Chapter 226: Final Chapter

“What? Why do you think it was Zhang Qizhi who said that? Did you make some deal with him?” Gu Changzheng asked.

Xiao Hai realized he had spoken out of turn and fell silent.

Gu Changzheng smiled and said, “Xiao Hai, Lou Zhen raised you for over a decade and shares blood with you—how could you bring yourself to kill her?”

It was just an ordinary question, yet Xiao Hai reacted violently, his eyes filled with hatred: “You all think she raised me, but no one ever considers that I lost my mother as a child, had a father who didn’t even know I existed—and worse, I helped her destroy my own father! She raised me only so I could Qinshouhuidiaowodeqindie ！ Tadexinchangtaidaidule ， Haisilezijideqinshengnverbusuan ， Haiyaorangwozhegetadeqinwaisunyibeizihuozaihaisiqindiedeemengli ！”

At this point, Xiao Hai’s face twisted into a monstrous mask, veins bulging on his pale skin, his once handsome features now resembling a demon: “If I hadn’t accidentally discovered the truth about my parents, I would have killed my own father—and that would have been the moment I truly fell into hell, where the torment would begin!”

“Oh? How did you learn those hidden secrets?” Gu Changzheng sensed this was more complicated—was there someone behind it all?

Xiao Hai grinned, a bitter, hollow smile: “Who told me doesn’t matter anymore—I have no ties left in this world! Hahaha!”

“You’re only sixteen! Your life has just begun—is this really worth it?” Gu Changzheng finally voiced what he truly felt—he now realized he had always felt sympathy for Xiao Hai.

“What? You pity me?” Xiao Hai’s eyes were black as bottomless abysses; he sneered: “I was never taught pity or compassion as a child! On the surface, I was raised by Grandma, but do you know that even before I reached the height of this chair, while other kids my age carried schoolbags to class, I was forced to stay in that broken place day after day, year after year—with not a single glimpse of a future!”

“Grandma brainwashed me, saying she’d teach me skills. I asked when she’d start, and she said she had something important to do first—once I grew a little older, she’d teach me!”

“Heh!” Xiao Hai laughed bitterly: “I believed her, foolishly waiting for her to teach me. But Uncle Zhang—he often came to see me, taught me to read, taught me arithmetic. Without him, I’d have truly become a blind fool raised by her! During that time, Uncle Zhang became the only light in my life—the only person who made me feel happy.”

But one day, as usual, I was guarding the small supermarket when Uncle Zhang came again—this time, he didn’t smile at me as before. Instead, he looked at me with disgust, reeking of strong liquor. I didn’t know what had happened, only that Uncle Zhang had become terrifying. He grabbed my hand and began speaking—about a divine sect, a divine messenger, about being buried alive—I didn’t understand any of it. Then he seemed to cry, saying something like, “I gave my whole life to you, yet you still act this way!” Only later did I slowly piece it together—he had caught Grandma with another man, and he was furious.

He pointed at me and said, “All of you Lou family are evil—whores, shameless creatures!” But just as he was yelling, Grandma returned. From her expression, she clearly knew why he was angry. She didn’t get mad when he cursed—she simply walked over to him, whispered something, and then he followed her into the inner room…

At that moment, I knew no man could escape Grandma’s grasp. Perhaps only her daughter—my mother—could have been stronger than her. But that woman had already been turned into a pile of bones by her!

Gu Changzheng interrupted: “When did you find out those bones were your mother, Lou Hongyi?” He suspected the one who had written on the basement wall with Uyuyu extract was Xiao Hai—but he certainly hadn’t known at first that the bones were his mother’s.

“A woman,” Xiao Hai hissed. “A woman who felt… strange to me.” His face twisted with complex emotion—confusion, anger, sorrow, and even a trace of tenderness…

Gu Changzheng shook his head, listening intently. A woman? Who could it be? Could it be her?

Xiao Hai continued: “A woman who felt strange to me. As for my mother—I can’t recall her face clearly, only a deep, blood-bound sense of familiarity. From that woman, I felt it—faint, barely there—but that tiny sensation matched exactly what I’d imagined and dreamed about my mother.”

At this moment, Gu Changzheng was certain—the woman Xiao Hai described was Lan, Lou Hongyi’s twin sister.

“That woman told me many things I never knew—including who those bones were.”

“Didn’t you ever doubt her words?” Gu Changzheng asked.

“Heh!” Xiao Hai lifted his head. “Should I have doubted her? I never even considered it.” He chuckled. “Why would I doubt her?”

“My whole life has been used—I was just a tool. But she showed me what my mother looked like, turned my vague shadow into a clear image, gave my longing a place to rest. More importantly, she gave me hope—I finally knew who my father was!”

“Have you met him?” Gu Changzheng asked—naturally meaning Yan Kefei, the man he called his father.

“Hmph! But Lou Zhen destroyed everything! She destroyed my mother, destroyed my father, and destroyed my life—so she must die!” Xiao Hai screamed hysterically.

“You want to know how she died? I did! I had just found hope—then she crushed me back into hell! So I had to kill her!”

“I knew Zhang Qizhi hated Lou Zhen too—because she made him less than a man. She seduced his father, then… hmph! And I knew about his affair with the woman at Tianyang Hotel. So I proposed using Huang Li’s job to steal keys to the fire escape and rooftop elevator. As for the purpose—he could make up his own story. But to lure her to the hotel, we needed a reason she couldn’t refuse.”

“What reason would be perfect?” Xiao Hai smirked wickedly. “A man she couldn’t live without. Of course, we’d already chosen the man—yes, Chen Junyang. As for why—I’m sure you already know.”

“The rest you know. I naturally recognized Chen Junyang. His appearance at the supermarket was accidental—but that made it easier to feed you his name as a suspect. Even if he hadn’t shown up there, I had other ways to draw him into your attention.”

“Everything went smoothly. Still, I was merciful—I let her enjoy herself one last time before she died! Hahaha! That letter? I had Zhang Qizhi write it with the Uyuyu toxin I gave him. After Lou Zhen jumped as planned, I slipped my pre-prepared ‘suicide note’ into the scene while helping Zhang Qizhi clean up the shredded papers.”

“I didn’t want the police to believe she really killed herself—that would’ve been too boring!”

Here, Xiao Hai grinned at Gu Changzheng. “All done! Everyone who deserved to die is dead! Hahaha!”