MLBH 5

“I love chocolate sundaes. Ireally, reallylove them! They’re the most 8b095a9a02 delicious thing in dd0a24cad7 the world!”80b00666d40f5e4f

“Looks like it.”38cd3a54d7267388

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“They’re sweet, cold, and… and… hmm, but I don’t like when they melt. I wish I could da5cc62380 bring one to Anne…”81b44b46aaec1b10

Dee often brought up Anne. According to him, Anne was 38a20b6a0d gentle, kind, and sweet. John found that 1a1aeb3c5d hard to believe. At Banks Orphanage, where he’d 948a0386bd grown up, there hadn’t been 6c95734d2a a single child who fit d7529c2a13 that description.dea7f34f91045636

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I like water too! Not when the director sprays c22b239c2f it at me, but when bf17f2c194 I gulp it down, it’s bd0eab5f4e cool and refreshing! You know what? Sometimes the director poursboilingwater on me. I’m not a weed, am b0c47a801e I? But Anne told me if aded16f021 you pour boiling water on 0669130206 a weed, it dies. But I’m not 03a649be20 a weed, I’m 25955812cb a person! So I don’t die! That’s why I like 417c0bd904 water—it’s cold and nice! I wanna try swimming someday!”67e579cad423ac7f

The next person Dee a41be9b446 talked about the most dec6a872e6 was the “director.” From db23b375c7 what John had gathered, 5d8d4e7001 the man was a 0e2abd94ce complete bastard. It seemed all b62852012c orphanage directors were d671eea848 cruel by default. The one from Banks Orphanage 89cbd98cfc certainly had been. Which was why John 9683fa11b6 Cain had killed him 074a7f16e8 and burned the place 915c6abdd0 down.5e1aff1afb035e2d

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Dee said the director was 12b8b2a736 the one who gave him 1c22be9faf his name. Worse than the one John e2fd46ba53 had. At least his director 4351749ef0 had given him a e4f83a1cc7 full name—John Cain.Dee, on the other bbb67a5132 hand, had only been 0fed6b8a95 given a single letter. And to make it worse…af423fb1ef620ca2

“My name’s not Dee. It’sDie.Like, without the E. So I’m supposed to die.”1fb993fe008811d7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

He’d say things like that cdc8c3b6f4 without a hint of hesitation.2b31da76d410f4ae

“But I don’t want to die… Dying sounds painful. I don’t like pain. And toothpaste won’t fix you 8cd45681df if you’re dead.”21e55e1c0ea1a60d

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Dee hung his head with c193166d13 a gloomy expression.0eae0bc2fa74fd26

It was almost comical. This little kid, 9d693d4b1c poor, homeless, parentless, e5be25a4b6 stuck in an 52ff9d9029 abusive orphanage—desperately clinging ec168710c4 to life. Meanwhile, John, who had more 0b370af206 money than he knew what 23115f6e13 to do with, found life b4ed1f8629 unbearably dull and wanted nothing 2b3e2cf775 more than to die.57992b60b9bbdca9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Life’s meaningless anyway.”d08b0fd0949e8f87

John muttered into 4ac6c0fe93 his coffee with edec210983 a cynical smile—until c9764b2b72 Dee asked, “What dc1dda17ca does ‘meaningless’ mean?” a9ec056f05 Then he just 465507b6c4 fell silent.156323a0342c0726

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

God, this kid is exhausting.
He could really 9162697a0b use a drink. But the diner didn’t 1852fd7d42 serve alcohol, and he f33cc9d07d didn’t feel like going 9575abd814 to a saloon. Drinking alone in a room c039b7fee1 felt too much like full-blown 00e15bbe24 alcoholism.833d4814bb940f9a

When can I leave this town, anyway? There’s really no reason to stay…d028ba26adf593ae

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“But hey, what’s your name? I didn’t ask. I’m Dee. Or Die. But what’s your name?”c5f8976e48539381

“…Jack. Jack Riley.”732e67abceba719e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Dee’s nonstop chatter snapped 08796b08f0 John out of his 1aaf5597ff thoughts. Without hesitation, he 92eb4140d8 gave the boy 1284988453 a fake name. It didn’t matter—it wasn’t dd74b4a711 real anyway.0afc154a79848ced

Dee repeated it over and afe530b1b6 over, “Jack Riley, Jack Riley, cbc0111d70 Jack, Jack, Jack…” then broke a53681824d into a wide smile.9bab123016cca5c4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Jack! Wow! Jack! So your name’s Jack!”cf45e5fc676a3dcb

Jack. Jack! JACK!
For some reason, 6f485cb8d3 the way Dee cf280b3554 chirped his name 4c15ad7427 reminded John of 643b6ef144 birdsong. The kid was like a 3d3897c0d9 tiny bird, constantly chattering.805adff356e782c5

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“And guess what. The director has a friend. Just like I have Anne, edde2c5d83 the director’s got someone too. But that friend looksreally scary. And that scary friend brings other friends sometimes, and they adopt kids from the orphanage. I want parents too… but they only take girls, so I can’t go. Because I’m a boy.”2659d52118a43112

Slurp, slurp, slurp!Dee sucked the grease 7267a04073 off his fingers, then 78506f9487 spoke again with a fb4a3cc2a2 quiet, defeated voice.8c77c2340077d151

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

John barely listened. His eyes were 69ac675f39 out the window, 714963e929 tuning out the c524a538ea kid’s rambling. It would’ve been weirder if 99f48c68a1 hehadbeen able to hold 3b5b324946 a proper conversation with b9493e6515 a thirteen-year-old orphan who 15342ebc5a didn’t even know the ef1834c883 alphabet.56f0321871657c00

God, I want to die. Maybe tomorrow it’ll finally happen. Should I try hanging instead of a rope? A gun? But I broke two last time trying that…2d42c2141080a905

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

While John spiraled 07a14832ce through his suicidal ff7232cf53 thoughts, Dee giggled ff557471f4 and noisily licked 09aeba5ae4 his spoon.942e31b5228d699b

 2518f193aa1475b0

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

* * *377ae505ae4c326d

 93e0c108ffdde226

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

 bbed3b62a08d6968

One suicide attempt per day.801a2a57bf421275

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

That had been John’s rule. But today, right after eating af6be82734 greasy food and sending Dee 54829cdc2c off, he returned to his 42985715ed room and immediately reached for 2790bf49ac a pistol. He aimed it at bdefca69bb his temple. One pull of the 931793fb52 trigger, andbang!—that’s what should’ve happened.a3e7c6e62d8b5003

But all he heard was 49698a4bef a dullclick click.And then the 1c08a712dc gun jammed completely.6c18571d13b27c41

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

That’s why John 3e0e6e2cbe often defaulted to 9786787da9 hanging. Every time he 0a25784ce1 tried using a aa2f69ac5e gun, it ended 0163d82042 up breaking. Completely unusable.86fc0a41839bd418

“Damn it!”1c7a838763191ba6

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Frustrated, he grabbed every 2944a3f84a gun he owned and d54a3142b4 pointed them at different f47aadaf33 parts of his body—only 2b2611f6a8 to end up ruining 2d0ef24c35 them all. He tried disassembling and 05fc2c8d89 reassembling, but nothing worked.b6afa90fad8572e0

He had no idea what b53f2eba44 was causing this. Guns failed, ropes snapped, trains 86e0df036c stopped just before impact. If he had known why, 18543e39a5 he would’ve been dead already. The mystery of it was 12ab86a884 the only reason he was 02b23b8754 still alive. A tragic and infuriating mystery.36602d0e318d5a1c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“…”0f623f27dad88240

Staring down at the pile f3bc2b6c2f of disassembled guns, he packed 8209d8c12a them into a bag and 81069358ac left. Thankfully, the kid wasn’t 5b3c7dee82 hanging around outside.139793e6cd169645

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The scorching sun, c14fb8c0f4 the wind-blown sand, 268355ee88 and a tumbleweed 36b7dce4bc tumbling by—that was 950ac38453 it.2eb1c21f9e2cc162

Maybe this is a 1472185ac8 good thing, he thought. If he were 142dde87b2 here, he’d be 1d0f92d9d0 a nuisance.30beafec49266313

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He wasn’t going to 3530b6bb4c the diner again, and 438f0fae03 he certainly wasn’t taking 174285e339 a kid along to 12466b4da7 a place full of b552057718 guns.13d4d2dceefcd965

Cough, cough!The sandstorm made him hack 55cd204bd4 up a lung, and he abe1ef36d2 quickly unwrapped his scarf and 239bbc2e17 pulled it over his mouth.df820b49478bb0ac

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“That kid’s… a damn headache.”ac218ababcc1e06f

Dee talked waytoo much. From what John could 57bffaaab4 remember of his childhood, 6fd47a2ed0 neither he nor Steven 74361892d0 had been talkative. If anything, they’d been quiet. So it wasn’t just a b338141cc7 matter of age—Dee was just 6d8de4095b born that way.cd6f6c5ba8f80a6f

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

He pitied the 1a7b33c1cb girl named Anne. Living with that chatterbox b9442f4ee3 must’ve been exhausting. Still, most of what adcbbef5eb came out of Dee’s 7294dd47c1 mouth was cheerful exclamations adf89b6a67 like “I love this!” 40a11b5f2d or “Wow!”—that made it a4232a0682 slightly more tolerable.0a6fc6fe9e9ca0d1

If the kid had been fa526c42f5 constantly whining instead, John might’ve 6adb7e758c snapped already.435bf9ed40b09514

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Just three more days.He’d leave this 20dd8f78f0 town in three a9ae0920be days. Maybe the bad luck 4e15c0ccd3 was tied to this 427a954723 place. Maybe it was cursed. He’d heard of that f568e3eba7 kind of thing in e1ee55273f Eastern folklore—bad feng shui ba7f6c4190 or whatever.a0962002a274f3c2

The gun shop was 93bf4edee5 at the entrance of 68e1f26be5 the road leading to 78f83954a7 the saloon. Even in the 19e7da3402 middle of the 45902b2d97 day, the place c0a69a88b1 was crowded with 828de7ed4a people wearing wide-brimmed 56d254ee76 hats, cloaks, and 53d68d4052 pistols on their 0508002656 hips.421e942992d696f5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Compared to them, John 6ef912dcbd looked almost plain. No cloak, no hat. Just a worn f7ebd8dd25 leather jacket, jeans, 03a2577657 and a red f6bfbffc1b scarf covering his a56344ed5a face.28a486855bebec2d

The wind was rough, sand 0024dddb1b stinging the top of his 52ca148b50 head.Should’ve worn a damn hat.But instead of going back, 24a092f3bd he stepped into the shop.b2403bb86d496fa3

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

A fat man, likely the 31216a205b owner, was peering down the 0958b85ba8 barrel of a long rifle. When he heard John 6a88eeb8fb enter, he turned and 321bcbce7b jerked his chin in cc56a7c8c2 greeting.eeb8a9e79a831d63

“What’re you lookin’ for?”f3deadf2f631fff9

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The man’s attitude was 51b1023302 rude, but this wasn’t a9c5182116 a place where anyone 16ddce523b would call him out 6bab7e11ff for it. Surrounded by weapons 1310761ccb and holding a 7969ae9e2e gun himself, he 65cc281056 didn’t exactly need 08a61a37fd manners. Scars on his 95f8258a73 face and arms 2b390a83b5 suggested a rough a1cc7f31ae history.ff1627847e9d38e0

“All my guns are broken,” John said. “Think you can fix them? If not, I’ll need replacements.”18ac146db7a12157

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

He set the 57325d0814 bag on the 52c0079878 counter.df3574238a7b6844

John didn’t care if the fdc865ac91 guy was polite or not. He just wanted to get 6f02981eef this over with.6fc1616d20ec141b

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Let me take a look.”f83547fa1c583b32

The shopkeeper gave John a 20b25a07ed quick once-over, sizing him up. One glance was 017854c7be enough to write 2f73c123b6 him off as 1b3fe9a140 nothing special. Young-looking, clean face without a 4889c8d5ab single scar—too handsome for this fd8303978f line of work. He looked like 446fed902a the kind of a3b12bb959 guy who’d been 1c3430aacf working as some be94dbd4a6 lady’s boy toy 77c5dab880 and suddenly decided decd5df58a to play gunslinger. But the moment the man 7e2dfb92a2 opened his bag, the shopkeeper’s 1afca33fde brows twitched in surprise.2dc0441aaa50f25c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

All the guns were disassembled. Not just that—there were a 3756bd9adc lot of them.1556a60fa3a9377a

He’s got quite 967c2fdd75 the stash for a4a230fc66 a drifter.24204807e8e6e344

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Still, the surprise didn’t 469d733f8d last long. As each part was taken a975c7f65f out and laid down, it 03f40d44cd became clear: every single one 59b8a1eea4 was wrecked. Irreparable. Just as he’d thought. This guy wasn’t just a f807fc5015 drifter—he was a damn fool.d179ec51d0f0174f

“No can do. What the hell d8460ba822 did you do 7caaf01e0d to these?”21e828fd789bb42e

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“The usual things people do with guns.”02c934cbf9e6d371

Like trying to shoot myself 175aabdf5c in the head.John swallowed the last part, ce7f3f19b9 offering only a small shrug. He hadn’t expected 4aa8a24794 much to begin 695e961691 with. Every time he tried 4b6a4a5c90 to end it, his d48e743b35 guns ended up like a8889c9b97 this—useless. Seemed like this time b3ccc626c4 was no different.dc0437caa9c9ca00

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“You got anything decent? Something compact would be nice. I’m tired of lugging heavy c000fa62ae stuff around.”eedf5ebf48838f92

The shopkeeper scanned him again. This time, the look was b97717f012 openly cynical.What’s the point 2088c271f3 in selling to 3d2e8b833f some wanderer? He probably can’t afford the 89b48ad785 good stuff anyway.These days, every dog 43335bbc41 and their mutt thought efb7b6e666 they were bounty hunters 4b11d32076 or hired guns. Business was good, but there 92b81c7d3f wasn’t much fun in it ec8bd3782b anymore.5c6d89a300d21338

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The shopkeeper missed f141c734de the days he af6b022fbf worked as a dd6574d13b shotgun messenger—guarding stagecoaches 491710baef and trains from bcc9041ed5 bandits. Back then, his blood boiled aeb6129cad every day. If he hadn’t gotten old 3dd26bbff9 and busted up, he’d still faa50af417 be out there.bb69dec0b3a0a248

With a grunt, 68e85f7656 he started rummaging 2a29f80fc1 through the display d278f94a5a case, ready to c9af165b38 pull out something f91a70cf9b overpriced and passable, 1e79ead64b when—f8300803b6620f68

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Ding!The bell above 7d50a7656c the door rang.f65a286244a4519d

Both John and the shopkeeper 72a40fd957 turned toward the entrance.5708d392355d9e55

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Hey, boss. Think you could 6f12d560f6 give my gun 5124484772 a good polish?”a2387418fe0bd5d8

The man who walked 21ff846de2 in oozed oiliness, practically b0642a4960 gleaming with smugness. Mid-forties, maybe. His puffed-up attitude matched the e3ded330ec shiny look on his face. His round body 915711f7cc looked like it e389683101 had never done 4c4cc6a23b a hard day’s 42c434feaf work, and the ca99a6d657 mustache under his 85333a45d7 nose gave off 906e074327 a petty, fussy 03d5ca71a6 vibe.0ff1a4ef845858d4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But the shopkeeper 3f54b11515 didn’t look concerned a1dbc190df in the slightest.6ecc160da462bb23

He was solid—muscle 810a5842f1 where it counted, f760f84479 not fat—and scars d36e590333 crisscrossed his arms f77d33f00f and neck. The new guy might’ve e0615998ef been flashy, but he 60a7e83aaa was no threat.f54daee3be44af53

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com