novelraw Chapter 41 The Endgame
Chapter 41 The Endgame
He remembered that night most clearly.
He spent three whole days afterwards reviewing every detail of that night.
From the moment they climbed Jiugong Ridge, to the sudden appearance of the Xia Lan named Xu Mo, to their eventual retreat.
He replayed the scene in his mind over and over again, trying to find some clue he had missed.
However, the image becomes blurry every time the same scene is played back.
But there is one thing he remembers very clearly.
A mark.
"A person with a mark on their right hand."
A test.
Everything that night was just a test.
The defensive vulnerabilities of Jiugongling, the timing and location of the zero-tolerance deployment, and the reservation of evacuation routes.
Every step was designed by the fake leaf.
He wasn't testing Jiugongling's defensive capabilities, but rather He Chutian.
And there's Lu Siye.
He Chutian didn't know how he survived coming down from that mountain.
My memories became fragmented after that.
It was almost dawn when he ran out of the scenic area gate.
The parking lot at the foot of the mountain was empty, except for a black SUV parked at the exit.
The car windows were tinted, so you couldn't see the people inside, but the car doors opened by themselves.
He Chutian climbed into the car, slumped in the back seat, and gasped for breath.
The moment the car door closed, a familiar voice came from the front seat.
"good."
Jia Ye sat in the driver's seat, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding a small transparent bottle, which he waved in the morning light outside the car window.
"This is your payment for this."
Jia Ye handed the bottle over.
"The blood and sweat of our own people."
"The purity is much higher than what's in your body; if you drink it, the fragments will be even stronger."
He Chutian took the bottle, stared at the liquid inside for two seconds, unscrewed the cap, and drank it all in one gulp.
When the spasms finally stopped, he found that he was no longer breathing.
It wasn't because he could breathe easily anymore, but because he no longer needed to gasp for air.
The power of Taotie.
He tried to imagine a scene in his mind.
A hand, tearing something apart.
The fragments inside his body responded to him.
can.
He can tear a BaZero apart with his bare hands.
It's not zero, it's domineering zero.
He could tear it apart with his bare hands.
He Chutian looked at his hands and smiled.
ecstasy.
He finally got what he wanted.
power.
It's not a force that requires kneeling in an ancestral hall to beg for.
It belongs to him.
It was given to him by the fragments of the Taotie beast inside his body.
It was given to him by Jia Ye.
It's something the He family could never give him.
He closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and the smile on his lips lingered for a long time.
The car started, and Jia Ye didn't say another word.
A black SUV drove away from Jiugongling in the morning light and onto the highway leading to Taoyuan City.
In the rearview mirror, the mountain grew smaller and smaller until it became a blurry gray shadow, disappearing into the end of the fog.
He Chutian didn't look back even once.
He doesn't need to look back.
There was nothing left for him on that mountain.
Taoyuan University returned to normal three days after the attack.
The official explanation was that "a landslide caused damage to some facilities in the scenic area." The news broadcast it for thirty seconds, accompanied by a few photos of scattered rocks, before it was overshadowed by the next news item about rising pork prices.
No one doubted it.
That's the advantage of this era.
No one would think in the direction of "Xia Lan" and "Zero".
He Chutian felt ironic, but mostly relieved.
Fortunately, this era has forgotten the existence of Xia Lan, so he can slowly and gradually peel off the last layer of skin from this mountain without anyone noticing.
After the attack, he did one thing: investigate Lu Siye.
Lu Siye is "the person with a mark on his right hand".
This information alone is worth half the price of that bottle of heart's blood.
The other half of the price is another piece of information; Lu Siye is not the only one, he is just the beginning.
He Chutian needs to know who Lu Siye is.
The first step in the investigation, and also the simplest step.
Start with Tang Yuan.
That despicable woman.
When He Chutian referred to Tang Yuan with these three words in his heart, he did not hesitate, felt no guilt, or even show any emotional fluctuation.
In his eyes, Tang Yuan was nothing more than an ant.
No, they're not even as good as ants.
Ants at least have their own nests and queens, but Tang Yuan doesn't even have her own stance.
Four days after the attack, He Chutian arranged to meet Tang Yuan at a coffee shop near the school gate.
The reason is perfectly valid.
"I'm really sorry I ran away halfway through the campus last time I took you guys around. Let me treat you to a cup of coffee as an apology."
Tang Yuan arrived, wearing a floral dress and her hair tied in two low ponytails, looking at least three years younger than her actual age.
She smiled as soon as she entered the door, a bright and cheerful smile, like a golden retriever seeing its owner, its tail wagging so hard it almost flew up.
"Senior! Long time no see!"
She pulled out a chair and sat down, resting her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkling as she looked at He Chutian.
"I haven't seen you for the past few days, what have you been up to?"
He Chutian pushed up his glasses and gave a gentle smile: "Student council matters are a mess."
How about you? Are you adjusting well to the start of school?
"I'm getting used to it!" Tang Yuan nodded vigorously. "The cafeteria food is so delicious, I've already gained three pounds."
She pinched her cheek as she spoke, making a troubled expression, but her eyes were full of laughter, clearly indicating that she wasn't really bothered by it.
He Chutian continued the conversation, talking about the cafeteria, courses, clubs, dormitories, and everything else that could be discussed.
He brought out his best strengths to the fullest.
Gentle, humorous, considerate, and just the right amount of care.
He would look intently into Tang Yuan's eyes when she spoke, laugh along when she laughed, and ask "And then?" at just the right moment when she mentioned a detail.
This is his most skillful performance.
Tang Yuan was unsurprisingly amused by him, laughing so hard she almost fell over, occasionally slapping the table.
Occasionally, she would say in a slightly coquettish tone, "Senior, stop teasing me."
As He Chutian looked at her, he was thinking about something else.
How did this woman manage to accept his gifts and care while maintaining an ambiguous relationship with Lu Siye?
It wasn't that he was being presumptuous.
Tang Yuan's affection for him was obvious to the naked eye.
She always replied to his messages instantly, and she always came whenever he asked her out.
Every time he gave her something, she would accept it and then post a photo on her WeChat Moments with the caption "So happy today~".
Although no name was mentioned, people kept asking in the comments section of that post, "Was it that senior?"
She never denied it.
He Chutian had seen far too many women like this.
They are not bad, they are just greedy.
She greedily craved everyone's attention, greedily craved everyone's affection, and greedily wanted to keep everyone who was kind to her by her side.
Collecting other people's goodwill like collecting stamps.
They won't actively cheat, but they won't actively refuse either.
They enjoy the feeling of being pursued and the vanity of "I have so many people who like me".
Enjoy the sense of control that comes from having multiple backup options.
Tang Yuan is that kind of woman.
But He Chutian didn't care.
He even thought it was better this way.
A woman who likes you is much easier to control than a woman who doesn't.
He didn't want her feelings, he just wanted her information.
After chatting for about forty minutes, He Chutian felt that the time was right and naturally brought up Lu Siye.
"By the way, how's your fellow townsman, Lu Siye, doing lately? Has he settled in?"
Tang Yuan's expression remained unchanged, and her tone was still light: "Him? He's alright, I guess."
"He's just too quiet. He doesn't talk all day. I'm afraid he'll develop health problems from keeping it all bottled up."
"Have you known each other for a long time?" He Chutian asked.
"Not long ago..." Tang Yuan tilted her head. "I met him in high school? He transferred here and sat behind me. At first, I thought he was mute, but then I found out he just didn't like to talk."
Transfer schools.
He Chutian memorized the word.
"Where is his hometown again? Nanhe?" he continued, taking a sip of coffee.
"Yes, he's from Nanhe," Tang Yuan said. "But his family isn't well-off. His dad seems to be... well... anyway, that's the situation."
"Which situation?" He Chutian raised his eyes, his expression carrying just the right amount of curiosity, without being aggressive or pressing, more like a casual chat between friends.
Tang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice: "I haven't asked in detail, but I feel that his father might... be gone? Or something else. Anyway, he never talks about his family, and he seems... quite poor."
poor.
When He Chutian heard this word, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he quickly suppressed it.
poor.
He mentally compared the word with Lu Siye's image.
A grey hoodie with pilling cuffs, faded jeans, and black sneakers with no discernible brand.
I don't eat snacks, I don't drink beverages, and I only drink Americano coffee because it's the cheapest.
Yes, all these details match up.
But he didn't believe it easily.
This woman is very shrewd; He Chutian could tell that half of what she said was a lie.
But if half of it is true, that's enough.
"Poverty" is the best disguise.
A truly poor person doesn't need to pretend, because that's who they are.
But if someone wants you to think they are poor, all they need to do is dress plainly, eat simply, and act modestly, and you will automatically categorize them as "poor" and no longer have any reservations about them.
He Chutian understood this principle all too well.
He himself is an expert in this field.
His "illustrious family background" presented at school was a carefully crafted illusion, and his "gentle and humble" demeanor in the student council was a carefully designed disguise.
He knew that if a person wanted others to believe in what kind of person they were, they only needed to do one thing: remain consistent.
Lu Siye has remained consistent since day one.
Wearing a gray hoodie, he was quiet and unassuming, attracting little attention.
If he is indeed faking it, then his faking is even more sophisticated than He Chutian's.
Because he even erased the traces of his disguise.
"Who does he usually associate with?" He Chutian asked.
Tang Yuan thought for a moment: "It seems... I don't have any special people I interact with. I just go to class and then spend time alone."
"Oh, by the way, he seems to be getting quite close to people from the martial arts club lately."
He Chutian's finger paused on the side of the cup for a moment.
Martial arts club.
Su Nian.
"Really?" His voice remained unchanged. "He's interested in martial arts?"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me either." Tang Yuan shrugged. "I saw him on the playground once, he was standing with that... that really pretty girl from the martial arts club, they seemed to be talking about something. After that, I think I would occasionally go over there."
A very pretty girl.
Su Nian.
He Chutian picked up his coffee cup, using the act of drinking coffee to conceal the cold smile on his lips.
Lu Siye and Su Nian.
He Chutian could picture them standing together in his mind without even seeing them in person.
What are they plotting?
Or rather, does Su Nian know Lu Siye's true identity?
He Chutian kept these questions to himself and did not pursue them further.
Tang Yuan has provided enough information.
He needs to obtain the rest from other sources.
He changed the subject and chatted with Tang Tang for another half hour before ending the meeting by saying he had class in the afternoon.
Before leaving, Tang Yuan took the bag of snacks he handed her, smiled and said, "Senior, you're so kind!" Then she posted a picture of snacks and coffee on her WeChat Moments with the caption, "Today's happiness was given by someone~".
He Chutian glanced at the post on his WeChat Moments and swiped past it.
He walked out of the coffee shop, sunlight shining on his face. He squinted, took out his phone from his pocket, found an unnumbered contact, and sent a message:
"Lu Siye is poor, from Nanhe. His father's situation is unknown. He has recently been in contact with people from Jiugongling."
send.
The other party replied almost instantly:
"Received. Keep an eye on it."
He Chutian put his phone back in his pocket and walked towards the teaching building.
Tang Yuan was just one of the leads in He Chutian's investigation of Lu Siye.
The other line is more secretive and more reliable.
Zhou Che.
He Chutian first met Zhou Che last winter at an academic exchange conference.
Zhou Che is a PhD student at Tsinghua University. He wears black-rimmed glasses and has a refined appearance.
But He Chutian knew he wasn't.
Because Zhou Che's research focuses on "modern applications of ancient energy systems," which, to put it bluntly, means using modern scientific methods to study Yuan Qi and Xia Lan techniques.
This field is an extremely niche area in academia. Just how niche?
There are fewer than twenty people nationwide conducting related research, and of those, no more than five have access to core resources.
Zhou Che is one of them.
His access to core resources was not due to his exceptional academic abilities.
It is indeed not weak.
It was because his mentor was an authority in the field of Yuanqi research in China, and behind his mentor stood the head of the He family.
The Ho family needs the endorsement of the academic community to maintain their image as a "scientific research family".
Therefore, they select some promising young scholars, provide them with research funding and first-hand data in exchange for "positive conclusions" in their academic papers.
That's how Zhou Che was chosen.
What he didn't know was that the data the He family gave him was filtered, censored, and wouldn't expose any core secrets.
The Ho family would never let him touch truly valuable information.
He Chutian took advantage of this.
Through his extended family network, he privately contacted Zhou Che, using data that his main family wouldn't provide but that the academic community desperately wanted as leverage to secure Zhou Che's "cooperation."
To put it simply... Zhou Che helped He Chutian investigate things, and He Chutian provided Zhou Che with research data.
Take what you need.
Zhou Che has extensive connections in academic circles, especially in the field of "special energy bodies".
In less than three days, a detailed report was sent to He Chutian's encrypted email address.
Lu Siye: A native of Nanhe, eighteen years old, father Lu Chen, mother Lin Ruoxue.
Lu Siye's college entrance examination score was among the top 200 in the province, but his academic records from junior high and high school showed a significant "leapfrog growth" in his grades.
He ranked in the lower middle of the class in the first semester of seventh grade, but suddenly jumped to the top ten in the second semester.
A similar situation occurred again in the first semester of the second year of high school.
Near the points where grades changed, there were long periods of "leave of absence records".
Tang Yuan: A native of Nanhe, nineteen years old, whose parents run a small supermarket.
Her file was normal, with no abnormal records.
But Zhou Che noticed something.
Tang Yuan and Lu Siye did not attend the same high school.
Tang Yuan studied at Beichuan No.1 Middle School, while Lu Siye studied at Nancheng No.2 Middle School.
The two schools are more than 600 kilometers apart.
They couldn't have known each other in high school.
This woman is lying.
After reading the report, He Chutian remained silent for a long time.
Lu Siye and Tang Yuan were not high school classmates.
They knew each other before, and their relationship was quite special.
But Tang Yuan's attitude in the coffee shop was that of a "normal friend".
If it was an act, then her acting skills are good enough to win an award for Best Actress.
He Chutian listed these questions one by one in his mind, arranging them on a chessboard like chess pieces.
Then he started playing chess.
Step 1: Verify Zhou Che's credibility.
He Chutian asked Zhou Che to do a small task: check Gui Chuyu's schedule for the past week.
This isn't sensitive information; Gui Chuyu's WeChat Moments and Weibo posts have basically broadcast her daily schedule live.
Zhou Che only needs ten minutes to organize it.
Zhou Che sent a report half an hour later.
The content was basically the same as what he had seen in Gui Chuyu's WeChat Moments, but there were a few more details that he hadn't noticed.
For example, Gui Chuyu went to the hospital once on Wednesday afternoon, stayed for forty minutes, and then went to the mall and bought some things.
He Chutian confirmed Zhou Che's availability.
Although this person has little influence, he is conscientious in his work and his sources of information are reliable.
Most importantly, he believed he was doing legitimate research for the Ho family.
Instead of helping He Chutian do shady things.
A tool kept in the dark is the best tool.
Step 2: Obtain more information about Lu Siye from Tang Yuan.
He Chutian has already taken this step.
Although Tang Yuan provided limited information, one sentence in particular caught his attention.
"He does seem to be quite poor."
If this statement is true, then Lu Siye's "poverty" is real.
But if it's fake, then it's a deliberately created illusion.
He Chutian needs a third source of information for cross-verification.
Step 3: Observe Lu Siye directly.
He Chutian began to intentionally or unintentionally appear in places where Lu Siye might be.
His observations gave him a more intuitive understanding of some of the content in Zhou Che's report.
They are not picky eaters, do not waste food, and always finish their food completely, leaving not a single grain of rice.
Lu Siye never initiates conversations with anyone.
But if someone speaks to him, he will answer.
The responses are extremely brief, usually consisting of words like "um," "okay," or "I understand."
Lu Siye never plays mobile games.
He Chutian observed for a whole week.
He is no ordinary person.
But the conclusion that he is "not an ordinary person" is too broad.
What kind of ordinary person is he?
Is it like He Chutian, who possesses some kind of power within his body?
Or did they undergo special training like Su Nian?
Or something else... something even more dangerous.
He Chutian didn't know.
But he knew one thing: Jia Ye's interest in Lu Siye far exceeded her interest in him.
This realization sent a strange, indescribable feeling churning in his stomach.
Hey.
In Jia Ye's game of chess, he is not the most important piece.
Ten days after the attack, He Chutian did something he should have done long ago.
He went to find Gui Chuyu.
It's not because I miss her.
It was because he needed her body to relieve a discomfort he couldn't describe in words.
That feeling of unease started after I met Tang Yuan at the coffee shop.
It felt like something was stuck in my stomach, and I got goosebumps on my skin.
He knew where that feeling came from.
Tang Yuan.
Every time he tried to get close to Tang Yuan and try to have some kind of "idea" for her, the Taotie fragments inside him would violently resist.
It wasn't the kind of "don't come near" warning.
Rather, it is a deeper, more instinctive rejection.
It's as if your body is telling you that this woman is poison, you can't touch her, or you'll die.
He Chutian didn't understand why.
Tang Yuan's appearance would score at least 7.5 points in his aesthetic system. She is outgoing, easy to get along with, and he has a high level of affection for her.
From any rational perspective, she is an ideal "prey".
Easy to learn, easy to control, easy to discard.
But his body wouldn't allow it.
It's not a psychological rejection.
He felt no aversion to Tang Yuan; in fact, one could say he had feelings for her.
It's physiological.
Whenever he tried to imagine himself having some kind of intimate contact with Tang Yuan,
His stomach would start to spasm, and his throat would tighten.
My skin gets goosebumps, and I feel like I'm having a severe allergic reaction to something.
He even tried it once.
When their meeting at the coffee shop ended, he deliberately reached out to try and support Tang Yuan's arm.
It appeared to be just a natural expression of gentlemanly manners.
His hand had barely touched Tang Yuan's sleeve when he instinctively jerked away.
But that blow left him in pain for an entire night.
He curled up on his bed in the dormitory, biting his pillow, his sweat soaking the sheets again and again.
The fragments of the Taotie churned wildly within his body, desperately trying to escape.
The pain lasted for six hours.
When he woke up the next morning, his lips were purple.
Gui Chuyu's physical condition made him feel a little better.
It's not just psychological comfort.
It's physiological.
the next day.
He bought a bouquet of flowers at a boutique near the school gate.
It wasn't a special day, just an excuse like "I miss you".
Then I went to Gui Chuyu's dormitory building.
When Gui Chuyu came downstairs, she was wearing light makeup. When she saw the flowers in He Chutian's hand, her eyes curved into crescents. She ran over and hugged his arm.
"You're here!"
She rested her head on He Chutian's shoulder.
Her hair brushed against his neck, the soft, shampoo-scented touch causing the fragments inside He Chutian to let out a comfortable sigh.
"miss you."
He Chutian lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
Gui Chuyu raised her head, her lips slightly pursed, as if she wanted to say something, or as if she wanted to do something.
He Chutian smiled, put his arm around her shoulder, and walked towards the restaurant at the school gate.
Along the way, Gui Chuyu chattered on about what had happened recently.
He Chutian listened, occasionally responding with a word or two, a smile always on his lips.
But he was thinking about something else.
Lu Siye. Su Nian. Tang Yuan. Xu Mo. Jia Ye. Jiugongling.
These names buzzed around in his mind like a swarm of flies, impossible to get rid of or kill, and the more he tried to shoo them away, the more there seemed to be.
"Chu Tian?" Gui Chuyu's voice pulled him back to reality. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about you." He Chutian looked at her. "I was thinking about how beautiful you looked today."
Gui Chuyu blushed, then laughed and playfully punched him: "You smooth talker!"
He Chutian smiled.
That smile was perfect and flawless.
But he knew that there was nothing beneath that smile.
It has no emotions, no warmth, and none of the qualities a normal person should have.