"You're threatening me with Yu Xiaoluo," I said, chuckling, "Have you been in the dark world for too long to even respect the police? Do you think Yu Xiaoluo is someone who can be bullied so easily?"
"Yu Xiaoluo isn't particularly smart; it's easy to deal with her."
"And then?"
My senior sister looked at me seriously as I asked, waiting for me to continue.
"Do you dare to provoke Wang Zeyu from the Criminal Investigation Bureau? That man is a hornet's nest. If you piss him off, you'll regret it."
Upon hearing this, my senior sister took out her phone from her pocket and dialed. "Don't lay a hand on Yu Xiaoluo."
After hanging up, she said gratefully, "You reminded me. Your escape from the lab has already put us in a precarious position. I don't need to provoke the Criminal Investigation Bureau at this point."
Hearing her say this, I felt a sense of relief. The death of class monitor Li Xiaodong was still fresh in my mind. If Yu Xiaoluo were to suffer the same fate, I would never be at peace.
"So, you're not threatening me anymore?"
"No, I'm not threatening you with Yu Xiaoluo."
"Then who will you use?"
My senior sister smiled faintly. "I don't even know when I started liking you. When we were in Shandong, I saw you and Lin Han being so intimate. At the time, I was happy for you from the bottom of my heart, yet for some reason, I felt a pang of jealousy. So, when Master Uncle asked me to use all means to get pregnant with your child, I agreed without hesitation, even though I knew he could use this child to control you, and also to control me."
I knew what my senior sister meant. Looking into her eyes, I told her seriously, "I've already made Lin Han leave. Don't touch her – that's my absolute bottom line."
"To become a god, one must first extinguish humanity. Lin Han's death could make you the strongest Schemer. Unfortunately, I am not Master Uncle Zhu Guang. However, the man I want to marry is also very persistent. He now considers you the most important person in his life. But when he discovers he can't control you, he will slowly realize that there is a second candidate in his experiments. Lin Han has also been a survivor of his split-brain experiments for many years."
"I said..."
"I know your strength. You've become a Schemer comparable to Master, but so what? Can you guarantee Lin Han will survive? I'm not weak either."
...
Lin Han is my weakness. My senior sister has me completely in her grasp.
"What if I don't pester you?"
"The first option is to form an alliance with you strategically. After all, in my husband's eyes, you are currently just someone with strong willpower; you haven't become the most critical part of his experiment yet. A three-way chess match, a gunfight. Right now, Zhu Guang is the strongest gunman, A. You are the second strongest, gunman B, and I am gunman C. Although I am the most uncertain element, you know deep down that only by uniting with me, gunman C, can you have a chance to defeat the strongest gunman, A."
"What are the other options?"
"You marry me. Without me, Duan Dongyang will still choose to sacrifice interests and cooperate with Zhu Guang. At that point, the factions will become two: you and I versus the 'Goblin Forest.' If we win, we'll live happily ever after as a family. If we lose, we'll at least die together as husband and wife."
I shook my head. "You and I are not a family."
My senior sister looked a little disappointed. "Since that's the case, consider the first option. You don't have to answer me now; I'll give you a week."
...
This is a negotiation. I don't need to decide immediately.
My senior sister walked me out. When we reached the courtyard, Tang Yi looked at me with her intelligent eyes. My senior sister seized the opportunity to say, "Come here, Tang Yi, let Daddy hug you."
Tang Yi ran over and hugged my senior sister's legs. My senior sister picked her up and tried to hand her to me, but Tang Yi clung tightly to my senior sister's clothes, refusing to let go. My senior sister sighed helplessly. "Next time, child is a bit shy around strangers."
At that moment, I felt an indescribable emotion, my heart in a turmoil. My senior sister was right. If she hadn't separated from Zhu Guang, she could have used this child to scheme and made my life a mess long ago.
...
After leaving, I called Yu Xiaoluo. She sounded annoyed, saying she hadn't found anything. After confirming she was safe, I took a taxi back to Wende Xiaoyuan.
When I got home, the door was open. Who had come?
Entering the courtyard, I smelled the aroma of cooking coming from the south room. Walking into the dining room, I saw two home-cooked dishes already placed on the dining table.
I peeked into the kitchen and saw the back of Teacher Wang Ren, wearing an apron. Teacher Wang Ren turned his head. "You're back. I saw you bought vegetables and rice, and I suddenly felt inspired to cook a meal."
"Why are you here?"
"Although this house was sold two years ago, I've always felt attached to it and would come by to check on it from time to time. That girl Xiaoluo understands my feelings; she didn't even change the locks, and I still have the spare key. Now that you're here, I thought about it and felt it wasn't appropriate, so I decided to bring you the spare key."
I looked at the key on the table and smiled. "We're family, no need to be so polite."
"After the money was received and the transfer was complete, the name on the deed was Yu Xiaoluo. At the time, I thought, since you both bought the house and went through hardship together, Xiaoluo was probably going to marry you. I didn't expect her to get together with Luo Bo."
"I don't have local household registration here, so I can't get registered when buying a house. Besides, at that time, there were preferential policies for local residents when buying property, so I used my sister's name. Between us..."
I pondered how to answer this question. Looking up, I saw Teacher Wang Ren waiting earnestly, so I said seriously, "I will treat Yu Xiaoluo as my elder sister for the rest of my life. Don't just talk about me; you're not just here to return the key, are you?"
Teacher Wang Ren smiled. "As sharp as Xiao Shi, as expected. I've come to ask you for a favor."
"Please, don't say 'ask.'"
"I want to ask you to let Zhu Guang go."
I looked at Teacher Wang Ren in confusion, and after a long while, I said, "Master Uncle Zhu Guang wants my life."
"Senior Brother Zhu Guang is old, nearing the end of his life, with no children. If you promise to let Zhu Guang live, I will use my old life to keep him in prison."
I could understand Teacher Wang Ren's feelings. He and his senior brother were like siblings, having lived together in this courtyard. No matter what mistake the other person made, Teacher Wang Ren could forgive him.
"I refuse!"
Teacher Wang Ren sighed heavily. "Let's eat!"
"Master Uncle, I want to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"When I first came to Beijing, Wang Zeyu told me the story of how he met Old Ghost Cao Shi. He was about to talk about the plan in 1990 when you stopped him."
Teacher Wang Ren remained silent, picking up his bowl and chopsticks and eating quietly.
"When you stopped him that day, Wang Zeyu had mentioned hearing Li Jiu and Cao Shi talking in hushed tones. They spoke of how all things in the world do not belong to me, but are all used by me. They also mentioned goblins. Do you know anything about this?"
"Do you want to know?"
"Yes!"
"Then you have to tell me how much you know now."
"All things in the world do not belong to me, but are all used by me." This was the highest realm that Old Ghost taught me when I first came into contact with Schemers. This realm held the secret to reviving the dead in the three crucial processes of understanding a situation, planning, and breaking a plan.
Not only Old Ghost, but Li Jiu also said a sentence on his deathbed in the hospital, saying he understood the true meaning of the phrase 'All things in the world are not mine, but are all used by me.'
Later, I went to Shandong and found that even those who understood the highest realm were subdued by Zhang Si. At that time, I didn't understand this situation deeply, but after experiencing being held hostage in the mental hospital, I fully understood that the simplest and most direct method could sometimes leave Schemers helpless. However, Old Ghost had already explained this pattern when he was in Shandong and had also proposed the concept of goblins. Goblins are Schemers operating on a higher dimension. They see the end from the beginning. When they understand everything, know the past and the future, their identity is no longer limited to being a Schemer; they could be a victim or a tool. The core of a goblin is to simply stand on the winning side.
I understood these things and used them. In Zhu Guang's performance art, I repeatedly played the role of a tool and a victim.
I told Teacher Wang Ren all of this. This was the extent of my current understanding of Schemers.
Teacher Wang Ren smiled after listening. "The saying about all things in the world was not said by Teacher Wende. This saying was first proposed by Xiao Shi. Because he constantly mumbled about it, saying it was the highest realm for Schemers, everyone came to know it. In this regard, Teacher Wende was the last to know, but he did not criticize Xiao Shi's statement; instead, he accepted it calmly."
"So, Old Ghost was right."
"Master didn't say that. He mentioned the concept of goblins. In your words, a goblin is a Schemer on a higher dimension."
"What do you understand the concept of goblins to be?" I asked eagerly.
"In my opinion, that was a method Teacher Wende taught Xiao Shi. Because at that time, there was a goblin in Beijing. There was a murder case in Beijing where twelve people were killed. After killing each victim, the murderer would cut off the right hand and take it away cleanly. The common people called this murderer the 'man-eating right-hand goblin.' I, along with Senior Brother, assisted Wang Zeyu in solving that case, which was Master's last plan. After the murderer was caught, he suffered a mental breakdown and became mentally ill."
"When was that?"
"May 1989, I believe. I remember Gao Xiaojuan arrived shortly after."
My interest piqued. I widened my eyes and asked, "Was that goblin caught?"
"No, he went mad. The police didn't have evidence to prove he was a goblin, and after that, Master also closed the case, and it was eventually dropped."
If the timing is correct, it should be that person. I guessed, "Master Uncle, if I'm not mistaken, that goblin's name is Duan Shan."
"You finally know. That's right, that serial killer was Duan Shan."