In the small town, when Zhang Lang was eight years old, a magician came to town, famous for his “big transformation of a living person” magic trick.
Zhang Lang asked him, “Can you make my dad disappear?” The magician replied, “Of course.” And just like that, his father vanished without a trace.
Ten years later, the police found his father’s body, but they kept asking Zhang Lang, “Did you kill your own father?”
Zhang Lang couldn’t understand why the police would ask such a question. When Zhang Dajun disappeared, he was only eight years old. How could they think that an elementary school student could kill an adult?
The bright lights were blinding, and he had a severe headache. Annoyed, he said, “Officer, if I could kill a thirty – something adult in second grade, I should be in Southeast Asia fighting free – style boxing now.”
The police officer said in a deep voice, “Killing doesn’t necessarily require violence.”
“Oh, then have you found out which method it is?” Zhang Lang spread his hands. “Tell me about it.”
Hearing this, the two interrogating police officers didn’t look good. After all, Zhang Dajun had been dead for ten years, and his flesh had long rotted away, leaving only a skeleton. In this case, they could only examine the bones. If it was a method like mechanical asphyxiation, bloodletting, or poisoning, it would be very difficult to detect.
The young police officer, feeling humiliated, slapped the table hard. “Zhang Lang, watch your attitude!”
“Do you know where Zhang Dajun’s body was found?”
Zhang Lang casually said, “Let me guess. Is it in the cellar of my old house?”
Hearing this, the two police officers looked at each other. Then they asked a series of questions like a cannonball. “How did you know? Do you know something? Or did you kill him?”
“I guessed it,” Zhang Lang pouted.
The young police officer’s face turned livid, like a powder keg about to explode.
“Zhao, you need to control your temper,” the old criminal police officer scolded the young one and then said to Zhang Lang, “You are now a major suspect. If you know something, you’d better tell us.”
Zhang Lang nodded and then said, “My mother and stepfather should also be major suspects, right? Are they also being interrogated?”
“They are in the next room,” the old criminal police officer said.
Zhang Lang nodded as if realizing something and tried to appear sincere. “Officer, if there is no evidence within twenty – four hours, will I be released?”
“I advise you not to play these tricks!” the young police officer scolded.
Zhang Lang said helplessly, “This is the police station. We need evidence and the law. It’s not whoever shouts louder is right.”
“Besides, Zhang Dajun is my father. How could I kill him?”
The old criminal police officer placed the file on the table and calmly looked at Zhang Lang. “As far as I know, you not only thought about it but also tried it.”
Hearing this, Zhang Lang subconsciously sat up straight. The old criminal police officer’s hawk – like eyes seemed to penetrate him. “Do you need me to remind you? It was on Children’s Day, a month before Zhang Dajun disappeared.”
Zhang Lang’s body trembled, and his hands were shaking, not because of fear but excitement. These police officers were finally asking about what he wanted to talk about.
He admitted frankly, “Yes, I thought about it.”
“What was the reason?” The old criminal police officer waved his hand, signaling the young police officer to record. “We are all ears.”
“It involves my childhood trauma. It’s a long story.”
“Don’t worry. You can take your time,” the old criminal police officer said.
Before he was nine years old, Zhang Lang had always lived in the small town of Tanhua. His mother was a local in Tanhua Town and ran a pharmacy with his grandfather. Zhang Dajun was a businessman from the north and was considered a small boss.
At that time, Zhang Dajun often came to the pharmacy to buy supplements. Over time, the two took a liking to each other. After getting married, they had Zhang Lang.
At that time, many people in the town envied their family. They lived a prosperous life. At least before he was five years old, Zhang Lang’s childhood was happy. His friends all revolved around him, and the school teachers also took special care of him.
But after he was five years old, everything changed. Zhang Dajun’s business failed, and he owed a large amount of money. He had no choice but to mortgage the pharmacy. When his grandfather found out, he had a heart attack and died.
One day, Zhang Dajun came back limping, with snot and tears all over his face. He knelt in front of Zhang Lang’s mother and begged her for help. “Lanlan, they will beat me and Xiaolang to death. Please!”
That night, several fat – headed men entered his mother’s room. That night, Zhang Lang didn’t sleep a wink. He could hear the vulgar words and gasps of those men, but he didn’t hear his mother’s voice. It wasn’t until those men left that he heard his mother crying.
From then on, Zhang Dajun was completely dispirited and drank all day long. When he was drunk, he would beat Zhang Lang and his mother. With the pillar of the family collapsing, it all depended on his mother to support the family. She worked in the factory for more than ten hours a day, earning every penny with blood and sweat.
His mother encouraged Zhang Dajun to cheer up and find something to do, saying that everything would be okay. But every time, Zhang Dajun would curse loudly. “Find what work? You just lie there, and you can earn a thousand without doing anything. It’s so easy to make money!”
“In the past, you two ate and wore with my money. Are you still complaining, you bitch?”
His mother didn’t refute these words. Since those men entered his mother’s room, Zhang Dajun and his mother had slept in separate rooms. Zhang Lang asked his mother why.
“Your father said that mommy is dirty,” his mother said with a smile, but Zhang Lang felt that she was about to break.
Zhang Lang didn’t understand. It was clearly Zhang Dajun who begged his mother to do it. What right and confidence did he have to dislike his mother?
In the past, others envied him for having a good father. Now he envied others for having a good father. At that time, he often thought that it would be great if he could change his father…
Once the idea of changing fathers emerged, it grew like wild grass. When you have this idea, you will unconsciously compare your father with other men, especially with the fathers of other children. Zhang Lang was like this at that time. The more he compared, the more he found that Zhang Dajun was worthless! What right did such a scoundrel have to be his father?
He began to drop hints and suggest that his mother get a divorce, and even said that he could accept if she found a new father in the future. But soon, he found that this wouldn’t work. His mother had been brainwashed by his father. In modern terms, it was called PUA.
She seriously admonished him, “Xiaolang, when your father was prosperous, we were good to him. We can’t leave him just because he is down and out.”
“We can’t be ungrateful. People will point fingers at our backs.”
Although Zhang Lang wasn’t happy that his mother didn’t want to change, he still obeyed. For a long time after that, he endured this scoundrel. When he cursed at him, he endured it. When he hit him, he also endured it.
The long – term accumulation of negative emotions needed an outlet. He vented all his anger and resentment on his peers. Anyway, they didn’t play with him anymore. After his family had an accident, the “little followers” around him all scattered like birds and beasts. Their parents didn’t let them play with him, and they said very mean things behind his back. He beat them without feeling guilty. He didn’t need such friends. The stray cats and dogs in the town were all his friends.
This method of emotional transfer worked well for him, but Zhang Dajun, that scoundrel, always challenged his bottom line! On Children’s Day, Zhang Lang was going to spend the day with his “friends.” But after just taking a nap, when he rushed excitedly to meet his “friends,” he saw a hellish scene.
Zhang Dajun had killed one of his friends.
“He killed a stray animal?” The old criminal police officer couldn’t help frowning.
Zhang Lang looked pained and said sadly, “He killed Xiaohua. Xiaohua is a tabby cat, my best friend.”
Even today, he still remembered that scene. Zhang Dajun was sitting on a cement pipe, smoking with a strong smell of alcohol. Not far in front of him was a pile of beer bottles. Under the beer bottles was the body of a tabby cat.
Xiaohua’s body was twisted in a strange posture, covered with broken beer bottle shards, and its stomach was cut open, with blood everywhere. Zhang Lang rushed over, wanting to avenge it. Zhang Dajun kicked him away and looked at him with disdain, spitting hard.
Zhang Lang was too weak. Lying on the ground, he couldn’t even get up. At that moment, his heart roared madly. “He is not my father. I want to change my father!”
He was completely disappointed in him. When he got home, he took advantage of Zhang Dajun’s sleep and wanted to stab his throat with scissors, but unfortunately, he was discovered.
Zhang Lang said lightly, “All the neighbors in the neighborhood knew about it at that time. Officer, are you talking about this?”
“So after this time, you learned your lesson,” the old criminal police officer said with sharp eyes. “You used a less violent method to kill Zhang Dajun.”
Zhang Lang shook his head with a smile. “Of course not. Officer, don’t try to trap me. I said I didn’t kill Zhang Dajun.”
The old criminal police officer, whose intention was exposed, wasn’t embarrassed. He just said, “Then what did you do next?”
“Killing is the last resort when there is no way out,” Zhang Lang said with a playful smile. “Relatively speaking, I thought of a better way.”
If he wanted to change his father and make the existing father disappear, it could achieve the goal, but the risk was too great. His mother said that killing would get you shot. Zhang Lang deeply knew that the power to change his father was not in his hands but in his mother’s. If his mother wanted to change his father, it would be half successful.
So, he began to look for a “new father” in the town. For the “new father,” his requirements were not high. As long as his mother liked him, he liked him, and he liked his mother, it would be okay. As for whether he liked him or not, as long as he met the conditions, he would be a obedient good son.
But after looking around, he found that it was not easy for the men in the town to meet the conditions. Because of what Zhang Dajun had done, his mother’s reputation was already bad. Even if someone liked his mother, it was mostly because of her good looks. They liked his mother’s body, not her as a person. These people didn’t deserve his mother!
Later, he gradually turned his attention to the traveling outsiders. During that time, a traveling circus came to town. The magician in it, Mr. Zhou, was particularly good. He looked gentle and treated people politely and kindly.
When the circus passed through the town, Zhang Lang spied in the crowd. Mr. Zhou saw him and gave him a piece of chocolate. Zhang Lang knew that Mr. Zhou had a signature magic trick called “big transformation of a living person” and could make a person disappear suddenly. Thinking of this, he tried to get close to him and wanted to learn his “big transformation of a living person.”
But when he revealed his thoughts, Mr. Zhou told him, “Magic is not magic. Once any magic is revealed, it will become dull.”
“The underlying logic of seemingly incredible magic is often extremely simple.”
Just when Zhang Lang was disappointed, Mr. Zhou’s voice changed again. “However, I am about to perform a pioneering magic trick, an advanced version of “big transformation of a living person.”
“If you are willing, I would like to invite you to join.”
Zhang Lang was extremely excited and immediately agreed to the request. Even after many years, whenever he thought of this magic trick, he still couldn’t help but tremble all over, and his blood boiled. Because it could make his father disappear quietly.
After that, for a period of time, Zhang Lang didn’t do anything. He just went to the circus more often. Because of Mr. Zhou, he could watch the performances for free. Since Zhang Dajun killed Xiaohua, his group of “friends” had all left him. They no longer trusted him and looked at him with beware. As long as he approached the small park, they would all hide. This made him hate Zhang Dajun even more.
Fortunately, he made a new friend, Mr. Zhou. He never looked at him strangely and was always gentle and polite. Every time he went to find him, he would give him delicious chocolate. The chocolate was very sweet and not greasy at all, but after eating it, he would feel a little dizzy. Of course, this wasn’t important.
The important thing was that Mr. Zhou only gave him chocolate and never gave it to other children, even if other children asked for it. This made him feel special. He increasingly expected the day when Mr. Zhou would become his father.
One ordinary weekend, after Zhang Dajun drank, he went crazy again. His mother wasn’t at home. Zhang Lang hid in the cabinet but was still dragged out and beaten by him. It really hurt. His face was full of bruises, and it felt like his skin would fall off if he touched it.
Zhang Lang was so angry that he ran out of the house and hid in the circus to find Mr. Zhou. But when he got to the circus, he found that Mr. Zhou wasn’t there. It was getting dark, and he was very hungry. He guessed that his mother should be getting off work soon, so he planned to sneak home and have a look.
At the door of his house, he vaguely heard arguing. He didn’t hear what it was exactly, but not long after, he heard his father’s angry curses. The door opened, and someone was kicked out.
Zhang Lang was shocked. The person who was kicked out was actually Mr. Zhou! Could it be that he knew that he had been beaten by Zhang Dajun and came to seek justice for him? But how could a gentle person like him compete with Zhang Dajun? Although so, he still felt warm in his heart.
The next day, Mr. Zhou found Zhang Lang and asked him seriously, “Xiaolang, are you really sure that you want your father to disappear forever?”
Although it was something he had thought about for a long time, at that moment, he didn’t know why, but he hesitated. Perhaps it was because he was afraid that his mother would be sad. He thought that it would be more perfect if his mother found a new support first and then made his father disappear.
However, what happened next made him have to advance the plan.
One day after school, Zhang Lang walked downstairs. Suddenly, he felt a pain in the back of his head, and his consciousness instantly became dizzy. When he opened his eyes vaguely, he was already at home. The room was messy, with things scattered all over the floor.
Not far away, in his mother’s room, there was a faint sobbing sound. This sound was like a stimulant, which made him excited. He rushed madly to his mother’s room.
His mother’s hair was messy, and she was curled up on the bed. Zhang Dajun was holding a bloody kitchen knife and approaching her. What did this crazy man want to do?!
His mother saw him at the door of the room and screamed for him to leave. He knew that she was worried that Zhang Dajun would hurt him and wanted him to escape and protect him. The smell of blood filled the air, and the sheets were all bloody. He saw a palm – long bloodstain on his mother’s arm!
Zhang Lang’s eyes instantly turned red, and he lost his reason. He rushed towards Zhang Dajun like a crazy little beast. Zhang Dajun punched and kicked him, and he felt that his body was about to split open.
“Little bastard, I should never have given birth to you!”
Zhang Lang hugged his thigh and told his mother to run. But she was too stupid, gentle and cowardly. She just stood there, crying helplessly.
Fortunately, the neighbors heard the screams from his house and rushed over in a panic, stopping everything. After calming down, Zhang Lang felt extremely scared. If the neighbors hadn’t been at home at that time, Zhang Dajun might really have killed him and his mother. It was too terrifying.
Originally, he planned to create an opportunity for his mother and Mr. Zhou to develop their relationship first. But now it seemed that he didn’t have so much time. Zhang Dajun was drinking more and more frequently, looking at him with a venomous look in his eyes, and his attitude towards his mother was getting worse and worse.
His mother’s attitude towards Zhang Dajun was also changing unconsciously. Maybe she was also disappointed in Zhang Dajun. In Zhang Lang’s impression, his mother hadn’t tried to persuade Zhang Dajun for a long time. She was getting off work later and later.
Finally, he summoned up the courage and made up his mind to find Mr. Zhou. “I’ve thought it through. I want my father to disappear forever!”
Not long after, Zhang Dajun disappeared. Except for the 3,500 yuan his mother hid in the cupboard, nothing was missing. It gave the impression that Zhang Dajun had run away with the money.
However, his mother still called the police. She appeared very nervous and told the police that Zhang Dajun was missing. In those days, surveillance cameras hadn’t been widely popularized. Only banks, bus stations, government offices and other places had installed them.
The police saw Zhang Dajun’s figure on the surveillance camera at the town’s bus station. When Zhang Lang heard this, he even admired Mr. Zhou a little. He not only made Zhang Dajun disappear but also disguised it, creating the illusion that Zhang Dajun had abandoned his wife and child and fled.
The police didn’t find any other clues later, and the case was closed – Zhang Dajun wasn’t missing. He had just run away by himself.
Even now, Zhang Lang didn’t know how Mr. Zhou had made Zhang Dajun disappear. It seemed that he hadn’t left a single trace. Zhang Lang had once curiously asked Mr. Zhou, “How did you do it?”
Mr. Zhou didn’t tell him the answer and still said that sentence: “The underlying logic of any incredible magic is often extremely simple.”
At that moment, Zhang Lang realized that maybe Mr. Zhou had invited him to join not because he needed him to do anything. It was just that the magic needed a witness.
As he grew up and learned more and more knowledge, he deeply realized that there was no such thing as a magic that could make a person disappear completely in this world. If there was, it wouldn’t be magic but magic. Mr. Zhou’s “original magic” was a perfect crime he committed. He had killed Zhang Dajun.
Thinking about it carefully, there were flaws at that time. After Zhang Dajun disappeared, his mother locked the cellar at home. She had warned him many times sternly: “No matter what, don’t open this cellar.”
People who had been to the cellar knew that it was very cold inside. If the family planted crops, they would store potatoes and sweet potatoes in the cellar in winter. Their family didn’t plant crops, and the cellar had been semi – abandoned.
Zhang Lang hadn’t been willing to go there before, but his mother’s warning aroused his curiosity instead, and he wanted to find out. But in the following months, he hadn’t found a chance.
Because of Zhang Dajun’s “leaving without saying goodbye”, his mother had a period of depression. Mr. Zhou moved her with his thoughtfulness and tenderness. Of course, there was also Zhang Lang’s intentional matchmaking.
Soon, the two of them got together. Mr. Zhou took Zhang Lang and his mother and left Tanhua Town and never came back.
“According to what you mean, Zhang Dajun was killed by your stepfather, Zhou Sen?” The young police officer stopped recording. “And your mother, Xu Lan, probably knew about it.”
“There is even no排除 that the two of them committed the crime together.”
Zhang Lang nodded calmly.
The old criminal police officer interrupted on the side: “In your account, it seems that you rarely mention your relationship with your mother, Xu Lan, directly.”
Zhang Lang subconsciously tugged at the corner of his clothes. “Is there a problem?”
“I’m thinking…” The old criminal police officer stared at him. “Is your relationship with Xu Lan really as harmonious as you described?”
“Of course, my mother loves me very much!” Zhang Lang immediately retorted, raising his voice several degrees.
The old criminal police officer narrowed his eyes and carefully examined him, then said slowly: “Really?”
“Of course. I am the flesh that fell from my mother’s body. I am the person she is closest to in the world.” Zhang Lang straightened his body and sounded confident.
Afraid that he wouldn’t believe it, Zhang Lang continued to persuade him. “My mother loves stir – fried pork with green peppers the most, loves drinking seaweed and egg soup the most, but never eats onions. She is allergic to onions.”
“She has to soak her feet in winter. She got frostbite when she was young, or else she would easily get chilblains.”
“And my mother doesn’t like wearing jewelry. She only likes to buy gold.”
After saying so much in one breath, Zhang Lang couldn’t help but feel proud. “If the officer wants to hear it, I can say a lot more of these trivial things.”
At this time, a police officer walked into the interrogation room and handed a stack of documents to the old criminal police officer. The old criminal police officer signaled Zhang Lang to be patient and then began to read the documents.
For a while, no one spoke. This silence made Zhang Lang uneasy.
After a long time, the old criminal police officer said: “It can be seen that you know Xu Lan very well, but how much does she know about you?”
“What do you like to eat the most, what do you dislike eating, what are your hobbies? Does she know these?”
“She must know…” Zhang Lang’s voice unconsciously became much quieter.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that he had come to the edge of a cliff and would fall if he was not careful.
“No, she doesn’t know!” The old criminal police officer’s words hit Zhang Lang’s chest like a heavy hammer.
Zhang Lang’s face twisted, and he screamed out of control. “She must know! She is lying to you! She is lying!!”
“There are only four words in her confession.” The old criminal police officer said word by word. “No, want, to, know.”
“In fact, Xu Lan has never cared about you, or even is afraid of you!”
“From the very beginning, you have been lying!”
Zhang Lang’s limbs were cold, as if he had fallen into an abyss. The old criminal police officer’s words were like magic, constantly drilling into his mind!
“The one who killed the stray cat Xiaohua wasn’t Zhang Dajun.”
“The one who scratched Xu Lan’s arm and almost killed her wasn’t Zhang Dajun either.”
“It was you all along… Zhang Lang!”
Zhang Lang had a splitting headache, and his head felt like it was going to explode. Many messy pictures kept flashing through his mind!
It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!!
It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me…
“Zhang Lang, do you not remember, or are you deliberately forgetting?”
Countless memory fragments lingered in Zhang Lang’s mind. He hugged his head and howled in pain. In a trance, he saw the small park in the town, where a group of stray animals had gathered.
They were actually good breeds. Why had they been abandoned? Maybe it was because they were too annoying!
These furry things just stuck out their tongues and acted cute, and they could get their owners’ affectionate caresses and love. When they were sick, their owners would take care of them nervously. When they had anorexia, their owners would carefully prepare special food for them. When they got dirty, their owners would patiently bathe them…
But his father had never done these things to him. His mother had done them, but only in a very small part of his memory. Even he couldn’t get the love he longed for. Why did these animals deserve it?
Zhang Lang was so angry that he almost went crazy. There was a voice in his heart telling him: “No, they don’t deserve it!”
He wanted to destroy all of this. If the owners hated them, they would lose their love.
So, he fed expired medicine to the local dog, making it hallucinate and bite people randomly. He threw the calico cat into the stinking ditch, giving it a disgusting skin disease. He poked the parrot’s tongue, making it only scream hoarsely…
In the small town, there weren’t many ways to raise pets, and there wasn’t even a pet hospital. People just raised them with “experience”. They might have put in a lot of effort, but when it came to spending money, they were tighter than anyone.
The biting dog, the cat with skin ulcers, and the noisy bird. Sure enough, they were all abandoned not long after. People are selfish and indifferent animals. But what surprised Zhang Lang was that there was an exception.
After his mother knew that there were stray animals in the small park, she came to feed them every day, and she was especially close to a little tabby cat. Zhang Lang was so jealous that he almost exploded.
One lunch break, he killed the tabby cat with a beer bottle and wanted to skin it. Unfortunately, he was discovered by Zhang Dajun.
Zhang Lang was extremely humble and begged him not to tell his mother. Since he could remember, he had never felt love from Zhang Dajun. He didn’t care about Zhang Dajun’s attitude towards him, but his mother had loved him before. He didn’t want to ruin his image in his mother’s heart.
Zhang Dajun didn’t pay any attention to him. Not long after, he felt that his mother looked at him with fear in her eyes. He tried hard to please her, but at a dinner, she exploded. She cursed him as a beast, a bad seed, and said that she shouldn’t have given birth to him. She beat and scolded him.
Zhang Lang lost his reason and cut her with a knife. Finally, it was Zhang Dajun who rushed back and stopped him.
Zhang Lang shuddered violently and couldn’t help shaking. Were these terrifying things really done by him?
“You have resentment towards Xu Lan in your heart,” the old criminal police officer pressed on. “So you said that she also knew about the case.”
“As for the magic, Zhou Sen only mentioned “big transformation of a living person”, and he is really good at it.”
“The rest are all made up or imagined by you.”
No, that’s not right. Is it illegal to abuse animals? Zhang Lang didn’t know. But even if it was illegal, it probably wasn’t a serious crime. But killing people would get you shot.
Zhang Lang braced himself and pretended to be calm. “Even if I killed Xiaohua and even hurt my mother, so what?”
“Just because of these, you think I killed Zhang Dajun?”
The old criminal police officer neither affirmed nor denied it and waved his hand. The young police officer beside him brought a laptop to Zhang Lang. There seemed to be the surveillance video of the interrogation room on the screen.
The old criminal police officer said: “Because an hour ago, you had already confessed.”
The young police officer pressed the space bar on the keyboard, and the video started playing. Looking at himself in the video, Zhang Lang felt strange. “He” was wild and unruly, looking down on everyone.
He even boasted in front of the police that he had killed Xiaohua and described the details of the abuse bit by bit. The content was disgusting.
“He” accused his mother of being irresponsible and didn’t hide his disgust for Zhang Dajun. Just like that, he calmly admitted that he had killed his father.
Zhang Lang’s brain twitched, and fragments of pictures emerged. The first – person “I” stabbed a knife into Zhang Dajun’s heart!
At the end of the video, just when “he” was about to say the weapon, he suddenly twitched all over. Then, Zhang Lang’s expression became blank…
“He is not me! I didn’t kill anyone! I didn’t kill anyone!!”
Zhang Lang struggled frantically and roared like a wild beast. His brain felt like it was going to split open, and he howled in pain, feeling that his body was no longer his own.
The old criminal police officer seemed to be talking to him, but he couldn’t hear clearly. He nodded and shook his head from time to time.
After a long time, in a daze, Zhang Lang heard the old criminal police officer say: “Okay, today’s interrogation is over here.”
Everything had been settled. Zhang Lang was doomed. The other “him” had confessed the location of the weapon.
Soon, the police dug out a bloody knife wrapped in an oilcloth from under the earthen stove in his old kitchen. Because of the protection of the bag, the blood on the knife was well preserved.
After the identification and comparison by the police, the DNA of the blood on the knife completely matched the DNA detected on Zhang Dajun’s bones. It could prove that this knife was the murder weapon.
With the case clear, Zhang Lang was sent to the court for trial according to the procedure. After the doctor’s examination, he was found to have multiple personality disorder, commonly known as “split personality”. In short, he was mentally ill.
Finally, under the judge’s sentencing, Zhang Lang was exempted from the death penalty but would be under permanent medical control in a designated mental hospital.
Unless there were unexpected circumstances, the rest of his life would be spent under control. During his time in the mental hospital, his mother and stepfather, Mr. Zhou, never came to see him once.
Not even once! Except for the day he was tried in court, he never saw them again. Maybe they didn’t know he was here…
This kind of self – comfort became the only glimmer of hope for him in the horror and loneliness. He had always been looking forward to it, looking forward to them coming to see him, even just one look, and he would be content.
But month after month passed, and he never waited for them. It was the old criminal police officer who came once because of the transfer of information.
Seeing him, Zhang Lang seemed to have grasped a life – saving straw and begged: “Officer, can you tell my mother and Mr. Zhou for me? Tell them I’m here. You must tell them!”
The old criminal police officer looked at him with a complicated expression. “They know you are here.”
“Impossible! If they know, why don’t they come to see me?!” Zhang Lang screamed in pain. “Why?!”
The old criminal police officer paused and said: “Do you know how your father Zhang Dajun’s body was found?”
It would be found sooner or later if it wasn’t cleaned up properly. Zhang Lang twitched the corners of his mouth. “It doesn’t make sense to talk about this now.”
“As you wish.” The old criminal police officer withdrew his pitiful gaze and turned to leave. “It was your stepfather, Zhou Sen, who reported it to the police.”
My name is Zhou Sen, and I am a magician. My hometown is in a northern city of the motherland. When I was twenty years old, I went out to make a living with my good buddy Zhang Dajun. I thought I would see a wonderful world, but I ended up working on the assembly line for two years.
Not reconciled, we decided to find another way out. During that time, Western culture poured in, and magic was quite novel for Chinese people. I wanted to learn a skill, so I went to Hong Kong. And Zhang Dajun went to Shenzhen to look for opportunities.
Time flew by, and when I heard about Zhang Dajun again, I heard that he was married and had a child several years old. I contacted him, and we met at a barbecue stall. He cried very unsightly.
After many years of separation, we both looked much older. But he was dying. These years, he had experienced great ups and downs. When he was prosperous, he had assets of several million and was considered a small boss. But now, his good days were gone. He owed a lot of debt and was also diagnosed with advanced liver cancer.
The backbone of a man who had been strong for half his life was gradually bending. That day, he told me, “I want to take my son… and die together!”
Hearing this, I thought he was crazy. He was dying himself, and he wanted to take his son to die with him. Either he was immoral or he was sick.
However, when Zhang Dajun explained the reason, I understood why he wanted to take his son to die. His son, Zhang Lang, was a supermale, that is, what people call a born bad seed. Such people are violent, irritable, and withdrawn. These traits are engraved in their genes and are difficult to change.
Now that Zhang Lang was eight years old, he had already shown signs of abusing animals, violently beating classmates, and even having a tendency to kill. As long as Zhang Dajun was alive, he could control Zhang Lang for a while. But after he died, his wife might not be able to control him, and there was even a risk of being hurt by Zhang Lang.
Before a major disaster occurred, he wanted to nip it in the bud. This man who had been struggling all his life regretted most in his life that he had let Zhang Lang be born.
That day, we drank until dawn. The cool autumn wind blew away the drunkenness. He said, “Do me a favor.” I said, “Okay.”
For Zhang Dajun, killing Zhang Lang was not difficult. Anyway, he was dying. Whether it was a few days earlier or later didn’t matter much to him. He didn’t care about getting a charge of intentional homicide.
The real reason he asked me for help was that he hesitated. Originally, he wanted to get a divorce, get his wife out of it, and at the same time get the custody of Zhang Lang, and then the father and son would die together.
However, his wife was very determined. No matter how many disgusting things he did, his wife never gave up. She even kept encouraging him, hoping that he would cheer up.
Moreover, Zhang Lang was his own flesh and blood after all. Zhang Dajun still couldn’t bring himself to do it in the end. He wanted to give Zhang Lang one last chance.
So, he gave up the original plan. A new plan quietly took root and sprouted…
A few days later, I brought the touring troupe to Tanhua Town and officially got in touch with Zhang Lang. Every time he came, I would give him a special kind of chocolate.
There was a certain dose of metronidazole in the chocolate. Metronidazole is an antibiotic drug and is not difficult to obtain. However, if taken in excess, it will stimulate the central nervous system, causing abnormal sensations and even mental disorders.
I needed a mentally fragile Zhang Lang to perform hypnosis. Through hypnosis, I could influence a person’s subconscious. At first, I tried to reverse Zhang Lang’s deep – seated violence and killing urge. But it was like hitting a stone with an egg. The throbbing at the genetic level could not be changed simply by hypnosis.
Back to the topic, through hypnosis, I continuously strengthened Zhang Lang’s deep – seated thought of “killing Zhang Dajun” and stimulated his impulse. This included but was not limited to creating false memories, such as Zhang Dajun using his wife’s body to pay off debts…
When Zhang Lang’s killing intent towards Zhang Dajun gradually reached its peak, I then carried out the next step.
On the selected date of death, Zhang Dajun deliberately showed up under the surveillance camera, faking the appearance of running away, and then quietly returned to the cellar of his own house.
In the cellar, he ended his own life.
That’s right, Zhang Dajun committed suicide. After Zhang Dajun died, I brought the hypnotized Zhang Lang to the cellar at the appointed time.
Looking at Zhang Dajun lying on the ground as if asleep, Zhang Lang could no longer suppress his impulse and stabbed the corpse’s heart with a knife. Panicked, he ran out of the cellar.
Just in time, I came to do the final finishing work. I sealed the bloody knife with an oilcloth and buried it under the earthen stove in Zhang Dajun’s house.
Finally, I performed brainwashing hypnosis on Zhang Lang, slightly modifying this memory and omitting the part where I was present. Let Zhang Lang completely believe that he did all this alone.
Of course, one hypnosis was not enough for this kind of thing. It required long – term and uninterrupted reinforcement. In the following period of time, I came to Zhang Lang’s house many times to perform repeated hypnosis. Perhaps because I had frequent contact with Xu Lan, I developed a strong liking for her.
Unconsciously, I found that I fell in love with her. Zhang Dajun was my buddy. I knew it was wrong, but love was like a prairie fire that couldn’t be resisted. I believe that if Zhang Dajun were still alive, he would also hope that Xu Lan would be happy.
So, I confessed my love to Xu Lan and took the mother and son away from Tanhua Town. In the past ten years, I had been hypnotizing Zhang Lang continuously. According to Zhang Dajun’s request, as long as Zhang Lang showed a determination to repent, the whole plan would be terminated.
But Zhang Lang never did. Now that Zhang Lang is an adult, I had to follow the original plan and inform the police of the location of Zhang Dajun’s body. Completely get rid of the bad seed, Zhang Lang.
Now, the “magic” that lasted for ten years has finally come to an end.
“Old Zhou, it’s time to eat!” Xu Lan’s voice came from the kitchen.
I hurried over to help serve the dishes and praised, “It smells so good. It’s so happy to have a wife!”
“You know it,” Xu Lan said with a smile.
During this period of time, we were very tacit and didn’t mention Zhang Lang’s matter, but I could feel that Xu Lan was much happier than before. This made me even more convinced that I did the right thing.
Qingshan Mental Hospital is the place where Zhang Lang is under medical control. It has been half a year since Zhang Lang was under control. It’s time for me to visit him.
At this time, he should be on the verge of collapse. After handling the relevant procedures, I saw Zhang Lang. He looked much thinner. “Xiaolang, did you not eat well when mommy was away?”
When Zhang Lang saw me, he was stunned. Tears kept rolling down his cheeks. The joy and disbelief almost overflowed, and his dead – looking eyes suddenly lit up.
I was very satisfied with his performance. I showed a distressed expression and wiped away his tears.
“Mommy, I will eat well,” Zhang Lang said like a child who had made a mistake. “I thought I didn’t act well and mommy didn’t want me anymore.”
“How could I not want you? Mommy is the person who loves you the most in the world,” I said with a smile. “Mommy didn’t come to see you because of your Uncle Zhou.”
Zhang Lang raised his eyebrows. “Is it because I wasn’t shot?”
“No,” I said softly. “Xiaolang, was this game fun?”
“Fun!” Zhang Lang’s face turned red with excitement. “Mommy, I did everything as you said. I also answered the police’s questions as you said.”
Speaking of this, his expression suddenly became angry, as if he had switched to another person. “Look, mommy, I have been playing two people as you said!”
I nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, “Well done! I was right. You definitely won’t be shot like this.”
“Remember, don’t tell anyone, or mommy will not want you anymore.”
Zhang Lang nodded seriously and even swore.
I said gently, “Xiaolang, then mommy is leaving. I will come to see you next time. Be obedient inside and don’t think about running out.”
“Okay, okay!”
I turned around and left. The smile on my face disappeared instantly. It was really troublesome. My face was almost stiff from smiling.
After adjusting my mood, I put in two drops of eye drops and walked out of the mental hospital. My husband, Zhou Sen, was waiting for me in the car by the roadside.
As soon as I got in the car, I threw myself into his arms and sobbed softly. Zhou Sen gently comforted me. I hugged him tightly for almost ten minutes before letting go and stopping crying.
This would make him think that his comfort had worked. Men are so easy to deceive. Just like when Zhang Dajun was down and out, I wanted to get rid of him, so I forged a medical report of advanced liver cancer for him. Zhang Dajun believed it until he died.
On the way home by car, I suddenly said, “Husband, let’s have a baby.”
“Huh?” Zhou Sen was stunned when he heard this.
I looked at him expectantly. “We are only in our forties. We can still have children. Zhang Lang is hopeless, but our future is still long.”
Zhou Sen thought about it and then smiled and agreed.
I turned my head and looked at the moving street scenery outside the window and couldn’t help but smile. I was already tired of playing with my son Zhang Lang. Let him stay there and be controlled. I was already being very motherly by letting him live.
Next, should I have a daughter to play with?
At the city’s criminal investigation brigade, a middle – aged police officer walked out of the archives room and returned to his desk with a frown.
The young police officer beside him leaned over curiously. “Captain Wu, the case has been closed for so long. Why are you still looking at the files?”
The middle – aged police officer shook his head. “Nothing. I just feel something is not right.”
“Not right?” The young police officer became energetic. “What’s the matter?”
“Zhao, look at Xu Lan’s file,” Captain Wu handed over the document. “She was born with a mental illness, but she has recovered.”
Zhao took the file with a smile and said, “Captain Wu, I asked about this when I visited. Xu Lan’s mental illness mainly manifested as an almost abnormal desire for control.”
“Xu Lan’s father was a barefoot doctor when he was young and cured her. The neighbors at that time all knew about it.”
“And Xu Lan is also very smart. She was the first college student in the town.”
Captain Wu picked up the information and read it carefully again. “A key university, and she studied psychology and won many professional scholarships…”
“What? What does this have to do with it?” Zhao didn’t understand.
Captain Wu shook his head and put the information away. “Nothing. Maybe I’m overthinking it.”
