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T/L: Finally they can rest. It felt like a very long chapter gg
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Simultaneously, Chen Ling walked slowly behind him, his gaze cutting through the numerous enforcers, locking eyes with Li Xiuchun.
The moment she saw him, Li Xiuchun's pupils contracted again!
"It's you... it's you!!" Li Xiuchun, in a frenzy, tried to break free from the ropes but was firmly held in place by other enforcers. "You should be dead!! You should have died long ago!! Calamity!! You are a calamity!!"
Li Xiuchun's roar echoed in the night, while Chen Ling stood quietly in place, looking at her with a complex expression in his eyes.
"A-Yan... A-Yan." He softly called out to Chen Yan beside him. "You go over there and wait... I'll handle this."
Chen Yan stared blankly at the crazed Li Xiuchun, brought back to his senses by Chen Ling's voice. After a long silence, he nodded...
He walked alone into the dark corner of the wall, curling up with his knees hugged to his chest, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"What's going on? Can't even keep the cloth in her mouth?"
An enforcer glared at his colleague, then bent down to pick up the white cloth and stuffed it back into Li Xiuchun's mouth.
Then he sighed heavily, comforting, "Child, don't take it too hard... Your mother has gone mad, she doesn't even know what she's saying."
"For the safety of the public, we will take them to the mental hospital for stable treatment. There's still hope for them to regain their sanity."
"Of course, you can visit them anytime during this period."
He gave the other enforcers a look, and they immediately understood, hastening their pace to transfer the two to headquarters.
Chen Ling calmly watched this scene, unable to describe the feeling in his heart. These two people raised the original host, but also took his life. From the perspective of the original host, their grievances had long been settled.
Chen Ling inherited the memories of the original host, as well as his emotions. He could vaguely sense that the original host didn't harbor much resentment towards them. To a large extent, it was because he really liked Chen Yan, his little brother.
If Li Xiuchun and the others could explain everything to the original host, he would actually be willing to exchange his life to get his brother back.
It's just a pity that the original host trusted them, but they didn't trust the original host... all because he was a child picked up from the streets.
"You must be Chen Ling, right?" a figure approached Chen Ling. "Where were you just now?"
Chen Ling turned his head, seemingly absent-minded for a moment before hoarsely speaking, "Sir... What's happening here?"
"Now, I'm asking you." His brow furrowed slightly, but after a brief pause, contemplating what the boy might be experiencing, he added, "A calamity broke into your house and frightened your parents... But they didn't resist. Don't worry, their lives aren't in immediate danger."
"Oh... Oh."
Chen Ling snapped out of his daze. "Today, I took my brother out to practice."
"Practice what?"
"Traditional theater."
Chen Ling raised his hand, holding a neatly folded robe in his arms.
Seeing this, the enforcer’s vigilance eased a bit. After all, ordinary people wouldn't carry theater costumes when they went out, so when Chen Ling said he was going to practice, he believed him for the most part. But he still asked according to procedure, "Where did you practice? Did anyone see you?"
"It's the wasteland at the east end of Cold Frost Street... No one saw us, my brother is a bit shy, he doesn't dare to sing in crowded places, otherwise, we would have practiced right in front of our doorstep."
The enforcer nodded. "It's not safe outside recently, don't wander around. If you find anything suspicious, remember to find me... My name is Jiang Qin, and I patrol the streets in this area every day."
"Okay."
"By the way, where's your brother?"
"He... He was just scared by mom and is hiding over there." Chen Ling pointed to the dark corner of the wall, where a small figure curled up, as if crying.
Jiang Qin glanced at him and nodded slightly. Just then, he seemed to remember something, "Oh, by the way, how many children are there at home?"
"Two."
"Two?" Jiang Qin narrowed his eyes. "Two?"
Hearing the subtle change in Jiang Qin's tone, Chen Ling's heart sank. Having been involved in performances for many years, he was very sensitive to such subtle differences in dialogue. He immediately calmed his mind and innocently asked, "What's the matter?"
"The records state that your family has two children, and you said the same." Jiang Qin spoke slowly. "But last night, we met your parents at the mass grave, and they said they came to pay respects to their son...but if both of you are alive, then who were they paying respects to?"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"So that's what you meant." Chen Ling's thoughts raced, and a look of understanding appeared on his face. "Many years ago, after A-Yan was born, my parents also had another child... But at that time, my mother's health wasn't very good, and the baby died of illness shortly after birth. My parents had to bury him in the back mountain. Later, every year on his birthday, they would go to pay their respects. At that time, A-Yan was only about two years old and didn't understand anything, and I only remember vague details."
The last sentence was Chen Ling's contingency plan to prevent Jiang Qin from separating him and Chen Yan for further interrogation. This way, even if Jiang Qin became suspicious and wanted to question Chen Yan again, he could justify his explanation.
Of course, he could also use the excuse of being "too young at the time" to avoid further questioning by the enforcers.
"An infant who died young... That's why there's no record of it."
As it turned out, Chen Ling had over-thought it. This enforcer named Jiang Qin didn't have such strong vigilance. He nodded, made a note, and then turned and left.
Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief in his heart...
He hadn't expected that on the night he returned, Li Xiuchun and the others had also gone to the mass grave and were caught by the enforcers... It almost blew their cover.
"Oh, by the way!" Jiang Qin turned back again.
Chen Ling: ...
Will this ever end?!
Just as Chen Ling felt his heart rising to his throat again, Jiang Qin took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him.
"This was found on Chen Tan. It's a summons from the enforcers for you. Report to headquarters tomorrow morning, and don't be late."
After saying that, Jiang Qin left, this time for real.
As the enforcers left, Cold Frost Street once again fell into silence, and Chen Ling walked to a dark corner of the street, feeling complicated.
"A-Yan..."
Chen Ling looked at the bowed head of Chen Yan, unsure of what to say.
Given the circumstances, even if Chen Yan was naive, he should have grasped that the calamity striking their home was Chen Ling. Despite being under the influence of the "audience" at that moment, he didn’t know how to explain it to Chen Yan.
Chen Ling, who was usually adept at crafting words, now found himself unusually speechless.
"Brother," Chen Yan whispered, "I'm tired..."
Chen Ling was taken aback. He never expected that Chen Yan would only say these three words in the end.
No anger, no questioning, no confusion... Chen Yan's hazel eyes looked at Chen Ling, clear and calm as usual.
Chen Ling was stunned for a long time, realizing that he couldn't see through what the young man was thinking. He gently bent down and stroked his hair.
"If you're tired, then go to sleep... I'll be here by your side."
The once-warm home now sported two gaping holes, and the living room lay in ruins. If thieves or robbers happened upon it, it would be a disgrace to their profession not to pilfer something convenient.
Chen Yan returned to his familiar bed, silently curling up under the covers. Chen Ling walked to his side, leaning against the broken wall, and sat down slowly.
Through the shattered roof, he could see the endless blue auroras dancing in the night sky, resembling soft ribbons draping across the firmament.
This was the first time Chen Ling quietly admired the auroras of this world. It seemed that at that moment, all the clutter in his mind disappeared, leaving behind a sense of tranquility.
"Brother, are you cold?" Chen Yan's voice came from under the covers.
"Not cold."
"Oh..."
Chen Yan fell silent, and after a long time, only the even sound of breathing lingered in Chen Ling's ears.
It was unclear how much time had passed, but Chen Ling's eyelids gradually closed...
He fell asleep.