Chapter 749: This Is Unfair

Now, if you were me...

Hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's question, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but sigh deeply.

If you were me, then between him and me, one of us definitely wouldn't be alive today; with hatred of this depth, there is absolutely no room for compromise.

Besides, I finally understand why even the all-powerful Director has no solution for your situation.

"Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma."

Looking at the three children in the semi-abandoned garden who had been chased into a frantic flight after encountering a mother bird returning to its nest while trying to steal bird eggs, Hearing Li Ang asked softly:

"Have you never sought revenge in the past because of relevant regulations within the Bureau?"

"Hmm..."

Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, who was also watching the three children, pursed her lips slightly and said:

"Unlike you, who joined the Cleansing Bureau voluntarily, we who joined through the 'Pardon Ordinance' must accept special Word Spirit constraints, promising not to use the anomalies we obtained to take revenge on our former 'enemies'.

If it weren't for the special circumstances of the Maiden Branch Bureau and Olivia's guarantee for me, a Cleanser with such a high likelihood of revenge like me would even be forcibly transferred away from my original home, never to return to my native country for the rest of my life.

This is one of the conditions under which the various kingdoms are willing to cooperate with the Cleansing Bureau, providing full financial and intelligence support, and even agreeing to grant temporary troop deployment rights; even a Level One Cleanser must abide by this."

"I see..."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's answer, Hearing Li Ang's eyebrows unconsciously furrowed slightly.

The reason why the Cleansing Bureau, despite possessing immense power, established such a "humiliating" rule is actually not hard to guess.

Considering that the birth of anomalies is indeed mostly accompanied by extremism and pain, and that Cleansers who have been immersed in them for years already have unstable mental states, once they acquire sufficiently powerful abilities, the possibility of them turning back to exact revenge is almost one hundred percent.

Taking Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma as an example, without this rule, neither the royal family nor Hou Jue of the Golden Du Juan would have allowed her to grow stronger within the Cleansing Bureau only to eventually wipe them out; they would have definitely killed her immediately upon discovering she possessed an anomaly.

And since the body of an immortal is a relatively rare special anomaly, most Cleansers' bodies are only slightly stronger than ordinary people; without special protective anomalies, being shot in a vital spot would still result in immediate death on the spot.

Without this seemingly absurd rule, many anomalies and Cleansers with great potential would probably have been eliminated before they could grow, causing a sudden drop in the manpower available to the Cleansing Bureau.

It is even more likely that in the past, when the rules were not yet mature, a large number of preemptive "root-and-branch" eliminations had already occurred, causing quite serious consequences, which prompted the Cleansing Bureau to establish such a rule to ensure its own normal continuation.

But in return, this rule that binds and protects a large number of Cleansers probably also protects quite a few scum.

Recalling the file on the Sin of the Precious Flower and the record of little Ellie's "accidental drowning," Hearing Li Ang's eyes narrowed slightly, and something seemed to burn faintly in his heart.

"Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma."

After touching the cufflink where he stored his sniper rifle, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but ask:

"With a long-range anomaly at your disposal, why do you still practice with a sniper rifle? Could it be that you intend to..."

"Yes, exactly as you think."

Looking at her daughter, whose dress was covered in dirt and whose body was stained with grass leaves, transformed from a delicate porcelain doll into a dirty little mud monkey, yet smiling with extraordinary joy, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, standing at the garden entrance, admitted with eyes full of pity:

"Because of the Word Spirit constraint, I cannot use anomalies against that person, so I specifically practiced using firearms. Previously, when I wanted to ask for your help, it was to hope to use Soul Vision to lock onto that person's location from a distance and then end everything completely, but Olivia temporarily dissuaded me.

I'm sorry, Hearing Li Ang, I shouldn't have dragged you into this.

If I had really done that back then, even if you were completely unaware, you would probably have been subjected to an investigation as well; Olivia was right, I had already been blinded by hatred at that time."

"It's fine, after all, none of that happened..."

After shaking his head slightly, Hearing Li Ang looked at the three children in the garden and said softly with a somewhat complex expression:

"Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, if you complete your revenge, what will be the price?"

"Probably having all anomalies stripped away, then being forcibly sent to the Realm of Death."

Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said calmly:

"According to relevant regulations, if this ordinance is violated, a Cleanser at the Branch Director level can still execute three cleansing missions with extremely high mortality rates consecutively; for Cleansers below the Branch Director level, the only option is execution."

Branch Director?

Hearing this, Hearing Li Ang's expression shifted slightly, and he asked:

"Have you ever thought..."

"To wait until you become a Branch Director before taking revenge, to avoid being directly executed, right?"

Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said with a calm expression:

"I have indeed thought of this path; or rather, except for the period when I discovered that Ellie was not my daughter but merely a reflection of my wish, I have always planned this way.

Although Ellie is not truly alive, she does possess my daughter's soul; I really don't want to lose her again, and I am willing to endure for her sake, but..."

After turning to look in the direction of the main manor building, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma couldn't help but smile self-mockingly.

"It seems I am not as good at enduring as I thought."

That is... the Golden Du Juan family crest?!

Following Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's gaze, seeing the emerald Golden Du Juan crest on the second-floor curtain wall and the workers currently demolishing the wall adorned with Precious Flower motifs, Hearing Li Ang was immediately greatly shocked.

Theoretically, the Golden Du Juan family and the Precious Flower family have had extremely close relations, with very frequent intermarriages over the past two hundred years; even Hou Jue of the Golden Du Juan himself gained the qualification to control the northern trade routes through intermarriage between the families.

Therefore, at a time when nobles close to the Precious Flowers are either killed or exiled and driven away, in terms of bloodline genealogy, he actually does have the qualification to inherit the Precious Flower Manor, with an inheritance order even comparable to Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's.

But if the truth is exactly as Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said, that the Golden Du Juan family was the primary culprit in the destruction of the Precious Flower family, how do they have the face to move in?

Besides... aren't you looking for death?

Discovering that Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm was slightly cold and her usually gentle eyes were filled with fierce killing intent, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but close his eyes slightly, his scalp going numb from the Golden Du Juan family's overly awesome maneuver.

If the Golden Du Juan family hadn't jumped right in front of their eyes, relying on the existence of little Ellie, Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma might have been able to continue enduring, enduring until the day she became a Branch Director. But now, the Golden Du Juan family seems to be preparing to play a game of the cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest, moving the entire family into the Precious Flower family's manor; this is truly... the enemy who destroyed the family and exterminated the clan not only flaunts themselves before one's eyes but even shamelessly moves into one's own home; anyone would find it impossible to swallow this indignity!

If Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma weren't bound by the Word Spirit and unable to use anomalies, even the cockroaches in your cabinet would be subjected to torture!

"I can drive them away!"

Golden Du Juan family occupying the manor = Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma unable to restrain herself from taking revenge = violating Cleansing Bureau regulations = Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma to be executed!

The moment this equation was formed in his mind, Hearing Li Ang immediately spoke up to propose:

"Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, endure for a little longer; I will go find the King..."

"No need."

Before Hearing Li Ang could finish, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma rejected his proposal, her expression calm as she said:

"Li Ang, for Ellie's sake I've endured for six full years, but now I truly don't want to keep enduring any longer."

"But you're already a Tier-1 Cleaner. As long as some branch bureau's director position opens up…"

"The headquarters is sealed off now. Without a director's appointment, even if there's a vacancy I can't step up to fill it, and even if there is one, it doesn't necessarily mean it'd be my turn."

After casting a tender glance at her daughter, who was holding Melanie's hand and leading her to see the flowers she had planted, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said softly:

"Also, honestly, this manor holds no real value to me. Those once-beautiful memories—as soon as I think of how they ended, they all turn into painful recollections.

The reason I'm still staying here is because Ellie can't leave this place. She can only exist within this manor full of my memories. Otherwise I would have moved out long ago."

Hearing this, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but take a deep breath, and with a hint of irritation emphasized:

"I told you, I can drive them out! You can keep living here with Ellie afterward. Just wait until headquarters unseals in half a year…"

"Li Ang, that's not the point."

After gently squeezing Hearing Li Ang's unconsciously clenched hand, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said in a soft voice:

"When I first discovered the Jin Du Juan Family wanted to move in, I did think about driving them away and then pretending nothing had happened, continuing to wait as before. But after thinking for a whole day, I've already figured it out.

There are plenty of Tier-1 Cleaners with strength about equal to mine and even longer tenure. Even if a vacancy opens, the odds are it won't be my turn to step up. So although it looks like I'm only one step away, to truly wait for the chance to act on my revenge, it might take another twenty or thirty years—or even longer."

"Li Ang, I truly cannot wait any longer."

Gazing into the distance at the golden cuckoo crest on the main building's curtain wall, as if having made some kind of decision, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's shimmering eyes settled into perfect calm,

"Do you still remember that one death-crow that was the only one to come near me?

The one that belonged to my younger sister. She was a little older than Ellie is now, but she was born frail and never grew much, so she looked about the same age as Ellie does today."

Turning to look at the three children playing in the half-overgrown garden, and recalling the little girl who had once run toward her with a beaming face along the gravel path of that same garden, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said in a gentle voice:

"My mother's health was poor. From my childhood on she was bedridden year-round, and my father was a very rigid, unapproachable man, so from a young age she loved clinging to me.

Before that incident happened, I often stayed with her in this garden. That little greenhouse in front of the garden that was just torn down—I had it built for her. It was her favorite place.

And she was much livelier than Ellie usually is, very much like Ellie today. She also loved little birds and fresh flowers, and liked drawing bright but rather ugly pictures with crayons. Perhaps Ellie would like these things because of how much I miss her…"

At this point, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma fell briefly silent, then went on:

"But she's already dead. She was strangled before me, her body collapsed right beside my mother. And the execution day is less than two weeks away from what would have been her tenth birthday."

"…"

"She was just a nine-year-old child who had never done anything wrong, yet her whole life stopped on that day, and there will never be any afterward.

And the one who truly did wrong gets to go on living without a shred of guilt, gets to swagger into her home, gets to brazenly tear down her house and completely erase every trace of her existence.

Even that person who truly deserves to die could keep on living another twenty or thirty years, until he's past his prime and grown old, until he can't even remember what he did back then—only then would he face the judgment he deserves."

After pulling her gaze back from that vivid green golden-cuckoo crest on the curtain wall, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma turned to look at Hearing Li Ang beside her, her voice calm and firm as she said:

"This isn't fair!"

"…"

In Hearing Li Ang's speechless silence, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma looked away, her expression calm as she said:

"Perhaps from the very beginning I half-knew that the Ellie of today isn't the real Ellie. But because I was greedy for that last bit of warmth, I used endurance as an excuse, deceived myself for six years, and was a coward for six years.

And now, I'm going to do what I should have done six years ago.

As a daughter, I'll kill him for my parents! As a mother, I'll kill him for Ellie who was drowned! As the last Treasure Flower, I'll kill him for those clanspeople whose deaths could have been avoided!"

"…"

……

How could anyone talk her out of this?

Watching Auntie Auntie Ai Ma beside him—no longer full of resentment, calm once more—Hearing Li Ang's heart couldn't help but turn cold.

If Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma had merely been stung by the Jin Du Juan Family's maneuver and was acting on a momentary fit of anger, then he could have found a way to talk her down, persuade her to endure a while longer for Ellie's sake.

But looking at Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma now, after that initial anger she'd spent a day thinking it through and calmed down. The woman before him had truly figured it out, had decided exactly what she meant to do. At this point, there was no way to hold her back.

"Then what about Ellie?"

Clutching at his last hope, Hearing Li Ang tried to remind her:

"You said it yourself—Ellie will grow up. So couldn't you wait just a little longer, until she's a bit bigger, at least…"

"Li Ang, you said you'd respect my wishes."

"…"

"Actually, I know you're right. If there were a better option, I might not really need to do this. But I've already waited six full years, and I truly don't want to keep waiting any longer."

After giving Hearing Li Ang a gentle smile, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma reached out and smoothed his tightly furrowed brow, asking softly:

"Let's end this topic here. Let's forget those troublesome things for now and give Ellie a birthday without regrets, alright?"

(End of Chapter)