The boy said. "Don't you know that something serious has happened? Erik stole Mike's gold pocket watch!"
Bo Li hoarsely said, “Erik？”
"Yeah! Mike is furious. They tied Erik's foot to the saddle. He was dragged by the horse for several hundred meters. By the time the manager found out, Erik's leg was swollen like a bun and his back had become mangled meat. There are scraped pieces of skin and flesh on the ground everywhere…. He deserves it." The boy spat in disdain. "It's what he gets for always stealing our limelight!"
"If you ask me, he shouldn't be let off so easily… A gold pocket watch is so expensive. Mike should report him to the police and have him sent to the gallows…"
Bo Li thought; would the police even come to this place?
Wait, the gallows?
At this moment, the boy suddenly approached her and gestured for her to lower the tent's entrance flap. Only a gap for peeking out remained.
"Shh, shh…" His face flushed. He excitedly lowered his voice. "The manager and the others are here."
Bo Li looked up and immediately saw Erik. He was very thin and badly injured. He was lying motionlessly on a stretcher. His shirt was soaked in blood. His blackened shirt looked like a greedy shadow that could devour him at any time.
A viscous unpleasant smell wafted over and went straight into her nose.
At first, Bo Li thought her nose was bleeding, and she raised her head. After a few seconds, she realized it was just the strong smell of blood.
She saw a flash of a spark, and then a matchstick was lit. A man lit his cigar and walked over to Erik.
It was dark in the evening, so Bo Li couldn't clearly see the man's appearance. She could only see that he was wearing a suit, a watch chain was hanging from his vest, and there was a glittering gold ring with a gem on his thumb. This guy should be the manager mentioned by the boy.
"Darling Mike," the man slowly said, "may I ask why you did this to him?"
It was only then that Bo Li noticed the blond boy standing next to the manager. The boy was fat, sturdy, and had a ruddy complexion.
The blond boy immediately shouted, "He stole my watch!"
"No, no, Mike," the man shook his head. "You misunderstood my question. I'm asking you. Why do you think you have the right to beat him up like this?"
Mike was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to speak up for Erik. He anxiously said, "Uncle, he stole the gold pocket watch my mother gave me…"
The man took a puff of his cigar and gestured for him to shut up. "You're my beloved nephew, so I normally turn a blind eye to your roughhousing. But this time, you've gone too far."
"Erik knows magic, ventriloquism, and singing." The man looked at Erik, who was lying on the stretcher, with a gaze of pity. He looked at him as if he was looking at a dog that had lost the ability to guard the door. "He can even crawl through a ring of fire if I give him that order. What about you? You're just a waste of my food. You can't even earn half of Erik's performance fees."