BL Ch128

Yu Duqiu, about to disembark, stumbled, nearly pitching headfirst.

Bai Zhao caught him by the waist, pulling him back. Both turned, staring in disbelief at the divine rescuer—filthy, disheveled, yet radiating a stirring, sacred glow.

Lou Baoguo gaped, “Ji… Ji…”

Ji Lin snapped, “Ji what Ji?! I’m your dad! Pull harder!”

“Y-Yes, sir!” Lou Baoguo, tears of joy, didn’t mind the new ‘dad,’ yanking the table leg with Ji Lin. With a mighty heave, they freed the heavy Brazilian rosewood table from the boat’s stern.

Bai Zhao spun the wheel, the two leapt aboard, and the bow effortlessly breached the yacht’s cracked interior. The engine roared, raw horsepower propelling the speedboat forward.

The ship’s tilt worsened, the upper deck’s floor giving way. A solid wood bookcase slid through a meter-wide rift, grazing the speedboat’s stern, plunging into the cabin’s seawater, splashing their backs.

The ship sank faster, the ceiling pressing lower. They ducked, Lou Baoguo a beat slow, feeling a broken light tube scalp a patch of hair.

From boarding to now, just a minute, yet it felt like a lifetime. When light finally flooded their view, the vast sea and sky opening, they exhaled pent-up breaths, minds’ taut strings snapping loose.

Lou Baoguo had faced worse thrills, but this left his legs jelly. Collapsing onto a seat, a sunny, gentle smile flashed in his mind.

With someone to care for, the heart grows timid.

Ji Lin sat, breathing deeply to calm his racing heart, staring at the deck’s wood, lost in thought.

Soon, he shook off wet hair, slicking it back, grumbling, “Your yacht’s a damn maze. I fell to the lower deck, nearly couldn’t find my way up, lost minutes. Was climbing when the ship split, started sinking, everyone jumping. I was gonna jump too, but heard Lou Baoguo’s wailing, came to see you leisurely taking a speedboat? Your young master syndrome’ll kill you!”

“…”

Yu Duqiu, misunderstood, didn’t snap, grinning, “Captain Ji, how ‘bout a survivor’s hug?”

Ji Lin leaned back, “Who’s hugging you?!”

Yu Duqiu opened his arms, only to be pulled back by Bai Zhao, who, steering one-handed, pinned him to the seat, “Injured—stop flirting.”

Yu Duqiu pouted, “My man’s jealous, next time then.”

“Next time? I don’t want a next time!”

Ji Lin’s leg bled, but the bullet missed bone, just flesh. Hong Yuanhang’s speedboat had no supplies, not even water to clean wounds, but Ji Lin spotted something, “Look! Isn’t that Fei Zheng?”

They focused—sure enough, Fei Zheng, who’d escaped first, was only three to four hundred meters away, slowed by severe injuries and clumsy handling.

“Chase?” Bai Zhao asked.

Even if they didn’t, Fei Zheng couldn’t escape. The coast guard’s vessel was visible, Yu Jiangyue’s helicopter nearing. Fei Zheng’s small speedboat lacked range and supplies, unable to reach foreign shores or drift long. He’d have to land, and in his state, might bleed out before reaching a hospital.

Pointless struggling—what for?

“Chase,” Yu Duqiu said. “He told you he didn’t care about being caught, so why’s he running?”

Lou Baoguo, “Anyone can act tough. At life-or-death, survival kicks in.”

Bai Zhao countered, “No, it’s for Du Shuyan.”

Ji Lin scoffed, “That remorseless killer, sacrificing for someone?”

“Only he knows the truth,” Yu Duqiu waved his uninjured arm. “Catch up, let’s hear his last words.”

The speedboats raced deeper into the sea, the massive yacht vanishing behind, its vortex stirring white foam and bubbles, like a giant maw burping after a meal.

Minutes later, the sea calmed, the broken behemoth sinking to the ocean floor, a speck in the boundless deep.

The small boat’s power lagged, but after ten minutes, Bai Zhao executed a slick drift, cutting off Fei Zheng’s path.

Fei Zheng swerved sharply, Ji Lin fired, Bang!, shattering the small boat’s windshield, roaring, “Stop! Or I aim for your heads!”

At five meters, unless a whale swallowed their boat, Ji Lin could hit blindfolded.

Fei Zheng slowed, stopping.

He was spent, face deathly pale, Yu Duqiu’s gash on his arm unbandaged, soaked in salty seawater—pain unimaginable—yet he stood, willpower staggering.

Du Shuyan, pampered, was truly seasick, vomiting acid as the boat stopped, having emptied his breakfast earlier.

Bai Zhao kept three meters’ distance, cautious.

The deep blue sea, moments ago turbulent, now calmed, as if sated by the yacht’s sacrifice, sleeping contentedly.

The boats bobbed gently, sky above, cloud shadows below, locked in a silent standoff in this vast world.

Fei Zheng, bleeding out, slumped into a seat, head back, eyes closed, basking in faint sunlight piercing the clouds, laughing maniacally.

Lou Baoguo, baffled, whispered to Ji Lin, “He’s lost it?”

Ji Lin, gun steady, didn’t glance, “He’s always been nuts—sane people don’t kill innocents.”

Yu Duqiu chuckled too.

Lou Baoguo didn’t ask, Ji Lin didn’t react—everyone was used to this madman.

Yu Duqiu, done laughing, sighed toward Fei Zheng, “If your dad hadn’t died, we’d have been good friends.”

Fei Zheng’s laughter stopped.

He opened his eyes, staring blankly at the sky, “No. Your status, your wealth, breed arrogance. You treated my dad like family on the surface, but really? You forgot he lived in Jiangxue Apartment, the candy he gave you, that he had a son. Otherwise, you’d have caught me. If you died here, it’d be your fault. But heaven favors you, not me.”

Yu Duqiu, calm, asked, “So you wanted me to notice you, right?”

Fei Zheng stayed silent.

“Mr. Fei… cough,” Yu Duqiu used a formal address, granting final dignity, “Since learning you’re the killer, I’ve wondered: you hid so well, letting lackeys handle risky jobs, why did you personally act in Rain Alley? You even left footage.”

“Mu Hao was drugged by Wu Min. Liu Shaojie alone could’ve subdued him with effort. Why bother yourself?”

“Hearing you today, I get it… you wanted my attention.”

Ji Lin frowned, “What’s that mean?”

A killer wanting their crimes noticed defies logic.

“A maggot in rot and darkness doesn’t crave light,” Yu Duqiu mused. “But someone who’s known light, cast into shadow, erased, still recalls how good it was, still hopes someone remembers them—even an enemy.”

Lou Baoguo, burly, pondered, confused, asking, “Big Bro, what’s the young master saying?”

“You wouldn’t get it,” Bai Zhao said. “Only those who’ve lived it would.”

Lou Baoguo, scratching his head, heard Fei Zheng snap, “Don’t act like you know me.”

“I don’t, but believe it or not, I once knew your father well,” Yu Duqiu said. “I remember him saying home was tough, so I had my mom raise his pay. I knew he shouldn’t have a real gun, but he apologized, and I trusted him blindly. Later, I sensed my parents’ oddness, but I couldn’t bear recalling details… His memory faded. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you before you killed more.”

Fei Zheng laughed, “You claim… cough! Perfect memory? Genius prodigy? Stop playing dumb!”

“Thanks for thinking so highly of me. I’ve got money, status, but if I died here, my corpse would bloat like Wu Min, Huang Hanxiang, Zhu Zhenmin—no ascension to godhood.”

Yu Duqiu, ribs aching from talking, leaned back into Bai Zhao’s arms, panting, “I’ve never been a slave to money or power, only their master. I admit, I’m controlling, narcissistic…”

Ji Lin, not turning, quipped, “You’re self-aware.”

Yu Duqiu smiled weakly, “But look—Ji Lin, Mu Hao, my… love behind me. They don’t see me as superior, don’t worship me, even scold or tease me… You think I’m a god because deep down, you see yourself as a mortal who can’t fight fate, right? Cough… Fei Zheng, I can’t forgive you for the dead, but for your dad, I hope you forgive me. His death wasn’t my intent, nor was ruining your life… Sorry.”

Fei Zheng, coughing blood, laughed, “A flimsy sorry… What’s it worth? You suffering more than me—that’s an apology. Your death, then I’d forgive!”

Bai Zhao covered Yu Duqiu’s ears, turning, “Enough, Captain Ji, shoot. He won’t see reason.”

Ji Lin, “Don’t order me. He’s not a threat now—I can’t just shoot. We’ll take him back, maybe break the whole drug chain.”

Yu Duqiu pulled Bai Zhao’s hand, signaling “wait,” “One last question—Fei Zheng, you knew ditching the guy beside you would up your escape odds. What did Du Shuyan promise you, worth risking your life?”

Fei Zheng shook his head, exhausted, “No reward… I pitied him… so stupid, he’d be dead without me…”

Du Shuyan, done vomiting acid, lay like a beached fish, mouth agape, eyes skyward, whites showing, gasping feebly.

Nearby, the coast guard deployed lifeboats and jet skis—one team for rescue, another speeding toward them, seconds away.

“Look at the sea, Du Shuyan. Barring surprises, this is your last time,” Ji Lin called, then to Fei Zheng, “You don’t deserve to live.”

Fei Zheng, too weak to laugh, life draining from his ashen face, “Officer Ji… can I ask one thing?”

“No,” Ji Lin shut down.

Fei Zheng continued, “Tell the judge to schedule my and Pei Xianyong’s executions the same day… I want to see him go!”

“I’ve no duty or desire to grant your wishes,” Ji Lin aimed, “Sit! Don’t move!”

Fei Zheng didn’t sit, even hauling Du Shuyan up, both swaying like they’d fall overboard.

Ji Lin gripped his gun, “Du Shuyan! What’re you doing?! You can’t escape! Move, I shoot!”

The clouds parted, sunlight spilling. Yu Duqiu caught a glint from Du Shuyan’s hand—metal, gleaming.

Before he could see, Bai Zhao spun him, shielding him, back to the small boat, urgent, “Du Shuyan’s got a gun!”

Yu Duqiu, shocked, peeked over Bai Zhao’s shoulder—

Du Shuyan held a gleaming silver pistol, but Yu Duqiu trusted Ji Lin could shoot Fei Zheng’s hand before he grabbed it.

Fei Zheng, eyes alight, reached, “Shuyan, why didn’t you say you had a gun—”

Bang! Ji Lin fired between them, splitting them briefly, shouting, “Du Shuyan! Think! You’ve still got a chance to live. Give him the gun, you’re done!”

“I… I’ve thought it through…” Du Shuyan didn’t approach Fei Zheng, staggering back to the boat’s stern, no further retreat.

His trembling hand raised the gun—aimed at Fei Zheng.

Fei Zheng’s already pale face turned deathly.

Lou Baoguo’s eyes nearly popped, “This… this…” He faltered, unable to describe the surreal scene.

“Truly… unexpected,” even Yu Duqiu held his breath.

Du Shuyan, barely experienced with guns, sick and nervous, fighting nausea, voice shaky, “I… I heard Pei Ming killed Bo Zhiming, got leniency for it… If I kill him… can I…”

Before Ji Lin answered, Fei Zheng laughed, “Shuyan, still so naive… Your crimes far outweigh Pei Ming’s.”

“Shut up! I didn’t ask you!” Du Shuyan’s frail frame erupted, voice cracking, “If not for you… would I be here? It’s your fault! You led me to this!”

Fei Zheng, blood dripping, grinned like a cannibalistic demon, “Who told me to kill Du Weiming? To ship ‘goods’… to please your investors? Even Yu Duqiu knows, if not for saving you, I’d be gone… And you blame me—”

“Then who… dealt drugs to Du Weiming… killed my dad?” Du Shuyan’s hate-filled, bloodshot eyes locked on the frozen man. “You think… I’m clueless? That I’m that stupid? I… knew two years ago!”