Published at 9th of November 2020 10:29:52 AM
Chapter 77
Despite already knowing Mu Rulan was a psycho, he still found it unbelievable that Mu Rulan had actually done this to him .
“Hm…” Mu Rulan said, looking like she didn’t notice the painful expression on his face . She put down the hammer and stretched her hand out to touch his broken arm .
Unsatisfied, she said, “No, it’s not perfect enough, ya . There’s some bone shards, not a clean break . Was it my strength or the tool?”
She wanted to make it so the bone could be broken precisely as though cut with a knife while keeping the muscle and skin intact . She didn’t want any shards of bone because she wanted to create the perfect human puppet .
“If not, can I try to insert the nails inside directly?” Mu Rulan took one of the silver nails and reached for his arm, the hammer gentle in her palm like she could knock it in at any time .
Jin Biaohu nearly passed out from fear . He didn’t know if it was because of his mental strength, but he didn’t pass out and could only continue existing in that state of anxiety . Translated by The Novelst
“Wait, that’s not right,” Mu Rulan said, pulling back both the nail and the hammer . “If the nails were hammered in directly, there wouldn’t be any effect . If I can break the bones then put the nails in, then I could control the body . Hmm… that’s a hard one . ”
Mu Rulan walked to the wardrobe as she pondered, opening one side of the door to reveal the human puppet inside . The expression was twisted and terrifying, looking almost like a mannequin in a retail store .
Jin Biaohu tried to withstand the pain in his arm and looked in Mu Rulan’s direction .
Once he properly recognized what the humanoid figure was, his pupils shrank in fear .
“Ah, I almost forgot . You know each other, don’t you? Aren’t you happy to see an old friend? He’s been here for quite a while ya, maybe he’s in love with me now?”
It was the person who had been missing for three years, the protagonist of the “human evaporation case” filed by the police: one of the “brothers” that had followed Jin Biaohu and committed numerous crimes in the old days .
Right now, he appeared naked before Jin Biaohu, body bent in strange places .
Fear overwhelmed him in a dark wave .
So it was her…
Jin Biaohu’s heart thudded in his chest, alarms blaring in his head with fright .
He looked at Mu Rulan in fear . She was only sixteen now, so three years ago she would have been thirteen .
She was a murderer when she was only thirteen?! Why? Why would she have done that? What reason did she have…
Jin Biaohu began to tremble .
Could this be revenge? Revenge for the kidnapping that had happened five years ago? But they hadn’t even done anything to her! The worst they’d done was only kidnap her .
Jin Biaohu had no way of knowing that even though Mu Rulan wasn’t a bad person, she wasn’t a good person either . She was a psycho, but not an ordinary one . She had all the characteristics of a psychopath, but still possessed the ability to differentiate good and evil .
……
The Lan Family .
Pak . A few documents hit the table . Lan Binglin paused in writing and looked at the boy before him .
“What are these?” demanded Lan Yiyang .
Lan Binglin flipped through the papers and smiled disdainfully . “Just a few cooperation projects . ”
“Just? You’re speaking so carelessly because you didn’t build the company, but that doesn’t mean you can ruin it!” Lan Yiyang couldn’t believe his eyes .
Today he heard that Zhou Yaya and Jin Biaohu were released from prison . At first, he couldn’t understand what was happening until he came back to see that the few cooperation projects between the Lan Family and Mu Family to divide up Hua Fang and Jin Boxiong’s company . He then immediately knew what was going on .
This despicable guy, just for the sake of financial interests, would choose to cooperate with the Jin Family and scapegoat the An Family . Now he had immediately abandoned the An Family to cooperate with the Mu Family to swallow them up!
For the sake of financial interests, the two people who were supposed to face justice would go free, and what about Mu Rulan, who had nearly died in that incident?
“Look at what you’re saying,” smirked Lan Binglin . “I’m working hard for the Lan Family . If it wasn’t for me, do you think that the Lan Family could stand proud in the business to become more prosperous?”
Lan Yiyang clenched his fists to stare at Lan Binglin .
“The only thing you can do is show off your fists and run your mouth,” Lan Binglin said fearlessly . His success wouldn’t fade in comparison to Lan Yiyang’s genius any longer . Translated by The Novelst
Lan Yiyang had no position in the Lan Family to speak of . Lan Baifeng trusted Lan Binglin, relied on him, and he couldn’t imagine a situation in which his weak little brother could beat him .
Lan Yiyang was furious . He strode forward and grabbed Lan Binglin’s collar . Lan Binglin’s expression didn’t change despite the fist waving in his face . “No big deal, just punch me . Your reputation is already so bad, I guess you’re fine even being kicked out of the house . ”
Proofread by: Hannah
Lan Yiyang stopped moving, looking at the smile on Lan Binglin’s face . A voice rang inside his head, gentle as she said, “A person’s life is so long . You might encounter more people that make you uncomfortable .
“If you don’t want to be looked down upon or be hurt, you need a weapon . Only then will others be wary and avoid you . ”
His fist strained by his side, veins popping, but in the end he didn’t use it . He threw Lan Binglin forcefully back into the seat and strode out of the study . Translated by The Novelst
Lan Binglin sat where he was thrown, staring at Lan Yiyang . He seemed abnormally calm today, and was that doubt he had seen flashing through his eyes? How strange…
Lan Yiyang returned to his room, slamming his door behind him with a bang! He took a deep breath .
Looking at the law books that he hadn’t touched since that day, he spaced out .
Once again Mu Rulan had made him aware… that nothing would be possible without a weapon in this world .
Without a weapon, he couldn’t fight back against Lan Binglin and wouldn’t even be able to prove the Lan Family’s innocence . He… wouldn’t even be able to help Mu Rulan when she needed it the most . He had always been very self-righteous .
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He suddenly understood that Mu Rulan was right back then . It was he who had not been worthy enough, so Mu Rulan had chosen Lan Binglin and Li Yan over him . If human relations could be defined by the greater than, equal, and lesser than symbols, in terms of worth, his would definitely be the least when compared with Lan Binglin and there would be no way to use the equal symbol with Mu Rulan .
Thinking that through, several things seemed clearer to him now .
He wanted to apologize to Mu Rulan tomorrow and request that they work together again . And this time he would learn to fight and become better .
……
Mo Qianren stood outside the iron gates of the factory, tissue on his fist as he knocked on the door . After some time the entrance opened up with a creak, a middle-aged woman looking out of the crack alertly .
Confirming that he was the policeman from last time, she opened the door wider to give him a suspicious look . “What’s the matter?”
“I’m looking for your boss,” he said .
The woman couldn’t help but scan Mo Qianren up and down, but let him in in the end .
Once again he walked through the ground floor, eyeing the mattresses on the floor . He found it incredible still, having so many old people living in such a place . If the owner wasn’t a liar, then he could be considered kind to allow all these old people to work where their abilities were likely not up tos standards .
The owner was Liu Beifang, who was 41 years old this year . According to his profile, he had declared bankruptcy four years ago, and had been enormously in debt ever since .
He had been a hawker and beggar before . Luckily he had managed to win a small profit while gambling, and had built this factory in the end .
From the profile, there was nothing suspicious at all .
Mo Qianren followed the woman up to the second floor . There was no one working and the workers seemed happy with their jobs . There was no need for them to overwork and they had no problems filling their bellies .
Yet the profits at this factory were quite good . Their income mostly came from high-quality musical instrument manufacturers from outside the country .
The woman entered the office alone and after a short while came out together with Liu Beifang .
Liu Beifang glanced at Mo Qianren, immediately recognizing him as the man with the police . He furrowed his brows and said impatiently, “What’s the matter now?”
Mo Qianren didn’t want to drag it out and so took out his wallet to show him, “Do you know this girl?”
The photo inside the wallet pictured a young girl standing in the sunshine, looking like she had been showered in a layer of gold .
Mo Qianren observed his expression carefully as his eyes went downwards before he answered, “I don’t know her . ”
Mo Qianren shut his wallet, and said, tone cold: “I understand now . You know this girl and the first time you met was four years ago, likely when you were selling or begging in the streets . She gave you some money or assistance that let you start all this from scratch . That’s why you’ve helped her make things with your factory, like the piano wires that double as puppet doll threads, and even nails that you don’t sell commercially . ”
Liu Beifang’s eyes widened as he stared in surprise at Mo Qianren, before his eyes shuttered . This all happened in under a second, yet Mo Qianren caught it all: his specialty was catching these microexpressions .
So it looked like what he hypothesized was correct .
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“I don’t know her . If there’s nothing else, please leave . I’m a busy man,” Liu Beifang said in annoyance, shaking his hand quickly . He was unwilling to continue the conversation .
“Do you know what that girl did with those threads and nails you provided?” Mo Qianren said, unbothered .
“Are you done yet! I told you I don’t know her!” Liu Beifang’s impressive temper began to show .
Mo Qianren narrowed his eyes and stopped . He wanted to turn around and leave, but heard a voice behind him: “Are you with the police?”
Mo Qianren’s steps paused . He responded lightly, “No . ” Translated by The Novelst
Liu Beifang didn’t say anything and Mo Qianren walked down the stairs, his hand on his wallet in his pocket .
Mu Rulan… Why was she so mysterious? Just as he thought he had solved the mystery, he realized that what he had truly done was unlock even more puzzles to solve, like opening Pandora’s Box .
Proofread by: Hannah
Mo Qianren walked out of the factory and sat inside his car . His phone rang and his brow furrowed when he saw the display . He picked up the call .
“Good morning, Amon,” a deep voice greeted in a standard American accent .
“I believe I let you know before not to call me while I’m over here,” Mo Qianren responded unwelcomely .
“Hey! Your prisoners are ready to make trouble . If it wasn’t for this I wouldn’t want to call you and listen to your toxic words,” objected the voice on the other end . “Ivey almost tore out the throat of one of our beautiful women and her voice is gone now . Her family is requesting that the hospital compensates them hugely . ”
“I believe my colleagues inside the hospital have already given thorough warnings to the researchers before they even enter that they must not get close to those men . If even a glass pane couldn’t stop an idiotic woman from seeking death, what does that have to do with me?” Mo Qianren’s expression never changed .
This wasn’t the first occurrence of such an incident . Even despite being warned that they were going to meet scary lowlives, they were still deceived by appearances . Translated by The Novelst
“If there’s nothing else, then goodbye . ” Mo Qianren wasn’t planning to return to the states yet, and he didn’t want to hear these things from these idiots .
“Hey, hey! Amon, don’t be like this . Ivey told me he really wants to see your marvelous face . He misses you a lot and wants you to return quickly!”
“Is that so? Your lies are so easy to see through . Ivey’s greatest wish in this life is likely to not ever see my face again . Why would he miss me? Go and brush up on your technique before talking to me . Goodbye . ” He clicked the phone off as soon as he was done speaking .
……
The Lan Family had a house in the Qinghe Villa area . It was Lan Binglin who had helped the Jin Family overcome their hardship, so he had received a villa as well . Lan Binglin had then gifted that villa to Lan Baifeng . Lan Binglin was quite happy . He didn’t have any plans to live there, preferring the bustling city to the remote villa area .
So the entry cards and house keys were left in Lan Yiyang’s hands . Lan Baifeng wanted to present Buddha with borrowed flowers to Grandpa Lan through Lan Yiyang’s hands, so that’s how they had ended up in his hands .
Lan Yiyang was stopped at the iron gate entrance by Uncle Bao . He showed his entry card and was let in as a homeowner .
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Before he entered, he skillfully questioned Uncle Bao regarding the location of Mu Rulan’s house .
He followed the road and managed to find her house . But before the gate, he furrowed his brows .
The house in front of him was a shade of black-grey in European architecture . It looked very old and shabby, with dried leaves scattered all over the place . The only swing in the courtyard shook slightly in the wind, creaking ominously . The ugly puppet doll on top of it smiled bloodily with crimson lips .
This didn’t look like a place Mu Rulan would live in at all . Was he in the wrong place?
Lan Yiyang looked at the lock on the gate, thinking he might be at the wrong house . Mu Rulan should be inside a beautiful, clean fairytale house, not this kind of shabby and ominous-looking house .
He turned around, wanting to leave . Before he could take a step, he heard a few noises .
He focused again, but didn’t hear anything .
Lan Yiyang thought he heard wrong, so he prepared once again to leave . But at this time that noise sounded again, and this time continuously: bang, bang, bang… like someone was using something to knock against the wall or window .
It… was coming from the house, right?
Lan Yiyang found it odd . This probably wasn’t her house… but what if it was?
Lan Yiyang stopped immediately as he wondered why there would be such a noise coming from this house if it was indeed Mu Rulan’s house .
Lan Yiyang thought of the dead body being discovered in the villa area . It was just one road away . Such danger!
In his mind, he began to imagine a scene where Mu Rulan was tied up by the criminal who barged into her house, her mouth also sealed with tape . And now the noise was her thinking creatively to attract someone’s attention while the criminal was out of the house in the early morning .
His expression changed, and he grabbed the railing of the gate to vault over it . He didn’t go through the front door but instead went straightforwardly to one of the windows . He scaled the tree to the second floor .
Jin Biaohu was woken by the knocking in the wardrobe . He moved his eyes in terror, looking for the source of the noise before he pinpointed it . Thinking about the puppet doll inside, his face paled .
He wanted to move his fingers but felt a sharp pain sweep up his arm . Soon after, his nerves seem to wake from sleep, his entire body feeling like on fire .
All the bones in his four limbs were broken and knocked out of place under his intact skin and muscles, broken perfectly into sections .
He had already forgotten the way he passed out in pain the day before, pleading silently with Mu Rulan to just finish him off instead of tormenting him . Translated by The Novelst
Jin Biaohu was deep in despair, fearing the things that were still to come . If god was willing to give him another chance, he would definitely turn over a new leaf and be a good person . He didn’t want to face such retribution any longer!
Suddenly he saw a figure flash by the window all of a sudden . Eyes wide, he stared with desperation at the frosted window .
Proofread by: Hannah