Chapter 74 He remained silent for a long time, refusing to...
Lu Hun, who had been silent and unresponsive to any touch for a long time, finally looked at Wei Yin. Wei Yin carefully pointed to the cloak on his body. Lu Hun recognized her, and his tense back gradually relaxed. He shed tears and hugged Wei Yin, saying, "Sister."
From then on, little Lu Hun became increasingly gloomy and unhappy day by day. He became completely taciturn and rarely interacted with others.
Not long after, Lu Mingli also fell ill and passed away.
Lu Hun was left to live with his grandmother, Old Madam Lu.
Lu Hun remembered that before his grandmother passed away, he knelt by her bedside, and she held his hand, gently giving him instructions.
“My poor soul, you have suffered so much since you were a child. But you must remember that you are still young and have decades of good days ahead of you. You must not let the past hold you back and do anything you cannot think straight. Otherwise, even if your grandmother dies, she will not rest in peace.”
"Moreover, my grandmother believed that my soul would have a bright future, be happy and healthy, and live happily with the girl I love."
"Grandmother," Lu Hun said with a bitter smile at the bedside, "the girl I like is already married..."
"No, my soul." Old Madam Lu said weakly, "Heaven will not torment my soul. Grandmother knows that my soul will surely have a better future. You must believe in Grandmother, believe in Grandmother."
Lu Hun smiled bitterly, "Grandson believes in his grandmother."
"Alright, Soul, swear, swear with your grandmother's soul that you will never do anything reckless or attempt suicide in this life. If you break your oath, your grandmother will surely go to the eighteen hells after death and never be reincarnated..." Old Madam Lu used her last strength to hold his hand tightly.
Lu Hun was terrified and unwilling to swear an oath, but the old lady Lu stubbornly held on to her last breath and fiercely forced him to say it. Lu Hun had no choice but to say, "Grandson swears that he will never have any thoughts of suicide. If he breaks his oath, may Grandmother go to the eighteenth hell and never be reincarnated."
Only then did Madam Lu close her eyes as she wished.
Lu Hun opened his eyes. Although he was in the Wen family's old house, his grandmother's earnest instructions before her death still rang in his ears.
Meanwhile, Ji Jiayu and Wei Yin were talking to the child. Lu Hun barely managed to calm his heavy heart and went back. Ji Jiayu was very puzzled when she saw him come back. Wei Yin took his hand and asked, "Lu Hun, Ji Jiayu said you looked very strange when you left. What happened?"
"It's alright, sister." Lu Hun shook her head at her, her gaze falling on the child who was still huddled mostly under the covers.
The child was wearing the same white linen clothes as the He family.
Lu Hun said softly to Wei Yin, "Sister, I want to ask this child some questions. He's scared if you stay here. Why don't you go outside with Young Master Ji?"
Seeing Lu Hun's solemn expression, Wei Yin immediately agreed and let Ji Jiayu go with her. Ji Jiayu left with some doubt.
Seeing that no one was in the room, Lu Hun stood there for a moment before walking towards the child. The child was very timid and frightened, and would tremble at the slightest sound. Lu Hun tried to speak to him in the softest voice possible.
"Don't be afraid, it's your brother. Your brother is asking you, do you have an older sister?"
The child suddenly stopped, then slowly pulled the blanket down a little from his head. "Brother, do you... do you know my older sister?"
"Yes, I know." Lu Hun's face was pale, but his smile was gentle. "You and your sister, were you kidnapped by bad guys together?"
"Brother, how did you know!" The child suddenly became especially excited. "My nanny took my sister and me to see the lanterns, but there were too many people, and my sister and I got separated from my nanny. We were taken to an empty house by some bad people. One of the bad guys took off my sister and me's clothes and started touching us with his hands... his hands were so ugly, like a strange tree."
As Lu Hun listened to the child's words, those long-forgotten and unbearable memories resurfaced, and his body began to tremble again.
Although the child was very scared and in pain, he was not as precocious and understanding as Lu Hun. He did not fully understand what had happened to him and looked at Lu Hun's appearance nervously.
"What do you remember? Tell your brother."
After a long while, Lu Hun spoke in a daze.
The child, no longer so agitated, became extremely sad. "In that house, not only were my older sister and I imprisoned, but there were many other people too. There was an older sister who was pregnant; I wonder if that sister's baby has been born yet... There were also older brothers and sisters who were a few years older than my older sister, and an older sister who couldn't walk. Oh, and there was a mute older brother. There was an older sister who just smiled foolishly all day. My older sister said she was stupid. There were many other older brothers and sisters. It was so scary, so scary. That bad old man would sometimes bring an older brother or sister into the dark room, and the older brothers and sisters would cry. I was so scared, so scared. The older brothers and sisters were also very scared. Once, that mute older brother even cut his hand with a shard of a hidden bowl. Later, I heard from the pregnant older sister that the bad old man was a perverted old man who wasn't very human. I don't understand what 'humanity' means, but the other older brothers and sisters seemed to know. That's why he imprisoned us all, trying to provoke him into being human, but he couldn't do anything to us. The pregnant older sister said he was useless; he could only hit us, touch us, and torture us."
Lu Hun stroked the child's head to soothe his emotions.
"And then what happened?"
The child grew increasingly somber. "That house wasn't really guarded, but somehow we couldn't escape. My older brothers and sisters said it was a magic array. Later, the pregnant sister came up with a way to get my older sister and me out. I don't know what the method was, but my older sister seemed to know. She looked very sad and heartbroken. The other older brothers and sisters were the same; they smiled at us, but tears were streaming down their faces, as if they would never see my older sister and me again. My older sister and I escaped successfully, but that wicked old man found out quickly and kept sending people after us. Then... strange, I can't remember clearly. What about my older sister? Did that wicked old man's men catch up with us? Brother, take me away quickly, take me to find my older sister..."
Lu Hun fell silent.
This child is undoubtedly the murdered siblings who have been dead for several years.
The child was unaware that he and his siblings had already been murdered by Old Master He's men.
Lu Hun said softly, "It's safe here, don't be afraid. If you go out, you'll be discovered. You should rest well first. I'll have someone send you some good food to help you recover. Once you're better, I'll help you find your sister, okay?"
"I need to go back and save my other brothers and sisters." The child's eyes were full of anticipation. "Brothers, you can't lie to me, okay?"
After coaxing the child to sleep, Lu Hun got up to find Ji Jiayu. Ji Jiayu had already returned to his room. Lu Hun told Wei Yin to go back to her room and wait for him, while he went to Ji Jiayu's room by himself.
"How is it?" Ji Jiayu asked him with a lot of suspicion. "What exactly happened to that child? Why does his right foot have six toes, just like the brother in the twins' skeletons?"
Lu Hun whispered, "That brother and sister were harmed by an old bastard. That old bastard has always been impotent, so he brought many people here: children like them, pregnant women, young and beautiful people, mute people, and mentally unstable girls. There might be many more. Since the old bastard couldn't have sex, he tortured these victims in various ways to satisfy his already distorted psychology..."
"Lu Hun, what are you saying?!" Ji Jiayu could hardly believe her ears.
“I’m not joking with you.” Lu Hun pursed his pale lips. “Those children were locked up with these victims.”
Ji Jiayu paused, then his face turned red. He kicked the table next to him, straightening the leg, and then he burst into a rage.
"brute!"
Ji Jiayu was immediately stunned. "How do you know all this?"
"Young Master Ji, don't rush to ask me how I know these things." Lu Hun took out the white linen garment. "Just take this garment to the He family, see the old master of the He family, show him this garment, tell him about the siblings' remains that were discovered, and see his expression. Young Master Ji should then have made his discovery."
"Old Master He? What does Old Master He have to do with this case...?"
However, Ji Jiayu stopped speaking as soon as he said it. He suddenly remembered the old man that Lu Hun had mentioned earlier. He was shocked, raised his head, and stared blankly at Lu Hun.
Lu Hun smiled with pity.
Ji Jiayu, with a cryptic expression, left without delay, wearing a white linen robe.
After Lu Hun finished speaking with the child and Ji Jiayu, he felt his body trembling and cold, and all his strength seemed to have been drained. His mind went blank, and he wandered back to his room. When he saw Wei Yin half-lying on the couch asleep, his mind cleared up a bit, and he remembered that he had asked her to wait for him in the room.
Tonight, the memories he least wanted to recall were forcibly awakened.
Lu Hun knelt before Wei Yin, holding her hand, but he made no move, only staring ahead with a gloomy look in his eyes.
Lu Hun's hands were cold, which quickly woke Wei Yin. She saw the boy's extremely gloomy face and asked in confusion, "Lu Hun, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"
Lu Hun stared intently at her, then suddenly asked, "Sister, do you remember when I was little, you took me to eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup?"
Wei Yin had no recollection of what happened many years ago. "Really? I even gave you chicken noodle soup!"
"Yes." Lu Hun nodded seriously. "My sister was worried that I would be cold, so she gave me a white fox fur cloak to wear."
"Are there other things like that? I don't remember any of them." Wei Yin frowned and thought for a moment. "I only remember the night my mother died."
"It's alright." Lu Hun straightened up, seemingly relieved, and kissed the red mole between her eyebrows, his voice filled with endless melancholy. "It's good that you don't remember, sister. Never remember. Lu Hun doesn't want you to remember."
Wei Yin reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, saying unhappily, "What are you talking about? Did you secretly curse your sister behind her back, so you don't want your sister to remember? Then your sister will have to think carefully and see if she can remember."
"Don't you dare remember." Lu Hun spoke to her sternly for the first time. "Sister, you're not allowed to remember, do you hear me?"
But after a short while, the boy softened again, "Sister, Lu Hun is feeling very uncomfortable tonight, so uncomfortable that he can hardly breathe."
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