Volume 1 Beginning of Summer Chapter 80: Vegetarianism
Zegu Town Police Station.
Interrogation room.
"How did you kill these cats?"
Fang Xuezhou lowered his head and said nothing.
His face was pale.
Jiang You took out a bottle of mineral water and placed it in front of him.
Then he pulled his chair back, took out a cigarette from his bag, lit it, and looked at his phone while smoking.
The smoke is floating.
He checked the headlines on Weibo, Zhihu and Hupu, opened the Sweet Pepper app, and saw Bi Ying from 123 was live streaming. Jiang You sent her a small airplane. After listening to her singing for a while, he heard Fang Xuezhou's voice.
"The cat keeps meowing."
"Then what?" Jiang You put down his phone.
Fang Xuezhou unscrewed the bottle cap and drank several gulps of water.
"Are you, a policeman?" he asked.
"Obviously."
Fang Xuezhou hesitated.
"The sound was very high-pitched. I was afraid that the neighbors would hear it, so we played music on our phones at the maximum volume. The sound became smaller and smaller, and then it died. I didn't seem to realize what I was doing. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough cats, they were all kittens. If not, we would have no money, and we would have to catch wild cats. After the last one died, it said enough."
"What does it say?"
"right."
"Can you communicate with it now?" Jiang You placed the evidence bag containing the bones on the interrogation table.
Fang Xuezhou closed his eyes, and opened them again after a few seconds. He shook his head. He suddenly had the courage and his voice became louder. "I have not violated the law. I am not a criminal. I will compensate you."
"Aren't you out of money?"
"I'll find a job."
"You have to calculate the interest, nine out of ten and thirteen back."
“Usury is illegal.”
"It's loan sharking. At least anyone who has studied junior high school math can calculate the interest and know how much they should pay back." Looking at Fang Xuezhou's alert and confused eyes, he said, "You want to avenge Chen Zikai?"
Hearing the name Chen Zikai, Fang Xuezhou gave a bitter smile. "I had originally planned to go to Tang Jiang to thank him in person after graduation. In the end, the last news I received about him was that he committed suicide. I read his suicide note. He said that he had let it go and didn't hate anyone. He just wanted to leave cleanly. But I felt that I had to do something for him."
"Can't you smell the stink?"
"What?"
"At first I thought it was the stink of a cat's corpse, but now I realize this is the smell..." Jiang You held up the evidence bag, "It stinks. Where did you dig it out from?"
"We went to Yinyan Mountain in April. It snowed heavily that night and we got lost. We walked in the dark for a long time. I seemed to hear some sounds, so we followed the sounds and finally came to a cave. It was lying on a stone platform. The next day, the sun came out and we walked out. That night, Yu Hong and I made a decision to avenge our benefactor."
"How to take revenge?"
"It said that as long as we offer it regular offerings, it will help us get revenge."
"regular?"
"Yes, rice, vegetables, fruits and meat are all fine, once every three days."
“I don’t see a room full of rice.”
"But they are going to immigrate, and I have to immigrate before they do..." Fang Xuezhou's voice lowered, "So we rented a house, and I helped my benefactor's mother with some chores every day. I found out Chen Han's birth date from her, and he is related to them by blood..."
Jiang You looked him in the eyes, "How was it before immigration?"
"Kill them."
After saying that, Fang Xuezhou covered his mouth.
"Rice, flour, and fruit, pretending to be a vegetarian," Jiang You's voice was filled with undisguised sarcasm. He put out his cigarette, "Are all college students so easy to fool nowadays?"
“It saved us and taught us a lot.”
Jiang You pushed his glasses up noncommittally, "It just wanted to kill all three of us. Have you forgotten?"
A trace of fear flashed across Fang Xuezhou's eyes. "Is it lying to me?"
"Rice, flour, and fruit, to make you feel that the transaction is real and equivalent, then cooked food, and then tortured living things to death. You made the choices yourself, not forced by it. After you have repaid the favor, you probably won't be too resistant to killing people psychologically. Just like this, you slide step by step into another world, become its slaves, and help it come..."
Fang Xuezhou felt his scalp tingling. He tried to deny it. "No, it won't. After this is over, I will only offer it rice and flour. Then, I will find a job. I..." His voice became softer and softer. "No."
"Have you read Wang Xiaobo's A Maverick Pig? I remember you read it in Chinese."
Fang Xuezhou nodded.
"It is a unique human quality to make various arrangements for life. I agree with this statement."
Fang Xuezhou looked at Jiang You blankly.
"The world of the living has rules. Some are unspoken rules, but they are all rules. For example, if you rent my house, you must pay me rent according to the contract."
"But the rest of the world is not like that. There are no rules. However, some things that cannot be exchanged in the world of the living can be easily exchanged there, such as fortune and life span. Changing one's fate in a short period of time is a simple and routine operation."
"Why are you telling me this?"
“You are my tenant.”
"Just because of this?"
"My last tenant was killed by a ghost, who disguised it as suicide. I hope that during our rental relationship, your death will be normal, so I'm going to teach you some common sense."
Fang Xuezhou looked at Jiang You with complicated eyes.
Jiang You continued, "Some powerful people have tried to establish rules there, and some have succeeded in establishing the underworld, the six realms of reincarnation, heaven and hell, etc. But most places are chaotic and unstable, with all kinds of unimaginable and indescribable existences there, and they will use some medium to enter the world of the living."
He picked up the evidence bag again. "The most common thing is to gain some believers and offerings. Rice and flour are really useless. Gods and demons are all fed with blood, flesh, soul, and the power generated by emotions, such as resentment."
Fang Xuezhou lowered his head.
"So are we just going to let them go?"
"Before climbing the mountain, you probably didn't plan to kill anyone. You just graduated from college and your life has just begun. You are still a fresh graduate if you go looking for a job now. Yu Hong has been an apprentice for four years. You could have started your own business."
Fang Xuezhou's eyes flashed with shame, "He saved 30,000 yuan, and he spent it all."
"Fortunately, you rented my house. Your benefactor was completely disappointed and wanted to leave with a clean record. As a result, he sponsored adult students and killed more than a hundred cats in the name of repaying his gratitude. He also wanted to kill people..."
"I will pay you back, nine out of ten."
"Forget about the interest. Don't think this matter is over..."
In another interrogation room, Yu Hong and Tang Butian sat opposite each other in silence.
Tang Butian's cell phone was placed on the interrogation table, and Jiang You's voice came from the speaker.
"Don't think this matter will end so easily. Killing a hundred cats brought bad luck. Do more good deeds. Maybe it will be useful if you persist for ten or twenty years. Forget all the methods it taught you."
"Workers in slaughterhouses kill hundreds of pigs, cows and sheep every day. Could it be that they will all be plagued by bad luck?" Fang Xuezhou retorted in disbelief.
"Slaughtering is a job. Workers get paid through this job to survive. The flesh and blood of pigs, cattle and sheep nourish the bodies of other living people and animals. Some of it is used as fertilizer for souls to enter reincarnation. Everything is constantly circulating in the world of the living, and what you have done is to provide our energy to people outside the system. But you are still living in the system, and there is nothing to cover up your fortune by converting your lifespan. Of course, your fortune will be affected."
Yu Hong's fingers were tightly clenched on the interrogation table.
"It's just luck now. If you slide further to that side, the underworld will probably not accept you after you die."
"Then what will be the price for them to do such a disgusting thing..."
“Of course there will be a price.”
Tang Butian picked up his phone and stood up.
She stood outside the door of the interrogation room next door, and Jiang You came out a few minutes later.
"common sense?"
"Isn't it?"
She looked up at him, "What are you offering?"
"A cute little spider, but a bit picky about food and a little autistic."
The spider opened the refrigerator door and threw the Coke inside out.
