Chapter 74

Li Lan, you are truly disgusting.

Other people's mothers are warm harbors that can provide children with care and comfort.

But as for his own mother, just at the first meeting, Li Zhuiyuan felt that the human skin on his face had a faint tendency to peel off.

They are both mother and son, and fellow patients.

From a certain angle, they should be the pair of mother and son who know each other best in the world.

Yet precisely because of this, when the two of them face each other, the disguises they each construct become completely ineffective, yet they are extremely dependent on this disguise to survive.

Because both of them are too smart.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes.

Over the past half year, his condition had been well-controlled, especially in the last few months, when he hadn't had an episode again.

He could clearly feel his own changes; when facing outsiders, he no longer observed their words and expressions in hopes of perfectly playing his role in front of everyone.

When facing outsiders, he gradually became too lazy to act.

And when facing people in close relationships, he also often deliberately didn't perform, joyfully feeling every emotional reaction that came from instinct, even if it was just a little bit.

But this is a seedling; he firmly believes that under his own careful care, it will grow into a towering tree in the future.

However, when a building is built higher, the fall is often more miserable.

It's ridiculous; just a simple encounter, and his "treatment effect" from the past half year showed signs of loosening, and what might follow after loosening is very likely a landslide.

Because when facing Li Lan, all your postures, movements, and expressions will be mobilized; even knowing that disguise is useless, people will subconsciously grab everything around them that can cover their bodies when they are stripped naked.

Fortunately, this moment isn't like when he was answering the phone at Auntie Zhang's small shop, where he had to endure Li Lan's vicious sarcasm while pretending to be a warm mother-son pair in front of Li Weihan, Cui Guiying, and others.

He came to the family compound to ask Grandpa Zhang to help him "decipher" the locations of the remaining sites. This has nothing to do with whether he is Li Lan's son or whether the mother-son relationship is good; he understands the certain quirks of these old professors too well—old buddies having new research topics to ponder together is a pleasure in itself.

Therefore, he doesn't need to perform with Li Lan here, and he doesn't need to care about the gazes of the people around him.

This is Li Lan's social network, not Li Zhuiyuan's.

The mother opened her arms, but she didn't wait for the son to throw himself into them.

Li Zhuiyuan calmly shifted his gaze; he didn't go to pull Wu Xinhan or Teacher Yan's hands to ask them to take him away quickly.

This is his home, and the woman in front of him is his mother; it's inconvenient for the two old men to do so. Of course, it could probably be done with explanations, deception, and a tough attitude, but it's a bit troublesome.

Things can actually be very simple.

For example... run.

However, Li Lan took a step first.

After all, they are acting partners who have set up the stage for so many years; even if they haven't seen each other for so long, the tacit understanding is still there.

When Li Zhuiyuan's thought of running arose, Li Lan had already put it into action.

Everything happened in a flash; when Li Lan discovered that her son wouldn't throw himself into her arms, she bent over and trotted toward her son.

The two movements were connected very quickly, so fast that it would almost never make an outsider feel that there was the slightest thing wrong.

It's not like there's only one script where the son throws himself into her arms; it's also very normal for a mother to take the initiative to run over and hug her child.

As for the child, not having seen his mother for a long time and being a bit shy and timid is also very easy to understand.

Li Zhuiyuan was hugged by Li Lan.

The boy didn't feel strange; a senior is a senior after all.

There were tears in Li Lan's eyes, and her expression was handled just right; she wrapped her right arm around the boy's back and held the boy's head with her left hand, first kissing the boy's face.

Li Zhuiyuan wanted to laugh a little; she could actually endure the physiological disgust and kiss him.

His current feeling is like being entangled by a dead-riser.

But next, a sentence Li Lan said in his ear after kissing him made Li Zhuiyuan rediscover the familiar feeling of being dominated and blindly obedient from before.

Ordinary mothers and sons are each other's soft underbelly, while they are knives stabbing into each other's soft underbelly.

She whispered:

"Want to know about that seabed?"

Immediately, she raised her volume:

"Come, son, go home with Mommy, Mommy wants to have a good talk with you."

A pure smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face, and he also raised his hands, taking the initiative to hug the "dead-riser" in front of him.

A moment later, Li Lan stood up and expressed her apologies to Principal Wu and Teacher Yan; she wanted to spend some time with her son.

This posture made Principal Wu and Teacher Yan feel a bit flattered, and they hurriedly waved their hands to indicate that there was no need to seek their opinions.

Nearby, several retired old professors of Jiangsu origin invited them to drink tea and play chess, and Principal Wu and the others immediately agreed.

Li Lan held Li Zhuiyuan's hand, and the mother and son walked toward their home.

Along the way, many grandpas and grandmas took the initiative to greet them, and the mother and son responded very naturally.

No matter what kind of questions they asked, the answers and cooperation were very appropriate, and they didn't delay their walking pace in the slightest.

When they opened the courtyard gate and walked in, the mother and son were still affectionate.

Because the courtyard is very small and is a row house, people in the next courtyard standing on the steps could still see here.

Opening the inner door, Li Lan walked in.

After Li Zhuiyuan entered, he closed the door behind him.

The moment the "click" sound rang out, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.

This wasn't an illusion.

Because the mother and son had both lost their human scent.

Li Lan must have been hungry; after sitting down at the dining table, she took out a few small bags from a box under the table and then slid one of them to the boy sitting opposite her.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the bag and opened it; inside were compressed biscuits.

He had come over right after finishing the exam in the afternoon; he was indeed hungry, but he didn't want to eat this. He put the biscuits down, wanting to save his appetite—he had to accompany Principal Wu and the others to eat Quanjude roast duck in the evening.

He actually didn't like eating greasy duck that much, but now, he was looking forward to it immensely.

The boy didn't ask Li Lan how she knew that "that seabed" had anything to do with him, because this was very easy to investigate.

He was Zheng Haiyang's classmate, Tan Yunlong had visited Zheng Haiyang's mother in the mental hospital, and he himself had bought tickets with Tan Wenbin to go to the mountain city.

For a long time at the dining table, there was only the sound of the woman chewing.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head to look at the thermos placed there; it was covered with a layer of dust, and there was no hot water inside.

He looked at the sink again; its edges still had reddish-black stains, and the faucet that hadn't been used for a long time would have rust inside when it first released water, requiring it to run for a while to clear it out.

Li Lan had also just returned home.

Li Zhuiyuan rested his hands on the tabletop and played with his fingers, incidentally calling up a few chess games he had lost to A Li from his memory to do a review.

Li Lan got up and left the table, first walking into the study on the first floor that had originally been closed, and then walked out. She was holding a briefcase, from which she extracted a document bag and threw it to the boy.

Subsequently, she picked up a water cup and began to drink a cup of tap water.

Li Zhuiyuan untied the document bag; inside was an investigation report titled "Investigation Report on the 841 Cargo Ship Incident."

It was the ship that Zheng Haiyang's parents had worked on.

Li Zhuiyuan read it page by page; some places had been painted over, which should be information that even Li Lan couldn't access.

The report detailed the ship's past history, the crew, the history of smuggling, and the subsequent collective mental breakdown of the remaining crew.

For a long time at the dining table, there was only the sound of the boy turning pages.

After reading it, Li Zhuiyuan put the document bag away, closed it with the string, and pushed it toward Li Lan.

For Li Zhuiyuan, this report was very important, yet also very useless, because it didn't record anything about the seabed.

Li Lan wasn't in a hurry to take back the document, but instead took another one out of her briefcase and placed it in the middle of the dining table; along with this document, there was also a small stack of blank report paper and a pen.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, pulled the second document bag toward him, untied it, and glanced at the title: "Investigation Report on Strange Phenomena in Fengdou."

The document had been extracted, wasn't very thick, and had color differences; it should be a summary from multiple eras.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't flip to the second page, but instead set this document aside first, then stood up again, dragged that stack of report paper in front of him, picked up the pen, and began to write down the seabed experience described to him by Zheng Haiyang's mother.

Li Lan's secretary, Auntie Xu, had come to ask Zheng Haiyang's mother a step earlier, but she had left before the results came out.

Therefore, only he knew about this part.

Li Lan was clearly not a fool like Auntie Xu. After finishing writing, Li Zhuiyuan tore off the two sheets of report paper and pushed them toward the opposite side.

Then, at the dining table, the woman held the report paper, and the boy held the document, reading quickly together.

Li Lan finished reading first; she put down the report paper in her hand, closed her eyes, and tapped her fingertips on the tabletop.

Li Zhuiyuan also finished reading; so, so many strange events had occurred in Fengdou's history, and these events only existed sporadically in the tea-time chatter of the locals and the vague memories of the old people.

Time is the best tool for obliterating traces; even if one were to go and investigate again now, one would be unable to obtain such a solid and detailed report.

There is a saying: there are only wrong names, no wrong nicknames.

Ghost City—the reason it's called Ghost City indeed has its reasons.

The supernatural phenomena occurring around it also seem to uphold a unique pattern.

Yin Fuhai's funeral was presided over by Li Zhuiyuan himself, and he had witnessed the scene of four ghosts carrying the coffin with his own eyes.

Whether Yin Changsheng recorded in "Baopuzi" and those "Daoist friends" he spoke of were still there, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't be sure; what could be determined now was that the Ghost City still maintained a unique...

It could be called a ritual, a rule, or to be colder, it could be called an operating logic invisible to the living.

His memory was very good; if he went to explore the core of Fengdou Ghost City after he became an adult, then the things recorded in this report would save him a great deal of time.

Brother Liangliang had said that the time remaining for the Ghost City wasn't much.

Li Lan took another document out of her briefcase and then threw it to the boy again.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the document bag; the title on the first page of the document was: "Investigation Report on the 572 Civil Air Defense Project in Ji'an."

The boy gripped the document tightly; the expression he had maintained until now finally couldn't be sustained.

He began to feel fear and confusion.

The civil air defense works near Ji'an with severe water seepage, the Goguryeo ghost shadows encountered during the investigation.

These were the stories that Luo Gong told them at a late-night snack stall in Wanzhou County.

Why would Li Lan specifically throw this report to him?

"841 Cargo Ship" and "Fengdou Strange Phenomena"—these two reports had specific clues that could point to him; whether it was something he had come into contact with or somewhere he had been, it could all be investigated.

But how did the content of the chat while drinking soy milk and eating grilled fish at the late-night snack stall spread out?

Did Luo Tingrui leak it?

Or did Luo Tingrui make a report after being investigated?

No, with Luo Tingrui's status, Li Lan couldn't achieve that.

Moreover, Brother Liangliang had said that they had just finished the Wanzhou project recently, and Luo Gong had also been focusing on the progress of the project.

But if it wasn't leaked from Luo Gong, it could only be the others who were present at the time.

Xue Liangliang, Tan Wenbin, Runsheng.

Li Zhuiyuan's breathing began to become rapid, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

He wanted to analyze who exactly the news had leaked from, but the premise for doing so was to discard all emotional interference and use the coldest, most rational thinking to treat everyone equally.

In normal times, this actually wouldn't be a serious matter; it could even be called a small thing.

But the problem is, he is currently facing Li Lan, and he has been holding on tight.

Any small breach at this time could trigger a collapse.

The condition he hadn't had an episode of for a long time was gradually becoming uncontrollable at this moment.

Li Lan looked at her son's painful, pale complexion at this moment; not only was there no worry on her face, but the corners of her mouth even pulled into a slight arc.

It was as if she were looking at a clown who was desperately wrapping clothes around himself while still being fundamentally stark naked.

She spoke; this was the first exchange between the mother and son after returning home.

Because they share the same illness, they know better how to make you completely fall ill.

She said:

"It's that person you are closest to and trust the most."

In Li Zhuiyuan's mind, A Li instantly appeared; he had told A Li about everything.

Instantly, he calmed down.

Li Lan's eyelids drooped slightly.

The boy spread out his right hand, looking at the scar that had long since disappeared; he remembered that at the time, there were wounds caused by five fingernails piercing into it.

That night, the girl pried open his palm, saw the self-harm scars, and turned to leave decisively.

The next day, she sat back in the room, her feet stepping on the threshold.

It was the person I am closest to and trust the most who leaked the news—A Li told Liu Yumei, and Liu Yumei then reported it upward through her connections?

Logically, it seems to make sense,

The premise is that A Li must be able to speak.

"Hehe... hehehehe..."

Li Zhuiyuan laughed.

The problem he thought was profound and complex stopped at "what is one plus one."

The well-founded foreshadowing, the atmosphere of the mother and son being alone together—the sharpest dagger in the world is a lie wrapped in truth.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at Li Lan sitting opposite him.

You shouldn't have said that extra sentence.

You thought it was the last straw that broke the camel's back, but in reality, you handed over the rope.

That sentence you just said actually exposed your trump card—the "Ji'an Civil Air Defense Project Report" was something you pulled out to play a probability game.

You couldn't make Luo Gong take the initiative to accept interrogation and report, but you could see Luo Gong's work resume, and you could also discover through some of Luo Gong's subsequent actions that he had a deep obsession with the Goguryeo ghost shadows in the civil air defense project.

You should have also seen the report on the Yong State underground palace; you felt that Luo Gong would likely tell us about this matter, because he is still Luo Gong's student.

As for whether he really said it, you don't know.

This card you played on probability—if I really immersed myself in thinking about who deliberately leaked the news, that would be truly stepping into a self-proving trap.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't in a hurry to speak, but just tore off a sheet of report paper and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Then, he picked up the pen again and began to write about "Zhu Changyong." Tan Yunlong should have reported this part long ago, but Tan Yunlong didn't know about the part where turtles crawled out of the mouths of Zheng Haiyang's family of three.

After pushing the written report paper toward Li Lan, Li Zhuiyuan picked up the "Investigation Report on the 572 Civil Air Defense Project in Ji'an."

That's right, Luo Gong said he had reported it, but the higher-ups didn't give him any feedback, because the "dream" Luo Gong reported seemed very ordinary among this crowd of reports.

Before Luo Gong and the others arrived, and before the project seepage, people had actually already died.

After Luo Gong and the others came, there were quite a few who were left inside and couldn't get out; Luo Gong himself being able to survive and come out was extremely lucky.

In the mountains, something was truly dug up—not a tomb, not an altar, not an underground palace, but...

The conclusion report of the last part was missing.

It wasn't hidden by Li Lan, but Li Lan didn't know either, or rather, she couldn't bring the complete report home.

But whether one looks at the conclusion report or not actually doesn't matter, because it's still a guess based on the method of elimination.

He'll go himself in the future; he isn't interested in Goguryeo culture, but he is very curious about Luo Gong's "white moonlight."

That night when Luo Gong was telling this experience, he heard that Luo Gong had concealed part of it; now, combined with this report, it further corroborates his judgment.

Alright, the transaction is over.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and left his seat; he didn't walk out the door, but walked to the side of the table, picked up the water kettle, went to the sink to rinse the inside, refilled it with water, put it back, and plugged it in.

While the water was boiling, the boy also picked up the rag by the side of the table to wash it, then carefully wiped the stains on the edge of the sink, and finally, washed the cloth again and folded it by the side of the sink.

At this moment, the water in the kettle also boiled.

Li Zhuiyuan walked toward Li Lan and reached out to pick up the water cup Li Lan had used to drink tap water earlier.

Li Lan had been watching his actions, her expression calm.

But her hands were already hidden inside the sleeves of her trench coat.

Li Zhuiyuan poured the boiling water into the cup, then held the cup up, first placing it in front of himself and blowing on it gently with his mouth:

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."

Finally, the boy carried the cup toward Li Lan, wearing a pure and concerned smile on his face, and said crisply:

"Mommy, drink hot water."

Li Lan's body began to tremble slightly, her breathing became rapid, and the veins on her neck were exposed.

Come on,

let's disgust each other.

(End of chapter)