Chapter 73: I declare the Progressive Society dissolved

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Four: Sicilian Defense

In the midst of chaos, the crisp, clear scent of juniper berries continuously drifted into his nostrils, rousing his slumbering mind. Opening his eyes, he found the room filled with sunlight, his body enveloped in warmth—it was the familiar comfort of his own bed.

Faint, rustling sounds came from the kitchen, as if someone was cleaning. Xu Pei pushed himself up on his weak arms and called out, “He Yixun?”

The sound of hurried footsteps followed immediately, accompanied by the screech of the dining table being knocked and dragged across the floor. He Yixun had always disliked furniture in his home being out of place, but ignoring the askew table, he quickly came to the bedside. “You’re awake.” 

“How long did I sleep?” Xu Pei asked.

“Not long,” He Yixun took off his rubber gloves and pressed the back of his hand against Xu Pei’s forehead to check his temperature. “How are you feeling now?”

“Okay,” Xu Pei replied, placing a hand on his neck and rotating his stiff neck. “A bit hungry.”

“I’ll make food,” said He Yixun. 

Pulling his phone from the charger on the nightstand, Xu Pei glanced at it casually and was instantly stunned. “Why is it already Wednesday?”

“You were unconscious for two days,” He Yixun’s tone was calm. No one knew how he had managed to get through those two days.

On the way back, seeing Xu Pei’s mouth and nose covered in blood, for the first time in his life, his chest tightened, his legs went weak, and his hands shook so badly he could barely grip the steering wheel.

He had used his official siren for personal reasons, racing all the way to the hospital. By then, Xu Pei was already pale, his lips tinged blue. 

The doctor performed emergency measures and ran a series of tests. Discovering Xu Pei’s body was different from ordinary people’s, they persistently questioned He Yixun for details. He Yixun had never been so agitated. Losing his composure, he grabbed the doctor by the collar and demanded they treat Xu Pei immediately. Fortunately, the doctor said Xu Pei’s body was not seriously harmed, only that his nasal mucosa was damaged, and he was suffering from physical exhaustion. Proper rest would lead to recovery.

The nurse prepared an IV to administer fluids to Xu Pei. Concerned that the medications here might not be suitable for Xu Pei, He Yixun simply brought him home to care for him.

As soon as they got home, Xu Pei developed a low-grade fever, occasionally delirious and calling He Yixun’s name.

He Yixun didn’t sleep all night, searching everywhere for ways to reduce the fever. Starting from clumsily propping Xu Pei up to give him water, he eventually became adept at wiping him down with a cloth. 

This was the first time in He Yixun’s life he had taken care of someone else.

If possible, he thought, he would be willing to take care of Xu Pei for a lifetime.

On the second day, Xu Pei’s condition improved, though he remained unconscious.

He Yixun couldn’t settle his mind and started cleaning. After one round of cleaning, he handled some work, then felt the air in the room wasn’t clean enough, which wouldn’t be good for Xu Pei, so he started cleaning all over again. 

He repeated this cycle until Xu Pei woke up.

“Sorry for making you worry,” Xu Pei said.

There wasn’t a single trace of dust or its smell in the room, it was as clean as a vacuum chamber. When his keen sense of smell occasionally caught a whiff of something, it was always a fresh and pleasant scent.

Xu Pei had a feeling that He Yixun had built a castle for him, a place where he could feel utterly secure. 

“What do you want to eat?” He Yixun asked.

“Anything is fine,” Xu Pei said, moving to the living room. He noticed Zhen Li’s laptop on the coffee table, the screen displaying the simulated dimensional travel data. “What were you looking at?”

He Yixun walked over and closed the screen. “Nothing.”

After a pause, he said, “I was just thinking that perhaps we still need to go back. Firstly, to resolve the issue with your blocker, and secondly, to arrest Zhen Li.” 

Xu Pei also agreed that his arrival this time had been sudden and unprepared. Coupled with Zhen Li still being at large, if possible, it would be best to go back and settle everything before returning.

But, before they crossed over, they were already in danger. Even if time reversed to before they fell off the bridge, they still couldn’t escape the police encirclement in Nucheng.

Unless time reversed to before Xu Pei was stabbed by Mo Xin, then they would have more room to maneuver. But whether time reversed was random, could they be that lucky?

Xu Pei took out his phone and checked the weather forecast. “There will be thunderstorms next week.” 

“No rush,” said He Yixun. “Focus on recovering your health first.”

Lin Mei’s press conference was scheduled for Saturday, attracting media from across the city.

News of the Vidley Manor vault being opened had already spread. Even Zhu Mingfei came to He Yixun to inquire. With this money, would Lin Mei plan for the next mayoral election? Would the Progressive Society expand and recruit new members? She came up with many reasonable conjectures.

But to be honest, He Yixun didn’t know either. He only had Lin Mei’s one promise and didn’t know if she would honor it. 

After resting at home for a few days, Xu Pei’s body had recovered as before. The blocker could still hold on for a while in low-power mode. As long as he didn’t encounter pungent smells, he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

On Saturday, Xu Pei and He Yixun once again came to Vidley Manor.

The spacious main hall was packed with reporters; the variety of scents assailed Xu Pei’s sense of smell like a biochemical attack. However, the night before, his reproductive cavity had been filled with He Yixun’s semen, and before going out, he had also worn a professional protective mask. Therefore, apart from finding the smells unpleasant, his body didn’t have any adverse reactions.

Today, Luo You had changed into a striped suit. The velvet fabric shimmered with a subdued sheen under the lights, every cut precisely tailored to his frame. His shirt collar was stiff and snow-white, his tie impeccably knotted into a perfect Windsor knot. The double-breasted design carried a hint of retri elegance, and the corner of a silk handkerchief peeked out from his breast pocket—every detail exuded meticulous sophistication. 

The lazy slippers were replaced by polished pointed-toe leather shoes. When he raised his hand to check his watch, not a trace of childishness remained on his face; instead, there was an air of steadiness.

“Pei Pei-ge, you’re here!”

Alright, the illusion shattered the moment he spoke.

“There are so many police outside.” Luo You came to Xu Pei’s side, leaned past him, and looked at He Yixun on the other side. “Did you arrange them, Yixun-ge?” 

He Yixun didn’t answer, because the shutter sounds suddenly intensified. Lin Mei had appeared under the media’s lenses.

She was wearing a pure white cashmere coat with a fitted cut that nipped in at the waist, a very thin belt accentuating it perfectly. The hem was wide, like a lotus leaf, swaying with a light elegance following her brisk and capable stride.

Xu Pei had never seen Lin Mei wear white before, but that wasn’t enough to surprise him.

He saw that Lin Mei had cut her long hair into a bob reaching her ears, and her face was completely free of makeup, allowing the traces of age to be exposed under the lights. The reporters present had never seen her in such an unadorned, plain state, and they pressed their shutters frantically. Lin Mei’s eyes no longer held the unconcealable ambition they once did. It was as if she had shed her sharp edge and returned to being an ordinary person. 

“Thank you all for coming today. I wish to announce some matters in my capacity as the new chairperson of the Progress Society.”

Lin Mei began speaking about the history of the Progress Society, while the reporters below clattered away on their keyboards.

Luo You suddenly sighed, his expression wistful as he said, “Yixun-ge, you’re going to arrest her, aren’t you.”

He Yixun didn’t deny it, his tone flat. “She has done many bad things.” 

“I know, she probably has a bad side.” Luo You looked at Lin Mei on the stage from afar, his complex expression carrying a trace of reluctance. “But she has always been very good to me.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have regarded Lin Mei as his godmother.

“You were abroad and didn’t have much contact with her,” said He Yixun.

“No, we were in contact often! She sent me gifts every year for my birthday.” 

Xu Pei glanced at Luo You with some surprise, thinking that even He Yixun had never received gifts from his own mother.

“I know, you’re going to say she was nice to me because she wanted to curry favor with my grandfather,” said Luo You. “But Grandpa didn’t like my dad, and he doesn’t like me either. Who could she possibly curry favor with by being nice to me?”

He Yixun remained silent and didn’t respond.

Xu Pei found it hard to imagine someone not being good to their own son but being good to someone else’s son. However, he suddenly thought of a type of parent: one who, having failed with one child, pours all their effort into another. So, was Lin Mei like that? 

“She never showed me her bad side,” Luo You continued. “Of course, I was abroad, and our contact was limited to daily pleasantries. Maybe, as you said, I don’t really know her. But since returning this time, I’ve talked with her a lot. Actually, she has always had a very hard time.

“Do you know how severe the discrimination is in the military?

“She had to put in several times the effort just to be on equal footing with male officers of the same rank. You also know how ambitious she is. In that environment, she had no other thoughts—just climbing up. Actually, she liked Uncle He long ago. Grandfather originally arranged a political marriage for her, but she made the decision privately to marry Uncle He, which made Grandpa very unhappy.

“That was the last time she acted on emotion. After that, she completely turned into a work machine. In that regard, you’re quite like her. 

“She said she still overestimated herself and failed to balance work and family. After struggling to reach her current position, she looked back and found no one behind her, and wondered what the point of it all was.

“I told her she should say these things to you. She was very resistant at first, saying you would never understand her.

“But recently, she seemed to change her mind and decided to talk with you. She’s practiced with me many times these past few days. I think she’s quite sincere. Please don’t think she’s being hypocritical and confront her again.”

He Yixun didn’t state his position. After a moment of silence, he asked, “So what does she want to achieve with this press conference?” 

“Ha, of course, it’s to go against those old men.”

As Luo You finished speaking, Lin Mei concluded her lengthy preamble and, looking firmly into the media’s cameras, said word by word, “The Progressive Society has long strayed from its original purpose. I announce that, from today, the Progressive Society is dissolved.”

Shutter sounds erupted frantically. He Yixun was stunned, and Xu Pei was momentarily speechless.

Lin Mei continued, “The wealth in the vault of the Vidley Manor will be used to establish the Progressive Society Charity Foundation. 

“In memory of my mentor, Chief Justice Luo En.”

She had still left some face for Luo En.

Recalling the sense of incongruity he felt earlier when seeing the expert team, Xu Pei had a sudden realization. “So that’s why she screened people who had no connection to the Progressive Society to open the vault?”

The cryptologist and the structural engineer were fine, but the habitual thief and the private detective were somewhat unorthodox choices. 

As the chairperson of the Progressive Society, with so many scholars and experts at her disposal, how could she end up selecting such a ragtag team?

Only now did Xu Pei understand: secretly, she had already been fighting against those old men in the Progressive Society.

All by herself.

“Right,” Luo You said. “On the surface, she was still humoring those old men. But the vault was too important. They had a premonition she might make a move, so they planted a spy near me to monitor her.” 

Xu Pei: “A spy?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Luo You’s phone rang. He raised his index finger, signaling Xu Pei to wait, and answered the call. “Hey, baby?”

Zhou Ye’s roar erupted from the speaker. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

Luo You moved the phone away from his ear, then brought it back. “No, it’s not like that. I just hoped we could be together a bit longer. If I had told you the truth, would you have stayed by my side?” 

“Fuck you! If you hadn’t been whining and begging to get with me, would I have let a little shit like you sleep with me?”

“You’re so scary,” said Luo You. “I don’t like you anymore.”

After Luo You hung up, Xu Pei already had a candidate in mind. “Zhou Ye?”

— He was thinking about who the spy was and didn’t quite catch who Luo You was talking to on the phone. 

“Yes, that money-grubbing lawyer,” Luo You said, pursing his lips with a hint of regret. “He really was here to help me handle the inheritance, but he was also moonlighting as a spy for the Progressive Society. I told him Aunt Lin planned to use the fortune to strengthen the Progressive Society. That’s probably what he reported to the old men, which made them lower their guard.

“Also, he helped me set up a trust fund—the charity fund Aunt Lin just mentioned. I went and changed its nature, donating my share of the inheritance along with it.”

No way.

Xu Pei looked at Luo You, who was explaining all this with such ease, and thought: Little brother, you’ve hidden your depths well, haven’t you? 

“Wait.”

He Yixun suddenly spoke, his words quicker than usual. “Are you saying the Progressive Society only arranged one spy?”

“Yeah,” Luo You said. “We screened all the others, they have no ties to the Progressive Society.”

“But once Zhou Ye found out who was selected, the Progressive Society could have approached them.” 

Luo You was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Let me ask you, if Zhou Ye had uncovered your true intentions, then what? Would the Progressive Society have no backup plan?”

Luo You said, “But he didn’t find out…”

“That’s reasoning from the outcome. From the perspective of those old men in the Progressive Society, they would always prepare for multiple scenarios. If they discovered Lin Mei was acting against their interests, they wouldn’t just let her open the vault. 

“The manor is sealed off. They could only arrange for someone to monitor the progress in real-time and stop Lin Mei at the first sign of trouble. Although Zhou Ye is He Maohu’s deputy, he never touches guns. He even said himself on the Lucky Number that he didn’t dare handle them. Expecting him to stop Lin Mei is unrealistic.”

Zhou Ye was just a scout. He received faulty intelligence, thinking Lin Mei had no intention of declaring war. But the side that sends out a scout, how could they not have combat preparations?

It was like the opening in a game of chess. A pawn advances precisely to pave the way for the pieces behind it. Once the situation turns unfavorable, more substantial pieces—knights, bishops, rooks—will charge onto the battlefield.

An investigation report flashed before He Yixun’s eyes— 

After saving up some money from his detective work, that man had started a security company. Later, a wealthy client’s home was robbed, lawsuits ensued, and he lost everything. Misfortune never comes on its own. His wife suddenly fell ill and passed away, and his son was diagnosed with the same illness…

It was normal for someone drawn by the reward money to be short on funds, so He Yixun hadn’t paid it much mind initially.

But if the Progressive Society learned of this, such a person would be vulnerable to manipulation.

The other person short on money was Gu Yan. Although a gambler, he was still a scholar. Comparatively, someone more accustomed to navigating the gritty realities of society would be a more suitable contact. 

“Are you saying… the Progressive Society also arranged a killer?” Luo You asked, stunned.

Xu Pei also suddenly realized. Cai Jia left because he thought the book couldn’t be restored and no one could open the vault. And Xing Yong had long given up on opening the vault, so why did he stay at the manor the whole time?

Even after everything was settled, he, completely lacking the self-awareness of an outsider, followed everyone to the vault to see the excitement. He was there to keep an eye on Lin Mei!

He Yixun quickly drew his gun, pushed through the crowd, and strode forward. But he had barely taken a single step when a gunshot, like a mournful cry, pierced through the entire manor.

Translator’s Feed:

Get you a man who would keep the entire place clean for you so you don’t get nosebleeds. Also, Luo You is a badass or what?!!