QT- I’m Almost Died
Chapter 273. Fan Jialuo’s Past
TN:- 3 Chapters!!!
Xuan Chengzi’s mournful cries could still be heard from a great distance away. At this moment, he had no time to worry about cleaning up his sect, he only wanted to save Lin Nianci.
As Fan Jialuo ran, he muttered, “You’re really bold to scheme against Lin Nianci right in front of my Shifu.”
“It’s precisely because your Shifu was there that it was so easy to scheme against her.” Song Rui chuckled, seemingly finding the scene just now quite amusing.
“Hmm?” Fan Jialuo was deeply puzzled.
“You told me about her upbringing, so I can roughly judge her psychological state. In her mind, your Shifu is her guardian angel, the most powerful person in the world. She must feel most relaxed and safest by your Shifu’s side.” Song Rui analyzed.
“She’s not wrong to think that way, my Shifu would never let her get hurt.” Recalling the past, Fan Jialuo no longer felt envious, but rather filled with peace.
“So you see, when a person is most relaxed, that’s when they’re most vulnerable to being schemed against. What’s more, Lin Nianci and your Shifu are of the same ilk, they both look down on ordinary people. When I approached, in her eyes, it was like an ant approaching. Would a person guard against an ant? No.” At this point, Song Rui chuckled again.
Fan Jialuo still found it incredible, “In your hands, she didn’t resist at all, like a frightened child. I’m starting to doubt whether the antique case is really related to her. She doesn’t seem to have that ability.”
“Don’t doubt yourself. She’s the one who committed the crime, and she’s also the one who was easily outmaneuvered.” Song Rui guessed, “She must have sealed off her memories and grown up again as an infant. She is Song Enci, but she is also Lin Nianci, like having two personalities in one body. When things are calm, she is the innocent and kind Lin Nianci, when faced with a deadly threat, she becomes Song Enci to deal with the cruel outside world. That’s why I couldn’t see any trace of pretense in her.”
“It seems she’s been on guard against me for a while now. She’s really grown up.” Fan Jialuo shook his head and chuckled, seemingly amused, but his steps grew increasingly slow.
Song Rui retorted, “You overestimate yourself this time. The reason she sealed her memories wasn’t to protect herself from you, but from your Shifu. She killed you and wandered for nearly a hundred years, only daring to return to see your Shifu when her body was severely injured and on the verge of collapse. Why was that?”
Before Fan Jialuo could ponder this further, Song Rui continued, “It’s because she knows her acting can’t fool your Shifu. Your Shifu is the person who understands her best in the world. If she killed you and immediately returned, your Shifu would see her guilt and unease. So she waits, waits for time to pass, for things to fade, for the anger to subside and the longing to rise. At that time, your Shifu will only be happy for her return, so why would he suspect her?”
“She has to live under a different identity, but she wants to stay by your Shifu’s side. So she has to make herself a blank slate, otherwise your Shifu will definitely see through her disguise. Only by deceiving herself can she deceive your Shifu.”
“She’s naive and arrogant. After killing you, she probably never even considered that you would come back, so how could she possibly be on guard against you?” Song Rui shook his head and whispered, “Human hearts are hard to fathom, yet easy to manipulate. You just need to find that weakness. She knew that she was your Shifu’s weakness, so she was invincible from the very beginning. By entrusting herself to your Shifu in her own name, she could live a glorious and peaceful life under your Shifu’s wing.”
“So that’s how it is……” Fan Jialuo suddenly realized, and said with emotion, “She really went to great lengths to stay by Shifu’s side.”
Song Rui crouched down, reached under Fan Jialuo’s knees, picked him up, and ran forward quickly, panting as he instructed, “Forget about her. We need to save our energy.”
“Hmm.” Fan Jialuo continued to tighten the space in his abdomen, his tone light, “I knew that when everyone was pointing fingers at me, only you would help me.”
Song Rui ran straight ahead, his voice becoming hoarse with breathlessness, “If I don’t help you, who will?”
He spoke so matter-of-factly, as if placing all his hopes on Fan Jialuo was his destiny. He was willing to brave death and confront formidable foes for his sake. Knowing full well that the forest was fraught with mortal danger, he came nonetheless, simply because he refused to remain in safety and go on living alone.
“Even if everyone stands up and criticizes me, you will still believe in me, right?” Fan Jialuo wanted to smile, but instead spat out a mouthful of blood.
Song Rui quickened his pace, his voice hoarse, “Of course, that’s our promise.”
“‘Promise’ is such a beautiful word.” Fan Jialuo wiped the corner of his crimson lips, his eyes filled with reminiscence, “You know…… I was born with the wisdom of the world already inside me.”
Song Rui looked down at him, his pupils filled with astonishment, but this astonishment was not because of his extraordinary origin, but because of his honesty.
“What does it feel like to be born with wisdom?” Song Rui asked, following up on the conversation.
“Doesn’t feel good.” Fan Jialuo’s pupils gradually lost focus, as if piercing through the black mist and the sky-covering tree canopy, looking towards the distant past.
“When I was born, my mother’s delivery room was filled with a bright red light, as red as blood, which alarmed many people. At that time, a wandering Taoist priest came to the door, pointed at me and said that I was a demon. My father and mother were terrified and abandoned me in the wilderness the next day.”
Fan Jialuo spoke in a very detached tone, as if he were telling someone else’s story.
Song Rui’s heart ached terribly because of those few words. Born with wisdom meant remembering and understanding it all, and thus, from the day he was born, the person in his arms began a lifetime of torment. Was he truly a demon? No, quite the opposite, he was a spiritual being! He deserved a wonderful and fulfilling life.
“Stop talking!” Song Rui’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. He thought that Fan Jialuo’s heart was filled with light and untouched by dust, but it turned out that he, like himself, had once lived in the abyss.
“If I don’t say it now, I’m afraid I won’t have another chance.” Although Fan Jialuo spoke words of despair, his eyes were calm and clear.
Song Rui’s tears fell on his face, they were hot, while the blood he spat out was cold.
Fan Jialuo licked away the tears and said weakly, “Don’t cry, your tears are bitter.” His tongue had no sense of taste, so the bitterness emanated from the depths of Dr. Song’s heart. He didn’t want him to suffer.
Song Rui squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to show any weakness. If even he collapsed, who would be able to get the person in his arms to safety?
Fan Jialuo put his hand on his shoulder and continued, “But I was lucky. I was found by an old beggar after lying in the cold wind for only a short while. He took me back to Ping’an Town and raised me with rice water. Perhaps because I was well-behaved, people were always willing to give me a few extra handfuls of rice when I begged, so life wasn’t too hard. My mother would often send her wet nurse to the dilapidated temple outside the city to see me and bring me some food. She always remembered me.”
Song Rui’s heart clenched at the satisfaction in his voice. Was he really so happy just to be remembered? Was life so bitter that even a little sweetness was enough to savor? No, it wasn’t like that. He deserved better, because he was already good enough.
“Later, due to the civil unrest, the imperial court sent troops to kill everyone in the city. I was buried under my adoptive father, who smeared my face with blood, and thus I escaped the massacre. Everyone was dead. They had once saved a bite of food from their own bowls to raise me, and I had to repay their kindness. I crawled out of the pile of corpses, looked around in a panic, and suddenly had a very mysterious feeling.”
“I must save them, the living and the dead, save them all.”
“There’s no need to search. I knew in my heart who was still alive and who was dead. I properly settled the living and found a scripture to pray for the dead. I didn’t know if it would work, I was just acting on my intuition. I owe a debt of gratitude for a meal I’ve received. Although I was abandoned by my parents, all the people in the city were my parents.”
Song Rui pursed his lips, remaining silent. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in those past events, but rather that he was afraid he would choke up if he opened his mouth. Where did such a heavy sense of responsibility come from in such a small child? It’s just a meal, is it really worth it?
Fan Jialuo told him in a suddenly much lighter tone that it was worth it.
“As I fed those who were still breathing, I chanted sutras. Before I knew it, the bloody aura in the city faded, the clouds in the sky parted, and a ray of sunlight shone down, startling away the vultures that were circling down. All those people I dragged out who were originally on the verge of death all came back to life.”
“Later, a group of eminent monks came and helped me bury all the corpses in the city. They took me to Longyin Temple to settle down. They called me a Buddha child.”
Hearing this, Song Rui finally composed himself and said in a hoarse voice, “So you originally wanted to be a monk?”
“Yes, I originally wanted to be a monk.” Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, as if recalling something wonderful, “It’s just that my Shishu came and wanted to take me into the Taoist sect.”
Knowing what had happened to him later, Song Rui said in a deep voice, “You should have become a monk.”
“No, meeting my Shishu was the greatest fortune of my life. I have never once regretted it.” The smile on Fan Jialuo’s lips lingered for a long time, and his voice was full of vitality, “My Shishu placed me in an open space, with himself and the old monk standing at opposite ends, and told me to choose. If I chose him, I would become a Holy child of the Taoist sect, if I chose the old monk, I would become a Buddha child of the Buddhist sect.”
“The old monk was a serious person. He just stood there and talked about some profound principles for saving all living beings. I understood them, but I didn’t move. My Shishu took out many exquisite little trinkets and a string of bright red candied hawthorns from his cloth bag, waved to me, and smiled kindly and brightly.”
Fan Jialuo laughed even more heartily, “As soon as I saw that string of candied hawthorns, I ran towards it.”
Hearing this, even Song Rui, who was filled with sorrow, couldn’t help but chuckle. He could almost picture the person running with short, wobbly legs. It must have been quite adorable.
“My Shishu laughed heartily as he picked me up and gently kissed me on the cheek. In that one moment, I realized with a profound understanding that I would never regret choosing him.” Fan Jialuo’s face held a wistful smile, but tears welled up in his eyes.
His tone was calm, but Song Rui, well-versed in psychology, understood how profoundly that light, butterfly-wing-like kiss had affected Fan Jialuo’s life. A child raised in hunger and cold, abandoned at birth, unaware of the meaning of parental love, the warmth of an embrace, and the future.
He considers a meal from someone else an immense favor, so what about a precious kiss from someone else? That must be a divine gift, right? Without experiencing extreme loneliness and desolation, one cannot understand the value of being cherished.
Those strong arms that lifted him high, that person who smiled as brightly as the sun, that kiss that burst forth with love——these gave Fan Jialuo the courage to brave mountains of knives and seas of fire, and shaped him into the indomitable soul who would not yield even in hell.
Song Rui’s tears fell once more. He only regretted being born hundreds of years too late, unable to be there for that moment, unable to give that poor, penniless child a gentle kiss on the cheek. In fact, Fan Jialuo’s lifelong tragedy stemmed from this moment, yet he always felt that it was the closest he had ever been to happiness.
“Your Shishu must treat you very well, right?” Song Rui hoped the answer was yes, otherwise his heart would break.
“My Shishu treats me like his own son.”
Song Rui felt comforted, as if he himself had been treated kindly.
“But I killed him in the end.” The faint smile on Fan Jialuo’s face had completely disappeared at some point, and his clear eyes were covered with a deathly gray.
“I believe you must have your reasons.” Song Rui said without hesitation.
Fan Jialuo closed his eyes, remaining silent for a long time. Regardless of his reasons, what’s done is done. He suddenly gripped Song Rui’s hand tightly and whispered, “We’ve arrived.”
“What?” Song Rui hadn’t reacted yet.
Fan Jialuo struggled to get down and staggered a few steps.
Only then did Song Rui realize that he had run into an even darker place. The black fog in the air was as thick as water, constantly pouring into his mouth and nose, making his chest feel tight and provoking a wave of nausea. It was only because the fog reeked so foul——a sky-high stench of decay that, like an invisible specter, tore at the nerves of anyone who crossed its path.
As Fan Jialuo walked forward step by step, the mist dispersed from both sides of his body, becoming thinner and shallower.
Then Song Rui was horrified to find that he had run to a gigantic tree that ten adults together could not encircle. Countless tiny vines twisted and turned to form the trunk of this tree, or like the tentacles of a sea monster, reaching out in all directions to form a canopy that seemed to stretch to the horizon.
Around it, in the open space, stood trees shaped like human figures, some kneeling on the ground, some seemingly running, and others looking up at the sky as if shouting.
As Fan Jialuo walked toward the giant tree, he pointed to the treants along the way and said, “This is Zhang Yang. This is Zhang Wencheng. They are indeed all here.”
Song Rui looked at the two strange, neither-human-nor-tree creatures and said in surprise, “Look at their chest cavities.”
Fan Jialuo’s gaze shifted downwards, and he saw the two people with large holes in their chests. He then looked at the other treant and saw holes in all of them, some in their abdomens, some in their heads, and some in the back of their necks.
He held his hand in front of the treant faces, and after a moment’s senses, his gaze changed slightly, “They are all mutants, and the jade pendants inside their bodies have been taken away.”
“Did it take it?” Song Rui pointed to the giant tree that stood quietly in the thick fog.
“It must be it. No wonder Zhang Yang has five or six jade pendants inside his body. It turns out he borrowed them all from this tree. A sacred object is a sacred object. Even if it becomes a spirit, its strength is extraordinary.” Fan Jialuo tore off the fish-shaped necklaces that Zhang Yang and Zhang Wencheng were wearing around their necks.
“This isn’t the jade pendant you’re looking for, is it?” Song Rui asked curiously.
“This is the tool they use to collect faith.” Fan Jialuo clapped his hands together and absorbed all the remaining faith in the necklace, replenishing the spiritual power he had previously expended.
“No wonder Zhang Wencheng wants to be a superstar, and Zhang Yang wants to start an entertainment company.” Song Rui immediately understood the secret behind it. Collecting faith is nothing more than a means to become a god.
Fan Jialuo discarded the two broken necklaces and walked step by step toward the enormous tree, climbing its thick roots sitting on the soft moss. Song Rui climbed up without fear and stood beside him. The two looked down at the clearing and realized that all the treants were running toward the giant tree, their faces showing not only fear but also longing and greed.
They swarmed around like moths to a flame, rushing forward like pilgrims on a sacred journey, only to end up as nothing more than lifeless objects
Fan Jialuo extended his slender fingertips, touching each of their faces, which had stiffened into withered wood, and sighed, “This is the consequence of blindly pursuing power.”
Song Rui looked down at him and pressed, “What are you planning to do?”
Fan Jialuo grasped his hand and asked, “Do you believe me?”
Song Rui met his gaze deeply, then nodded, “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.” No further words were needed, he already understood everything this man wanted to say.
Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, rubbing his forehead, at this unspoken understanding——without a single word spoken between us, our hearts understand each other perfectly. Had either he or Dr. Song been the sort of person to cling desperately to life or shrink back in timidity, they never would have made it this far. He thought he’d never find a companion, but as it turned out, fate’s arrangements were always so wondrous.
“Do what you think is right.” Song Rui rubbed his head, “If you don’t succeed, I’ll die here too. This ending is good.”
“Yes, that’s good.” Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, then removed the space in his abdomen and released the vine.
So close to the mother tree, the vines wrapped around Fan Jialuo’s body in an instant, pulling him little by little into the thick trunk of the mother tree.
Song Rui stepped back a few paces, watching the scene with suppressed emotion. His eyes were bloodshot, but he dared not blink. He was afraid that a single moment’s missed connection would mean never seeing each other again.
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Chapter 272. Humiliation Of Xuan Chengzi
Meng Zhong completely ignored the blood dripping from his cheek, staring in disbelief at Teacher Fan’s mangled abdomen, muttering in a daze, “How could this happen? Why did even Teacher Fan get infected? Why?”
In that instant, he couldn’t imagine how to solve the case without Teacher Fan, nor could he imagine how ordinary people would survive this catastrophe. His heart ached, as if scraped by a steel knife. He simply couldn’t bear to see Teacher Fan hurt.
Song Rui took off his coat and wrapped it around Fan Jialuo, asking with utmost calmness, “Tell me how to get there.”
“Take that road.” Fan Jialuo covered the wildly wriggling vines with one hand, pointed ahead with the other, and then reminded Meng Zhong, “Have your team stick close to this vehicle.”
“Oh, okay.” Meng Zhong subconsciously agreed, then suddenly came to his senses and asked anxiously, “Teacher Fan, you’ll be alright, right? You’re so powerful, you must have a way to get rid of these demonic vines, right?”
Fan Jialuo did not answer, but simply closed his eyes, letting out slightly heavier breaths than usual. He had cast aside all weakness, retaining only the pain, and thus, he was about to endure unimaginable torment. These vines raged wildly within his body, coursing through his veins and flesh, slowly invading his form, issuing a vague command——Go to the Mother Tree, go quickly.
“That demon is calling to me.” Fan Jialuo tried to keep his voice calm, not for the sake of so-called elegance and poise, but to prevent the two people beside him from collapsing.
Even without extending his magnetic field to sense it, he could perceive the fear and sorrow ceaselessly radiating from their bodies. He was someone who was cared for, someone cherished and held dear in their hearts.
Thinking of this, Fan Jialuo chuckled softly. With a slight twist of his hands, he grabbed all the dozens of vines, weaving them together so they couldn’t break free for a moment. Then he pulled out a wipes and slowly tidied himself up.
No matter the situation, whether it’s an emergency or a matter of life and death, he can remain calm and composed.
Inspired by him, Meng Zhong, who was almost scared out of his wits, managed to calm down and frequently contacted his team members by phone, repeatedly reminding them to bring the best equipment and wear the thickest bulletproof vests.
More than two hours later, Song Rui drove onto an abandoned highway. A cloud of black mist gradually rose from the mountains and forests on both sides of the highway, engulfing them. The cell phone signal began to weaken and weaken until it disappeared completely. Fortunately, the military vehicles behind them were following closely and they were not left behind.
“This is it.” Fan Jialuo stood before a forest path that stretched into the endless fog, his body being dragged forward by struggling vines.
“Wait for me, let me put on my gear.” Song Rui quickly put on a bulletproof vest, asked for a gun and a few grenades, and then slung his military backpack over his shoulder. Stripped of his scholar’s disguise, he was actually a top predator, his strong and muscular physique in no way inferior to that of special forces soldiers.
Fan Jialuo raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Song Rui quickly walked to his side, chuckled, and whispered, “I’ll show you when we get back.”
Show what? Fan Jialuo pretended not to understand, but his ears turned red. Even in the face of life and death, they could still find moments of ease and joy.
Upon arriving here, Fan Jialuo once again released spatial energy to imprison the sprawling vine. Perhaps due to the increasing proximity to the mother tree, the vine’s power was constantly growing, forcing Fan Jialuo to reinforce the thickness of the spatial energy as he progressed.
Beneath their feet lay damp mud and layers of withered branches and leaves, while thick, black mist enveloped them. After walking for only ten minutes, their clothes were soaked through with the mist, and their hair clung stickily to their cheeks.
The sounds of breathing and snapping branches mingled, making the already dark place seem even more deathly silent. Looking ahead, there was no end in sight. Looking back, there was no way back. Below were decaying leaves and mud, above were shadowy branches. These branches intertwined densely, forming a vast, sky-covering canopy.
As Fan Jialuo walked, he looked up and found that no matter how far he went, these withered, layered, crisscrossing branches were always there, completely covering the place.
“Where did all these branches come from?” One of the team members looked around but couldn’t see a single tree trunk strong enough to support them. Branches without a trunk are like a hanging garden without a foundation, they simply cannot exist.
“Have you ever heard of a single tree forming a forest?” Fan Jialuo walked into the thick fog, seemingly unafraid of losing his way.
Several team members tried to pull him back, but couldn’t. They looked down at their compass and phone, only to find they were both malfunctioning. This was a huge, chaotic magnetic field.
The team member who had been standing there for a while was stunned before saying in disbelief, “You mean, this entire forest is made up of a single tree? How big must it be? Even the world’s largest banyan tree probably isn’t that big.”
Fan Jialuo waved his hand without turning his head, while Song Rui stayed close to him, helping him from time to time.
Meng Zhong urged, “Stop asking questions, hurry up and catch up.”
The group quickened their pace, and soon, through the thick fog, they made out the silhouettes of figures, or perhaps, of trees. These forms still retained a human shape, arms raised high and legs rooted in the earth, like a crucified Christ, their faces twisted in expressions of agony. They stared wide-eyed at the passersby, thick fog and cold winds swirled above them, making their branches dance and whirl as if they were about to lunge at any moment.
Song Rui immediately pulled Fan Jialuo away from the tree-men. Meng Zhong and the others raised their guns, aiming at them as if facing a formidable enemy. They seemed dead, yet their terrified faces seemed to still be alive.
After navigating for a long time among these solitary tree-people, Fan Jialuo finally led everyone to an open area where the fog was thinner, only to be met head-on by a bright purple lightning bolt. He immediately pulled Dr. Song behind him, instantly creating a vast space to block the sudden attack.
The lightning vanished as it tore through space, leaving behind a strong smell of gunpowder.
“Is it you?” A clear, cold voice rang out, mingling with the thin mist, ethereal as if it came from beyond the heavens. Immediately afterward, an ice-blue figure stepped over a pile of withered branches, approached, and revealed a face that looked like that of a celestial being.
“Shifu, long time no see.” Fan Jialuo smiled and nodded, but compared to the other person, his appearance could only be described as disheveled.
Blood was gushing from his mangled abdomen, and the swirling vines were pounding against his dantian, threatening to break free at any moment. His hair was wet, his eyelashes were still wet with water droplets, and his brown casual pants were stained red with blood.
Xuan Chengzi glanced at him up and down for a moment before lowering his eyelids, as if afraid of offending his eyes.
“I didn’t come looking for you, but you delivered yourself to my door.” His tone was even colder, “Your appearance is ageless, your spiritual power is undiminished, you have hundreds of millions of followers, you are world-renowned, and you are highly valued by the powerful and wealthy. If this were hundreds of years ago, you could probably have become an imperial preceptor.”
Fan Jialuo nodded and said, “Shifu, you know this as well, wherever I go, your disciple is always the most outstanding.”
These words caused Xuan Chengzi’s calm face to tense up for a moment. If he were truly made of frost, others would probably be able to see the ice shards falling from his face.
He gave a cold laugh, his voice even softer, “When it comes to unorthodox methods and wicked tricks, you always manage to outdo everyone else.”
“Shifu, you’re wrong. In matters of unorthodox methods, I have ultimately lost to Song Enci, or should I say, Lin Nianci, who is standing right behind you. The person who you love most is by your side, yet you remain unaware. It seems you, too, have grown old.” Fan Jialuo spared no effort in poking at this person’s sore spot.
Lin Nianci immediately hid behind her grandmaster, her beautiful face showing a humiliated expression, and her eyes reddening.
Xuan Chengzi sternly rebuked, vile disciple! How dare you speak such nonsense?! and summoned a bolt of lightning.
Fan Jialuo raised a spatial barrier to stop the falling thunder, and the two men entered a deadlocked battle.
Xuan Chengzi drew his Mystical Thunder Sword from his waist, ready to unleash a killing move, but his wrist was gripped by a withered hand. It was Abbot Changjing, who rarely concerned himself with the internal affairs of other sects. He sighed and said, “Amituofu, please refrain from resorting to violence so easily, Taoist Master Xuan Chengzi. Everyone is family, let’s sit down and talk things through calmly.”
“I have long severed all ties with this wicked disciple, so how can he be considered family? Do you know what he has done?” Xuan Chengzi brushed aside Abbot Changjing’s hand and listed several crimes, “Taking advantage of the moment when my Shidi was gravely wounded and helpless, he drove his dagger straight through his heart. He stole the Tianshui Sect’s sacred treasure and vanished into the shadows of the martial arts world. When his ShiJie went to confront him, she was severely injured by his hand, and later, her whereabouts became unknown——all because of him. Tell me, should a vile disciple like this be allowed to live?”
As soon as Xuan Chengzi finished speaking, the Taoist sect members standing behind him chimed in, “He deserves to die! His sins go far beyond this! Not long after he stole the Tianshui Sect’s sacred treasure and hid in the mortal world, my Shizu mysteriously disappeared!”
“My Shifu too!”
“My family’s patriarch also disappeared during that period, and his spirit tablet was also shattered.”
“And my family’s patriarch too!”
The leaders of eight or nine major sects stepped forward, indignantly accusing, “Their disappearance coincides with the time of your defection! What a coincidence! Did you kill them all and use their souls to refine them, thus achieving your longevity and youthful appearance? You evil spirit, you deserve to die!”
“Kill him!”
“Xuan Chengzi Qianbei, you must clean up the sect!”
“This person’s hands are covered in blood, he deserves to die long ago!”
Amidst the shouts and curses of the crowd, Xuan Chengzi unleashed a thunderous sword strike.
Fan Jialuo immediately pushed Dr. Song into the arms of Meng Zhong, who was already dumbfounded, and took a few steps back, leading Xuan Chengzi to an open space where no one was around. The two, one possessing the power of thunder and the other possessing the power of space, were locked in a fierce battle, unable to determine a winner.
But Fan Jialuo only defended without being able to retaliate, unlike Xuan Chengzi who only focused on unleashing deadly attacks and charged forward relentlessly. At first glance, it seemed that the master was still superior to the disciple.
Instead of charging into the battle, Song Rui pulled Meng Zhong back slowly to the group of Taoist sects’ members. They were people sent by the government, and these cultivators had also been commissioned by the government, so they could, in fact, be put together as a single team.
“What kind of person is Fan Jialuo?” Song Rui asked in a hoarse voice, his face a mixture of confusion, pain, and struggle.
His appearance was so handsome and refined, and his gold-rimmed glasses added to his scholarly air. So, Lin Nianci, who thought he had repented, kindly explained to him, “Fan Jialuo is definitely not a good person. He killed many people for our sect’s treasure.”
“You all say he killed his Shishu?” Song Rui started the conversation.
“Back then, my Shishuzu did some wrong things, but he didn’t commit any irreparable disaster. My Shizu said that he would just teach him a lesson and that would be enough, and he didn’t want to kill him. But my Shishuzu was very stubborn and refused to be punished. He fought with my Shizu and they both fell to the ground, seriously injured.”
Lin Nianci paused for a moment, her voice filled with deep hatred, “My Shizu and my Shishuzu were evenly matched and neck-and-neck. After the battle, they were both lying on the ground, unable to move. Unexpectedly, Fan Jialuo rushed into the main hall at that moment, drew a dagger from his waist, and stabbed my Shishuzu in the heart while he was unable to resist. At that time, Fan Jialuo was only ten years old. Can you believe that a ten-year-old child would do such a thing? What’s even more unforgivable is that he was raised by my Shishuzu himself. My Shishuzu was a cold and indifferent person who never paid attention to anyone, but he took meticulous care of him and treated him like his own son. Yet he did such a heinous thing!”
Lin Nianci stared at the two sides engaged in battle and asked, “Tell me, should someone like Fan Jialuo be alive?”
Song Rui remained silent for a long time, the pain and struggle on his face growing increasingly intense. Clearly, he was experiencing a tug-of-war between emotion and reason. Suddenly, he swayed and collapsed headfirst to the ground.
Lin Nianci quickly helped him up and comforted him, saying, “He’s too good at pretending. Even my Shizu and Shishuzu were fooled by him back then, let alone you.”
Lin Nian’en added from the side, “The only reason Fan Jialuo wasn’t kicked out of the sect back then is because my Shishuzu’s crimes were genuinely punishable by death. Otherwise, my Shifu would have gotten rid of him instantly. It is a pity that my Shizu’s momentary soft-heartedness gave him the opportunity to exploit the situation. My Enci Shibo sacrificed her entire life in the attempt to retrieve the sect’s sacred treasure.”
Song Rui sat on the ground, covering his red eyes with his hands, shaking his head repeatedly, not wanting to speak.
Meng Zhong pulled him up forcefully, gritting his teeth as he said, “Don’t just jump to conclusions based on hearsay. Is the Teacher Fan you saw with your own eyes really the person they described? Anyway, I absolutely refuse to believe that Teacher Fan is a bad person!”
“You absolute idiot! Is your brain filled with water, and are you completely blind too——”
Just as Lin Nian’en opened his mouth to hurl more curses, Abbot Changjing intercepted him mid-sentence.
“Amituofu, since you two have told a story about Benefactor Fan, I will also tell one. Two hundred years ago, there was a place called Ping’an Town where a civil rebellion broke out due to excessive taxes. The imperial court sent troops to suppress the rebels, but the soldiers found investigating the case too troublesome and closed the city gates, killing indiscriminately. In just one day, Ping’an Town became a dead city filled with resentment, with no one spared, from the elderly to women and children. Suddenly, a five-year-old child crawled out from the pile of corpses, without crying or making a fuss, without panic or disorder, barefoot, searching everywhere, using his thin hands to drag out those who were still breathing one by one and taking good care of them.”
“He didn’t need to listen, look, or search to know exactly where the survivors were. By chance, he came across a scripture for the deliverance of the dead, he wept as he chanted it for the corpses filling the city, while occasionally rushing about to feed and water the survivors. His small feet worn raw through layers of flesh, the bone all but exposed.”
“So when my Shifu arrived in Ping’an Town to try to redeem the souls of those who had perished under the sword, he saw a clear sky and a vibrant life bursting forth from the dead end. Who do you think this child is? He is none other than the benefactor Fan Jialuo before you.”
Abbot Changjing pointed at the two combatants and solemnly said, “Benefactor Fan is none other than the Buddha-Child whom my own Shifu holds in the absolute highest regard. He attained enlightenment at the tender age of five and possesses Buddha-nature. How could he possibly be a villain? No matter how you criticize Benefactor Fan today, I will not believe it. I believe in my own heart, not my physical eyes.”
Abbot Changjing pointed to the third eye between his eyebrows, then stepped back a few paces, ashamed to associate with the Tianshui Sect and others.
Lin Nianci’s cheeks flushed red, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.
Song Rui stood between the two, looking left and right, seemingly lost in thought.
Just then, the demonic vines within Fan Jialuo’s body broke free of the spatial confinement and surged out, rapidly invading his body. In great pain, he was struck squarely by Xuan Chengzi’s lightning, coughing up blood and flying backward, no longer able to fight.
He lay on the ground for a long time, unable to get up, while Xuan Chengzi did not hesitate at all and slashed with his sword.
Meng Zhong shouted stop. But Song Rui’s eyes only flickered, remaining unmoved, as if he was truly frightened by Fan Jialuo’s past and his heart had turned cold.
The master and disciple moved with incredible speed, like lightning flashing through the clouds, their forms were visible, but their movements were impossible to discern. Without sufficient strength, no one could stop this deadly sword strike.
However, at the crucial moment, Abbot Changjing threw out his staff, which deflected the tip of Xuan Chengzi’s sword.
Xuan Chengzi did not turn around to rebuke the other party, but simply walked forward without stopping for a moment, and already held the Mystical Thunder Sword that shone with a bright purple light in his hand. He was just that kind of person. He either didn’t move, or when he did, his aura was overwhelming. Not to mention a magic staff, even a living person blocking his way could not stop his killing intent.
“Let him go, or your precious darling will die.” Song Rui’s words couldn’t stop Xuan Chengzi, but Lin Nianci’s screams could.
Song Rui, who had previously appeared to be struggling as if he had been greatly deceived and shocked, now held a dagger to Lin Nianci’s neck. If he hadn’t feigned mental turmoil, how else could he have managed to get close to these people? Since Lin Nianci was attempting to turn him to her side, he simply decided to play along with her scheme.
“You’re courting death!” Xuan Chengzi didn’t take Song Rui and the dagger in his hand seriously at all. With a slight twitch of his fingertips, he released a wisp of killing intent.
Unfortunately, Song Rui’s methods were even more ruthless and decisive than Xuan Chengzi’s. He only wanted a turn back, he harbored no delusions of actually threatening someone who wielded the power of nature. While holding the dagger to Lin Nianci, he had already pulled a grenade from his waist, stuffed it into Lin Nianci’s shirt pocket, and shoved her away violently.
The instant Lin Nianci lunged at Xuan Chengzi, Song Rui also lunged at Fan Jialuo, shouting, “Cover me!”
Meng Zhong understood and immediately raised his gun to fire at Xuan Chengzi, completely disregarding whether the man would be riddled with bullets. His teammates, however, remained stunned, utterly confused about the situation.
The others in the Taoist sects were all mortals, and how could they withstand the bomb? They immediately retreated a long distance and fell to the ground.
To be honest, Xuan Chengzi had lived for nearly two or three hundred years, and this was the first time he had been tricked and even manipulated to this extent by a mortal.
The bomb was pressed tightly against Lin Nianci’s body and would detonate soon. In that split second between life and death, he didn’t know what method he could use to protect her.
Remove the bomb? No——it was too late. Lin Nianci was sprawled on the ground, pinning the pocket down, how could she possibly get it out? The moment she tried to roll over, the bomb would likely detonate.
Using her own body to block it? No, there’s simply no space. The bomb was only separated from Lin Nianci’s body by a thin layer of cloth.
Xuan Chengzi’s mind went blank. At the critical moment, he finally remembered a way to save her life. He drew a talisman to ward off evil spirits on Lin Nianci’s back, but he was interrupted for a moment by the dense bullets and could not finish drawing it. As a result, the power of the talisman was halved.
With a deafening roar, Lin Nianci, who was lying on the ground, was thrown four or five meters into the air by the scorching blast before crashing back down. Her once beautiful face was now a bloody mess, and a large hole had been torn open in her chest, revealing several white ribs and a beating heart.
She was badly injured and was just one breath away from dying.
The usually cold and aloof Xuan Chengzi held the broken body and cried out in anguish to the heavens.
Song Rui, who had already helped the seriously injured Fan Jialuo run a long way away, smiled happily.
Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, his voice weak but full of pride, “I know you’ll always help me.”
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 271. The Treant Forest
Duan Xiaoyun not only sent many photos, but also several videos, all of which she recorded with her own phone.
In the first video, she is wolfing down an apple, core and seeds included, stuffing it all into her mouth and covering it with her hand. She tries to swallow, but her stomach rises and falls as if churning.
After finally finishing one apple, she picked up another, wiped it casually with her sleeve, but suddenly couldn’t bite into it. Tears began to stream down her face, and she choked out, “Teacher Fan, if I eat too much of this fruit, will I really be summoned away by the demon? I want to find my son, I want to know where he is.”
After saying that, she began to devour the apple again, but kept gagging. Her face was covered in snot and tears, and her eyes were filled with pain, but she dared not stop, nor did she want to stop. She had to find her son, even if she couldn’t, dying would be a relief.
The video ended before the second apple was finished.
Fan Jialuo clicked on the second video, only to see a patch of black earth and a pair of legs struggling to move in the shot. Judging from the clothing, it should be Duan Xiaoyun. She said nothing, yet her heavy, ragged breathing sounded as if it were right beside their ear, then, the camera began to pan upward to capture the surrounding environment.
This was a place shrouded in thick fog, with very limited visibility, one could only see objects within a meter. How Duan Xiaoyun got there was perhaps unknown even to herself, as she panicked and was spinning in circles, causing the camera to spin rapidly, making viewers dizzy.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in the thick fog in her field of vision, then vanished as the camera moved. Immediately, the camera swung rapidly back, locking onto that figure, while increasingly heavy, ragged breathing echoed.
Duan Xiaoyun panicked even more, and cried out in a trembling voice, “Who? Who’s there?”
She stood frozen in place, and the figure stood silently, just like her, neither approaching to explore nor to greet her. The thick fog surrounded the figure, making him appear and disappear intermittently, elusive and unpredictable.
Duan Xiaoyun finally took a step forward, tentatively asking who the other person was as she walked. This dark, foggy secret realm filled her with fear, finding a companion might be a good thing.
She got closer and closer to the person, and soon they were face to face. Then, she let out a piercing scream, and the camera shook and fell to the ground, where it was covered by wet soil and rotting leaves, turning into a black screen.
The second video ends here……
Fan Jialuo handed the phone to Song Rui. Song Rui understood his meaning without him saying a word. He sent the video to his laptop, opened it with police-specific video software, played it to the second before the phone fell, and pressed the freeze button.
Fan Jialuo leaned closer to the computer screen, glanced at it, then closed his eyes and sighed. Song Rui took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped them, lost in thought.
Meng Zhong arrived at that moment, pushed past the two people, grabbed the laptop, looked at it several times, and then froze the frame at the second just before the screen went black, his face showing a look of horror and disbelief.
The figure standing silently in the thick fog was not a human figure, but a tree. A distorted human face grew on the tree trunk covered with burls, its eyes wide open and its mouth agape as if calling for help. Its legs, which had turned into withered wood, were twisted together and deeply embedded in the soil. Its hands were raised high, its ten fingers turning into dense branches that stretched out in the thick fog, reaching in an unknown direction.
Is this a person or a tree? If it’s a tree, it couldn’t possibly have a lifelike face that’s identical to a human’s. If it’s a person, it shouldn’t have the texture of dead wood and the markings like tree rings……
Meng Zhong stared intently at the screen, his throat and tongue numb with fear.
“This is a tree formed from a human body.” Fan Jialuo explained.
Meng Zhong’s breathing gradually became heavy and labored. So, it turns out this was originally a person, but later turned into a tree?
“Take a look at this video.” Fan Jialuo sent the third video to the system.
Meng Zhong remained seated, motionless, his body stiff as a stone. He dared not look.
Song Rui then carried the laptop over, placed it on the coffee table, and clicked play.
Duan Xiaoyun had already picked up her phone and was filming the tree-man. Her heavy breathing turned into low sobs. She staggered back, stepping on the rotting branches, then turned and ran. The constantly shaking camera captured her surroundings.
Within the thick, black mist, figures moved like ghosts. Duan Xiaoyun already knew what they were, so her steps quickened. Suddenly, the camera, panning up and down, captured an even more bizarre scene, pulling Meng Zhong from the previous extreme cold and plunging him into an even more terrifying abyss.
Several green vines suddenly burst from Duan Xiaoyun’s stomach, quickly wrapping around her body and gradually slowing her down. She threw down her phone and screamed as she tried to tear at the vines, but they only wrapped around her tighter.
The camera was angled at her, capturing the entire process of her transforming from a person into a tree in perfect clarity. She struggled forward, her legs sinking deeper into the mud with each step. After a long struggle, her hands, now sprouting branches, finally picked up her phone again and took a picture of the dense fog ahead, filled with countless figures.
The third video ended, but Meng Zhong was still trapped in that desperate situation that felt like he had experienced it firsthand.
“These are the photos she sent, take a look.” Fan Jialuo transferred dozens of photos to the system.
Meng Zhong opened and checked them one by one, his fear turning into numbness.
“This is Chang Qi.” Song Rui said, pointing to one of the photos.
Meng Zhong’s gaze froze, then he took a deep breath. In the photograph, Chang Qi’s legs were embedded in the mud, his hands transforming into dozens of vines that stretched into the endless fog. His face, covered in dark brown wood grain, was completely stiff, yet the expression of terror was forever frozen in the moment before his death. At first glance, his posture resembled Jesus bound to the cross, enduring endless suffering.
Is this the ultimate power he seeks? Is this the higher level of life form he often talks about?
Thinking of this, Meng Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Song Rui pointed to another photo and said, “This looks like one of your comrades-in-arms too?”
Meng Zhong looked at it carefully, then closed his eyes, covered his face, and dared not face this terrifying world any longer.
“Does this world in the photo really exist? Is it actually that close to us?” Meng Zhong’s heart trembled as he asked this question. He thought such a scene only appeared in apocalyptic movies.
“It has existed for many years, we have only just discovered it.” Fan Jialuo stabbed him in the heart, which was already in turmoil.
Meng Zhong let out a heavy breath, then clenched his teeth tightly, daring not to ask any more questions.
Song Rui was still scrolling down through the photos.
Suddenly, Fan Jialuo grabbed his wrist and said urgently, “Rewind it!”
Song Rui rewound by one frame.
“No, go back even further.” Fan Jialuo snatched the mouse and clicked a few times, then took a deep breath.
Song Rui enlarged the photo and displayed it on the entire screen.
Influenced by the somber atmosphere, Meng Zhong became even more nervous. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem with this photo?”
Fan Jialuo shook his head without speaking, his eyes fixed intently on the photograph. The tree in the photograph was unlike any he had seen before, it had no human face, nor any hands or feet. Its seemingly thick trunk was actually formed by thousands upon thousands of intertwined, green vines that transformed into dense branches that reached into the thick black mist and spread in all directions.
It is like the center of darkness, the deepest darkness, like the end of an abyss, an endless abyss. The image shown in the photograph is only a small part of it, and no one can clearly see how vast its canopy is.
“What kind of tree is this?” Meng Zhong was captivated by the dark aura emanating from the tree.
“I don’t know. The photo only shows a bunch of vines forming a tree trunk, not a single leaf, so I can’t tell what kind it is.” Even the erudite Song Rui was stumped.
Fan Jialuo stared at the photo for a long, long time, then finally displayed it on his phone screen and held it in his palm to feel it. His expression remained calm, but fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and nose. It was clear that he was struggling.
This was the first time Meng Zhong had ever seen such a helpless and frustrated expression on Teacher Fan’s face, and the panic in his heart was growing exponentially. If even Teacher Fan couldn’t deal with this tree, what were they, ordinary people, supposed to do?
Oh, right! I heard Teacher Fan’s Shifu is here too. He even promised Chief Yan that he’d wrap this whole thing up perfectly. Teacher Fan’s Shifu has got to be way stronger, right? Can he take down this demon tree?
Just as Meng Zhong was thinking this, he heard Teacher Fan’s weary voice, “This tree is something even my Shifu, a literal demigod, would be powerless to defeat.”
“What?” Meng Zhong’s throat tightened.
Song Rui simply listened quietly.
“Summoning all the experts of the metaphysic society would only be a pointless sacrifice.” Fan Jialuo added.
Meng Zhong’s throat was so dry that even he found it grating, “You can’t deal with it, your Shifu can’t deal with it, the entire metaphysic society can’t deal with it, so what are we ordinary people supposed to do? Just offer ourselves up to be its fertilizer?”
“Who says I can’t deal with it?” Fan Jialuo put down his phone and spoke slowly.
“Didn’t you tell Chief Yan before that you aren’t confident? You just said yourself that even your Shifu is no match for this tree.”
“Just because my Shifu can’t deal with it doesn’t mean I can’t.” Fan Jialuo tapped the phone screen with his slender fingertips, “I already know what its true form is. In this world, besides me, I’m afraid no one can deal with it.”
“Really? Its true form……” Meng Zhong’s eyes blazed with intense light, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a thunderbolt that pierced the sky.
The rolling thunder roared like a giant dragon in the sky, causing the sky and the earth to tremble. Meng Zhong looked around, his face full of astonishment and doubt. It was the dead of winter, where could there be such a loud thunder?
Fan Jialuo listened intently for a moment and said with certainty, “It’s my shifu. It seems he has already located that tree.”
“Don’t tell me your Shifu struck this lightning!” Meng Zhong exclaimed in surprise.
“His taoist name is Xuan Chengzi, also known as Lord of Thunder.” Fan Jialuo gave only a brief explanation before staring directly at Song Rui and asking, “You know what I’m planning to do, right? Do you have any objections?”
Song Rui took off his gold-rimmed glasses and wiped them, remaining silent for a long while.
Fan Jialuo watched him quietly, waiting with infinite patience. He would not take it upon himself to do anything dangerous without mutual consultation——an unspoken understanding that had formed somewhere along the way.
Song Rui put on his gold-rimmed glasses and said calmly, “I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want, but you have to take me with you. I’m going to pick up Yangyang now and take him to Wennuan’s place, and then we’ll set off.”
“Okay.” Fan Jialuo picked up a thick coat and handed it to him, “Put this on, it will be very cold there.”
Song Rui put on his coat, took out his car keys, and strode away.
Unable to understand their cryptic message, Meng Zhong immediately chased after them, repeatedly calling out, “Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?”
“Going to deal with that demon tree.” Fan Jialuo said casually.
“Do you know where it is?” Meng Zhong was stunned for a moment, then quickly squeezed into the car and said urgently, “Take me with you, I want to go too!” He then took out his phone to call Chief Yan and report the situation.
Chief Yan immediately dispatched a special forces unit and had Meng Zhong lead them there.
Xu Yiyang was already used to his Gege’s busy schedule. Seeing that he and Dr. Song both looked like they were in a hurry, he took the initiative to say, “I want to go to Nuannuan Jiejie’s place.”
He didn’t complain at all, which only made Fan Jialuo feel more guilty. It seemed he couldn’t give the child a stable life.
They arrived at Song Wennuan’s home. Fan Jialuo carried Xu Yiyang out of the car, gently placed him on the ground, put his hands on his shoulders, and said solemnly, “Yangyang, do you still remember what your Gege told you?”
Xu Yiyang looked into his dark eyes and quickly realized something. His eyes immediately welled up with tears, “Re…… remember.” He opened his mouth, but his voice choked with sobs, “Gege, you’re going to do the right thing again, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Fan Jialuo knelt down in front of him, pressed his forehead against his brow, and whispered softly, “Remember this moment, remember this feeling. Gege wants to give you the very best the world has to offer. If I don’t make it back, go to the basement of the old residence, I’ll still be there, and I will always protect you.”
Xu Yiyang was enveloped by an extremely warm current of air, which seemed to be carrying him up to the heavens, allowing him to forget all his sorrow and only remember happiness. The immense reluctance and sadness slowly subsided in this comforting embrace, eventually transforming into complete support and unwavering courage.
“Gege, you go ahead. Yangyang won’t hold you back.” Xu Yiyang also put his hands on his Gege’s shoulders, and they touched heads, forming an arch.
Fan Jialuo smiled. Failing to save the child had once been his greatest regret, yet defying the laws of nature to bring the child back to life was the one thing he regretted least. The two shared a heart-to-heart conversation, ultimately emerging with more open minds and greater resolve.
Just then, Song Wennuan ran downstairs to open the door, cheerfully leading Xu Yiyang into her home. She then impatiently waved to her cousin and Teacher Fan, signaling them to leave quickly. If she had known what they were going to do, she probably wouldn’t have acted so carelessly.
Fan Jialuo and Song Rui stared at the lights on the second floor for a long time, their faces expressionless, but their hands were clasped together.
Meng Zhong dared not disturb them, for he felt the atmosphere was thick with the sorrow of parting, a sorrow that brought tears to his eyes and made his nose and eyes sting. Who knew if they would return alive after this journey? But if they didn’t go, who would?
This world always needs certain people to save it. Some people are destined for a simple yet happy life, others possess extraordinary abilities and deserve to shoulder greater responsibilities. This is how society and nations have operated since ancient times, which is why humanity has survived to this day.
“Let’s set off.” Meng Zhong said as he transmitted the muster command to his squad.
“Wait a minute, let me compose a private message.” Song Rui turned to ask Fan Jialuo, “Is three days enough time?”
“That’s enough.” Fan Jialuo nodded, “If we’re not back in three days, have Wennuan take Yangyang back to the old residence and put him in the basement. He can’t be away from that place for too long. Wennuan will have to take good care of Yangyang from now on. My will is in the safe in the second floor’s study. The password is your birthday.”
“What a coincidence, my will is in the safe in the third floor’s study, and yes, the password is your birthday.” Song Rui chuckled softly.
Neither of them spoke much, yet they understood each other deeply. They had both prepared for death and had already made arrangements for the only person they cared about.
Hearing this, Meng Zhong finally understood. The two of them set out fully prepared never to return, they left their final words in their Weibo inboxes, scheduling them to be sent at a later time. They had even prepared their wills, knowing that in their struggle against the darkness, they could lose their lives at any moment.
The so-called courage and fearlessness seem so pale compared to these few short and bland lines of dialogue.
Meng Zhong’s eyes welled up with tears, and he almost cried.
At the same time, Fan Jialuo withdrew the space within his dantian, allowing the vines, which had been imprisoned and were on the verge of madness, to burst out of his abdomen.
Meng Zhong was terrified when his face was splattered with blood, while Song Rui silently closed his eyes.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 270. Shifu Xuan Chengzi
After a long silence, Fan Jialuo gave his advice, “I’m not entirely sure I can guarantee that. Agree to his request.”
“I’ve already offended Tianshui Temple to death. I’m afraid they won’t do their best or they might have ulterior motives.” Chief Yan muttered worriedly.
“He wouldn’t. Although he may seem cold and unapproachable, he’s not the kind of person who would resort to underhanded tactics. You can negotiate with him fairly and squarely.” Fan Jialuo’s tone was calm, but a faint glimmer of tears appeared in his eyes. He had finally waited for the moment when all the grudges would come to an end. This day had come so quickly, yet so slowly, a hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and in another blink, he might be reduced to ashes.
“Is he trustworthy?” Chief Yan was still not entirely at ease.
“Trustworthy.” Fan Jialuo said with great certainty, “Promise him. There are only two things in the world that can make him go all out—— one is the lineage of the Tianshui Sect and the other is my ShiJie. You’ve stumbled upon one of his only two weaknesses, and he will do his best to help you. Once he gets serious, things should be resolved quickly, and I will also provide assistance from the side.”
With Teacher Fan’s assurances, Chief Yan’s doubts were dispelled. He had assumed that Teacher Fan and his master had a deep rift, almost like enemies, but to his surprise, he didn’t hear a single bad word about his master from Teacher Fan.
Teacher Fan is a gentleman, and those he approves of should be of good character as well. However, the appearance of that Taoist Master Xuan Chengzi was completely unexpected for Chief Yan. At their first meeting, he almost mistook the man for a movie star.
Meanwhile, a group of people from the Taoist sects were sitting quietly in the reception room, awaiting Chief Yan’s audience.
They once lurked in the shadows, ostensibly as recluses, coldly watching the city descend into a sea of blood, into hell, into turmoil, and into darkness. They never considered stepping forward to save the world unless mortals offered them fertile land, vast wealth, abundant resources, and devout faith.
For hundreds or even thousands of years, they have gradually grown stronger, established their doctrines, and risen above all living beings in this way. Even the privileged class, who are considered superior to humans, had to bow and scrape before them. However, in recent years, simply due to the emergence of those so-called psychics, and particularly Fan Jialuo, who seemed to burst out of thin air, had stifled their very survival, leaving them with barely any room to breathe.
What shocked them even more was that the Tianshui Sect, hailed as the number one sect in the metaphysics society, had its entire secular stronghold wiped out! From now on, how could the Tianshui Sect maintain its dignity? How could the entire Taoist sects alliance stand in the secular world? This was truly an indelible disgrace!
Therefore, all the invited members of the Taoist sects lowered their heads, not daring to look at the person sitting in the main seat, for fear that the other party would think that they were pitying, despising, or offending him.
But in reality, who would dare to pity him, despise him, or offend him? He is the closest being to deity in the world. If the Tianshui Sect had not been on the verge of life and death, he probably would never have set foot in this filthy mortal world.
Chief Yan, who had been standing outside the door for a long time, could understand the feelings of these docile, quail-like members of the Taoist sects. When he finally saw the legendary Taoist Master Xuan Chengzi, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
It is said that this man has lived for one or two centuries. In one’s imagination, he ought to be an elder with a head of white hair and skin like a withered husk, sporting a long white beard, save for a pair of bright, spirited eyes that fully reveal his transcendent, otherworldly aura. Yet in reality, he is astonishingly young and breathtakingly handsome.
Fan Jialuo was already considered to have a captivating, almost demonic appearance, but this person was in no way inferior, only his temperament was even colder and more aloof, like the purest snowflake on the top of Tianshan Mountain. His shoulder-length hair was covered with the color of frost and snow, but his face was smooth and delicate without a single wrinkle. His pair of narrow, dark eyes seemed to hold all the mystery and unpredictability in the world, almost capable of bewitching souls.
He was waiting with his eyes lowered, his light blue Taoist robe, which shimmered with a soft glow, made him appear even more like a celestial being. Taoist Zhi Fei was clearly his disciple, but sitting beside him, he looked like his grandfather, aged beyond recognition.
Regardless of his actual strength, Chief Yan was astonished by his age-preserving technique alone. However, he quickly realized that Teacher Fan seemed to be this man’s disciple, making him and Taoist Zhi Fei of the same generation. In that case, Teacher Fan’s age-preserving technique was also quite remarkable!
Before even entering the hall, Chief Yan had already ranked these people according to their physical appearance and mental state. This Taoist Master Xuan Chengzi must be a formidable figure.
Having observed enough, Chief Yan pushed open the door and said, “I accept your proposal.”
“Then I shall take my leave, you will soon receive good news.” The celestial being, as white as frost and as white as snow, slowly rose and left, his sleeves fluttering.
He didn’t argue with Chief Yan, nor did he express his anger or protest. After arriving at the military headquarters, he only said two sentences—— First sentence was I’ll help you get rid of the demonic plant, and you restore my Taoist Temples. Second, which is what he said now. He was taciturn and aloof, but beneath this calm exterior lay an arrogance and disdain for all others that far surpasses that of any other cultivator.
When facing him directly, Chief Yan could clearly sense that he was a person devoid of warmth. The notion of him being the closest to a deity seemed to have some credibility.
With Xuan Chengzi gone, all the Taoist sect masters who never showed themselves in the secular world also left.
Chief Yan stared at the departing figures of these people, a strange itch creeping into his teeth. He sincerely hoped that Teacher Fan could resolve this case first, otherwise, he’d have to act like a subservient servant to these self-important charlatans, wouldn’t that be unbearable? ——
After leaving the military headquarters, Xuan Chengzi got into a limousine and saw the beautiful girl who was already waiting in the car. The frost on his body instantly melted away.
“Nianci.” He sighed as he pulled the girl, whose eyes were red-rimmed, into his arms, running his fingers through her long, flowing hair, gently smoothing it. His humanity, tenderness, and affection were reserved only for the one in his arms.
“Shizu, I’m sorry, I’ve done many wrong things. It was my fault that Tianshui Temple was destroyed and that my ShiXiong’s and Shidi’s cultivation stagnated. Shizu, please punish me.” Lin Nianci raised her head and said with teary eyes, “My mother didn’t die, Shizu, she saved me.”
Mentioning Song Enci stirred a storm in Xuan Chengzi’s usually calm heart. However, he was so adept at hiding his emotions that no one noticed anything amiss.
He pulled Lin Nianci’s head into his arms and gently comforted her, “Shizu will help you solve all your troubles. You did nothing wrong. It was Shizu who came too late and caused you to suffer. The temple will be rebuilt soon, cultivation of your ShiXiong and Shidi will be restored, and I will also find Enci. You just need to grow up peacefully.”
Lin Nianci, who is actually over seventy years old, is always as fragile as an infant in his eyes. He doesn’t think his child is at fault, so the fault can only lie with others, or perhaps with the world.
Just as the car was about to drive away, it was stopped by a luxury car that suddenly cut in. The door opened, an old man stepped out, went around to the trunk, took out a wheelchair, and pushed it back to the always-open door, where he laboriously helped a young man out.
Upon seeing the young man’s face clearly, Lin Nianci realized she still had a mess to clean up. She quickly hid in her grandmaster’s arms, letting out soft gasps.
“What’s wrong? Did he bully you?” Xuan Chengzi’s voice was icy.
Sitting opposite the two, Lin Nian’en lowered his head, hiding his disapproval. Shizu always protected his ShiJie without questioning right or wrong, to the point that no matter how much trouble his ShiJie caused, it didn’t matter. The demolition of the Tianshui Sect’s Taoist Temple was tantamount to the severing of the sect’s lineage, all caused by his ShiJie, yet his Shizu didn’t see anything wrong with it. If it were anyone else, how could they have survived?
Lin Nianci shook her head, not daring to speak.
Xuan Chengzi stroked her smooth hair and said softly, “It’s alright, Shizu is here.”
Lin Nian’en really wanted to ask a rebellious question——what if one day you’re no longer here? But he didn’t dare, so he could only hold it in.
Amidst their wild thoughts, the old man pushing the young man had already approached and introduced his identity as butler and the young man said, “Excuse me, are you Taoist Master Xuan Chengzi? I am Bai Mu. I came here to ask if you can help Miss Lin Nianci fulfill the promise she made to me.”
In just one or two months, Bai Mu had become extremely thin, with thick casts on both legs below the knees, and a hideous wound running down his handsome face, making him look incredibly miserable.
After leaving Fan Jialuo, Lin Nianci, who had promised to help him defy fate, completely disappeared. She didn’t reply to his text messages or answer his calls, as if her promise was nothing but a joke.
Shortly after, Bai Mu was involved in a very serious car accident, suffering comminuted fractures in both legs and losing the ability to walk freely. He will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. His company’s stock price also plummeted due to the accident, plunging it into financial difficulties.
Just as he once betrayed Fan Jialuo, he is now being betrayed by fate.
He had long since given up the will to live, because even if someone could defy fate for him now, they could never heal his legs. His despair would never end. He was here today purely to collect a debt and to seek a resolution.
“What did you promise him?” Xuan Chengzi didn’t even spare Bai Mu a glance, but looked down at Lin Nianci with an extremely gentle and indulgent tone.
“I promise to change his fate. Shizu, you can do it, right?” Lin Nianci gripped the sleeve of the celestial-like man tightly, her eyes filled with trust and adoration. In her eyes, there was nothing her grandmaster couldn’t do.
Lin Nian’en already knew about the deal, so he wasn’t surprised. But Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen exchanged a surprised look, then both lowered their heads, not daring to let anyone see the change in their expressions.
There are few ways to change one’s fate. The few that exist are all evil arts, requiring the exchange of someone else’s life or destiny, something Shizu surely knows. What will he do? Will he agree or disagree?
Tianshui Sect has always refrained from using evil arts. ShiMei clearly knew this, yet she still recklessly made promises. How could she be so irresponsible? Thinking of this, Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen’s impression of Lin Nianci plummeted. They had never known that their junior sister was so reckless, impulsive, and prone to causing trouble. Every single thing she did, seemingly with good intentions, ended up causing them endless headaches.
Even Taoist Zhi Fei couldn’t help but show surprise, and refused, saying, “Not possible ……”
But before he could finish speaking, Xuan Chengzi interrupted him, “Come closer, let me take a look.” He was actually prepared to change this person’s fate!
Taoist Zhi Fei was speechless for a moment, while Lin Nianci showed a relieved expression.
Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen closed their eyes, trying to strengthen their Taoist resolve and reverence for their sect, yet they couldn’t help but waver. Fan Jialuo’s principle of “to have lines that one will never cross” had already had a profound impact on them, but they hadn’t realized it yet.
Bai Mu was pushed to the car door by the butler.
Xuan Chengzi stared at his face for a moment, then asked for his birth date and time to do some calculations. He shook his head and said, “No one can alter your destiny. You were born under the Star of Solitude——a curse spanning ten lifetimes——and only when those ten lives have run their course can you attain salvation. To change your fate, I would have to alter not just this life, but all nine others as well, for they are inextricably linked. I currently lack the power to rewrite a destiny spanning ten lifetimes, you should go back.”
“So, you couldn’t help me at all, yet you pushed me toward a dead end just to use me?” Bai Mu asked calmly.
Xuan Chengzi had no interest in knowing what he meant by being used, as long as Nianci could live a healthy life, she was free to do as she pleased.
“This is a talisman to ward off evil spirits. I drew it myself. I will send someone to deliver it to you again after it expires. No one can change your fate, so don’t make a futile entanglement. You are already lucky enough to have met Nianci and received this life-saving method.” Xuan Chengzi coldly ordered, “Drive.”
The driver immediately steered around Bai Mu’s car and slowly drove away.
Seeing that Bai Mu had not reached for the talisman, Xuan Chengzi casually tossed it out of the car window, then pressed Lin Nianci’s guilty face into his arms, forbidding her to look at this nonsensical person again.
Taoist Zhi Fei breathed a sigh of relief because his master had not used any evil technique. Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen clenched their fists, suppressing the chill surging in their hearts.
The butler was so enraged by their behavior that he gritted his teeth and trembled all over, while Bai Mu curled his lips into a bitter smile. What did it mean to be lucky enough to have obtained this method of survival? A disfigured face, shattered legs, and a life of barely surviving. Was this what these people considered lucky?
He could have received countless warm embraces and an unprecedented sense of security from Fan Jialuo. With Fan Jialuo, he wouldn’t have felt inferior, nor would he have had to endure any humiliation. Why did he trust Lin Nianci? Why was he so greedy? Meeting Fan Jialuo was already lucky enough, wouldn’t it have been better to just watch him from afar? Why did he have to break free?
Regret swept over Bai Mu like a tidal wave. He covered his eyes, but tears streamed down his face, one by one, unstoppable.
The butler squatted down, picked up the talisman, and forced a smile, saying, “Xiao Mu, if you can’t change your fate, then so be it. Having this kind of talisman is just as good.”
Bai Mu quickly regained his composure, and when he looked up, no one would have noticed that he had been crying.
Taking the talisman, he gave it a brief glance before casually throwing it into a nearby sewer. He had already given up on this life, he would just look at it as returning it to Teacher Fan.
After returning to the Tianshui Sect’s temporary base, Xuan Chengzi immediately ordered people to prepare the magical artifacts he needed.
Taoist Zhi Fei reminded him, “That traitor Fan Jialuo is also in the capital. Shouldn’t we deal with him first?”
“Let’s get on with the business first. He can’t run away, and he wouldn’t dare to.” Xuan Chengzi’s tone was indifferent, and his expression was calm. It was as if he was talking about an inanimate object, not a wicked disciple.
“Disciple understands.” Taoist Zhi Fei immediately fell silent.
With the assistance of the entire Taoist alliance, the artifacts Xuan Chengzi required were quickly delivered. After nightfall, he arrived at the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, climbed the lightning rod tower amidst swirling gale-force winds to track down the demonic plant’s whereabouts with a fengshui compass.
The compass needle began to spin wildly, revealing the many undercurrents hidden within this bustling metropolis. High in the sky, unseen by ordinary eyes, countless demonic and malevolent energies condensed into clusters of dark clouds, spreading in from all directions.
Even the usually calm and collected Xuan Chengzi couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise and doubt. He immediately bit his fingertip, squeezed out the blood, smeared it on the compass, and continued searching for the demonic plant.
At the same time, Fan Jialuo suddenly received a series of text messages from Duan Xiaoyun, one after another. More precisely, they weren’t text messages, but rather a series of media messages. Upon seeing the contents of the photos, Fan Jialuo’s eyes narrowed, and he revealed a rare expression of surprise.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 269. Teacher Fan, Your Shifu Is Here
Zhuang Zhen, who was out conducting investigations, quickly returned, showing the special task force the surveillance footage taken when the garden owner’s wife and son disappeared. He also pulled up the surveillance video of Duan Xiaoyun’s husband and son disappearing three years ago and compared them in the same frame.
“The way they walk is strange.” Song Rui analyzed, “There’s a stiffness in their knees that prevents them from bending freely, and their hand and foot movements are very uncoordinated, like a malfunctioning machine.”
“It reminds me of a zombie.” Xiao Li, the otaku, used a much more accurate description.
“Their minds are confused, they are in a state of losing their souls.” Fan Jialuo gave the correct answer.
The police officers gathered in the shed gasped in unison.
“Look at Duan Xiaoyun’s statement.” Meng Zhong tapped the table, “Duan Xiaoyun’s husband and son disappeared at the end of March three years ago. Now look at the owner’s statement. His money tree revived in early April. Do you think there’s a necessary connection between these two?”
“Director Meng, do you suspect that Duan Xiaoyun’s husband was already dead after he went missing, buried under that tree, and his body is what kept it alive?” Liu Tao sucked in a breath through his teeth, his heart pounding at this guess.
“Forensic doctor Zhou, can you determine the time of death of Duan Xiaoyun’s husband?” Meng Zhong asked instead of answering.
Forensic doctor, Zhou, shook his head, “No. Judging from the degree of decomposition of the body, he should have died within 24 hours. But how could someone who has only been dead for 24 hours get into the tree trunk? Was he swallowed? Also, the clothes on the body are the same pajamas he wore when he disappeared three years ago, and there is an eye mask around his neck. This is not normal.”
Forensic doctor Zhou rubbed his temples and stated his judgment, “Given that this case is inherently illogical, I am more inclined to believe that Duan Xiaoyun’s husband has been dead for three years, but his body has remained fresh.”
His idea was utterly absurd, but the members of the task force all nodded in agreement. They couldn’t help it, having experienced too many terrifying and bizarre events, they had gradually realized that the most unbelievable speculations were often closest to the truth.
Meng Zhong nodded and said, “Let me explain the situation to you. The case is like this. Three years ago, Duan Xiaoyun’s husband came to this orchard in a daze, and somehow, he died here, using his body to nourish that demonic tree. Then, just today, the orchard owner’s wife and son also disappeared. Did they suffer the same fate as Duan Xiaoyun’s husband, also going to some orchard and becoming fertilizer for some demonic tree? How many demonic trees like this are there, and where are they? Under which tree is Duan Xiaoyun’s son? Are there any other victims in the world?”
Song Rui suggested, “You can check the missing persons records from previous years to see if there are any similar cases.”
Meng Zhong groaned, clutching his throbbing head, “Lao Ge, do you know how many people go missing in China every year? Not eight hundred, not eighty thousand, it’s eight million! How the hell are we supposed to track that down?”
“Among these eight million people, there may be thousands or even tens of thousands who were used as fertilizer by that demonic tree. Thinking about this, don’t you have a strong motivation to investigate?” Song Rui asked rhetorically.
Meng Zhong thought for a moment, then his head throbbed even more, and his groans turned into screams, “I’m not more motivated, I’m more desperate! This world is too terrible!” Despite saying that, he still called Chief Yan, gave a brief report, and asked the military to investigate the missing persons.
The military has greater power, they should be able to investigate eight million, right?
Hearing Chief Yan groan involuntarily due to a headache, Meng Zhong felt a strange sense of comfort after hanging up the phone.
Song Rui continued his analysis, “This demonic plant is intelligent, so we can treat it as a murderer and analyze its behavior patterns. First of all, we can confirm that it is a serial killer.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“From a psychological perspective, serial killers operate in six stages—— The first is the initial stage, where the serial killer begins to lose their grip on reality and becomes consumed by the urge to kill. The second is the control stage, where the serial killer begins to seek out victims. The third is the courtship stage, where the serial killer lures victims. The fourth is the capture stage, where the victim is ensnared. The fifth is the murder stage, where the killer experiences heightened emotion and commits the act in a frenzy, and the sixth is the depression stage, the dormant period preceding the next crime.”
Song Rui wrote the six stages on the blackboard and further explained, “Our serial killer is a plant. It kills people for the fertilizer it needs to grow, not for emotional cravings or sexual satisfaction, so I removed the first and sixth stages. It has no rationality, killing is natural for it, so there is no so-called latent depression period. It will continue to kill until it withers away.”
“So its modus operandi is like this—— first, it seeks out prey=>second, it lures the prey=> then it captures the prey=> and finally, it kills the prey. I believe that in the beginning, it wasn’t as powerful as it is now, and probably couldn’t move around as freely as it does now. So how did it find its prey?”
Everyone was pondering this question, and Fan Jialuo had already provided the answer, “It uses its magical fruits to lure certain people into becoming its executioners, such as Zhang Wencheng. It has no way to take the initiative. Zhang Wencheng, in order to obtain more fruits, will naturally seek it out. So, that is how that mountain made of piled-up bones was built, piece by piece. The fruit it bears seems to have the power to preserve youth and beauty, just look at Su Fengxi, Jian Ya, and others, and you’ll understand. It can also extend lifespan. Director Meng, do you remember that Elder Wan? Thinking back now, I realize his longevity was probably thanks to that fruit, otherwise, he wouldn’t have protected the Zhang family.”
Meng Zhong nodded, his expression becoming extremely solemn.
“Its fruit can stimulate human potential and create spiritual beings, those two thousand-plus test subjects are the best proof.” Fan Jialuo closed his eyes and sighed, “Faced with so many temptations, anyone would be willing to become its puppet, finding fertilizer for it. It grows and strengthens slowly by relying on the corpses brought by these puppets, until it can move freely underground. Zhang Wencheng is a monster who has lived for one or two hundred years, so he must have been feeding that demonic plant for quite some time.”
“How could so many people have been killed over such a long period of time without anyone noticing? That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Liao Fang asked in a trembling voice. She couldn’t believe that the world could be so terrifying.
“No one will notice.” Song Rui shook his head and said, “What have we experienced in the last one or two hundred years? We have experienced the fall of a dynasty, the invasion of foreign powers, war, famine, and turmoil. In such an era of widespread suffering, no matter how many people die, no one will notice.”
Fan Jialuo then chimed in, “Therefore, it was born in an era where the heavens, the earth, and the people were in perfect alignment, allowing it to grow at an exceptionally rapid pace.”
Song Rui continued, “Once fully grown, it can move freely and choose its prey independently. It has developed a unique method of killing that is unique to plants.”
The members of the task force took turns pulling out tissues from the center of the table, frequently wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads. They felt as if they weren’t in a case analysis meeting, but listening to a horror story, and what was even more despairing was that this story was actually playing out in real life.
“What are its methods of killing?” Meng Zhong asked, barely suppressing his heart pounding.
“Pitcher plants. You all know about them, right? They’re among the most lethal predators in the botanical world.”
Song Rui explained in a low voice, “The pitcher plant secretes a honeydew with an anesthetic effect in its pitcher. Insects are drawn in by the sweet scent of the honeydew, crawl into the pitcher, and are then anesthetized, corroded, and digested. That sentient plant used the same method. It doesn’t have a pitcher, but it has a more potent honeydew, its fruit. It disguises its fruit as fruit to make people lose their minds and willingly go to its location to become its fertilizer. It’s a serial killer with no incubation period and extremely skillful methods.”
Song Rui looked around at everyone, his tone grave, “So it will keep repeating the last stage of the crime, which is when emotions run high and people go on a killing spree.”
A deathly silence descended upon the workers’ shed, everyone was stunned by this terrifying hypothesis.
“But it ran away as soon as it saw us arrive. It shouldn’t be so brazen, right?” Meng Zhong tried to break free from this quietly growing sense of despair.
“Are you sure it ran away, or just found it too troublesome? I don’t sense any fear in it.” Fan Jialuo opened his dark eyes, delivering a chilling blow to everyone.
Meng Zhong clutched his head, slumped over the table, and groaned as if his head was splitting open. The others looked at each other, feeling a chill run down their spines.
Just then, Meng Zhong’s phone started ringing rapidly, with calls coming in one after another to report news, and without exception, all of them were bad news.
Team members who went to other orchards to investigate told him that almost every orchard owner secretly hid one or even two of these so-called ‘money trees’, and all of them packaged the strange fruits as imported fruits and sold them all over the country. If these orchard owners hadn’t picked some fruits from the ‘money trees’ during the day and mixed them with local fruits to dispel the fruit farmers’ suspicions, the task force would not have been able to trace them.
As soon as the task force arrived, these ‘money trees‘ withered and broke, revealing corpses.
What’s even more infuriating is that those orchard owners wouldn’t let go of the police, demanding compensation for their losses. For money, they’ve abandoned all conscience.
After listening to these hands-free calls, Song Rui tapped the table with the tip of his pen and analyzed, “It seems that the variant of this demonic plant has spread widely. Its hunting method is somewhat similar to that of a virus, it is contagious, and the transmission medium is those fruits. Anyone who has eaten its fruits may one day disappear into the deserted streets.”
Everyone present, except for Fan Jialuo, had eaten fruit, and they all showed expressions of fear and nausea.
Fan Jialuo grasped Song Rui’s hand, his voice low and soft, yet his tone was firm, “I won’t let you disappear.”
“Then you’d better keep a close eye on me.” Song Rui intertwined his fingers with his, laughing lightly.
Meng Zhong immediately said, “Teacher Fan, Could you give me shelter for the time being?”
“Me too!” Liu Tao immediately raised his hand, followed by Liao Fang, Hu Wenwen, Sun Zhengqi, Xiao Li, and others. Even the hardliner Zhuang Zhen spoke up, looking slightly bashful, chimed in, “Can I join as well?”
Song Rui’s light smile turned into a cold laugh.
Fan Jialuo spread his hands and said, “Everyone can take a wisp of my will from me. If you disappear, I can find you before you turn into fertilizer by following this wisp of will.”
Meng Zhong quickly placed his hand in Teacher Fan’s palm. Although he couldn’t feel the specific shape of the thought, he suddenly felt an extraordinary sense of peace. The others followed suit, their fear-filled eyes clearly softening.
They take away wisps of air, but this air, flowing into their nostrils and lungs, transforms into a sense of security and peace of mind.
This relaxed atmosphere didn’t last long before it was shattered by a phone call. Chief Yan told Meng Zhong that Zhang Yang, Director Lin, and Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang had all gone missing.
“……Also vanishing at the same time were 253 individuals out of the two-thousand-plus experimental subjects. Without exception, these people are Espers. They used their supernatural abilities to control the prison guards, took the prison keys, and successfully escaped. I’ll send you their photos, you can ask the various police stations to help with the search.”
“Yes, Chief, I understand.” Meng Zhong hung up the phone, feeling like his head was about to explode.
“Were all those who escaped Espers?” Song Rui pondered, “Do you think they might all have turned into fertilizer?”
Meng Zhong was stunned for a moment.
Fan Jialuo interjected, “Fertilizer also comes in different grades. If I were that plant, I would definitely prefer fertilizer made by spiritual things. The corpse of an ordinary person can nourish a demon tree, while the corpse of a spiritual being should be able to nourish a demon forest.”
Meng Zhong covered his eyes, unable to imagine how many sentient plants those people could cultivate. The world was becoming the most terrifying thing he could ever imagine. First, there was Su Fengxi, who bewitched hundreds of thousands with her singing; then Ma You, a ruthless killer; next, Zhang Yang, who ate human hearts; then Zhang Wencheng, who used corpses to nurture sentient plant; then there are the masterminds who stole national treasures, severed the line of heritage, and harbored delusions of godhood; and finally, there is this sentient plant capable of devouring an entire city………
7
Meng Zhong dared not think any further, for the more he thought about it, the more desperate he felt. If it weren’t for Teacher Fan, he truly didn’t know how humanity would have survived these catastrophes.
“How do we investigate this case? Where exactly is that tree? Everyone says we should dig three feet into the ground to find it, but the problem is, even if we dig three feet into the ground, we probably still won’t find it, right? It can hide inside any kind of plant. Are we supposed to cut down all the trees in the world?” Meng Zhong murmured absentmindedly.
“I should know where it is.” Fan Jialuo placed his hand on his lower abdomen.
Song Rui immediately pulled his wrist away and warned him sternly, “Don’t even think about it!”
They were already telepathically connected. The moment Fan Jialuo had a thought, Song Rui guessed what he would do. He wanted to remove the spatial confinement, release the vines parasitizing his abdomen, let them absorb vital energy to grow stronger, and then use the connection between them and the root to find the hiding place of the demonic plant.
“Once you find it, your body will turn into fertilizer. You can’t even save yourself, so how can you save others?” Song Rui asked in a low voice.
Fan Jialuo gently patted his stiff back without saying a word. At that moment, a police officer rushed in and said anxiously, “Director Meng, while you were analyzing the case, Ms. Duan Xiaoyun was eavesdropping through the back window. I discovered her, and then she stole a bag of mutated apples and ran away. Should we go after her?”
“Go after her!” Meng Zhong immediately waved his hand. He didn’t know what Duan Xiaoyun was planning, but he was sure it wasn’t anything good.
The officer immediately grabbed several colleagues and gave chase.
Just then, Chief Yan called Fan Jialuo and said, “Teacher Fan, your Shifu has arrived. He says he can solve the problem of that demonic plant, but the price is that we rebuild all the Taoist Temples of the Tianshui Sect in the secular world. Do you think this is reliable? Are you confident that you can solve this case? If you can, I will refuse your Shifu.”
Even though he had long since abandoned weak emotions such as fear, panic, and timidity, Fan Jialuo was still unable to help but fall into a dazed state because of that person’s arrival.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 268. Wealth Bearing Tree
More police cars arrived with sirens blaring and completely sealed off the orchard. All orchards in the surrounding areas of Beijing were no longer allowed to supply fruit, and supermarkets and fruit shops have removed all fruit from their shelves. This will certainly be a blow to fruit farmers and merchants, but since it concerns everyone’s safety, the authorities have no choice but to do this.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
The owner of Hongxing Orchard initially had reservations about the decision and even planned to join forces with other fruit farmers and merchants to write a joint letter and petition the relevant departments in the city. The idea of pricking fruit with needles was utterly absurd, they had never even heard of it!
But at this moment, seeing this apple tree, which harboured a corpse inside it, all his anger, resentment, and sense of grievance dissolved into sheer terror. He glanced at the police officers who were methodically stringing up the police tape, and then at the forensic doctor who was opening his toolbox to prepare for the autopsy. He then realized that everyone seemed very calm, as if they were used to such bizarre scenes.
In other words, the so-called fruit needle-pricking case is completely fabricated, right? The real problem lies with the fruit trees?
Thinking of how much he loved eating the apples from this tree, the orchard owner turned away and vomited. Hearing his frequent dry heaving, Duan Xiaoyun couldn’t help but vomit violently as well.
Actually, the owner misunderstood. Meng Zhong and the others were not calm at all, they were just used to managing their expressions.
They had all eaten commercially available honey-core apples, and each one could potentially have come from this orchard, grown on this very tree. Their stomachs were churning and they felt extremely uncomfortable, but the major breakthrough in the case made them ignore these feelings.
Meng Zhong took out his notebook and asked, “Teacher Fan, did you sense the corpse inside the tree a long time ago, which is why you broke it?”
“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even have time to sense it. I just placed my palm on it, and it withered and broke.” Fan Jialuo shook his head in denial.
Meng Zhong asked suspiciously, “Then why did it suddenly wither?”
With a sharp scalpel, Forensic doctor Zhou dissected the body and the tree trunk, and said with barely suppressed fear, “I think I know why the fruit tree withered. It wasn’t actually one tree, it was two trees.”
“What do you mean?” Meng Zhong immediately pressed for an answer.
“Look inside the corpse, aren’t there many holes and cavities? And look at these tree trunks, aren’t there many cavities as well, crisscrossing like blood vessels throughout the human body? This shows that the inside of the corpse and the tree trunks was originally filled with tubular structures.”
Forensic doctor Zhou, dissected a section of the treetop and further explained, “These tubular structures become thinner towards the crown, like capillaries, and then converge where the fruit hangs. I suspect that these tubes function like blood vessels, providing nutrients to the fruit. A tree can’t possibly have blood vessels, so what causes these cavities?”
Meng Zhong exclaimed in horror, “It’s those vines! Their shape looks a lot like blood vessels!”
Forensic doctor Zhou nodded, slightly dissected the upper right arm of the corpse, and said, “Look, the inside of the corpse is also full of holes, as if it has been eaten away by parasites. So it is actually two trees, one on the outside and one hidden inside, like a female ghost wearing a painted skin.”
Liu Tao and the others also gathered around, watching this extremely unsettling scene.
Fan Jialuo stood on the periphery and slowly began to speak, “That vine parasitized this apple tree, using this corpse as nourishment to bear fruit. These fruits were actually nourished by human blood and flesh. No wonder Ms. Duan cried when she ate these apples, she was actually eating her husband’s flesh and blood.”
Meng Zhong and the others were terrified by his description.
Forensic doctor Zhou’s hand holding the scalpel trembled slightly.
Having only just stopped, Duan Xiaoyun was instantly thrown into another fit of violent retching, crying as she did so, sticking her fingertips into her throat as if she wanted to rip her stomach out.
The owner of the Hongxing Orchard stared intently at the broken tree, his once dark skin now appeared as white as paper.
His reaction was normal, but Fan Jialuo gave him a deep look, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
Meng Zhong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and guessed, “That vine knew we were here to investigate it, so it ran away from underground? Quick, dig it up!”
Liu Tao and the others immediately picked up hoes and dug down, and sure enough, they discovered a black hole that stretched out into an unknown direction. Following the black hole was definitely impossible, it was too deep.
“Go find an underground scanner.” Meng Zhong ordered.
“It’s no use. The underground cave is too deep, and the scanner will lose signal very quickly.” Forensic doctor Zhou shook his head.
Meng Zhong wiped his face helplessly before standing up and beginning the most traditional investigative method——interrogation. He led the orchard owner to a nearby shed, found him a simple table and chairs to settle in, then spread out his notebook and asked, “How long has that apple tree been growing here? Has there been anything unusual?”
The orchard owner’s eyes flickered, and he pretended to be trying to remember, “I planted this tree three years ago, and it only started bearing fruit six months ago. There’s nothing unusual about it.”
“Are you sure?” Meng Zhong questioned sternly.
Fan Jialuo stared intently at the other person, his dark eyes like two whirlpools, making one’s head spin.
The orchard owner hurriedly lowered his head, avoiding his gaze, and said weakly, “I’m sure.”
“He’s lying.” A magnetic voice came from the doorway, causing a clear smile to appear in Fan Jialuo’s unfathomable eyes.
“Have you eaten anything?” He asked, patting the empty chair beside him.
Song Rui, who rushed over, originally wanted to glare at him, but when he caught sight of the undisguised joy on his handsome face, his heart melted.
“I cooked a bowl of noodles.” Song Rui softened his tone, then looked at the orchard owner and exposed, “He has been hiding a lot of facts.”
“I……I didn’t.” The orchard owner wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then clutched his stomach, explaining, “My stomach hurts, and my mind is a mess, I can’t remember anything.”
“Then you don’t need to think about it. Just put your hands up here, and I’ll read your memories directly from your mind.” Fan Jialuo placed his hands on the table, palms up, and waited patiently.
Under the gaze of his calm, unfathomable, and pitch-black eyes, the orchard owner broke out in an increasingly heavy cold sweat. He clutched his arms tightly across his chest, adamantly refusing to extend them. He knew this man was called Fan Jialuo, the most powerful Psychic in the country, capable of seeing into everyone’s deepest secrets. He would rather die than let him touch him.
“I remember now.” The orchard owner said anxiously, his eyes darting around, “I remember now. Three years ago, when this tree was transplanted to my orchard, it withered for a while. All the leaves had fallen off, and the branches had all died. I thought it was beyond saving and that I would have to dig it up one of these days to avoid taking up space. But the very next day, it inexplicably sprouted many tender green buds and came back to life.”
Meng Zhong looked through Duan Xiaoyun’s statement and asked, “What day was the day it came back to life?”
“It’s been three years, how could I remember?” The orchard owner shook his head, wiping away a few drops of cold sweat.
“Then I’ll take a look for you directly.” Fan Jialuo’s hands remained on the table.
The owner was anxious and quickly said, “That day was…… Ah! I remember now, it must have been in early April, around the time of the Qingming Festival. I even said I would wait until after the Qingming Festival to cut down the tree, because I was afraid it would be unlucky.”
“Early April?” Meng Zhong pondered for a moment, then asked, “Besides that, was there anything else unusual?”
“No, that’s all.” The orchard owner shook his head stiffly.
“Where did you get those saplings from three years ago?” Song Rui asked.
“The saplings were sourced from an online fruit seedling wholesale market.”
The online fruit seedling wholesale market brings together merchants from all over the country. Buyers browse and select randomly, and if there are not enough goods after placing an order, the merchants can transfer goods from other provinces. This process is difficult to control artificially. Therefore, the invasion of that plant into the orchard on the outskirts of Beijing should not be arranged by someone, but rather it was its own choice.
Judging from the various signs discovered so far, it is highly intelligent, probably not much less so than humans.
Once Song Rui had a better understanding of the situation, he leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly, “Just confess the truth, stop hiding it. Even if you don’t tell us, we’ll find out the secret you’re trying to cover up.”
Fan Jialuo lifted his eyelids, staring intently at the orchard owner. His thin, crimson lips parted, uttering three playful words, “Wealth bearing tree?”
Meng Zhong looked completely bewildered, then quickly went to the window to examine every tree around them. Weren’t they supposed to be searching for the sentient plant? Where did this money tree come from all of a sudden? And where exactly is it?
The orchard owner shuddered, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
Fan Jialuo withdrew his outstretched palm, his tone indifferent, “Your emotions are far too intense. Without needing to sense them, I can clearly hear your inner thoughts. You keep repeating one sentence, the wealth bearing tree has broken…… You see me as the culprit, wishing you could kill me with a hoe. But you have to endure it because there are police all around. You can only suppress your raging anger and resentment. This violently churning emotion has already betrayed your inner self to me. So, do you want me to continue?”
“Stop talking!” The orchard owner’s mental defenses were completely broken down. Cold sweat mixed with tears streamed down his face, making him look like a punctured water bag, and he looked extremely disheveled.
Fan Jialuo raised his chin at him, his voice low and bewitching, “Come on, tell me what you’re hiding.”
The orchard owner’s pupils gradually lost focus, and he said in a daze, “That broken apple tree was my wealth bearing tree.”
Meng Zhong, who was excitedly searching for a money tree by the window, suddenly felt embarrassed.
“Seven months ago, that tree started bearing fruit. The yield was no different from other trees, but the taste was exceptionally good, especially sweet. I told the fruit farmer at the time to take good care of it and use it for grafting to cultivate more superior varieties of trees.”
“I am very interested in improving new varieties, and I usually take care of this tree myself to observe the ripening of the fruit. One night, I came to the park to keep watch, and somehow I walked to that tree, picked a fruit and took a bite.”
The orchard owner took a deep breath, his voice trembling, “The strange thing happened at that moment. On the branch of the tree from which I had picked the fruit, another fruit quickly grew, large, round, and red, already ripe. I——”
The orchard owner, trying to calm his racing heart, continued, “I thought I was seeing things, so I picked another fruit, in the same spot. Guess what? Another fully ripe fruit grew there. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I kept picking and picking, filling a whole basket, but it kept growing and growing.”
Meng Zhong was stunned.
Fan Jialuo and Song Rui, however, kept their eyes calm as they looked at the orchard owner.
The orchard owner’s story continues, “That night I didn’t sleep a wink. I filled one basket and then moved to another. On the same branches, in the same spots, I picked five or six hundred kilograms of apples, but not a single fruit was missing from the tree. At dawn, I heard roosters crowing and the fruit farmer coughing. That’s when I realized this secret absolutely could not be discovered. I stopped, and the spot where the fruit had been picked still had a single fruit hanging there, as if nothing had happened.”
The orchard owner lowered his voice, as if afraid others would hear the secret, “It took me a lot of effort to move those baskets of apples away and hide them. I also told the fruit farmers not to pick any fruit from that tree, because I had a use for it. I called my wife and son and told them about it. At first, they didn’t believe me.”
“Later, my son came over and, avoiding the fruit farmers, secretly picked an apple. But this time, it didn’t grow any new fruit. My son thought I had gone crazy and wanted to take me to see a doctor. I showed him the hundreds of kilograms of fruit I had picked the night before, but he didn’t believe me.”
“Whether I’m insane or not, would I not know by myself? That response from my family nearly choked me with rage! So the next night I went to keep watch again and picked another fruit. Guess what? It grew back! No matter how many times I picked it, it would always grow back! I was overjoyed and immediately called my son and wife to come and see.”
“After they saw it, they finally believed it, so the three of us picked apples all night long, picking several thousand kilograms of them. Each one had thin skin, sweet flesh, and a crisp texture. We were absolutely ecstatic.”
Recalling this, the orchard owner couldn’t help but smile, “After dawn, we picked a few more apples and then we discovered that the tree was actually quite clever, knowing how to hide its abnormality. During the day, it was just an ordinary fruit tree, the fruit that was picked wouldn’t grow back, but it would keep growing at night.”
The orchard owner’s smile deepened, his dark face revealing a crazed greed, “Other trees can only grow a little over two hundred kilograms of fruit a day, but this tree can grow tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of kilograms of fruit! How much money is that? As long as we can pick it, it can keep selling for money. Don’t you think it’s a wealth bearig tree?”
At this point, the orchard owner seemed to come to his senses, pursed his lips, and refused to speak again.
Fan Jialuo asked casually, “And then?”
These words once again caused the orchard owner’s eyes to lose focus, plunging him into an inescapable reverie, “From that day on, I began to take care of it myself. During the day, I would constantly wander around it, and when I saw ripe apples, I would personally pick a basketful and ask the fruit farmers to take them to sell, so as not to arouse their suspicion. At night, my wife, son, and I would frantically pick the remaining apples and then secretly hide them.”
“Those fruits were of exceptional quality, with vibrant coloring and a crisp, sweet taste. I secretly contacted a distributor, repackaged them, and sold them as imported apples. Regular apples usually fetch a wholesale price between 5 mao to 5 yuan per catty, but this kind can sell for 10 yuan a catty. As long as there was one fruit left on the tree, it would grow fruit continuously. It made me a lot of money, it was a wealth bearing tree sent to me by God!”
At this point, the orchard owner began to pant heavily, as if he were extremely excited.
Meng Zhong slammed his fist on the table in anger, “Come on! That’s not a money tree at all, it’s a demon tree! It uses human corpses as fertilizer. What’s the difference between the fruit you sell and human flesh? There are mutant people in the world, you must know that. Our police station broadcasts on TV every day, telling you to report any abnormalities. Why didn’t you report it? Just for a few yuan? Do you know what the consequences would be if the public ate this kind of fruit?”
The orchard owner remained silent, only glaring at Fan Jialuo with hatred. Now that all the secrets were revealed, he no longer needed to pretend. In truth, upon seeing the corpse, he didn’t feel particularly disgusted, rather, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.
Yes, such a magical tree must require magical methods to survive. So what if he eats human flesh? If he had known it needed human flesh to grow, he would have bought some orphans to use as fertilizer. What is human life compared to making money?
Fan Jialuo sensed the foul thoughts emanating from the orchard owner, and said with a half-smile, “Your family thinks it’s a divine tree, so you must have eaten quite a few of its fruits, right? Guess what would happen if you ate those fruits that were watered with human lives and blood?”
Upon hearing this, the orchard owner felt a sudden pang of panic.
Fan Jialuo held his hand in front of his face, lowered his eyes to sense for a moment, and slowly said, “I advise you to call your wife and son immediately and see where they are now.”
The orchard owner instinctively reached for his phone.
Meng Zhong immediately went outside and asked Liu Tao to send a team of men to find the orchard owner’s wife and son.
Every word Teacher Fan utters is meaningful, something must have happened to those two.
Back at the work shed, it came as no surprise to Meng Zhong to find the orchard owner in a state of frantic desperation, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion as he repeatedly dialed his wife and son’s numbers. He had just moments before thought there was nothing wrong with using human lives to nourish trees, but now that his own family was in trouble, he couldn’t accept it.
Half an hour later, Zhuang Zhen called back and said in a deep voice, “Those two people have disappeared. They vanished hand in hand on the street. The surveillance footage only captured their backs, it didn’t show where they went. I’ll send you the surveillance video, take a look.”
Disappearing down the street, hand in hand——didn’t that phrase sound a bit familiar? Meng Zhong hurriedly flipped open Duan Xiaoyun’s deposition and found that when she described the scene of her husband and son’s disappearance, she said the same thing——They disappeared hand in hand down the deserted street……
Three years later, Duan Xiaoyun’s husband’s body was found inside an apple tree. Where will the orchard owner’s wife and son eventually appear?
This inexplicable, terrifying, and absurd association caused Meng Zhong to break out in a cold sweat.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 267. Corpse Orchard
Fan Jialuo led the middle-aged woman into the house and into the living room.
She was very thin, as if she were just a skeleton. Her cheeks and eye sockets were deeply sunken, making her once beautiful face ugly. Her skin was also sallow and rough like sandpaper. At first glance, she even resembled a monster like Zhang Wencheng.
Fan Jialuo extended his hand to invite her to sit down.
She sat down cautiously on the sofa, her expression one of great unease. Her ten fingers were tightly clenched together, and her eyes darted around anxiously, as if she would jump at the slightest disturbance.
“You mentioned that eating an apple triggers you……” Fan Jialuo began.
The middle-aged woman’s attention was immediately diverted, and her unease turned into anxiety, “Yes, I don’t know why, but when I ate these apples, I inexplicably started crying. My heart ached terribly, like I had a heart attack. Then I started feeling nauseous and vomiting. I vomited on the toilet all night and cried all night too. I kept hearing my husband’s voice in my ears. I heard him calling my name and vaguely saying something, but I couldn’t make out what he said.”
The woman hugged herself, tears streaming down her face, “At that moment, I suddenly had a bad feeling. I knew something had happened to my husband and son. They were trapped somewhere, waiting for me to rescue them, but I couldn’t find them, and the police couldn’t find them either(sob sob sob)……”
The woman burst into tears uncontrollably.
Fan Jialuo spread his magnetic field, enveloping her, and then channeled his own inner peace to her, suppressing her panic, helplessness, and fear. This was his unique way of comforting people.
Song Rui opened the plastic bag and carefully examined the apples. They were large and round, bright red in color, and had a shiny skin. They looked much better than ordinary apples. Each one had a small oval label indicating its place of origin.
“When did you buy these apples? Do you feel anything when you eat other apples?” Song Rui asked calmly.
Drawing strength from Fan Jialuo, the woman finally calmed down and choked out, “I bought these apples about two weeks ago. Only when I eat them do I inexplicably cry, feel nauseous, and then feel my husband calling me. Eating other apples doesn’t do that. I——”
The woman hugged herself tightly, her body trembling, “I tried eating another one later, and then I cried even harder. I don’t know what that feeling was like, I can’t describe it, it was just so uncomfortable, so heartbreaking, I wished I could just die right there. I tried to dig the apple out of my mouth, but after trying all night, I only vomited up some acidic fluid. I felt so awful, so awful……”
She didn’t know how to express her feelings in words, and could only keep repeating the last sentence. Her gaze would occasionally catch a glimpse of the bright red apples, and she would hurriedly look away as if she had seen some kind of demon or monster.
Her feeling was somewhat similar to, yet quite different from, that of a psychometry.
A psychic needs to find a medium to communicate deeply with the world——air, water, sound——anything tangible or intangible——can become this medium. But for the woman, the medium was simply these apples.
As Fan Jialuo pondered, he picked up one of the apples, but did not use his magnetic field or mental senses to perceive it. After trying many times, he had already discovered that this kind of fruit did not allow spiritual beings to explore its origin. Even if it was picked and transported to a faraway place, it seemed to maintain a close connection with its roots.
This connection felt very familiar to Fan Jialuo, yet it also filled him with extreme apprehension. Moreover, he vaguely knew that it was absolutely impossible to sever this connection with a magnetic field. The two were inextricably linked.
Only then did Fan Jialuo vaguely recall that the crisscrossing, mottled, dark image he had seen in Su Fengxi’s mind was just like a tangled vine. He had actually glimpsed part of the truth long ago, but he had never been able to understand it.
The woman was still crying, but Fan Jialuo’s thoughts had already wandered far, far away, and he couldn’t bring them back for a while.
He stroked the fruit in his palm and murmured, “Dr. Song, what connections in this world can never be severed?”
After pondering for a moment, Song Rui said, “Blood ties?”
Is it a blood relation? These fruits can also be considered offspring of that sentient plant, which is why the connection between them cannot be severed? Rationally, Fan Jialuo felt that this answer should be the truth, but intuitively, he thought it wasn’t, and he preferred to trust his intuition.
Therefore, the connection between these fruits and the sentient plant is far more than just blood ties.
For a moment, Fan Jialuo couldn’t figure it out, so he could only extend his hands and politely ask, “Madam, may I ask your name?”
The woman said through teary eyes, “My name is Duan Xiaoyun.”
“Ms. Duan, could you please place your hands in my palms? I can read your feelings through your thoughts, those feelings you cannot describe in words. Please do not resist, just recall the scene in your mind. Is that alright?” He waited silently, palms facing upwards.
“Ok, I…… I just need to hold your hand, is that alright?” The woman quickly wiped her hands, which were covered in snot and tears, with the hem of her clothes.
“Yes.” Fan Jialuo ’s fingertips stiffened slightly.
Song Rui immediately handed over a pack of disinfectant wipes that was placed on the coffee table.
The woman blushed as she accepted the wipes, took out one of the wipes, carefully wiped her hands clean, and then gently placed it in Fan Jialuo’s palm.
“Closing your eyes can help you recall things.” Song Rui suggested.
The woman immediately closed her eyes, trying hard to recall what she felt at that moment.
At the same time, a look of forbearance appeared on Fan Jialuo’s serene face. He finally understood the depth of a woman’s suffering. It was the pain of having her heart ripped out, the despair of having her soul torn to pieces and never to be pieced back together, but beneath the pain and despair lay an intensely powerful rage. She didn’t just want an end to her current life, she wanted to erase her very existence for all eternity.
She believed that the disappearance of her husband and child was her fault, that she hadn’t taken good care of them and that this had led to the breakdown of the family. But while she said she was worried about her husband, she only mentioned her son briefly, her mind filled with her son’s innocent and adorable smile, leaving her husband with few memories of him.
This is understandable, when a woman becomes a mother, her focus in life naturally shifts to her child. She doesn’t mention her son simply because she would break down if she did.
Through her eyes, her thoughts, and her memories, Fan Jialuo also saw the scene of the day the father and son disappeared. They vanished inexplicably in the dead of night, each wearing thin pajamas, hand in hand, barefoot, disappearing into the deserted streets.
The surveillance cameras captured their backs, but not their final destination. They kept walking and walking, never looking back……
Three years have passed. The woman quit her job and searched everywhere, only to be met with repeated despair and heartbreak. She always believed they were still alive, until this time when she bought these apples and tasted the bitterness of heartbreak.
Sensing this, Fan Jialuo released the woman’s hand.
She immediately covered her face and wept bitterly, saying in broken sentences, “I…… I can feel it, they…… they are dead. But even so, I…… I must find them, I want to know the truth! I want to know why they left back then. Was it because I didn’t do enough? Or did something happen to them that I don’t know about?”
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then looked straight at Fan Jialuo and said her final question, “Teacher Fan, I want to know the truth. Please answer my question.”
After searching for so many years, struggling and tormenting between hope and despair, she was actually exhausted. Sometimes she felt that people always need something to look forward to in life, and other times she felt that this hope was like a noose around her neck, slowly strangling her.
It wasn’t until she ate those apples that she finally understood that the only thing she could obtain now was the truth. She had to know what happened back then, no matter the cost!
She opened her handbag, took out a bank card, and said in a sad but firm tone, “Teacher Fan, I sold my house and added my savings over the years to raise five million. I’m giving all this money to you, please help me.”
Fan Jialuo extended his slender fingertips, pressed the card, and slowly pushed it back. Then he took out his phone and called Meng Zhong, his tone serious, “Director Meng, has your investigation begun? Could you check Hongxing Orchard first?”
After a few words were exchanged, Fan Jialuo stood up, nodded, and said, “I’ll head over with you. I have Ms. Duan here who consumed a highly unusual apple, and I believe this could be a vital lead.”
He hung up the phone, picked up the bag of apples, and said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the place where these apples originated.”
“Okay.” The woman quickly stood up.
Song Rui naturally picked up his coat, ready to follow, but a cold index finger pressed against his brow. Immediately afterward, a gentle yet warm magnetic field invaded his mind, stirring his drowsiness and making his consciousness exceptionally hazy.
He grasped the index finger, his thin lips parted slightly, but before he could utter a single word, he collapsed onto the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.
Fan Jialuo withdrew his fingertips, picked up the tall Dr. Song, and carried him up to the master bedroom on the second floor. He gently placed him on the bed and covered him with a blanket. After going downstairs, he put the meat and vegetables that were on the coffee table into the refrigerator, then wrote a note and stuck it on the refrigerator door.
Unable to resist her curiosity, Duan Xiaoyun went to the kitchen doorway and peeked inside, only to find a simple sentence written on the note:【Come find me after you wake up and eat something.】
When she noticed that Teacher Fan had turned around and was looking at her, she quickly shrank back into the living room.
“Alright, let’s go now.” Fan Jialuo put on his coat and explained softly, “He didn’t sleep last night, so he can’t be out and about today.”
“I see. I’m so sorry to have troubled you.” Duan Xiaoyun felt very apologetic, but she also clearly realized that the two people had a really good relationship.
Dr. Song was clearly sleeping on the second floor and couldn’t hear anything from the first floor, but Teacher Fan would unconsciously lower his voice, afraid of disturbing him. Only when they constantly keep each other in mind can they have such a protective behavior, almost like a conditioned reflex.
As Duan Xiaoyun left the magnificent villa, she looked back at the second floor, her eyes filled with envy.
The two drove to the Hongxing Orchard in the suburbs and met with Meng Zhong and others.
“Are these apples grown here?” Meng Zhong took the bag of apples and handed it to the orchard owner.
“It was grown locally, right in our area.” The orchard owner glanced at the label on the fruit peel, nodded immediately, then took a bite, crunching happily.
Seeing his unrestrained eating, Meng Zhong and the other investigators couldn’t help but feel a pang of unease. Duan Xiaoyun had already turned her head away, covering her mouth and gagging.
Fan Jialuo took the apple that the orchard owner had taken a bite out of, casually threw it on the ground, stomped on it, and said in a calm voice, “Where is the orchard that grows this kind of apple? Can you take us to see it?”
The orchard owner was passionate about agriculture and proud of cultivating the market’s best-tasting honey-core apples. Seeing Fan Jialuo wasting his hard work like this, he immediately became furious, “Hey, what’s wrong with you? If you don’t want to eat it, fine, but why are you throwing it on the ground and stomping on it? You are being way too disrespectful!”
Meng Zhong urged impatiently, “Where are the fruit trees? Take us there!”
The orchard owner seemed annoyed and refused to cooperate, “What on earth did you guys come here for? Our orchard is operating legally. We haven’t done anything wrong, and we certainly haven’t stuck needles in the fruit! Wouldn’t that be cutting off our own source of income? We’re not that stupid! If you want to search, bring your warrant!”
Meng Zhong lowered his head to take out the search warrant, while Fan Jialuo had already started walking in a certain direction.
Seeing him leave, Meng Zhong didn’t care about the warrant anymore and hurriedly followed. Liao Fang, Liu Tao, and other team members also rushed after him, looking like a group of bandits coming to rob someone.
The orchard owner was furious. He quickly caught up with these people, cursing and swearing, and waved for the fruit farmers to come over with hoes to stop them.
The fruit farmers dared not confront the law enforcement team and turned and ran away one by one.
Without a guide, Fan Jialuo bypassed one fruit-growing area after another, following his subtle intuition as he wandered through a web of paths, finally arriving at an apple tree. Its leaves were not as lush and green as the surrounding trees, nor was its stem as thick and strong as the others, at first glance, it was ordinary and unremarkable, without the slightest anything special about it.
Meng Zhong, filled with fear of the mutant fruit tree, stood there, staring blankly, his face full of doubt.
“Is it it?” He asked uncertainly.
“It’s it. I sense the unbreakable connection between the fruit and the tree.” Fan Jialuo reached out and placed his palm on the tree trunk.
The owner yelled hoarsely, “Hey, what are you doing! Don’t touch my trees!”
In that instant, the ordinary tree withered and turned yellow, its branches fell bare of fruit, and in the blink of an eye, it became a withered, dead tree. It seemed to have endured decades or even centuries of rain, snow, wind, and frost, yet with a gentle touch from Fan Jialuo, it broke in two and crashed to the ground.
Before anyone around could react, Duan Xiaoyun let out a piercing scream, “Husband! That’s my husband!”
She lunged forward and grabbed the tree trunk that had broken in two. Inside the jagged break was a body that had not yet decomposed. Its swollen face still vaguely resembled its appearance before death, and blood was gushing out from its skin riddled with holes.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 266. Harbinger Of The Great Upheaval
TN:- 5 Chapters!!!!!
Fan Jialuo was always good at controlling his emotions, but this time the person beside him was Song Rui, who was best at capturing emotions. So the moment he suppressed his surprise and suspicion, Song Rui understood there was something wrong with these fruits.
“I suggest you don’t eat fruit today, or you’ll encounter something bad.” Fan Jialuo said cautiously, withdrawing his palm.
His accurate predictions were common knowledge, and these young girls, being his fans, naturally nodded in agreement, even pestering him to ask why. Unable to explain, he didn’t, and went straight to a secluded spot to call Chief Yan.
Chief Yan was reporting to the top leadership about the sentient plant anomaly. This kind of thing sounds incredibly fantastical, and most people wouldn’t believe it, but the drone captured the scene of those vines bursting out of the mountain made of piled-up bones and taking Zhang Wencheng away in a very clear way.
A few of the top officials, who had initially refused to believe it, were now all dumbfounded and speechless for a long time.
“You mean, it eats people?” An official asked with a serious expression.
Chief Yan was about to nod in reply when his phone vibrated. He hadn’t intended to answer, but seeing the caller ID made his heart skip a beat, and he answered instinctively. Afterward, he mouthed to the several officials who were clearly displeased, “This is Teacher Fan Jialuo.”
Several officials’ expressions softened, and they nodded in approval.
Chief Yan cleared his throat, about to ask Teacher Fan what was wrong, when he uttered a startling statement, “That plant not only eats people, but it also bears fruit and offers itself to them. You understand what I mean?”
Chief Yan immediately put the phone on speakerphone, pushed it to the center of the round table, and said in a deep voice, “Teacher Fan, please repeat what you just said. Several officials and I are listening.”
“It not only eats people, but also produces fruit and actively invites people to eat it.”
This statement was truly baffling, leaving the top leadership exchanging bewildered glances. What did it mean to actively invite people to eat it?
“Its fruit, once eaten, can cause addiction, unleash potential, and even transform one into a superhuman. These effects can be summarized in one word——mutation. Chief Yan, do you remember the prophecy I issued last time?” Fan Jialuo asked in a deep voice.
Chief Yan clutched his chest and said in a trembling voice, “You once said that the great upheaval had already begun and that chaos would continue.”
“Yes, I didn’t understand what this anomaly was at the time, but I only realized it today after browsing the supermarket. This anomaly was indeed sown a long time ago. Why are there more and more mutants lately? It may be related to the fruit that the plant spread among humans.”
Chief Yan shook his head and said, “I haven’t found any of those blue fruits for sale on the market.”
“How can you be so sure that the fruit is definitely blue? What if it comes in many forms? What if it can be disguised as an orange, apple, banana, or pear and sold in supermarkets to people all over the city or even the country? What changes will occur in a person’s body after eating this fruit? Will they lose their mind like Zhang Yang, killing and devouring hearts? Will they become incredibly strong and cruel? Will they become psychic, spying on people’s hearts and playing with their lives?”
Fan Jialuo gripped an orange tightly in his hand and said solemnly, “Please come to XX supermarket first. I’ve discovered a variant of that fruit. There are many of them, and they’re very common.”
These words turned Chief Yan’s face deathly pale. He knew very well what the experimental subjects undergoing withdrawal were like now, as he checked on them daily. They could no longer be called human, they were wild beasts, their only remaining thought, besides craving the drug, being to kill each other.
If they were imprisoned together, Chief Yan had no doubt that he would find a pile of corpses the next morning. But even if they were imprisoned separately, these people would use self-harm to alleviate their physical and even spiritual pain.
Those experimental subjects who were transformed into psychics under the influence of the drug were even able to release magnetic fields to kill or control their guards. They didn’t even need to move a finger, they committed several bloody crimes simply through their willpower.
Chief Yan witnessed a guard being suspended in mid-air by a psychic’s magnetic field, nearly strangled to death. The scene could only be described as terrifying and a matter of life and death.
This shows what a terrifying group those who consume that fruit will become. Chief Yan always felt genuinely grateful that Teacher Fan discovered it early, preventing this group from expanding further, whenever he saw the sealed-off laboratory.
China was once a nation ravaged by the scourge of drugs, no one loathes narcotics more, or understands the perils of their proliferation better, than the Chinese people. Yet now, Teacher Fan revealed that a fruit far more dangerous than any narcotic had been sold to the entire city disguised as ordinary produce, a situation that felt like a tragic history repeating itself.
What will happen to those who have consumed this fruit? No need to imagine, just look at those two thousand-plus test subjects.
Chief Yan held his forehead and braced himself against the table to prevent himself from fainting on the spot.
The leaders, who already knew the details of the more than two thousand experimental subjects, were now showing unprecedented anxiety.
While Chief Yan was still struggling to process this terrifying news, Fan Jialuo spoke up again, “I don’t think the aftereffects of consuming that fruit have even begun to appear. Is it just that not continuing to consume it will cause madness, and that’s all?”
“What else could we do?” Chief Yan asked cautiously.
“Its strength is formidable. I believe that no human would ever be able to pick fruit from its tree and sell it without its permission. So there’s only one possibility—— it provided the fruit willingly. And what benefit would it gain from continuously providing fruit to humans?”
“Yes, what benefits will it gain?” Chief Yan’s voice trembled.
“Do you think its behavior resembles that of raising livestock?” Fan Jialuo asked solemnly.
Chief Yan was breathing rapidly.
“What is the purpose of humans raising livestock?” Fan Jialuo asked again.
Chief Yan began to gasp for breath, then reached for his nitroglycerin pills with trembling hands. The official sitting opposite him also pulled a bottle of blood pressure medication from his pocket, chewed it up, and swallowed it without even taking a sip of water. The atmosphere in the entire conference room became incredibly heavy at that moment.
Humans raise livestock for food, so why would that sentient plant raise humans? Is that even a question?
Just as Chief Yan’s mental fortitude was about to reach its breaking point, Fan Jialuo slowly said, “However, these are all just my guesses. In any case, you should come over as soon as possible and investigate how long its fruit has been on the market, how wide its distribution area is, and how large its sales volume is.”
Before Chief Yan could reply, several officials urged, “Go quickly! Make sure you investigate the situation thoroughly and give us a reply immediately.”
“Yes, I’ll go right away.” Chief Yan stood up, gave a military salute, and strode away.
Only after boarding the military jeep did cold sweat pour down his forehead. His heart was filled with bitterness, which he could only silently digest. He truly hadn’t expected the special defense bureau to turn out so badly under his command, with each case he was embroiled in bigger and bigger problems than the last.
If the fruit has been sold all over the country and eaten by a wide range of people, will the number of mutated people increase? What will happen to them after they mutate? Chief Yan does not know the answer to this question yet, but he has a vague feeling that if this case is not handled properly, the city will face not just chaos, but a catastrophe.
The military and police arrived at the supermarket as quickly as possible, evacuated the crowd, and confiscated the fruit purchased by everyone at the checkout. They announced that someone had inserted needles into the strawberries and that a comprehensive investigation was needed. They urged the public not to buy fruit for the time being, as any type of fruit could be tampered with by criminals.
Official media also quickly followed up on the matter, spreading the news to every corner.
If Chief Yan hadn’t placed absolute trust in Teacher Fan’s judgment, his actions would never have been so swift, decisive, and high-profile. He had always known that those who ignored Teacher Fan’s prophecies would pay an extremely heavy price.
The girls who had just stopped Fan Jialuo and Song Rui were kicked out of the supermarket by the military and couldn’t help but cover their mouths and exclaim, “My God, Teacher Fan’s prediction was so accurate! He said that something bad would happen if we bought fruit, and not long after, something bad really happened! I have to post this online. Teacher Fan is truly a god!”
The girls walked away laughing and joking, completely unaware of the perilous and bizarre world they lived in.
Chief Yan, sweating profusely, rushed into the supermarket’s fresh harvest section, searching for Teacher Fan. He found him carefully selecting oranges, while Dr. Song pushed a shopping cart, helping him load them. The two seemed more like they were shopping than solving a case.
“Teacher Fan, what about the fruit variant you mentioned?” Chief Yan asked as soon as he arrived.
“It’s all in the cart.” Fan Jialuo’s tone was as calm as ever, as if everything happening now was under his control. This wasn’t wrong, he had long foreseen the great upheaval and chaos, and therefore had made the necessary preparations.
But Chief Yan was simply incapable of preparing himself mentally for this. He feared that the towering mountain made of piled-up bones represented not only the future of Beijing, but also the future of all humanity.
“So many!” Seeing the cart literally overflowing with oranges, Minister Yan’s heart skipped a beat in terror.
“This is only a small part. Almost all the varieties of fruit displayed in this supermarket contain a variant of that blue fruit.” Fan Jialuo pointed to each area, “These mulberries, cherries, apples, apricots…… they’ve all been mixed in with that fruit.”
“Can you pick them out?” Chief Yan asked eagerly.
“Yes, but it will take time.” Fan Jialuo nodded.
“You go on, we’ll keep you company.” Chief Yan glanced at the oranges in the shopping cart, still unwilling to give up, and asked, “Is there really something wrong with them? Or could you be mistaken?”
Fan Jialuo didn’t answer. Instead, he held an orange in his hand, enveloping it in a magnetic field. He barely sensed the source of its power when it suddenly exploded. Fortunately, Fan Jialuo had also created a small, transparent space around his palm, preventing the splashing juice from spreading. Otherwise, Song Rui and Chief Yan, who were standing very close, would have been the first to suffer.
Meng Zhong, who had just arrived at the supermarket, witnessed the scene and immediately groaned with a headache. Damn it, this is another major case! And the difficulty of solving it has increased once again!
Chief Yan was so frightened that the muscles on his face were trembling, while Song Rui didn’t even blink. Instead, he adjusted the frame of his glasses on his high nose bridge and observed with great interest.
After the orange burst open, the pale yellow juice that splashed onto the spatial walls quickly turned blue, then gradually evaporated into mist. When Fan Jialuo withdrew the magnetic field and spatial energy, his palm was completely empty. This demonstrates just how quickly these fruits are digested and how comprehensively they affect the human body.
Chief Yan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, no longer daring to question Teacher Fan’s judgment.
Meng Zhong and his team walked along, constantly pulling out notebooks and pens, eagerly awaiting clues from Teacher Fan. To be honest, let alone investigating a case like this, even if the evidence were laid out right in front of their eyes in plain sight, they still wouldn’t spot it. Who would have thought that the fruit they bought every day would be the demonic harvest?
Seeing that the special case team had also arrived, Fan Jialuo pointed to a cart load of oranges and said, “I just took a look. These variants are not products of a single orchard, but come from various orchards near Beijing.”
Meng Zhong and the others quickly took notes of the key points.
Song Rui further explained, “In other words, that plant that has become sentient has invaded most of the orchards in the suburbs of Beijing.”
Fan Jialuo pointed to the entire fresh harvest section “It has not only invaded most of the orchards, but it can also disguise its own fruit as various varieties of fruit.”
Song Rui interjected, “So our investigation scope is very broad. We visit every orchard that grows this fruit. This random mixing of variant fruits also indicates an even worse problem.”
“What problem?” Meng Zhong and the others asked in unison, their expressions tense.
Fan Jialuo replied, “This indicates that many people have eaten this fruit. Since every variety of fruit is mixed with the variant, the number of people who buy them will increase significantly.”
This situation was undoubtedly terrible. Meng Zhong and the others gasped for breath, their faces trembling.
Song Rui offered some advice, “When you visit, you must pay attention to three things—— First, confirm which fruit tree these mutated fruits came from. Second, where these fruit trees came from. And third, whether there are any traces of human control during the cultivation of these fruit trees. Although that plant has gained consciousness, it may just be a tool in the hands of some people, and this possibility cannot be ruled out at present.”
Meng Zhong nodded as he took notes.
Fan Jialuo continued picking through the problematic fruit, while Song Rui took an hour off to pick up Xu Yiyang from school. This is one of the advantages of living together, when one person is unavailable, the other can help with housework and childcare.
Fan Jialuo worked all night to sort out each variety of fruit, categorizing and piling them together. A rough weighing revealed a staggering half-ton. This was just the amount for one supermarket, if all the supermarkets and fruit shops in Beijing were included, the harvest would be an astonishing figure.
Chief Yan’s eyelids twitched incessantly. Cigarette butts littered the ground around him, and he reeked of strong, pungent smoke. His stubble-covered face made him look even more haggard than a homeless man. He had actually quit smoking many years ago, but started again after meeting Teacher Fan. There was no way around it, working on cases with Teacher Fan was incredibly stressful, and almost every case had the potential to cause a major upheaval.
“These mutated fruits are all grown near Beijing, and there are many different brands. It would take several years for them to become so popular.” Song Rui, who had just dropped the child off at school and was rushing back to the supermarket, picked up a problematic apple and analyzed, “I guess these mutated fruits have been sold in Beijing for a long time.”
Chief Yan pressed his hand to his heart, unable to speak. The others also covered their mouths, their faces showing nausea and a desire to vomit. They knew that everyone present had likely eaten this fruit, it was just a matter of how much.
Fan Jialuo added, “These mutant fruits have another thing in common, they have a very high sugar content. When they are piled up among ordinary fruits, they are definitely among the best-tasting ones. When you are conducting your research, you can ask the local fruit farmers. They should have a certain understanding of the taste of their own products. In order to cultivate better varieties, they will also know which tree produces high-quality fruit.”
Meng Zhong immediately noted this key point.
Having provided almost all the clues he could, Fan Jialuo finally stood up, albeit unsteadily. Sensing so many fruits at once using a magnetic field required an energy level that was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Song Rui quickly grabbed his arm, but he pointed to the vegetables and meat in the shopping cart and reminded him, “Don’t forget to pay at the counter, you haven’t eaten yet.”
Song Rui felt somewhat helpless, but also warm inside. As the two helped each other back to the Fan family’s old residence, they saw a middle-aged woman carrying a bag of apples, standing uneasily in front of the iron gate.
Fan Jialuo immediately sensed that all the apples in her hand were mutants, none of them were normal.
Upon seeing the approaching car and the handsome young man sitting in the passenger seat, the woman rushed forward, urgently pleading, “Teacher Fan, my husband and son have disappeared! Please help me find them! I can sense something’s wrong with them whenever I eat these apples, but I’ve searched everywhere and can’t find them. The police haven’t given me any information either. I have no other choice but to come to you! Please help me!”
Her words greatly concerned Fan Jialuo. The ability to sense trouble for her husband and son simply by eating an apple was very similar to, yet distinctly different from, that of a psychic.
Why does this connection trigger only while eating an apple? This is worth exploring.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 265. Yi Jiangnan, Who Creates Miracles
Having encountered so many bizarre and terrifying things together, and in the end, it was only thanks to Teacher Fan that everything was perfectly resolved. Chief Yan’s regard and trust in Teacher Fan had long reached its peak.
Whenever he saw Teacher Fan with his eyes lowered, his thin lips pressed together, looking as if he had doubts, his heart would instinctively skip a beat.
At that moment, he immediately stepped forward and asked in a low voice, “Teacher Fan, is there a problem with this jade carving?”
Fan Jialuo blinked, his dark pupils finally focusing, and shook his head, saying, “No, there’s no problem. Let’s send all these antiques to the lab for testing first.”
Chief Yan was relieved and immediately had the four collectors sign authorization letters before taking the treasures away. Many wealthy businessmen in the port city have a passion for collecting antiques, and many of the art pieces that sell for astronomical prices are largely driven up by their speculation. Therefore, the laboratories here are no less advanced than those on the mainland, equipped with all sorts of high-tech equipment.
The four collectors’ acting skills were superb. After entering the laboratory, their eyes were fixed on their treasures, and sweat frequently broke out on their foreheads, as if they were afraid that the appraisal results would disappoint them.
Song Rui stared at them for a while, then shook his head at Chief Yan, “Half true, half false.”
Nothing in this world can be half true and half false. If it contains even the slightest hint of falsehood, then it is false.
Chief Yan then realized that these people were putting on an act for him! But Dr. Song’s judgment could not be considered evidence. If they insisted that they knew nothing, and he could not find any flaws in their claims, Chief Yan could not do anything to them.
After two or three days of testing, the results came out, and the treasures that had been purchased at an exorbitant price were indeed fakes.
The four collectors spent 24 hours a day in the laboratory, watching the technicians complete the tests almost without blinking, so naturally they had nothing to say in their defense. Some cried out to the heavens, some beat their chests in despair, and some simply couldn’t accept it, each one looked more grief-stricken than the last.
They say the best steel should be used for the cutting edge, sure enough, the moment the expected result came out, their acting skills exploded into action.
Chief Yan was too lazy to play along and dismissed them with a few casual words, but secretly ordered investigators to monitor the suspects at all times. The fact that someone could extend their reach to the Central Museum suggests an unimaginably vast network of connections.
Fan Jialuo stopped the collectors and asked, “What are you going to do with these fakes?”
The four of them waved their hands dejectedly, “Handle it however you see fit, keeping it at home would only serve to upset us.” With that, they walked away with unsteady steps, their retreating figures looking utterly forlorn.
But Fan Jialuo had no interest in appreciating their excellent acting skills. He simply put the lotus flower carved from Dushan jade into a safe and took it back to Beijing overnight.
Upon arriving at the laboratory, he placed the jade lotus carving on the long table, and then arranged the fakes, such as the a piece of mythical black jade of Mountains and Seas, the ivory seated Buddha, and the statue of the six-armed guardian deity Mahakala, in a long row according to their order, swept his hand just above the surface, his palm hovering in the air.
Seeing his unusual behavior, Chief Yan became nervous again. He hurriedly ran up to him with small, quick steps, and asked in a dry voice, “Teacher Fan, what’s wrong with these fakes? Weren’t they already authenticated? How could there be problems again? Could it be that one of them has gained spirit?”
It’s no wonder Chief Yan thought that way, he was genuinely terrified by that man-eating plant. Lately, he’d been having nightmares every night about being entangled by the vine, having his blood drained, and being thrown onto that white, mountain made of piled-up bones. The psychological trauma was so severe that he couldn’t shake it off.
It was only then that he realized that the ban issued by the state was very reasonable. After the founding of the country, no animals or plants were supposed to gain spirit, otherwise, the world would be in total chaos!
He was just trying to find humor in his situation and made a casual joke, but he didn’t expect that Fan Jialuo’s answer would almost make him fall flat on his face.
“You’re right, one of these fakes has indeed gained spirit.”
Chief Yan broke out in a cold sweat instantly, and took several steps back, no longer daring to approach the long table.
Song Rui, however, moved even closer, holding a magnifying glass and examining each one carefully. Afterward, he even put on gloves and touched each of the fakes one by one.
Chief Yan truly admired Dr. Song’s courage. Then again, he and Teacher Fan both seemed to be the daring and fearless type, no wonder they ended up together after spending so much time together.
After examining all the fakes, Song Rui pointed to the jade lotus carving and asked, “Is this the fake that has gained spirit?”
Fan Jialuo immediately smiled, knowing that Dr. Song was very observant and would surely be able to see the difference.
“It is it. To be precise, it has not gained a spirit, but has gained spiritual qi. It is no longer a fake, but a priceless treasure comparable to those national treasures.”
Upon hearing this, Chief Yan was taken aback for a moment before approaching the long table and examining the jade lotus carving closely. He then suddenly realized that this artwork was indeed quite unique.
It is carved from a piece of pink and green Dushan jade. The two colors gradually change from dark to light, like a sunset on the horizon or a wisp of mist in a deep valley, dreamlike and ethereal.
While the color and quality of this jade are one in a million, they still pale in comparison to the unique craftsmanship of the artisan.
He carved the tender, almost juicy pink jade into a blooming lotus and a budding flower, the jade that turned from red to white was carved into a shimmering, sparkling surface of water, light green jade was used for the flower stem, and dark green jade was used for the lotus leaves. All the colors were layered together and perfectly blended through meticulous carving. When placed there, it resembled a striking three-dimensional painting, radiating the refined aesthetics of realism while brimming with the daring romance of magical surrealism.
If you don’t consider it an antique, but simply regard it as a work of art, then it is absolutely unique and extremely valuable for collection.
Upon closer inspection, Chief Yan was stunned by the beauty of the jade carving. To be honest, he wasn’t a person with much aesthetic taste, but he couldn’t help but be moved by this vibrant and spiritual beauty.
“It’s really special.” Chief Yan exclaimed sincerely.
Fan Jialuo held his palm above the fakes, sensing them one by one from left to right, and slowly said, “Yes, this is the most unique. These fakes are indeed all made by the same person. I arranged them together according to the order in which they were made. The statue of the six-armed guardian deity Mahakala was nothing more than an imitation. Though convincing enough to pass for the real thing, it lacked soul, bogged down by pure textbook craftsmanship.”
He slowly walked forward, hovering his palm above the piece of mythical black jade of Mountains and Seas, and sighed, “But his skills have improved rapidly through such imitation. I can feel that although he is proficient in calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, carving, and pottery, his favorite and most skilled skill is carving. With this piece of mythical black jade of Mountains and Seas, his craftsmanship has condensed into a craftsman’s heart.”
“With heart, the artworks born from his hands naturally possess a spirit. I can feel a burning temperature flowing continuously from this black jade, which is meticulously carved with mythical landscapes, sacred trees, and exotic creatures. It is the sheer love and concentration poured in by the sculptor. He is imitating, but he is also growing.”
Fan Jialuo continued walking forward, slowly saying, “The artworks created by him possess an increasingly profound spirit, until they reach a critical point where quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Do you know what realm lies beyond craftsmanship?”
He eventually walked up to the jade lotus carving and stood there for a long time.
Chief Yan shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
Song Rui couldn’t figure it out for the time being.
Fan Jialuo looked down at the exquisitely beautiful lotus flower and smiled as he murmured, “It is the creativity born from the fusion of superb carving skills, a fervent love for art, and unparalleled imagination. He has completely transformed to another level, possessing the power to give life to a piece of jade, a stone, or even a lump of clay.”
Fan Jialuo stretched out his slender fingertips and ran them over the fakes, sighing, “From them, I witnessed his growth at every stage, and I came to a deeper understanding of why human beings are hailed as the most intelligent of all creatures. For in this world, only human hands could create something so wondrous. Though they sit here as evidence of a crime, they are also a beautiful miracle.”
Chief Yan was so surprised that he couldn’t speak for a long time.
Fan Jialuo picked up a photograph of the suspect from the table, clasped his hands together, sensed it for a moment, and nodded, “His name is Yi Jiangnan, isn’t it? What a fine name. He probably doesn’t know what he’s doing, so when you find him, please try to protect his hands. The heritage of this country is created by each generation that grows up here. He is guilty, but he can atone for his sins by continuing this heritage.”
Chief Yan nodded hesitantly, his heart filled with shock. He never expected that such a prodigy was hidden behind this earth-shattering case. If those national treasures were beyond repair, then this person who could recreate them should be carefully protected.
Chief Yan secretly noted this down, but then heard Teacher Fan say, “You need to act quickly, or he will disappear forever.”
Chief Yan’s knees buckled, and he almost knelt down. Teacher Fan, you seriously can’t go a single day without giving everyone a heart attack, can you?
“His abilities cannot be hidden. The person who took him away will one day discover what a divine gift his hands are. Antiques with spiritual qi are becoming increasingly rare, and with him, the person behind him will never have to worry about a lack of spiritual qi again. That person will hide him away carefully and keep him for themselves.”
Fan Jialuo pointed to the lotus jade carving and said, “I can sense that this is something he recently carved, yet it was still mistaken for a fake and replaced the real thing. This shows that those people haven’t noticed his abnormality yet. We need to find him quickly.”
“Okay, I’ll send someone to investigate right away.” Chief Yan left in a hurry, but returned a little while later, excitedly saying, “I have to take this jade carving to show the top leadership! You guys help me put it in the tempered glass case, be careful, this is a priceless treasure!”
A group of technicians quickly gathered around and carefully placed the carving.
Fan Jialuo reached out his hand, silently feeling the pure and sweet fragrance emanating from the delicate pink lotus, his heart filled with indescribable complex feelings.
“Humans are truly contradictory, they excel at destruction, but they also excel at creation.” Fan Jialuo remarked sincerely as he left the laboratory.
“And then, of course, you have the humans who excel at packing up and moving.” Song Rui pointed out bluntly.
Fan Jialuo chuckled softly and waved his hand, saying, “Let’s move.” ——
Song Rui immediately hired a moving company, got everything done within two hours, and then took Fan Jialuo to the supermarket to buy things.
Fan Jialuo, who had never experienced a normal life, realized that Dr. Song was a flesh-and-blood person who could feel hunger and thirst and needed to eat. When the other party led him to the fresh food section of the supermarket, he was really stunned for a while before he reacted, and then he was captivated by the overwhelming sense of life.
“Do you know how to cook?” He asked with great interest, holding a bunch of celery.
“An exceptional cook.” In front of Fan Jialuo, Song Rui never used a mask of humility to hide himself, but instead tried his best to show his strengths and advantages.
Fan Jialuo couldn’t help but show a look of longing.
Song Rui felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he asked in a normal tone, “You’ll be able to become an ordinary person in the future, right?”
Fan Jialuo’s eyes darkened slightly, and he nodded, saying, “If everything goes smoothly, it should be possible.”
Song Rui held his hand, “Then I’ll cook for you every day.”
Fan Jialuo’s eyes crinkled, and his pupils brightened. In front of others, he was calm, reserved, and unfathomable, but in front of Dr. Song, he was merely a nineteen-year-old boy. He could cast aside all burdens and shackles and be his true self.
“I like to eat winter melon, chicken, fish, and tofu.” Fan Jialuo’s voice was filled with reminiscence. How long ago was it that he sat at the table with a bowl of white rice, picking at his food?
Song Rui immediately put a piece of winter melon, half a free-range chicken, a fish, and a piece of white tofu into the shopping cart, smiling gently and naturally, “What a coincidence, the things you like to eat are also the things I like to eat.” Actually he didn’t like them, but that didn’t matter. Before Fan Jialuo appeared, he didn’t even like this world, but now he felt happy every day, didn’t he?
It’s just a change in eating habits, nothing serious.
The two walked along, looking through the fruits and vegetables, but were blocked by a group of little girls.
“Are you Teacher Fan and Dr. Song?” They asked excitedly, their bright eyes sparkling.
“Yes, is there something you need?” Song Rui subconsciously pulled Fan Jialuo behind him, and Fan Jialuo reflexively pulled him back as well. As a result, their forces were intertwined, and they ended up embracing each other, turning from walking side by side into standing together in an embrace.
The little girls let out a scream.
Fan Jialuo was completely bewildered, but Song Rui immediately realized what these people were excited about. He pushed the cart with one hand and pulled the young man in his arms tighter with the other, saying gently, “Thank you for your kindness, but this is a public place. Please don’t disturb others, okay?”
“Okay, okay, we won’t bother you. We just came to say hello.” The girls bowed very politely.
One of them had bright eyes and pleaded, “Teacher Fan, could you please help me pick out the sweetest oranges here? Please, please! The oranges have just come into season, some are very sweet, and some are very sour. I hate eating sour oranges, it’s so unpleasant. Teacher Fan, you’re a Psychic, you should be able to sense this, right?”
Upon hearing her words, all the girls’ eyes lit up several degrees.
Fan Jialuo did not agree, but instead looked at Song Rui, “Do you like oranges?”
“Like it.” Song Rui nodded.
Fan Jialuo rolled up his sleeves, “Then I’ll pick out the sweetest ones for you.” He then looked at the little girl, smiled, and nodded, “I’ll pick out a few for you too.”
His attitude wasn’t exactly amiable, and he consistently prioritized Dr. Song, not readily complying with anyone else’s requests. But the young girls erupted in even more delighted screams, clutching their chests and exclaiming, “Ahhh, what an amazing love story! How much Teacher Fan pampered Dr. Song!”
The pampered Song Rui was speechless for a moment, then finally smiled softly.
Fan Jialuo hovered his palm over the round oranges, his expression initially relaxed and calm, but a few minutes later he frowned, revealing a look of surprise and uncertainty.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
Leave a Comment
Chapter 264. The Caged Bird
Fan Jialuo looked down at Zhang Wencheng, who was in a terrible state but still exuded a brilliant and dazzling charm. His dark eyes were as calm and serene as a deep, still sea.
Zhang Wencheng felt daunted by that gaze, yet he couldn’t help but chuckle softly. After a century, the man hadn’t changed a bit, when he looked at you, his eyes held such tender, soulful depth, yet just as you found yourself hopelessly captivated, you realized you would never receive even a sliver of his attention. Only then would you realize that he had merely been looking at you, without ever truly seeing you, let alone holding you in his heart.
He has always been out of place in this world.
Zhang Wencheng held the twisted and deformed gold-wired birdcage, laughing louder and louder.
Fan Jialuo bowed slightly, his voice low and gentle, “Young Master Zhang, it’s been a long time.”
After all these years, he remained as calm and composed as ever, showing neither raging fury nor murderous intent, as if the person standing before him, the one who had betrayed and killed him and stripped him of everything, were not Zhang Wencheng.
The more he acted this way, the colder Zhang Wencheng’s heart became. His scarlet eyes gradually lost focus, and his voice trailed off, hollow, as if he had fallen into another dimension, “Fan Jialuo, long time no see. Ha, I knew you wouldn’t die. Even if Song Enci pierced your heart and threw you into that formation that’s said to suppress souls for ten thousand years, I still knew you wouldn’t die. How could Song Enci possibly kill you, hahahaha……”
Fan Jialuo looked down at him, silent and still, his expression and even his gaze were calm and undisturbed.
Zhang Wencheng, however, seemed lost in memory, he patted the birdcage and gave a bitter, wretched smile, “Do you remember that bird that was carried off in its mouth by a stray cat? You gently stroked it, and its stiff, cold body fluttered back to life. You held it up, letting it take flight again. I’ll never forget that miraculous scene. At the time, I was terminally ill and couldn’t even stand up. I was truly envious of that bird! I thought you could save me the way you saved it, but you cruelly refused. You could have done it, but you just wouldn’t. Why?”
His bloodshot eyes blazed with endless hatred, “You said you couldn’t easily use the power of the jade pendant, but why did you save a bird right in front of me, making me crave it so desperately? When the bird came back to you after flying away at night, you crushed it to death with your fingers. Song Enci and I were hiding in the shadows watching you, and we were really terrified.”
“Back then, I really didn’t understand the point of what you did. But after a century of wandering, and becoming this inhuman, ghostly state, I finally understand. You did it on purpose so we could see it, didn’t you? You deliberately saved that bird in front of us, and then deliberately crushed it to death in front of us. You gave us hope, and then you made us despair. You knew perfectly well that my greatest wish was to live, yet you placed this readily available wish where I could see it, but you never let me have it.”
“You were tempting me and Song Enci, weren’t you? You did it on purpose! You’ve placed delicious pastries on top of an abyss from which there will never be light.”
“You have constructed a monstrous deception! You told us that obtaining the jade pendant would grant us immortality, but you didn’t tell us that the price of immortality would be living like this! Was all the suffering we’ve endured over the years within your expectations? You released this caged bird with your own hands, and then killed it with your own hands. The cage was empty, which seemed wasteful, so you put me and Song Enci inside, turning us into new caged birds.”
“It took me over a hundred years to understand this, but unfortunately Song Enci doesn’t. She simply doesn’t believe that all of this was your arrangement! Fan Jialuo, you did it on purpose, didn’t you? You arranged my fate, you arranged Song Enci’s fate, and even your own death and resurrection. You know everything, you definitely know everything! Tell me, why did you do this? Why did you use such absurd methods to toy with us, plunging us into such prolonged suffering? Let me die knowing why!”
Fan Jialuo squatted down, tracing the ghost pipe on his chest with his slender fingertips, and calmly asked, “Stealing the jade pendant, killing to cover it up, betraying the sect, was it all forced upon you by me?”
Zhang Wencheng opened his mouth, but only spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. He couldn’t find the words to refute those words.
“Song Enci wants the position of sect master of the Tianshui Sect, Shifu’s favor, fame and fortune, and godhood, while you want to live, to live forever, and to reign supreme over this entire world. You want too much. But do you know what I want?”
Fan Jialuo withdrew his fingertips and slowly stood up.
Zhang Wencheng asked in a trembling voice, “What do you want?”
Fan Jialuo curled his lips into a smile and said softly, “I want to destroy all people like you.”
Zhang Wenxiang froze on the spot like an ice sculpture, his blood-red eyes wide open, as if he had seen the most terrifying demon in the world.
In a daze, he recalled his first meeting with this person.
Wearing a faded Taoist robe, tilting his head, squinting his eyes, and looking over with a smile. His face, illuminated by the blazing sun, shone brightly. His red lips were slightly parted, but his voice was as clear and melodious as melting snow in early spring, “Young Master Zhang, would it be alright to borrow your residence for a few days?”
Zhang Wencheng was already terminally ill, yet upon seeing this person, he seemed to find a renewed sense of life. Why then did he later want to kill him? Why did he join forces with Song Enci, embarking on this path of no return?
It was because of desire! The desire to live ultimately triumphed over emotion, leading him to bewitch Song Enci and join forces with her to commit such a heinous act. But if it weren’t for Fan Jialuo’s every move and word that fueled this desire, they wouldn’t have taken that step.
But what did they ultimately gain? They did live, for a very long time, but their bodies grew weaker and weaker each day, aging more and more with each passing day. Only then did they realize with horror that immortality did not equate to eternal youth, and that their wish had been a curse from the very beginning.
To break the curse, he and Song Enci parted ways. She went on to be a Holy Maiden, and he was left to be a monster…
Recalling this, Zhang Wencheng laughed again, one laugh after another, as if he were extremely happy. After laughing, he tilted his head back and asked, “Were the two paths that Song Enci and I chose wrong from the very beginning?”
Fan Jialuom replied in a low voice, “Different paths, but the same destination.”
“Different paths, same destination, so my current fate will be Song Enci’s fate in the future? Hahaha…… This is truly ridiculous, hahaha…… Fan Jialuo, you really do know everything. None of us can escape your grasp. Poor Song Enci still thinks she’s won, hahaha……”
Zhang Wencheng nearly choked with laughter, coughing up blood repeatedly. He finally let out a long sigh, “Fan Jialuo, I really want to know what Song Enci’s expression would be if she saw you still alive. It’s just a pity she hid too well. Fan Jialuo, I thought that if we met again, we would have a battle…”
“Fighting you would only dirty my hands.” Fan Jialuo took two steps back to avoid the blood that the other man spat out while speaking splashing onto his shoes and trousers.
Zhang Wencheng：……
His resentment and anger were ultimately shattered by those words.
“So, you’ve already planned my final fate, haven’t you? I was wrong. I should have known I couldn’t beat you.” Zhang Wencheng said, tears of blood streaming from his eyes, his voice filled with endless desolation, “If time could turn back, I wish I had never met you. I wish I could die peacefully and quietly. I wish I could be a human being.”
With his last ounce of strength, he turned his heavy head to the side, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then, with his eyes bulging open, died suddenly. Since Fan Jialuo found him filthy, he would leave him with the last bit of purity, this mouthful of blood stained with sin ultimately did not splatter on him.
Zhang Wencheng was immortal, yet he ultimately couldn’t escape the sins he himself had committed. No matter how strong his regenerative abilities were, those mud dolls could devour his internal organs much faster. Can a person survive without internal organs, just an empty shell?
He was naturally doomed, and Zhang Wencheng’s unparalleled physical form slowly deflated. Before he could completely turn into blood along with the dozens of mud dolls, Fan Jialuo unleashed his magnetic field, probing into his chest cavity, attempting to summon the jade pendant.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, dozens of green vines pierced Zhang Wencheng’s chest, first enveloping the shimmering jade pendant, then piercing Zhang Wencheng’s skin, dragging him into the interior of the mountain made of piled-up bones.
The vines, sharp as swords, sliced through the skeletons and pierced the foul-smelling soil, dragging Zhang Wencheng into the endless depths. Fan Jialuo immediately leaped into the cave created by the vines, but ultimately did not pursue them any deeper.
He could sense that the vines contained immense power, something he couldn’t handle in his current state.
Standing inside this mountain made of piled-up bones, he discovered that it was hollow. The outer layer was covered with bones, while the inner layer was filled with black ashes, and cylindrical objects had drilled holes resembling wormholes into it.
If one had to find a similar thing to describe it, Fan Jialuo felt that the mountain was more like an anthill, but what eroded and devoured these bones bit by bit, was not ants, but the root system. A root system as flexible as vines.
Zhang Wencheng piled these bones here not for decoration, but to cultivate a plant. Like him, Su Fengxi’s urns of ashes and glass jar filled with blood stored in the villa likely served the same purpose.
Thinking of this, Fan Jialuo clutched his abdomen, reinforcing the space enveloping the seed, he also thought of the blue fruit Zhang Wencheng had swallowed when he regained his human form, the secret that had kept Su Fengxi young and beautiful all these years, the cosmetics that had made Jian Ya and the others look neither human nor ghost, and the blue drug that could stimulate human potential and even cultivate spirits.
These strange events, numerous doubts, and hidden secrets finally began to unfold. Everything was caused by this plant. It seemed capable of absorbing all sins, evil deeds, vitality, and death, then bearing fruit that granted those who consumed it eternal youth or immense power.
Its fruit is remarkably similar to the jade pendant that can grant any wish.
Fan Jialuo looked up at the cave entrance and couldn’t help but sigh. All the demons lurking in the shadows seemed to have awakened, and were more powerful than he had anticipated.
As he strained to sense the future, an anxious voice came from above, “Teacher Fan, are you alright?”
“I’m here.” Fan Jialuo replied immediately.
“Are you injured?” Chief Yan’s head appeared at the cave entrance, followed by several beams of bright light shining down.
Fan Jialuo’s eyes met the bright light directly, yet not even his eyelashes trembled, “I’m fine.”
“Wait here, we’ll pull you up right away.” Upon discovering that only Teacher Fan was below, and a black hole leading straight to the ground, Chief Yan immediately lowered a rope down.
A few minutes later, Fan Jialuo reached the top of the mountain, picked up the ghost pipe that was as clear and dazzling as frost, looked down at it closely, and found that it had not been stained. Only then did he throw it into the dark bone cave.
“Teacher Fan, what about the monster? Is it dead? Why were vines growing from its chest?”
Chief Yan asked with great concern.
“Logically speaking, being entangled in the blood curse, he should have died without a doubt. But the vine that took him away is very strange, and I can’t be 100% sure he will die. By the way, aren’t you looking for the raw materials to make those blue drug? I guess that vine is it, its roots used to be all over this place.”
Fan Jialuo pointed to the cave in the mountain made of piled-up bones and guessed, “This is probably where Zhang Wencheng cultivated those fruits.”
Chief Yan said with lingering fear, “Those vines seemed to be alive!”
“It’s not just a feeling, it is definitely alive. It has intelligence.” Fan Jialuo slowly walked down the mountain.
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying it has awakened a spirit?” Chief Yan asked, staggering as he chased after him.
“Yes.”
Upon hearing this answer, Chief Yan tripped and fell on the spot.
“Is it harmful? What does it want to do?” Chief Yan asked hastily, ignoring the mud all over his mouth.
“Haven’t you realized it yet?” Fan Jialuo stood at the foot of the towering mountain made of piled-up bones, tracing the misty, wrecked valley with his fingertips, and said, “It uses human bones, flesh, and blood as fertilizer. If it wants to continue growing, it will kill people, kill many people.”
Chief Yan turned to look at the countless skeletons, his voice trembling uncontrollably, “Kill many people…… but just how many is ‘many’?”
“Probably until there is no one left to kill.” Fan Jialuo said in a calm tone, giving an incredibly terrifying answer.
Chief Yan’s head buzzed, and he collapsed onto the pile of bones.
Immediately afterward, a technician climbed out of the mountain and shouted, “Chief, there are traces of plant roots here. We deduce that the plant was enormous, but it disappeared, as if it grew legs and slipped away underground! Chief Yan, I’m really not lying to you!”
“I know!” Chief Yan shouted, then slumped down completely.
“Why is it so hard for me? Just my luck. I take over the Special Defense Bureau, and suddenly every freaky, unnatural case under the sun breaks out. The previous Special Defense Bureau could only catch a few ghosts at most, but now it’s all monsters! Teacher Fan, how do we solve this case? Where are we going to catch that plant? It slipped out of the ground, and we can’t burrow underground!” Chief Yan pounded his forehead in frustration.
“It’s already escaped and we can’t catch it for now. Let’s find the mastermind behind the switch of those national treasures first.” Fan Jialuo said calmly.
Chief Yan, still grappling with a major unsolved case, collapsed to the ground, utterly disgraceful, feeling utterly hopeless. ——
Fan Jialuo returned to the old residence under cover of night, went into the basement, and hugged Xu Yiyang, who was still fast asleep, as if he had never left.
Meanwhile, Song Rui, who got up in the early morning to drink water, found an unread message in his WeChat, sent by Fan Jialuo. He immediately opened it, then spat out a mouthful of water, coughing and choking, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
He propped his forehead up with his hand, but it couldn’t hide the endless happiness and joy flowing from his bright eyes.
He tapped his finger and quickly replied with an okay.
Above this message, Fan Jialuo asked in a calm tone: 【Would it be alright if you moved in with me?】
The next day, Song Rui and Fan Jialuo had arranged to move together, but on the way, they were abruptly stopped by Chief Yan and taken to port city to meet with four renowned collectors and have their treasures appraised.
The four collectors were very cooperative, bringing all the antiques they had collected over the years.
Fan Jialuo sensed each of them, repeatedly shaking his head in denial, “Fake, fake, fake……”
The four collectors turned pale, as if they couldn’t believe it or felt like they’d been ripped off, and were heartbroken.
Finally, Fan Jialuo’s palm hovered before a lotus flower carved from pink Dushan jade, reflecting the sun. He shook his head and said, “It’s still fake.” Yet he didn’t move for a long time, as if he had discovered some major problem.
Chief Yan, who was frightened by him, reflexively became nervous.
QT- I’m Almost Died
The Villain Becomes The White Moonlight
Did The Affectionate Love Interest Collapse Today?
I Have A Secret
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