Xu Hang slowly lifted his gaze, meeting Yuan Ye’s questioning eyes with calm composure. At last, he admitted, “So you’ve finally figured it out… do you hate me?”
Yuan Ye’s hands suddenly loosened.
At this moment, he suddenly felt as if he had entered a state of neither sadness nor joy.
This feeling isn’t like the satisfaction of a detective finally cracking a long-standing case, nor is it the regret of solving a tough problem only to get the answer wrong. It’s more like a poorly written ending, a melody out of tune, or a clumsy final stroke on an otherwise decent painting.
He felt like a lost traveler, holding a small lantern, stumbling in the woods in the middle of the night, looking for a way out.
In the end, he was covered in wounds and found that there was no way out. The way he came was the way out.
The person who pointed him into the woods was standing at the intersection and said calmly, Oh, do you blame me?
Blame? Hate?
No.
Yuan Ye bit his lower lip: “What about you? Do you hate me?”
Xu Hang shook his head: “I know those grudges have nothing to do with you.”
For some reason, Yuan Ye got very angry when he saw Xu Hang’s calm look.
This person had turned his entire life upside down—so why did he remain so indifferent from beginning to end? Even when he revealed the truth, he showed no sign of emotion.
Could it be that he is really such a ruthless and cold-blooded person? Was the previous illusion of brotherly love and respect just a deceptive disguise?
Yuan Ye knocked his fist on the table: “Do you know that if I spread these words now, you will die several times!”
What a powerful threat.
However, Xu Hang said with certainty, “You won’t.”
Yuan Ye’s heart was stirred.
“If you hated me and wanted revenge, you would have gone to the police station and made a big fuss about it already. Why would you have to talk to me in secret here? Yuan Ye, I’m not afraid of you seeing through me at all, because I know that you, like Old Madam Yuan, know right from wrong when it comes to major issues.”
Whether drawing a person or a tiger, it’s the bones that are hardest to capture—and just like that, you can know a person’s face, but never truly know their heart.
The greatest ability of the young master of the Xu family is to see through a person’s bones.
He raised his right hand, blocked Yuan Ye’s shackles, and said, “Don’t be so stubborn… even if you pretend to be angry now, you can’t hide the shame you feel deep in your heart because of your father.”
Yuan Ye took two steps back in shock, then fell back into his chair dejectedly. He was like a balloon that was punctured by Xu Hang’s needle and deflated.
He’s right. He felt more than ashamed. He simply wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it and end his life there.
He was angry at Xu Hang’s deception and saddened by what happened to his family, but he couldn’t protest his innocence.
As his grandmother said, karma.
His voice was hoarse: “So even my coming to see you today was part of your plan?”
Xu Hang said plainly, “I admit everything I’ve done. My conscience is clear. Even if I had to do it all over again, I still wouldn’t show mercy. The only thing I failed at, as your friend, was keeping something from you.”
“Hiding it… but it’s so painful for me.”
“Since you know everything, you should understand that if I use human lives to calculate, even if I slaughter your entire family, you still can’t pay it back.”
There are 116 people in the whole house and more than 30,000 people in the whole Shucheng. It is really a bargain for them.
Yuan Ye choked up and said, “…I know that my father has become a disabled person, and my mother and grandmother are also seriously ill… can you please stop killing them all?”
“You still have a chance to feel sorry for your loved ones, but I, even if I want to, can no longer do my filial duty…” The sadness in Xu Hang’s words was no less than Yuan Ye’s, and even a thousand times more helpless.
Neither of them spoke, they just sat there with their heads down, like sculptures.
It was a long time, so long that the sun changed direction, shone in from outside, and hung obliquely on Xu Hang. His eyelashes trembled, and he said, “Go. This is the end of my relationship with your Yuan family. You and I… even if we are not enemies, we can’t be friends either.”
“You…” Yuan Ye was a little surprised.
“I only kill those who should be killed. I don’t want to waste my energy.”
Xu Hang had not included other people in his death list. He had a scale in his heart and did not enjoy killing.
Yuan Ye stared at him and said with difficulty, “Do you still want to continue to take revenge?”
“This is the purpose of my life, to fight to the death. If you stand in my way, I will definitely not show mercy.”
Wang Ronghuo, Lao Yang, Yuan Sen… the next one should be the Chief of Staff.
The road to revenge was becoming increasingly difficult and unbelievable. Yuan Ye wanted to persuade him to give up this impossible task, but he swallowed the words back.
Weren’t the previous murders also sensational and difficult? He still did it.
The seeds of revenge have been rooted in this small body for too long and cannot be removed.
Xu Hang was afraid that Yuan Ye had made the wrong decision, so he coldly said, “I might as well tell you that you can no longer stay in Hezhou City. As a friend, I suggest that you and your family leave the country as soon as possible, the sooner, the better.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yuan Sen killed someone Duan Zhanzhou loved. Even if I choose to spare his life, that doesn’t mean Duan Zhanzhou will.”
Duan Zhanzhou has the temperament of a leopard—once he sinks his teeth into his prey, he won’t let go until it’s dead.
Since Xu Hang did not intend to kill Yuan Ye, he naturally had to ensure that he kept his mouth shut. Sparing Yuan Sen’s life was not only to make him live a life worse than death but also to make Duan Zhanzhou a threat to his life.
Only in this way would Yuan Ye be willing to leave and stay away.
Yuan Ye already knew what he meant by this and couldn’t help but smile bitterly: “You have driven away all those who know about this, and no one can doubt you anymore, so you can continue with your plan. In the past… I only thought you were smart, but today I finally know what the seven-hole exquisiteness is.”
“I’m used to pretending.”
“No,” Yuan Ye shook his head, “It’s me who… never understood you.”
In fact, Xu Hang wanted to say that Yuan Ye was the first person who could see him in disguise over the years.
How could he say he didn’t understand?
Xu Hang lowered his head and stopped looking at him: “…I won’t see you off.”
The friendship was so intense that they couldn’t even say goodbye to each other honestly.
Yuan Ye was a good friend in his life, but this time was unforgettable.
“Oh, right… after Grandma knew you were still alive, she asked me to tell you something. She wants to thank your father for saving her life. She can’t repay in this life, but she will repay in the next one.”
Yuan Ye took out the wooden box he had brought with him and placed it on the tea table next to Xu Hang.
He gave Xu Hang another deep and meaningful look.
After this glance, he will probably never see him again in his life.
He turns around and takes a step.
“Yuan Ye.”
Xu Hang’s voice was a little unsteady, and he spoke suddenly, stopping the person in his tracks.
“That day at Jinyan Tang, you said that from now on I would have friends. At that time, I was very grateful.”
The sunlight at the doorstep was so strong that Yuan Ye’s eyes felt numb and sore. He endured it for a long time before suppressing the emotions that were rolling up in his chest.
Against the light, he never looked back, raised his hand tremblingly, and shook it over his shoulder.
He was afraid of shedding tear if he look back, so he waved goodbye to forget about each other.
Putting down his hand, he walked out of Jinyan Tang with his head down.
Xu Hang held the door with one hand and looked at Yuan Ye’s back, keeping that posture until he could no longer see him.
There will never be another person like that, wearing a white suit, smiling brightly, as scattered as a ray of sunshine just shining into Hezhou City, and generously giving his beloved pen to others.
There is no one else like him who is as considerate and caring as a brother, who ignores indifference and still gives his true love enthusiastically.
There’s no one like that anymore, just a step away from becoming a lifelong confidant.
There is no one like that anymore.
He turned back and opened the wooden box left by Yuan Ye. Inside were amulets of all sizes, old and new, obtained from temples. The names of Xu Hang’s family were written on each talisman.
He can tell at a glance that this is what Old Madam Yuan has been offering to the Buddha every year for so many years.
He closed his eyes, closed the wooden box, and the lock clicked, all sounding like broken warmth.
