Chapter 254 Full of Mysteries
As was her word, Aunt Mei came again the next day.
This time she didn't bring any gifts, only a small food box containing Shanghai-style pastries she made herself, which were sweet but not greasy and very delicate.
Meng Wan became even more enthusiastic towards her, reaching out to take the box.
"Mother, you've gone to so much trouble. Please, come in and sit down."
"We're all family, there's no need to be so formal," Aunt Mei said with a gentle smile, her gaze naturally falling on Lu Jingyue, who was sitting quietly in the living room.
Lu Jingyue seemed a little better today than yesterday. She was no longer staring blankly; instead, she was holding a book, and although she was flipping through it slowly, at least she was taking some initiative.
Su Wantang sat on a single sofa not far away, holding a book in her hands, but her eyes never left her "aunt" out of the corner of her eye.
"The weather is nice today, let me take Yueyue for a walk in the flower garden in the backyard, let her get some sunshine, it's good for the child," Aunt Mei suggested.
“Great idea!” Meng Wan immediately agreed.
Su Wantang put down her book and stood up as well. "I'll go with you."
The flower garden in the backyard was already taking shape. Meng Wan was very efficient, and in just two days, she had various precious flowers transplanted, making it a beautiful sight with its vibrant colors.
Aunt Mei pushed Lu Jingyue's wheelchair slowly through the flowers, humming her unique folk song as she pointed to the various flowers and explained them to Lu Jingyue in a soft voice.
"Look, Yueyue, this is called a bird of paradise. Doesn't it look like a little bird about to take flight?"
"This is a violet, the color is so beautiful..."
Su Wantang followed a few steps behind them, her hands in her coat pockets, looking relaxed.
A gust of wind blew by, and Granny Mei raised her hand to tidy up her disheveled hair.
In that instant, the emerald green jade bracelet on her wrist slid down an inch, revealing the inside of her wrist. Su Wantang's pupils contracted slightly.
The clasp of the jade bracelet was not decorated with ordinary patterns, but with an exquisite eagle-shaped symbol that seemed ready to take flight.
The mark is very small and extremely finely carved. The eagle's eye is inlaid with a ruby smaller than a grain of rice. If you don't look closely, you would just think it's an ordinary decoration.
Su Wantang's heart skipped a beat. She remembered that there were many eagle markings on Lu's second uncle's property, in Hong Kong, and elsewhere!
She subtly shifted her gaze, as if she hadn't seen anything.
"Grandma Mei, your bracelet is so beautiful, the quality is so good." Su Wantang stepped forward and exclaimed naturally, her gaze falling on the translucent jade bracelet.
Aunt Mei's smile deepened. "Wantang has a good eye. This was a gift from my husband years ago. I've worn it for decades. It's not worth much money; it's just a keepsake."
As she spoke, she naturally pulled her sleeve down, just enough to cover the eagle-shaped clasp.
Su Wantang sneered inwardly, but her face showed a sincere longing.
"My great-aunt and uncle had a really good relationship. When my mother was alive, she always said that all a woman wants in her life is a caring and considerate person who understands her needs."
Granny Mei's eyes flickered, she sighed, and reached out to stroke the back of Su Wantang's hand.
"Yes, Xiuzhu, that child, had such a tragic fate. She was intelligent from a young age, the most outstanding among the Bai family's generation. It's a pity, such beauty is often short-lived..."
Her words were full of regret, and she spoke eloquently about the Bai family's past, even mentioning the names and anecdotes of several collateral relatives known only to the elders of the Bai family.
Everything was flawless.
If it weren't for that eagle-shaped mark, Su Wantang would almost have believed it.
...
At the same time, at a secret outpost in the western suburbs of Beijing.
The underground interrogation room was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a foul odor that was a mixture of blood and sweat.
Qian Weiguo was tied to the chair like a lump of mud, his whole body soaked, it was hard to tell whether it was cold sweat or water.
Lu Jingyan sat opposite him, toying with a sharp scalpel in his hand, its blade reflecting a cold light in the dim light. He didn't speak or make a move, just watched quietly.
This silent oppression is more devastating than any form of torture.
Standing to the side, Gao Jianjun felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Qian Weiguo. This Brigade Commander Lu's methods of interrogating people were truly capable of grinding even the toughest man to dust.
“Lu…Lu Jingyan…kill me…” Qian Weiguo’s lips trembled, his voice hoarse.
Lu Jingyan finally made a move. He stood up, walked to Qian Weiguo's side, and gently patted his face with the scalpel in his hand.
“Kill you? That would be too easy for you.” His voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling undertone. “I’ve heard that when a person’s pain receptors are stimulated to an extreme degree, they can produce some interesting hallucinations. I want to try it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist and the tip of the knife precisely pierced the gap in Qian Weiguo's shoulder blade.
"ah--!"
A scream that sounded inhuman echoed in the interrogation room.
The intense pain brought Qian Weiguo to the brink of mental collapse. He began to ramble incoherently, his eyes glazed over, and he kept muttering to himself.
"...Sir...Shadow...Immortality..."
This was all information that had already been extracted. Lu Jingyan frowned, about to intensify his efforts, when Qian Weiguo's unfocused pupils suddenly focused for a moment, and he uttered a few new words.
"Moonlight Grass...we need to find Moonlight Grass..."
He seemed to be caught up in some kind of obsession, repeatedly murmuring those three words.
“Moonlight Grass… ‘Honeycomb’…Sir needs…Moonlight Grass…”
Lu Jingyan stopped moving.
Moonflower?
He immediately thought of the tattered logbook in the Northwest underground base, which mentioned the "Moon God Project" many times!
Moon goddess, moonlight.
This is no coincidence!
He gestured for Gao Jianjun to continue, then quickly walked out of the interrogation room and immediately dialed the dedicated phone line for Courtyard No. 1.
At that time, Su Wantang had just "seen off" Granny Mei and was sitting in the study, drawing the eagle-shaped mark from her memory on a blank sheet of paper.
The phone rang, and she answered it.
“It’s me.” Lu Jingyan’s voice was a little hurried. “During the interrogation of Qian Weiguo just now, he mentioned something called ‘Moonlight Grass’.”
Su Wantang tightened her grip on the pen.
He said that "Mr. Shadow" desperately needed this kind of thing, and it was also related to "the Hive".
After hanging up the phone, Su Wantang didn't hesitate at all. With a thought, she instantly entered the Begonia Space.
She rushed into the Inheritance Library and began frantically flipping through the rare books her mother had left behind. These books covered a wide range of subjects, many of which were ancient texts that had long been lost to the outside world.
Finally, in a yellowed book called "Tales of Strange Herbs", she found a record about "Moonlight Grass".
The book describes Moonlight Grass as a legendary plant that grows on cliffs in extremely cold regions. It is entirely silvery-white and only blooms with pale blue flowers on the night of a full moon, absorbing moonlight. Its sap has a peculiar fragrance that can profoundly affect a person's mind. If mixed with several other specific plant extracts and aided by special methods, it can be used to selectively erase or implant memories.
This description perfectly matches the theory about "using biological extracts in conjunction with electromagnetic pulses to manipulate memory" recorded in another rare book of my mother's!
Su Wantang's heart was pounding.
The appearance of Granny Mei and Qian Weiguo's revelation of the "Moonlight Grass"—these two seemingly unrelated clues were connected at this moment by an invisible hand!
Granny Mei approached Lu Jingyue not to awaken her memories, but to find the whereabouts of the "Moonlight Grass" through her!
And the "Moonlight Grass" is very likely the most crucial piece of the core data that the mother took away back then!
The undercurrents in Beijing are rapidly converging.
When Lu Jingyan returned to Courtyard No. 1 at night, Su Wantang was still sitting in the study.
He pushed open the door and went in, and saw her sitting in the darkness, with only the moonlight from the window shining on her, outlining her slender figure.
He didn't turn on the light, walked over, and pulled her into his arms from behind.
"Have you found out everything?" He rested his chin on the top of her head, inhaling her pleasant fragrance.
"Yes." Su Wantang laid out her findings and speculations.
Lu Jingyan tightened his grip on her, almost as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones. He could feel the person in his arms trembling slightly, not from fear, but from an irrepressible excitement and murderous intent.
"They want the Moonlight Grass, they want what my mother left behind." Su Wantang's voice was cold. "I'll let them come and take it."
She turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and looked up into his deep eyes. "Jingyan, the capital is about to get lively."
Lu Jingyan didn't say anything, but lowered his head and kissed her fiercely.
The kiss was full of possessiveness and an undeniable declaration. He pried open her teeth, his lips burning hot.
......
He sensed that the invisible net of "Mr. Shadow" was tightening around them, and his Wan Tang was standing at the center of that net, ready to use herself as bait.
This pained him, and it drove him mad.
When the kiss ended, both of them were slightly out of breath. Su Wantang's cheeks were flushed with an alluring blush, and her peach blossom eyes were glistening with tears.
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