"I didn't tell anyone about this secret, and it's probably the worst thing I've ever done in my life."
Meng Shi unlocked the lock on the bedroom door and led Han Fei into it.
The bedroom was not large, with a single bed, and on the other side of the bed was a huge freezer, which was covered with a thick black cloth.
The lights were dim, and the bedroom curtains were nailed to the walls, so you couldn't see what was in the room from the outside.
"I've told you a story before about a woman who adopted three children, and actually that woman was me." Guilt and uneasiness in her conscience had been tormenting the old woman until she decided to tell the truth after experiencing a life and death crisis: "That day I secretly followed them to the countryside and watched the three brothers wrestle next to the dead body while listening to them insult each other, I realized at that moment that the harmony between them was just an act for me to see."
The old man's leathery hands grabbed the black cloth on the freezer: " Xiao San became unusual from the very beginning, he gradually progressed from burning ants and catching earthworms to torturing stray cats and dogs. He couldn't seem to vent his emotions like a normal person, and had to rely on a particular behavior to excite himself."
"Xiao San's abnormality was known to the oldest and second oldest, and they had approached him many times in private to keep me from worrying."
" The oldest was looking for a psychiatrist for Xiao San, who was still in school, and the second was helping Xiao San to clean up his mess. The brothers kept giving the Xiao San a chance, but there was no way to change the Xiao San with all the talking."
"Until that day, a tragedy happened when Xiao San killed a homeless man who was living in an abandoned villa."
"The first to notice the problem was the second, he was used to taking care of his brother, but when he found out that it was a human body, he was completely frozen."
"The second one angrily called his brother a devil, saying that people like his brother should not live in the world at all."
"Kneeling in front of the corpse, the brother did not show much remorse, he even told the second excitedly that he would soon be able to prove that he was not sick and that he had found the butterfly that had landed deep in his mind. As long as he could find that butterfly, he felt that death was worth it."
Speaking of what once happened, the old man's voice began to tremble as she silently lifted the black cloth off the freezer.
"The butterfly that fell deep in the mind? Does Xiao San have a mental illness? Can hallucinations occur?" Han Fei vaguely felt that things were not that simple.
"Xiao San always said he had a butterfly in his head, which he could feel, but could not find. That butterfly was leading him forward, and every time the butterfly's wings flapped, he would have uncontrollable killing intent. As the killing intent continued to grow, he got closer and closer to the butterfly that he said had the most beautiful colors in this world." The old woman strained to open the freezer, and cold air gushed out.
Han Fei looked towards the freezer, among which there was a book that had already rotted away.
"Grandma, why did you put the books in the freezer?"
The old man did not answer, she reached out and took a book out of the freezer, revealing the frozen hard human face under the book: "These books belong to Xiao San, and the person under the book was also killed by him."
Putting the book in her hand next to her, the old woman fell to her knees on the side of the freezer: "That day I watched the three brothers struggle and hurt each other, my heart hurt and ached, and I felt that everything was my fault."
Guilt, remorse, pain, the old woman's voice gradually weakened: "I rushed up to stop them, the three children were surprised to see me present, and Xiao San who had been talking back to his brother also lowered his head."
"I persuaded Xiao San to turn himself in, the oldest and the second also decided to call the police, during the whole process Xiao San did not say a word, until the end he told us something, he was lured to commit the murder of another person."
"He couldn't tell us who that person was, and he said that knowing that name would put everyone's lives in danger. He also said that soon there would be a serial killer in Old Town, and it was all about finding the butterfly in his head."
"As a family, we wanted to believe in Xiao San, but killing and committing murder could never be forgiven no matter what, and finally the oldest and second oldest decided to give Lao San a week to prove that person's existence within that week."
"The abandoned villa in the suburbs is the home of many homeless and abandoned people, there are also many fugitives and illegal households, the body hidden here is easy to be found, we then transported it to the freezer, through the refrigerated car."
"And then later I have some trouble remembering, my memory seems to be missing a section. I only remember that all three children left me, and I kept this corpse, waiting for the third to come back and surrender himself."
The old woman still did not remember that she had died, and it was likely that the game was responsible for the condition that had arisen in her.
"Xiao San said someone lured him to kill people and said that soon there will be a serial killer in the old city, and he seems to have predicted the human jigsaw puzzle case!" Han Fei knew that all three brothers were still alive now, and something must have happened to them again.
"I feel that all three of them are in danger now." Han Fei moved his eyes and inadvertently saw the book that had been covered on the dead man's face, the book was called " The Butterfly of the Soul", the author was one of the founding fathers of neurological research in the last century, and on the cover of the book was written this sentence.
"Like the entomologist (person who studies insects) hunting for brightly colored butterflies, my attention was drawn to the flower garden of the grey matter, which contained cells with delicate and elegant forms, the mysterious butterflies of the soul, the beating of whose wings may someday clarify the secret of mental life - Santiago Ramón y Cajal."
"The butterfly of the soul? Will my mind and soul be stepping on that one butterfly when I log into the game? And then fly in the world of the netherworld?"
Han Fei knows nothing about the game, he is still only at the most basic stage of survival, it is useless to think so much now, the most urgent task is to keep leveling up.
"Granny, Xiao San killed someone then he must be punished, if you defend him, you will only turn him into an inhuman monster, and there will be more people suffering from his poison in the future." Han Fei closed the freezer, and he decided to bring Xiao San to justice in reality, perhaps this is also a kind of freedom for the old woman.
"The dead have lost their lives and the murderer is running away from punishment, no matter what the reason is, it doesn't seem fair to me." Han Fei and Meng Shi's friendship has reached a very high value, so Han Fei is not worried that Meng Shi will lower the friendliness because of his words: "This freezer looks like it is sealing a corpse, but in fact, it is sealing the happiness and beauty of all your generations, I think you should let it go."
Looking at the old woman kneeling on the side of the freezer, Han Fei again remembered the tenants in the murder house, and his gaze gradually drifted away.