Chapter 10: The Cuckoo Occupies the Magpie's Nest (Edited) "Are you worried about me?"...
What came towards me was Lin Xi's happy smiling face.
"Have you had lunch? How was your morning?" She smiled and reached out to touch Gin's head.
Gin couldn't imagine that she could do this action so naturally.
He was already seventeen years old, but because he had been locked up in the laboratory for a long time without seeing the sunlight, his bones developed very slowly, so he was half a head shorter than Lin Xi.
But even then, he was already a very noticeable presence, standing there like a wall of silence.
If Lin Xi wanted to touch his head, she had to raise her hand very high, to an unnatural height... People would only touch the head of a child, not a teenager who was not short in height.
But Lin Xi did all this so naturally and confidently.
After touching his head, she affectionately shook his hand—it was their first handshake—and introduced him to the visitor with a smile: "This is the child. Isn't he adorable? He has unlimited potential."
If you don’t know, you might think they are introducing their own young talents.
Unlimited potential, you are talking about the experimental value of his body, right?
Gin wanted to sneer or mock, but he felt a subtle touch on his palm.
It was Lin Xi who drew a few lines on his palm with her fingers.
S.P. Y.
spy.
ha.
Spy, this guy?
The spy here refers to this guy who is not in the same camp as them, right?
"This is Karasuma Shigeharu, a medical graduate and the second young master of the Karasuma family."
Gin looked at the young man.
Karasuma Shigeharu.
This person is in the third tier of Lin Xi's murder list.
He shook Lin Xi's hand in return and gave Karasuma Maochun a polite smile: "Hello, nice to meet you, Mr. Karasuma."
Why not be polite? In Gin's eyes, he was already a dead man.
The slight anxiety I had felt when I stood at the door had long since disappeared.
Lin Xi and he were in the same camp. They were predators walking side by side, criminals in reserve who conspired together, collaborators who kept secrets from each other, companions in the struggle for power and profit, and the same kind with inflated ambitions.
Others are prey in the bush, weak lambs in the flock, food on the dinner plate, and stepping stones on the road ahead.
Only in front of each other do they not need to pretend or hide their ambitions from each other.
Holding Lin Xi's hand like this and sharing the same position with her, this subtle sense of identification made Gin excited.
No, it's not just because of this.
Also, Lin Xi is willing to explain this.
When he appeared at the entrance, the first thing she did was to comfort him - even though he didn't need comforting! But this subtle feeling of being valued did make Gin feel comfortable.
Karasuma Shigeharu felt a chill inexplicably running down his spine:?
Did this young man just want to...
Never mind, that's understandable.
No matter what, I must not forget the purpose of coming here.
Putting the little incident behind him, Karasuma Shigeharu responded to the silver-haired experimental subject's greeting with a smile.
He came here to stop Lin Xi's research.
…
Silver Bullet was disbanded by the new researcher brought into the company by my father. The most important experimental subject was also taken away by the researcher.
My father seemed to have great confidence in the new researcher's abilities.
Karasuma Shigeharu was walking in the courtyard of the Lin residence, thinking alone.
As the second young master of the Karasuma family, he certainly knew the true purpose of the Silver Bullet project's human experiments.
My father looks like a man in his nineties, but he is actually over 110 years old.
Despite various methods of extending life, death is still inevitable.
So, he spent a lot of money to get Silver Bullet and its project team from the Soviets and continued their experiments in order to find a real way to achieve immortality once and for all.
Once he succeeds, my father will no longer have to worry about his lifespan and will sit on the position of head of the Karasuma family forever.
Karasuma Shigeharu would never let that happen.
So, he took the initiative to volunteer and took on the task of monitoring Lin Xi's research progress.
Even if this would significantly slow down the implementation of his other plans.
He wanted to stop Lin Xi from successfully developing the elixir of life.
If she really figured it out...
Then the only option is to kill her.
This is a very bad idea, and Karasuma Shigeharu won't do it unless the worst happens.
Before he knew it, he had walked into the corridor of the courtyard.
Not far away were clusters of newly planted flowers. To be able to carve out such a piece of land in downtown Kyoto and use it lavishly for landscaping would require an unimaginable amount of money.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly, the flowers were swaying, and the breeze brought the fragrance of flowers. Standing in the shade of the corridor, Karasuma Shigeharu actually felt a sense of coolness and comfort.
He stood there quietly, facing this artificially cultivated sea of flowers, and his memories suddenly traveled through time and space, taking him back to his childhood.
At that time, he had not yet been taken to the exquisite but inhumane Karasuma residence. His mother would hug him when he was drowsy after noon and hum softly a song to lull him to sleep.
That ballad has now become blurred by the passage of time, and no matter how hard I try to recall it, I can't recall the specific tune. It's like the fragrance of flowers when you appreciate them, beautiful and memorable, but also so vague that it's hard to describe.
For those who have lost, memories only evoke a dull pain in the heart.
But even so, Karasuma Shigeharu was willing to endure this pain, like a person drinking poison to quench his thirst, using the pain of memories as food for revenge...
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
The boy's sharp and hoarse voice brought Karasuma Moharu back to reality from his memories.
Karasuma Moharu turned around and said in slight surprise, "Didn't Miss Lin tell you?"
Gin looked at him coldly, seemingly not caring about his question at all.
Seeing this, he smiled and explained:
"It seems I didn't tell you."
"My father cares deeply about Miss Lin and her research, so he asked me to assist her."
Concern? Haha, it's surveillance, right?
A cold murderous intent flashed across the young man's green eyes.
Karasuma Moharu raised an eyebrow in his heart.
It's coming again. This murderous intent directed at me...
Just now at the entrance, he saw the boy's instant murderous intent towards him.
His eyes could not be mistaken.
"The housekeeper has already arranged a room for me. Please take care of me during this time... Zero?"
How pitiful, he thought.
The nameless experimental subjects were locked up in a dark underground research institute, enduring the pain and discomfort brought by the drugs...
It would be fine if the research was about drugs that are beneficial to mankind, but it turns out that they are researching elixirs that serve their own selfish interests.
All the suffering he endured was just to add icing on the cake of other people's lives.
From this point of view, I am slightly better than him.
Although my mother's surname was forcibly changed, the name she gave herself has remained to this day.
The boy didn't respond to him, but just stood in the corridor and looked at him gloomily.
With him around, the atmosphere of enjoying the cool breeze and flowers was gone, and Karasuma Shigeharu also lost interest in going somewhere else.
He smiled and said goodbye, thinking that he really should tell Lin Xi to put the bracelet back on the experimental subject - after all, with the collar, the dog will not bark at its owner.
.
When Gin came to the study, he saw Lin Xi putting piles of newspapers on the table.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Ah, I'm collecting intelligence." Lin Xi shook his head. "In this era, the efficiency of collecting intelligence is really low... Fortunately, I still found some things."
"Come here, Grisha."
Gin gave her a surprised look.
Grisha was his former name.
He buried the last person he knew during the plague, and no one called him that anymore.
He approached as he was told.
The slender fingers pointed at the black and white photo.
Gin's gaze lingered on his finger for a moment before he looked at the photo Lin Xi was pointing at.
He recognized it as Karasuma Shigeharu. However, the incident was probably filmed some time ago, and Karasuma Shigeharu looked young and immature, and also very short.
He stood next to a burly man who was much taller than him, his expression stiff and his face flat with a smile facing the camera.
"You're investigating Karasuma Shigeharu," he said. "Is he important?"
It's clearly only in the third tier.
Lin Xi smiled inexplicably. "No. I'm teaching you, Grisha. Friends who often kill people know that killing is a science that requires teaching and training... So, so your name is really Grisha? This is just a name I picked from the most commonly used names in the Soviet Union."
Gin glanced at her.
"What would you do if my name wasn't Grisha? Would you call me by another name, Ivan or Nikolay?"
"If you weren't called Grisha, this wouldn't have happened." Lin Xi said, handing him the newspaper in her hand, "Let's get to the point."
The newspaper handed to him was the one with Karasuma Shigeharu's photo.
Gin noticed the caption next to the photo.
"The young master of the Karasuma family makes his debut! "
"Karasuma Shigeharu, the illegitimate son of a courtesan, has officially returned to the family. He had previously lived away from home, frequenting brothels, but after the courtesan, Hisaikei Hanai, who had been raising him, passed away, he was brought back to the family home in Tamagawa-cho, Kyoto."
"The Karasuma family has a rule that children of other surnames cannot marry into the main family. However, it seems that Miss Hisaike, before her death, begged the head of the Karasuma family to take Karasuma Shigeharu back to his biological father to take care of him. Even the head of the Karasuma family was moved by the beautiful woman's plea, and shortly after Miss Hisaike's funeral, he took his son back to the main family, and Hisaike Shigeharu changed his surname to Karasuma Shigeharu."
"Some of the elders in the family seemed very unhappy because this matter went against family rules, but under Karasuma Renya's strong insistence, they still accepted Karasuma Shigeharu."
"So he's a bastard," Gin said.
According to the newspaper, Karasuma Renya had an affair with a famous prostitute, and Karasuma Shigeharu was born as a result.
"Yes. However, since you are not familiar with Japanese culture, I need to explain it to you." Lin Xi said, "Although geishas and prostitutes—the people who actually engage in sex work—work in brothels, famous Japanese prostitutes sell their art, not their bodies."
"Their status is slightly higher than that of courtesans, and they earn money by performing music and singing at entertainment venues. The investment in training a geisha is huge, but once a geisha becomes famous and becomes a famous courtesan, her value will also become very high."
She showed Gin an older newspaper and book. The newspaper featured photos of the famous courtesan Kuikei Kaori performing, while the book was a ukiyo-e picture book depicting beautiful women, published twenty years earlier. The title page featured a beautiful woman leaning against a railing, with the small inscription "Kuikei Kaori" beside it.
"Karasuma Shigeharu's mother was the most sought-after courtesan in Kyoto at the time. The money she earned from a single performance was enough to keep her well-fed and well-clothed for three months in Kyoto, a city where every inch of land was worth a fortune."
"But at the height of her career, there was a scandal about her pregnancy."
The new report was handed to Gin.
The title is "Kusukei Hana is pregnant! The father of the child is suspected to be the head of a prominent Kyoto family..."
"As I said earlier, geishas sell their art, not their bodies," Lin Xi said. "Even before getting married, they have to retire. This scandal ruined Kuikei Kae's entire career. Plus, the Karasuma family doesn't value illegitimate children... Kuikei Kae is practically raising Karasuma Shigeharu alone."
Gin looked at Lin Xi.
"Are you trying to say that Karasuma Renya and Kuikei Kaori aren't in love with each other..."
Giving up her career on a whim doesn't seem like something a smart geisha would do.
Besides, even twenty years ago, Karasuma Renya was a real old man. The Karasuma family rules would not allow Kuikei Hana to marry into the family. Gin didn't know what she was up to.
But if it was forced, it makes sense.
Lin Xi nodded.
"I'm also surprised that Karasuma Renya agreed to Hisaikei Kaori's dying request." Lin Xi touched his chin, "And he went against everyone's opinion and insisted on bringing Karasuma Shigeharu back to the main family."
"I don't believe that bald old man is so kind. There must be something else behind this..."
"But you certainly can't find out these secrets by reading the newspaper," Gin said. "Besides, what good would it do to know what happened to him? Didn't you want to kill him in the beginning?"
"Hey, Grisha, if not killing people can bring greater benefits, why bother doing it?" Lin Xi put the newspaper aside. "Didn't you just go to see him? What kind of person do you think he is?"
Smiling tiger, Gin thought.
And those eyes of his... they make my heart flutter for some reason.
When Gin was stared at by those eyes, he felt as if he was seen through, and he felt uncomfortable all over.
"Dangerous guy." Gin said, "If you want to do anything to him, take me with you."
With Lin Xi in this state, if she were attacked, she probably wouldn't even be able to react.
"Are you worried about me, Grisha?" Lin Xi smiled.
"I'm worried about our cooperation." Gin sneered. "You said such big words yesterday and wrote a huge death list. If you are stupid enough to fall and die over such a trivial matter, I will laugh at you at your grave."
"Don't worry, I won't." Lin Xi gently touched his head, and was not annoyed when he slapped her hand away in disgust. "Didn't we make a promise? I will definitely live until the day you kill me."
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