Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Thinking this," Lu Yanzhong voiced the question.

Lin Juan: "Didn't they tell you?"

Lu Yanzhong: "What?"

Lin Juan looked at Lu Yanzhou, who shook his head. Then he glanced at Old Mr. Lu, who appeared equally bewildered.

Right, so they hadn't been told.

"It's like this, your wife—"

"She's not my wife." Lu Yanzhong's face darkened. The years of deception fueled his uncontrollable anger.

"Alright," Lin Juan rephrased, "Qiu Lishu somehow transformed into a supernatural entity, and the three children also became entities. The two younger ones turned into large spiders and were taken away by the Paranormal Special Affairs Office."

Lu Yanzhong lowered his head, saying nothing further.

He had once felt paternal love for the three children, but with the truth so abruptly laid bare, he found it impossible to view them as he once had.

Lu Yanzhong's injuries were severe and required extensive rest. Lin Juan and Lu Yanzhou didn't linger, rising to leave shortly after.

After Qiu Lishu captured Lu Yanzhong's heart, his childhood sweetheart refused to believe her long-time boyfriend would betray her, repeatedly seeking him out.

On lucky days, she would find Lu Yanzhong. More often, however, she encountered Qiu Lishu.

Qiu Lishu, like a victor, reveled in her distress from a position of superiority.

Finally, the wedding day arrived.

Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart knew this was her last chance.

Once Lu Yanzhong and Qiu Lishu were married, regardless of any hidden circumstances, she would not allow herself to continue pursuing him.

As Old Mr. Lu had withheld his approval, the wedding was a subdued affair.

She arrived at the venue, hoping for one last glimpse of Lu Yanzhong, but was intercepted by Qiu Lishu, resplendent in a white wedding gown.

Qiu Lishu held her head high, like a beautiful and elegant swan, yet the well-hidden malice in her eyes did not escape Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart.

"Whatever your reasons, I hope you'll stop bothering Yanzhong. An ex like you is quite a nuisance for me, his current wife."

"I want to talk to him," Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart insisted.

"He won't see you," Qiu Lishu scoffed. "If you have something to say, you can tell me, and I'll pass it on."

Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart clenched her hands tightly at her sides, exerting great effort to maintain her composure. She had already lost completely and refused to give the victor the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

"Fine," knowing she wouldn't get to see him, Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart took a deep breath and pulled an envelope from her bag. "Please give this to him for me."

The pale green envelope carried a faint fragrance. Qiu Lishu took it, holding it between two fingers. "You may leave now."

Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart stood frozen for a moment, then slowly turned. After a few steps, she suddenly looked back.

Just in time to see the envelope deliberately slip from Qiu Lishu's fingers.

It fell to the ground, now covered in dust.

Just like her at that moment.

Without a second thought, Lu Yanzhong's childhood sweetheart spun around, rushed back, knelt, picked up the envelope, and carefully wiped away the dust.

"If you didn't want to help, you shouldn't have agreed."

Qiu Lishu stood still, relishing the defeated girl's misery with a superior air, her eyes brimming with malice: "I only agreed to relay a message, not to deliver an item."

How pathetic.

Qiu Lishu gazed at the vulnerable girl in the white dress, her malice surging.

Why did she keep disturbing them?

She hadn't intended to harm her, but this persistent interference was becoming too much. Each time Lu Yanzhong was entangled by her, he showed signs of regaining clarity.

Qiu Lishu had no doubt that if this continued, Lu Yanzhong might fully regain his senses one day.

What would she do then?

Should she surrender the good life she had secured?

Impossible!

Just like that sole opportunity to escape the remote mountains.

Since she had set her sights on it, it should rightfully be hers.

Malice materialized. On her forehead, arms, and other exposed skin, spherical bulges rapidly grew.

Finally, they broke through the skin—eyeballs popped out one after another, staring malevolently at the girl crouching on the ground.

Sensing the hostile gaze, the girl looked up.

"You—"

Qiu Lishu feigned ignorance. She walked over, seemingly helping the girl up affectionately. The eyeballs growing on her body touched the girl's skin, rolling grotesquely.

The girl felt the person beside her was unusually cold, especially the eyeballs that brushed against her skin—they felt alive, as if trying to burrow into her body.

She wrenched herself free with all her might and ran outside, screaming, "There's a monster!!!"

She wanted to tell Lu Yanzhong that his new wife was a monster, but she couldn't leave the lounge with her sanity intact. She could only watch helplessly as the lounge door closed before her.

She was forever trapped in that lounge, forever immersed in despair and suffocating darkness.

Only an empty shell walked out.

Witnessing this scene, Lu Yanzhong clenched his fists, his hatred for Qiu Lishu reaching its peak.

"She will pay for this!"

His wounds tore open, blood seeping through the white bandages. Lu Yanzhou placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, you're reopening your wounds."

Lu Yanzhong couldn't relax.

His misplaced affection had finally returned, and he wished with all his heart that he had been the one to suffer all this.

"I hate this so much. It's my fault for being so foolish, falling for Qiu Lishu's wicked scheme, and causing Xiaowan to end up like this." Two streams of clear tears flowed from Lu Yanzhong's eyes, his heart aching beyond measure.

Old Mr. Lu sighed, at a loss for words.

He had always found his second son's sudden change of heart too abrupt, never imagining such a hidden truth lay behind it.

"The supernatural entity Qiu Lishu became has already been killed by Lin Juan," Lu Yanzhou restrained Lu Yanzhong, preventing him from moving recklessly.

"It's not enough." Lu Yanzhong gritted his teeth. This was far from sufficient—he would set everything right and make Qiu Lishu repay a thousandfold for all she had unjustly gained!

The "Eye of Memory" was activated again.

They witnessed how Qiu Lishu orchestrated the trap, placing Old Mr. Lu in peril, only for Lu Yanzhong to appear at the opportune moment and save his life.

They saw Qiu Lishu receive a thumb-sized eyeball from a man in a black trench coat, finely chop it, mix it into a homemade cake, and have her eldest daughter deliver it to Lu Yanzhou.

Lu Yanzhou's face paled considerably.

Anyone would be disgusted knowing they had consumed food mixed with an eyeball of unknown origin.

That he didn't vomit on the spot was a testament to his remarkable self-control.

After all, witnessing Qiu Lishu chopping up the eyeball was profoundly disturbing.

Lin Juan took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Lu Yanzhou turned his head, his expression already softened, and clasped the hand in his palm: "I'm fine, don't worry."

"I should have made Qiu Lishu experience what it's like to eat a giant eyeball," Lin Juan said indignantly.

After all, the giant spider had plenty of eyeballs. Didn't she love eyeballs? He'd make sure she ate her fill!

Seeing the young man so upset on his behalf, Lu Yanzhou felt a warmth in his heart. The earlier scene no longer seemed as repulsive, and he began comforting Lin Juan instead.

"No, you need to go for a full examination."

The Lu family and Director Liu, who had also witnessed the memory, nodded in agreement.

Lu Yanzhou was taken for a full-body examination.

Any contact with supernatural entities leads to contamination, let alone directly consuming one.

Lin Juan waited outside the examination room.

The rest of the Lu family was also there, except for Lu Yanzhong, who was confined to bed due to his injuries.

Lu Yanzhou's examination involved many tests this time, taking most of the day to complete.

The results were expedited.

Zhuang Yufeng held the fresh results, flipping through them page by page.

"Dr. Zhuang," Old Mr. Lu stepped forward, "Is Yanzhou alright?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." Zhuang Yufeng was somewhat surprised. They had seen with their own eyes Qiu Lishu mix the chopped eyeball into the cake, which Lu Yanzhou then ate, yet his contamination levels had barely risen.

He kept his doubts to himself, as Director Liu had also instructed that this matter not be disclosed. For now, only Director Liu, Zhuang Yufeng, and the Lu family were aware.

"Dr. Zhuang had performed several purifications on Lu Yanzhou before. His contamination levels were already low, likely due to those purifications," Lin Juan interjected appropriately.

Zhuang Yufeng was confident in his superpower and nodded: "Indeed, a single eyeball is only a small part of a supernatural entity and doesn't represent the whole entity. Its contamination value is limited, so it's not surprising my superpower purified it."

It's just that eating a supernatural entity is hard to stomach.

For several days, Lin Juan closely monitored Lu Yanzhou's diet, worried he might lose his appetite due to the experience.

He also stopped eating desserts.

Reluctantly refusing the small cake served after the meal, Lin Juan said: "Let's avoid making cakes or similar desserts for a while."

He feared Lu Yanzhou might have developed a psychological aversion.

Having witnessed that scene, Lin Juan himself was a bit traumatized, and the Lu family even more so.

Lu Yanzhong had recovered somewhat and was ready to be discharged from the hospital.

Lin Juan and the Lu family went to pick him up.

In the hospital room, besides Lu Yanzhong, there was a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"This is Lawyer Chen," Lu Yanzhong introduced.

After a few days of rest, he seemed to have adjusted, no longer as listless as when he first woke up, and his complexion had improved.

"I've liquidated all my assets—half will be returned to the Lu family, and the other half gifted to Mr. Lin as compensation."

Lawyer Chen handed them the organized documents.

Lin Juan accepted them blankly: "There's no need. Lu Yanzhou has already paid me."

That day, upon returning home, Lin Juan discovered a six-figure sum had been deposited into his bank account.

The sender was Lu Yanzhou.

Lin Juan knelt on the bed, holding his phone, and asked the man who had changed into loungewear: "Why did you suddenly transfer so much money?"

"Regarding Second Brother Lu's matter, I couldn’t let you work for nothing," Lu Yanzhou walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"But this is too much," Lin Juan counted the balance in his account, astonished.

"It's not too much. Mr. Lin's efforts are worth every penny."

"Stop teasing me," Lin Juan happily accepted.

He discussed with Lu Yanzhou: "I plan to use half of the money in this account to establish a foundation dedicated to helping those affected by anomalous events."

In the future, anomalous events would occur frequently, and Lin Juan alone could only do so much. While he valued wealth, he had no desire to hoard it indiscriminately.

"With so much money, I can't possibly use it all. Using part of it to help others is a worthy cause." Lin Juan loved this world and hoped it would keep improving.

"By the way, doesn’t a company as large as Lu Corp have a dedicated charity division?" This idea occurred to Lin Juan largely influenced by the Second Brother Lu incident. Although the recipient of the Lu family's support was impersonated, the act of giving itself was still noble.

After this incident, Lu Yanzhou rigorously reviewed Lu Corp's past list of beneficiaries. The company had supported many people each year, and over a decade, scrutinizing the list was no small task.

The relevant department worked overtime for over a month to complete the review.

Lu Yanzhou also improved the corresponding procedures to prevent another incident like Qiu Lishu's from happening again.

Lin Juan was very supportive of the idea and spent several days busily assisting Lu Yanzhou with various tasks.

If it weren't for Lu Yanzhong's discharge today, he would still be at the company going over reports with Lu Yanzhou.

The Lu family had an existing charity organization that had been operating for many years with well-established procedures. Lin Juan didn’t know how to manage it himself, so he simply placed the supernatural charity under the Lu family’s existing foundation and put Lu Yanzhou in charge of it.

As Lin Juan reviewed the documents, he saw that Lu Yanzhong had substantial assets. Half of them, set aside for Lin Juan, amounted to over a hundred million yuan. Lin Juan didn’t underestimate his own abilities, but the amount was indeed excessive.

Sensing his reluctance, Lu Yanzhong spoke up: "Actually, this money is intended to commission Mr. Lin for a task."

Lin Juan swallowed the refusal on the tip of his tongue: "What favor?"

"It’s about Xiaowan," Lu Yanzhong said with a sigh. "According to the Eye of Memory, Xiaowan went mad because of the eye entity on Qiu Lishu’s body. Since this is related to the supernatural, I was wondering if I could entrust Mr. Lin to help find a way to restore her sanity."

Between him and Xiaowan, all that remained was regret. He wanted to do everything possible to restore her life.

Mu Xiaowan and Lu Yanzhong were childhood friends. If Qiu Lishu hadn’t interfered, they would likely have built a happy family together by now, instead of her living alone in a cold sanatorium for over a decade.

Old Mr. Lu felt deeply guilty about Mu Xiaowan. After discussing with the Mu family, he arranged for her to be transferred to a Lu-family-affiliated sanatorium.

After agreeing to help Lu Yanzhong, Lin Juan went with the Lu family to the sanatorium.

Lu Yanzhong also came but did not enter.

The Mu family visited Mu Xiaowan every few days, and they happened to be there that day. To avoid raising false hopes, Old Mr. Lu only said he had brought his son’s spouse to visit, not that they were there to cure Mu Xiaowan’s madness.

Time heals all wounds. Even though over a decade ago, the Mu family resented the Lu family for ruining their daughter’s life, they had witnessed Old Mr. Lu’s unwavering care for Mu Xiaowan over the years.

Their animosity toward the Lu family had lessened—except toward Lu Yanzhong.

They still hated him.

Lu Yanzhong understood this. He took the Mu family’s berating in silence.

Every word felt like a knife to his heart. The damage was done, and he wouldn’t play the victim to evade blame.

Regardless of the circumstances, the trauma Mu Xiaowan endured over the past decade was real, and Lu Yanzhong would not—and could not—deny it.

After the scolding, Mu Xiaowan’s eldest brother said bluntly, "You’re not welcome here. Xiaowan doesn’t want to see you either."

"I know," the man, who had remained silent until then, said hoarsely. "I won’t go in."

Old Mr. Lu sighed inwardly but said nothing.

Before, he had despised his second son’s actions. But after learning that his son had been controlled, his feelings became complicated.

Lin Juan, Lu Yanzhou, and Old Mr. Lu entered the ward.

"Xiaowan, Uncle Lu is here to see you," Mu Xiaowan’s eldest brother said softly as he opened the door.

Mu Xiaowan sat quietly by the window, her eyes vacant, showing no reaction.

"Still like this?" Old Mr. Lu had been keeping track of Mu Xiaowan’s condition and knew she had been this way for a long time.

"Yes," Mu Xiaowan’s eldest brother sighed.

Lin Juan walked around the room and detected a faint supernatural energy emanating from Mu Xiaowan.

He nodded to Lu Yanzhou.

Catching the hint, Lu Yanzhou asked, "How long has Miss Mu been like this?"

"Almost ten years."

When Mu Xiaowan suddenly went mad, her family couldn’t believe it. They demanded an explanation from the Lu family. Old Mr. Lu received them and was just as baffled.

He didn’t defend his son. Instead, he called Lu Yanzhong over, struck him in front of the Mu family, and immediately filed a police report.

The police found nothing.

Old Mr. Lu was furious and ordered Lu Yanzhong to divorce Qiu Lishu or be disowned.

Lu Yanzhong chose Qiu Lishu.

True to his word, Old Mr. Lu severed all financial support from the Lu family to Lu Yanzhong.

Knowing the Mu family was seeking treatment for Mu Xiaowan, Old Mr. Lu used his connections to bring in the world’s top doctors to treat her.

At first, Mu Xiaowan would scream, go into fits, suddenly shout about monsters, and lash out at everything around her, even harming herself.

After two years of treatment, her violent tendencies disappeared. But this didn’t mean she had recovered. Before the Mu family could feel relieved, they realized Mu Xiaowan had retreated into herself.

She no longer responded to the outside world, as if her soul had vanished, leaving only an empty shell behind.

After understanding the situation, Lin Juan said nothing in front of the Mu family. In the car leaving the sanatorium, Lu Yanzhong eagerly asked, "How is she? Can she be cured?"

Lin Juan nodded: "We can give it a shot."

Lu Yanzhong slumped back into his seat, letting out a long sigh of relief: "That’s a relief."

"Do you know the location of the lounge where the incident happened?" Lin Juan needed to investigate the spot, even though too much time had passed and any traces were likely long gone.

"I do."

They didn’t return to Lu Manor but went to the place where Lu Yanzhong had gotten married.

Over a decade had passed, and the capital had changed greatly. The small hall where the wedding had taken place had been demolished. Lu Yanzhong stood before the entirely new building, bewildered and disoriented.

It had become a bustling shopping mall, with no remnants of its former self.

"It’s changed so much, I can’t pinpoint the exact location anymore." It was like his life—in hindsight, nothing was the same.

Lin Juan got out of the car: "I’ll scout the area."

After circling the area, Lin Juan detected no supernatural traces. Returning to the car, he shook his head.

They turned back.

"According to the scenes shown by the Eye of Memory, Miss Mu went mad because of the eye entity on Qiu Lishu’s body. Qiu Lishu is gone, but the eye entity still exists. I’ll ask Director Liu to provide us with the eye—it could be our breakthrough."

Having made his decision, Lin Juan contacted Director Liu.

Director Liu was in a meeting.

The incident at Lu Yanzhong’s villa was tied to an old case from over a decade ago. If the scenes shown by the Eye of Memory were true, it meant supernatural occurrences had appeared earlier than expected, and someone had been using them for malicious purposes over ten years ago.

Once reported, this matter garnered high-level attention.

Among those attending the meeting, any one of them would be a figure who had appeared in national news.

Director Liu wrote a detailed report for this, focusing on Qiu Lishu and the incident from over a decade ago.

"If anomalies truly emerged more than ten years ago and were harnessed by people, what we need to guard against now is not just the anomalies themselves."

They are all politicians, best at understanding human nature.

Anomalies are indeed terrifying, but their power is real. Under the influence of greed, there will always be those who try to control this force.

"Mr. Joseph, an anomaly expert from the United States, has risen to prominence in the past two years. His deeper understanding of anomalies than ours suggests that the U.S. has been dealing with anomalies at least two years earlier than we did."

"Have any clues been found about the man in the black trench coat from the *Eye of Memory*?"

"Not yet."

"We must uncover his origins and where the anomaly eyeballs originally came from. Besides Qiu Lishu, we need to find out if anyone else has obtained anomaly eyeballs."

"Continue to maintain good relations with Mr. Lin. Such powerful capabilities must never be pushed to the opposite side."

"Accommodate any request he has. I heard he plans to establish an anomaly relief foundation. Isn’t there a project in the city recently? Reach out to him. With anomalies running rampant, the existence of this foundation is essential. I believe the government should step in to collaborate and establish a large-scale relief foundation, both nationally and globally."

"Old Zhao makes a valid point."

Everyone present was shrewd. These words indicated that the higher-ups intended to give the green light to what Lin Juan is doing.

"It’s rare for Mr. Lin to have such public-spiritedness. Naturally, we won’t let him down."

Donating half of his income for public welfare is something not everyone can do. Little do people know, countless people try every trick to avoid paying taxes.

One can’t help but compare, and in doing so, Mr. Lin’s integrity shines through even more.

"Yaoxing Technology has also been transferred to Mr. Lin, right? I’ve heard it has achieved many research results. Such a company, dedicated to getting things done, deserves full encouragement."

During the meeting, aside from formulating new policies related to anomalies, they also secured a lot of advantages for Lin Juan. After the meeting, Director Liu called Lin Juan back to share the good news.

How did the higher-ups find out already?

"Initiatives for the public good are bound to attract attention from above. Thanks to Mr. Lin pointing it out, with anomaly incidents occurring frequently, aside from resolving these incidents, we should also do more for the victims. We must ensure they don’t suffer both physical harm and financial loss."

At the very least, we must guarantee that ordinary people who experience anomaly events can continue to live afterward.

Their essentials—food, clothes, housing, transport—should be covered.

With the government willing to step in, Lin Juan naturally wouldn’t refuse. After discussing this matter with Director Liu for a while, Lin Juan remembered what he’d originally called about.

"I’d like to borrow the eyeballs harvested from the *Humanback Spider*. Miss Mu, Second Brother Lu’s childhood friend, was driven mad by the eyeballs on Qiu Lishu. Since her madness is related to anomalies, I wonder if it’s possible to restore her sanity."

"No problem." If someone else had asked to borrow them, the process certainly wouldn't have been so easy. But since Lin Juan wanted to borrow them—after all, he was the one who killed the *Humanback Spider*—they couldn’t possibly refuse his request for a few eyeballs.

After setting a time, Lin Juan informed the Lu family and also mentioned the foundation matter.

"This is a good thing," Old Mr. Lu said, feeling touched after hearing it. "A person’s efforts can’t compare to what the government can do. Lu Yanzhou, you must oversee the foundation matter from start to finish. No mistakes are allowed."

Lin Juan is truly their good luck charm.

Ever since Lin Juan joined the Lu family, Lu Yanzhou woke up, his health improved steadily, and the group secured several major projects. Now, with the prospect of collaborating with the government, though it’s a public welfare project, the unspoken benefits are considerable.

It’s not about monetary gain but about the various projects. With this connection, the higher-ups will prioritize the Lu Group for collaborations.

Approvals for the Lu family’s projects will also face fewer intentional roadblocks.

"I understand." Lu Yanzhou is a natural businessman, able to see the opportunities in it at a glance.

Entrusting the foundation matter to Lu Yanzhou, Lin Juan felt reassured. Lu Yanzhou made sure he stayed involved, patiently teaching him to review financial reports.

At the very least, he needed to have a basic understanding of where the money was being used.

Lin Juan felt dizzy looking at them, with columns of numbers filling his mind day and night, leaving him worn out.

"Give me a break," Lin Juan said, burying his head in Lu Yanzhou’s chest. "Can’t you just review them and tell me?"

I can take down ten anomalies, but please don’t torture me with financial reports!

Ugh, so hard.

Lin Juan nuzzled against him, rubbing his sore nose against the man’s chest. The distinct scent of Lu Yanzhou enveloped him from all sides.

Though it wasn’t obvious when clothed, Lu Yanzhou had well-defined pectoral and abdominal muscles, making the nuzzling feel quite pleasant.

Lin Juan rubbed against him again, his voice mumbled: "President Lu, I’m just a lowly assistant, a little bodyguard. I can’t handle such a heavy responsibility."

Suddenly finding someone in his arms, Lu Yanzhou froze. He looked down at the young man who had not only thrown himself into his arms but was also nuzzling against him.

The young man’s long hair was half draped over his back and half resting on Lu Yanzhou’s arm, like fine silk. Warm body heat spread through the points of contact. Lu Yanzhou draped an arm around Lin Juan’s back. After a few nuzzles, his gaze suddenly darkened.

"Xiao Lin…"

A low, husky voice sounded by his ear, breath brushing against it. Lin Juan’s ears flickered, gradually tinting a faint pink.

Lu Yanzhou stared at Lin Juan’s reddening ears, his eyes growing darker.

"Little bro, I’ve found out about the girl whose identity was replaced back then—"

The office door suddenly swung open from the outside. Lu Yanzhong, holding documents, pushed the door open and saw the two embracing, then abruptly closed the door.

"Sorry for interrupting. Please continue."