That day, you fell asleep while boiling water, and the boiling water splashed onto the charcoal fire. Fortunately, the cleaning aunt discovered you in time and saved your life. Although you woke up, you were unconscious for more than twenty-four hours, your brain experienced swelling, and your brain nerves suffered invasive damage to varying degrees.
The attending physician told me this. I didn't know him, but he seemed to be a decent doctor, not some schemer. Afterwards, I understood what the attending physician said. It was that after I woke up, I was always talking nonsense, saying that so-and-so was the big boss of a certain sect. Then, I would tell everyone I met about using time to scheme.
I frowned and looked at the attending physician. Lin Han quietly pulled me aside, "It's true, you've been like this, delirious for almost a month."
"What is today's date?"
"August 28th."
"Did the Olympics start?"
"They're over."
"How many gold medals did China win..."
The attending physician waved his hand to interrupt me and said seriously, "At first, we thought you were lucid when you asked this question. But it wasn't. So, I suggest we conduct a thorough examination before discussing your condition."
I remained silent and looked at Lin Han. Lin Han's expression was awkward. Fortunately, Professor Wang Ren pushed open the door. The attending physician stood up and said respectfully, "Professor Wang Ren, you..."
"Xiao Li, I need to speak with Tang Nan for a moment. You can go out first."
"Alright!"
As the attending physician prepared to leave, Professor Wang Ren glanced at Lin Han and said kindly, "Lin Han, you leave too."
"I'm leaving too?"
"Let the two of us talk in peace. It will be beneficial for Tang Nan."
"Okay!"
Although Lin Han agreed, she still looked at me, seeking my consent. I nodded, and then she left.
...
"Wang Ren, what's going on?"
After they left, I asked Professor Wang Ren seriously. Although my voice was not loud, my tone was icy.
"You don't even call me Senior Uncle anymore, you just call me by my name."
"At this point, do you think there's still a need for that?"
"If you hadn't seen through me, we wouldn't be in this situation. Even if you had pretended not to see, I would still treat you like my own son, like family."
"What did you do to me?"
"Just as you saw in your dream, I trapped you in the repeated time of our eldest senior brother, Zhang Si."
"How could such a thing be possible?"
Wang Ren smiled and pondered, thinking of a suitable word. After a while, she sighed and said, "A lost skill from Wende's family."
"Hmph~"
I responded to Wang Ren's analogy with a snort.
"There's a story about 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' in China, have you heard it?"
"What does that have to do with this?"
"When you repeatedly proved that I was the 'Southern Faction's' boss, and then made many people see that this was your delusion caused by inhaling too much carbon monoxide. Afterwards, even if you were lucid and recovered, would anyone believe you if you said these things? As soon as you speak, people will think you've relapsed, and this includes your beloved wife."
I looked at Wang Ren intently, and Wang Ren smiled back at me.
"Impressive, how did you do it? With just hypnosis, you could make me see so many hallucinations?"
"First comes the Way, then comes the technique. This is the highest realm of a schemer. Once I have the Way, I can use anyone's techniques. Our eldest senior brother's multiple personalities, Old Nine's underlying logic, or your most admired Cao Shi's theory of everything, I can master them all with ease."
"So, that's why you taught me."
"Yes. I taught you, but you still couldn't defeat me! I am the true direct disciple of Master Wende."
"You don't deserve it!"
"Tang Nan, your upbringing has always led you to believe that people should walk on the bright path. But in reality, it's not like that. The essence of human nature is selfishness and greed. Within a certain range, humans cannot defy natural laws. Therefore, those who have been oppressed for too long will inevitably resist. The selfish will become more selfish, and the greedy will become even greedier. But society does not allow them to behave this way, so they will turn to crime."
"It is for this reason that you want to kill them."
"That's just a simplistic explanation. To truly determine if someone will commit a crime, and what kind of crime they will commit, requires a team's scientific judgment before the crime occurs, in terms of punishment and its unreasonableness."
"Bah!"
"Ultimately, you won't believe it. It doesn't matter, and it's not within my consideration. I never intended to recruit you into the 'Southern Faction.' You can continue to be the master of Wende Xiaoyuan, the fifty-sixth generation schemer of the Wende lineage. As long as you don't provoke me, I will still be your Senior Uncle, treat you like my son, and be your backer."
"Do you think I'll remain silent?"
"Tang Nan, I am not someone you've dealt with before. I want to tell you that I don't need to threaten you with others' lives. You were lucky to survive this time, but you won't be so lucky next time. If you don't want Lin Han to become a widow, if you don't want Tang Yi to be fatherless, then just stay quiet. You've grown up, you need to understand that life cannot be driven by impulse. In the years you've been a schemer, you've offended many people. With you around, your wife and children are happy. Without you, who knows what hell on earth they will experience. It's true, Lin Han is good at hiding, but she can't hide forever. Without you, will she have to hide her entire life?"
"You threatened me after all?"
"No, Tang Nan. You are a sensible child. You know I am doing this for your own good."
"So you want me to just watch you kill people."
"First, I am not killing innocent people. Second, I don't need your help to kill anyone."
"What if I refuse?"
Professor Wang Ren sighed deeply. "Tang Nan, I am not Zhang Si, whom you've dealt with before, nor am I Zhu Guang, whose head is full of needles. Old Nine, in his condition, could still play you like a fiddle. Xiao Shi's golden cicada shedding its shell, you were by his side but only realized it at the end. You never belonged to the gifted schemers; you simply stumbled into the world of schemers by accident. I believe you've understood what our eldest senior brother said: to be a qualified schemer, the first prerequisite is that every family has its own difficult burdens to bear. You, from the beginning, lacked the conditions to be a schemer. It was Xiao Shi who dragged you onto this path."
I remained silent.
Professor Wang Ren stood up, walked over, and patted my shoulder. Her expression did not change like in the TV dramas where faces contort after their identities are revealed. She was still the same, kind and amiable, sophisticated, knowledgeable, with an elegant demeanor.
In the end, Professor Wang Ren said nothing more. After patting my shoulder, she left. She had said all she needed to say. Judging by my current state, I was no match for her. Let alone scheming, she could easily alter my mental state.
...
As for me, my task was not to immediately become irreconcilable with Professor Wang Ren.
This time, did she spare me?
Is that it?
At the very least, I had to confirm that my own mental state was normal.
I wanted to turn that sentence into a shackle, to lock Professor Wang Ren's heart. But that thing turned into an iron chain, with sharp thorns, and pierced my heart. It was deeply embedded, and every movement caused bleeding.
If I could flip that chain over, I would see the word "Feng" with its sharp edge exposed on the back.
I had helped Professor Wang Ren break the seal she held. Her abilities returned, and she immediately placed an inescapable shackle on my heart.
...
After Professor Wang Ren left, Lin Han rushed in. I forced a smile at Lin Han. Lin Han asked with a worried expression, "Husband, are you really alright?"
"I'm fine."
"What are you going to do next?"
"I'm going to say I'm going to find Luo Bo..."
I had intended to make a joke, but before I could finish, Lin Han's face changed. Seeing her reaction, I quickly changed my words, "I was just kidding. I'm not going to find Luo Bo. After I recover, we'll go home, back to Xi'an, pick up Tang Yi, then go back to the Northeast and have another child. After our child is weaned, we'll travel the world together."
"Husband..."
"I'm telling the truth."
"Don't scare me? You're not going to be a schemer anymore?"
"No. My head was burned by carbon monoxide like this, how can I be a schemer?"
After I said this, I noticed tears welling up in Lin Han's eyes. I quickly pulled her into my arms and gently patted her back, saying, "Wife, it's okay, it's really okay."
From today onwards, I am no longer a schemer.