Clang—
Inside the Xu residence, the study door was kicked open, the wooden door slamming against the wall with a deafening sound, startling the night owl in the corner of the yard into flapping its wings and darting into the sky.
In the study, Xu Jixin was frantically working on a table full of circuit diagrams, his pen tip hovering over the paper, comparing them repeatedly. Suddenly, he was startled by the loud noise, his hand trembled, and the pen drew a crooked ink mark on the diagram.
He was about to angrily rebuke who was so insolent when a figure burst through the study door and rushed in.
Cheng Muyun was covered in mud, his military boots leaving muddy marks on the floor. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. His usually sharp and calm eyes were now frighteningly red, but his eyes were as bright as two burning flames. He exuded a strange excitement that was almost manic.
Xu Jixin, with his back to the moonlight streaming through the window, squinted before he could make out who it was. Clutching his pounding chest, he cursed under his breath, "Cheng Muyun, do you have a death wish? Breaking in in the middle of the night, you almost gave me a heart attack."
"Zhuohua is still alive!"
Cheng Muyun rushed to the desk, grabbed Xu Jixin's hand holding the pen, and said in a hoarse voice, "Xu Jixin! Zhuohua is still alive!"
Xu Jixin was already annoyed by the messy circuit diagrams, and upon hearing this, he simply waved his hand lazily, his tone somewhat perfunctory: "I know, I'm the one who told you."
Cheng Muyun, however, refused to let him go. He gripped the man's wrist tightly, his knuckles turning white, his eyes almost overflowing with light: "I just dug up Zhuohua's grave, and there was no body inside! Zhuohua didn't die, that was Hu Moli's body, and Chen Hede moved it!"
"boom--"
These words exploded like thunder in the study.
Xu Jixin's nonchalant expression froze instantly. He stared blankly at Cheng Muyun, his mouth slightly open, unable to react for a long time.
"You... went to dig up graves?" His voice was shaky, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"How would we know Zhuohua was still alive if we didn't dig up the grave?" Cheng Muyun's voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed resentment and ecstatic joy. "How would we know Chen Hede lied to all of us!"
Xu Jixin then seemed to wake up from his dream.
He slammed the pen in his hand to the ground, the ink cartridge burst open with a "pop," leaving a dark ink stain on the floor.
"Fuck him!" he cursed under his breath, abruptly standing up, his chest heaving, his eyes instantly blazing with rage. "Let's go, let's go ask him right now!"
The thought that everyone was kept in the dark and heartbroken over the fake corpse, while Chen Hede coldly watched from the sidelines with the truth in mind, made Xu Jixin tremble with anger.
He couldn't swallow this insult!
Utterly hateful!
Xu Jixin was about to rush out in a fit of rage when Cheng Muyun grabbed him.
"We can't alert them yet!" Cheng Muyun's voice was very calm, and the excitement in his eyes had been replaced by composure.
Xu Jixin was taken aback for a moment, but seeing his confident demeanor, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Then what's your good idea?"
Cheng Muyun tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and said in a deep voice, "A while ago, I was determined to die. Your father and Chen Hede took turns trying to persuade me. Who do you think was behind that?"
Xu Jixin's mouth dropped open as a thought flashed through his mind: In this world, who else but Xu Zhuohua could make Xu Shinong and Chen Hede both step forward to persuade Cheng Muyun?
Seeing that he had realized what was happening, Cheng Muyun continued, "Suppose I were arrested by people in Nanjing, falsely accused, and refused to confess, I would be executed immediately. If this news got out, do you think Zhuohua would show up on his own?"
"It definitely will!" Xu Jixin said without hesitation, his tone full of certainty.
Xu Zhuohua would never stand by and watch Cheng Muyun get into trouble.
“Therefore, we cannot alert them.” Cheng Muyun’s eyes sharpened. “First, spread this false information throughout the entire eastern and southern routes, making everyone believe it to be true. Then, keep a close eye on any unusual activity in various places. We will definitely be able to find Zhuohua before Chen Hede notices.”
Xu Jixin's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh hard: "Great! We'll do it your way!"
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a determined gleam in each other's eyes.
The long-standing game of chess is finally about to reach a breaking point.
The following day, Cheng Muyun was arrested by the government for smuggling arms, kidnapping Japanese, and harming civilians.
Despite numerous attempts to help, Cheng Muyun failed to confess, and news spread that those in power intended to execute him.
On the third day, a suicide note from Cheng Muyun, written to his deceased wife, was published in the newspaper and circulated widely.
Those who read this letter cannot help but admire Cheng Muyun's deep remembrance of his deceased wife and marvel at the existence of such profound love in the world.
When Xu Zhuohua received the carefully prepared suicide note, the rain outside the window had just stopped, and water was still dripping from the eaves, tapping on the bluestone slabs, as if adding a death-dealing rhythm to the dull afternoon.
Xu Zhuohua sat at the pear wood desk, a silver-handled fountain pen between his fingers, hovering over the map of the eastern and southern routes.
The map was densely marked with red and blue arrows. The red arrows indicated the troop deployment for the encirclement, while the blue arrows indicated Cheng Muyun's possible escape routes. She was deducing the optimal escape route for Cheng Muyun.
With a "bang," the half-closed wooden door was kicked open, interrupting her train of thought.
Xinghua stumbled in, her hair half-undone and her cotton skirt stained with mud, clearly having run all the way back.
She clutched a newspaper tightly in her arms; the paper was crumpled, and the exposed corners were printed with bold, dark headlines.
That face, which usually wore a憨笑 (a kind of憨笑 is a Chinese idiom meaning a simple, honest, and kind smile), was now as white as paper, its lips trembling, and the terror in its eyes seemed about to overflow.
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