From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Chapter 718: Chapter 688: Keeping Vigil

The Zhou Brothers seemed to have suddenly come to terms with reality and played the role of filial sons and grandsons. On the night before the funeral, the two brothers took the initiative to take on the responsibility of staying by the spirit.

Xu Chunliang thought these two were definitely shedding crocodile tears and didn’t agree with his grandfather’s handling of the situation.

Mei Ru Xue advised him to focus on the big picture and avoid any additional complications at this time, to get through the funeral peacefully.

Seeing the Zhou Brothers putting on a performance in the mourning hall, Xu Chunliang felt annoyed, so he went to the street corner to clear his mind.

He happened to see his father, Xu Jiaxuan, standing alone under a big locust tree, chatting on the phone, looking in pretty high spirits and smiling widely.

Although Xu Chunliang understood that his father didn’t have deep feelings for his great-uncle, acting like this would definitely earn a slap if his grandfather saw it. Xu Chunliang quietly approached him from behind, curious about who Old Xu was talking to so cheerfully.

Xu Jiaxuan was extremely alert, and as soon as Xu Chunliang got close, he noticed. He covered the phone with his hand, turned around, and when he recognized it was his son, he gave him a glare and said into the phone, "Someone’s here, let’s talk next time."

Xu Chunliang looked at him with disdain, "What, doing some clandestine work? Can’t be seen by people?"

Xu Jiaxuan replied confidently, "Can’t I have a little privacy? Why are you so nosy, just like your mom."

Xu Chunliang said, "Good thing I didn’t take after you, otherwise I’d rather smash my head in."

"What kind of talk is that? Is that how little you think of your old man?"

Xu Chunliang stared at him for a while, feeling his father’s profile had a bit of resemblance to Zhou Renhe, and reminded him, "Old Xu, tone it down for a couple of days. Acting so cheerful just now, if grandpa saw, the consequences could be serious."

Upon mentioning the elder, Xu Jiaxuan quickly scanned around to make sure his father wasn’t nearby before he felt relieved and sighed, "What can I do? I flew all the way here, sacrificing several days. As for this great-uncle, I’m not that familiar; there might be some sense of loss, but I’m not really that sad. Your dad is a straightforward person, not good at pretending."

Xu Chunliang knew what he said was true.

Xu Jiaxuan took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for himself, and Xu Chunliang helped him light it.

Xu Jiaxuan grinned; his precious son was finally being filial, and he took a puff of smoke and asked, "Why are you out here?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Most of the guests have arrived, and there’s nothing much going on."

Lowering his voice, Xu Jiaxuan asked, "Can’t stand looking at those two acting disgustingly, right?" Nobody knows a son better than his father, and he somewhat understood his son.

Xu Chunliang nodded.

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Elder Zhou left the inheritance to you, and it seems like you got a great deal, but actually he left you a big problem. Our Xu Family might not be super wealthy, but we’re not short of a few bucks."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Quite a big mouth, isn’t it? What the great-uncle left me isn’t just a few bucks, the properties and cash add up to fifty million, and most importantly, the Renhe Hall trademark."

Xu Jiaxuan replied, "We have our own Huichun Hall, but now you’ve become an enemy to the Zhou Brothers. They aren’t good people, who knows what sinister tricks they’ll come up with against the Xu Family in the future."

Xu Chunliang asked, "Have you ever worried about Xu Family matters?"

His son’s question left Xu Jiaxuan speechless. After a moment of silence, he sighed, "I know I’ve let the family down over these years. Son, I’ve heard that Elder Zhou was murdered?"

Xu Chunliang recounted the incident of Zhou Renhe being attacked; the Jizhou police are also investigating this matter now.

Xu Jiaxuan asked, "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"

Xu Chunliang replied, "It’s not right to speak carelessly without evidence."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "What if there was evidence?"

Xu Chunliang looked at him in surprise, "You seem to know something?"

Xu Jiaxuan quickly shook his head, "I just said it casually. I just find this matter a bit suspicious."

"Then say it! What do you suspect?"

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Just my gut feeling. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence. I’ve checked out the old house too, who would generally be interested in this place? Whoever did this is probably in the know and took advantage of Elder Zhou’s absence to uncover the secrets hidden in the old mansion."

Xu Chunliang nodded. Despite Xu Jiaxuan’s playfulness, he was pretty sharp-minded, and Xu Chunliang felt the same way. "The police investigation shows nothing seems to be missing here. They say someone broke in and happened to be caught by the great-uncle, forcing the thug to escape and push down the great-uncle in haste."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Your great-uncle probably didn’t get a clear look at the thug; the thug must have been disguised, otherwise, he might have killed to silence him."

Xu Chunliang said, "That’s not much different from killing to silence." He first suspected one of the Zhou Brothers, but since his great-uncle didn’t identify them after regaining consciousness, Xu Chunliang thought maybe Zhou Renhe didn’t denounce them for the sake of kinship; but what ultimately made him decide to sever ties with Zhou Yiwen and Zhou Yi Wu before he died?

Xu Jiaxuan asked, "Didn’t the old mansion have surveillance cameras?"

"Yes, but it’s been broken for a long time."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "We can investigate what those two brothers were doing at the time."

Xu Chunliang said, "The police have already checked, and both of them provided alibis."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Alibis can be easily faked using the Mandela Effect to create the illusion of being elsewhere." The Mandela Effect he referred to is a phenomenon of collective false memory, where a large group’s memory of an event or thing doesn’t match the actual circumstances.

Xu Chunliang said, "There’s no need to overthink it. Once Granduncle is buried, I will get to the bottom of this."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Actually, it’s quite simple to get to the bottom of this, and now is the best opportunity."

Xu Chunliang looked at Xu Jiaxuan with some surprise: "Have you already thought of a way?"

Xu Jiaxuan said, "I do have a master’s degree in psychology; I know how to use ordinary people’s psychology."

Xu Chunliang found Xu Jiaxuan increasingly interesting and smiled: "Let’s hear it."

Xu Jiaxuan said, "Talking is all well and good, but action is better. Tonight, the two of us will cooperate to uncover the truth. We cannot let your Granduncle die without clarity."

In the early hours, the old house in the ancient alley fell silent, with only the lanterns inside the mourning hall still lit. The wind picked up, bringing drizzling rain that fell on the tent, creating a rustling sound like silkworms munching on mulberry leaves.

At this time, only the Zhou Brothers were keeping vigil.

Zhou Yiwen yawned, noticing Zhou Yi Wu dozing off beside him. He nudged him with his elbow to check on the eternal lamp, which probably needed more oil.

Zhou Yi Wu stretched lazily and got up to add oil.

Zhou Yiwen squatted down to burn joss paper, whispering, "Dad, have a good journey. No matter how you treated us, our brotherly duo came."

Zhou Yi Wu, after adding the oil, also squatted across from him, tossing in joss papers. He picked up one piece of ignited joss paper to light his cigarette but got smoke in his eyes. He threw down the joss paper, rubbing his eyes while smoking: "The old man may not appreciate our efforts."

Zhou Yiwen said, "Whether he appreciates it or not, we’re doing this for peace of mind."

Zhou Yi Wu snorted coldly: "He’s in a good position, leaving everything behind and us to clean up this mess and deal with all the troubles?"

Zhou Yiwen said, "Walls have ears, be careful what you say."

Zhou Yi Wu sneered: "And if they hear? I’m not afraid of them." He got up, pointing at Zhou Renhe’s portrait, "If you truly have a spirit in heaven, start using your brain. It’s true you founded Renhe Hall, but it achieved its current scale through our efforts. On what grounds do you leave what’s rightfully ours to others?"

Although Zhou Yiwen also harbored deep resentment towards the old man, he wasn’t as disrespectful as Zhou Yi Wu.

Zhou Yiwen whispered, "Yi Wu, don’t cause trouble."

Zhou Yi Wu said, "I’m causing trouble because he forced me to. I really don’t understand, do you think us yielding and compromising will move the Xu Family, causing Xu Chunliang to return what’s rightfully ours? Keep dreaming; everything we do now is futile."

Zhou Yiwen said, "People’s talk is frightening. You don’t want to be gossiped about as unfilial, do you?"

Zhou Yi Wu, gritting his teeth, said, "If he can be unjust, why can’t we be unfilial..." His words were interrupted as the lights in the mourning tent suddenly went out, sending a chill down both their spines.

The eternal lamp still shone, but the light in the tent instantly dimmed. Zhou Yiwen looked at the flickering flame, frowning, whispering, "I told you not to talk nonsense, and you wouldn’t listen."

Although Zhou Yi Wu felt a bit spooked, he forced himself to act calm, chuckling, "It’s just a power outage, do you really believe in the nonsense about spirits? There are no ghosts or gods in this world."

Zhou Yiwen didn’t bother arguing: "Go check if it’s a power outage."

Though unwilling, Zhou Yi Wu left the tent. The electricity was temporarily pulled from the old house.

The door to the old house was wide open. Zhou Yi Wu entered, finding the inside pitch black. Tonight, the ones staying in the old house were the Xu Chunliang father and son; everyone else went to a nearby hotel to rest.

Zhou Yi Wu glanced at the main hall, then headed to the eastern kitchen where the wires were drawn.

Zhou Yi Wu pushed open the kitchen door, reached for the switch, turned it on, but it didn’t respond. He guessed the fuse blew, so he took out his phone to use the flashlight. As the light shone, someone pushed him from behind, causing him to stagger into the kitchen.

Then he heard the two doors behind him close. Zhou Yi Wu wanted to call for help, but a flash of light appeared in the darkness, revealing an elderly man with snow-white hair, dressed in funeral clothes, standing with his back to Zhou Yi Wu.

Zhou Yi Wu was terrified out of his wits, wanting to turn and run, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate, seemingly frozen.

The old man, still with his back to him, said spookily, "I died so miserably..."