Chapter 323
Chapter 323
I had actually noticed Song Xiaotian’s problem long ago.
Whenever his emotions ran high, he would strike to kill. Fortunately, none of our enemies were good people. Even if he accidentally beat one of them to death, the matter would never reach the police.
And now Elder Song had brought up the same problem.
“I believe I’ve noticed it.”
Seventh Master nodded. “I thought he was simply ruthless toward evil and went a little too far when he attacked. But looking at it as a whole, his emotions do sometimes become… excessively intense.”
Elder Song’s smile vanished, and his expression turned grave. “He must have complained to you about how we refused to let him join the army.”
He certainly had, and more than once. Song Xiaotian had been complaining about it in Lincheng just two nights ago.
“It is true that his father and I had selfish reasons for refusing.”
Elder Song said, “His father and I both served in the military. We have already made our contributions, faced countless dangers and brushes with death, and watched many people sacrifice their lives. What elder would want the family’s only heir to live that kind of life?”
“In this time of peace, we were indeed a little selfish.”
Seventh Master said with emotion, “That’s only human and entirely understandable. Besides, your family has already contributed for two generations. I would hardly call that selfish.”
Elder Song sighed. “But that wasn’t the main reason we refused to let him enlist. The main reason was Xiaotian’s temperament. His violent nature is profoundly abnormal.”
“When he was very young, he got into a fight with a classmate and nearly beat the other child to death. We had to pay almost a million to settle the matter.”
Seventh Master and I were stunned.
He had been like that even as a child?
Was he born this way?
Could he be the reincarnation of the King of Hell?
Seventh Master said, “Some people are naturally indifferent to life and emotionally detached, but those people lack humanity. Xiaotian clearly does not. There must be a reason for his violence, correct?”
Elder Song nodded. “To explain the cause, I must begin with his father, Song Qing. Many years ago, Song Qing was sent abroad on a classified mission to rescue several of our fellow citizens who had been abducted. One of the hostages came from a very powerful background, which was why the rescue operation was launched.”
“The people who had kidnapped them belonged to a criminal organization.”
The moment we heard the word “organization,” Seventh Master and I instinctively became alert again.
But neither of us interrupted. We continued listening to Elder Song.
“Song Qing and his nine teammates spent half a year abroad, contending with the Organization the entire time. Six months later, I suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar overseas number. It was Song Qing, asking me for help.”
Elder Song sighed. “The moment I took the call, I knew something had happened to him. But I never imagined it would be so serious. Of the ten people on his team, everyone except him was dead. And over the phone, he did not sound fully lucid.”
Seventh Master and I listened tensely.
Anyone sent overseas on a classified mission could not have been an ordinary soldier.
Yet nine of them had died at once…
Seventh Master asked, “The group they encountered was not an ordinary criminal organization, was it?”
Elder Song shook his head. “No. The Organization was deeply sinister. They worshiped an Evil Buddha and used it as their emblem. I only learned that later.”
Seventh Master and I froze.
Why was it that every time we heard the words “the Organization,” it inevitably turned out to be that Evil Buddha cult?
Just how deep was our connection to them?
Elder Song continued, “Song Qing had always been a soldier, so he knew nothing about such matters. He and his teammates assumed the Organization was simply a criminal group.”
“But it was precisely because they did not understand such things that they fell victim to the Organization’s methods. Nine of the ten men sacrificed their lives.”
“I was frantic, so I gathered several friends and rushed overseas.”
“By the time I found him, his mental state was already abnormal.”
Seventh Master quickly asked, “How exactly did that abnormality manifest?”
Elder Song said, “His temperament had changed drastically. If you glanced at him when he wasn’t expecting it, you would find him glaring at you with terrifying ferocity.”
“He became agitated easily. If anything you said provoked him, he would fly into a frenzy and try to kill you. He didn’t even spare me, his own father.”
Seventh Master frowned. “Then he was undoubtedly possessed.”
Elder Song nodded. “He was. The friends I brought with me were all experts in these matters. One of them was proficient in an ancient form of hypnosis, so I asked him to hypnotize Song Qing. Only by having Song Qing recount what he had experienced could we prescribe the right treatment.”
“That brother of mine was exceptionally capable. He successfully hypnotized Song Qing and extracted many important clues.”
“That was how we learned Song Qing had been imprisoned by members of the Organization for an entire month. His teammates had all died trying to rescue him. In the end, Song Qing was the only one who escaped.”
I sighed. “Uncle Song must have endured terrible torture during that month.”
“Far worse than that.” Elder Song narrowed his eyes, his fists clenching unconsciously. “They implanted an evil spirit inside Song Qing. They wanted to use his body to bring it back to life.”
Seventh Master quickly asked, “What did this evil spirit look like?”
Elder Song replied, “We forced it to reveal itself so we could negotiate and convince it to leave Song Qing’s body. Eventually, the evil spirit appeared on Song Qing’s back in the form of a tattoo.”
“It looked like a Buddha, but it certainly was no Buddha. It had an indescribably sinister presence.”
Seventh Master and I felt a chill run through us.
The Organization had wanted the Evil Buddha to be reborn through Uncle Song’s body?
“We tried everything we could to drive the evil from Song Qing, but we could not force the spirit out of his body. With no other choice, I summoned someone from back home. His name was Xiang Long, a descendant of Mohism and another brother of mine.”
Elder Song continued, “Fortunately, he succeeded in forcing the evil spirit out of Song Qing. But even he could not destroy it, and the spirit escaped.”
“Although Song Qing returned to normal afterward, the experience left him with lasting aftereffects.”
“Whenever his emotions run high, especially when his anger begins to surge, he develops an uncontrollable urge to kill.”
By this point, Seventh Master and I more or less understood.
“So Brother Tian is like this because he inherited it genetically?” I asked.
Elder Song nodded. “Exactly. It was passed down through his genes. When Song Qing returned home and underwent an official review, he could not clearly explain how his teammates had died, so he failed the review.”
“Worse still, the interviewers angered him with their questions, and he actually tried to attack them.”
“In the end, his superior had no choice but to arrange an honorable discharge.”