Reservoir Dogs chapter 64
Fire
The yacht was driven by a Malaysian guy, with dark skin and a bright smile showing his white teeth, though his Chinese wasn’t fluent.
The three boarded the yacht and set off.
The weather was nice, the clouds of the past few days finally dispersing, leaving a clear sky and a sea as blue as a bright gem. Occasionally, white seagulls circled and called out.
Lu Xi didn’t go into the cabin, standing on the deck with her small suitcase, watching the island grow smaller. Her white dress and black hair fluttered in the sea breeze, her tall, thin figure looking somewhat isolated and otherworldly.
Xiao Zhou watched her from a distance, noting her expressionless, rigid face showing no joy at being freed.
Suddenly, as the yacht sailed further, Lu Xi let out a bizarre laugh, her eyes widening to an uncanny degree, and she shouted, “Burn you all! Burn you all!” Her arm pointed towards the distance, her body bending in a strange arc.
Following her finger, Xiao Zhou saw black smoke rising, then faintly saw flames through the trees.
Fire!
Xiao Zhou yelled.
Jiang Chengyuan emerged from the cabin, saw the flames, and frowned. He quickly made a call and soon found out it wasn’t serious. He relaxed a bit, gesturing for Xiao Zhou not to worry. “It’s just the room Lu Xi stayed in. The fire’s out, no one was hurt, and it didn’t spread. She must have set a timer before leaving, causing the fire after we set sail.”
Xiao Zhou’s mind gradually settled.
On the deck, Lu Xi was still screaming and laughing hysterically, flailing her arms and legs, displaying various insane antics. Jiang Chengyuan ordered two accompanying crew members to bind her with ropes and lock her in the cabin.
Throughout, she kept kicking and struggling. The two crew members in charge of controlling her took a lot of punches and kicks, using immense effort to get her off the deck. Even though her limbs were restrained, Lu Xi continued to resist. As the crew member was binding her, she suddenly turned her head and bit fiercely onto his ear. Clenching her teeth tightly, she inflicted a painful bite, causing the man to scream in agony. Blood trickled from Lu Xi’s mouth, and her dark pupils were crazily irrational.
The man grabbed Lu Xi by the hair, trying to make her release, but no matter how much she was beaten, she wouldn’t let go as if she didn’t feel pain. Others were hesitant to pull her hard, fearing that this madwoman might actually bite the ear off.
Others on the boat also gathered around, creating a chaotic scene of screams and bites.
Seeing the commotion, Jiang Chengyuan frowned and pushed through the crowd. Xiao Zhou only saw him walk up to Lu Xi, say something, and moments later, Lu Xi obediently released her bite, stopped struggling, and sat quietly on the deck.
Jiang Chengyuan first checked the injured person’s condition and had him taken below deck for treatment. Then he approached Lu Xi. Although some were worried that Lu Xi might attack again and tried to stop Jiang Chengyuan from getting close, Jiang Chengyuan shook his head, indicating that it was alright.
He then bent down, lifted the woman, and carried her to the cabin.
As the yacht sailed back, Jiang Chengyuan checked the fire situation, which, as reported on the phone, hadn’t spread to other areas. He comforted the frightened Mrs. Jiang and they left in the afternoon.
Heading back to the sea.
Xiao Zhou walked alone on the deck, feeling the refreshing sea breeze, with the sun hanging in the sky emitting a soft halo. He simply sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the free and liberating air filling his body.
After a while, someone walked over and sat down beside him. Xiao Zhou kept his eyes closed, took a deep breath, and sensed a faint scent of cedar. Jiang Chengyuan, masking his pheromones with men’s perfume, emitted a cold and noble woody fragrance.
“Is she doing better?”
Jiang Chengyuan nodded slightly and adjusted Xiao Zhou’s tousled hair blown by the sea breeze with one hand. “Are you hungry? I brought some food for you.”
Xiao Zhou opened his eyes, and Jiang Chengyuan handed him a sandwich.
Taking a bite of the sandwich, the taste of fried egg, ham, and white bread melded together. Even the mayonnaise spread was delicious, but Xiao Zhou had no appetite.
“What did you say to her that made her so obedient?”
Jiang Chengyuan tilted his head, watching him eat. “I told her that if she let go, I would take her to see her father.”
“That only works when you say it, right?” Xiao Zhou smiled, thinking only Jiang Chengyuan could say such foolish things that Lu Xi would believe.
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t respond.
Xiao Zhou asked again, “Is she really insane?”
Jiang Chengyuan nodded. “At first, I thought she was pretending, but it took some observation to be sure.”
Xiao Zhou was puzzled. “Why did you think she was pretending?”
Jiang Chengyuan explained, “Haven’t you always wondered why I put her in confinement?”
Xiao Zhou nodded.
Jiang Chengyuan continued, “After Lu Xiyuan was imprisoned, she tried every possible way to find channels to save him. She did many crazy things, not only spending a lot of her family’s wealth but also ruining herself.”
Xiao Zhou suddenly remembered something Jiang’s mother had mentioned and asked, “Are you referring to when she asked you to mark her?”
Jiang Chengyuan gave him a faint look. “There were others as well. Lu Xiyuan’s bank account was frozen, and she initially thought that wealth could solve everything. When the money was gone, she panicked and used herself as a bargaining chip, layering herself up in a desperate attempt to find connections. But with her backing gone, who would genuinely help her? It was just a game to them. When I found her again, her glands had been damaged in a party, and she lost her fertility due to an abortion. I tried to advise her, but she wouldn’t listen, even using self-destruction to threaten me. She knew those people were unreliable, but if she didn’t persist, all her previous suffering would have been in vain.”
“Later, Lu Xiyuan was retaliated against by inmates in prison and died under mysterious circumstances. Lu Xi then accidentally discovered my relationship with Jiang Bin and that the evidence against the prosecution was provided by me. She hated me for this and tried to run me over with her car. However, she was heavily drunk and unstable. When she drove, the traffic police stopped her. In her panic, she broke through barriers and caused a chain traffic accident in the city, resulting in one death and two injuries. She was criminally prosecuted. The doctor’s psychiatric evaluation report saved her from death, and she was sentenced to a mental hospital. My mother, feeling sympathy and guilt for her tragedy, which was tied to us, brought her to the villa on the island.”
Xiao Zhou felt a chill in his hands and feet.
“So it’s not that I didn’t want to let her go, but she couldn’t leave. She’s a prisoner with no place in normal society,” Jiang Chengyuan said with a flat tone. Though he personally experienced the story, he seemed to view it coldly. He watched Lu Xi’s tragedy unfold, knowing he could have helped but chose not to intervene. Even his mother, upon seeing Lu Xi in her mad state, was filled with fear and remorse, dedicating her days to fasting and praying, not for herself, but to atone for her son’s actions.
Xiao Zhou asked, “So Lu Xiyuan’s imprisonment was based on fabricated charges?”
Jiang Chengyuan lowered his gaze. “Do you think a lawyer who would threaten a judge to exonerate his client can act uprightly without any flaws? If it were just fabricated charges, why would I have stayed by his side for two years?”
In fact, he found Lu Xiyuan’s illegal evidence within a month. Collecting evidence was straightforward, but Lu Xiyuan had dirt on many powerful people. For him to fall, it was essential that these influential figures did not incur losses because of this matter. So, the remaining year and more were spent lying low, waiting for the protective umbrella behind Lu Xiyuan to be reassigned, destroying the leverage Lu Xiyuan had one by one, and then anonymously handing it over to the prosecutor’s office. With Jiang Bin’s pressure, this led to a once-prominent lawyer being imprisoned.
Jiang Chengyuan was incited by Jiang Bin and softened by the tears of his mother, thus exploiting Lu Xi’s love and Lu Xiyuan’s appreciation for his talents.
Lu Xiyuan did not deserve death; he had not committed any heinous crimes. However, putting him in a prison with deadly rivals was indeed Jiang Bin’s suggestion, making Jiang Chengyuan an indirect accomplice.