Original Mystery Novel: 《ℬ𝓁𝒾𝓏𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒹 ℳ𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓇》 EP54

"He's your brother, Chen Mo." Xu Ziqian said, his voice carrying emotion for the first time, a thin layer, like a long-suppressed ice surface beginning to crack. "Zhou Zhengguo is your biological brother. In that ritual, he chose to stay, and you were sent away. He spent eighteen years ensuring you would never return." "But he called me back now." "Because he's tired." Xu Ziqian said. "He's been cleansing for sixteen years, but some things can't be cleansed. He realized that door never truly closed. It's always been here, waiting for someone to return and either open it completely—or close it forever." Chen Mo looked down at the iron key in his hand. It felt slightly warm in his palm, as if alive. He walked out. Back through the corridor to the wine cellar, then up the stone steps to the main hall. The fire in the fireplace was still burning, but the atmosphere in the hall had changed. Shen Yuehua was sitting on the sofa crying, and Fang Guodong stood beside her, his hand stiffly hovering over her shoulder, unsure whether to place it there. Old Zhou stood by the fireplace, his back to everyone. He heard Chen Mo's footsteps and slowly turned around. The firelight cast eighteen years of shadows on his face. His eyes were red, but not the red of crying; it was something deeper, heavier. "You saw him." Old Zhou said, his voice hoarse. Chen Mo walked up to him and stopped. The distance between them was less than two steps. For the first time in eighteen years, they faced each other as their true selves. "Brother," Chen Mo said. Old Zhou's shoulders trembled. He didn't respond to the address, but he reached out (To be continued)