The sky outside had darkened, and the manor’s streetlights flickered on.
Jiang Luxi followed the deep, winding flagstone path toward the rear courtyard.
She quickly found the sturdy tree she had leaned against during her earlier rest and located her phone beneath it.
But her joy lasted barely two seconds before she heard footsteps approaching. She hastily hid behind the massive tree, peeking cautiously around its trunk.
Two black-clad bodyguards came into view, struggling to carry a large burlap sack while muttering to each other.
“This one today is damn heavy!”
“Hey, you wanna do the chopping or should I?”
“Last time it was me! Can’t always be grossing me out alone.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll do it this time.”
Jiang Luxi’s face paled with horror.
Why was their conversation so strange?
Chopping?
The two men stopped before a pit Jiang Luxi had dug earlier that day. They swung the large sack between them.
“One, two, three – go!”
One bodyguard wiped sweat from his forehead, walked to a nearby bush, and pulled out a meter-long cleaver. Without another word, he jumped into the pit.
Raising the cold-gleaming cleaver, he stabbed the sack several times with sickening squelching sounds.
Then he tore the sack away and tossed it backward. The sack, dripping with viscous fluid, landed right in front of Jiang Luxi.
The faint scent of blood permeated the air.
Jiang Luxi clamped a hand over her mouth, leaning against the tree as she dry-heaved repeatedly.
Suddenly she remembered – Huo Jin Ge had told her to go upstairs earlier. Could this be that man who was led into the house?
So Huo Jin Ge really was…
Jiang Luxi’s legs turned to jelly.
This was her first time witnessing such horror firsthand.
She simply couldn’t process it.
Who said he wasn’t as terrifying as described in the books?
This was downright psychotic!
A wind swept through, rustling the leaves around them, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Jiang Luxi felt as if her blood had frozen, her entire body turning ice-cold.
This wasn’t a manor – it was a mass grave!
The two bodyguards burying the pit suddenly heard movement and turned to see a white figure flash past.
One rubbed his eyes: “Am I seeing things? Thought something went past.”
The other kept shoveling dirt without looking up: “Hurry up! These entrails in the pit are making me sick. And we’re having hot pot tonight, damn it.”
……..
Jiang Feng had been tasked with calling Jiang Luxi to dinner but found her room empty.
He scratched his head descending the stairs.
“Master Ho, she’s not in her room.”
Huo Jin Ge sat silently on the sofa, spinning his jade thumb ring, looking somewhat weary.
He pinched the bridge of his nose: “Have people search the courtyard.”
Just as he spoke, a figure dashed in from outside, heading straight for the second floor.
She moved so fast she was barely a blur.
Jiang Feng tried several times to stop her but failed.
Finally he called out: “Miss Jiang, dinner is ready.”
Jiang Luxi paused mid-step, her entire body visibly trembling. She turned her head slightly, the terror in her eyes making Huo Jin Ge frown deeply.
Shaking like a leaf, she stammered: “I’m not eating! I won’t eat today!”
As Huo Jin Ge stood up.
Jiang Luxi’s nerves snapped, as if she’d seen the most vicious criminal imaginable.A pair of dark eyes widened in terror, staring at Huo Jin Ge not far away: “Don’t come any closer, you… don’t come any closer!”
Huo Jin Ge: “……”
Jiang Feng: “……”
Huo Jin Ge stood with his hands on his hips, watching the woman scrambling up the stairs on all fours.
What’s wrong with her.
What’s gotten into her this time.
Did he commit murder or set something on fire?
Huo Jin Ge glanced at Jiang Feng, who was equally stunned, and let out a cold laugh: “She’s having another episode. Did you actually give her the Elixir?”
Jiang Feng’s eyes darted around nervously, looking somewhat guilty: “She… she took it. I put it in her milk yesterday.”
Well, one sip counted as taking it, right?
Jiang Feng suddenly remembered something and exclaimed with sudden realization: “Master, I just recalled—the housekeeper mentioned that Jiang Luxi has been really into watching movies lately.”
“Movies?”
Jiang Feng thought back to what Jiang Luxi had been watching and nodded: “Titles like ‘The Ultimate Battle Between the Villain Boss and Agent 007,’ ‘The Villain Boss Falls for Me,’ ‘The Villain Boss’s Glory Ends by My Hand,’ ‘Days and Nights Undercover with the Villain,’ ‘The Villain Takes Knives for Me, I Stab the Villain Twice More,’ ‘Memoirs of Waiting for the Villain’s Death’…”
Huo Jin Ge: “Enough!”
What kind of nonsense is she watching!
Jiang Feng scratched his head: “She probably got too immersed in the plots.”
Huo Jin Ge’s chest heaved with anger. His raised finger trembled in the air before he finally managed to spit out: “Call Lin Qing now! Tell him to get over here!”
…
In less than half an hour, Yu Yi and Jiang Feng dragged a disheveled Lin Qing—wearing only one shoe—to stand before Huo Jin Ge.
Lin Qing carefully extracted his arms from their grasp.
He looked at Huo Jin Ge’s stern face, his eyes shifting thoughtfully: “Master Ho, headache again?”
Huo Jin Ge stared at him without speaking.
Lin Qing muttered “Oh” to himself—apparently not.
“Then are you asking about the experiment progress?”
Before Huo Jin Ge could respond, a black-suited bodyguard hurried over with a serious expression: “Master Ho, there’s a police car outside.”
Huo Jin Ge narrowed his long, sharp eyes, recalling Jiang Luxi’s terrified look earlier. He cast a meaningful glance toward the upstairs before rising to follow the bodyguard out to greet the unexpected police visitors.
The police officers watched Huo Jin Ge’s belated arrival and stated officiously: “We received a report alleging a homicide occurred here, described as extremely brutal. Please cooperate with our investigation.”
Fifteen minutes later.
Two pale-faced officers covered their mouths, fighting back nausea as they addressed Huo Jin Ge: “Well… if you have someone mentally ill at home… ugh… make sure they get proper treatment.”
“Our time… ugh… is precious… ugh…”
Jiang Feng smiled apologetically and nodded: “Would you two officers like to stay for dinner? We’re having hot pot tonight.”
The two officers immediately gagged and waved their hands dismissively.
They really didn’t want to see any animal organs for a while.
……..
Jiang Luxi crouched by the third-floor staircase, peering out through the railings.
In less than half an hour, she saw Huo Jin Ge storm back into the villa, his face dark with fury.
Jiang Luxi was stunned.
This villain’s influence was truly formidable.
Even the police couldn’t touch him.
Now she was really done for…Lin Qing slipped on the pair of slippers brought by the housekeeper and was now sitting alone in the dining room, enjoying a hot pot meal.
A large copper pot sat in the center of the table, its crimson oil simmering with an aromatic fragrance.
Hearing footsteps, Lin Qing quickly rose from the chair, head bowed low, maintaining the same posture as when Huo Jin Ge had left earlier.
Huo Jin Ge entered, his gaze falling on the red oil stain at the corner of Lin Qing’s mouth.
Someone nearby pulled out a chair for him. He bent to sit, fingers tapping rhythmically on the tabletop.
“What Elixir did you prescribe? Not only is it ineffective, the symptoms have worsened.”
“I was never a psychiatrist to begin with,” Lin Qing muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?”
Lin Qing looked up with a practiced smile, explaining with professional composure, “The Elixir only serves to suppress symptoms. With current medical capabilities, a complete cure is still beyond reach.”
Huo Jin Ge’s eyes darkened, his voice dropping two degrees colder. “Speak plainly.”
“It can’t be cured.”