Chapter 120120 Wu Qingchu
After some inquiries, Tu Lanxun and others finally learned that the mummy's real name was Wu Qingchu.
In the closed office, Wu Qingchu's body was temporarily placed aside, while he himself - or his soul - sat on the sofa, with the instruments that blocked the Fourth Treaty flashing around him.
"When I died... I was probably forty-one years old," Wu Qingchu recalled.
His soul was much more respectable than his body. He was a tall, thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses, with an intellectual temperament.
"I was a teacher when I was alive," said Wu Qingchu.
Li Ao couldn't help but ask, "Which school? Is it from Lucheng?"
Wu Qingchu adjusted his glasses and said bleakly, "He's from Lucheng, but not in any school."
How can you be a teacher if you are not in school?
"I'm a tutor," Wu Qingchu explained, "and I only serve one student's family."
Wu Qingchu's resume was quickly retrieved, a brilliant educational experience that was considered glorious in that era.
He was born in a county town near Lucheng. He worked hard as a teenager and was admitted to one of the best universities in the country. He then went abroad for further studies. After graduation, he had a brief employment experience abroad. In the end, he was blamed for an accident at work and lost his job.
"That's when Kris invited me," Wu Qingchu recalled. "He said he had a mischievous nephew who was preparing for college entrance exams. He wanted me to be his full-time teacher. The annual salary was quite impressive by domestic standards."
So Wu Qingchu returned to Lucheng and became Dong Tianlong's tutor.
Tu Lanxun suddenly had a premonition, and she asked cautiously, "The cause of your death couldn't be..."
Wu Qingchu smiled bitterly: "Yes, five years ago, Dong Tianlong did it himself."
He gestured to his chest and back with his hands. "He loves collecting rapiers. There are four hanging in the study room where we have classes. He used the unsharpened one to stab me..."
Wu Qingchu died five years ago, when Dong Tianlong was already in his early thirties. No one understood why, even if he was a surly, lawless second-generation rich kid, he would have murdered the tutor who had been with him for over a decade.
"Why?" Xiao Zhang couldn't help but ask, "This is too beastly."
Wu Qingchu's face showed a complicated expression. He said slowly, "Dong Tianlong is a person who is hard to describe with a simple label."
The Dong Tianlong described by Wu Qingchu is different from the Dong Tianlong described by Jin Kun and N. In Wu Qingchu's description, the seventeen or eighteen-year-old Dong Tianlong he first knew was a sunny, silly child with the rudeness and arrogance given by his growing environment, but a little kind in his arrogance.
"He's more like an ignorant older brother. When we met, I was only eight years older than him." Wu Qingchu sighed, "He's the kind of kid who shows off his limited edition motorcycles and luxury goods to you in the morning, and in the afternoon he gives you a helmet and says, 'Brother, come with me for a ride in the mountains.'"
Wu Qingchu inevitably began to recall from the very beginning. It was a long and complicated story, but Wen Chong and Li Ao did not interrupt. Perhaps traces of Dong Yijian and Kris could be seen in Dong Tianlong's life over the past decade.
"He doesn't read, and even if he does, he can't understand. Whatever I teach him today, he forgets tomorrow. He's completely focused on playing and isn't even interested in inheriting the family business." Wu Qingchu changed the subject. "At first, I thought it was just the kind of laziness that children from wealthy families easily fall into, but I've discovered something different, and it's one of the reasons I've stayed with the Dong family for over a decade. The main reason, of course, is money."
Tu Lanxun replied at the right moment: "What are those characteristics?"
Amidst the curling incense, Wu Qingchu took a cup of warm water, drank a sip, and said, "Melancholy."
He used the word "melancholy" instead of "depression." But it makes sense when you think about it: Dong Tianlong likely has family relationships where his material needs are oversatisfied, while his emotional needs are relatively lacking—his father and uncle are both very busy.
"Where's Dong Tianlong's mother?" Tu Lanxun asked, "or anyone else who takes care of him? Have they never shown up?"
Wu Qingchu shook his head. "I've never met Dong Tianlong's mother. Dong Yijian and Kris are both legally single. I never pry into these things. It would ruin my job."
So in Wu Qingchu's recollection, Dong Tianlong was a clichéd, lonely second-generation rich kid in many stories, full of bad habits. He could barely be considered a human being, at least at that age, he had not done anything to harm others - if the mental damage caused by his stupid show-off and domineering behavior was not counted.
But as he grew older, Dong Tianlong's lovable "childlike" nature suddenly disappeared, and his face flashed with the light of a carnivore that was artificially fed and fat, fierce and greasy, representing the occupation of the top ecological niche rather than any hunting ability.
"He talked more and more when he was drunk, but his eyes became more and more silent," Wu Qingchu said. "I guess something unknown happened in his family at that time."
Li Ao asked, "Have you tried to persuade him?"
According to the investigation, Dong Tianlong was involved in many negative incidents in his twenties, such as drunk driving, driving into people, and smashing up nightclubs, but they were all cleared up, just like the kidnapping of Tu Lanxun.
Wu Qingchu was silent for a moment, then spoke again, "In the beginning, I tried to persuade him. But his attitude was very intense, and the teacher-student relationship between us—or rather, the master-servant or brotherly relationship—was broken for a time."
"Does Kris or Dong Yijian know about Dong Tianlong's change?" Tu Lanxun grasped the key point.
Wu Qingchu thought for a few seconds and replied uncertainly, "When they met each other on a daily basis, they should have noticed a change in him. Although Tianlong was very good at playing the good boy in front of his father and uncle, there were a few times during that time when he was too lazy to act and directly exposed his hostility and rudeness at the dinner table."
Wen Chong's eyes turned, "Dong Yijian, what's brother Kris's reaction?"
"This is what I find most strange." Wu Qingchu showed a confused expression. "They didn't react at all."
"It's as if... Dong Tianlong was destined to become that annoying second-generation rich kid. I don't understand." Wu Qingchu's emotions were slightly agitated, but were quickly diluted by a broader sense of sadness. "Kris and Dong Yijian are both elites themselves. Aside from scolding him a few times and privately asking me to keep an eye on Dong Tianlong... they seemed to think Dong Tianlong's decline was normal."
The strange thing is that Kris and Dong Yijian brothers only have one child, Dong Tianlong. Even Wu Qingchu said that they have no illegitimate children.
Who would allow their only heir to become so decadent?
"There are two possibilities." Tu Lanxun glanced at Wen Chong, "The first is that Kris has another spiritual world that transcends the world, and Dong Yijian may also share that world." She chose an obscure statement.
"The second possibility is that they know the underlying reasons behind Dong Yijian's downfall better than anyone else, and the problem lies with them. Only those who caused all this know how reasonable the collapse of appearances is."
Wu Qingchu lost his voice and said, "Officer, are you trying to say that Dong Tianlong was actually hurt like this by Dong Yijian and Kris?"
Tu Lanxun: "Otherwise, why would he vent his anger on his father and uncle? As you said, even when Dong Tianlong was a very rebellious boy, he never behaved in such a disobedient manner."
Wu Qingchu slowly leaned back into the sofa, muttering something, and then managed to straighten his expression. "Maybe what you said is true. But everything has already happened."
"Is there a clear time point?" Li Ao asked.
Wu Qingchu shook his head. "I don't remember clearly. Including the five years I spent wandering in the mountains after my death, that was about ten years ago."
Li Ao said, "Okay. Now let's talk about the most important thing. Why did Dong Tianlong kill you?"
Tu Lanxun felt that Dong Tianlong had gone completely crazy in his later years, so it would not be surprising if he killed Wu Qingchu because of a momentary emotional attack.
Because Dong Tianlong had experienced a kidnapping case at that time, he had tasted the feeling of having other people's lives at his mercy. He felt the sense of power that came from sitting at the poker table, even if it was essentially a robbery.
But the answer Wu Qingchu gave was unexpected.
Wu Qingchu clenched his teeth, his eyes rimmed with red hatred, but he bit his cheeks until the muscles bulged. Finally, he let out a long sigh, "Dong Tianlong didn't kill me."
Li Ao looked at him sternly. "That's completely different from the version you just gave. You're changing your confession out of personal feelings. The consequences will affect the progress of the entire case and cause more people to suffer."
"I understand, Officer. The day he was killed, I no longer felt any brotherly affection for Dong Tianlong. I hate his family more than anyone else." Wu Qingchu was a little lost in his own emotions, his eyes blank. "But at least, the final blow wasn't delivered by Dong Tianlong."
"Who is it?"
"Huang He Jiang." Wu Qingchu replied: "He also has a nickname, called Morning Glory."
#
Five years ago.
Wu Qingchu is just in his early forties and has not yet married. His career as a tutor seems to be able to last a lifetime. As long as Dong Tianlong still needs a symbolic "friend", he will have a lot of money to earn.
He didn't dare start a family. The Dong family's group and hospital were so powerful, and countless dark forces flowed behind them. The fact that they could help Dong Tianlong deal with the serious consequences of his rage was just the tip of the iceberg. It would not tolerate betrayal. Like a vine, it would actively entwine everyone involved.
Wu Qingchu didn't want his future wife and children to live under the shadow of the Dong family. Even if it temporarily served as a shelter, its situation would still cast a heavy shadow on him.
So for the umpteenth time, Wu Qingchu submitted his resignation to Dong Yijian.
For many years—at least after his initial awakening—Wu Qingchu had avoided getting involved in the Dong family's secrets. He wanted to say goodbye to this past. But Dong Yijian undoubtedly rejected his resignation.
"Tianlong is our collective hard work." The elegant middle-aged man smiled and said, "We cherish Teacher Wu very much. You are the only one who can stabilize him."
Wu Qingchu repeatedly reiterated that Dong Tianlong was already in his thirties and no longer needed a tutor. They hadn't spoken in over a month. Wu Qingchu no longer played any role in Dong Tianlong's world.
Dong Yijian listened carefully to all of Wu Qingchu's arguments, and he slowly put forward a condition: if he helped Dong Tianlong trim the last slanting branch, he would agree to Wu Qingchu's resignation, and everyone would part ways amicably.
Who knew that it was this last mission that cost Wu Qingchu his life.
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