Chapter 35
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Chapter 35:
Today, Li Chunzhou did something unusual – she didn’t throw Qi Leyuan out, but let him sleep outside.
Back in the room, Li Chunzhou took off her heavy headpieces and delicate makeup. She turned to Qi Leyuan and asked, "Li Li, has the official notice been updated today?"
Qi Leyuan walked over to Li Chunzhou, looking through the group for today’s photos of the official notice.
[A person cannot completely erase their past traces. The more successful a murderer is, the more they will leave behind evidence of their crimes. The clues to the serial murder cases you all seek are far away, yet right in front of you, in places you have visited before. I have provided all my clues. Whether you can catch me remains to be seen.]
"The killer gave the final clue, but everyone was busy investigating the Sub-dungeon in the palace today. Progress on the headless body case investigation was limited."
The only useful piece of information may have come from hearsay A’ping heard from passersby. It was rumored that Minister Liu had close relationships with both men and women, particularly with a personal guard. After Minister Liu’s incident, that particular guard disappeared.
Nowadays, most players in the group believe that this guard could very well be the killer himself, who is also suspected to be the son of the deceased from years ago.
There is a general belief among the group that the guard might be the killer, who is speculated to be the son of the victim from the past.
Li Chunzhou looked briefly before losing interest. She flopped onto the bed and lazily called out, "A’xuan…"
Li Zhexuan quietly walked over and stood by the bed, looking down at her imitating Li Chunzhou’s usual expression, and smiled at her.
He lived like a copy of Li Chunzhou, sharing her feelings, imitating her actions, like a piece taken from her ribs.
"Stop laughing." Li Chunzhou put her arm over her eyes, blocking her view, while reaching out the other hand as if asking for a hug.
Li Chunzhou enjoys hugging people, she liked it since she was young. There are many things from the past that she has either intentionally or unintentionally forgotten. But Li Chunzhou still remembers a long time ago when Gu Lingfan was younger than Li Chunzhou is now, and Spring Flowers Tower was not as wealthy as it is now.
The window screens were dirty, and on gloomy days, she and Gu Lingfan would huddle together under thin blankets.
The thin blankets were not warm enough, their arms and legs touching, their body temperatures intertwined. Downstairs, guests were drinking and playing mahjong, but Li Chunzhou only heard Gu Lingfan speaking.
Gu Lingfan was so beautiful back then, making Li Chunzhou look like a plain girl. At fourteen or fifteen, Gu Lingfan already had a haughty and cold face. Li Chunzhou lay on the bed listening to her talk about the future. Gu Lingfan’s eyes were bright as she said, "Lady Chun, wait and see. When I make money in the future, we won’t live like this anymore."
Li Chunzhou’s personality as a child was gentler than it is now. She wore clothes that were too small for Gu Lingfan, played with makeup that Gu Lingfan didn’t use, and not only did she not complain but also enjoyed it.
These days continued until Gu Lingfan realized the changes in her body before Li Chunzhou did. That day, the two of them stared at the bloodstains on Li Chunzhou’s skirt, one confused and the other with a complex mind.
Once a month, the tide separated them. Gu Lingfan helped Li Chunzhou put on her old clothes for the last time. Li Chunzhou remembered the sound of the fabric and how it felt soft and cool. She didn’t understand why the memories were so clear.
For a long time, Gu Lingfan always walked ahead of Li Chunzhou, who followed in her footsteps and one day excitedly told Gu Lingfan that she could help her mother and many customers were willing to pay to see her.
Gu Lingfan only left Li Chunzhou with a silent figure, and every time they met afterward, Li Chunzhou felt embarrassed.
Eventually, both of them refused to back down, and their long-standing conflicts became more tangled. The initial reasons were lost among the mess, and now, even if they unraveled their feelings and faced each other, they might not recognize their past emotions towards each other.
Therefore, Li Chunzhou was okay with the strained relationship with Gu Lingfan.
…
As Li Chunzhou reached out, Li Zhexuan hugged her tightly without a word. In the suffocating embrace, Li Chunzhou curled up, feeling Li Zhexuan’s cold body but finding comfort and familiarity. Gently, in the darkness, she touched Li Zhexuan’s cheek and asked, "A’xuan, are you still hungry?"
Li Zhexuan didn’t answer immediately, instead, he pondered Li Chunzhou’s thoughts and didn’t know how to respond.
Even though he had eaten today and wasn’t hungry, Li Zhexuan could sense Li Chunzhou’s desire in her heart, longing for human touch.
Li Zhexuan didn’t know whether to tell the truth or lie to Li Chunzhou.
Li Chunzhou looked at his puzzled expression and chuckled, "Silly… A’xuan is such a silly goose."
They had been together for many years, their bond may not have been extremely deep, but the feeling of each other’s touch was ingrained in their senses. Li Zhexuan’s embrace brought comfort to Li Chunzhou.
Li Chunzhou hugged Li Zhexuan’s head with her arms, hesitated for a moment, then gently kissed his cheek before closing her eyes. Their bodies were almost inseparable, belonging to each other.
After a while, Li Chunzhou opened her eyes again, staring at the ceiling blankly. Li Zhexuan gazed at her face, clumsily trying to understand her thoughts.
"It’s okay, it’s okay…" Li Chunzhou murmured softly, playing with Li Zhexuan’s dark hair, "This is the last cycle… he can’t escape."
***
Early the next morning, Qi Leyuan woke up feeling refreshed. He flapped his wings and hopped onto the bed, watching the peaceful expression on the faces of the two embraced figures. Li Zhexuan’s eyes beneath his eyelids shifted slightly, focusing on where Qi Leyuan stood, as if observing him through closed eyes…
Qi Leyuan was startled by his own thoughts, but soon Li Zhexuan’s gaze shifted away.
Qi Leyuan had a strange idea, but he didn’t even dare to let the thought come to his mind – Could Li Zhexuan be spying on his thoughts?
Before this idea could even surface, he pushed it down. Qi Leyuan controlled himself from thinking too much about Li Zhexuan, he gently nudged Li Chunzhou’s cheek with his head and called out to her to wake up, "Lady Chun, wake up…"
Li Chunzhou slowly opened her eyes, took a moment to focus her gaze, and then responded vaguely. Soon after, she came to her senses and looked at Qi Leyuan in disbelief, asking, "Did you just speak?"
Qi Leyuan’s voice was full of energy, matching his current image of a lively chicken. Proudly raising his head, his comb looked exceptionally bright, "I found a voice prop ball last night, and it still works!"
Li Chunzhou patted the waist of Li Zhexuan, who was tightly hugging her, causing him to quickly open his eyes. There was no trace of weariness in them, as if pretending to have just woken up.
Qi Leyuan positioned himself at a not-too-close, not-too-far place, maintaining a subtle distance between himself and Li Zhexuan.
Li Chunzhou sat up to look at Qi Leyuan, her hair messy, looking like a fluffy little animal in the morning light. Still half-asleep, she yawned, propped her chin, and asked with a smile, "Can you say a few more words?"
"Humph, I can say it a hundred times." Qi Leyuan proudly raised his comb, walked energetically back and forth a few steps, attracting curious attention from Li Zhexuan.
Watching Li Chunzhou’s smiling face, Qi Leyuan suddenly felt proud and pleased. Gesturing for Li Chunzhou to peel two grapes for him, he then flew and perched on her shoulder.
Li Chunzhou even joined in and happily helped peel the grapes, making Qi Leyuan feel even happier, thinking that he was truly special.
Li Chunzhou walked to the table in her casual clothes and cheerfully said, "Li Li is indeed not your average chicken."
Qi Leyuan put a grape into his mouth, and remembered the unfinished topic from yesterday. He asked, "When will we solve the remaining two sub-dungeons? And what about that Administrator…"
"No rush," Li Chunzhou sat down in front of the dressing table, picked up a peach wood comb, dipped it in hair oil, and started combing her hair. "The remaining two sub-dungeons are not that difficult, the priority is to find Young Master Zhao first, and…"
She looked at herself in the mirror and calmly said, "Prepare for the Oiran Contest."
Watching Li Chunzhou’s confident demeanor, Qi Leyuan sighed, "Lady Chun, sometimes I really feel like you’re not just a non-player character, but more like a player who has been through many dungeons."
"How could that be?" Li Chunzhou lowered her eyes, "To put it simply, I just have memories from past lives that others don’t."
Qi Leyuan remained silent for a moment and asked, "Then… do you know that you’re an NPC?"
"I’m not an NPC," Li Chunzhou looked earnestly at her reflection in the mirror and Li Li, "I am a person."
Qi Leyuan shook his head and said, "Usually, NPCs that develop self-awareness would say something like this. But in reality, you’re just a program that has gained self-awareness, or should I say…a bug."
Li Chunzhou looked at him steadily, not eager to argue, but tilted her head and asked, "What about you? Li Li, have you ever thought that maybe you’re just a program too? Why else would your consciousness be transferred into a chicken? If you think you’re different from us, do you have any way to prove it?"
Qi Leyuan was left speechless for a while, not knowing how to respond.
A few slow knocks on the door interrupted his awkwardness. Both of them turned their heads to look, before Li Chunzhou could answer, the door was pushed open directly.
The person outside the door was unexpectedly Gu Jianxi dressed in the uniform of a Jinwei Guard.
Seeing Li Chunzhou sitting on the bench in her plain clothes, Gu Jianxi was briefly surprised, but he did not immediately leave. Instead, he smirked and boldly scanned her from head to toe.