Chapter 601: Clash of Consciences

“Yes, she must not be scammed. If she loses her house, how is she to live?” Squirrel waved his claws in a peeved manner.

Fangzheng took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a while, the elder appeared. Her house’s entrance had an anti-burglary gate in front of a thick wooden door. When the door opened, the elder stood behind the metal gate and looked warily at the monk outside. She asked with a frown, “What are you doing here?”

Fangzheng pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Patron, This Penniless Monk has something to ask you.”

“Go on.” The elder nodded slightly. She did not reject him, but showed no intention to open the door.

Fangzheng asked, “Patron, did you ever receive a phone call from someone lying about being your son?”

Bam!

The door closed as the elder’s voice sounded. “Leave.”

Then, there was silence.

Fangzheng, Red Boy, and Squirrel exchanged looks and were clearly all dumbfounded. What was happening? They were warning her out of goodwill, but they were left out in the cold. They didn’t even manage to finish the sentence…

“Master, why do I find this matter odd? Could she be brainwashed?” Red Boy mumbled.

It was the first time Fangzheng was encountering something like this. In the past, he had always at least managed to converse with the person regardless of the situation. This was the first time he was encountering someone who didn’t even want to communicate.

“Master, what do we do?” asked Squirrel.

Fangzheng said, “Let’s enter and take a look. Regardless, we cannot let her sell the house and give the money to the conman.”

With that said, Red Boy cast his divine powers again. The trio entered the house and saw the elder sitting there. She held her cell phone and was curled into a ball in a corner of the sofa. She formed a really tiny ball, for the elder was too thin.

The elder held her son’s photograph and gently caressed it as she muttered softly, “Although it’s not you, his voice really sounds like yours. It’s nice even to just listen to it…”

Upon hearing that, Fangzheng suddenly felt as though his heart had been stabbed. The elder knew that the person on the phone was a cheat. Yet she maintained contact with him all because she wanted to listen to his voice. And so she didn’t wish for others to stop her from that beautiful dream.

Red Boy and Squirrel sighed when they heard that as well. They were at a loss for words.

At that moment, the phone rang again.

The elder immediately seemed enlivened as she picked up the call. Before the elder spoke, the person on the phone said, “Mom, did you sell the house?”

“Ah… I went. I went,” the elder said happily.

“Are you pulling a prank on me? It’s already Monday. You said the same last Monday.” The man on the other side felt a little wary.

Fangzheng finally understood that although the elder enjoyed listening to the cheat’s voice, she was no fool. Instead, she kept leading the cheat on. Fangzheng even felt pity for the cheat. To think that he was only starting to realize now that he was being conned despite being a conman by occupation. From the looks of it, the conman wasn’t that skilled!

“No, why would I?” said the elder immediately.

“Fine. If you want me to believe you, sell the house now and send me the money. I’ll believe you if you send me the money. Otherwise…” The cheat did not know how he could threaten her. He was basically out of solutions!

The elder said, “Alright, tell me your bank account number.”

“I…” The cheat nearly cried. He had repeated the bank account number dozens of times. He still needed to say it?

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The cheat finally gave up. “Fine, cut it out. I say, Auntie, you could tell that I’m a cheat. You could have cursed me, thrown the phone and called the cops! Yet you have led me on, making me chat with you for more than a week. What are you up to? How can you do this? Can you show some respect to my profession?”

Upon hearing the cheat say that, Fangzheng, Red Boy, and Squirrel nearly burst out laughing. Red Boy hurriedly cast a soundproof barrier as the trio immediately roared with laughter inside, their backs bending over from the laughter.

However, the elder did not laugh. Instead, she turned flustered. “No, I’m not fooling you. Son, I have a bad memory. Why don’t you repeat your bank account number again?”

“I’d be an idiot if I believed you!” The cheat hung up.

“Don’t hang up! Don’t! I still have things to say.” The elder was truly anxious, her eyes brimming with tears. Her voice shook as she revealed her emotions of anxiety and longing.

When the laughing trio saw this, their hearts soured. They stopped laughing and instead hoped that the cheat would not hang up. They could not bear to watch the elder be disappointed.

However, there was silence from the other end of the line. It was unknown if he had hung up or was simply not speaking.

The elder asked worriedly, “Son, are you still there…”

“I’m not your son. Tell me whatever you want to say. You have already destroyed my performance appraisal. I no longer have time to waste with you.” Although the cheat sounded impatient, he did not hang up.

“I… I have a son. He passed away ten years ago. It was too sudden, so sudden that I didn’t even see him one last time… Your voice is just like his. The moment you speak, I am reminded of him, as though he has revived.”

There was silence on the other side.

Fangzheng fell silent.

The elder’s tears streamed down as she spoke with a hoarse voice, “I know you are a cheat, but I feel that he’s still alive on the other end of the line, that he will speak to me and live well when we talk.”

“Can… Can you say something important?” The voice on the other side sounded heavy.

“I know that an old woman like me is of little use to you. I know that the only thing you’re aiming at is that bit of savings I have and my house. But… I don’t dare give it to you. I’m afraid you won’t contact me again after I give it to you.”

The cheat did not say a word.

“I only wanted to listen to your voice. Little Hui, I miss you. Mom misses you… so much. It’s so cold alone at home. There’s no one living in this estate. The government said that they would give me a bigger and brighter house, but I don’t want to leave. I’m afraid, afraid that you won’t be able to find your way home. I have been waiting for you, waiting for you return.” The elder’s face was already covered in tears.

“Can, ahem. Can we not talk about this?” The cheat’s voice sounded affected, as though he was wiping his nose.

“I don’t know what I can say to you. All I want to say is… I miss you.”

“But I’m not your son.”

“I know, I know…” The elder repeated the same words a few times before she fell silent.

After a moment, the elder said, “Sorry.”

The cheat was taken aback before saying, “Is there anything else? I’m hanging up if there isn’t anything.”

“I understand.”

“Then we’ll talk again after I knock off from work.”

“Ah… Ah? You will still call me?” The elder grabbed her phone nervously.

“Yeah, I still have a job to finish, right? How can I stop now? Sell the house as soon as possible. I don’t fancy that crappy house of yours. I want a big one.”

“Alright! I’ll do it. I’ll change houses in a few days. I’ll sell this one soon,” said the elder happily as she cried tears of joy.