### Chapter 103: A Fiery Tune That Makes My Fists Hard as Rock
(Just a fun chapter, skip if you want to keep reading the serious stuff)
“Later, when you see your grandpa, don’t say anything unnecessary, and whatever you do, don’t provoke him, got it?”
Qingjiang City Third Psychiatric Hospital.
In the hallway, a man was leading his son by the hand, speaking earnestly.
“Got it.”
The young man, Wu Cheng, nodded.
“…”
His grandpa, Wu Youwei, was a retired boxer from the last century.
Thirty years ago, he fought tooth and nail in an underground boxing match, battling an opponent until dawn and claiming victory.
Though he managed to KO his foe, ever since then, Wu Youwei developed a severe case of paranoid delusions.
The sound of firecrackers would send him diving under the bed.
bl**d and guts on TV? He’d be covering his head, yelling like a banshee.
Every day, he suspected that someone was out to get him.
Wu Cheng’s mom, Wu Youwei’s daughter-in-law, was quite the stormy woman. Unable to handle him, she often resorted to violence against Wu Youwei, while Wu Cheng’s dad, weak-willed, wouldn’t dare resist, ultimately returning Wu Youwei to the psychiatric hospital.
And just like that, many years flew by.
“…”
Knock knock knock!
The door swung open, revealing an old man sitting on the bed, engrossed in the TV.
“Grandpa!”
Wu Cheng approached, holding some fruit.
“Ah~ you’re here.”
A kind smile quickly spread across the old man’s face, reaching out a hand toward Wu Cheng.
Wu Cheng placed his hand on his grandpa’s wrinkled one, and they started chatting about the usual family stuff.
The two enjoyed a moment of warmth.
Meanwhile, the man outside displayed a subtle expression.
“Dad.”
He said softly,
“I have a little something to take care of, let Wu Cheng keep you company.”
Wu Youwei didn’t respond, or even glance at his son.
“…”
“Grandpa, look at this.”
After the man stepped out, Wu Cheng opened his backpack and, like a magician, pulled out a big black box.
Seeing this, the elderly man’s eyes lit up:
“Where did you get the radio?”
“I remembered you didn’t used to like watching TV and preferred lying in bed listening to the radio, so I brought it for you!” Wu Cheng replied with a grin.
“Good good good.”
Wu Youwei cheerfully said, “Hurry up, help grandpa fiddle with it a bit.”
“Sure.”
Wu Cheng immediately started tuning the radio.
As the radio crackled with static,
a voice soon emerged,
“They say that year in August, the Battle of Stalingrad began, marking a turning point in World War II…”
“Over five million casualties on both sides, with seven months of brutal street fighting, truly a hell on earth.”
As that deep voice blared from the radio,
Wu Youwei’s pupils dilated, and his face instantly turned pale.
“Smack!”
He covered his ears, slamming his hand down onto the radio.
“Grandpa!”
Wu Cheng jumped, hurriedly switching the channel.
He had grown accustomed to these sudden episodes from his grandpa.
Legend has it, everything stemmed from that underground boxing match.
As a professional boxer, Wu Youwei had taken on that hellish fight while struggling financially.
As long as one party didn’t concede, they would keep bashing each other until someone couldn’t stand again.
They battled for a full eight hours.
From midnight till dawn.
Until he drained the last breath out of his opponent.
Clearly, the victor was supposed to be grandpa.
But for some unknown reason, when Wu Youwei descended from the ring, covered in bl**d, he had turned into this…
Ever since that day, he frequently caught others and insisted he could hear the voices of demons.
That radio just now probably made him hear the “devil’s voice” again.
Watching his grandpa still shaken, Wu Cheng tried to soothe him as he rapidly flicked through radio channels.
Finally, a voice came through,
“Hello everyone, you’re listening to ‘Qingzhou Music Voice’.”
Let’s try some music, it should help a bit.
Wu Cheng thought, gently moving the radio aside.
“Today’s recommended song is a brand-new piece called ‘Spanish Bullfighting Song,’ which gained fame last week when Miss Gan Yan Yu performed it at the Sunny Day Concert Hall.”
“It is said to be inspired by the ancient Spanish bullfighting tradition. Let’s enjoy it together!”
As the radio host finished,
a sharp percussion began, followed by the sound of a piano!
Booming, passionate music erupted.
Such a banger!
Even Wu Cheng, who had never listened to classical music, found himself deeply captivated by the melody.
And when the cello entered with even more intensity, that feeling reached its peak.
“~”
In that music, Wu Cheng suddenly felt as if he were in an arena.
Alone, battling a crazy bull.
Inside him, it felt like something was blazing brightly!
“…”
Distracted, Wu Cheng suddenly remembered.
This year, he was just a high school student, lacking life experience, yet feeling this exhilarated.
Then, simultaneously…
What was the other person in that room thinking?
The aging retired boxer, his grandpa—what thoughts raced through his head?
The old man lay on the bed, still curled up in the same position.
His body continued to tremble.
But it seemed different this time.
The music clearly reached his ears, striking the heart of this sixty-year-old man.
What visions danced before his eyes?
A dim underground boxing ring, greedy spectators, brain matter and bl**d spraying from his opponent’s head?
No, no!
Once, these things haunted his mind for thirty long years.
But at this moment—
The glory of being a boxer.
The immense satisfaction of knocking out an opponent.
All of it surged back into the old man’s body.
In an instant, it felt as if Wu Youwei’s hand was reaching for something.
He sat up!
He remembered everything!
On that boxing ring.
With one last punch, he smashed down upon his opponent’s head.
Ending that nightmare of a match!
This was his glory!
“…”
As the music peaked,
the passionate percussion,
the intense and emotional piano,
and the heavy, solemn cello—all harmonized into a magnificent march.
It transported Wu Youwei back to the day he first became a boxer.
Back to that night he won the championship.
Back to… that twenty-something version of himself, standing in the ring, bursting with confidence, basking in flowers and applause.
He understood—
That boxing match, he had ultimately emerged victorious!
He was the fearless champion, the strongest boxer!
Even if that foreign opponent he sent to the other side came back as a vengeful spirit, he would take him down again!
What demons?
Come once, k*ll once!
Come a thousand times, k*ll a thousand times!
k*ll k*ll k*ll k*ll k*ll k*ll k*ll!!
“…”
When Wu Cheng turned back again,
he was utterly shocked to find
that the frail old man had overcome his leg ailment and was now standing up!
His eyes held a fiery intensity Wu Cheng had never seen before.
Maybe it was an energy only someone who clawed their way out of a pile of corpses, drenched in bl**d, would possess.
Wu Youwei stepped off the bed, grabbing the radio that was still playing the “Spanish Bullfighting Song.”
He turned to his grandson and said,
“Let’s go home!”
Wu Cheng felt a chill of terror.
Why did it seem his grandpa was not merely returning to normalcy but actually entering a state of deeper madness?
“…”
The former glory conquered fear, transforming everything into the will to fight.
In that moment, Wu Youwei’s heart held only one thought.
To conquer the demons, one must keep fighting!
Women are unworthy, let’s power up and throw punches!
(End of Chapter)
