Chapter 36: Don’t Be Too Murderous

He Chen continued working, completely satisfied. He went to the kitchen to refill his coffee and happened to run into Gu Jiu’an, who had inexplicably started frying ribs.

“Smells good… Student Gu, need help?”

Gu Jiu’an did not even lift his head, putting all his focus into the great task of cooking. “There are freshly fried fries. Assistant He, do you want some?”

He Chen subconsciously pushed up the glasses that did not exist. “Yes. Do I get a share of the ribs too?”

“Of course. If the taste is alright, I’ll have to trouble Assistant He to help bring out a few portions for Jiangye to try.” Gu Jiu’an suddenly felt that he had said something wrong. He stiffened for a moment, and his voice grew softer and softer.

“Student Gu, you’re such a good person. Unlike our boss, who only knows how to transfer money…” He Chen laughed. “Recently, don’t walk at night, okay? In case you encounter someone throwing a sack over you. An undeserved disaster.”

“…Mm.” Gu Jiu’an became even stiffer.

He Chen smiled and picked up a fry. “Mm, the taste really is good.”

At the same time, Lin Jiangye was sitting on the sofa studying the stone bowl.

Actually, he wanted to eat the entire bowl directly and completely erase all hidden dangers. But at this moment, there were too many people coming and going in the Gu family home. If he suddenly began eating stone, the scene would probably be very horrifying.

“I’ve already memorized the contents of the will. Does it need to be handed over to the police?” Lin Jiangye lowered his head and broke the stone bowl into two, asking Yu Wangxiao’s opinion. “Mainly, her logic was no longer clear. Reading it feels like she had schizophrenia, and she recorded some… unscientific things. Some of the descriptions are rather chaotic, so it’s very hard to confirm which parts are real and which are hallucinations from when she was ill.”

Xu Lifang had densely summarized nearly ten years of her experiences on that one paper ball. Her madness had long shown signs, even before Gu Jiu’an was brought back to the Gu family.

She believed she was being controlled by an invisible force, forced to live within a predetermined framework and unable to break free no matter what. Because… if she could act according to her own heart, Gu Yuan would have long been driven out of the house by her.

Xu Lifang knew very well that both of her sons had extremely chaotic private lives. The evil roots in their bones seemed innate, impossible to educate away. Especially Gu Yuan, who deceived innocent women, left illegitimate children behind without care, and only remembered Gu Jiu’an’s existence after he could no longer have children. Xu Lifang absolutely could not accept this behavior, and it went against her principles in life.

She suffered an enormous shock and became extremely furious. So she would rather hand the Gu family over to professional managers to handle and, after her own death, return everything to Gu Jiu’an, than allow either son to enjoy the business she and her husband had worked so hard to build.

But whenever she tried to drive her sons away and strip them of power, or send them to branch companies elsewhere, she would suddenly be unable to move. She could only watch helplessly as she turned back into that old woman like a loving wooden statue, sitting quietly before the Buddha statue, chanting sutras, burning incense, and spending huge sums to buy jewelry and jade, appearing devout.

Lin Jiangye found it hard to imagine what a breakdown it must be to be unable to control one’s own body, words, and actions. What was more terrifying came afterward. She had struggled with all her might. She had once confided in and cried to the nanny who had taken care of her for many years, and had sincerely gone to seek help from professional doctors. But what she received was only two results.

A schizophrenia diagnosis, and the nanny’s betrayal.

Gu Yuan learned of her thoughts. Not only did he fail to restrain his own behavior, he deliberately hired people to place her under house arrest, usually putting on the appearance of a filial son, as though mother and son were especially harmonious.

Xu Lifang in her “normal” state turned a blind eye to all abnormalities and naturally would not resist such arrangements. Xu Lifang in her mad state was controlled and imprisoned, which in others’ eyes was only natural.

The most ironic thing was that in this world, the only person who believed Xu Lifang was not truly mad was her son, Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan believed that Xu Lifang’s behavior actually represented success in Buddhist cultivation, that she had the chance to abandon this burdensome human body, ascend with her soul, and become immortal. So he controlled Xu Lifang at home, conducting human experiments on her, even making her consume large amounts of strange powder, deliberately accelerating her madness and destroying her mind.

Xu Lifang would rather die than accept this humiliation, which was why she angrily took poison and killed herself. She knew Gu Yuan would never easily cremate her, so she deliberately swallowed the will into her stomach to avoid discovery, also hoping for one faint possibility—that the will she hid would one day be seen by a forensic doctor.

Unfortunately, the facts of the past three years proved… even though she had actively sought death, Gu Yuan still had not let her go and continued his experiments without any bottom line. No one expected that even now, he had actually recklessly produced a large number of “experimental results.”

The dozens of living dead secretly taken away by Yu Wangxiao, caught on the road, and directly stolen from the Gu family were almost all identical Old Madam Gus. This was the clearest hard evidence.

“Of course it has to be handed over, but it has to be handed to the right person. I’ll do it.”

Yu Wangxiao stood behind the sofa, his warm hand resting on Lin Jiangye’s shoulder as he softly said, “My research team has been made official. It is guaranteed legal and formal, with complete procedures. Every investigation process is recorded.”

Lin Jiangye looked up at him. “So… the government also knows of the existence of the living dead.”

“Yes. But just like us, they lack targeted, small-scale lethal weapons and can only rely on meteorite extract as a support method.” Yu Wangxiao slightly curved his lips. “The difference is that I’m truly very rich, and I’m also willing to take on this bottomless research project, so it’s under my management.”

“In that case, you can still count as a kind public welfare figure.” Lin Jiangye laughed softly, leaned his head against Yu Wangxiao’s arm, and carefully took out the will, shaking it before placing it in his palm.

Yu Wangxiao took the will and lowered his eyes to read it very carefully, then raised his brows. “After receiving a huge shock, her psychological state gradually collapsed. She easily fell into madness in stages, but in her normal state, she was no different from ordinary people, and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Doesn’t this symptom look a little familiar?”

“Wu…” Lin Jiangye thought about it, and his eyes gradually widened. “My sister-in-law? The shock she suffered wasn’t any less than Old Madam’s.”

The hand resting on his shoulder suddenly came closer, lightly pressing against the side of Lin Jiangye’s neck, rubbing and kneading.

Yu Wangxiao’s mood seemed to visibly improve. He spoke gently. “Tuantuan is smart.”

“You’re praising me as smart too?” Lin Jiangye tilted his head to make it easier for him to knead, comfortably narrowing his eyes. “Wu… then it looks like I really am smart.”

Yu Wangxiao’s expression did not change, but the smile at the corner of his lips seemed to deepen slightly. “Mm, you’re especially smart.”

“Then tomorrow, should we go back to the old residence and see her? A situation like Xu Lifang’s is harder to judge, but if she’s alive, I should be able to confirm further.” Lin Jiangye was eager to try.

“Tomorrow, Yu Lin will be released from the detention center. I heard his mood isn’t very stable. Are you sure you want to go?” Yu Wangxiao looked at him and slowly asked back.

Lin Jiangye narrowed his eyes slightly. “It’s fine. If he still dares to say ugly things to you this time, I’ll beat him.”

“Alright. I’ll rely on you. You have to protect me.”

“What should I do? I kind of like hearing that.” Lin Jiangye’s heart warmed, and he was somewhat surprised. Although Yu Wangxiao did not need him to protect him at all, he really did love hearing it.

“I like it too.” Yu Wangxiao’s voice was very soft as he bent down and pinched his chin. “Can I kiss you?”

Lin Jiangye leaned his head back against the sofa, staring straight at him for a moment. Suddenly, he especially wanted to drink water. “Yes, yes.”

…

The two of them softly chatted for a while and finally improved each other’s moods a little. At least, they could temporarily stop thinking about those lifelike little golden children with overly detailed facial features, as well as the madness and malice hidden behind them.

Beep, beep—

At this moment, a horn sounded a few times, and two police cars with flashing roof lights stopped at the entrance of the front courtyard.

They moved very quickly, immediately beginning to seal off the scene, take photos, and preserve evidence. Forensic doctors wearing masks also got out one after another, putting on work clothes, gloves, and hats, then quickly getting busy.

As the person who had nominally dug up the remains, Gu Jiu’an could no longer care about the ribs he had only half fried. He quickly walked out to cooperate with the on-site excavation and investigation work.

He Chen happened to enter the kitchen to refill his coffee, only to end up flusteredly taking over Gu Jiu’an’s cooking.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully tested the oil temperature, watching a stopwatch while picking up a slotted spoon to stir the oil pot. Then he diligently fished out the fried ribs, drained the oil, plated them, secretly tasted one first, and only then carried the plate out of the kitchen.

“Freshly fried garlic ribs. Who wants some?” He Chen glanced at the huge scene in the villa’s front courtyard and naturally called out.

Lin Jiangye shot up from the sofa and stuffed the stone bowl, broken in two, into Yu Wangxiao’s arms. “I want some! Thank you, Assistant He.”

“Hungry again?” Yu Wangxiao held the heavy piece of stone and helplessly handed him a handkerchief. “Wash your hands first. You touched many things tonight.”

“Mm, mm.”

Lin Jiangye agreed readily and went to the bathroom to carefully wash his hands, but he did not use the handkerchief Yu Wangxiao had given him to dry them at all.

New collection plus one. Lin Jiangye smelled the faint woody fragrance on the handkerchief and happily put it into his pocket.

Perhaps Yu Wangxiao had already noticed long ago. Perhaps he even deliberately indulged him. In any case, Lin Jiangye did not care whether his behavior was like a pervert.

Ever since he received constant intentional or unintentional encouragement, Lin Jiangye had become increasingly righteous when it came to expressing desire.

After eating and drinking his fill, it was soon time to go home.

Yu Wangxiao truly seemed very familiar with the police, probably because he had countless experiences dealing with them. In short, after he very cooperatively accepted questioning, no one came to make things difficult for Lin Jiangye at all.

The middle-aged uncle with a police baton only came over to mooch a cup of coffee and ask Lin Jiangye’s age, household registration, major, who he came with, what he had done before coming to the Gu family, what his relationship was with Gu Jiu’an, and what his relationship was with Yu Wangxiao…

Lin Jiangye very obediently answered honestly and also casually reported Lin Bingsheng, stating that Lin Bingsheng might be embezzling funds from charitable sponsorship projects and was suspected of participating in child trafficking.

Of course, the effect of the report was not very good. The uncle only cheerfully praised him as a young and promising top student, told him to study hard, and serve society after graduation.

After everyone present had accepted questioning, they could move freely. Xu Lifang’s body was taken away by He Chen and moved onto the truck driven over by the laboratory team. Together with the gold bars, stones, and other suspicious superstitious products they had dug out from the Gu family, it was transported away to arrange storage overnight.

Gu Jiu’an had no objection to He Chen’s arrangements. On the contrary, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that he was powerless regarding these matters, and also refused Chen Ming and the others’ invitation, determined to remain alone in the Gu family home and spend this chaotic night by himself.

After all, for him, the police were much safer than Yu Wangxiao’s people.

Lin Jiangye did not try to persuade him further. Full of thoughts, he sat in the familiar black sedan, tiredly collapsing sideways with his head lying on Yu Wangxiao’s lap. Without saying a word, he held the stone bowl and broke it into pieces with crisp cracks, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing fiercely as he broke them.

“…Is it good?” Yu Wangxiao’s palm covered the top of his head and rubbed it. He seemed hesitant to speak.

“There are too many impurities. A pile of bad-tasting iron sand and silicates.” Lin Jiangye spoke softly, then suddenly could not help complaining. “Why was reporting Lin Bingsheng useless? I count as his biological son too. The credibility of righteousness over family should be pretty high.”

“Because if he promised to help you, as long as he took substantial action, it would be very easy for him to be assassinated overnight.” Yu Wangxiao was not surprised by the jumpiness of his topic and explained softly. “Gu Yuan is dead, but many people who relied on him for survival are still alive.”

“Oh, I understand. Life is most important… Then will you kill them, or will I kill them?” Lin Jiangye broke off another piece of stone and swallowed it in one bite, instantly no longer upset and even somewhat eager.

Yu Wangxiao was silent for a moment, lowering his eyes to look at him carefully for a long time.

From an upward angle, Lin Jiangye’s eyes were very beautiful, large and round, like a dark full moon. They were rather clean and pure, seeming completely harmless.

“Lin Jiangye, don’t be too murderous.” Yu Wangxiao reached out and pinched his face, as if pinching a bun, squeezing hard.

“Oh, oh.”

Being called by his full name made Lin Jiangye’s spirit jolt, and he immediately mumbled his agreement.

“Do you still remember what you warned me about before? You said I couldn’t casually record audio and video in the dorm, that I had to obey the law.” Yu Wangxiao smiled without quite smiling. “Since then, I’ve listened to you and restrained myself a lot, haven’t I?”

“Wu, I remember. That’s right.” Lin Jiangye answered honestly.

Yu Wangxiao slowly curved his lips. “Then what are you doing now?”

“Yu Wangxiao, you’re so fierce. Especially scary, you know!” Lin Jiangye could not help touching his own neck and sighed faintly. “No wonder when I first met you, so many people inexplicably came to advise me to be careful…”

“Is that so? Who were they?”

“…Cough.”