About an hour later, a thin middle-aged man in a white coat appeared in the reception room of the main house and stood in front of Augustus with an unpleasant expression.
"Sir Lionsmith, we have conducted a thorough examination of your son."
"Go ahead, Dr. Nutt." Augustus sat on the sofa expressionlessly, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened in just one hour.
"Sir, it is certain that your son's current symptoms are the result of the influence of some kind of drug." Doctor Nat said in a deep voice.
Augustus said as expected: "Continue."
"This drug is very special. It seems to be able to inhibit..."
"Just tell me the conclusion." Augustus interrupted the other party's explanation with a cold look.
"Oh, okay..." Doctor Nat sighed, "This is a spiritual creature. I'm sorry, as a mortal I can't do anything about it. You should ask a corresponding extraordinary person, such as a wizard or a priest, to try to remove the negative spiritual power."
"However, I dare to state a fact." Just as Augustus was about to send the guest away, Dr. Nutt's face froze and he said in a very serious tone:
"Your son's brain has been deeply affected by the drug, and a large number of nerve structures have been severely damaged. Even if we use extraordinary means to remove the drug spirit in his body, we cannot reverse the damaged nerve tissue."
"Then what do you mean?"
"Even if everything goes well, at most we can relieve your son's current extremely excited and manic state. As for restoring his sanity... that is basically impossible. Please be mentally prepared to accept a son who is completely unconscious and unable to move for the rest of his life."
Having said this, Doctor Nutt whispered sadly:
"I'm afraid only a miracle can restore Master Lionsmith back to his original state..."
"Okay, I understand. Go ahead."
Upon hearing such tragic news, Augustus did not show any grief. Instead, his tone was calm, or... like a stagnant pool of water.
"Bam—"
The door was closed, and the unlit reception room was suddenly plunged into dim darkness.
Augustus' old body sat motionless in the darkness for a long time, as if he had passed away. This luxurious and spacious villa was his burial coffin.
It was unknown how long it was before his body moved. He slowly stood up, staggered out of the living room, and walked up the stairs leading to the basement.
He walked down two floors before arriving at the basement.
This is a misty cellar filled with oak barrels full of wine. Augustus walked to the corner of the cellar, where a blanket with a lion-headed human body and family emblem was hung.
He pulled off the blanket, and behind him was a single-door cast iron door, secured with a complex mechanical lock.
"Only miracles..." He turned the mechanism and pushed open the secret door hidden deep underground. The corners of his mouth suddenly curled up in an exaggerated arc, "Then let's pray to 'God'..."
The tiny kerosene lamp was lit, illuminating a brick wall in the secret room that was engraved with intricate patterns, and below it... a strange object floating in the air, slowly rotating.
It was a regular icosahedron glowing with colorful light.
Chapter 88 Story
"Boom!——"
A teeth-grinding sound of tearing and shattering erupted, which should have echoed throughout the night sky, but it only spread for a few meters before being weakened by an invisible barrier.
Above the abrupt giant pit, there was a rapidly spinning shining object suspended, with dazzling rays of light constantly flashing on its surface and inside, and it was still constantly compressing inwards.
It was as if an invisible and powerful hand was holding it tightly with unimaginable strength.
This is……
A kind of dense aggregation of "the former Andre's villa", "the former Andre himself" and "the former ghost wolf and lackey".
When the object suspended in the air shrank to a size of more than ten centimeters, the terrifying high pressure finally stopped, and it turned into a dense substance dotted with sparks and shaped like burning coal.
"This is my first time trying such a precise operation..."
Qi Ji, who was standing on the edge of the huge pit, lowered his arms. At the same time, the mass of matter that was suspended in the air lost the power to hold it up and fell vertically.
Lunxi watched as the mass of matter sank into the ground like a stone into water, and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only a blurry hole at the bottom of the deep pit. His pupils gradually shrank.
"Is this... really something a magician can do? Or, is this really something a human can do..."
The scene before her was too shocking. The power of Qi Ji's methods once again exceeded her expectations, making her even more curious about Qi Ji.
This girl who came from nowhere was like a cloud of mist.
The deeper you delve into it, the deeper you get into it, unable to discern its true face.
"Xiao Qiji, are they okay?" Retracting his scattered thoughts, Lunxi looked aside.
There were several scantily clad young women lying on the ground, now unconscious.
They were Andre's lovers. They were caught off guard and were stunned by the noise made when Qi Ji broke into the villa.
"He just fainted. He will wake up after a while. It's okay." Qi Ji shook his head. "You won't catch a cold wearing so little in the middle of the night..."
"I heard everything he said just now," Lunxi suddenly lowered his head and said, "Baron Lionsmith..."
"How should I put it," Qi Ji curled his lips, "This melon is quite big."
She used the same mental spell on Andre as she did on Ins, and successfully extracted all the information.
More than a month ago, Augustus found Andre, the leader of the largest gang in Stio, and asked him to pay a large amount of money to him and join him in fighting against the lord, Viscount Double-Headed Axe.
As for the specific means, Andre chose to hire bandits to invade and plunder the city. This way, he could get a large amount of stolen money through the bandits and create the appearance that the lord was ineffective in resisting the bandits.
Augustus, on the other hand, colluded with the East District Security Team behind the scenes to deliberately turn a blind eye to the rampant bandits and boost Andre's actions.
As a noble who governs the East District, it would only take him a word to accomplish this.
Next month, an envoy sent by the church will arrive. Once he learns about the various problems in the city of Stio and reports them to the higher church, he will definitely cause the church to reduce its evaluation of the lord.
Of course, Augustus himself would be affected to some extent, but he had already received enough benefits and did not care about a few criticisms. Instead, he could take advantage of the lord's declining reputation to climb to a higher position.
And the reward for Andrei's efforts was a promise from Augustus: after the task was accomplished, Augustus would apply to the higher church to grant him the title of honorary nobility.
From then on, he will rise to prominence, completely escape from the dirty and dangerous underground environment, and become a man of high status who can live a worry-free life without engaging in production.
In general, this guy was just a pawn of Augustus, helping him to make money and fight for power.
In fact, it is not that complicated. It is just a simple and clear exchange of interests. Once you understand the whole picture, you can explain it in a few words. It is not some brain-burning and sophisticated conspiracy.
However, the price of this "deal" formed in a few words is...
"They are tens of thousands of ordinary people in Stio..." Qi Ji let out a long breath:
"Countless lives, their real and bloody misfortunes and sufferings, are just numbers and bargaining chips in the eyes of these high-ranking rulers."
"You are the demographic dividend, you are human resources, you are labor costs, you are the strings of exquisite and accurate numbers on the financial statements, you are all the related terms in the field of sociology..."
She turned to look at Lunxi who was looking down and saying nothing, and said with a slightly sad smile:
"Only, it's not you."
Lunxi still kept his head down and said nothing.
"I know what you are thinking," Qi Ji seemed to be talking to himself. "You are hesitating and afraid. You are hesitating about how to uphold justice without violating your conscience. You are afraid that if you pierce this layer of window paper, you will face some disaster that will destroy your life."
Lunxi looked over, his lips pale: "Then...what should I do?"
"Let me tell you a story," Qi Ji suddenly smiled, "My story from the past, a long time ago."
"Oh?" This was the first time that Lunxi heard Qi Ji take the initiative to talk about his past. He was immediately interested and blinked at the other's dark brown eyes.
"I have a friend. We're not close friends, but we can still chat a little." Qi Ji started with a cliché, "She has severe schizophrenia... Um, do you know what schizophrenia is?"
Lunxi shook his head blankly: "I don't know."
"You can think of it as a very serious brain disease that affects a person's normal mind, causing mental and behavioral disorders, making it difficult for them to live independently, or even unable to take care of themselves. It's quite dangerous." Qi Ji said in an easier-to-understand way, "And it can be inherited. My friend's mother and mother-in-law both have the same disease: her mother-in-law passed it on to her mother, and her mother passed it on to her."
"How unfortunate," murmured Lunsi sympathetically.
"Yes, their family situation is very bad, often on the verge of starvation. Affected by the disease, her mother and mother-in-law also have very serious violent tendencies, making the family a mess all day long. She... is very pitiful." Qi Ji smiled bitterly:
"She has had the disease for more than a decade and has not yet been cured. Although it is very painful, she has been taking medicine as prescribed by the doctor and cooperating with the treatment, and her condition has shown signs of improvement."
"People who fight against suffering are worthy of admiration," said Lunsi.
"Later, she found a boyfriend, and they got along very well, and they were even talking about marriage." Qi Ji continued:
"But she concealed her illness. In other words, her fiancé was completely unaware of her schizophrenia. She planned to secretly take medication normally for one or two years after marriage to control her condition, and then stop taking medication for a year to prepare for pregnancy."
"Ah?!" Lun Xi was a little surprised. "She is like this... Isn't she afraid of passing her disease on to the child? And taking medicine for a long time will also have a great impact on the child."
"Of course she knew, but she felt it was a risk she could take. She had suffered for half her life, and she wanted to take a chance and get this last bit of happiness." Qi Ji said calmly, "Moreover, her whole family knew that she had concealed her illness from the man. Or...her whole family was helping her deceive the man."
"And then?" Lunxi listened attentively.
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Chapter 89 The Price of Justice
"A few weeks before she and her fiancé planned to get married, I ran into her by chance and chatted with her for a few words." Qi Ji looked at the blue moon hanging diagonally in the sky, his mind seemed to drift far away:
"I don't know what happened. We weren't close enough to open up to each other, but she told me all these little secrets in her heart... I learned so much because of that."
"Maybe she really treats you as a good friend..." Lunxi murmured softly.
Qi Ji didn't continue talking, but asked: "If you were me, what would you do in this situation?"
"Me?" She was startled, looked upward and thought for a while, then answered uncertainly:
"I might... try to persuade her. She is gambling with the future happiness of her children, husband, and the entire family. This is too... dangerous. And after she marries her fiancé, she will definitely not be able to hide her illness from him."
"I think it won't be long before her fiancé finds out the truth - he's the closest person to her - if that happens, he will definitely be very hurt and will probably not be able to accept it..." Lunxi paused for a few seconds and thought:
"I can't watch my friend do something stupid. So I will talk to her and persuade her to confess to the man. The couple should be honest with each other before discussing other things."
"You really think so," Qi Ji narrowed his eyes and smiled in an ambiguous way, "What if she doesn't listen?"
"Then I..." Lunxi clasped his hands together, rubbed them hesitantly, and finally let out a long breath:
"I have done my best so far. If she still refuses to listen... then I will secretly tell the truth to her fiancé so that both parties will have equal information."
"Oh?" This answer surprised Qi Ji: "You are the first one who decided to tell on me. Most of the others just pretended that nothing happened."
"I can't do it." Lunxi bit his lower lip:
"The thought of watching a horrific event, a cruel scene unfolding before my eyes, knowing clearly what cruel consequences it would lead to, and that I could have prevented it with just a little effort, but I did nothing to stop it, allowed it to happen... It was completely against my conscience, and the thought of it was unacceptable and horrible."
"But this has nothing to do with you," Qi Ji emphasized, "Both she and her fiancé are just insignificant passers-by in your life. No matter how big the tragedy is, it is just a few topics of conversation among your relatives and friends."
"I've said before that to me, 'keeping oneself safe' is also a form of evil," Lancy said without hesitation. "I won't use this principle to demand others, but at least I can use it to demand myself."
"Okay, my idea is similar to yours," Qi Ji nodded imperceptibly, "but your plan... overlooked one point."
"what?"
"Put yourself in the other person's shoes," Qi Ji said, "You confessed your secret to a friend, and then she tried to persuade you, but you didn't listen. A few days later, your fiancé suddenly found out the truth... Who told him? Isn't that clear enough?"
"That's true," Lunci nodded blankly, "but is there any problem with that?"
"So I said you overlooked one point. What if her fiancé can't accept it and breaks up with her?" Qi Ji smiled sinisterly:
"Remember, she is a psychopath who cannot control her emotions and behavior. Her whole family is psychopathic...Aren't you afraid that after she finds out that you not only betrayed her trust but also ruined their 'good deed'...she will do something extreme to you, your relatives and friends?"
"Uh..." After being reminded like this, Lunxi immediately understood.
As the only daughter of an old noble family, she had been well protected since childhood, so she did not think of her own and her family's personal safety at the first moment.
"So, what did you do then?" As soon as she asked this question, she already had a hunch about the answer.
"She is very pitiful, really very pitiful." Qi Ji did not give a direct answer, but said slowly in a deep and solemn tone:
"Her life was miserable, with domestic violence, school bullying, workplace discrimination... She had suffered too much and experienced too much injustice.
"But she didn't give up and persisted. She actively cooperated with the treatment and finally saw the dawn of hope. She finally met someone she thought she could entrust her life to, and finally got a small but rare happiness.
"She is very pitiful, really, very pitiful..."
Lunxi's eyes widened little by little: "You... didn't communicate with her and directly told her fiancé about the situation?!"
There was still a faint smile on Qi Ji's delicate face, and he nodded gently.
"This……"
"I think you must be curious about what happened later," Qi Ji said calmly while looking at the thick night sky, "Her fiancé couldn't accept this fact and broke up with her, just one week before they were planning their wedding."
