Chapter 13 – Stay!

Chapter 13 - Stay!

Tu Zhengde said, "Not feeding us or clothing us, I could endure that. I worked while taking care of my brother. She couldn't lock everything up, so I'd always manage to sneak some food when she wasn't looking."

Jiang Yunxin looked at Tu Zhengde and found it hard to pass judgment on the situation.

How could one put it? The despicable had their pitiful side, and the pitiful had theirs to despise.

As he spoke, Tu Zhengde's gaze darkened. "Until one day, it was cold that night, and I caught a fever. I was delirious with sleep. My brother was underdressed and shivering, so he cried nonstop. She got annoyed and threw him out the door, dumping him into the pigsty."

In this short moment, the listeners' emotions roller-coastered, up and down, down and down, leaving them unsure how to react.

Tu Zhengde continued, "The pigs mauled half of my brother's face. A four-year-old, once handsome, became unrecognizable."

But he was still young, and Tu Zhengde's brother didn't fully comprehend what had happened. In his pain, he ran blindly into the woods, covered in blood.

The next day, when Tu Zhengde woke up from his fever, he discovered his brother was missing. He asked his stepmother, who claimed ignorance, suggesting he might have gone out to play.

Something felt off, so he searched everywhere. When he found bloodstains in the pigsty, he was nearly driven mad. Following the trail, he traced it until he reached his destination.

Mercifully, fate intervened, and Tu Zhengde stumbled upon his unconscious brother in the woods.

"I could barely contain my rage when I saw my brother's condition," Tu Zhengde gritted his teeth. "His face was mauled beyond recognition by a hog, with his nose, ears, and lips torn off. One eye was blinded, and his leg was broken from a fall in the mountains."

With tremendous effort, Tu Zhengde managed to rescue his brother. However, he dared not bring him back home; how could they live with others seeing his brother in such a state?

So, Tu Zhengde stayed with his brother in the mountains. But winter soon arrived, and the cold would be lethal up there.

After much contemplation, Tu Zhengde decided to return home for warm clothes and bedding. He repeatedly exhorted his brother to wait for him in the makeshift shelter. However, after the traumatic incident, his brother's mental state was compromised, and he wandered out of the hut, entering the village.

The villagers spotted him.

Horrified by his brother's featureless face, they screamed, labeling him a monster and beat their gongs in alarm. The brother, equally terrified, turned and fled. In his panic, he didn't watch his step, tripped, and hit his head on a large rock by the roadside.

Just as Tu Zhengde emerged from their home with some warm clothes, he witnessed this tragic scene.

Villagers gathered around his brother's lifeless body, discussing the existence of monsters and what kind it might be.

His brother's corpse was tiny, much smaller than other children his age.

Tu Zhengde stood frozen, but after a while, he gradually retreated back home.

Who would believe him if he said it was his brother? Their father was obedient to his stepmother, especially since she was pregnant, filling him with joy. He had only been worried for a few days over his brother's disappearance, so how could he possibly blame the woman carrying his child for the death of a monstrous creature?

Tu Zhengde swallowed his anger.

He sneered to himself, "At that moment, I vowed to avenge my brother. I wouldn't let that woman off."

The woman's child didn't make it into the world. A month before her due date, she accidentally fell and lost the baby.

Sometime later, Tu Zhengde's father, for reasons unknown, fell off their roof while repairing it and perished.

This left only the stepmother and Tu Zhengde in the house.

Tu Zhengde was twenty-seven that year, unmarried, and not interested in even glancing at any young women.

The stepmother intended to remarry, but right before the matchmaker was due to visit, she mysteriously broke her leg.

After that, their neighbors bore witness to the events that unfolded.

As for Tu Zhengde, this stepson, he attended to her diligently every day, showing great concern and care.

Tu Zhengde laughed heartily after finishing his tale. "I'm not afraid of death, but I insist on outliving her. Seeing her suffer for so many years brings me satisfaction; it allows me to die peacefully."

This story was truly astonishing.

Even Fang Mingyan, well-versed in human nature, fell silent for a long while after hearing Tu Zhengde's words.

Then, he waved his hand. "Take him away."

The pitiable and the hateful – they're both gone now.

Tu Zhengde had killed his parents, albeit under extenuating circumstances. He would undoubtedly face capital punishment. Moreover, given his current state, life or death seemed insignificant to him.

The Tu family would reunite in the afterlife, carrying with them unresolved grievances that would perhaps only be settled in the Hall of Judgment.

The butchered pig on the chopping block was distributed among the neighbors by Fang Mingyan, but at this moment, they might not have the appetite to eat it.

Jiang Yunxin returned to the Criminal Bureau and put the matter of Tu Zhengde aside. She was merely an undertaker, responsible for examining corpses; how the culprit would be punished after the truth was revealed was none of her business.

Experience taught her not to take on tasks that weren't hers. It wouldn't earn her any favors, nor would it increase her salary.

Her top priority now was whether or not she could keep her job.

If not, what would she do next?

She had always followed a professional path. If she couldn't stay on as an undertaker in the Criminal Bureau, she'd be sent back to the academy and then eventually home.

That would turn her life into a domestic intrigue novel.

Domestic intrigue wasn't her forte.

Jiang Yunxin crouched in the courtyard, mindlessly poking the ground with a small knife. If she had to return to the Jiang family, what would happen next?

What about her good friends? Would anyone be there to lend her a hand?

Lost in thought, a young servant girl called out from outside.

"Yunxin, the official has summoned you."

Jiang Yunxin promptly stood up. "Alright, I'll be right there."

Here it was – one closed-door examination, one field investigation. Fang Mingyan must have already made his decision on whether to stay or leave.

Old Fang, old Fang, you'd better come through, she mused.

With rebellious thoughts swirling in her mind, Jiang Yunxin hurried to Fang Mingyan's study.

Fang Mingyan sat behind a large desk. Upon hearing the knock, he said without lifting his head, "Enter."

Jiang Yunxin entered with proper decorum.

"Official, did you call for me?"

Fang Mingyan put down the document in his hand and appraised her. "You handled Tu Zhengde's case well. You were meticulous and decisive. I'm quite satisfied."

Jiang Yunxin heaved a sigh of relief.

From Fang Mingyan's demeanor, she didn't seem like the two-faced type who would say one thing and do another. There was no need for her to pander to his mood. Since he seemed satisfied, he would likely keep her on, right?

The problem with the Chinese language was that "but" often followed, turning the situation around.

Fang Mingyan said, "But..."

Jiang Yunxin frowned.

Fang Mingyan continued, "But the Penal Division isn't an easy place. You've seen this case. Does it not seem like the epitome of human misery, stirring compassion in your heart? Let me tell you responsibly that if you stay in the Penal Division, you'll encounter countless incidents a thousand or ten thousand times more brutal than this."

From Fang Mingyan's rambling, Jiang Yunxin distilled the essence of his message.

If you stay here?

She got it. Fang Mingyan intended to keep her.