How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 52 - Other than blood and water, was there another method? (1)
Thorne was young. He looked like he couldn't be older than 11 years old. With a teary, confused appearance, he answered every question Bo Li asked him.
"What's your name?"
“Oliver Thorne…" Thorne quietly said.
Although Bo Li's tone was gentle, she gripped the knife she took from her petticoat. If Thorne made any sudden moves, she would stab his arm.
"Why did Mrs. Merlin lock you in the basement?"
"Because…" Thorne trembled almost like a twitch. "She returned me."
It was only then that Bo Li remembered seeing the name "Ollie Thorne" in the notebook followed by "SOLD"
"Can you tell me why?" She softly asked. "I promise I won't make fun of you."
Thorne nodded and disjointedly recounted his life experience. He wasn't born with a deformity, but a lump suddenly grew on his face when he was nine years old.
Panicking, he told his mother. To his horror, she was thrilled. She thought he could become the second Elephant Man.
He had the same initial symptoms as the famous Elephant Man in London, who was not only admitted to the Royal London Hospital, but had also met the British Princess.
From then on, his nightmarish life began.
His parents took on the roles of agent and host and took him on tours everywhere. For one dollar, people could see what his face looked like under the sack. For five dollars, they could touch him and even squeeze the lump on his face.
Fortunately or unfortunately, his lump was far from the deformity of the Elephant Man. The audience came in high spirits and left in disappointment.
His parents had taken out a loan on their house to fund this tour. They were burning with impatience and anxiety when they couldn't make money and started to frequently scold and beat him.
Fortunately - Bo Li shuddered at Thorne's word choice - the lump on his face grew bigger as he grew older. The tour started to make a profit, and his parents stopped beating and scolding him. They started calling him a cash cow.
It was at this time that Trique appeared and bought him from his parents after giving a sales pitch.
"I was going to go to a circus…" Thorne timidly said, "... but that circus suddenly closed down. Finally, a lady saw me at the SpectacularExhibition and bought me to perform circus tricks in her house, but I don't know anything. I'm not good at speaking either… The lady got tired of me and returned me."
No wonder Mrs. Merlin was so furious. Trique died. She didn't get any money and had to clean up his mess.
Of course, she could refuse to refund that woman, but if she wanted to continue doing this business, she couldn't afford to offend these buyers. She could only unwillingly refund the woman.
Bo Li asked Thorne, "Do you trust me?"
Thorne looked at her face and then at her thin arms. He hesitantly said, "I-I don't know. I can't beat Mrs. Merlin. She's too strong."
"Alright." The gentle smile on Bo Li's face vanished. Her tone became cold and hard. "Everyone has different ambitions. If your goal is to become an Elephant Man and be gawked at like a monkey, then I respect your wishes."
"I-"
Bo Li interrupted him, "Think about it before you speak. If you chose Mrs. Merlin, then even if I can escape, I won't bring you. You'll stay here forever, and the rest of your life will entirely be up to Mrs. Merlin. Be careful. She might cut off your arm and sew it onto your nose. You'll turn into a real elephant."
Thorne quivered. He had limited knowledge. The scariest place he had ever heard about was the Human Zoo. His parents often used that to scare him. The scene that Bo Li described was beyond his imagination.
"I… no… no…" he stammered in horror. "I believe you. I'll go with you… but I really can't beat Mrs. Merlin."
"I don't need you to fight," Bo Li said, "Just do as I say, and we can escape from here."
Thorne nodded.
Bo Li whispered her instructions into his ear.
Thorne was timid and would easily follow other people's orders.
In order to prevent him from changing his mind halfway, Bo Li would alternative between speaking to him in a gentle tone one moment and a stern one the next. His mind went blank in terror as his body stiffened. He was like an easily manipulated puppet.
"Just lie here," Bo Li said, "and tremble all over. Just like how you tremble when someone is going to take off your sack. Think of that terrifying feeling, understand?"
"I…"
Bo Li lowered her voice and threatened, "Do you understand? Or do you want to stay here and let Mrs. Merlin saw off your arm?"
Frightened, Thorne stopped hesitating and desperately nodded.
Bo Li glanced at the time. She planned on knocking on the basement door in the middle of the night to wake up Mrs. Merlin.
When people didn't get enough sleep, their spirits would be weak. If Mrs. Merlin was disturbed from her sleep, she would definitely be foul-mouthed and impetuous.
She didn't know that Bo Li had a knife. She was too cofident in her strength. She would probably enter the basement without thinking to check on Thorne.
At that time, Bo Li would only have to go behind her and stab her neck.
As Bo Li pictured that scene, she felt as if her heart was being squeezed. Just treat this as a horror survival game. Don't hesitate, don't be afraid, don't be soft-hearted. Throw away those negative emotions.
And yet, she still felt her hands becoming clammy. She was afraid that the knife would slip from her hand, so she tore a strip from her petticoat and wrapped it tightly around her hand.
She kept rehearsing the motion of stabbing in her mind. Would she be able to kill her in one strike? If not, what should she do?
She practiced until the wee hours. The only color in her mind was blood red, the same shade as a rising dark red curtain on a stage.
T/N: Author announced yesterday (9/19/24) that she made some minor edits and added more content to the story. So far, it looks like only two translated parts were affected. If anyone is curious, scroll down to the strikethrough and bolded section of chapter part 50 and chapter part 51. The other modified chapters happen later in the story, and I'll go with the new version for those chapters when I get there.