In a daze, Lao Chongyuan stumbled back to his residence. He staggered into his room, where Yanrui Lee was still waiting for him.
"Husband, did something happen?"
Yanrui Lee's gaze fixed on Lao Chongyuan's chest, at the place where he had been cut.
"No, it's nothing."
Lao Chongyuan looked utterly lifeless. Over the years, his life had been smooth sailing, and his eccentricities had completely subsided in the past three years. He had a daughter, now two years old, and a son, just three months old.
As a father and a husband, Lao Chongyuan had never considered what evil truly was. Yet now, as the thought crossed his mind, his heart trembled, something deep inside him began to stir.
Looking at his sleeping wife, and at his son and daughter on the small bed beside them, Lao Chongyuan got up. It was already past midnight; the servants were all asleep, only a few guards were still patrolling.
At Lao Chongyuan's signal, the guards left the main entrance. With a creak, he opened the door, letting a gust of cold wind rush in. He shivered, and Mie quickly came in, carrying two large jugs of wine and a roast chicken.
"Hey, how are you all holding up?"
As soon as they entered the underground cell where Xu Fu and the others were imprisoned, Wu started muttering to himself.
"Smells delicious."
Mie immediately leaned in, sniffing the air. Wu tossed the whole roast chicken inside, and Mie twisted off two drumsticks, handing them to Sheng before starting to eat.
Looking at Lao Chongyuan's expression, which was now drastically different from half a month ago, Xu Fu began to smile.
"Mr. Lao, there's no need to suppress your true self. Living in a world like this is already suffocating—why stifle your own interests, right?"
"People say that good is rewarded with good, evil with evil. If the time hasn’t come, the retribution just hasn’t arrived yet. Do you believe that?"
Lao Chongyuan asked, and Mie immediately scoffed and laughed.
"It’s always been like this throughout history. Those rulers did things far more evil than anything we’ve done, yet after their deaths, people wrote books praising them, celebrating their virtues. Did those kings ever face retribution?"
Lao Chongyuan smiled faintly. Wu sat down without a word and poured Lao Chongyuan a glass of wine.
"Good and evil have a certain definition in this world, but what is truly evil, what is truly good, is not for ordinary people like us to judge."
As Xu Fu spoke, Sheng just smiled faintly.
"Good is good, evil is evil. Take Ada, for instance—he was starving to death and ended up eating human flesh. Do you think that's good or evil?"
In an instant, every pair of eyes turned to Ada, who was gnawing on his chicken, completely unaware. Lao Chongyuan looked utterly shocked.
"Have you ever eaten human flesh?"
Lao Chongyuan asked. He had heard stories of cannibalism in famine-stricken places, but this was his first time meeting someone who had actually done it.
"It tasted pretty good."
Ada muttered, grinning foolishly, completely unfazed by the others’ stares.
"For him, when he's hungry, he eats; when he's tired, he sleeps. That's his way of life. But you, Mr. Lao, you repeatedly disguise yourself as someone else—are you seeking experience, or are you tormenting yourself?"
Lao Chongyuan said nothing, just drank in silence. For him, all these years had brought little more than novelty, nothing truly special.
"I’ve always believed there’s no distinction between good and evil in this world, only between the strong and the weak. Back in the palace, I lived every day in fear—because if something went wrong with a patient, my son and I might both lose our lives. You’ve never had that experience, have you, Mr. Lao?"
Lao Chongyuan shook his head and sighed, feeling a rush of emotion. He started to tremble. He had drunk a lot, and his mind was growing fuzzy, but he was still conscious.
"Want to come with me and see something?"
Wu suddenly stood up and smiled, sending a chill through Lao Chongyuan that made his skin crawl. Startled, he quickly got to his feet.
"See what?"
"Earlier, using your name, I secretly told those poor folks that Mr. Lao once hid a stash of money outside the city for his strange interests. I’ve already told quite a few people the location."
Lao Chongyuan was startled. Looking at Wu, he realized Wu was trying to use this to draw him out. Coincidentally, Lao Chongyuan was in a bad mood tonight and had left the city alone.
"Take me there."
With the moon sinking in the west, two swift horses raced through the city.
After leaving the city, Wu led Lao Chongyuan to a secluded path and dismounted. Lao Chongyuan recognized the path—it led to a hillside where hunters entered the mountain in spring, and there was a small hut for resting. But now, with the forest still cold, the area was deserted.
"What’s going on? How many people did you tell?"
The ground was covered with countless fresh footprints, everywhere, and the tracks looked very recent.
Lao Chongyuan frowned and followed Wu down the path. After just a few hundred meters, Wu stopped. Lao Chongyuan stared quietly into the distance—at the bend ahead, the smell of blood wafted over.
"Looks like those people are waiting for dawn to make their move, heh."
Just past the bend, Lao Chongyuan saw several corpses sprawled on the ground, money scattered everywhere, and shouts coming from farther away.
"No, no, weren’t we supposed to split it evenly? Ah..."
The stench of blood grew stronger. In the moonlight, a man dragged a large bag, panting heavily.
"Who’s there?"
The man spotted Wu and Lao Chongyuan. With a sudden motion, he drew a knife and charged at them, staggering as he walked, clearly exhausted. Yet Lao Chongyuan still sensed a murderous intent.
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"Mr. Lao..."
Lao Chongyuan gripped the honest-looking man in front of him tightly. The knife in his hand was already dull.
With a little force, the man fell to the ground, hurriedly kowtowing and pointing at Wu, claiming Wu had ordered him to come. Wu, however, remained silent, watching quietly.
"Mr. Lao, my wife and child are both sick and desperately need money. I was out of my mind—please, I beg you, let me go."
Looking at the man begging for his life, Lao Chongyuan felt a surge of anger inside.
"See? People will do and say anything for themselves. Just like you, heh."
Lao Chongyuan's head buzzed, and he could even hear his own heartbeat. He walked forward slowly. Suddenly, the man gripped the knife and stabbed at Lao Chongyuan.
With a whimper, Lao Chongyuan twisted the knife away and grabbed the man's throat. With a crack, Lao Chongyuan let go, his face expressionless except for his violently trembling hands.
"You did it, Mr. Lao. How does it feel? Are you scared, or excited?"
But Lao Chongyuan said nothing, quietly turned and left, leaving Wu to clean up the corpses alone.
By dawn, Lao Chongyuan returned home. He appeared extremely calm, feeling neither regret nor fear over having killed someone for the first time in his life.
"In this world, good and evil are opposites. Without evil, good cannot stand out. The reason you are like this is because your heart yearns for those things you want to do but dare not. Am I right, Mr. Lao?"
The rooster crowed; morning had come. Lao Chongyuan returned to his cell, and Mie, half-squinting, stared at him.
"Maybe so."
By the next afternoon, Lao Chongyuan woke up, and as soon as he did, a flood of troubles came at him.
"Husband, what’s wrong? You seem like a completely different person these days."
Faced with his wife's questioning, and his swaddled daughter staring wide-eyed at him, Lao Chongyuan felt nothing inside.
He said nothing again. After handling his affairs, Lao Chongyuan went out.
Outside the city, around the hut from last night, all traces were gone. The air was much fresher. Wu sat quietly at the hut’s door, eyes closed, resting.
"Good or evil, there are still many things in this world you might want to try, Mr. Lao."
Wu asked, opening his eyes. Lao Chongyuan nodded and sat down beside him.
"I need your help."
"As you command."
Wu stood up and bowed.
"I may have to die once. In this world, the man named Lao Chongyuan must truly die."
"There’s no life left, so what does it mean to die? Mr. Lao, your essence is much like ours—evil. But in some ways, you are different. Welcome to the fold."
Wu extended a hand, and Lao Chongyuan took it. In an instant, all expression vanished from his face.
Flames erupted. Seven nights later, a fire broke out in Lao Chongyuan’s study at the Lao residence. The blazing inferno turned the sky red, and the servants rushed about in panic, trying to save lives.
Cries and screams echoed as Yanrui Lee was dragged away by the maids. She kept crying out for her husband, who still hadn’t come out, but the fire was already out of control.
"Finally free, heh."
Outside the north city gate, two carriages were ready. Mie sat at the front, stretching his limbs. Lao Chongyuan stood quietly, while Xu Fu wore a wicked smile.
"So you’ve chosen evil, Mr. Lao?"
Lao Chongyuan nodded.
"Evil is something I’ve never truly understood since childhood. What is evil, really? I want to find out."