S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 119

Love Murderer 25 – Truth or Scam

---

In the early morning of the next day, Zhan Zhao got up and saw Bai Yutang leaning aside in a daze, his face looking haggard. Looking down, the little lion in his arms was biting his tail. Seeing that Zhan Zhao was awake, he went up and rubbed against him. Zhan Zhao rubbed him, and looked at Bai Yutang, “Xiao Bai, the bags under your eyes are so dark.”

Bai Yutang rolled his eyes and looked at Zhan Zhao, “I just hung up the phone.”

Zhan Zhao’s mouth opened in surprise, “Auntie has been scolding you for that long?”

Bai Yutang rubbed his ears, “I have tinnitus.”

“Do you want to sleep for a while?” Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang shook his head, “My dad told me to go home to check his blood relation with me. If I’m not his son, he will kill me. Even if I am his son, he will cut me down.”

Zhan Zhao couldn’t laugh or cry, “Why are you the one that was scolded?”

Bai Yutang came over and hugged Zhan Zhao, “Cat…”

Zhan Zhao patted him in comfort.

Afterwards, the two quickly got up, washed, and changed clothes. Zhan Zhao went downstairs holding the little lion. The butler brought a bottle to Zhan Zhao, and Zhan Zhao fed the little lion. The butler whispered to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, “The little lion drinks milk four times a day. He can also eat some simple food, such as tender raw meat, but he can’t eat much.”

Zhan Zhao was slightly surprised. Looking at the butler, he asked, “What do you mean?”

“It’s can’t drink regular milk, but it can drink power milk with a certain amount of glucose added.” As he spoke, he handed Bai Yutang a list, “This is the recipe.”

Bai Yutang smiled, took the recipe, and looked at Zhan Zhao, “Cat, it looks like Zhao Jue is giving him to you.”

Zhan Zhao looked at the little lion. The little lion was really cute, but Zhan Zhao hesitated, “It is very cute when it is a child, but when he grows up, what if he is as big as Lisbon? Zhao Zhen raised Lisbon for more than ten years and he is very close to humans. He is also a magician and uses him when performing… but we live in the city…”

Bai Yutang was also a little worried after hearing this, after all, lions are extremely dangerous cats. They are really cute when they are young, but when they are an adult… To add to that, they live in a densely populated city, and their work is so busy…

“Don’t worry.” The butler said suddenly, “Master asked me to tell you that it won’t grow up.”

“What?” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, and then at the butler.

The butler smiled helplessly, “This is what Master said. I have taken care of it for a month and it really hasn’t grown at all. Look at its recipe, this is also given by Master, even if it’s an adult, it will at most eat as much as a dog.”

Zhan Zhao stared at the little lion for a long time, then raised his eyes to Bai Yutang, “Doesn’t that mean he can never become as handsome as Lisbon?”

Bai Yutang weakly looked at Zhan Zhao, “Cat, you are so contradictory.”

Zhan Zhao also felt that he was being contradictory. After thinking about it, he asked the butler, “Where is Zhao Jue?”

“Master is still sleeping. He said that he won’t send you off today, as he has already said everything he knows.” The butler answered politely, then stepped back and said, “I’m going to serve breakfast. In any case, please leave after breakfast.”

At this time, Bai Chi and Luo Tian came down. As soon as he heard that the little lion was given to Zhan Zhao, Bai Chi happily said, “Lisbon has a playmate.” He also heard that the little lion will not grow up. Bai Chi was even happier and he earnestly said to Zhan Zhao, “Brother, this is the best. You know, Zhao Zhen will spend more than 100,000 yuan on raising Lisbon every year.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang raised their eyebrows, “That’s the same as the yearly income of a young white-collar worker.”

Afterwards, the butler brought breakfast, and everyone sat down to eat. The butler also sent the bed, daily necessities, toys, and other household goods used by the little lion to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang’s car. It felt… like raising a big housecat.

Zhan Zhao thought about it, then stuffed the little lion into Bai Yutang’s hands, “You eat first.” After that, he went upstairs alone and came to the door of Zhao Jue’s bedroom.

Knocking on the door, there was no response.

Zhan Zhao pushed… and the door opened. The curtains were open, and the lighting was very good. Zhao Jue was leaning on his bed, flipping through a magazine lazily. When Zhan Zhao came in, Zhao Jue looked up at him but did no speak.

Zhan Zhao walked to his bed, “Can’t afford it?”

Zhao Jue glared at him, but said nothing.

“Why won’t you talk?” Zhan Zhao asked, “It’s your fault that Xiao Bai was scolded by his mother all night.”

“Puff…” Zhao Jue covered his mouth and laughed.

……

“The little lion, why won’t it grow up?” Zhan Zhao asked.

Zhao Jue flipped through the magazine and said, “It will, it’s just that it grows slowly, very, very, slowly. So slow that even though it hasn’t grown up, it will already be old.”

Zhan Zhao frowned, “In other words, the only thing that does not get old is its face, but it still ages?”

Zhao Jue laughed, then shook his head, “You are really smart.”

Zhan Zhao was puzzled, “What’s the point of not getting old? It’s only his face.”

Zhao Jue shook his head lightly, “There are some things you don’t understand. In fact, it depends on the timing of not getting old. If you don’t age when you are a child, you can be carefree for longer. If you don’t age when you are young, you can have a bigger ambition. But if you have experienced the joys and sorrows of life, and then you discover that you will never grow old… it will only cause sorrow.”

Zhan Zhao nodded lightly and asked, “Who is that person? Why is he so like Xiao Bai? Are they related by blood?”

Zhao Jue was silent for a while before he said, “You and Bai Yutang are exactly the same, and your fate is connected. If you can find your own destiny, you can also figure out Bai Yutang’s destiny. Saving yourself means saving him, understand?”

Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, “Who do you want revenge against? Does it have anything to do with the three videos you sent us?”

Zhao Jue was silent for a while, then turned to Zhan Zhao and said, “After a while, I will leave here.”

“Huh?” Seeing that Zhao Jue suddenly changed the subject, Zhan Zhao asked, “Why?”

Zhao Jue thought for a while and said, “There is still some time. I have more things to do and I have other clues, I will send them to you. There should be no trouble in the near future, you can concentrate on solving the case.”

Zhan Zhao nodded, and the two of them sat in silence for a while before Zhan Zhao said, “The little lion, I’ll accept it, thank you.”

Zhao Jue smiled and turned to look at Zhan Zhao, “When you are not tit-for-tat, you are really cute.” (Angel: Tit-for-tat means actions done intentionally to punish other people because they have done something unpleasant to you.)

Zhan Zhao pursed his lips, “That’s because you teased Xiao Bai.”

Zhao Jue smiled and looked at Zhan Zhao, “It’s more fun to tease you.”

At this time, he heard the horn of the car downstairs honking, and Zhan Zhao knew that Bai Yutang and the others were calling him, so he stood up.

The two looked at each other for a while, then Zhan Zhao suddenly said, “We will definitely win.”

“We?” Zhao Jue widened his eyes a little and looked at Zhan Zhao, “You mean you and Bai Yutang?”

“In short, it’s us.” Zhan Zhao walked out with a smile, then looked back at Zhao Jue, “Zhao Jue, I hope that in the end, when everything is over, you can have a good ending.”

Zhao Jue stared at Zhan Zhao for a long time, “Good ending?”

Zhan Zhao nodded, thought for a while, and said, “Well, at least one that makes you happy and satisfied. Also, the two of us are indeed similar in temperament. I also think that avoiding fate is worse than to face it. If you must have revenge, you must do it heartily.”

Zhao Jue smiled, “You finally admit that you are like me?”

Zhan Zhao shrugged, “Only in one aspect. I’m not like you, but rather have a similar attitude towards things.”

Zhao Jue nodded. Zhan Zhao opened the door, and said one last thing to Zhao Jue, “Take care.” After he spoke, he closed the door, and ran downstairs. Getting into Bai Yutang’s car, he left with Bai Chi, Luo Tian, and the little lion.

Until tranquility was restored in the courtyard, Zhao Jue sat on the bed. He was too ecstatic that Zhan Zhao had just casually waved at him and told him to take care, that he didn’t even notice that the floor-to-ceiling glass door to the balcony was pushed open.

“Are you quite happy?” The person who entered walked to Zhao Jue’s side and looked at him.

Zhao Jue didn’t look up at him, but he nodded, “I haven’t been this happy in decades.”

The man sighed softly and said, “Yunwen called and scolded me.”

“Heh…” Zhao Jue smiled, “His son now suspects that he is wearing a green hat, it’s strange if he doesn’t blow up. I thought he would have had a fight with you.” (Angel: Wearing a green hat is slang that means to be cheated on by your partner; in English, people sometimes use the word cuckhold for this.)

“You are too self-willed.” The man reached out and gently tucked Zhao Jue’s hair behind his ears, “It’s not the time yet.”

Zhao Jue raised his eyebrows, “You have seen it to, that kid, he never lets me down!”

“You can’t stay here anymore, there will be danger. Leave now and come back with me.” The man said.

Zhao Jue nodded and asked the butler to pack his things, take the two children, and prepare to leave.

……

On the way back, Luo Tian drove, while Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao sat in the back seat. Zhan Zhao hugged the little lion, and Bai Yutang leaned against Zhan Zhao, taking a nap. Zhan Zhao knew that Bai Yutang had been tossed around badly over the last two days; he stayed up late the night before and didn’t sleep, then he rushed to the countryside and went to Zhao Jue’s house, and after a lot of stimulation, he was scolded all night. Knowing how tired he was, he let him sleep quietly. The little lion was quite naughty and wanted to stretch its paws out to grab Bai Yutang’s clothes, but he was dragged back by Zhan Zhao, who covered his mouth to prevent him from making trouble.

……

Gongsun stayed up all night performing the autopsy and the result he got made him more excited. By daybreak, he and Ma Xin were sitting in the forensic room, but their excitement was gone and instead, they were surprised and shocked.

“Gongsun, Xin Xin.” Ma Han poked his head in and called Gongsun and Ma Xin, “Let’s rest for a while and have breakfast.”

Seeing that the two of them looked abnormal, Ma Han walked in and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ma Xin glanced at Gongsun, and Gongsun nodded, so Ma Xin looked at Ma Han, “Brother, we found many strange clues in these corpses.”

“Strange clues?” Ma Han asked puzzledly, “I saw marks on the walls, they should have been tortured to death.”

“It’s not like that.” Ma Xin said, “It’s very strange.”

“Why is it strange?” While they were talking, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, who had just returned, walked in with coffee.

Ma Han frowned, “Captain, why don’t you rest? Even God couldn’t take it anymore.”

Bai Yutang waved his hand, “I’ll go after hearing the autopsy report.”

Ma Xin looked at Gongsun, and Gongsun said, “These people died together. They were hacked or stabbed to death, the method was like an execution.”

“What?” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him, “Weren’t they tortured to death?”

“On the contrary.” Gongsun said, “These corpses show signs that the old wounds had been healed.”

“Healed?” Zhan Zhao frowned.

“Also,” Gongsun said, “there are quite a few traces of more sophisticated surgical operations, such as amputations and suturing the skin… At that time, this absolutely required courage and medical knowledge, as it was anti-church behaviour.”

Zhan Zhao thought for a while, then asked, “In other words, the scratches on the wall may not be because they didn’t want to be tortured, but rather because they were sick and afraid of the medical techniques that look similar to torture?”

“That’s right.” Gongsun nodded, “Because they died at the same time, you can say that the place they died was not in the basement at all, but rather they were killed outside and then were collectively sent to the basement and hung up.”

Zhan Zhao was silent for a long time, and looked at Bai Yutang.

“Cat, this is really unexpected.” Bai Yutang said, “In that case, Count Bathory doesn’t look like a butcher, but rather a doctor.”

Zhan Zhao looked at the book he had brought back, and then spoke after a long time, “Is the monster family… a terrifying scam? Could it be that blood-debt-laden family is innocent and has been wronged for hundreds of years?”

“There is definitely something hidden.” Bai Yutang said, “It’s a pity that the truth has passed away hundred of years ago and only the dead know.”

Zhan Zhao touched his chin, “Wrong… there is also Zhang Ying, she should know.”

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

And another mysterious person arrives, and this one knows Yunwen

Just a quick translating update: I have finished the rest of volume 2, the chapters just need to be edited and posted!

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 11, 2021