While Magistrate Wang and Magistrate Gu were rubbing their hands together, feeling that their official careers were about to become smooth, Gu Jun was facing a critical problem. Should he tell the truth or continue to deny it?
Lin Yue didn’t rush him, remaining calm and focused on his studies. The wind from afar was so gentle, it whistled into his ears, stimulating his eardrums. It seemed as if he was back in the river that day, suddenly covering his ears.
After some time, the wind subsided, almost to nothing. Gu Jun tentatively lowered his hands, his gaze silently falling on Lin Yue.
Lin Yue had already filled a sheet of paper with writing. He picked it up and placed it on a large stone nearby. The stone was something he had brought back from a forest, specifically for drying inked paper. To prevent the wind from causing trouble, he used a paperweight to hold down the blank edges of the paper.
Gu Jun fiddled with his sleeve and walked over to him. The aroma of burning wood and tobacco from the branches and dead leaves mixed with the soft friction sound of the brush tip on paper, creating a long-lasting sensation.
Gu Jun’s breathing also became long and steady, his heart exceptionally calm. He came to Lin Yue’s side, realizing he was blocking the light, and moved a few steps to the side, squatting down to watch Lin Yue finish writing an incomplete character. He asked, “If a person behaves like a pig or dog, and associates with wolves, do you think this person deserves to die or not?”
Lin Yue spread out a new sheet of paper and began writing. “What do you think?” he countered.
Gu Jun replied, “I think they deserve to die.”
After speaking, Gu Jun stared at Lin Yue, wanting a satisfactory answer. However, Lin Yue remained as calm as ever, focused on his task. Gu Jun felt like he had thrown a small stone into the sea, unable to stir up any waves. He felt a mix of fear and anger, saying, “You always want me to answer your questions, why won’t you answer mine?”
Lin Yue paused his writing and said, “Alright.”
Gu Jun: “Alright? And then?”
Lin Yue: “Understood.”
Gu Jun was stunned, suddenly feeling suffocated, his vision darkening. Just as he was about to faint, he remembered he could breathe. Fresh air rushed into his lungs, and he recovered, the accumulated resentment dissipating significantly. “You don’t oppose my view?”
Lin Yue said, “Only when evil people are punished can there be peaceful days.”
“I was bullied. Would you help me kill the evil person?”
“So—you did kill Zhao Shuilai. What did he do? Kidnap you?”
Gu Jun finally made a decision and nodded slowly. Lin Yue seemed to return to the mundane world and laughed. He actually laughed. What was there to be happy about?
Gu Jun thought in a mess, pursing his lips, his lip line tight. Lin Yue only laughed for a moment, then turned slightly, lowering his eyes, appearing very gentle. He pointed to the wound on Gu Jun’s hand, which had been treated a few days ago and was now in the healing stage with a thin film on the surface, and said:
“This is a wax burn. I don’t know how you got burned by wax, but after you killed someone, you used fire to destroy the body, which is solid evidence.”
Gu Jun hid his hand behind his back. “I didn’t use fire to destroy the body…”
The memory of that day, which he had forcibly blurred, became clear again as soon as he started speaking. The high and deep sky, a lonely and cold moon hanging there, the wind in the forest was cold, the branches and leaves like the claws of a demon, the faint burning smell of paraffin, the crackling sound of a burning lamp…
Bright red blood gushed out, snaking across the ground like a serpent, painting a picture devoid of any beauty. Then, he grabbed the corpse’s arm, hoisted it onto his back, and walked deeper into the forest.
It was heavy and cumbersome. To prevent leaving traces along the way or getting blood on himself, he smeared a thick layer of mud on the fatal wound of the corpse, then took off the outer garment, rolled it into a ball, and wrapped it together with the mud and head.
His legs felt like they were filled with lead, and after walking a long distance, he put the body down, his hands hooked under the corpse’s armpits, dragging it forward. As time passed, he soon reached what he considered the best place to dispose of the body.
A cliff, with a green, bottomless, and terrifyingly lifeless small lake below. He had been here before while foraging for wild fruits and vegetables.
He picked up a sharp stone, slashed the corpse’s face, then gathered all the surrounding stones, stuffed them into the clothes of the deceased, and then—
“Plop!”
In the silent environment, the sound of an object falling into the water was as loud as a bell or drum. Birds flew away in fright, and in the distance, the faint howling of wolves could be heard. The surrounding grass and trees swayed, as if wild beasts or insects might jump out at any moment.
He broke off a finger-thick branch to use as a support, endured the pain in his knees, and hurried back. Perhaps because he walked quickly, or perhaps he was lucky, he didn’t encounter any accidents.
Returning to the forest, just before reaching the scene of the incident, he stopped, found a dark corner where he could see the scene, and observed the front.
The front was quiet. The woman hadn’t returned with help yet, or maybe she did, but seeing the situation, she left again.
He stepped forward, the blood sprayed on the ground remained as it was when he left, with only traces left by him and the deceased. This confirmed his first guess was the truth.
He wrapped the blood-stained soil and the ashes of the burnt-out lamp in his clothes, scattered them in the nearby river, and squatted by the river to clean the bloodstains on himself.
The river water that day was very cold, the blood and soil clung to his clothes, hands, and face like maggots… He used great force to scrub these areas.
He remembered that at that time, his mind was particularly clear, his emotions particularly stable, like a serial killer accustomed to taking lives, calmly and methodically executing his plan, taking pride in the fact that the authorities couldn’t catch him.
Perhaps because of this clarity and stability, he felt as if he was walking on clouds, each step not quite touching the ground, floating.
Gu Jun turned and looked at the scars on his hands, feeling that everything before was just a long, long nightmare. For a moment, he forgot what he should say next, his head touching a patch of dry warmth on either side, he turned around in a daze, raising his gaze to meet Lin Yue’s eyes.
Why do people have such deep eyes, that when they look at you, the power within can penetrate flesh and reach the heart, unconsciously leading you into the trap set by the owner of those eyes?
For Lin Yue, up to this point, this was the most harmless trap he had set, merely wanting to encourage the other to step out of the shadows, to be happy and joyful.
Gu Jun’s facial muscles moved, gradually pulling out a smile. At first, the smile was stiff, then it became natural. His eyes curved downward, the light in his pupils flowing, the lower eyelids taut, long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. A faint dimple appeared on his left cheek because of the smile.
Lin Yue was so close that he could see every muscle movement on Gu Jun’s face clearly. His hand moved down, his index finger dropping to touch the dimple on the other person’s face.
Gu Jun was extremely surprised, showing a bit of a silly expression. Lin Yue withdrew his hand and said, “If you need my help, just ask.”
Gu Jun shook his head, “I’ve handled it.” He didn’t dare to say exactly how he handled it, “Unless I’m really unlucky, it shouldn’t be uncovered.”
Hearing this, Lin Yue’s gaze darkened, looking deeply at the person in front of him. He sensed an unusual aura from the other’s words, as if this wasn’t the first time they had seen blood.
But he didn’t feel any fear from this discovery. It was as if a flame had fallen into his blood, becoming extremely hot, making him excited, his muscles tense, eyes bright, breathing rapid, fingers trembling slightly.
Gu Jun wasn’t blind, naturally noticing the other’s strange reaction. A chill climbed up his back, and he cautiously asked, “Husband, what’s wrong with you?”
Lin Yue stood up, walked to the outside of the bridge hole, poured water from a bamboo tube, and splashed it on his face. The cold pool water soaked his face, flowing down and wetting his clothes.
“Nothing.” His Adam’s apple moved, wiping the water from his face.
Gu Jun didn’t believe him for a second. This was called nothing?
However, he now understood Lin Yue. If the other didn’t want to talk, his mouth was as tightly shut as a welded clam shell, completely unopenable.
He moved next to Lin Yue, trying to pull his sleeve, but when Lin Yue moved, he missed, grabbing air. He didn’t mind, pausing for a moment, naturally adjusting his direction, and grasping the other’s wrist, saying, “If there’s something, tell me. Maybe I can help you.”
The other’s wrist was wet, initially cool to the touch, but after a few breaths, the vigorous vitality and warmth of a young body tore through the coolness, making it clearly perceptible through the skin contact.
Gu Jun couldn’t help but squeeze the other’s wrist, finding the texture comfortable.
Lin Yue raised his hand to brush off Gu Jun’s hand, but halfway through, his gaze swept over the other’s relaxed brows and eyes, his mind stirred, and he quietly put it down, saying, “Alright.”
Gu Jun squeezed twice, then let go. Lin Yue returned to his original position, poured water into the inkstone, rolled up his sleeves, and began grinding ink with moderate force. Seeing this, Gu Jun quickly stepped forward, saying, “Let me do it!”
Lin Yue handed him the ink. Gu Jun wasn’t joking about helping with the ink grinding. He had learned calligraphy, and although his writing wasn’t very pretty in the end, he knew how to grind smooth and usable ink within the material limitations.
Lin Yue saw that he knew how to grind ink and was skilled at it, and from his instincts, there was nothing unpleasant about it, so he didn’t spare any attention to watch him grind ink.
He soaked the brush tip, which had become a bit dry from being left for too long, in a small dish of water, dipped it in some ink, and continued writing his assignments.
Gu Jun ground enough ink to last a while, sitting to the side, watching the other write intently. There were many characters he didn’t recognize, but it didn’t matter. He could memorize them, and later, when Lin Yue taught him, he would learn twice as effectively.
“Breaking the topic: ‘Learning’ is not just about seeking chapters and sentences, but truly a work of cleansing the heart and seeing one’s nature, a path to understanding virtue and reason…”
Lin Yue’s voice suddenly sounded. Gu Jun looked at Lin Yue. Lin Yue pointed to the words on the paper, repeating them, saying, “If you find it difficult, I’ll teach you slowly after I finish writing.”
Gu Jun quickly said, “Say it again.” Lin Yue repeated it, and Gu Jun immediately followed along, then silently recited it several times in his mind, memorizing the passage.
Knowing that after some time, he would likely not remember the entire passage, Gu Jun seized the moment to use the passage to recognize each character on the paper, one by one.
Lin Yue wrote his assignments late into the night, and Gu Jun recognized the characters on three pages of paper. By solidly memorizing the corresponding characters on the paper through that passage, he also had Lin Yue teach him a few more passages, piecing together the characters on three pages of paper.
Gu Jun happily helped Lin Yue tidy up, and after they finished, Lin Yue took the brush and inkstone to the pool to clean them, as he had wasted the water earlier and now had no extra water to clean the brush and inkstone.
Gu Jun erased the characters he had written on the ground yesterday, squatting down to write the characters he had learned today. He had already written them several times, but afraid of forgetting and wasting his efforts, he wrote them again. Later, when he went to sleep, he would review them a few more times with his eyes closed, making them particularly memorable and not easily forgotten.
Lin Yue returned quickly. Gu Jun hadn’t finished writing the characters. Lin Yue placed the brush and inkstone properly, standing by and saying, “You’ve learned well enough, don’t practice anymore, rest early.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll have someone accompany you to redeem the clothes. Originally, I planned to redeem them today, along with borrowing books, but after handling various matters, there was no time, so we’ll have to do it another day.
“If you come across anything good and cheap along the way, you can buy it. We’ll rent a cheap house. Sleeping under the open sky isn’t good, and it’s easy to get sick. Also, once we’re settled, we’ll find a doctor to check your health.”
He originally planned to rent a better house, but hearing Gu Jun’s confession, his anger subsided, and he changed his mind. When he first saw Gu Jun’s injury, the other had hidden it from him, and he guessed it was Zhao Shuilai who had hurt him, assuming the other didn’t want him to worry.
But upon hearing the news of Zhao Shuilai’s disappearance, he understood everything, just waiting for the other to confess. If the other truly didn’t want him to worry, they should confess now. Concealing it meant either there was an unspeakable secret or they didn’t regard him highly, thinking he would be a burden if he knew, either of which could easily land him in trouble and make him untrustworthy.
Naturally, if the other didn’t confess, he had nothing to say. The other was still his wife, a wife who needed strict supervision. After losing his memory, Lin Yue knew himself best—he wasn’t a good person in the conventional sense.
He accepted this about himself, regardless of why he was like this now. On this side, Lin Yue said a lot, but Gu Jun only focused on the point he cared about most.
“Rent a house?!” he asked. Lin Yue replied, “Don’t you want to?”
Lin Yue received a more satisfying result than expected, now in a good mood, extremely willing to listen to the other’s opinions and adopt them.
“I do.” Gu Jun pounced over. Lin Yue’s neck was pressed against soft but somewhat dry hair, his Adam’s apple feeling like it was being brushed by several soft hairs, a faint itch spreading from the cartilage.
He should have pushed the person away, but when he lowered his gaze and saw the head in his arms, those should-have thoughts turned into a breath of turbid air, exhaled from his mouth.
One hand pressed against the other’s waist, the other on the back of their head, pulling them firmly into his embrace.
“Clingy,” Lin Yue commented on Gu Jun. Gu Jun didn’t understand how giving a hug made him clingy.
After thinking for less than five seconds, he figured it out. He was now a woman, the other’s wife. Such an action was indeed more ambiguous than a simple celebration, he concluded with his still-functioning high school brain.
As soon as he reached this conclusion, he instantly felt awkward, his neck, ears, and face turning red, like when he was a child, curious about his mom’s blush, secretly taking it and applying it in front of the mirror.
Gu Jun restrained the urge to push the person away, his head buried in the other’s shoulder and neck, making it hard to breathe. He poked the bottom of the other’s shoulder blade, slightly tilting his head, speaking in a muffled voice, “You’re holding too tight, let go, I’m suffocating.”
Tilting his head like this, his lips almost brushed against the other’s smooth neck skin as he spoke. He was a bit nervous, missing the other’s momentarily heavier breathing.
Lin Yue didn’t comply with his wish. Gu Jun felt the other move slightly, the hand on the back of his head lifting the hair hanging to his shoulders, brushing it over his shoulder, and touching his ear.
“Do you still have feelings for me?” Lin Yue asked.