Deep in the Night - Chapter 28

The car sped toward the outskirts of the city in the dark, finally stopping by the roadside almost two hours later.

A bodyguard got out first to open the door, then helped Fang Jin, whose hands were bound behind his back, out of the vehicle.

Before them was a massive warehouse-style building. The front yard was enclosed by an iron fence, and several armored RVs were neatly parked on the empty lot. A line of text was written on the building’s gray-black facade, difficult to discern in the dark. Fang Jin stared for a while before recognizing it as a real-fire shooting range.

The bodyguard bowed to him: “The CEO is waiting for you inside.”

Fang Jin remained silent, escorted by several men into the building. After walking through a dark reception area and corridor for a moment, the lights suddenly flashed on, revealing a large, spacious indoor shooting range.

Bang!

A gunshot abruptly rang out. A bright red number, 10, appeared on the target pole in the distance.

Gu Mingzong put down the gun and beckoned: “Come and sit.”

The bodyguards silently retreated, closing the door with a click.

Only Gu Mingzong, Fang Jin, and the bodyguards already present remained in the vast room. Wang Yu was among the bodyguards. Though he seemed calm, a quick glance from the corner of Fang Jin’s eye revealed the deep-seated anxiety beneath his calm facade.

It wasn’t him who sold me out; he wouldn’t dare. On the flat ground not far from the shooting lane, an armchair was conspicuously placed. Fang Jin slowly walked over and sat down.

“Did you see the person?” Gu Mingzong asked while ejecting the magazine.

With that brief question, Fang Jin knew, as always, that there was no chance of evasion. He gently closed his eyes.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked directly at Gu Mingzong: “—How did you know?”

“How did I knew?” Gu Mingzong laughed. “I have people stationed around that sanatorium year-round. The moment you went in, the news was on my desk. If you hadn’t come out within two hours, I would have sent people to retrieve you—what, you think the Ke family’s bodyguards are useless, and that my people accompanying them are also useless?” Fang Jin’s expression subtly changed.

“—I don’t understand,” he said carefully after a long pause. “Since you knew he was inside and had ways to circumvent the Ke family’s guards, why didn’t you just eliminate him root and branch for over twenty years?”

Gu Mingzong replaced the magazine, but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gave Fang Jin an intrigued look: “Do you know what the falconer hates most?”

Even with Fang Jin’s quick reflexes, he was stunned. “…What?”

“What the falconer hates most is when you’ve finally steeled your heart to starve the little falcon until it’s barely alive and all its wildness is gone, and you’re just about to feed and water it to finally tame it, when a meddler suddenly appears halfway through, strokes its feathers, feeds it, and completely tames it in one go. All your years of anticipation and effort are instantly wasted.”

Gu Mingzong paused, then smiled and asked, “—What do you think happens next?”

Fang Jin now understood that Gu Mingzong knew everything about Gu Yuan. Under the lights, his face was pale, utterly drained of color. Even his bound hands behind his back were trembling slightly, yet his expression held a frightening calmness.

Gu Mingzong ignored it and said leisurely, “But then this meddler will discover… the little falcon he stole from someone else has, over the years, imitated the original owner’s every word and action, with that instinct deeply ingrained in its soul, making it look remarkably similar to the original owner…”

“I am not your attack dog or pawn!” Fang Jin sharply retorted. “I am an independent person, completely different from you!” The end of his sentence was slightly strained, creating a harsh echo in the empty shooting range.

Gu Mingzong was unfazed: “You’ve wanted to say that for a long time, haven’t you?”

Fang Jin gritted his teeth, meeting Gu Mingzong’s gaze fearlessly until the latter smiled, raised an eyebrow, and repeated four words: “Eliminate root and branch.”

“—That is Gu Yuan’s biological father, yet you used that term without hesitation. This shows that subconsciously, you never considered the possibility of me hesitating out of fraternal sentiment or for Gu Yuan’s sake. You have no problem adopting my mindset.”

“And your intuition is right; it wasn’t those abstract things that held me back.” Gu Mingzong seemed amused. “It was because killing him wouldn’t help—the Ke family and the Gu family were too close twenty years ago. Besides this living witness, they held a lot of other evidence. Acting rashly would only force Ke Wenlong, that old fox, into a death match with me.”

Fang Jin’s expression was shadowed and unclear, his chest rising and falling slightly. Gu Mingzong walked to the armchair, scrutinizing him from above and up close. His gaze swept down from Fang Jin’s slightly messy hair, long, thick eyelashes, and the bridge of his nose, which subtly caught the light on one side.

Fang Jin looked rather dishevelled, yet Gu Mingzong’s gaze was like that of an admirer appreciating a flawless work of art. “Tell me how much you know now,” he commanded softly. “And voice any remaining questions you have.”

“…” Fang Jin sat in the chair, aware of the gaze falling upon his face from above, but he never met Gu Mingzong’s eye. “You are not Gu Mingzong,” he said hoarsely after a moment. “You are Gu Mingda, the twin brother of the legitimate Gu Mingzong.”

“—Although you two brothers were born of the same mother, your fates were drastically different. Gu Yuan’s biological father was brought up by the Gu family from a young age, eventually taking control of the family and inheriting the entire conglomerate. You, however, were left to wander with your biological mother, who was a mistress, and were perhaps only found and acknowledged by your twin brother in your youth or adulthood.”

“However, the real Gu Mingzong welcomed you very warmly, even allowing you to participate in the conglomerate’s affairs, with no guard against you. Therefore, you gradually built up your own power while he was in charge, leading to your eventual turning against him and successfully taking his place.”

Clap, clap, clap. “—Brilliant.” Gu Mingzong clapped slowly. “How did you deduce that?”

“Gu Yuan’s biological father has been in the Ke family’s hands for over twenty years. He is the Ke family’s son-in-law, and the sanatorium treatment is unusually generous, yet he has been driven into a mental disorder. When he saw me, he clearly showed intense fear. A slightly more determined person wouldn’t end up like this, and facing the person who nearly killed him should provoke furious aggression, not a terrified scream of ‘don’t kill me.’ Thus, I could only infer a naturally weak disposition to barely explain his current state.”

“Furthermore,” Fang Jin continued, “in that photo in my room, he was holding Gu Yuan’s mother’s hand, his smile excited and full of joy… I have never seen such an openly emotional expression on your face…”

Standing behind Fang Jin, Gu Mingzong seemed a little sentimental yet highly approving: “My elder brother was exactly like that; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so trusting back then, making it easy for me to betray him and take his place.” “Well done, you figured that out.”

Fang Jin’s wrist, pinned between his body and the back of the chair, moved slightly. But the movement was so subtle it was completely invisible through the thin layer of fabric.

“After you cultivated your own power, you were unwilling to remain a man in the shadows. On the day Gu Yuan’s biological mother was hospitalized for childbirth, over twenty years ago, the Gu family must have been in chaos. You took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, murdering your twin brother in the confusion.”

“By then, you and Gu Yuan’s biological father must have resembled each other to an indistinguishable degree. Although there were still minor differences, the subordinates who helped you stage the coup quickly took control of the family’s upper echelons, meaning no one could recognize that the real Gu Mingzong had been replaced in the short term. The only remaining concern was one person: Gu Yuan’s biological mother.”

“Mrs. Gu came from the Ke family; she had status and backing, and as his absolute confidante, she could not be fooled. Therefore, to eliminate the hidden danger completely, you orchestrated her death from complications and massive hemorrhage during childbirth. My mother, who was the blood donor, was lucky to escape with her life.”

Fang Jin paused. Although his voice was slightly shaking on the last sentence, he remained calm: “Am I right?”

Gu Mingzong listened with a smile. After hearing him out, he nodded and said, “Yes.”

That exchange—the question and the answer—was eerily like more than a decade ago, when Fang Jin was a child, innocently following Gu Mingzong, chattering and asking questions, and Gu Mingzong would pat his head and say, “Yes.” But time had passed, and the gentle intimacy had turned into a sharp blade, slicing the illusion into fragments, revealing a brutal and ugly truth soaked in blood.

“But there’s one question I can’t figure out…” Fang Jin paused for a moment before slowly saying, “Why was the one who tried to kill Gu Yuan’s biological father… my father?”

He looked forward. Gu Mingzong stood behind the tall back of the armchair. A remarkably casual voice drifted over: “—Because Fang Xiaohao was one of my elder brother’s trusted subordinates, and he voluntarily turned against him to carry out the assassination.”

“Fang Jin, if Gu Yuan’s biological father hadn’t died, and I hadn’t taken control, do you think your mother would have survived to give birth to you? Fang Xiaohao was more eager to betray him than anyone. You were born only eight months after Gu Yuan.”

Fang Jin was completely rigid. In that instant, his heart sank heavily.

“I promised your father that if he killed my elder brother, I would let him and your mother leave the Gu family, free from any further involvement. For this, your father took the risk of strangling his old master. Unexpectedly, in the confusion, he didn’t quite kill him. My elder brother was later rescued by Ke Wenlong, who had rushed there after hearing of his daughter’s death.”

A slight mockery flashed in Gu Mingzong’s eyes. “And Ke Wenlong is far more ruthless than you can imagine. He knew my elder brother had always resented the Ke family and had even convinced his daughter to distance herself from them. So, he ruthlessly locked him away. On the other hand, he used this key witness to threaten me, forcing me to spare Gu Yuan’s life.”

“For Ke Wenlong, a young, naive Gu Yuan was much easier to control than his father. Furthermore, even if he became uncontrollable in the future, the sentiment of being a grandson was enough to secure lucrative benefits from the Gu family—thus, this deal was enormously profitable. This is the truth behind everything you see today.”

Gu Mingzong walked around the armchair and leaned his head in to look at Fang Jin, whose face was rigid and cold as paper. “…My father…”

“Fang Xiaohao did it for you, too,” Gu Mingzong said gently. “If Gu Yuan’s parents hadn’t died, neither your mother nor you would have survived.”

Fang Jin’s shoulders began to tremble, the intensity becoming increasingly uncontrollable. He gasped for air, yet seemed unable to draw in any oxygen. His entire lungs contracted in agonizing pain, forcing him to curl up tightly.

A bodyguard nearby tentatively stepped forward but was stopped by a raised hand from Gu Mingzong. “Fang Jin,” he said indifferently, “there’s no need for this. You are not this fragile or easily defeated.”

“…Why…” After a long while, Fang Jin finally looked up. There was noticeable licked blood on his dry, cracked lips, and his eyes seemed bloodshot: “Why did you put that photo in the room? Why did you make me see all this?!”

Although his voice was trembling, the intensity of his shaking and gasping had been forcibly suppressed. That brief loss of composure seemed like an illusion, quickly receding from his slender, upright body.

Gu Mingzong watched him silently, his gaze containing a complex mix of approval and pity. After a moment, he countered with a question: “Do you know why I first came to the Gu family?”

“…”

“My original surname was Ji,” Gu Mingzong said leisurely. “My own mother, out of a complex mixture of a new mother’s reluctance to part with her child, the foolishness of competing with the Gu family, and the desire to keep a bargaining chip for the future, did not hand over my elder brother and me together, which is why I only walked through the Gu family’s doors as an adult. And the reason the Gu family sent people to find me that time wasn’t because of family affection or anything similar, but because my elder brother needed 800CC of surgical blood.”

Fang Jin’s pupils tightened slightly.

“After that, I was never openly acknowledged, and my very existence was almost erased at one point. Even after I gradually gained power within the conglomerate, many people still thought I was just a substitute. It wasn’t until that photo was taken that my twin brother and I first appeared in the same frame.”

Gu Mingzong said, “That was the only photo that proved we were two different people, so I kept it.”

“…” Fang Jin said hoarsely: “Then why did you deliberately let me discover it?!”

“I didn’t deliberately let you see it. It’s been in the hidden compartment of the photo frame by your bed for over ten years.” Fang Jin stared at him in disbelief, as Gu Mingzong calmly said, “Because your mother and father are in it. When you were a child, you missed your parents, cried all night, and often asked me for your father and mother. I figured the photo was useless to me, so I put it by your bed, as a makeshift way for your family of three to be reunited.”

Fang Jin absolutely couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but there was no hint of a joke on Gu Mingzong’s face. “Now you know everything, A-Jin. What do you intend to do?”

Silence filled the shooting range. No one moved, no one made a sound. A silent tide surged from the void, violently squeezing the last remnants of air from their lungs.

Through the high window, Fang Jin’s eyes reflected the boundless darkness of the deep night outside, devoid of any light. “I want to leave you,” he finally said after a long time.

“Without you, I wouldn’t even have had the chance to be born. Without you, I might have died over a decade ago. But even so, I cannot endure this kind of relationship for another day.” He repeated, “I want to leave you.”

Gu Mingzong showed no sign of anger or surprise, merely saying impassively, “Oh?”

“You once told me I would have one chance to regret, and now is the time for me to use that chance…” Fang Jin took a deep breath and said, “If you let me go, I swear to keep silent about everything I heard today and never mention it to anyone in this life. Otherwise, I will ensure this secret is exposed in broad daylight, revealed to everyone. What do you say?”

He stared intently at Gu Mingzong, his gaze possessing a compelling calmness. Yet Gu Mingzong seemed to have heard a joke: “But you are in my hands now, A-Jin. What if I kill you today?”

Before Fang Jin could say anything, Gu Mingzong took a step forward and reached out, grabbing his throat!

The attack was utterly unexpected. Fang Jin’s face flushed rapidly. He couldn’t utter a single word, only feeling his throat being squeezed tighter and tighter!

In reality, with Gu Mingzong’s strength, crushing his neck bone would have been instantaneous, meaning he was deliberately holding back. But Fang Jin couldn’t feel that in his extreme pain. He could only hear a terrifying crackling sound from his throat and the loud noise of blood rapidly rushing against his eardrums.

…No… not here, just… In the chaos, Fang Jin desperately maintained his last shred of consciousness, forcing himself to twist his wrist violently against the agonizing pain. He had actually been secretly working on the restraints all night. Only a small bit was still tied around his wrist bone. In that moment of life or death, he abruptly broke free, pushing Gu Mingzong’s hand away like lightning!

Snap!

Gu Mingzong stumbled back half a step. Fang Jin clutched his throat, coughing violently and miserably!

The cough was earth-shattering, twisting his internal organs tightly, filling his mouth with the taste of blood. Fang Jin nearly knocked over the chair, backing up while watching Gu Mingzong warily, only to see the latter smile with an open palm: “That’s right. Didn’t you break free a while ago?”

“Do… do you find this amusing?!” Fang Jin sharply demanded, his voice broken. “Is it fun for you to always toy with me like this, pushing me to the very last step?!”

Gu Mingzong was quiet for a moment before saying, “…You will understand one day.”

Fang Jin neither could nor wanted to understand what he meant. He leaned on the back of the chair with a trembling hand, finally managing to stop coughing, his ears ringing.

He gritted his teeth, swallowed the metallic-tasting blood, and looked up, staring down Gu Mingzong. He spoke hoarsely: “…You’re too late. You should have captured me in Hong Kong. Before coming here, I organized all the recordings and videos from the sanatorium, along with everything I deduced, into an email. If it’s not canceled in another hour, it will automatically be sent to every member of the Gu family and the top executives of the conglomerate…”

Gu Mingzong smiled: “Oh? Then you might as well compile a list for me. I’ll arrange to have them killed one by one.”

“…And Gu Yuan,” Fang Jin said coldly. “Including everything between you and me.”

Gu Mingzong’s expression finally changed for the first time tonight, containing an element of surprise: “—You told Gu Yuan about your relationship with me?”

“An abrupt email wouldn’t be enough for Gu Yuan to believe. If he sought confirmation from the Ke family, it would inevitably waste time, and by then, you would surely have sent people after him. Only by telling him everything can I earn his maximum trust.” Fang Jin’s eyes held a hint of self-mockery: “Besides, if I’m dead, what does it matter if he knows or not? I won’t be able to feel his contempt anyway.”

Gu Mingzong watched him in silence, an unreadable light flickering in his eyes. “Gu Yuan,” Fang Jin gasped, continuing, “Gu Yuan is leaving the Gu family tonight with his own people. Ke Wenlong will immediately take him in. At that point, he will be the legitimate Gu family heir, with the full backing of Ke Wenlong, and all human and physical evidence accounted for. Your future troubles will be endless. —As long as you agree to let me go, all of this can be completely eliminated.”

“Now is not the time to openly break with the Ke family. CEO Gu, you should be very clear about the weighing of benefits and risks.”

Gu Mingzong and Fang Jin stared at each other for a long time, no emotion visible in Gu Mingzong’s deep eyes. After a moment, he finally asked: “—You want to be with Gu Yuan that badly?”

Even though the timing and location were completely wrong, Fang Jin felt like crying in that moment. He swallowed hard to suppress the choking sob in his throat. “Yes, I want to be with him.”

A hint of trembling abnormality still permeated his words, and Gu Mingzong seemed to find it slightly ridiculous: “I knew this day would come, when you’d rush into the flame like a moth. But are you sure? Do you really love him?”

Fang Jin couldn’t speak, only nodding slightly. “Oh, you love him. How much do you know about him? Gu Yuan was in the UK, and when he returned, he was your boss. Have you seen the side of him truly inherited from the criminal organization family? Are you certain you haven’t fallen for a perfect illusion conjured up in extreme desperation, a savior subconsciously fabricated to rescue yourself?”

Fang Jin’s head was buzzing. His throat burned fiercely, making speech incredibly difficult: “That’s not true…”

Gu Mingzong confirmed again: “You don’t regret it?”

“…No regrets.”

Gu Mingzong nodded and said deeply, “Very well.”

At that moment, Fang Jin could hardly believe his ears. The two words came too abruptly, leaving him completely stunned.

Gu Mingzong ignored his dazed expression. “However, you must do two things, or I will reverse today’s decision at any time. First, you must swear never to harm yourself because of Gu Yuan, especially never to die for him.”

Fang Jin’s eyelid twitched involuntarily.

“Second, Gu Yuan only lives if you live,” Gu Mingzong said coldly. “If you die one day, I will genuinely come after Gu Yuan.”

Fang Jin froze for a moment but immediately realized that the future was uncertain and he had to get through the present crisis first. He looked directly at Gu Mingzong and nodded: “I swear.”

Gu Mingzong took a deep breath and slowly let it out after a long pause. He said gently, “You may go.”

If one listened carefully, a subtle, indescribable emotion tinged his voice—a deep, stable warmth that didn’t sound like a farewell.

Fang Jin, however, didn’t hear it now. He retreated step by step, his entire focus on warily watching Gu Mingzong and the bodyguards behind him, making it impossible to notice such a subtle shift in emotion in those few words.

He reached the shooting range door. A bodyguard opened it for him from the outside, bowing slightly as a courtesy. Fang Jin, with his back to the door, didn’t see this. He was only staring intently at Gu Mingzong, who simply smiled at him: “—Goodbye.”

No, never again. Fang Jin didn’t say it aloud. He took a large step back, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor outside the shooting range.

—

The large door closed again. Silence reigned inside the shooting range. Gu Mingzong stood without moving for a long time, then suddenly raised his gun and fired bang, bang, bang at the target at the end of the range!

Cartridge casings flew instantly, clattering onto the floor. Right down to the last bullet, Gu Mingzong didn’t even turn his head, swiftly executing a single, precise shot!

—BANG!

In the line of bodyguards not far away, a bloody hole appeared exactly in the center of Wang Yu’s forehead. He collapsed a few seconds later, his eyes wide open.

Gu Mingzong ejected the empty magazine and tossed it aside. A bodyguard instantly stepped forward to catch it. He said coldly, “Let’s go.”