Seeking the truth
"La la la, la la la—" Cong Yan hummed a tuneless little melody as she poured kerosene all over the room, then pushed the already lit candlestick to the ground.
The dormitory at Zhushi Academy was dilapidated, with old wood that could ignite at the slightest spark. The orange-red flames meandered into a flowing fire dragon, reflecting the desolate smile in the eyes of the woman in the center.
"Sister, Xiaoguo, I can finally avenge you." She smiled through her tears, her hair disheveled and scattered over her shoulders.
She walked step by step to the wardrobe, opened the door, and met a pair of terrified eyes.
With a handkerchief stuffed in his mouth, Hao Ziming stared wide-eyed in terror. His usually smug, fat face was now filled with pleading.
Cong Yan smiled lightly, pulled the hairpin from her hair, and pressed it against his eyelid. He trembled even more violently, his eyes darting wildly under his thin eyelids, but he couldn't escape the cold, sharp tip of the hairpin.
"Are you scared?" Cong Yan asked gently, her face framed by the orange-red curtain of fire behind her, making her look like a deadly demon crawling out of hell.
Hao Ziming started to cry, tears streaming down his face like a pitiful dog.
He was sobbing uncontrollably, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth which was being gagged, and his bound hands were waving in front of his chest in a pleading gesture.
Cong Yan sneered and plunged the hairpin deep into his eyeball. Warm drops of blood splattered onto her fingers, sticky and disgusting, and she frowned in disgust.
"That's disgusting."
Hao Ziming painfully covered his injured eyes with both hands, letting out intermittent groans.
Cong Yan coldly kicked him into the encirclement of flames, watching him writhe and howl within them, like a hideous maggot on the verge of death.
She gently closed her eyes.
*
"When will she wake up?" Zhu Qinghe asked worriedly.
"It's just excessive smoke inhalation; she'll wake up in a few hours." Shen Wumei glanced at the unconscious woman on the bed. Her beautiful face was scalded and swollen from the flames. Although her previous delicate beauty could still be vaguely seen, she would never return to her former appearance.
Why bother?
"Compared to her, Hao Ziming was the most seriously injured."
With extensive burns all over his body, he'll probably be clinging to life for the rest of his life. It's uncertain whether he'll ever wake up, and even if he does, it will be a living hell.
Zhu Qinghe didn't know what to say. She even doubted whether the frail woman who was unconscious on the bed was really the one who would do such a ruthless and decisive thing.
What is the reason behind this?
Perhaps the answer to all this will only be known when Cong Yan wakes up. However, Zhu Qinghe felt heavy-hearted, and she had a premonition that this would be another very sad story.
That night, Cong Yan woke up and, after learning of Hao Ziming's fate, remained silent for a long time before telling them the truth.
Cong Yan didn't originally study at Zhushi Academy. Her grades weren't much better than her sister's. She just loafed around at home and didn't like studying.
She was very happy for her sister after learning that she had been accepted into Zhushi Academy.
On the night before Cong Shu left home, she and her sister squeezed into one bed. The older sister's eyes shone brightly as she said, "Yan'er, I've finally done it. This world is too harsh on women. We are not allowed to do many things, but I am not resigned to this. I also want to study and become an official like men."
She thought her sister was amazing and would always remember how radiant her sister looked back then.
She firmly believed that her sister would achieve her dream, but she never expected to receive news of her sister's death three months later.
Her father fell seriously ill and never recovered. Her mother cried every day and her health deteriorated. The family was in dire straits. Helpless, she sold her land and sent her parents to her maternal uncle's house for their care. After that, she went to Zhushi School alone.
The person who brought the body said that her sister had committed suicide because she couldn't stand her poor grades, but she didn't believe it. Knowing her sister as she did, she knew her sister would never be so upset about something so trivial.
Even if her grades aren't good for a while, my sister will only work harder. She has a stronger will than most men, so how could she die for such a ridiculous reason?
Her dream wasn't fulfilled yet, how could she be willing to leave like this? Besides, didn't her sister think about her and their parents at all?
She refused to accept such an absurd and irresponsible reason; she wanted to find the truth for her sister herself.
She lingered at the school gate in the light rain, but the guards stopped her from entering. She tried to force her way in, but the guards rudely pushed her to the ground.
Just as she was filled with sorrow and despair, the rain suddenly stopped, and a warm, clean hand helped her up. The refined young man handed her his umbrella, paused for a moment after seeing her face, and instinctively asked, "Cong Shu?"
He knows my sister? Countless thoughts flashed through Cong Yan's mind. She grabbed his sleeve tightly and pulled him aside.
At that time, she was truly desperate and felt that he might be the only person who could help her.
However, Cong Yan still felt extremely regretful when she recalled that time. If she hadn't dragged him into this matter, perhaps he wouldn't have died at all.
She ruined him.
"So, with Fang Xiaoguo's help, you entered Zhushi Academy and took Cong Shu's place," Shen Wumei asked, sitting at the table. Cong Yan was still very weak and unable to get out of bed.
To avoid suspicion, a screen was placed in front of the bed. Zhu Qinghe could sit inside, but Shen Wumei could only ask questions through the screen.
“That’s right.” Cong Yan’s voice was weak but still resolute. “I entered the Bamboo Stone Academy to find out the truth about my sister’s death.”
"Did you find out?" Zhu Qinghe asked cautiously.
“Of course,” Cong Yan’s eyes flashed with intense hatred again, “It was Hao Ziming, he killed my sister.”
"Did he kill your sister?"
"Yes, and that bitch Xu Yishu too, they're in cahoots."
Zhu Qinghe and Shen Wumei exchanged a glance, and Zhu Qinghe continued to ask, "So Xu Yishu's death is also related to you?"
Cong Yan sneered: "Xu Yishu brought this upon herself. She not only harmed my sister but also killed Xiao Guo. She deserves to die."
"Don't worry, things have come to this point, and I have no reason to lie anymore." Cong Yan's face was calm, but that kind of resolute indifference emanated from her, though Zhu Qinghe knew from her previous description that she had once been an innocent and carefree girl.
It was only after experiencing so many things that she became the way she is now. Having lost her sister who protected her, she would have to face everything on her own from now on.
"Anyway, the damned people are already dead, and our mission is complete. You're not bad people, so I won't make things difficult for you. Just do what you have to do."
Zhu Qinghe sighed and grasped Cong Yan's hand. Only then did she realize that Cong Yan's hand was icy cold. She squeezed it tightly and said, "Sister Cong, although we entered the Bamboo Stone Academy this time to solve a case, we are not simply here to complete a mission."
"For us, uncovering the truth behind the cases and exonerating all the wronged people is far more important than simply closing the cases and completing our mission."
Cong Yan's eyelashes trembled. "If that's the case, then I hope you can always keep this in mind, because I really don't want people like my sister, Xiao Guo, and me to appear in this world again."
"If you can really do that, then I thank you on behalf of my sister."
She didn't want her sister to be forgotten by everyone with such an absurd and ridiculous excuse, and to be branded as "psychologically fragile." At that time, they wouldn't delve into the truth behind it; they would only feign a few words of regret. Those words would fall to the wind, never to be pieced together again to reveal the woman's unwavering ambition.
Her dream was to do things that many men couldn't. She wanted to change her fate through education, to prove that she was no less capable than any man, and even to change the world's prejudices and the singular fate of women through her own efforts.
But all of that was destroyed.
How can one not hate them? How can one forgive those rampant murderers? Just because they have a prestigious family background, do they think they can trample everything under their feet?
If the law cannot weaken their arrogance, then why can't these aggrieved parties rise up and fight back, becoming righteous judges?
They may have overstepped their bounds, or broken the rules, but morally, they are the ones on the side of justice.
A life for a life is a matter of course, and barbarity may not necessarily be a bad thing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
