Chapter 136
The scene that Lü Jiu feared most has appeared.
He stared into Xie Xubai's eyes.
It must be admitted that these eyes always attract a strange kind of attention. The eerie gaze is dark and sticky, filled with the stench of blood, yet even after witnessing countless sufferings, it still carries a tranquil and steady light, like a lighthouse illuminating the sea in the dead of night.
At this moment, his figure was reflected like a clear mirror.
There's nothing strange about it. Lü Jiu understands Xie Xubai's character; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen this play to expose the theater's shady dealings without reservation.
He was even a little proud and satisfied, simply because the people he believed in remained the same.
At the same time, Lü Jiu felt an indescribable suffocation, abruptly turned her head to avoid Xie Xubai's gaze, and took several steps back.
Then, in a daze, I heard a crisp snap, and cold fragments slid down my cheek. Only then did I realize that I had actually cracked a corner of the mask.
The mask will fall off.
This discovery made Lü Jiu's vision go black even more than looking directly at Xie Xubai. Ignoring the fact that the broken edges would pierce his skin, he covered the mask even tighter, his pupils trembling.
At this moment, Lü Jiu wished Xie Xubai would just stab him directly.
He had this idea all along: Lü Jiu would be tried along with the Red Yin Theater and would die a worthy death, while Lü Xiangcai, who had disappeared without a trace, would live forever in his dearest friend's heart.
But Xie Xubai was too clever.
Lu Jiu didn't know when he revealed his weakness, or perhaps Xie Xubai had recognized him from the beginning. From start to finish, he was the only one who was deceiving himself and looking utterly pathetic.
It was at this moment that he saw Xie Xubai take a few steps forward and come to stand in front of him.
Lu Jiu felt inexplicably flustered and subconsciously took another step back.
However, for every step he took back, Xie Xubai took the same number of steps forward, until Lü Jiu's back slammed against the edge of the stage, leaving him nowhere to retreat. Only then did he grit his teeth and turn his head away in embarrassment: "Enough already! What exactly do you want? You can't just arrest me or kill me as you please, don't..."
Don't look at me like that.
That was almost a pleading, begging tone.
Xie Xubai's mental power could detect the most subtle and hidden emotions, so he could naturally sense the pain and panic emanating from Lü Jiu.
But he did not leave, nor did he have the law enforcement officers come and arrest the person as Lü Jiu had wished. Instead, he shifted his gaze and stared at the group of people on the stage who looked as if they had lost their parents: "I'm sorry, I just have a question."
“When you work with them, you don’t feel like you’re one of them at all,” Xie Xubai said. “I feel the same way.”
These words were spoken without hesitation, so much so that it took Lü Jiu a while to understand the unspoken meaning. Her body stiffened, and she mechanically turned her head back.
"According to my country's current laws, if a person is forced to commit a crime, the determination of whether to sentence them should be based on the actual circumstances of the case. If the circumstances of the crime are serious, it constitutes an accessory crime. For accessories, the punishment should be mitigated or waived according to the circumstances of the crime."
"Moreover, I guess you were no more than 14 years old at the time," Xie Xubai said. "Only those who are 12 years old but under 14 years old shall bear criminal responsibility if they commit intentional homicide or intentional injury resulting in death or serious injury causing severe disability by particularly cruel means, and the circumstances are egregious, and the prosecution is approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate."
Lü Jiu: "..."
Seeing his stunned expression, Xie Xubai sighed: "You were clearly present when these regulations were approved and adopted. Did you not read them carefully?"
Of course not, Lü Jiu was very attentive at the time. He dared not be careless about anything Xie Xubai entrusted to him.
He had already sentenced himself to death, so he couldn't think of any room for maneuver.
Xie Xubai looked calmly at Lü Jiu, sensing the complex and turbulent emotions churning within him: "Of course, if you don't fall into either of the above two categories, and still choose to commit a crime after developing a sound sense of right and wrong, then what awaits you is still retribution and imprisonment. I will take matters into my own hands."
...do it yourself.
Lu Jiu's eyes flickered, and his first reaction was not fear, but rather fascination with those four words.
However, Lü Jiu did not believe that it was any kind of romantic affection, and found it difficult to explain why she had such a reaction.
He quickly found the answer in Xie Xubai's attitude.
From beginning to end, he was afraid of disappointing Xie Xubai. In fact, the other party was indeed disappointed by the crimes he had committed and would take full responsibility.
He will not abandon his hatred, nor will he neglect or ignore him. Regardless of good or evil, Xie Xubai will hold his pen and write the final ending for him.
Everything about him has a place and a destination.
Although Xie Xubai could sense emotions, he wasn't so divine that he could read minds.
Lu Jiu, who was standing in front of him, seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly, he was no longer afraid of Lu Jiu's gaze. His back, which had been curled up, straightened up, and he even squinted his eyes in ecstasy.
Xie Xubai couldn't help but twitch his lips.
The huge weight that had been hanging over my heart finally lifted.
He couldn't help but feel relieved. If Lü Jiu were truly one of the main culprits, he would have shown some fear and guilt under his questioning, and certainly wouldn't have behaved like this.
He looked at the ground behind him, picked up the fallen mask fragments, dusted them off, and approached Lü Jiu.
The edges of the fragments were sharp, like blades, posing a danger. Lü Jiu's body stiffened, his gaze following Xie Xubai's finger.
Suddenly, there was silence on stage. All the staff members looked at Lü Jiu, who offered no resistance, as if they had seen a ghost.
Fortunately, Xie Xubai did not intend to do anything to Lü Jiu with the fragments; he simply placed them close to the gap in the mask.
Golden rays appeared in wisps, passing through the fragments and seamlessly stitching them together with the mask.
Xie Xubai: "I want to watch your entire performance."
Lu Jiu's heart suddenly raced, and he replied with a dazed look in his eyes, "...Okay, you're a distinguished guest, you're in charge."
If any board members who had witnessed how ruthless Lü Jiu was were present, they would probably be astonished to see him so obedient.
The scene on the other side was equally impressive. The music troupe, banging gongs and drums, stopped their performance in unison, and a dozen faces covered in paint stared at the two in a deafening silence.
After a moment of silence, someone asked ominously, "Do you intend to transfer ownership of the theater?"
These musicians with their bizarrely painted faces were fundamentally different from the fat man and his henchmen.
If Xie Xubai wanted to take action against the theater, they would act immediately, grinning maliciously, skinning the intruders to make drums, bricking their bones into the walls, washing the curtains with still-warm blood, and if the quality was good, turning them into lipstick and nail polish, without the slightest hesitation or reluctance.
They are the primal force of the theater, pure eeriness, devoid of human morality and values. This is their domain, where they can do as they please.
But if Lü Jiu were to perform all the acts for Xie Xubai, the situation would be quite different.
In this bizarre world, knowledge is a forbidden power, and the primary source of power for all living beings. The more one knows, the more one understands, and the more one masters.
Once Xie Xubai understands the theater well enough, the supernatural beings will be significantly less effective when facing him. If Xie Xubai were even more ruthless, it wouldn't be impossible for him to directly bid for and become the owner of the theater.
No, perhaps there's no need for competition. With Lü Jiu's insatiable enthusiasm, he could easily hand the theater over to the other party in no time.
They are very unhappy. They are eating people and playing with souls now, living a carefree life. Why would they want to change masters?
Special thanks to Xu Bai. He doesn't seem like he's here to join this family at all; he seems more like he's going to blow it up.
"Don't forget, you're only in charge of this theater; it's not your place to hand it over."
The vocal group stood up, and the instruments in their hands vaguely revealed human features, bulging outwards, their eyes curving with undisguised malice, exuding murderous intent.
Pei Yuheng and the others insisted on following along to prevent this from happening. The fully equipped law enforcement officers seemed to sense something, their expressions cold, and their fingers were on the trigger.
But Lü Jiu didn't let them make a move.
He chuckled at Xie Xubai, a very light and ordinary chuckle, and the arrogant vocal group seemed to have been suddenly struck a major blow, spitting blood and collapsing heavily.
Those gongs, drums, and moon lutes with human faces crashed to the ground, their strings snapped, their drumheads cracked, and bright red blood flowed from the holes, emitting a pitiful scream like that of an infant.
The vocal group may have considered confronting Lü Jiu, but their chances of winning were slim, and a draw was the most likely outcome.
But to everyone's surprise, it was a one-sided crushing, and they were all lying on the ground before they could even put up a fight.
They vomited up pieces of flesh and blood, barely managing to prop themselves up, astonished and terrified: "You, you've been gone for so many years, how can you still control this theater? How can it obey you?"
Wasn't Lü Jiu's acting position something he got by chance?
Lu Jiu touched the crack in the mask; the gold thread looked like a fine line, indicating that the seam was meticulously repaired. You couldn't even feel the crack unless you looked closely.
He had no need to explain himself to these clowns. If Xie Xubai hadn't been there, these strange occurrences would have simply turned into a pile of mud, literally mud.
But Xie Xubai was looking at him, so to make his stance clear, Lü Jiu added, "Luo Futu has been missing for so long, hasn't any of you ever wondered about his whereabouts?"
Luo Futu, the bearded man wearing a melon-shaped hat in the play, is the head of this human trafficking den, the mastermind behind countless tragedies, and the one who ordered the children to suffer such cruelty.
Yes, the suspects were all present, and the vengeful spirits of the unjustly killed were sobbing and pouring out their stories in Xie Xubai's ear. Where was Luofutu, who deserved to be torn to pieces and die to atone for his sins?
"How heartless." Lü Jiu smiled, narrowing his eyes, and kicked the stage. "He's been trampled underfoot by you all day long, how pitiful! Think about how much he valued you in his early years, and nobody even recognized him?"
The fat man and the others looked on in astonishment and looked down at their feet.
The stage has existed for as many years as the Hongyin Theater was built.
In the past, countless actors went on stage to sing and dance, and many heavy musical instruments were moved around repeatedly. They would often bump and scratch each other, leaving deep grooves and making the brick surface of the stage look ravaged and scarred.
It's unclear whether it was influenced by Lü Jiu's words or whether the latter had broken free from some kind of constraint.
The stage, which they used to find ordinary, suddenly became extremely eerie.
It was as if one could truly see the familiar face of the Buddha, a large bulge rising from the floor, then covered by floor tiles, imprinted with countless footprints of all sizes, its eyes filled with ferocious red blood vessels, groaning in pain, emitting hysterical screams.
This was a common tactic used by the Red Shadow Theater, but no one expected it to be used on the Buddha. It happened so secretly that no one noticed.
Instantly, as if electrocuted, the fat man and his gang jumped up uncontrollably, shouting, "Holy crap!"
Why was Lü Jiu able to return and take control of the theater after disappearing for so many years? Of course, it's because he killed the former owner and violently conquered the area.
He didn't take over the theater midway through; he didn't want it because he thought it was dirty, which is why he didn't take it over directly.
After saying that, Lü Jiu looked at Xie Xubai, her tone suddenly becoming aggrieved: "Let me make this clear first, he attacked me first, so wouldn't that be considered self-defense?"
"..." Xie Xubai sighed helplessly, "I will pay special attention to the situation on site when watching the show later."
Lu Jiu immediately revealed a satisfied smile, like a little bear who had just eaten honey. He was so happy that his steps were light. He took two steps to Xie Xubai, took the other's hand, and touched his heart.
Lu Jiu raised the corner of his lips: "Ordinary attack methods are useless against me. If it does not constitute legitimate self-defense, I am still guilty of a capital offense. Remember to crush my heart with your mental power."
"Also, I only accept you as the one to kill me. Anyone else, whoever they are, I will—"
Lu Jiu didn't continue speaking, but the hostility in his smile was intense.
His relaxed and harmless demeanor in front of Xie Xubai was not a pretense, and his submission to Xie Xubai was genuine. However, his cruelty and tyranny were not fake either.
He used to be human, but not anymore; he's a monster, a demon.
A distorted world, where civilization is warped.
Regarding personal grudges and acts of bravery that escalate into violence or retaliation, Xie Xubai's revised legal regulations also include a relatively complete judgment mechanism.
Therefore, Xie Xubai remained relatively calm, since this situation had been discussed in advance during a previous meeting.
Meeting Lü Jiu's meaningful smile, Xie Xubai raised his eyelids slightly, remained silent, and golden light condensed at his fingertips, instantly transforming into a pair of handcuffs. With a snap, he handcuffed Lü Jiu's wrists behind his back.
Lü Jiu: "..."
Xie Xubai remained expressionless: "Do I need to remind you? There's a time limit for appeals; if it's over, it's considered a direct waiver."
Lu Jiu twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered something under his breath, keeping his voice low so that Xie Xubai wouldn't hear.
Xie Xubai only handcuffed one wrist, so it didn't affect his movement.
Lu Jiu touched the gleaming gold handcuffs, then seemed to remember something. Suddenly, he smiled and hummed a little tune, his eyes shining as he looked at Xie Xubai.
"*Laugh at the heartless lovers in this world, lamenting their missed opportunities..."
"*Peace and prosperity arrive early, youth is in full bloom, why not enjoy life? I wish to grow old gently in this life, not envying the immortal realm among the white clouds..."
He stepped onto the stage.
The show is about to begin again.
Author's Note:
Happy New Year! 88 small red envelopes will drop in the comments!
The legal regulations are from Baidu Encyclopedia; the lyrics marked with * are excerpts from "The Palace of Eternal Life".
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