CH 42

In order to create the illusion of “going home”, Zhong Chengshuo specifically went back to the gym. After confirming he was captured by surveillance, he ran through the heavy rain and into a bus stop near the community.

As soon as he stopped, he found Yin Ren waiting for him at the entrance.

At this distance, both he and Yin Ren could just see each other.

Yin Ren was holding a black umbrella and looking relaxed. He was wearing loose home clothes, and his long hair was draped dryly on his shoulders. Behind him was Ping’an Manor. He wasn’t sure if it was because there was so much commotion going on that night, but many homes still had their lights on.

The warm-colored windows were like lights, outlining the figure in front of them.

This was reminiscent of Gao Mengyu’s case when they walked along the river at night. There were similar sporadic warm lights on the other side of the river.

Yin Ren had also spotted Zhong Chengshuo—he was waving in his direction. Zhong Chengshuo wiped the rain from his chin, intending to greet him as if nothing had happened.

Then he saw the familiar smile on Yin Ren’s face.

Zhong Chengshuo paused.

Not so long ago, in Gao Mengyu’s apartment, Yin Ren also smiled with such a cheerful and calm smile, saying that he needed to be alone to “meditate”.

Zhong Chengshuo complied and exited the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Like glaciers that were thousands of years old cracking, a raging cold river swept in, and in an instant, thousands of icicles pierced his heart, and the cold wind blinded him through all his pores. A majestic killing intent exploded from behind him.

Zhong Chengshuo immediately got goosebumps. It wasn’t a ghost, nor was it magic. That was just pure malice and hostility from a creature.

At that moment, he felt as if he were floating in the deep winter sea, resisting a never-ending storm with just his body alone. The killing intent in the apartment was so strong and fierce that it wasn’t something a “normal human” could do.

Zhong Chengshuo clenched his fists, and his body trembled slightly. The corners of his mouth curled up as his thoughts turned. His heartbeat continued to accelerate with excitement.

Will Yin Ren be his enemy?

…Or his prey?

“Do you feel anything?” At that time, facing Yin Ren, who had just walked out, Zhong Chengshuo asked this seemingly unintentionally.

The man grinned and waved his hand. “I just feel hungry.”

‘No, it’s impossible to confirm how “dangerous” he is,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought at that time.

After that, Zhong Chengshuo took a sample of Yin Ren’s hair, as he needed to collect more evidence.

……

So far, Zhong Chengshuo only knew that Yin Ren’s strength wasn’t weak. The origin of this person was so mysterious that even Shian didn’t have a clue.

What exactly is “Yin Ren”? What does he want to do? Does it have anything to do with the “Evil Spirits”? …Did Yin Ren intervene tonight?

Seeing that familiar smile again, memories of the killing intent gushed out so suddenly that Zhong Chengshuo forgot to move.

Seeing that Zhong Chengshuo didn’t react, Yin Ren simply greeted him with an umbrella. He got to the bus stop and neatly shook the rain off the umbrella.

Under the warm streetlights, the two looked at each other quietly.

“You came back just in time. All that commotion had finally stopped.” Yin Ren scratched the tip of his nose. “Judging by how things look, it seems the two children have been sent to the hospital, and they can’t contact their families for the time being…”

“Aren’t you worried about your family?” Zhong Chengshuo didn’t follow the conversation. His dark eyes were like the muzzle of a gun, pointing straight at Yin Ren.

“…What?”

He didn’t know if it was because of his excursion just now, but vigilance, curiosity, and excitement were all intertwined, causing Zhong Chengshuo’s hair to coldly stand up. His state of mind was highly concentrated and unprecedentedly good.

In his vision, except for his target, Yin Ren, everything around him dimmed.

As long as Yin Ren lied, he was confident he could instantly expose it.

Even if his opponent attacked him because of this exposure… the Evil Fruit was in his bag. He could grab it in under two seconds.

“You haven’t remembered anything so far.” Zhong Chengshuo moved his fingers slightly and continued, “Your family might be waiting for you.”

What answer will he get? Lies, prevacation… Or will he change the subject?

Yin Ren didn’t immediately reply.

He turned his head and casually glanced at Zhong Chengshuo as if they were having a nice chat.

“I like to let fate take its course. When it arrives, those who should meet will definitely meet. If that’s not within my fate, then there’s no point in worrying about it.”

Yin Ren stared straight into Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes. His eyes were bent in a smile. Most of the good smell on his body was covered by the rain, but Zhong Chengshuo could still smell a bit of it.

“…And you’re my family now, which I think is quite good.”

This person isn’t lying.

Like a sharp knife piercing the air, his tight defense lost its fulcrum. Zhong Chengshuo’s scalp went numb. He was at a loss for a moment.

He didn’t understand.

“Let’s stop talking here and return home quickly. Hey, you should probably wring out your clothes first. You should be careful not to catch a cold since you’re all wet.” The culprit looked at the corner of Zhong Chengshuo’s dripping clothes and clicked his tongue.

“Ah… Let’s talk about it when we get home,” Zhong Chengshuo replied in a haze.

He clenched the strap of his bag tightly. His cold and wet clothes were like the hands of the dead, sticking so tightly to his body that it made his huge scar protrude slightly.

Yin Ren suddenly realized something. “You don’t want to take off your shirt in front of others? Don’t worry. All the surveillance cameras are broken right now. Shian’s busy repairing them. Should I turn around?”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……” That’s not the problem.

However, he was still immersed in that blankness and had no energy to respond.

Yin Ren pondered for a moment.

In the shadows, Yin Ren made a gun gesture with his other hand. In the next moment, he suddenly turned around and aimed his index finger at Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead.

This action came without warning. The hostility that had just been broken gathered in an instant. Zhong Chengshuo subconsciously lowered his sense of gravity. His muscles tightened all over his body, and he was just about to move—

“Bang!” Yin Ren said with a smile.

For an instant, the rain around the two of them condensed in the air.

It wasn’t just the rain that froze. Countless pearl-sized drops of water burst out from Zhong Chengshuo’s clothes and floated around the two of them. His drenched clothing and hair instantly became dry, as if he wasn’t even soaked before.

The round water drops floated in the air, surrounding the two of them under the warm streetlights, looking like fireflies that were reflecting the broken light like diamonds.

They swam very slowly, and one of them hit Yin Ren’s “muzzle”.

Tap.

Yin Ren poked lightly, causing the drop of water to bounce on Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead in response, splitting into a fine mist.

The touch was warm and cool.

The moment the water drop exploded, Zhong Chengshuo’s heart stopped for a second. He didn’t know if this was the aftermath of the battle, but a shiver ran down his back inexplicably.

“What do you think? This is a little trick I learned tonight. Isn’t it awesome?”

Yin Ren leaned closer with a smile. He used his umbrella to whisk away the raindrops that were frozen in the air and covered Zhong Chengshuo’s head with half of the umbrella.

“Alright. Let’s go home.”

The moment he said this, the rain poured again, jumping and tapping on the surface of the umbrella. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t know if it was because he was no longer wet or if Yin Ren was too close to him, but the surroundings suddenly warmed up, especially his ears, which seemed to have gotten hot.

He couldn’t help but cover one of his ears with one hand, but the enthusiasm was so insatiable that it began to spread to his cheeks. The tension had dissipated, but his heartbeat didn’t return to normal.

…Perhaps he was affected by some kind of curse when he was attacked, but he didn’t think he was under the effects of a curse. Zhong Chengshuo shook his head hard, trying to get rid of this mysterious intensity.

“Oh right, you twisted your ankle. Let me give you a hand.”

Yin Ren was unaware of Zhong Chengshuo’s entanglement. As Lord Ghost King was speaking, he had already grabbed his partner’s arm and put it on his shoulder.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t respond and turned his face away, letting his facial expression be buried deeply in the night.

At this moment, Yin Ren was in a good mood.

While the two were walking back, Yin Ren sniffed quietly. Zhong Chengshuo had almost no evil qi on his body. The level of dealing with traces was top-notch, which meant his fighting skills weren’t low.

However, he didn’t feel any killing intent from this person. After something like this happened, it seemed that Zhong Chengshuo didn’t intend to have a showdown with him.

So far, he still seemed to want to continue living in peace with him.

Didn’t this mean that everything was settled?

‘Today’s tentative mission was successfully completed,’ Yin Ren thought lazily. As for tomorrow’s affairs, he’ll put them off for his tomorrow’s self to deal with. He still hadn’t finished his game yet.

……

Room 601 Building 4. The windows were lit up again.

Yin Ren put away the umbrella and glanced at Zhong Chengshuo. It wasn’t a serious look, but Lord Ghost King was shocked. “Zhong Ge, do you have a fever?”

Why was his face so red, as if he had been slapped? It obviously wasn’t so serious just now.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored him and limped back to his bedroom, then slammed the door shut.

“Remember to take medicine! Also, help me prepare some stomach medicine.”

On the other side of the thick door panel, Zhong Chengshuo reluctantly responded with an “Nn”.

Yin Ren shook his head in amusement. He collapsed on the sofa, took out his phone, and was just about to beg for forgiveness from Comrade Liang Shan—

“Click.”

The sound of Zhong Chengshuo locking his bedroom door was deafening at midnight when everything else was extremely quiet.

Yin Ren: “???”

The two of them had lived in peace for almost a month. Why did this kid suddenly lock his door?

Was he in a bad mood? Did he tease Comrade Xiao Zhong too much? But Lu Xiaohe had done the same thing. Last time, didn’t Zhong Chengshuo even play along? Why did he get angry when it was him?

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t seem to expect the sound of him locking his bedroom door to be so loud. Two seconds later, another “click” sounded from the door, as if he were saying, “I accidently locked the door just now.”

Yin Ren could feel the obvious guilt.

A few seconds later, there was another self-defeating “click” from the door.

Oh, he locked it again.

Yin Ren exerted a bit of strength and deliberately walked heavily to Zhong Chengshuo’s door. “Zhong Ge, are you okay?”

He had never hesitated to bring the greatest embarrassment to mankind.

“I want to take a shower.” Zhong Chengshuo tried to cover up, but obviously failed*.

*There are no three hundred taels of silver here (此地无银三百两) It’s an idiom referring to trying to cover up something but instead exposing the truth. It comes from a folk story. You can read it in my Kinky Thoughts.

Why? Are you afraid I’ll stage a surprise attack while you’re showering? Yin Ren snorted. He wouldn’t trespass… Wait, he seemed to have done something similar before.

Alright fine. I guess he’s justified.

“Remember to come out and play with me after you finish showering.” Yin Ren returned to the sofa dejectedly. The case was over, but they still had the tail end of <The Legend of Resurrection> left to finish. There would definitely be a work summary next week, and their progress wasn’t looking good.

There was only the sound of rushing water coming from Zhong Chengshuo’s room. Yin Ren wasn’t sure if he had heard what he said.

Yin Ren had always refused to go to bed early. Lord Ghost King happily ordered three servings of spicy crayfish with different flavors and prepared for a night battle with a modern-day dog-blooded drama. As a result, just as he was about to turn off the lights and adjust the volume, Zhong Chengshuo’s bedroom door clicked open, and he cautiously walked out.

Yin Ren gave him a sideways glance.

“We should finish fighting the Dragon of Destruction before we go to bed.” Zhong Chengshuo sat normally and explained to the potted plant next to the TV.

Comrade Zhong Chengshuo was wearing his formal pajamas, but unlike before, this time, his nightcap was a little exaggerated—it wrapped around most of his head and covered his ears tightly.

“Let’s hurry and finish the fight so you can go to bed earlier.” Yin Ren hummed. “Hey, do you think something is off? I always feel like I have forgotten something…”

Zhong Chengshuo tugged the nightcap and contemplated for a few seconds, then silently nodded his head in agreement.

What is it? Ah, forget it. Whatever it is can be put off until tomorrow. The two of them grabbed their controllers and looked at the big screen.

On the TV.

Yin Ren controlled his “vampire prince” to rise in the air and throw an invalid attack at the “vampire hunter”, adding rain-like special effects around him.

Off screen.

In the Shian Small Work Group, Liang Shan sent another 60-second voice message.

……

The next day.

As soon as the two got up, they received a preliminary investigation from Shian.

Someone had taken Feng Qi’s mother’s keychain, contaminated it with evil qi, and then returned it to the desperate child. Based on the existing clues, it was inferred that this was done by Sunken Society.

Feng Qi successfully survived the corruption and gained an unusual ability. However, for a combatant who could only attack “murderers” and was quickly moving to his death, Sunken Society obviously had little interest in him.

They just gave Feng Qi some false information and used him as bait to teach a drug lord a lesson.

…Similar to abandoning an unsuccessful experiment.

Now that the keychain had been carefully confiscated, Ge Tingting’s and Feng Qi’s vital signs became stable, and there were no serious problems for the time being.

Master Liu and his gang were wiped out, and the cursed weapon “Good Boy” was successfully recovered by Shian. Except for the small and unnatural movements from Sunken Society, the ending could be considered happy.

The fact remained that two children killed two people couldn’t be erased, but their situation was special. After discussion, the police had a rough inference.

Regarding Wu Tao, in Ge Tingting’s case, it belonged to self-defense, while Feng Qi’s behavior was considered excessive self-defense. Ma Jiangshuai’s case was characterized as manslaughter. At the time of the incident, Feng Qi was mainly responsible. He was still under 12 while Ge Tingting was a little over 16, which meant the two of them weren’t criminally responsible.

Taking into account the mental condition and family situation of the two children, after the interrogation process was completed, the two would be handed over to Shian for special correction and education, the length of which would depend on the outcome of the interrogation.

In their cases, it was difficult for them to return to society and obtain normal jobs once they grew up. While on the surface it was considered “special correction education”, for Shian, it was actually “treatment” plus “incorporation”.

Shian-Small Working Group.

[Milky Way: Ge Tingting has woken up, and Feng Qi is out of danger. Most likely, he’ll wake up in two days.]

[Milky Way: I just don’t know what kind of sequelae there will be.]

[Fruit Knife: As long as they’re okay .]

[Final Fruit: Well, as long as everyone is okay.]

[The River Flows Eastward: ?]

[The River Flows Eastward: I thought you two were in the hospital too (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive)]

[Milky Way: Uh, Lao Liang, control your emotions.]

[Fruit Knife: Sorry Liang Ge! I was a little deflated last night and forgot about it! Wuwu ]

[Fruit Knife: So was Zhong Ge. It rained yesterday, and he caught a fever when he got home.]

[Final Fruit: ……]

[Final Fruit: I’m sorry, wuwu]

[Milky Way: ………………]

[The River Flows Eastward: Forget it. I didn’t hear from you last night, so I invited three buddies from the police station to eat.]

[The River Flows Eastward: ]

[Fruit Knife: No, no, we’re sorry. Consider it a treat for our police comrades.]

[Fruit Knife: Next time, we promise to arrive one hour in advance!]

[Fruit Knife: Speaking of which, Xiaohe Jie, can I go to the hospital to see Feng Qi?]

[Milky Way: Yes, but he hasn’t woken up yet. The child is too young. When he wakes up, we’ll have to find a way to trick him about using his ability to kill people.]

[Fruit Knife: I know. I just want to see him. I won’t say much.]

[Final Fruit: I’ll go too.]

In the room, Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with some surprise—he was cleaning the kitchen stove while replying to the text messages. Yin Ren wanted to go out for a stroll and had no intention of helping with Zhong Chengshuo’s cleaning.

However, feeling his gaze, Comrade Zhong Chengshuo didn’t look back and instead wiped the stove even more vigorously.

[Milky Way: Seeing as how well you guys behaved last night, you can go.]

[Fruit Knife: By the way, I want to go to Feng Qi’s house first. Xiaohe Jie, can you help? ]

……

On Sunday afternoon, Haigu People’s Hospital.

There was a gift shop downstairs in the hospital. Yin Ren bought a music box and added a black dragon plush toy. Zhong Chengshuo looked around as he carried two bags of apples.

“You seem to be very good at this.”

At the checkout, Zhong Chengshuo spoke hesitantly as he saw the bulging bag in Yin Ren’s hand.

“No such thing. It’s just a little guess.” Yin Ren glanced back at the two bags of apples. “You don’t have to learn from me. In fact, communicating with children is quite easy—as long as you speak from your heart, they can feel it.”

“…” Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head and became lost in his thoughts.

When they visited, Ge Tingting was sleeping. The girl lay quietly on the hospital bed and slept soundly. Her dry and chapped lips were now moist and had returned to a healthy color.

Yin Ren didn’t bother her. He entrusted his gift to her with the nurse and walked to Feng Qi’s ward.

Feng Qi happened to be staying in Wu Pengpeng’s original room.

Since Feng Qi’s corruption was brought under control, Wu Pengpeng quickly returned to normal. He was taken to the police station right after he was discharged from the hospital. As for Qian Zhicheng—that orange head had already left the hospital. After this incident, Qian Zhicheng was so frightened that he changed his ways. It was said that besides going to work and school, he dared not leave his apartment.

The nurse in the ward was still the 1103 that they were familiar with.

Seeing Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo holding gifts, the nurse subconsciously cracked her knuckles.

On the hospital bed, Feng Qi’s thin body was covered in tubes. His eyes were tightly closed, and his chest was breathing smoothly. The moment the two entered, he seemed to notice something and slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils were somewhat distorted, but they were much clearer than before.

“I’m really back…”

He stared at the ceiling in a daze. His voice was low, but everyone present could hear it.

The boy wasn’t interested in Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, who came over. He just stared at the light on the ceiling with dry, dull eyes.

“Mom… Dad…”

“Feng Qi.” Yin Ren took two steps forward. He put the gift he had bought at the door and only carried a simple bag with him.

Feng Qi turned his head and saw Yin Ren’s face. The boy was taken aback. He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke in a small, weak voice.

“Who are you?”

“The person in charge of your parents’ case.” Yin Ren carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. “We caught another bad guy. We went to your house for a search yesterday and found something.”

Feng Qi looked at Yin Ren with interest.

“I found this at the bottom of your closet.” Yin Ren opened the paper bag and revealed its contents. “We think you are likely to need it now.”

It was a roughly wrapped gift with a brightly colored ribbon wrapped around it. A small card was attached to the wrapping paper—

[Feng Family Game Grand Prix—Special Prize: A new game console anyone will love]

[To the greatest adventurer in the world. Mom and Dad wish you will be forever brave.]

The boy was stunned. He struggled to lift his hand and touch the gift.

That was right; it was his birthday.

He had forgotten about it.

“The bottom… of the closet…?” Deep in Feng Qi’s eyes, there was a spark that lit up again.

“Yes,” Yin Ren said softly. “Don’t worry. We didn’t touch anything in the house. But there was something strange… The game console in the house was still on, as if someone had touched it.”

“It didn’t go to sleep, and the game characters were all in a flower field full of stars. Sorry, we didn’t watch the scene too carefully. The previous save file should be very important to you—”

Feng Qi’s tears rushed down his cheeks all at once.

This time, there was no blood in them, and they were distinctly clear.

“Mm.” He choked and coughed several times. “Now… it’s also… very important… the most important… to me.”

“Don’t agitate my patient,” the nurse warned coldly. “You guys, leave.”

But this time, she didn’t throw them out.

“I have something to say to Mr. Feng,” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly said. “Yin Ren, go out first. I’ll stay for a bit.”

Yin Ren made a funny face at Feng Qi and then left the room without asking anything.

Anyway, the sound insulation here wasn’t that good.

Inside the ward.

Under the icy glare of the nurse, Zhong Chengshuo squatted down by Feng Qi’s bedside and looked at him.

The boy’s eyes were still red, and his hands, which were full of infusion needles, were gripping tightly on the ribbon of his gift, refusing to let go no matter what.

“I know you’re sad now,” Zhong Chengshuo spoke cautiously, “and I don’t know how to comfort you.”

Feng Qi looked at him in silence.

“My colleague knows more about the <The Legend of Resurrection> than I do. He can find gifts and save files.”

Zhong Chengshuo tilted his head. His eyes were as deep as ever. He slowly stretched out his right hand and, after hesitating for a moment, carefully patted the boy’s head.

“I don’t know what you think of death,” he said softly. “Do you like plants?”

Feng Qi nodded hesitantly.

“To me, death means the disappearance of ‘the part above the soil’, but the roots beneath will not be dried up instantly.”

The boy looked at Zhong Chengshuo half-understandingly.

“Your parents… When you grow up, you can see them in your physical features. You can find them in your habits and discover them in your diseases. Their shadow will be in your personality, thinking, joy, and pain.”

This was science, and science didn’t lie.

Zhong Chengshuo took back his hand.

“This is the ‘remnant root’. Whether it’s good or bad, they will really disappear the moment you die,” he explained in a low voice. “So, your parents didn’t completely leave you.”

Feng Qi fixed his gaze on Zhong Chengshuo, who had stood up rather uncomfortably.

“Then, that’s all I have to say.”

“Thank you.” Feng Qi struggled to raise the corner of his mouth to give him a smile.

“Brother… can you also help… the person next door. He… has been asking for help…” He moved his fingers and pointed to the ward where the serial murderer, Guo Laifu, was. Yin Ren hadn’t shut the door well, so the disordered and frenzied screams were still trickling in from the crack of the door.

Zhong Chengshuo’s movement froze in mid-air.

“Can you understand him?” His gaze returned to the boy’s face.

“Yes……” Feng Qi said weakly.

“He keeps screaming… screaming the same thing.”

“He’s saying, ‘Mommy, mommy, I’m so scared’.”

The author has something to say:

Lord Ghost King ran away after he finished teasing! (pointing.jpg）

Xiao Zhong: Damn it, what a powerful curse!

So the truth about Gao Mengyu’s cat case——

Inside the house: Lord Ghost King killing intent frightens the cat.

Outside the house: Minister Fu’s and Xiao Zhong’s eyes tremble.

Kinky Thoughts:

Our Zhong Chengshuo is reaching enlightenment.

—-

Folk story:

Once upon a time, there was a man named Zhang San who worked hard every day and managed to save three hundred taels of silver. He was very happy, but at the same time worried, always afraid that someone would steal his money. After thinking about it, Zhang San found a big box, put the three hundred taels in the box, then dug a hole in an open space behind the house and buried the box deeply in the ground.

After doing this, Zhang San felt relieved and was about to go back to rest, but before leaving, he took a look at the place where the box was buried and became worried again, fearing that someone would accidentally dig it out. So he slapped his head and came up with a “good solution”. He quickly took out a piece of paper and wrote on it: “There’s no three hundred taels of silver here.” After writing it, he pasted the note on the corner of the wall and then left with peace of mind.

Zhang San’s abnormal behavior was seen by his neighbor, Wang Er. Wang Er felt curious, so he sneaked behind Zhang San’s house while he was asleep and saw the note by moonlight. Wang Er instantly understood at once, so he dug up the box and stole the silver. Seeing the money, Wang Er was very excited, but he was also afraid of being discovered by Zhang San, so he hurriedly filled the hole again. After thinking about it, he also took a piece of paper and wrote on it: “Your neighbor Wang Er never stole it.”, and pasted it on the corner of the wall where the previous note was.

The next morning, after Zhang San got up, he went to the back of the house to look at his silver, and suddenly found that it was gone. After seeing the note pasted by Wang Er, he immediately understood: Wang Er had stolen his money!