Chapter 38: Unintentional Discovery

After the category ended, Liang Jingyuan was surrounded by a gaggle of scholars asking questions. He was very fashionable on the faculty. Many college students who won’t have an interest within the profound topic of cosmology had been keen to enroll in his courses as a result of, together with his good-looking and delicate demeanor, Professor Liang might make them excited to discover the mysteries of the universe collectively.

Simply as he pushed open the workplace door, a shadow flew towards him. Liang Jingyuan instinctively reached out and caught it—it was a toy mouse.

“Give it to Stephen.” He Wei reclined on a small rocking chair, tossing a multicolored jute ball up and down in his hand. “Is it a male or feminine cat? There are various good decorations on the pet retailer that it could actually put on for pictures.”

Liang Jingyuan walked in, smiling, “Don’t trouble; Stephen doesn’t like these issues. However the toy you bought might go well with his style.”

“Nicely then, I’ve obtained some canned meals right here.” He Wei had a small bag by his ft, crammed with gadgets he had simply purchased from a pet retailer. Liang Jingyuan accepted the gadgets and requested, “Why are you coming to see me once more so quickly?”

“I’ve one thing to debate with you. In any other case, did you suppose I’d invite you to buying and flicks?”

“That’s not totally off the desk.” Liang Jingyuan took out a bag of chrysanthemum hawthorn tea, brewed it, and handed it to He Wei. “You don’t look too good. Been staying up late not too long ago?”

“It’s been okay. I stayed up late final night time interrogating a suspect, feeling a bit drained.”

Liang Jingyuan circled behind He Wei, putting his palms in opposition to his cheeks with 4 fingers and urgent his thumbs on the middle of his head. “That is the Baihui acupoint. For those who’re drained, press it your self. It will probably assist alleviate fatigue.”

His method was skillful. He utilized simply the suitable strain, making the scalp and acupoints really feel remarkably snug. He Wei closed his eyes and exclaimed, “You actually appear to know every part.”

Liang Jingyuan appeared down at him, his eyes shimmering with a mild affection that radiated from the depths of his coronary heart.

The friendship between him and He Wei had all the time been in a really steady state. They didn’t contact one another typically, typically going half a yr with out assembly on account of busy schedules. But, with only one telephone name and the sound of one another’s voices, the acquainted connection by no means modified. It was a rapport cultivated over a few years.

Due to this, formalities between them had been a waste of time. When He Wei wanted one thing, he typically didn’t even trouble with greetings; he would simply come over. Liang Jingyuan had a personal workplace, and he left a spare key for He Wei. If he got here again after class and located the door barely ajar, he knew He Wei will need to have dropped by.

5 minutes later, He Wei stretched lazily. Due to Liang Jingyuan’s skillful palms, his beforehand groggy thoughts was now a lot clearer. Liang Jingyuan pulled out a chair and sat throughout from him. He Wei lastly obtained to the purpose, “Do you keep in mind the query I requested you final time? About parallel worlds.”

“Yeah. Has one thing much more uncommon occurred?”

He Wei prolonged his proper hand, his eyes displaying a touch of confusion. “…I encountered him.”

He hadn’t slept a lot that night time as a result of, after tangibly encountering Cheng Zesheng, his thoughts was in chaos. Varied whimsical concepts popped up, maintaining his mind excited and energetic, making it inconceivable for him to go to sleep.

“A number of days in the past, in a distinct place, I noticed him by the glass. And tonight, in my room, throughout an influence outage, I distinctly felt his presence behind me. Although it wasn’t the time we might talk, I truly encountered him, a residing, respiration particular person.”

“Although it was a really brief time, most likely just some seconds, it utterly confirmed for me that one other Cheng Zesheng exists in actuality, with flesh and blood, residing beneath the identical roof as me.”

Liang Jingyuan propped his chin and seen a element, “The facility outage occurred at the moment?”

“Sure, the lights dimmed for a second. By the point the facility got here again on, he had disappeared.”

“Maybe it wasn’t an influence outage however moderately a type of magnetic discipline interference.” Liang Jingyuan speculated, urgent his index finger in opposition to his chin. “If you seen the anomalies at dwelling by the surveillance, the display screen shaking may need been on account of magnetic interference as properly. In wormhole idea, the wormhole’s opening and shutting are extraordinarily unpredictable, making it inconceivable to traverse. However because you had been in a position to contact Cheng Zesheng, it signifies that shortcuts in house are accessible to odd folks. And it’s potential that, being at a node, the situations for traversing one another’s worlds have been relaxed, turning implausible miracles into gradual prospects.”

He Wei solely had a superficial understanding of those theories. From his perspective, his contact with Cheng Zesheng was deepening repeatedly. The rationale for this deepening phenomenon was nonetheless unclear. He didn’t know if it was because of the pure passage of time that brought on the 2 worlds to slowly merge or if sure exterior components had been inflicting an elevated penetration of house, permitting him not solely to listen to Cheng Zesheng’s voice but additionally to bodily encounter him.

“The merging of parallel worlds isn’t inside my discipline of information, and there’s little or no analysis achieved on this subject. It’s an imaginative speculation that’s laborious to calculate or measure utilizing present formulation. Other than the three legal guidelines of the universe, there are additionally three taboos: time machines, spatial shortcuts, and faster-than-light journey. All of those are prohibited by a traditional universe, so your experiences are inconceivable in any discipline of cosmological analysis.”

He Wei additionally didn’t perceive why he can be the one to come across such a weird occasion—a extremely uncommon homicide case that led to an unbelievable story. He had encountered so many victims, but solely this one had come into his world, making him deeply really feel {that a} drive past scientific understanding was at play in a world that upheld science.

“Since even you’ll be able to’t present solutions, I’m much more puzzled. I’ll simply take issues one step at a time.” He Wei requested once more, “Then—About resurrection by borrowing a corpse, is that potential?”

Liang Jingyuan helplessly smiled, “A-Wei, you need to go to professionals for questions like that—like mediums or non secular practitioners.”

He Wei shrugged. Seeing that there was nonetheless time, he patted Liang Jingyuan’s shoulder, “How about dinner tonight?”

Unexpectedly, Liang Jingyuan gave a faint smile and pointed at his watch, “Another time, I’ve made plans.”

This was the primary time He Wei’s proactive invitation had been declined. He all of a sudden realized, “Oh—so my little brother gained’t have an opportunity, huh?”

Liang Jingyuan continued to smile, “I’ll be there on the sixteenth.”

He Wei couldn’t management issues of the center both. He might solely sigh at how uncooperative He Lu was, all the time hiding his crush. Now, each tear of his that might fall can be the water he had let into his mind at the moment.

———

Within the afternoon, Cheng Zesheng went to Nanxiangshan Cemetery, bringing flowers and a pack of cigarettes, to go to his brother.

Anti-drug officers had been completely different from common police. After sacrificing their lives, they couldn’t have grand memorial companies draped within the nationwide flag, receiving condolences from your entire nation. Their ashes might solely be quietly returned, recognized solely to their households and police superiors. Nobody else would know {that a} hero had carried the burden of the brilliant way forward for society and at last sacrificed himself.

The rationale for such warning was to make sure the security of the households of the anti-drug officers to the best extent potential. In line with laws, even after they sacrificed their lives, their graves couldn’t be marked with tombstones. This was to forestall deranged drug sellers from focusing on their households throughout memorials. Cheng Zhenqing had anticipated today from early on. His confrontation with the drug trafficking gangs was certain to be a life-and-death battle. Due to this fact, from the start, there was no identify “Cheng Zhenqing” within the police information. His picture was related to the identification “Ma Guangming.”

Three years in the past, when Cheng Zesheng went to the Cjina-Mayanmar border and noticed his brother’s physique, he nearly went mad. Cheng Zhenqing’s chest had been lower open in three locations with six holes, and he had a number of fractures throughout his physique. His fingernails had been utterly pulled out, and his hand bones had been smashed little by little with a small hammer. As a result of he was a sniper, these palms had been the item of the drug sellers’ deep hatred, so he had been tortured into an nearly unrecognizable kind.

After a forensic post-mortem, the conclusion drawn was that each one these punishments had been carried out whereas Cheng Zhenqing was aware. To make sure most enjoyment, the drug sellers injected him with high-purity heroin. The dosage was not deadly, however sufficient to maintain him awake. After enduring dozens of hours of hellish torment, Cheng Zhenqing was lastly capable of finding launch.

Cheng Zesheng couldn’t deliver himself to inform his dad and mom. He quietly introduced his brother’s ashes again, wrapped in a crimson flag. He couldn’t bury him within the Martyrs Cemetery both. In the long run, he selected a spot within the public cemetery on Nanxiang Mountain. His whole file was beneath an assumed identification, and all of the deserves he obtained had been unrelated to the identify “Cheng Zhenqing.” Solely this headstone lastly allowed him to reclaim his true identification.

Yearly on the Winter Solstice, the Ghost Pageant, and the Qingming Pageant, these three important days, Cheng Zesheng would go to his brother, with a bouquet of flowers and a pack of cigarettes. The routine by no means modified. Right this moment was a little bit of an exception—the Ghost Pageant was nonetheless a bit away, and Qingming had already handed. Cheng Zesheng would go to once more later; he simply needed to talk together with his brother right now.

“Brother, our shared aspiration was to change into good cops, so how did you find yourself turning into a felony over there?” Cheng Zesheng unpacked the cigarette pack, pinching it from finish to finish, giving it a whiff on the tip of his nostril, and at last lighting it up and putting it in entrance of the headstone.

This was his brother’s distinctive manner of smoking. Cheng Zhenqing handled medication every single day and encountered many drug sellers who blended medication with tobacco, getting harmless folks addicted. So, when Cheng Zhenqing obtained a cigarette, he would fastidiously examine it together with his palms, then odor its aroma, ensuring it was protected earlier than he lit it. This behavior by no means modified, even in demise.

“The police officer who caught your parallel world model is sort of spectacular. However he died in our world. What’s unusual is that I’m investigating his case, and but, we had been residing collectively.” Cheng Zesheng checked out his brother’s black and white {photograph}. “I met him yesterday; it felt very surreal. Brother, do you suppose there’ll come a day after I can see the whole him at dwelling?”

The Nanxiang Mountain Cemetery was sparsely populated. It wasn’t a day for tomb-sweeping, and this specific space was utterly abandoned. Cheng Zesheng seen that the gold paint on the headstone had peeled off in a number of locations, so he headed to the administration workplace to discover a craftsman who might contact up the paint.

“That spot on the hill is a feng shui treasure, however the worth is larger than elsewhere. Mr. He, have you ever thought it by?”

“I need to go up and have a look. Please present me the way in which.”

Cheng Zesheng was about to enter the administration workplace when he heard a well-recognized voice. He rapidly retracted his steps and dodged to the facet.

The tall and upright determine was strikingly acquainted. He had seen him simply a few days in the past when he was urgently arranging for his brother’s cremation and burial. It appeared that he was actually in a rush, having come to purchase a burial plot.

They went by the again door to the hill to examine the burial website. Cheng Zesheng walked in, and the particular person in cost greeted him, “Officer Cheng, is there something I can assist you with?”

“My brother’s headstone has misplaced its coloration. Are you able to organize for somebody to the touch it up?” Cheng Zesheng appeared on the again door and requested, “Is that particular person right here to purchase a burial plot?”

“Sure, that’s proper. He’s come for the second time right now.”

“Oh, I heard one thing a few feng shui treasure spot on the hill. Is it essentially the most luxurious villa space up there? It have to be fairly costly, and even a single plot would value quite a bit.”

The particular person in cost nodded, “Certainly, that’s right. With that giant piece of land, shopping for a double plot is cheaper than shopping for a single one. The gentleman who simply got here was excited by buying a double plot.”

Cheng Zesheng was shocked, “A double plot?”

He Wei additionally didn’t have somebody to be buried with. Why would he be shopping for a double plot?

All of the sudden, a thought flashed by his thoughts and disappeared. Cheng Zesheng grabbed the particular person in cost, “Did he point out on whose behalf he was shopping for it?”

“His important different, I consider. In any other case, why would he be shopping for a pair’s plot? They’re absolutely planning to be buried collectively in 100 years.”

He Lu descended from the hill, expressing his satisfaction with the feng shui and total setting. He knowledgeable the particular person in cost that he would deliver the demise certificates tomorrow and would select the constructing on the higher half.

He went to the car parking zone with the important thing, however unexpectedly, somebody stopped him. When he took a more in-depth look, it was truly Cheng Zesheng.

He Lu sneered, “Officer Cheng, what are you doing right here? Did you come to inform me I can retrieve the physique for cremation?”

Cheng Zesheng ignored his sarcastic tone and appraised him with folded arms. His gaze was a mixture of complicated and unspeakable feelings. The extra he appeared, the extra unbelievable it grew to become. He Lu had hid himself so properly that he hadn’t seen a factor.

“I used to suppose you disliked He Wei a lot, however now I notice that you simply—” Cheng Zesheng discovered it troublesome to articulate, “…you even have emotions in your brother.”

He Lu froze for a second, as if somebody had stepped on his tail. He rushed over and grabbed Cheng Zesheng’s collar, “What nonsense are you spouting?! Like He Wei? Are you loopy?”

Cheng Zesheng pushed him away, “You’re going to be buried collectively; what different clarification is there?”

“Did you… listen in on our dialog?!” He Lu’s face turned pale. He normally wasn’t one to carry again in his phrases, however at this second, his ideas had been a multitude, and he couldn’t handle to say a phrase.

“So, you hate out of affection, proper? It’s unethical to develop emotions in your brother, so that you feign hatred to suppress these feelings.”

He Lu remained silent for a very long time. With every passing second, he struggled internally. Lastly, he gave up resisting, his physique lightening as he leaned in opposition to the close by sedan.

“If he had agreed to me, I’d have by no means hated him.” He Lu coated half his face, his smile bitter. “He clearly likes males; anybody is ok for him, so why can’t or not it’s me?”