Joven Primer Ministro, un ermitaño

Capítulo 63

The roadside here is lined with unidentified flowers, all pink and red, no other colors. These flowers aren't pretty, they're even a bit gaudy, but today they seem so lovely.

I saw a young couple walking hand in hand, the girl holding a peach blossom she had broken off. They both had happy smiles on their faces, and watching them suddenly made me feel so sad.

I walked past the crowd. Crying, all I knew was to cry.

I stand on the edge of this world, the wind blowing away my tears. I see the sunlight; is this probably the last time I'll ever see it? The sunlight is warm, like a mother's smile, bringing peace of mind.

I looked at this world helplessly, and all I could do was cry.

In this gamble with life, I ultimately lost.

I lost to life, really, no matter how much I resist, I have no power to reverse it.

For some reason, everything in my mind seems to be slipping away bit by bit. The events that just happened have suddenly become blurry, and I don't know if I'll forget everything.

But I know I will always remember one person, and that person is you.

I left, after you left.

You will never know one thing: I love you more than I love myself.

"Love you, Luo Shimin"

Is it possible that someone in this world is manipulating things?

Why would Luo Shimin leave him a letter?

At that moment, Xia Chen saw a text that resembled a monologue:

"I guess there are very few people who can remember me, just as few as I can remember. So many springs and autumns have passed, and new springs and autumns have come again, just as countless days and nights have been desolate and decadent. Although time and space have become eternal, we still have to endure the pain, the hardships of life and the unbearable ordinariness of day after day."

Probably very few people can recall what they were doing on a night many, many years ago. Those nights were so numerous and so ordinary; newborns, those fast asleep, and those struggling to sleep will not remember that night, almost identical to yesterday. Yet, it is precisely on many such seemingly ordinary nights that those destined for ordinariness had their lives transformed. Can you hear the sound from that night? It's a scream from the depths of their hearts—a heart-wrenching cry.

In my memory, he always had a pale face and a gloomy expression; I rarely saw him smile. It is said that he became hunched over when he was very young, not from the pressures of life. I guess he must have had some kind of illness at that time, perhaps lung disease or liver disease. He seemed to know it himself, as he had read many medical books and must have had some knowledge of it. However, he never revealed his condition to us until his death.

Among the fragments of my forgotten, even incomprehensible, memories, such an image often surfaces: a certain early spring afternoon, him holding my hand at the front door of our house, the afternoon sun warm and comforting, the air filled with the scent of melting snow and his inexpressible love for me.

The diary ends here, and the owner of this diary remains a mystery. He could foresee the future, and he could even make Luo Shimin write letters—what kind of person was he?

Just then, the phone rang, and Xia Chen quickly answered it.

“I’ve found a new clue. You need to get to the drain where Luo Shimin died right away.”

Ye Cheng was the one making the call. As soon as Xia Chen heard about the new clue, he became excited. He quickly put away his notes and hurried downstairs.

Ye Cheng and Li Xiao were already waiting in front of the huge pipes of the drainage system.

"Let's go in now," Ye Cheng said.

The three walked side by side when Li Xiao suddenly laughed and said, "You guys are being too tense. Let me tell you a joke." Without waiting for Ye Cheng and the other man's agreement, he started telling a joke.

"Back then, you didn't dial numbers like you do now; you inserted your finger into a round dial with a hole in it. Once upon a time, Xiaoming's phone number was 444-4444, and he often received strange calls. One midnight, the phone rang, and Xiaoming picked it up. A pitiful voice on the other end said, 'Is this 444-4444? Could you please call 119 (the emergency number) for me? I'm in so much trouble!' Xiaoming said, 'Go find someone else to help you, don't...'" "Come find me!" The person replied, "I can only call up to 444-4444, I can't call anyone else." Xiao Ming was terrified and quickly hung up. Only 444-4444? Was it a ghost? After a while, the phone rang again. Xiao Ming was too scared to answer, but the phone kept ringing, so he finally picked it up. The person said again, "Excuse me, is this 444-4444? Could you please call 119 for me? I'm in terrible trouble! My finger is stuck in the dial pad!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiao burst into laughter. Ye Cheng and Xia Chen were speechless; they'd never seen someone laugh so hard themselves before anyone else did.

After laughing heartily for two minutes, Li Xiao realized that the people around her had already moved aside. Li Xiao quickly walked over, raised her chin like a big sister, and asked boldly, "Why aren't you laughing?"

"By the way, the weather seems nice today," Ye Cheng said immediately.

Xia Chen, who was standing nearby, quickly added, "Yes, the weather is indeed very nice today."

"Hey!" Li Xiao was immediately speechless.

Ye Cheng laughed heartily and patted Li Xiao on the shoulder, then said, "Everyone be careful tonight, I have a feeling something's not right."

"I know! I knew it! All I do is work, I have no fun at all! Tsk!" Li Xiao immediately pouted.

As the three talked, they walked into the drainage ditch. A faint, putrid stench emanated from the ditch, and Li Xiao couldn't help but cover his nose.

The sewer system at Yishi College is different from ordinary sewers; it has specially designed walkways. People can walk on them, while the actual drainage channels are underneath.

The further they went in, the darker it became, so the three of them turned on their flashlights.

"What evidence?" Xia Chen asked.

"You remember the scales of that monster I received, right? I had several experts verify that the monster was indeed a snake infant," Ye Cheng said.

Xia Chen immediately clenched his fist.

"The monster active at Yishi Academy has the exact same appearance, habits, and scales as the Snake Infant. Some historians claim that the Snake Infant was used by Su Nu during the Yellow Emperor's era as a catalyst for immortality. Later, the Queen Mother of the West also used it to maintain her youth. Some say that the Snake Infant is full of resentment. It is said that they specifically target couples who are deeply in love. I suspect that the death of the couple at Yishi Academy is also related to the Snake Infant. What I want to say is that Snake Infant scales were also found near Luo Shimin. I think that thing should be active in this area."

Before Ye Cheng could finish speaking, Li Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!"

Ye Cheng and Xia Chen immediately turned around and saw Li Xiao lying in the drain, her lower body completely gone!

"Ah!" Xia Chen and Ye Cheng exclaimed in surprise. Xia Chen immediately looked around for the snake infant that had bitten off Li Xiao's lower body, while Ye Cheng jumped into the drain and picked up Li Xiao.

"Li Xiao, hold on, I'll carry you out right now! Xia Chen, call an ambulance immediately!" Ye Cheng shouted frantically.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiao suddenly reached out and grabbed Ye Cheng's trouser leg.

"Little Ye Ye, don't bother, I'm not going to make it," Li Xiao said breathlessly.

"You're not allowed to talk nonsense!" Ye Cheng said.

Li Xiao waved her hand with difficulty, and finally her hand landed on Ye Cheng's shoulder.

"Little Ye Ye, don't save me. I've lost most of my body, I won't be pretty anymore, and I won't be able to get married," Li Xiao said.

Ye Cheng nearly fainted from anger at Li Xiao. At this moment, instead of thinking about how to survive, she was thinking about looking pretty. If she hadn't been seriously injured, Ye Cheng would definitely have slapped her hard.

Ye Cheng turned to Xia Chen, who was also injured, and said, "Come and help me, I'll carry her out."

In the dimly lit drain, Xia Chen struggled to sit up. Just then, Li Xiao said, "Little Ye Ye, it hurts."

"I know you're in pain, I'll get you out of here right now." Ye Cheng said, picking Li Xiao up with his hands. Li Xiao struggled to push him away with her right hand, almost falling to the ground.

"Little Ye Ye," Li Xiao gasped, "Don't lie to yourself. It takes more than half an hour to walk out from here. By then, I'll have bled to death. Little Ye Ye, I have something to tell you."

Ye Cheng's heart tightened. Li Xiao's composure made him feel inferior, but he also felt sorry for this apprentice who hadn't been with him for very long. He wasn't made of stone; he had feelings! He couldn't bear to watch his apprentice die before his eyes!

Ye Cheng picked up Li Xiao and said softly, "Li Xiao, I will get you out of here, don't worry."

Lying in Ye Cheng's arms, Li Xiao shook her head. Covered in blood, she knew her time was limited. She took Ye Cheng's hand and whispered, "Little Ye, let me finish what I have to say."

Looking at his apprentice's pale face covered in blood, Ye Cheng felt as if his heart was being torn apart. At this moment, he only wished he could tear that thing to pieces.

"Little Ye Ye, listen to me." Li Xiao, her voice weak, stretched out her only left hand, and Ye Cheng immediately stretched out his right hand, the two hands tightly clasped in mid-air.

“Little Ye Ye, actually, my surname is Xia,” Li Xiao said.

Ye Cheng looked at Li Xiao; he had known all along.

Li Xiao then said, "I'm from the Xia Group, no, I was adopted by the Xia Group, so my surname is Xia. Listen to me, listen to me, I didn't go to the police station for any reason that could harm you. The Xia Group ordered me to investigate your secrets, but I've never done anything immoral for them. What I want to tell you is that I... I was the last person to see Tang Ying!" Li Xiao said.

Ye Cheng was immediately struck dumb, as if by a thunderbolt. Xia Chen, who was standing nearby, shuddered and rushed to Li Xiao's side.

"Li Xiao, what did you say? You've met Tang Ying?" Xia Chen asked excitedly.

Li Xiao waved his hand and said in an extremely weak tone, "Xia Chen, don't make a fuss, let me explain slowly."

Ye Cheng turned around and scolded, "Let her finish speaking!"

Xia Chen immediately shut his mouth, while Ye Cheng turned to Li Xiao and said gently, "Tell me the whole story."

Li Xiao gave a bitter smile. A tear welled up in her eye. She looked at Ye Cheng with a bitter expression and said sadly, "Little Ye, if I had told you about this earlier, perhaps all this trouble wouldn't have happened today."

It turns out that when Tang Ying found the clues to the horror diary, Li Xiao was just a high school girl. Li Xiao wasn't a student at Yishi Academy, and her acquaintance with Tang Ying was quite a serendipitous encounter.

That year, Li Xiao returned to his hometown in the countryside for a visit. On the way, he accidentally got into a conflict with a man. After returning home, Li Xiao inadvertently discovered someone bathing in the river. That person was none other than Tang Ying.

The mischievous Li Xiao stole Tang Ying's clothes and forced him to apologize before returning them. Just as Tang Ying was about to teach Li Xiao a lesson after putting the clothes on, a pair of thugs rushed out and tried to kidnap her. Thanks to Tang Ying's resourcefulness, he managed to rescue Li Xiao from the thugs.

Li Xiao was extremely grateful to Tang Ying. On the way home, Tang Ying chatted with Li Xiao and they discovered they shared many similar interests. The two became close friends, and although they hadn't known each other for long, Li Xiao treated Tang Ying like an older sister.

After briefly explaining this, Li Xiao looked up at Ye Cheng and continued, "The day before Tang Ying went to search for the Horror Files, she came to find me first."

"Go on," Ye Cheng said.

"Sister Tang Ying told me very confidently that she had discovered a major clue. She said she would find the real horror files and that she would raise enough money for her brother's tuition."

Li Xiao's voice grew weaker and weaker, and Ye Cheng could feel her body temperature dropping little by little.

“I haven’t seen Sister Tang Ying since then, and I want to find her. So, when the Xiamen Group assigned me this task, I tried every means to get into the police station and get to your side. I just want to find Sister Tang Ying, Xiao Ye Ye, I mean no harm,” Li Xiao said weakly.

Ye Cheng couldn't help but pull her into his arms, gripping her shoulders tightly.

"Li Xiao, don't say anything, I'll get you out of here," Ye Cheng cried out in anguish.

Just then, Ye Cheng heard Li Xiao laughing in his arms. Ye Cheng couldn't help but look down and saw Li Xiao looking at him with a smile on his face.

Li Xiao smiled sweetly, just like her usual sweet smile. That smile could captivate any man her age. Li Xiao's gaze was dreamy, like stars in the sky, bright yet distant.

"Little Ye Ye, Little Ye Ye," Li Xiao called softly.

"I'm here!" Ye Cheng said nervously.

"Little Ye Ye, I'll tell you a secret, one I've never told anyone before," Li Xiao said.

“Go ahead,” Ye Cheng said quickly.

Li Xiao smiled gently. Her gentle gaze became even more dreamy.

"Little Ye Ye, I like you," Li Xiao said.

In an instant, Ye Cheng felt a jolt of despair, as if he had fallen off a cliff. He looked at Li Xiao in his arms, the young and beautiful Li Xiao, her blood was slowly draining away, her life was slowly slipping away.

Li Xiao smiled slightly at Ye Cheng, panting heavily, and said in an extremely weak voice, "Little Ye, I have ten winnowing baskets, you have ten whorls, we are destined by fate..."

Li Xiao didn't finish speaking before closing her eyes.

Ye Cheng suddenly felt a pang of panic and frantically shook Li Xiao.

"Li Xiao, Li Xiao!" Ye Cheng called out in a panic.

Xia Chen walked over and placed his hand on the artery under Li Xiao's neck. He lowered his head and shook it cruelly after a long while.

Li Xiao is dead.

Ye Cheng felt a pang of heartache, and his body swayed, almost causing him to fall.

Xia Chen couldn't help but admire the girl. Despite her severe injuries, she had managed to recount Tang Ying's entire story; it took immense mental fortitude to endure such immense pain. However, he was also surprised that Li Xiao admitted to being a member of the Xia Group. Just how powerful was this Xia Group? They even had informants in the police station! They were incredibly audacious!

Looking at Li Xiao, Xia Chen thought of Luo Shimin. Did Luo Shimin also hold on for a long time before she died?

Xia Chen silently held Li Xiao in his arms, then stood up and walked into the swamp. He headed towards the exit he had come from; no matter what, he had to get Li Xiao out of there. He couldn't leave her body here.

Suddenly, Xia Chen stopped in his tracks. In the darkness, many pairs of eyes appeared out of nowhere; those eyes were emerald green, like will-o'-the-wisps.