Chapter 34 The Truth I want justice.
The Spiritual Master's Office questioned the individuals involved in the engagement party overnight and also questioned the Kunlun branch. Subsequently, the Spiritual Master's Office held an emergency meeting regarding the matter. In addition to most of the headquarters' senior management, Lin Zhuyue's homeroom teacher, Fu Xingwei, also attended.
Lin Zhuyue was taken home by Shican. She lay awake in Shican's cat room. Baguette stepped over her, scratched the cabinet containing cat food, canned food, and snacks with his claws, and then came back to nudge Lin Zhuyue with his head.
Baguette is not a smart cat, he has always been stupid.
Shi Can sometimes pretends to hold snacks for it to eat, but actually he has nothing in his hand, so it bites the air and eats them. Every time, it doesn't feel that it is being fooled. Its mouth and stomach have to work together all night.
But when it comes to eating, it has endless possibilities. It's learned to open cabinets and is a stapler kitten, able to poke dense holes in boxes and bags without anyone noticing. So Shi Chan installed a childproof lock on the cabinet to prevent Baguette from opening it and stealing food.
"How much have you eaten today?"
Shi Can took the baguette away, held it in his arms, and asked,
"You finished a bowl of cat food in 30 seconds. Are you still a cat? Are you a glutton? How many lifetimes have you not eaten?"
When Shican spoke to the cat, his tone was very soft, with a bit of sticky tenderness and doting, without any trace of his usual awkwardness.
Shi Can pinched his cat face and turned to look at Lin Zhuyue:
"Don't you take your makeup off?"
After Lin Zhuyue was brought back tonight, she touched the baguette a few times and then lay there like a dead fish. She didn't move or speak, just stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, as if she didn't feel the glare of the ceiling light in the cat room at all.
Lin Zhuyue asked: "Do you have makeup remover at home?"
"It's in my mother's room."
Shi Chan put down the baguette and stood up.
"She buys a lot during the annual shopping festival, so the quality should be good. She doesn't use cheap things. I'll find it for you."
Shi Can quickly brought back a bottle of makeup remover oil. Lin Zhuyue took the makeup remover oil to the bathroom in the guest room to remove her makeup and wash her face. Shi Can followed her in, handed her a toothbrush and a mouthwash cup, and said:
"New, already scalded with hot water."
Lin Zhuyue took the toothbrush and cup: "Thank you."
"After washing up, have a good sleep."
Shi Can always felt that Lin Zhuyue was frightened.
"My house is still safe. There won't be any danger. Can I bring the baguette over to sleep with you?"
Lin Zhuyue squeezed the toothpaste and asked:
"Will my family be affected?"
Shi Can was silent for a long time and asked:
"If I answer 'yes', what will you do? Bang your head against a wall to protect your family?"
How would Lin Zhuyue know what to do?
"Actually, I don't think so, at least not now. Your spiritual weapon is Golden Amber Fire, not Ukiyo-e Scroll. The Kunlun branch wants to get rid of you, not because they're afraid you'll continue the Ling family's unfinished mission, but because they're worried about your revenge."
Shi Can tried to appease Lin Zhuyue,
"Your family has no ability to fight against the Kunlun branch and poses no threat to them. Furthermore, Kunlun's actions prove they are very afraid of you. If they didn't want to push you into a desperate situation and incur your crazy revenge, they wouldn't touch your family."
"But with their pig brains, it might be difficult for them to realize this. But the Ling family and the neutral spiritual masters are not fools. They will hint at it until they understand and will do their best to protect your family."
Lin Zhuyue looked at herself in the mirror. She was pale, thin, and felt weak and limp. However, her delicate eyes seemed to be burning with fire.
Strong, fiery, and never extinguished——
"But my spiritual weapon is the Ukiyo-e scroll."
Lin Zhuyue looked back at Shi Can and said,
"Even if someone protects me, I don't want my family to live in darkness and danger. My father's existence is insignificant to me, but no matter what, I don't want to lose my mother."
"Also, I want justice—"
Lin Zhuyue took a deep breath and said:
"I want those people to pay the price for my mother, for myself, and for the misfortune that we should not have to endure."
"You have a bad temper."
Shi Can leaned against the wall of the bathroom. His tone was frivolous, but the next moment, he became very serious and said,
"However, I and my family will accompany you throughout this journey."
Ling Yan was the deepest regret in his parents' lives. Furthermore, he also had his own mission. Just like Lin Zhuyue, who carried a destiny, he was born with his own mission.
Shican made a promise and went out.
He carried the baguette into the room and brought in an air purifier. He had new pajamas at home, but they had never been washed, and it was too late to wash them now. Lin Zhuyue was a bit tall, so she couldn't fit into Cui Yi's pajamas, so Shi Can had to find her a set of his own.
"Just washed it, dried it, and put it away, but haven't worn it yet."
Shi Chan put the folded pajamas on the bed and said,
"Rest well, there will be plenty of troubles waiting for you later. The bigger you want to accomplish, the more you need to conserve your energy."
After saying that, Shican left the guest room.
Lin Zhuyue changed into his pajamas, which had a scent of orange blossom. Laundry detergent and soap powder don't usually have that scent, so it's probably because he used liquid detergent or laundry detergent beads. Lin Zhuyue usually liked the smell of orange blossom; her shampoo and shower gel all had that scent.
She fell asleep with the baguette in her arms.
She goes to bed late but gets up early.
Baguette lay on her face, its furry belly covering her mouth and nose, making it suffocating for her to breathe. She sat up holding Baguette, raised her hand and wiped the cat hair off her face with her sleeve, tucked Baguette into the quilt, let him continue to sleep, and got up to wash.
Shi Chan got up earlier and rummaged through the compost bin in the yard. Some things could be left to a gardener, but he just liked to do it himself.
The fertilizer in the compost bucket was made from fruit peels three days ago. A lot of industrial brown sugar was added to help the EM bacteria reproduce. When I opened it, there was no smell at all, and it even had a fresh fragrance.
Breakfast is also ready.
It is a sandwich made of low-sugar toast, lettuce, meat floss, salad and fried egg, and a bowl of pumpkin porridge made with a blender.
Shican didn't have pumpkin porridge, but a cup of oatmeal latte.
After Shi Can finished turning over the pile, he washed his hands, changed his clothes, and sat down opposite Lin Zhuyue in his home clothes.
Lin Zhuyue wanted to exchange with Shican: "I want coffee."
"You can save some money."
Shi Can took a sip of coffee and said,
"Let's talk about it after your stomach is healed."
Lin Zhuyue could only drink the pumpkin porridge in silence, but the pumpkin porridge was also very delicious. It was added with fruit corn and had a very sweet fragrance.
Just as she was about to finish her porridge, Lin Zhuyue received a call from Fu Xingwei. Today was Sunday, so there were no classes, but Fu Xingwei asked her to go to the Spiritual Master Mansion, saying that he had something important to tell her.
Shi Can asked the driver to take her to the spiritual master's house.
The address Fu Xingwei sent to Lin Zhuyue for the conversation was Room 307 of the Lingshi Mansion, which was not a small meeting room.
Not only Fu Xingwei, Liang Tianxing and Yi Lanshan were in the conference room, but there were also several people Lin Zhuyue didn't know. They all looked very elegant and had great temperament. They should not be simple people, probably high-level officials of the Spiritual Master's Mansion.
"Sit down."
Fu Xingwei pointed to the empty chair.
Lin Zhuyue lowered his head and sat down.
Wen Miyan had curled her hair yesterday with a curling iron, but it was just a one-time perm; after washing, it became straight again. She had no makeup on, and her face and lips looked pale. From not getting enough rest, there was a hint of dark circles under her eyes.
"Sorry, Moon-Chu."
Fu Xingwei said,
"There are some things... Although they are related to you, we have not been able to decide whether to tell you. Your awakening of spiritual weapons was beyond our expectations. We believe that there is a possibility that you will not be involved, so your permission to know was not approved."
"However, you were in danger of your life last night. After discussion, we believe you have the right to know."
Before revealing the truth, Fu Xingwei asked:
“Did Shichan reveal anything to you?”
Lin Zhuyue hesitated for a long time before saying:
"He only told me about the previous generation's affairs. He said that the Spiritual Master's Mansion would inform me of the specific matters... so that I could be mentally prepared."
Lin Zhuyue sneered and asked:
"But how much will the Spiritual Master Mansion tell me? How much information gap do they intend to leave?"
Liang Tianxing said: "All of them."
Lin Zhuyue opened his eyes wide in surprise.
This was a development that neither she nor Shi Chan had expected.
"Your biological father's name is Ling Yan, a Spiritual Master of the Spiritual Master Mansion. The Ling family behind him has a thousand-year-old heritage and has played an invaluable role in the Spiritual Master Mansion's journey to this day. The Ling family's bloodline is very special. Every generation, once they awaken their spiritual martial arts, will surely become a 'Floating World Painting'."
Fu Xingwei explained to Lin Zhuyue,
"In addition to its inherent power, the 'Ukiyo-e Scroll' also possesses the ability to record and replicate things. It can preserve things formed entirely of spiritual energy."
"You've probably heard of the underworld, right? It's home to Yama, the underworld, ghost messengers, and soul-catchers. It's a place filled with rumors and stories, belonging to the souls of the deceased."
Lin Zhuyue nodded.
"The Underworld maintains the balance between yin and yang, life and death. While spiritual masters can accomplish similar things, they are far inferior to the Underworld in this regard. Their power is gradually waning. Unwilling to see their legacy disappear, they crave status, power, and eternal strength, to be relied upon. Consequently, they harbor evil intentions, offering the souls of thousands of spiritual masters as sacrifices and sealing off the Underworld."
"The reason why the Spiritual Master House can have the final say in metaphysics today is precisely because of the evil deeds done by our ancestors."
"But the Spiritual Master's Mansion is not the Underworld after all. The balance of yin and yang seems to be maintained, but in fact it is gradually collapsing. Some spiritual masters believe that the Underworld should be reopened."
"But once the seal is broken, the spiritual masters will not only lose their power, but will also pay the price for their past deeds. Therefore, even if they know what the future will hold, some spiritual masters are unwilling to lift the seal on the underworld at all costs."
"The Ling family is a different faction."
Fu Xingwei narrated in an orderly manner,
"Moreover, the key to unlocking the blockade of the underworld lies with the Ling family. The blockade of the underworld is difficult to unlock, but there exists a key in the world that can open all 'doors'. That key is a relic of the gods and cannot be taken away by anyone, but it can be copied by the Ukiyo-e scroll."
"The Ling family, and those on their side, have been trying their best to find this key for many years."
Lin Zhuyue asked, "Is that why they were exterminated?"
Fu Xingwei nodded.
"child."
Liang Tianxing said to Lin Zhuyue,
"You are very powerful. The higher-ups at the Spiritual Master House are afraid that you will be caught up in hatred, so they have been arguing about how and how much to tell you. Revealing everything to you was actually a decision we made privately."
Lin Zhuyue was silent for a long time before asking:
"Aren't you afraid? My spiritual weapon is not a floating world painting scroll. Telling me the truth will not solve the problem, but will only bring countless troubles."
"Of course I am afraid."
Liang Tianxing held Lin Zhuyue's hand,
"But the collapse of the balance between yin and yang cannot be avoided simply by fear. Child, ever since I met you, I've always felt that you hold infinite possibilities. If there is still a possibility, please save the spiritual masters and save this world."
Liang Tianxing was already very old, and Lin Zhuyue felt a little reluctant to be begged by such an old man.
But she closed her eyes and pulled her hand back:
"I'm sorry, Principal Liang... Please allow me to think about it. But I don't think I have the possibility, nor can I bear such a responsibility. I will pretend to be ignorant of what you told me today. If there is nothing else to say, I will leave first."
She was moved, but could not agree.
She couldn't easily believe what others said, and couldn't believe that what the Spiritual Master was telling her now was the whole truth. She had to leave first and find someone who was truly on her side to confirm.
Once you believe the wrong thing, there is no recovery.
When Lin Zhuyue left the Spiritual Master's Mansion, it was raining in Tiancheng.
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia were sitting next to each other downstairs. When they heard footsteps, they both turned around to look at her. Nothing was said between the three of them. Wen Miyan hugged Lin Zhuyue and, holding an umbrella, sent her to the car back to Shi Can's house.
Shi Chan was drawing talismans in the study.
Lin Zhuyue relayed to Shi Can everything that Fu Xingwei and Liang Tianxing told her without missing a single thing.
"Well, that's pretty much the truth."
Shi Chan put the drawn talisman aside to dry.
"You handled it very well. To be honest, I was afraid you'd soften your heart and reveal that your spiritual weapon was a Ukiyo-e scroll."
"...Um, play with the baguette for a while?"
Shi Can has already used the baguette as a toy to coax Lin Zhuyue.
Lin Zhuyue asked: "What kind of person is my father?"
"I haven't met him either. Ling Yan died before I was born. My mom said he was very gentle, and my dad said he was quite arrogant."
Shi Can opened the drawer under the table, took out an old book from it, opened it carefully, and handed the photo inside to Lin Zhuyue.
"This is the only photo I have at home."
Lin Zhuyue took the photo. There were three people in it. On the left was Shican's mother, Cui Yi. The person in the middle looked a bit like Shican, and it must be Shican's father, Shi Yingshao. And the person on the right... Lin Zhuyue couldn't help but raise her hand to touch her own face when she saw his face.
Shi Chan asked, “It really looks like that, doesn’t it?”
So magical.
In this vast world, there actually existed a person with a face so similar to hers. This was clearly the first time she saw Ling Yan, yet she felt so familiar. Was this blood relationship?
"Wait, there's something else."
Shi Can opened the drawer on the lower level and took out the bills and a small box. He said,
"Inside was a diamond ring, the kind that can only be customized once in a lifetime, and a receipt from the flower shop. The words on it are no longer clear, but my father said he ordered 999 roses. Ling Yan planned to confess his identity to your mother and propose after the mission is completed..."
Lin Zhuyue opened the box.
Inside was a pair of platinum rings. Considering the comparison between the ring setting and the diamonds, the diamonds were not very big, but they were of very good quality and had a sparkling luster.
Lin Zhuyue looked at it for a while, then handed the diamond ring box and the rose receipt to Shi Can.
Shi Chan asked, “Aren’t you going to take it?”
“It’s not suitable for the dormitory.”
Lin Zhuyue shook his head and said,
"I'm afraid I'll lose this."
Because of what happened on the cruise ship, the Spiritual Master's Mansion did not send any missions to Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can for more than a month.
During this period, Shi Can beat up a senior student. He was not punished, but the incident was reported to the whole school and Fu Xingwei punished him by making him write a 30,000-word apology.
"Old Fu is definitely making things difficult for me."
Shi Can said with confidence,
"Thirty thousand words, I can't copy it online."
Ye Yangjia asked: "Then how did you submit the report?"
Shi Chan said proudly, "I wrote 'I was wrong, I won't do it again.' Including punctuation marks, that's ten words. I wrote it three thousand times."
Lin Zhuyue really couldn't understand what there was to be proud of:
"And then I was punished to stand in front of the teaching building for eight hours in an Ultraman costume?"
Ye Yangjia was shocked:
"Shit, you were the Ultraman that day? I thought you were at home reflecting."
Shi Can: “…”
He decided then and there that he would never fight again.
Then, within half a month, he beat up four students from Class 1, Grade 2. Although he was only a year older than them, they were still the elite of Class 1. Shi Can defeated four of them perfectly and was regarded as a legend in the school.
"This is the value of being a school bully."
Wen Miyan sighed and said,
"He punched the Nanshan Nursing Home and kicked the Beihai Kindergarten. He didn't care if they were older or younger than him, as long as they looked like they deserved a beating, he wouldn't let them go."
"Didn't you also beat someone up and pushed it on my head?"
Ye Yangjia said dissatisfiedly,
"I really don't understand why you melee types are so belligerent."
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia started arguing while chatting.
They always quarreled for inexplicable reasons, but they also made up quickly. That afternoon, the two of them walked into the classroom one after the other, carrying brown file bags.
Shi Chan was sleeping on the table, his long, curly eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes.
Lin Zhuyue sat next to him, secretly counting how many eyelashes he had. She always felt that Shi Can seemed to have more eyelashes than others, and now she finally got the chance to confirm it.
But Ye Yangjia knocked on the table and woke Shi Chan up.
Shi Can raised his head and looked at Ye Yangjia impatiently, as if he was about to draw his knife and beat up his childhood friend.
"Let's go on a mission?"
Ye Yangjia said to Lin Zhuyue,
"Old Fu said you can go out now."
Shi Chan perked up in a second.
He and Lin Zhuyue are regular teammates. Lin Zhuyue is not allowed to leave Tiancheng, and Shi Can cannot go out to perform missions.
He has been extremely bored recently and has been thinking about using the old electric rice cooker that he replaced at home to hatch Call ducks. He is currently trying to find a way to get Call duck eggs to Tiancheng.
Cui Yi said she would beat him to death if he dared to raise ducks at home.
Cui Yi loves baguettes, but raising a cat and a duck are two different things. Cats go to the litter box on their own, while ducks are straightforward and uncontrollable. Furthermore, the name of the Call duck comes from the phonetic translation of "call duck," meaning that these ducks are known for their loud calls, disturbing neighbors and themselves. Anyone who keeps one should not expect a peaceful life.
Shi Chan asked, "What mission?"
"An unconfirmed case, the location is not far away."
Ye Yangjia took out the task execution form from the file bag, handed it between Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can, and said,
"Sign now. If you two don't complete the mission, you might not get enough points for practical classes this semester."
Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can signed their names.
Ye Yangjia returned to the office to submit a report. Wen Miyan brought Lin Zhuyue into the temporary meeting room, and Shi Can followed behind.
"The victim, Mr. Zheng, bought a second-hand house and had just moved in two months after renovating it. Mr. Zheng's wife, Ms. Tang, started behaving strangely after moving in. She bought various maternity products online in the middle of the night. Mr. Zheng thought it was a surprise, but Ms. Tang was not pregnant and had no recollection of what she had done in the middle of the night."
Wen Miyan poured out the contents of the file bag and said,
"Mr. Zheng was recently on a business trip. He installed a video doorbell at home. He found out from the alarm that Ms. Tang would go out at 11 o'clock every night."
Wen Miyan picked up the USB drive and plugged it into the computer. She opened the USB drive, which contained many video files. She randomly clicked on one.
The picture shows a corridor that is a bit like a matchbox. The doors leading to the elevator and fire escape are on the north side of the corridor. This is also the only place in the corridor where light comes in.
The video plays, the frame moves closer to the wall, then quickly moves back, likely due to the door opening and closing. After it closes, the back of a woman's head appears in the video.
The sensor light in the corridor was not on, but the doorbell had a night vision function. In this case, everything captured in the picture was in black and white.
The woman gradually walked away, and when she reached the north side, she turned left and went out through the door that was always open and let in some light.
Lin Zhuyue raised his hand and pressed the space bar to pause the video.
When she paused, the doorbell could capture the woman's entire body.
The black and white figure's feet were standing on tiptoe, as if she was wearing a pair of high heels.
However, Lin Zhuyue felt that it was more like a pair of feet were pressing tightly from behind, squeezing the toes and insteps into the soles of the woman's feet.
"Well, it can be basically confirmed that it is a supernatural event."
Shi Chan picked up the document, flipped through it, and said,
"Mr. Zheng's business partner had received help from the Spiritual Master House before, so after learning about the situation, he contacted the Spiritual Master House on Mr. Zheng's behalf."
Shi Can turned to Lin Zhuyue and asked, "Can you feel anything?"
"Hmm... rope, dragging, knife, lots of blood..."
Lin Zhuyue watched the video and closed her eyes.
"There's something that feels like plastic..."
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