Why had he waited until now to make his move? Of course—all these years he had been lurking by Xing Jifu’s side, and there must have been plenty of opportunities to assassinate him. Yet he had restrained himself all along. What he wanted wasn’t just Xing Jifu’s death, but his complete ruin—disgrace, the destruction of his family, leaving him like a stray dog with nowhere to go. Or perhaps, like how the Punisher Organization had dealt with Chen Zhaoci and Xiang Rong before, Yin Chen intended to let Xing Jifu’s sins grow and fester, only to personally cut them down in the end. This was the twisted logic of a perverted “Punishing Evil.”
That was why, only today, he had seized the opportunity to use the police as a tool to strike Xing Jifu a heavy blow, driving him into a corner, while he himself reaped the benefits. Otherwise, even the Punisher Organization, with its dozens of top-tier criminals, would likely be unable to contend with Xing Jifu’s vast criminal empire.
And then… the grudge of a stolen wife.
He spoke of the grudge of a stolen wife.
You Mingxu suppressed her anger, instinctively thinking that this must be Yin Chen’s one-sided delusion, his reckless words! How could her mother possibly have had any connection with someone like him!
But…
Yin Chen clearly harbored hatred for Xing Jifu, and Xing Jifu had recognized him. There was indeed a long-standing enmity between them.
Yet…
At this moment, Xing Jifu revealed a look of disdain and said, “Stolen wife? You?” Even though he was now in the other’s hands, Xing Jifu refused to yield.
Yin Chen seemed to recall the past as well, his gaze deepening as he said calmly, “Before she died, she and I were in love. She had already forgotten you. Xing Jifu, the woman you’ve remembered all your life… ha… in the end, she loved me. In her heart, you were nothing but trash.”
You Mingxu: “Shut up!”
Xing Jifu, however, merely smiled, closed his eyes, and leaned against the car wall, saying, “Impossible. She could never have loved you.” This fifty-something-year-old, deeply calculating godfather, now speaking of someone from his past, was surprisingly gentle and composed.
You Mingxu suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
Today’s scene was something she had never expected. The two men before her—one a mafia godfather, the other a deranged killer godfather. Who would have thought that when the two of them clashed, they would speak of the same woman from years ago!
Certain long-held beliefs in You Mingxu’s heart were on the verge of collapsing. But with just a slight waver, she forced herself to calm down.
It was impossible. She believed in her mother—it was absolutely impossible.
If her mother had known these two men were criminals, she would never have had any involvement with either of them.
Her mother was dedicated to her duty, the finest police officer. She had devoted her life to public service, dying in the line of duty. Everyone who had worked with her spoke of her with nothing but admiration and regret. She would never knowingly break the law or tolerate crime.
Her own existence… might have been the only stain on her mother’s life. You Mingxu closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. Even if she really was Xing Jifu’s daughter, back then, her mother must have been deceived or forced. That righteous, gentle, and steadfast mother of hers.
She probably just didn’t want her innocent life to be snuffed out.
You Mingxu’s heart alternated between cold and heat, her eyes stinging, but her resolve gradually solidified once more.
No matter what intentions these two societal scumbags had toward her mother back then. No matter who they were to her. Her mother was gone, but she was still here.
For a police officer, the answer was clear and singular—
What she had to do was arrest them.Once her mind was settled, You Mingxu's emotions quickly calmed. She had no desire to listen to their talk of romantic debts any longer. Looking at Yin Chen, her thoughts raced as she asked, "Yin Feng is your younger brother. Why are you targeting him?"
Xing Jifu hadn't known about the relationship between Yin Feng and Yin Chen, so he also listened intently.
Yin Chen smiled and said, "As you said, he's my own brother. How could I possibly target him? On the contrary, I've always been proud of this younger brother. All these years, I've been... quietly watching over him. If anyone dares to harm him, I'll take that person's life immediately. However, Yin Feng is a very stubborn person. He makes life difficult for himself—you know that too, don't you? It pains me to see him like this, and I want to set him free. Since childhood, he's been burdened with too many rigid rules and constraints, trapping himself within them. I just want him to understand that his older brother is right, and that he's the one who's stubbornly clinging to misconceptions. Do you understand?"
You Mingxu thought to herself: Just as expected. Yin Feng had predicted all of this. However, she refrained from arguing aloud to avoid provoking this Paranoiac. She asked instead, "Did you create the Punisher Organization?"
Yin Chen gazed at her intently and said, "Mingxu, first of all, you should also call me: Big Brother."
You Mingxu remained silent.
Yin Chen chuckled again and said, "If you don't want to call me Big Brother, that's fine too. If your mother hadn't died, I would have been your stepfather. I prefer that relationship even more. Yes, I founded the Punisher Organization."
Hearing his arrogant words, You Mingxu felt nothing but disgust and anger. Stepfather? If she weren't currently in a situation where she had to swallow her pride, she would have cursed: Stepfather, my ass!
Even if her mother had once been deceived by someone like Xing Jifu, who appeared to be a scholarly gentleman, and had been fooled temporarily, she would never have fallen for this damned pervert—this ultimate criminal.
For a moment, You Mingxu found Xing Jifu slightly more tolerable than before.
Just as You Mingxu was about to continue extracting information, Yin Chen said, "Alright, that's enough reminiscing. If you want to pry information out of me, take your time. We'll be hiding in these mountains together for a long while yet."
You Mingxu's heart sank, but she decided to respond with a mix of truth and pretense: "Since you call me your sister-in-law, why not let me go?"
Yin Chen said, "Yin Feng has never been truly sincere with women, but with you, he's utterly infatuated. Just like back then, when I fell in love with your mother—there was a time when I was willing to die for her. Don't you think it's fascinating? He and I share the same blood, the same likes and dislikes. We fall in love with similar people, and it just so happens to be a mother and her daughter. So tell me, in life, the path each person's destiny takes—isn't it all predestined?"
For some reason, You Mingxu felt a tremor in her heart and a vague sense of fear. She couldn't tell whether it was fear of something in Yin Chen's words or the unspoken implications behind them.
Suddenly, she thought of Yin Feng again—the former You Yingjun, who had once looked at her with tear-filled eyes and said, "I love you, I'm willing to die for you."
Are all the Yin family members so... insane?
No, a voice inside her said, Yin Feng is different from the criminal before her.
She remembered Yin Feng calmly telling her: Perhaps what I hope to uphold throughout my life is to refrain from all evil and practice all good.
If Yin Chen's words sent chills down her spine, Yin Feng's existence filled her heart with warmth and strength."You are different," You Mingxu said. "He and you, born alike, yet chose different paths. He and you were never the same."
Yin Chen understood her meaning. A veil of emotion clouded his eyes as he gazed at her with that elusive look. You Mingxu knew she might have provoked him, perhaps even struck a nerve. A sudden sense of satisfaction welled up inside her, and she slowly smiled.
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