Ch 158: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Director Mei and Xu Tingfeng, as husband and wife, were stunned when they received the news from the police.

As ordinary people, it was almost impossible for them to imagine that people like Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei could exist in this world.

“They’re just… just monsters! Not even human!” Zhou Jinnian’s lips trembled, and after a long pause, this was all she could curse out.

But the one angrier than her was Director Mei.

Because compared to the relatively luckier twin brother, her Little Xingxing was the one who had been directly “abandoned” by his biological parents from the very beginning, doomed to a tragic life.

The orphanage and the Xu couple hoped to jointly sue Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei, demanding the harshest punishment possible.

But Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei’s defense lawyer reacted swiftly.

He applied for exemption from responsibility on the grounds of mental illness.

Their previous erratic and insane behavior was cited as evidence.

The truth of the matter, however, was something Director Mei and the Xu couple tacitly chose not to tell the children.

They would rather let the two children believe that their separation from their biological parents was due to some accident, or even a case of ordinary abandonment.

But not this bloody, disgusting truth.

Xu Xiyang naturally didn’t know anything, but how could Mu Xing be fooled?

The director had been rushing out frequently lately, and every time she contacted the police or the Xu family, she would deliberately seek out a secluded spot to take the call.

But Mu Xing’s spiritual senses were so sharp that each time Director Mei communicated with the police and the Xu family, he could hear everything clearly.

Still, if they didn’t want him to know, then he would simply act as if he didn’t.

That day, he overheard Director Mei’s furious voice: “Mental illness? I don’t believe it for a second! That diary was recorded in such detail, the thoughts so clear and logical—how could they possibly be mentally ill? This is nothing but an excuse to escape punishment!”

In that instant, Mu Xing understood their intentions.

That those two would try to use such a ploy to dodge punishment or delay things didn’t surprise him at all.

But did they really think this would be enough?

Well then, since they so desperately wanted mental illness…

Mu Xing thought: after all, they did provide the genes that created him. Naturally, he ought to repay that kindness properly. Very well, let’s grant them their wish.

Because the defense kept stressing Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei’s unstable mental condition, the case was delayed.

Everyone thought it was just an excuse.

Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei also wanted it to be an excuse.

But only they themselves knew: every night, a ghost came to them—tormenting them, hurting them.

When daylight came, the ghost disappeared.

Their wounds healed.

But the bone-deep pain and terror they had endured remained etched in their minds.

They told the police, they told the doctors, but no one believed them.

Even when they told their defense lawyer, he thought it was just a ploy to shirk responsibility.

Never before had Xiang Shen and Zhu Wei felt such despair.

One day, Director Mei and Zhou Jinnian went to see them.

They found the two had lost a shocking amount of weight, their faces gaunt, their eyes shadowed with madness.

Zhou Jinnian was startled—she couldn’t connect these broken people with the polished, refined couple she had once met at the orphanage.

But she didn’t feel the slightest sympathy.

Whenever she recalled their beast-like crimes, the more wretched they looked, the more satisfaction she felt.

Between the two, Zhu Wei was the first to crack.

When she saw Director Mei, it was as though she had seen her savior.

She almost lunged forward, clutching Director Mei’s arm like a drowning person grabbing at straw. “Director Mei! I was wrong, I sinned. I admit it, and I’m willing to pay the price. Please, ask Mu Xing to forgive me! He likes you so much—you can plead for me, tell him to let me go.

“After all, I am his mother. Without me, he wouldn’t even exist. Please, let him forgive me.”

Director Mei shoved her away in disgust.

If not for her upbringing, she would have kicked this shameless woman. “Forgive you? What right do you have to ask Xingxing for forgiveness?

“And you dare call yourself a mother? You are not worthy of that word!”

Director Mei didn’t know what Zhu Wei had been going through, but seeing her in this state, her heart only filled with revulsion. “Stop pretending to be crazy here. I’ll tell you this—none of this will help you escape justice. Don’t even dream of it!”

Zhu Wei sat on the ground in a daze.

By now she could no longer tell which was worse—suffering in prison, or enduring this endless torment.

She fainted.

Zhu Wei went mad.

She could still recognize people, but to everyone she met she would mutter that her younger son had long been dead, and that the Mu Xing now alive was a vengeful ghost wearing human skin.

Every night, he came to torment them with cruel means.

She said she herself was already dead too.

Xiang Shen had still been holding on, but once Zhu Wei collapsed, she started whispering those things into his ear day after day.

And indeed, every night, he too saw that ghost with her.

The ghost’s torment grew more and more brutal.

He began losing his grip, unable to tell dream from reality.

At first, it was only at night. But soon, he couldn’t even stay in slightly dark places, shouting that ghosts were lurking in the corners, staring at him.

At first, everyone thought the claim of mental illness was just an excuse they used to escape punishment.

But now, no one could be certain anymore.

After a new evaluation, the two of them were diagnosed with severe paranoia and tendencies toward schizophrenia.

Mu Xing overheard Director Mei on the phone, cursing bitterly: in the end, those two were sent to a psychiatric hospital.

This result clearly did not satisfy Director Mei.

But watching the seed of fear inside them grow larger instead of being suppressed, Mu Xing thought lightly: if they were given another chance, perhaps those two would actually prefer prison instead.

*

As for Xiang Shen, that matter was finished.

Director Mei never told Mu Xing the full truth. After bringing him back, much later she “casually” mentioned that his biological parents were mentally unstable and had already been sent to a psychiatric hospital.

So Mu Xing didn’t need to worry about them anymore.

As for Xu Xiyang, the Xu couple never even planned to let him know those people existed.

With parents like that, it was better as if they had never existed at all.

But near the end of summer vacation, they took Xu Xiyang to Donghai City to meet Mu Xing.

They suggested adopting Mu Xing, but Mu Xing refused.

Only then did Xu Xiyang learn that he himself had been adopted by his parents. He felt down for several days. But he had been raised with good guidance, and at only ten years old, he soon returned to his usual lively self.

The two boys exchanged contact information, and from then on, every school holiday Xu Xiyang would go to Donghai City. The bond between the two grew quite strong.

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