It Was You!

Meanwhile.

Chen Ling slowly walked up behind him. His gaze passed through the many Enforcers and met Li Xiuchun's.

The moment she saw him, Li Xiuchun's pupils contracted again!

"You... it was you!!" Li Xiuchun struggled madly against the ropes, only to be pinned firmly in place by the other Enforcers. "You should be dead!! You should have died long ago!! Calamity!! You're a Calamity!!!"

Li Xiuchun's roar echoed beneath the night sky. Chen Ling simply stood there quietly, his eyes filled with complicated emotions as he looked at her.

"A-Yan... A-Yan." He softly called to Chen Yan beside him. "Go wait over there first... I'll handle things here."

Chen Yan stared blankly at the frenzied Li Xiuchun. Chen Ling's voice snapped him back to his senses. After a long silence, he finally nodded...

He walked alone into the darkness at an empty corner of the wall, hugged his knees, and curled himself into a ball. Even his body could not stop trembling.

"What's going on? You couldn't even keep her mouth stuffed?"

An Enforcer glared at his colleague, then immediately bent down, picked up the white cloth, and shoved it back into Li Xiuchun's mouth.

Then he let out a long sigh and comforted him. "Kid, don't take it too hard... Your mother has already gone mad. She doesn't even know what she's saying."

"For public safety, we'll send them to a psychiatric hospital for stabilizing treatment. They still have a chance of regaining their sanity."

"Of course, during that time, you can visit whenever you want."

He gave the other Enforcers a look. They immediately understood and quickened their pace as they escorted the pair toward headquarters.

Chen Ling watched the scene calmly, unable to describe what he felt. These two had raised the original owner, then taken his life. From the original owner's perspective, their debts to each other had long been settled.

Chen Ling had inherited the original owner's memories, as well as his emotions. He could vaguely sense that the original owner did not actually harbor much resentment toward them. To a large extent, it was because he truly loved Chen Yan, his younger brother.

If Li Xiuchun and the other had properly explained everything to the original owner, he would actually have been willing to trade his own life to bring his little brother back.

Unfortunately, the original owner trusted them, while they did not trust him... simply because he was a child they had picked up.

"You're Chen Ling, right?" A figure walked toward Chen Ling. "Where did you go just now?"

Chen Ling turned around. He stood there blankly as if lost in thought for a moment before speaking hoarsely. "Sir... what happened here?"

"I'm the one asking you." His brows furrowed slightly, but when he thought of what this boy was going through, he hesitated before adding, "A Calamity broke into your home and frightened your parents... Fortunately, they didn't resist. Don't worry, their lives aren't in danger for now."

"Oh, oh."

Chen Ling seemed to snap awake from a dream. "I took my little brother out to practice today."

"Practice what?"

"Traditional opera."

Chen Ling raised his hand. He held a neatly folded opera costume in his arms.

At the sight of this, the caution in the Enforcer's eyes eased somewhat. After all, ordinary people really would not carry an opera costume when they went out. So he mostly believed Chen Ling's claim that he had gone to practice, though he still followed procedure and asked:

"Where did you practice? Did anyone see you?"

"At that patch of wasteland at the eastern end of Frost Street... No one saw us. My little brother is thin-skinned and doesn't dare sing where there are lots of people, otherwise we would've just practiced outside our house."

The Enforcer nodded. "It hasn't been safe outside lately, so don't run around. If you notice anything suspicious, remember to find me... My name is Jiang Qin. I patrol the nearby streets every day."

"Okay."

"Oh, right. Where's your little brother?"

"He... he was frightened by Mom just now and hid over there." Chen Ling pointed toward the dark corner. A small figure was curled up there, seemingly crying.

Jiang Qin glanced in that direction and nodded slightly.

Just then, he seemed to think of something.

"By the way, how many children are there in your family?"

"Two."

Jiang Qin narrowed his eyes. "Two?"

Hearing the subtle change in Jiang Qin's tone, Chen Ling's heart sank. Having worked with performance for many years, he was extremely sensitive to slight differences in lines. He immediately steadied himself and asked with seemingly innocent confusion, "What's wrong?"

"The records say there are two children in your family, and you say the same." Jiang Qin spoke slowly. "But last night, we ran into your parents at Mass Grave. They said they were there to pay respects to their son... If both of you sons are alive, then who were they mourning?"

The atmosphere instantly froze.

"Oh, that's what you meant." Chen Ling's thoughts raced, and a look of realization appeared on his face. "Many years ago, after my parents had A-Yan, Mom became pregnant again... But her health wasn't very good at the time. The baby fell ill and died only a few days after being born. My parents could only bury him in the back hills. After that, they went to pay respects once every year on his birthday. A-Yan was only a little over two when it happened, so he didn't understand anything. I only remember it vaguely."

That final sentence was a precaution Chen Ling had left behind to prevent Jiang Qin from separating him and Chen Yan for individual questioning. This way, even if Jiang Qin became suspicious and wanted to question Chen Yan again, they could still explain themselves reasonably.

Of course, he could also use the excuse that he had been too young at the time to avoid further questioning by the Enforcers.

"A child who died young... No wonder there was no record of him."

As it turned out, Chen Ling had overthought things. This Enforcer named Jiang Qin was not nearly that vigilant. He nodded, casually made a note, and turned to leave.

Chen Ling let out a long breath inwardly...

He had not expected Li Xiuchun and the other to have gone to Mass Grave on the night he returned, only to run straight into the Enforcers... They had nearly been exposed.

"Oh, right!" Jiang Qin turned back again.

Chen Ling: ...

Was this ever going to end?!

Just as Chen Ling's heart rose to his throat again, Jiang Qin took a letter from his pocket and handed it to him.

"We found this on Chen Tan. It's an Enforcers' summons for you. Report to headquarters tomorrow morning. Don't be late."

After saying that, Jiang Qin left. This time, he really left.

As the Enforcers departed, Frost Street fell silent and desolate once more. Chen Ling walked to the dark street corner, his feelings complicated.

"A-Yan..."

Chen Ling looked at Chen Yan, whose head hung low, unsure what to say.

Things had reached this point. Even if Chen Yan was slow, he knew that the Calamity that had attacked their home was Chen Ling himself... Although the Audience had seized control of his body at the time, he did not know how to explain it to Chen Yan.

Chen Ling, who had always been best at weaving "lines," was rarely left speechless.

"Brother." Chen Yan spoke softly. "I'm tired..."

Chen Ling froze. He had never imagined that Chen Yan would ultimately say only those three words.

There was no anger, no questioning, no confusion... Chen Yan's chestnut-colored eyes looked at Chen Ling, as clear and quiet as ever.

Chen Ling stood stunned for a long time, realizing he could not see through what this boy was thinking. He bent down gently and stroked his hair.

"If you're tired, then sleep... Brother will keep watch beside you."

Their once-warm home now had two huge holes blasted into it, and the living room was even more devastated. If any thieves passed by and did not take something, they would be letting down their profession.

Chen Yan returned to that familiar bed and silently curled into a ball beneath the blanket. Chen Ling walked to his side, leaned against the broken wall behind him, and slowly sat down.

Through the shattered roof, he could see endless blue auroras dancing in the night, like soft ribbons draped across the heavens. This was the first time Chen Ling had quietly admired the auroras of this world. The moment he saw them, all the distracting thoughts in his heart seemed to vanish, leaving only eternal calm.

"Brother, are you cold?" Chen Yan's voice came from beneath the blanket.

"I'm not cold."

"Oh..."

Chen Yan did not speak again. After a long while, only steady breathing lingered by Chen Ling's ears.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling's eyes gradually closed as well...

He fell asleep.