S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 58

Ghost Murderer 26 - Lock

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Early in the morning, Zhan Qitian parked his car in the underground parking lot of the government building and entered the elevator with his briefcase. His cell phone suddenly vibrated as he pressed the button for the 7th floor where his office was located, and he took it out to read it.

There was only one sentence on the screen. After reading it, he frowned and put the phone away… At the same time, the elevator doors opened with a 'ding'.

Walking out of the elevator, Zhan Qitian opened the door to his office and closed it with his backhand. He placed his briefcase on his office desk before he opened his mouth and asked, "Why didn't you call anyone when you arrived?"

Next to the closed door of the office stood a man in a white shirt and black suit trousers, looking slightly more dishevelled and casual than his usual well-dressed self.

"Recovered from your illness?" Zhan Qitian looked back at him, "Why are you running around everywhere?"

The other party did not say anything.

Zhan Qitian was helpless and picked up the phone, "I'll tell Yutang to come pick you up."

With a ‘click', the door was locked.

Zhan Qitian picked up the phone and found that there was no sound. When he looked down, he saw that the phone line had been ripped out.

"Are you preparing to murder me?" Putting down the phone, Zhan Qitian looked somewhat helplessly at the person who slowly walked to the sofa and sat down in front of him, "Jintang?"

The person sitting on the sofa and looking up at Zhan Qitian was none other than Bai Jintang.

It was only after a long time that he spoke, "I want to know the truth."

Zhan Qitian walked to the side and poured a cup of tea, asking, "What truth?"

"All of it."

"I don't quite understand." Zhan Qitian shook his head, "Be more specific.”

Bai Jintang looked at him and suddenly smiled, "I remember everything, I'm just giving you guys the chance to explain. If you don't explain it, does that mean I can believe what I saw?"

Zhan Qitian froze, and finally had to put down the cup and frown, "What you saw was just the surface, it doesn't represent the whole picture, let alone the so-called truth."

"So you tell me."

......

"The truth is, there is no truth." Zhan Qitian replied in a low voice, "That truth never being discovered is the best outcome, and until we all die, no one will ever know."

In the middle of their conversation, a knocking sound could be heard at the door.

Bai Jintang looked at the door.

"It's my assistant." Zhan Qitian said, "The nature of my job is special, if the door is locked in broad daylight, he will be suspicious."

Bai Jintang looked at him coldly and shook his head, signalling that he didn't believe it.

"I will only give him a few instructions, he won't run away, can a monk run away from a temple?" He said as he was about to go to open the door.

Bai Jintang frowned and walked to the door to block it.

Zhan Qitian shook his head, "Why are you so stubborn? You're just like your old man."

When Zhan Qitian said this, Bai Jintang saw a strange flash in his eyes, and at the same time, a soft click came from behind the door, which was unlocked.

Bai Jintang froze for a moment and tried to turn around, but he saw Zhan Qitian suddenly wave his hand. Bai Jintang's superb reflexes allowed him to be instinctively diverted by this one instant that ordinary people could barely notice, and at the same time, a stinging pain came from the back of his neck.

Zhan Qitian frowned, only to see a flash of understanding in Bai Jintang's eyes, along with meaningful disbelief.

"It's not what you think." Zhan Qitian wanted to explain.

However, at this moment, Bai Jintang merely slowly turned back. The figure behind him was blurred, but even if there was only a shadow, he knew who that person was…

Soon, Bai Jintang lost consciousness. Zhan Qitian reached out to hold him, frowning at the person holding the stun gun behind him, "You are sick! Can't you use a gentler approach? This is your son!"

The one who snuck up on him behind Bai Jintang was none other than the black-faced Bai Yunwen.

Putting away the stun gun, Bai Yunwen was helpless, "You think I don't want to? You can teach me the way to subdue him gently!"

"Why are you angry with me?" Zhan Qitian's face wasn't pretty either, "I'm helping you to feel sorry for your son."

"Hehe."

The two were arguing when a cold laugh came from the doorway.

Both of them looked over in unison and saw Zhao Jue leaning against the side of the door with his hands in his pockets, asking, "Is it ready yet?"

Zhan Qitian handed Bai Jintang over to Bai Yunwen and walked over to ask Zhao Jue, "Is there really no risk?"

"Oh, I can't guarantee that one, he might become crazy or demented from now on…"

Bai Yunwen's face sank as he looked at him with cold eyes, "Then you die with him!"

"Wow…" Zhao Jue shook his head, "It's been many years, why are you still so hot tempered, Yunwen? What's the use of being righteous now, if you can, save him while he's still young."

Bai Yunwen's face turned even paler and his teeth clenched.

"Don't argue." Zhan Qitian was anxious, "What's next?"

"Give me a room, this kind of thing has to be done alone."

"No." Bai Yunwen looked at him suspiciously, "Who knows what you'll do when you're alone."

Zhao Jue smiled and said indifferently, "Then go and ask that kitten to do it, he is the only one in the world who can come along with me. You can choose which one you want."

Zhan Qitian hurriedly waved his hand, "Alright, there's an empty room upstairs."

With that, he opened the elevator door and let everyone in. Bai Yunwen carried Bai Jintang in, the elevator door closed and they went up to the top floor.

Upstairs, there was an empty room, a lounge, with a bed and simple but clean furnishings.

After Bai Jintang was put down, Zhao Jue rubbed his chin and asked, “Are we erasing all his memories? Like starting all over again as a child?"

"How is that possible!" Bai Yunwen frowned, "Just erase all his memories from when he was a child, and keep the ones from the past few years.”

"Heh." Zhao Jue, unknown if it was intentional or not, smiled wickedly, "Do you think I'm an eraser, erasing wherever you want? How can such a thing be that simple?"

"You can't do it?"

"Memories are erased from back to front." Zhao Jue smiled, "I think we should just erase all the ones from after we returned from Italy."

Zhan Qitian was a bit embarrassed, "Jintang's happiest memories are probably these past few years, can't we leave the part about Gongsun?"

Zhao Jue smiled, "This is difficult, and there is also a chance that it might not be eliminated cleanly. He might remember it again."

……

The group fell silent for a moment.

"Let's do it, quickly." Bai Yunwen said and turned to leave.

"Yunwen! Wait,” Zhan Qitian chased him out to try to change his mind, but Bai Yunwen closed the door to Zhao Jue's room behind him and stopped Zhan Qitian, "… This is the only way, you know that."

Zhan Qitian frowned, "What if it's all over? What is left for Jintang? How do you plan to pay him back for a total of ten years?"

Bai Yunwen did not speak again, but it was clear that his mind was made up and he would not waver.

Zhan Qitian sighed and stood aside in dismay.

In the room, Zhao Jue looked at the door and tsked twice, "Ugh… so cruel."

After saying that, he walked over to Bai Jintang's bedside, reached out and took out his phone, quickly pressed a few buttons, and sent out a text message.

Putting away the phone and staring at Bai Jintang on the bed, Zhao Jue squatted down and lowered his voice, "Even electric shocks can't make you lose consciousness anymore? Sure enough, it's a successful product."

As his words fell, Bai Jintang, who should have been unconscious, slowly opened his eyes and turned his face to look at Zhao Jue.

"Hmph." Zhao Jue held his chin in one hand and smiled wickedly, "You're so bad, do you intend to see them make a fool of themselves?"

Bai Jintang looked at him for a moment and asked, "Who did you just text?"

"Well… a very interesting person." Zhao Jue reached out and poked the back of Bai Jintang's hand with his finger, "I'm getting revenge and preparing to watch the good show later."

"You're not hypnotising me?"

Zhao Jue smiled, staring at Bai Jintang and extending his little finger, "Let's make a deal. You don't tell anyone and I don't tell anyone, just like that time, huh?"

Bai Jintang stared at his hand for a moment before reaching out.

"Hmm." Satisfied, Zhao Jue nodded and hooked fingers with him.

"Tell me the truth." Bai Jintang demanded as Zhao Jue let go of his hand.

“Well," Zhao Jue held his chin in serious consideration before leaning over to his ear and whispering, "do you remember the things you saw when you were a child?"

Bai Jintang nodded slowly.

"I'll tell you a secret." Zhao Jue said, "Among all that you saw, there is one thing that everyone wants to know."

Bai Jintang frowned and turned to look at Zhao Jue, "What is it?"

Zhao Jue shrugged, "I'm not really sure, I searched all of your memories but couldn't find the answer."

Bai Jintang began to think back.

"Wait, now is not the time." Zhao Jue gently waved his hand and laughed, "You can only recall when I or the kitten tells you that you can remember. Don't force yourself, especially when you come across certain memory gaps, if you don't want to forget your darling once again."

Bai Jintang froze and immediately thought of Gongsun.

"Oops…" Zhao Jue chuckled, "That kind of look really screams jealousy. The two younger ones in your Bai family are so much more loving than the older ones. Is it true that they say all sons are like their mothers?"

"What are those gaps?" Bai Jintang was puzzled.

"Well…" Zhao Jue thought about it, "where do you think the best place to hide a series of passwords would be?"

Bai Jintang thought for a moment, "Remembering it yourself?"

"Smart." Zhao Jue nodded and pointed to his own head, "Hiding something in a person's head and then making that person forget that they remembered the password, that's the best safe!"

"I don't understand." Bai Jintang asked, "Who hid what in there?"

"A very important person who hid a very important password in there." Zhao Jue smiled, "Tell that kitty quietly when you have time, he'll be so excited that his fur will explode all over."

Bai Jintang frowned, "Would it kill you guys if you didn't keep us guessing?!"

"We don't know much either." Zhao Jue stood up and looked at his watch, "It's almost time, we had a deal, don't you dare ruin my stage later."

Bai Jintang's face eased slightly and he requested, "One last question."

"Hmm?” Zhao Jue looked at his watch, urging him to ask quickly.

"Back then, why did he do that?"

"He?” Zhao Jue asked with a smile, "You mean Yunwen?"

Bai Jintang nodded.

Zhao Jue smiled and leaned over, "I'm not telling you!"

Bai Jintang frowned and Zhao Jue chuckled, “Take some time to think about it yourself.”

As he spoke, he heard the sound of the elevator doors opening outside the door.

Excitement washed over Zhao Jue's face, "Here it comes, here it comes, there's a good show to watch!"

Outside the door, the people rushing out of the elevator were none other than Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao.

The two of them had actually stayed awake since then, waiting anxiously. Just now, Zhan Zhao had received a text message asking them to come to the top floor of his father's office, so the two of them rushed over.

Bai Yunwen and Zhan Qitian saw the two of them and their faces changed, both secretly cursing Zhao Jue – That bastard, he's only afraid that the world won't have chaos!

"Where's Brother?!" Bai Yutang asked as he walked over.

Bai Yunwen frowned, "Go back, there's no business for you here."

Bai Yutang's face was unpleasant as he disobeyed Bai Yunwen's order for the first time. Zhan Zhao looked over to where Bai Yunwen was standing. Behind him was a closed door, the door number indicated was the same number that Zhao Jue had told him.

Exchanging a glance with Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao asked Zhan Qitian and Bai Yunwen, "Dad, Uncle Bai, is Brother in there."

Neither of them could say anything.

Bai Yutang was about to enter the room when Bai Yunwen intercepted him, "Stop."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the door slowly opened.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked up, only to see Zhao Jue slowly walking out, smiling at the two of them.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao glanced at each other, and saw that inside the room, Bai Jintang was sitting on the bed with a bewildered look on his face.

"Brother!" Bai Yutang rushed in, and Bai Yunwen couldn't stop him even if he tried.

Zhao Jue raised an eyebrow, "I'm leaving." Turning back around, he exchanged a glance with Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Jintang in the room and looked at Zhao Jue with some suspicion.

Zhao Jue gave him a meaningful smile and walked away.

Bai Yutang entered the room and went to Bai Jintang's side, "Brother, how are you?"

Bai Jintang looked at him with some confusion and shook his head, "Where is this place?"

Bai Yutang's expression changed and he calmed down a bit before saying, “Brother… let’s go back, Gongsun is waiting for you."

Bai Jintang was still confused, "Gongsun?"

Bai Yutang instantly turned pale. Zhan Zhao could see clearly from the doorway, and he frowned slightly before seeing Bai Yutang stand up and look back at Bai Yunwen at the door.

Zhan Zhao was startled. This was the first time he saw such a look from Bai Yutang.

Bai Yunwen couldn't take it anymore and turned to leave.

"Don't go, who are you to do this…"

"Yutang!" Bai Jintang pulled Bai Yutang and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Brother…"

Bai Yutang was anxious and angry, and he felt his head buzzing. Zhan Qitian hurriedly pulled Bai Yunwen, who had an ugly face, "Let's go."

Bai Yunwen was pulled away, and as he was leaving, he heard Zhan Zhao ask, "Is this really a good choice?"

Zhan Qitian pushed Bai Yunwen into the elevator and turned back to say, "Don't say that, you'll understand later."

……

"Don't go! Say it clearly!" In the room, Bai Yutang tried to go out and stop them, but Bai Jintang grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Brother…"

Bai Yutang tried to tell Bai Jintang not to stop him, but he met Bai Jintang's eyes, and the look in his eyes made Bai Yutang pause…

"You, didn't…"

Bai Yutang's words had just reached his throat when Bai Jintang went to his ear and whispered two words.

Bai Yutang froze.

At the door, the elevator closed with a ding, and Bai Yunwen and Zhan Qitian left.

Zhan Zhao walked in, leaned against the door, and asked, "Faking it?"

Bai Jintang got up from the bed and straightened his sleeves, "Does it look like that?"

"Well, there's basically no flaws." Zhan Zhao shrugged, "What does Zhao Jue want?"

"Just to watch a good show." Bai Jintang replied nonchalantly.

"Sure enough."

"Let's go back." Bai Jintang went out.

When Zhan Zhao was about to follow him out, he saw Bai Yutang standing still, frowning and looking down.

"Yutang?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's go." Zhan Zhao took his hand and walked outside, reaching the parking lot and driving Bai Jintang back to the villa.

"You guys go in first." When they reached the entrance of the villa, Bai Jintang told Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "Call Gongsun out for me."

"You guys are going out?" Bai Yutang seemed uneasy.

"My memory has returned." Bai Jintang smiled.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had no choice but to go back and call for Gongsun.

Gongsun ran out the door and saw Bai Jintang standing by the car, smiling at him.

"Is everything alright?" Gongsun hurriedly looked him up and down.

"It's okay." Bai Jintang shook his head with a cigarette in his mouth and pulled him into the car, "I'll take you somewhere."

"Then you remember…"

Before he could finish speaking, Bai Jintang took the opportunity to fasten his seatbelt and kiss him.

……

After Zhan Zhao returned to the villa, in a blink of an eye, there was no trace of Bai Yutang.

"Where's Yutang?"

"Seems to have gone to the backyard." Luo Yang pointed to the garden in the backyard.

Zhan Zhao hurriedly walked towards the backyard, and sure enough, he saw Bai Yutang standing in the greenhouse.

The greenhouse was made by Ma Xin and the girls. They had cultivated many exquisite flowers, including tulips, blue roses, and lilies… All of them were beautiful varieties.

The sunlight poured down through the glass. Bai Yutang, wearing all white, was standing beside a flower arrangement, thinking… Zhan Zhao gently raised his eyebrows and thought to himself that if it wasn't for the hint of sadness between his eyebrows, he would really be like Prince Charming in a complete mess.

Walking over and approaching, Zhan Zhao reached out and ruffled his black hair, which glowed light brown in the sunlight, asking him, "Just now, did Brother say something to you?"

Bai Yutang pulled his eyes back from looking aimlessly into the distance, locked eyes with Zhan Zhao, and nodded, “En."

Zhan Zhao tilted his head slightly, waiting for him to continue.

Bai Yutang was just about to speak when Zhan Zhao lightly touched his lips with his finger and smiled, "Let me guess… well, the person who shot him back then wasn't Zhao Jue, was it?"

Bai Yutang was surprised, "How do you know?"

"Seeing that Zhao Jue was so angry that he was about to fly, it was clear that something was bound to have gone wrong… So who was the person who shot Brother?"

Bai Yutang held his forehead, "As you said, there's a big mess!"

"Oh, I understand." Zhan Zhao nodded somewhat helplessly and asked, "Your father?"

“En."

“Brother was still young and what he saw may not be true. Although your father may be stubborn and always dark-faced, he's not a bad person." Zhan Zhao said, patting Bai Yutang's arm, "What else did Brother say?"

Bai Yutang was silent for a moment, "Brother said that he has a secret in his head, a secret that even Zhao Jue couldn't find."

"Oh…" Zhan Zhao suddenly snapped out of it, "I understand why Zhao Jue wanted to seal Brother's memories back then!"

Bai Yutang smiled, "There was a lock that he couldn't open himself and he didn't want others to take away what was inside, so he added another lock of his own."

Zhan Zhao laughed, "Mm-hmm, it's indeed something he would do.

"But now the second lock has been unlocked." Bai Yutang said, "It means…"

"The person who has the key to the first lock will appear at any moment." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Of course, if they are still alive."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

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

Translated: January 15/18, 2021