Volume 14
Chapter 14: The Death Row Inmate
That night, Lu Li and Zhu Xi arrived at the Capital City Central Prison. Passing through the thick, high walls, the gloomy and oppressive prison came into view. Lu Li was still savoring the egg tart the Silly Goose had fed him at dinner. The little girl had a strong hostility toward Zhu Xi and was eager to declare her sovereignty in front of her. Throughout the dinner, the Silly Goose had chattered around him nonstop, not giving Zhu Xi a chance to speak. The most annoying thing was that Zhu Qiao, in a daze, had gone off to play with Chu Jingyi. When Lu Li went to find them in the afternoon, he saw them seriously discussing a horror story. It was the Silly Goose who was telling the story, and Little Qiao was both scared and wanted to listen.
Lu Li turned his head, wanting to see if there was any anger remaining on Zhu Xi’s face. Zhu Xi was not a beauty in the traditional popular sense. Compared to Zhu Qiao, the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and her nose was high, like a foreigner’s. In addition, Zhu Xi liked to use a bright red lipstick, and the crimson lips formed a sharp contrast with her snow-white skin, giving people a strong sense of presence. The men of Shenzhou liked demure, gentle, and watery girls. A woman like Zhu Xi was a departure from traditional aesthetics.
Zhu Xi sensed Lu Li looking at her. “What are you looking at?”
“You’re beautiful. I want to look a little more.”
Zhu Xi lifted her lower lip, grunted in acknowledgment, and didn’t ask any more questions. Lu Li could see that she was a little happy.
The image of Zhu Xi holding the red thread, looking at him with a sad face, flashed through Lu Li’s mind. His heart felt a little gloomy. For some reason, he didn’t want to see Zhu Xi with that kind of expression again—even if this princess was destined to be filled with deep-seated bitterness and hatred.
…
A foul smell permeated the prison corridor, a mixture of sweat, urine, and feces. Prisoners in orange-yellow jackets looked at them numbly from behind iron bars. The warden was leading the way in front, introducing the history and facilities of the central prison. Lu Li was bored listening. He looked up and saw that besides the cameras on the ceiling, there were also constantly moving automatic machine guns.
This was a prison, a place full of death, violence, and oppression.
Lu Li didn’t like the atmosphere here. Zhu Xi took his hand and said in a small voice, “At least life-term prisoners are held in the central prison. The atmosphere is the most oppressive of all the prisons in Shenzhou.”
“Do you come here often?”
“Occasionally,” Zhu Xi said. “I won’t be coming here in the future.”
Lu Li didn’t ask her what she came here to do. He knew it wouldn’t be a fairy tale. When a predator like Zhu Xi came to this place, there was usually only one purpose.
The warden meekly led them to the interrogation room. The interrogation room was divided into two areas: one was the seat for the interrogator, and the other was the seat for the interrogated, separated by bulletproof glass. The two sides communicated through a small window.
Zhu Xi handed him a file. “This is our first candidate for today.”
Lu Li took the file. “…Han Guowei, 45 years old, truck driver, hit-and-run. His daughter is in high school. His ex-wife ran off with her lover. A crime of passion…” Lu Li read with a heavy heart. This information was not some bedtime story. Behind every word was the heavy weight of a life. It was hard to say if these people were heinous criminals; more of them were poor people who had been tormented by life until they had gone off the deep end.
Zhu Xi said, “Han Guowei was originally scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on the third of next month. Considering he has a daughter to worry about, he’s the best choice to bear your Price.”
Lu Li let out a breath. “Let him in.”
The warden received the order and had someone escort Han Guowei to the seat on the other side of the interrogation room. Han Guowei was an ordinary middle-aged man from Shenzhou. His face was haggard, and he was taciturn.
“Han Guowei. Han Guowei!” Zhu Xi called out several times before Han Guowei focused his gaze.
“I know you…” Han Guowei looked at Zhu Xi and suddenly smiled. “You’re that demon. I saw you take Old Hammer and the others away. When they came back, all their teeth had been pulled out, and their fingernails were full of—”
Zhu Xi quickly reprimanded, “Shut up!” Lu Li was by her side today. She didn’t want her cold and ruthless side from the past to be exposed in front of him.
Lu Li pressed her hand and said softly, “It’s okay.”
His “it’s okay” had multiple meanings.
Zhu Xi held his hand back, her heart inexplicably calming down. Under the deception of the Yan Matriarch in the past, she had done many things that angered both heaven and men. She didn’t want to make excuses for herself, only hoped that Lu Li wouldn’t distance himself from her.
Han Guowei, seeing that the female demon was so obedient with just a soft word from Lu Li, let out a “ha.” “Women! They’re all like this! Driven by emotion, without a bit of brain! How do you want to torture me today? Waterboarding? Electric shock? Whatever! I don’t care anymore! I won’t sign the organ donation form! You can beat me to death and I won’t sign! You’ll all go to hell with me sooner or later!”
The warden awkwardly said into the microphone, “Mr. Lu, please don’t believe his one-sided story. He’s slandering our prison. We are a state-run prison…”
“You two should step aside as well,” Lu Li said.
“Yes.”
…
When only Lu Li, Zhu Xi, and Han Guowei were left in the interrogation room, Lu Li finally said, “We’re not here to torture you today. We have no need to do so. We’re here to talk about a deal. Mr. Han, you should know that next month is when you’re scheduled to go to the execution ground, right?”
Han Guowei was very sensitive. The moment he heard “deal,” he immediately asked, “What are you going to do to my daughter?! You bastards!”
“Please calm down. Your daughter is very safe right now, and our deal has nothing to do with her.” Lu Li quickly explained. Han Guowei had been locked up in prison for too long and was overly tense. “It’s like this, Mr. Han. As long as you bear a certain Price for me, I can give a huge sum of compensation to your daughter.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Lu Li took a deep breath and had Zhu Xi take out the crystal sealed in the wooden box. They had already discussed it before they came. To ensure that the Price could be perfectly transferred, they had to tell the substitute the full content of the Price and have the substitute smash the crystal in a completely voluntary state of mind. The Price of Mei Jinliu back then might not have been transferred all at once because the substitute was not voluntary. This was a decision Lu Li had made after careful consideration.
Lu Li said, “This crystal has a certain fantastical Price. It will make a person suffer for a lifetime and finally die in depression. You can think of it as a curse. And now, this curse is on me. The only way to transfer the curse is to have a third person smash the crystal. Mr. Han, we have now chosen you. I am here to make such a deal with you. You smash the crystal for me before you die, and I will give your daughter five million, and at the same time, I can arrange for her to be admitted to Shenzhou University without an exam.”
Five million, compared to Mei Jinliu, was already very generous. But compared to a life, it was too cheap.
In reality, the compensation required for a car accident that killed a father was only a few hundred thousand. The life in this world always failed to realize its due value.
Han Guowei asked, “Are you proselytizing?”
Zhu Xi knew it was because Lu Li’s tone was too kind, so she put on a sour face. “Han Guowei, there are seven other candidates after you. If you think we’re playing with you, you can just scram. This five million will naturally be given to someone else!”
