Chapter 15: Is It You!

Meanwhile.

Chen Ling slowly walked behind him, his gaze passing through the many enforcers to meet Li Xiuchun's.

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

"You... it's you!!" Li Xiuchun frantically tried to break free from the ropes, but other enforcers held her firmly in place. "You should be dead!! You should have died a long time ago!! Calamity!! You are a calamity!!!"

Li Xiuchun's roars echoed under the night sky. Chen Ling stood quietly in place, his eyes filled with a complex mixture of emotions as he looked at her.

"A-Yan... A-Yan," he softly called out to Chen Yan, who was beside him. "You go wait over there for a bit... I'll handle things here."

Chen Yan stared blankly at the raving Li Xiuchun, then snapped back to attention when Chen Ling called his name. After a long silence, he still nodded...

He walked alone into the dark, unoccupied corner, huddling with his arms wrapped around his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"What's going on? Can't you even properly gag her?"

An enforcer glared at his colleague, immediately bent down to pick up the white cloth, and stuffed it back into Li Xiuchun's mouth.

He then sighed deeply and offered comfort, "Son, don't take it too hard... your mother has gone mad; she doesn't even know what she's saying."

"For public safety, we will send them to a mental hospital for stable treatment. They still have hope of regaining their sanity."

"Of course, during this time, you can visit them anytime."

He gave the other enforcers a look, and they immediately understood, quickening their pace to transfer the two to headquarters.

Chen Ling watched this scene calmly, an indescribable feeling in his heart. These two had raised the original host and then taken his life. From the original host's perspective, their grievances had long been settled.

Chen Ling had inherited the original host's memories and emotions. He could vaguely sense that the original host didn't actually hold much resentment, largely because he genuinely liked Chen Yan, his younger brother.

If Li Xiuchun and her husband had explained everything clearly to the original host, the original host would have been willing to trade his own life to save his younger brother.

Unfortunately, the original host trusted them, but they didn't trust the original host... simply because he was an adopted child.

"You're Chen Ling, right?" A figure approached Chen Ling. "Where were you just now?"

Chen Ling turned his head, staring blankly for a moment as if lost in thought, before speaking hoarsely, "Sir... what happened here?"

"I'm asking you now," the man said, frowning slightly. But recalling what the young man was currently going through, he hesitated for a moment before adding, "A calamity broke into your house and frightened your parents... Fortunately, they didn't resist. Don't worry, their lives aren't in danger for now."

"Oh, I see."

Chen Ling, as if just waking from a dream, said, "I took my brother for practice today."

"Practice what?"

"Traditional opera."

Chen Ling raised his hand, revealing a neatly folded opera robe held in his arms.

Seeing this, the enforcer's vigilance eased slightly. After all, ordinary people don't usually carry opera costumes when they go out, so he largely believed Chen Ling's claim of practicing. Still, he asked according to procedure:

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

"It was that wasteland at the east end of Frost Street... No one saw us. My brother is just shy; he doesn't dare to sing in crowded places, otherwise, we would have just practiced at home."

The enforcer nodded. "It's not safe outside lately, so don't wander around. If you find anything suspicious, remember to find me... My name is Jiang Qin, and I patrol this neighborhood every day."

"Okay."

"By the way, where's your brother?"

"He... he was just scared by Mom and is hiding over there." Chen Ling pointed to the dark corner where a small figure was curled up, seemingly crying.

Jiang Qin glanced over and nodded slightly.

Just then, he seemed to remember something:

"Oh, right, how many children do you have in your family?"

"Two."

Jiang Qin's eyes narrowed. "Two?"

Hearing the subtle change in Jiang Qin's tone, Chen Ling's heart sank. Having been involved in performance for many years, he was highly sensitive to such nuances in speech. He immediately composed himself and, feigning innocence, asked in return, "What's wrong?"

"The records state that your family has two children, and you've confirmed it," Jiang Qin said slowly. "However, last night we encountered your parents at the mass grave. They said they were there to pay respects to their son..."

"If both of your sons are alive, then who were they paying respects to?"

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

"Oh, you mean that." Chen Ling's mind raced. An understanding expression appeared on his face. "Many years ago, after Mom and Dad had A-Yan, Mom was pregnant again... but she wasn't in good health at the time, and the baby fell ill and died just a few days after birth. Mom and Dad had no choice but to bury him in the back mountains. Every year on his birthday, they go to pay their respects."

"When that happened, A-Yan was only about two years old and didn't understand anything. I only remember a vague outline of it myself."

This last sentence was Chen Ling's contingency plan to prevent Jiang Qin from separating him and Chen Yan for individual interrogation. This way, even if Jiang Qin grew suspicious and wanted to question Chen Yan further, Chen Yan could reasonably corroborate the story.

Of course, Chen Yan could also use the excuse of "being too young at the time" to avoid in-depth questioning from the enforcers.

"A child who died young, then... No wonder it wasn't recorded in the files."

As it turned out, Chen Ling had overthought it. The enforcer named Jiang Qin wasn't nearly that vigilant. He nodded, jotted down a quick note, and then turned to leave.

Chen Ling let out a long sigh of relief inwardly...

He hadn't expected that on the night he returned, Li Xiuchun and her husband had also gone to the mass grave and were caught red-handed by the enforcers... He had almost been exposed.

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

Chen Ling: ...

Will this ever end?!

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

"This was found on Chen Tan. It's a summons from the enforcers for you. Report to headquarters tomorrow morning, don't be late."

After saying that, Jiang Qin left. This time, he was truly gone.

With the departure of the enforcers, Frost Street fell silent once more. Chen Ling walked to the dark street corner, his heart heavy with complex emotions.

"A-Yan..."

Chen Ling looked at Chen Yan, whose head was bowed, unsure of what to say.

At this point, even if Chen Yan were completely naive, he would know that the calamity that attacked their home was Chen Ling himself... Although Chen Ling's body had been usurped by the "audience" at the time, he didn't know how to explain it to Chen Yan.

Chen Ling, who was usually adept at crafting "lines," was uncharacteristically speechless.

"Brother," Chen Yan said softly. "I'm tired..."

Chen Ling froze, completely taken aback that Chen Yan had only uttered these three words.

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

Chen Ling stood stunned for a long time, realizing he couldn't discern what the boy was thinking. He gently bent down and stroked Chen Yan's hair.

"If you're tired, go to sleep... I'll watch over you."

Their once cozy home now had two large holes ripped through it, and the living room was in complete disarray. Any passing thief would feel remiss not to take something; it would be an insult to their profession.

Chen Yan returned to his familiar bed, silently curling up into a ball beneath the covers. Chen Ling walked over to him, leaning his back against the broken wall, and slowly sat down.

Through the broken roof, he could see endless blue auroras dancing in the night, like soft ribbons draped across the sky. This was Chen Ling's first time quietly observing the auroras of this world. It was as if the moment he saw them, all distracting thoughts vanished from his mind, leaving only an eternal calm.

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

"No, I'm not."

"Oh..."

Chen Yan said nothing more. After a long while, only the steady sound of his breathing remained, lingering in Chen Ling's ears.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling's eyes slowly closed...

He had fallen asleep.