Chapter 63 Illusion
Jiang Mu lives in an ordinary residential area. When passing by the fitness equipment beside the green belt, the old men and women who were sitting and chatting stopped talking, and their eyes scanned Li Xiaogou up and down like laser radars, and they all showed satisfied smiles.
"Xiao Jiang, are you bringing your friends back for dinner?"
"Oh, yes, hello, Grandma Wang."
"How old is your friend? Do you work in the same unit? Is he single? Where does he live?"
"The boy is so handsome. He looks exactly like that celebrity called, what's-what's-his-name Kitten. Does he usually have a lot of girls chasing after him?"
Li Xiaomao subconsciously leaned back, avoiding the old man's piercing gaze. He was wearing a beige tracksuit today, and his freshly washed hair was tangled and covered his forehead, giving him the appearance of a clear-headed college student.
Jiang Mu sighed, thinking that Li Xiaogou's face was too ostentatious. He smiled apologetically at the old men and women, grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.
Li Xiaogou was pulled back to look at the petrified expressions of the old men and women, and raised the corners of his lips slightly.
After running all the way to Jiang Mu's building, Jiang Mu let go of Li Xiaogou and shook his head, saying, "You're so insecure! Do you know I just saved you from a dangerous situation? If you had acted a little later, you'd be someone else's son-in-law today!"
"Don't worry, they won't want me to be their son-in-law now."
As they talked, they walked into the elevator. Jiang Mu was curious: "Why?"
Li Xiaogou raised the corner of his lips: "Because they thought I was the son-in-law of the Jiang family."
Jiang Mu was stunned for a second, then his whole body turned red when he realized what was happening.
"I, you, I, I—"
"You're straight. Don't worry, I know." Li Xiaogou said, looking at the jumping numbers. "Otherwise, it would be hard to explain your emotional intelligence."
The elevator stopped on the 13th floor.
This number is a taboo in foreign countries. In the early years, foreign culture was popular in Daxia, and the houses on this floor were not easy to sell.
Jiang Mu came out of the red heat just now, chattering about how his father bought this large flat at a low price.
"This is a river view apartment. My dad was injured and retired, and he received a pension. I happened to come across this great opportunity, so I decided to buy this house immediately. Now the price has doubled."
Li Xiaogou held his chin and looked at Jiang Mu. He had never realized that he was so obsessed with money before.
Jiang Mu made him a cup of tea, went into the kitchen to cut a plate of fruit, put on an apron and started making dumplings.
Li Xiaogou pried open the veins on the orange, slowly put it into his mouth, and asked, "Do you cook at home?"
Jiang Mu skillfully mixed the dumpling filling. "You know what the Special Investigation Bureau is like. It's normal to not see anyone for three to five days when they're on a mission. When I was little, they would even let me eat in the bureau cafeteria for free. Now that I'm in school, I feel embarrassed to eat and drink for free, so I have to cook for myself."
"Didn't your father retire later? You were still young when he retired, right?" Li Xiaogou leaned against the door and asked curiously.
Jiang Mu didn't even raise his head. He spread the dumpling wrapper in his palm and wrapped a plump dumpling with his hands. His technique was better than that of the chef in the dumpling shop.
"I have to study and pay my mortgage. Since the Special Investigation Bureau can't do it, he went out to find a job."
"What?"
"I've done everything: selling breakfast, driving long distances, working as a security guard, and then I opened a security company, which gradually became successful."
Jiang Mu was halfway through his words when he looked up at Li Xiaogou and said, "Are you checking the household registration? Come and help!"
Li Xiaogou: "...I am a guest."
Jiang Mu ignored him, forced him to wash his hands, then stuffed a dumpling wrapper into his palm and asked him to follow the steps to learn how to make dumplings.
Although Li Xiaogou lived two lives, he was busy with revenge and looking for people all his life, and he really didn't have the skill of making dumplings.
Just as his first big dumpling was born, the sound of a door opening was heard.
Jiang Mu ran out in a flash.
Li Xiaogou also followed. He saw Jiang Mu bend down and take out slippers from the shoe cabinet and put them at the door. Then he took the black briefcase from the middle-aged man and put it away. Then he took the man's arm and helped him change his shoes. Finally, he put the shoes the man wore outside on the empty space on the shoe rack.
Jiang Mu and the man did not communicate at all, but their gestures were in perfect sync. It was obvious that this was not the first time they had done this.
Li Xiaogou knew that Jiang Mu was filial, but he didn't expect that he had such a good relationship with his adoptive father.
The man changed his shoes and looked up to see Li Xiaogou. A smile appeared on his calm face. "You are Jiang Mu's deputy captain, Li Xiaogou, right?"
He said, extending his hand.
"Hello, uncle." Li Xiaogou smiled and shook his hand.
The man in front of me is Jiang Yao. Perhaps because he has been traveling for a long time, he looks older than his actual age, but his straight face, thick eyebrows and smile make people feel close to him.
"Jiang Mu didn't tell me you were coming until I was already home. I didn't even have time to go buy some vegetables. This guy is always like this, treating me like a useless person."
Jiang Mu Jiaozi poked his head out of the kitchen: "Dad! I don't treat you as a useless person. Li Xiaogou is not an outsider. He is happy enough just eating the dumplings I made. It's not worth you making another trip."
Jiang Yao: "What Li Xiaogou? He's your boss. He's younger than you and has been in the Special Investigation Bureau for a shorter time than you, yet he's already made so many contributions. And look at you, you leave work on time every day and rush back to cook for a cripple like me. Will I starve to death if I skip a meal?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Jiang Mu responded good-temperedly. He held a plate in each hand, opened the curtain with his mouth, and brought out two plates of hot dumplings like an acrobat.
Li Xiaogou looked with wide eyes, everything in front of him was unfamiliar to him.
If his father were still alive, would he also pretend to obey and appear happy even when being scolded?
Jiang Mu gave him a look, and he collected his thoughts and thought about the purpose of his visit today.
"I heard that uncle likes to drink white wine, so I brought a bottle here and I'll have a drink with you today."
He filled Jiang Yao's glass and poured himself a full one as well.
Jiang Yao was fond of drinking, so he took the wine glass and took a big sip without hesitation. Then he sighed with satisfaction, feeling relaxed all over and his face turned rosy.
Li Xiaogou was not so lucky. The 50-proof liquor was still too strong for him. Every sip felt like a blunt knife cutting his throat. It was so spicy that he couldn't stand it. Even his head felt hot. If it were winter, he suspected that smoke would come out of his head.
After three toasts, just when Li Xiaogou was about to pick up the fourth glass of wine, Jiang Yao's big hand like a palm-leaf fan covered the rim of his glass.
"Wine should be savored. How can you drink it like this? It's a waste! Leave the rest for me to drink. While you're still sober, tell me what you want from me?"
Li Xiaogou knew that Jiang Mu must have informed him in advance. He looked at Jiang Mu with gratitude and asked about the situation in Funing Village.
Jiang Yao glanced at him and asked, "Which temple are you investigating?"
"You know him?"
Jiang Yao sneered: "I lost my leg just to save him, how could I not recognize him?"
This is really an unexpected discovery.
What surprised Li Xiaogou even more was Jiang Yao’s next words.
"Are you sure you want to know the secret of that place? Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back. What I know might make it difficult for you to continue working in the Special Investigation Bureau. Think it over carefully before coming back to me."
Between the identity of a Special Investigation Bureau agent and this life, of course, life is more important.
He said without hesitation, "I'm sure. I won't regret it."
Jiang Yao sighed: "Jiang Mu, you go out first."
Jiang Mu obediently left. After his footsteps faded away, Jiang Yao slowly spoke: "He Si is not called He Si. His real name is Qi Sheng. He is from the Qi family."
"Look at my memory. You don't know the Qi family in this life."
"The Qi family was once a large family on par with the Yun family. Qi Sheng was the third son of the Qi family, so Yunlou should have called him Third Uncle. Something happened to the Qi family, and it was destroyed overnight. Qi Sheng and several of his former subordinates escaped and fled all the way to Funing Village, where Yunlou's power was entangled and complex. But he was just a young man before, and he had never experienced hardship. After hiding in the village for a while, he revealed his wealth and was targeted by a gang. I happened to be there on a mission at the time, and saw those people about to throw him into the ravine after he fainted, so I rescued him. However, I overestimated myself. Although he saved him, his leg was also crippled."
"Qi family...what happened back then?"
"I don't know. The situation was very complicated at the time. I only know that everyone in the Qi family died except Qi Sheng."
"How do you know He Si is Qi Sheng?"
Jiang Yao raised the corners of his lips, his smile revealing a hint of self-mockery: "Qi Sheng told me himself. When I rescued him, I was on an undercover mission and didn't reveal my identity. Later, when we escaped together, he trusted me and told me his true identity."
"Is there anything else strange about that village?"
"Weird? What kind?"
"For example, something related to the Destroyer."
Jiang Yao was stunned for a second, then smiled and shook his head: "So what you really want to investigate is the identity of the Destroyer. There is no such person, at least I haven't found it. I can also tell you with certainty that Qi Sheng has nothing to do with the Destroyer."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because of age. The earliest prophecy about the Destroyer existed before Qi Sheng was born. Even if the Destroyer really existed, it would have been Qi Sheng's father's generation."
Although he didn't get any clues about the Destroyer, knowing the origin of He Temple made it not a wasted trip. Li Xiaogou was a straightforward person, so he drank two more glasses of white wine, rushed into the toilet and vomited for half an hour before being helped away by Jiang Mu.
The moon was above the willows, and Jiang Mu helped him lean on the swing next to the fitness equipment.
At this moment, all the old men and women had gone home, and there were only two people in the huge square. The night breeze was a little cool, and Li Xiaogou became a little more sober.
Jiang Mu was still in his pajamas, his arms folded across his chest as he stared at him speechlessly: "My dad is probably even more suspicious of how I lost to you."
"I'll call a taxi for you."
Li Xiaogou slowly shook his head: "I want to stay here for a while and gather my thoughts. Don't worry, I'm sober and I can go back by myself."
Jiang Mu saw that his dark eyes still had spirit in them, so he let him go, but before leaving he bought him a bottle of iced green tea.
Only after watching Jiang Mu's figure disappear into the dark building did Li Xiaogou withdraw his gaze.
The dim night light obscured his dark eyes and concealed his turbulent emotions.
He was a suspicious person. Even though he believed Jiang Mu and Wang Bo, he could not trust Jiang Yao, so when he met Jiang Yao, he used his supernatural powers.
He saw the story Jiang Yao told him, and also saw the tiny Jiang Mu, covered in dog blood, abandoned in a barren grassland, just because he awakened his superpowers. He also saw how Jiang Yao and Jiang Mu lived together in support of each other.
He was even moved.
However, Jiang Yao, who claimed that he did not have any advanced supernatural powers, was told by the system that his supernatural power level was too high to be copied.
He slowly raised his head and looked towards the window of Jiang Mu's house. Behind the heavy curtains, was there a middle-aged man observing him at this moment?
"Tongzi, what is Jiang Yao's ability?"
The system was silent for a moment before answering him: "Illusion."
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