Free Web NovelChapter 719: Chapter 689: Illusion
The voice sounded just like his father, Zhou Renhe; Zhou Yi Wu’s knees buckled in fear, almost causing him to collapse to the ground. The old man slowly turned half of his blood-stained face, and fresh blood continued to drip down from his forehead, cascading onto his body, onto the floor...
Zhou Yi Wu said shakily, "Impossible... You’re lying to me... You’re lying..." He kept reminding himself that everything he saw was an illusion. Yet at this moment, his mind was a chaotic mess, and the fear within his heart surged forth like a fountain, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t control it.
The dim light inside the room disappeared again. Zhou Yi Wu was plunged into darkness, unable to move, yet again. He had no idea what was happening to him. The dread within was indescribable.
Fear stemmed from the unknown. Although Zhou Yi Wu kept telling himself that everything before his eyes was an illusion, he still couldn’t control the wild growth of terror within.
A low voice sounded behind him, "You bastard, don’t think you can deceive everyone; return my life..."
Zhou Yi Wu’s spirit had completely collapsed, "You forced me! You forced me! You hid so many secrets from us here! I just wanted to find out the truth, but... who could have thought you would return... It’s... all your fault... You refused to let me go! You forced me!"
He was struck on the back of his head, causing his world to spin, and he fainted.
Uncertain how much time had passed, Zhou Yi Wu regained consciousness. The glaring light hurt his eyes as he raised his hand to shield them, exclaiming, "Don’t come here; don’t come here..."
Three faces appeared before him; they were Xu Jiaxuan and his son, along with Zhou Yiwen. Although the expressions on the three varied, their attention was all on Zhou Yi Wu.
Zhou Yiwen asked in astonishment, "What’s wrong with you?"
Zhou Yi Wu looked around, but did not see his father’s figure, suddenly remembering that his father’s body was still at the funeral home, so how could he be here? But he clearly saw it just now? He instinctively touched his forehead, wondering if he had a fever, only to realize he was drenched in cold sweat.
Xu Chunliang said, "What’s with the yelling in the middle of the night? Won’t you let people rest?"
Xu Jiaxuan said, "We agreed on keeping vigil, what are you doing here?"
Xu Chunliang said, "Do we need to ask? Lazy bum."
Zhou Yiwen said, "No, the power just went out, so I asked him to come and check. Since Zhou Yi Wu had been gone for nearly twenty minutes and hadn’t returned, I came to see what was going on. When I arrived here, the kitchen door was open with Zhou Yi Wu lying sprawled on the floor. The lights were on, but there was no one else around."
Zhou Yiwen hadn’t had the chance to wake him before Xu Jiaxuan and his son arrived.
Zhou Yi Wu was still in shock, unable to determine whether what had happened was real or not, and it was something he couldn’t share with others. So he could only excuse himself by saying he stumbled over the threshold and fainted, without knowing what really happened.
Zhou Yiwen was skeptical. Supporting Zhou Yi Wu back to the funeral hall, he saw that Xu Jiaxuan and his son hadn’t followed them, and lowered his voice to ask, "Yi Wu, what really happened?"
Zhou Yi Wu cast a glance at his father’s portrait and recalled the events that had just occurred, causing his body to tremble. He bent down, his hands clawing at his hair, reminding himself he was in the real world, that everything earlier was but an illusion.
He silently prayed, Don’t come for me, don’t come for me, I didn’t mean it.
Zhou Yiwen noticed his terrified demeanor. He could tell he was frightened, so he reached out to hold Zhou Yi Wu’s shoulder. But the comforting gesture startled Zhou Yi Wu, and he shuddered, his voice changing, "Don’t touch me..."
Zhou Yiwen whispered, "There’s no need to be afraid; it’s just me here. Did those two do something to you?"
Zhou Yi Wu shook his head vigorously. Hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind, and said tremulously, "I... I just... saw..." He glanced at the portrait, swallowed hard, and then continued, "I saw Dad."
Zhou Yiwen said, "Impossible!"
"I’m sure. It was him... It was him..." As Zhou Yi Wu finished speaking, he felt frightened himself and quickly went to burn paper offerings for his father, regretting pointing his finger at him earlier.
Zhou Yiwen noticed Zhou Yi Wu’s unusual actions, becoming increasingly curious about what was really happening to him.
At eight in the morning, everyone began to bid farewell to the deceased. After the Zhou brothers made their farewell, they saw several police cars at the scene. In Zhou Yiwen’s mind, it was remarkable that even the local police from Jizhou were sent to escort Xu Chunliang.
Two policemen approached them. One of them was familiar to Zhou Yiwen; it was Captain Geng, the one in charge of his father’s case. Captain Geng said to Zhou Yi Wu, "Mr. Zhou, please come with us."
Zhou Yi Wu said, "What do you mean? Can’t you see I’m busy?"
"Will you come with us, or should we take you?" Captain Geng’s tone was stern.
Zhou Yi Wu realized things weren’t looking good, "Captain Geng, could you wait a bit? Today is the day of my father’s burial. How about I come after I’m done?"
Captain Geng shook his head, "I’ll wait for you by the police car and give you five minutes. If you don’t come, we’ll have no choice but to take action ourselves."
Zhou Yiwen, looking at Zhou Yi Wu’s ashen face, instantly understood something. He sighed and said, "You should go with Captain Geng, I’ll handle things here."
Zhou Yi Wu nodded and followed the police away.
Xu Jiaxuan and Xu Chunliang also noticed the situation over there. Xu Jiaxuan whispered, "Did you call the police?"
Xu Chunliang shook his head, "No! Why make it easy for him?"
Xu Jiaxuan spread his hands to show it wasn’t his doing either, guessing the police must have discovered something, which is why they took Zhou Yi Wu away to assist in the investigation.
The father and son were somewhat frustrated; all their efforts last night were in vain. Originally, they intended to slowly destroy the Zhou Brothers after today’s funeral, but now the police beat them to it, showing that Jizhou police’s efficiency is quite high.
Xu Chunliang deliberately came to Zhou Yiwen’s side, "I just saw your brother taken away by the police. What’s going on?"
Zhou Yiwen knew he was here to gloat, and replied irritably, "It’s nothing, just assisting with the investigation."
Xu Chunliang sighed, "Could it be related to the burglary and assault case?"
Zhou Yiwen snorted coldly, ignoring him, but his thoughts were similar to Xu Chunliang’s. If it was indeed Zhou Yi Wu who pushed their father, causing him to get injured, there would be big trouble. Zhou Yi Wu would definitely be held criminally accountable, and he couldn’t come out clean either. People would surely curse both brothers together. Zhou Yi Wu is truly more of a liability than an asset.
Xu Chunliang went on to deal with other matters, while Huang Youlong came over to bid farewell to Zhou Yiwen as he had important matters to attend to back in the Capital City and wouldn’t be attending the memorial service at the funeral home. He advised Zhou Yiwen to stay strong.
Even without Zhou Yi Wu being taken away, Zhou Yiwen still felt quite humiliated. Many guests had come to the event, but the majority were there for the Xu Family. This wasn’t anyone else’s fault but theirs, as the brothers refused to handle the funerary affairs due to inheritance disputes, causing the Xu Family to step in. It was too late for regrets now.
Zhou Yi Wu being taken away by the police made Zhou Yiwen extremely unsettled, and he no longer had the heart to continue the charade. He felt that misfortune was just beginning.
Even though Xu Changshan allowed the Zhou Brothers to attend the funeral, he didn’t let them be in charge. The Xu Family was still organizing the funeral, with the brothers merely playing a role.
After the memorial service, Zhou Yiwen paid his respects, staring at the old man lying motionless in the crystal coffin surrounded by flowers. In his heart, he pondered why Zhou Yi Wu claimed to have seen the old man last night.
He felt Zhou Yi Wu’s mind was a bit erratic yesterday, and now he was taken away by the police. Perhaps the old man’s death really had something to do with him.
According to Zhou Renhe’s wishes, his ashes were to be sent back to Dongzhou to be buried in the Xu Family’s Old Forest. The Zhou Brothers were initially conflicted over this but eventually agreed.
On the way to Dongzhou, Zhou Yiwen took out a few photos from his briefcase, looked at them quietly for a while, and then put them back. His heart was quite restless. The materials Huang Youlong gave him had immense destructive power. If made public, they would ruin not only the Xu Family but also their Renhe Hall.
At this moment, Huang Youlong was already on his way back to the Capital City, driven by his trusty assistant, Che Shixiong.
Che Shixiong said, "President Huang, I’ve verified it; the will does exist, and the Renhe Hall trademark belongs to Xu Chunliang now."
Huang Youlong scoffed disdainfully, casting his gaze outside the car.
Che Shixiong said, "President Huang, I think we should prepare early to avoid greater losses. Xu Chunliang will definitely make an issue out of owning the trademark rights."
Huang Youlong rolled down the window slightly, letting the spring breeze whip in with his voice, tinged with the sound of the wind, "Do you think I can’t afford the loss?"
Che Shixiong shook his head. Huang Youlong is undoubtedly a hidden magnate in Seoul. The reason he didn’t have so many dazzling auras like others is that he didn’t care about his reputation, which is precisely why Shixiong admired him the most.
Huang Youlong said, "You know my character. If I can’t get it, I’d rather destroy it. Renhe Hall doesn’t hold much value for me anyway."
Che Shixiong said, "Zhou Yi Wu has been taken by the police, rumored to be related to Zhou Renhe’s case."
Huang Youlong smiled casually, "I provided the evidence."
Che Shixiong was taken aback, glancing at Huang Youlong in the rearview mirror.
Huang Youlong said, "Zhou Renhe raised him to adulthood. It’s one thing to be ungrateful, but to have the heart to injure his foster father? Such a person is inhumane."
Che Shixiong said, "But by doing this, you are indirectly aiding Xu Chunliang."
Huang Youlong chuckled, "I’ve already dealt the cards to Zhou Yiwen, how to play them is ultimately his decision. But no matter how he plays, he’s destined to be a loser."
Here’s the second update. Octopus will make efforts to ensure updates given the conditions, and things should stabilize by the third. Thank you all for your understanding!
