Chapter 67: Judging Good and Evil, Deciding Life and Death

7:30, Zhuli Pavilion.

The private room is in a standard new-Chinese style, exceptionally elegant and tranquil; a round sandalwood table is paired with horseshoe chairs, and behind the dining table stands an antique ink-wash screen, with the shelves behind the screen filled with expensive red wine.

The lights were not turned on; hanging at the four corners are palace lanterns made of fine wood frames inlaid with silk and glass, with candles placed inside for illumination.

It is very atmospheric.

Yu Shixue glanced around the private room before speaking: "So you like this style; it really suits you."

Ling Wu: "You don't like it?"

Yu Shixue didn't have any particular preference: "It's alright, it's just a place to eat."

The wall clock ticked away, its hands moving slowly, about to point toward 8:00; Ling Wu leaned back against the chair, his hand reaching into his pocket, touching a glass vial of an agent, as well as a cloth and something like a pocket watch.

Yu Shixue watched him unobtrusively.

Today's Ling Wu is very unusual, his brows and eyes filled with smiles, carrying a sort of unique, forbidden allure; under the dim light, the beautiful and exquisite contours of his features and the fair, graceful lines of his shoulders and neck seemed to possess the luster of warm jade, making Yu Shixue breathe rapidly.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

Yu Shixue drank his tea, deliberately looking elsewhere: "I passed your contact information to Yu Tingyun yesterday; he was pestering me to add you."

Ling Wu: "Mm, I know."

So calm?

Yu Shixue asked again: "What did he talk to you about?"

Ling Wu answered truthfully: "Asked if I had eaten, and about some Rubik's cube formulas."

Yu Shixue was suspicious: "Didn't say anything else?"

"Anything else?" Ling Wu leaned forward slightly, staring straight into his eyes: "Is there something else he wanted to say?"

In Yu Shixue's field of vision appeared Ling Wu's face, magnified and clear from the proximity; he leaned back against the chair and replied without hesitation: "No."

"He has no filter, just don't hold it against him."

Ling Wu nodded: "I think he is very cute."

"Ding!"

Ling Wu's phone rang, and a message from Yin Cilan appeared on the screen: I've arrived at private room 109, where are you?

He checked the time; it was only 8:10, surprisingly only 10 minutes late; Ling Wu typed a reply: Ran into a temporary situation, currently at the foot of the mountain, might be a few minutes late.

-Yin Cilan: The roads are slippery in the rain, stay safe.

-05: Okay.

Through the surveillance on his phone, Ling Wu saw Yin Cilan enter private room 109; before coming, he had written a timed hacking program to cut the power for 10 seconds, and he used these 10 seconds to enter private room 109; the entire program would last for 5 minutes and 20 seconds, giving him 5 minutes to stay in private room 109.

Seeing him put down his phone, Yu Shixue asked: "Whose message?"

Ling Wu stood up: "Just a regular classmate, I'm going to the restroom first."

Yu Shixue did not doubt him: "Mm."

The public restroom is at the end of the corridor, which is right next to private room 109; Ling Wu pulled the door of private room 108 shut and walked toward the restroom.

After arriving at the restroom, he took the white gloves out of his bag and put them on, then started the program on his phone; the lights went dark instantly: 9 seconds, 8 seconds, 7 seconds, 6 seconds... 2 seconds.

Ling Wu used his gloved hand to open the door to private room 109, walked in at the very last second, and closed the door; the lights in the corridor came back on, and the candlelight inside the palace lanterns cast an ambiguous and low-key atmosphere.

Yin Cilan was looking at his phone and only looked up when he saw him enter.

The young man was as cold and aloof as before; Yin Cilan's gaze fell on his gloved hands: "What is this...?"

Ling Wu replied flawlessly: "My hands have been allergic lately, but the allergen hasn't been identified yet, so I have to wear gloves to reduce contact with allergens."

Yin Cilan: "Then you must be careful."

Time was short; Ling Wu walked straight toward the wine rack over there; the ink-wash screen separated the two of them, making things unclear, and Yin Cilan could only watch his hazy silhouette.

Ling Wu took down a wine glass, opened the cork of the red wine, and asked him: "Romanée-Conti, it's my favorite kind of red wine; does President Yin like it?"

Yin Cilan: "It's alright."

Ling Wu handed him the glass of wine; Yin Cilan's gaze was fixed on the slight luster of his lips; he took the glass and placed it on the table, reached out to wrap his arm around Ling Wu's waist, pulling him into his embrace, and leaned his nose close to his neck to take a deep breath: "You smell so good."

"President Yin..."

Ling Wu took the opportunity to wrap his arms around his neck, his eyes instantly turning cold and ruthless; his other hand took the vial of chemical agent from his pocket and fiercely plunged it into Yin Cilan's neck, completing the injection.

Yin Cilan pushed him away, his expression pained: "What did you inject into me?!"

Soon, his limbs began to lose strength.

Ling Wu held the vial of chemical agent in his slender, beautiful hand, examining it carefully under the light; his gaze was dangerous, and the smile on his refined face turned morbid, like a frame of illusion; he said: "TSR-91 Agent, also known as a military interrogation agent."

TSR-91 Agent, originating from the Federation.

It is a powerful hallucinogenic and hypnotic agent developed by the higher-ups, capable of rapidly affecting the central nervous system, causing a person to lose consciousness or experience hallucinations, significantly lowering the interrogation subject's psychological defenses, and when combined with hypnosis, achieving the effect of obeying orders; the interrogation subject will lose the relevant memories after waking up (Author's note: Purely fictional).

Yin Cilan reacted quickly: "What are you trying to do?"

Ling Wu spread his hands, his tone light: "I'm going to kill you, is it that hard to tell?"

His tone was innocent and cruel, just as if he were saying "the weather is nice."

Kill... kill him?

Why?

So, the encounters at the art gallery auditorium, and even later at Chanxin Si, were all deliberately orchestrated by Ling Wu; from the very beginning, approaching him was for this moment.

He scrutinized the face of the young man before him; the first impression that came to mind was surprisingly not that he was beautiful, but that he possessed intelligence and patience far beyond his years.

I'm afraid Ling Wu had seen through his little romantic thoughts long ago.

Standing on the sidelines, watching with cold eyes, mocking and ridiculing in his heart.

Yin Cilan's vision began to blur, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead; his chest heaved violently, his breathing rapid: "Ling Wu, don't you think your method of killing has loopholes?! There is no such thing as an airtight wall in this world; unless you didn't do it in the first place, if I die, the Yin Family will absolutely not let you go!"

His voice grew increasingly weak.

"If you... if you let me go now, I can spare your life."

The wall clock ticked away.

Two minutes left.

Ling Wu took out a hypnotic pocket watch; the swinging hand instantly captured Yin Cilan's attention, guiding him into a state of relaxation.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!"

Ling Wu's figure was thin, his back straight, and his appearance bright, polished, and refined; in reality, he was a creature wearing human skin walking through the mortal world, his insides long since rotted and decayed, destined to turn into dry bones the moment he was struck by the light of day, walking alone through years of hideous retrospection, struggling and suffering immensely to survive.

He gazed at himself in Yin Cilan's eyes, gazing into the abyss, gazing at the devil: "A life for a life is only right; I will leave evidence for the police, and the day they have ironclad proof and can arrest me according to the law will be the day I go to hell..."

"But until then, no one can stop my revenge."

Ling Wu judged good and evil, and ruled on life and death.

Likewise, good and evil judged him, life and death sentenced him, Heaven would not tolerate him, and the law would not spare him!