When Lu Yunze and the officers found Jin Shun, who had fallen downstairs, he was already half-dead, lying on the ground, his chest still visibly rising and falling, barely hanging on to his last breath.
The officers stepped forward to check Jin Shun’s condition. After nodding to Lu Yunze, the latter finally let out a breath of relief.
This whole drama had finally come to a close.
Jin Shun was now completely incapable of putting up a fight. All that remained was to hand him over to the Police Station and the Execution Department of Arcane Arts.
After more than a week of investigation, this was at least a decent result.
But even though the man was lying motionless on the ground, Jin Shun was still staring at Lu Yunze with an unsettling, anxious gaze.
Unable to stand this kind of look, Lu Yunze patiently leaned closer and spoke.
“You’re not still unwilling to submit, are you?”
“You’ve already been caught by me twice. If you’re still not convinced, do you want me to catch you seven times before you’ll give in?”
Jin Shun, upon hearing this, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I admit I can’t beat you, and I also can’t escape from your grasp.”
Saying this, his eyes suddenly widened, flashing with ferocity.
“But even if I’m about to die, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Jin Shun’s only still-mobile hand reached into his pants and pulled out the Broken Dagger that he’d been hiding there all along.
He grabbed Lu Yunze’s collar, thrusting the dagger straight at Lu Yunze’s throat.
No one expected that, even on the brink of death, he could still move so fast—it was so sudden that even Lu Yunze felt a surge of alarm and couldn’t react in time.
Just as the crisis reached its peak, a gunshot rang out, interrupting Jin Shun’s action.
“Lu Yunze!”
Jin Shun was forced to let go of Lu Yunze, and the dagger in his hand clattered to the ground. The hand that had held the dagger was now bleeding from a bullet wound.
Who fired the shot?
Lu Yunze, still reeling from the shock, looked in the direction the shot had come from. A tall, striking figure came into view.
It was the one who claimed to be Jin Huancheng’s daughter—Li Zhiya.
She was still holding the handgun, smoke curling from the barrel. Even after disarming Jin Shun, she kept the gun trained on him.
“You… why are you here?” Jin Shun’s face twisted into an ugly expression when he saw who it was.
“If I didn’t come, our family’s reputation would’ve been ruined by you.”
Li Zhiya ignored the officers trying to intervene.
“This gun was given to me by Old Master. He said, at a critical moment, I could use it against you.”
When Jin Shun heard this, he just gritted his teeth and glared at her, breathing heavily.
Li Zhiya paused, then turned her gaze to Lu Yunze, her expression changing entirely.
“Young Master Lu Yunze, we meet again.”
“Yes, I didn’t expect to see you here either.”
“It was Old Master who sent me. He’ll be arriving soon as well.”
Jin Huancheng is coming?
Lu Yunze was momentarily stunned.
“Originally, Old Master didn’t plan to interfere, but I figured he’d change his mind—it was within my expectations.”
After all, it was his own biological son. If he really did nothing, that would be a bit too heartless, especially since Jin Shun was his only son.
“Can I speak to Jin Shun alone for a moment?”
“Of course, go ahead.”
Since it was a family matter (or so it seemed), Lu Yunze simply stepped back, making space for them.
Li Zhiya stared at Jin Shun again, her expression becoming stern.
“Listen carefully, Old Master will be here soon. Do you know what that means?”
“You think I’ll beg you?”
“Not me. Old Master, your father.”
“Ha!” Jin Shun became so agitated that even the veins on his neck stood out. “That old bastard isn’t qualified to preach to me. And you, a woman who used your face and body to climb up—what right do you have?”
At those words, Li Zhiya’s face darkened. Everyone knew a thing or two about her relationship with Jin Huancheng, but both sides kept up appearances and no one spoke of it openly.
What an incomprehensible family relationship.
Lu Yunze thought he’d have been better off not hearing any of this.
Li Zhiya was furious, but managed to restrain her anger and took a deep breath.
Lu Yunze stood with his back to them, wondering if he should move farther away.
But in the next second, Jin Shun suddenly rolled over on the ground, startling Li Zhiya so much that she reflexively aimed her gun again—but he didn’t attack.
“Halfwit.”
Lu Yunze strode forward, pinning Jin Shun down with his foot.
He noticed Jin Shun was wearing a necklace, so he grabbed it and, with a forceful tug, yanked it off—taking two of Jin Shun’s teeth with it.
But it was too late. Jin Shun had already bitten down on the Blue Guardian Stone hanging from the necklace, and swallowed it.
Fragments of glass and a blue chemical solution flowed from his mouth down his throat and into his body.
Jin Shun’s complexion rapidly turned purple. He opened his mouth wide and roared desperately, and strange blue patterns began appearing on his skin.
He writhed like a fish out of water, struggling violently, but soon his movements slowed, and finally, he went still.
The officers who noticed the commotion rushed over, checked him, and delivered some very bad news:
“He’s dead.”
“Suicide.”
Lu Yunze muttered, glancing at Li Zhiya, who had already turned away, shoulders trembling slightly.
This time, it wasn’t an act—Jin Shun was truly dead.
No one expected it to end like this.
Lu Yunze looked at the necklace in his hand, now just a frayed string. He thought to himself, Why didn’t I notice that Jin Shun was hiding something so dangerous during the fight?
Now that Jin Shun was dead, the case finally came to an end.
Officer Wang, who arrived shortly after, immediately came over to thank Lu Yunze.
“Mr. Lu, you’ve helped us out again. If it weren’t for you this time, who knows how many people would’ve been lost.”
He gripped Lu Yunze’s hand, so moved he nearly burst into tears.
“Uh, alright, it’s just what I should do.”
Even though he’d seen this emotional display before, Lu Yunze still couldn’t quite get used to it. Even if it was the Chief’s orders, the acting this time was just too over the top.
“If you ever want to drink tea or anything, just say the word. Next time you come to the Police Station, you’ll get a VIP welcome.”
“…I hope there won’t be a next time.”
Lu Yunze honestly didn’t want the rest of his life to be entangled with the Police Station. He truly didn’t want any more “special teas.”
Compared to Officer Wang, Lu Yunze was more concerned about another late arrival—the head of the Jin family, Jin Huancheng.
After getting out of the car, Jin Huancheng hurried over. Upon hearing of Jin Shun’s death, he froze on the spot.
Officer Wang explained the situation at the scene to him, chattering like rain falling from the sky—anyone who didn’t know better would think he’d just been caught in a storm.
In contrast to Officer Wang’s anxiety, Jin Huancheng was extremely calm throughout. When he’d heard everything, he simply walked to his son’s corpse.
Lu Yunze quietly observed his expression, but Jin Huancheng’s face was so blank it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Anger? Sorrow? Or nothing at all?
Lu Yunze wasn’t a father, so he couldn’t understand the pain of losing a son. But he knew the pain of losing a loved one.
Not until the officers had carried Jin Shun’s body onto a stretcher did Jin Huancheng finally speak for the first time since arriving:
“I have a request.”
“Please, go ahead.” Officer Wang forced a smile.
“I’d like to take my son’s body home and bury him myself.”
“Of course, that’s fine.” Officer Wang nodded. “After we finish examining the body, you can take him home and give him a proper burial.”
After receiving the reply, Jin Huancheng quietly took his leave, just in time to receive a business call, and walked off alone to take it.
What a strange family.
“Mr. Lu, since it’s rare for us to meet, why don’t you come to our home as a guest?” Li Zhiya came over, her expressions changing as smoothly as river waves.
“No, I really don’t have the time right now.”
Who knew whether Jin Huancheng, who didn’t seem to care about his son, Li Zhiya with her clever little schemes, or the completely uncontrollable Jin Shun—who was the strangest of this family?
Just thinking about this family was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat.
“That’s a shame.” Li Zhiya sighed. “I wanted to hear your thoughts about what kind of person Jin Shun was outside the family.”
Better not ask.
Lu Yunze and Jin Shun’s relationship only involved grudges, never kindness. Back when they were looking for Jin Shun, Li Zhiya had actually believed in some kind of bond.
“I have a question I’d like to ask.”
“Please, Mr. Lu.”
“What did you really think of Jin Shun?”
Li Zhiya was taken aback, then smiled as she replied.
“Even if he weren’t my biological younger brother, I’d still be good to him. It’s just that he grew up with very little motherly love, and Old Master didn’t care about him either, so his personality became so wild that no one could rein him in.”
“So that’s how it was.”
If she was telling the truth, then as a big sister, Li Zhiya was not without affection.
“The departed have passed,” Li Zhiya said with a faint smile. “Young Master Lu Yunze, how about we exchange contact information and become friends?”
She even took out her phone.
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