Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

Chapter 61 Breaking the Circle

May.

Murder on the Orient Express has been online for a month.

The servers of Hongqiezi Literature Network crashed three times.

The first time was on the launch day, when the number of concurrent online readers overwhelmed the servers. The second time was on the third day, when daily readership exceeded one million. The third time was a week later, when a large number of overseas IPs flooded in—Red Eggplant had never seen so many overseas visits before.

The physical book was subsequently published.

The first print run was one million copies, which sold out in three days. A second print run followed, and that also sold out.

By the fifth reprint, the publisher's editor-in-chief called Hong Qiezi, his voice trembling: "The last time this was so popular was with the physical edition of 'Zhu Xian,' but 'Zhu Xian' took two months to reach this number—this one only took half the time."

One month.

Global sales have exceeded ten million.

Thirty-seven languages were translated and published. The English version debuted on the New York Times bestseller list on its first day of release and reached the top of the list a week later. The French, Japanese, and German versions followed closely behind.

A lengthy review appeared on the official website of the Mystery Writers of Japan, titled "A Blizzard from China: On the Subversion of Classic Mystery in 'Murder on the Orient Express'".

The Mystery Writers of Britain included the work in its "Recommended Reading of the Year" list—the first time an Asian author has been selected.

The shockwaves in Chinese literary criticism circles were even stronger than those overseas.

The journal *Contemporary Literature Review* published a 20,000-word analytical article, summarizing three key points:

First, it overturns the classic reasoning paradigm of "single culprit." Readers are used to identifying the real killer from ten suspects, but the old rascal tells you: there are ten real killers. No, all of them. The ending, where everyone conspires, completely invalidates the traditional "elimination method" logic of reasoning.

Secondly, it reimagines the "locked room mystery" formula. A blizzard blocks the roads, the train is trapped, and the killer is nearby—all three elements of a locked-room mystery are present. But the author's innovation lies in this: the locked room isn't a trap, but a catalyst. Because there's nowhere to escape, everyone must complete the trial within the train carriage.

Third, it imbues the detective with "humanity." In traditional detective novels, the detective is a meticulously crafted deductive machine. But Poirot, as depicted by the old man, abandons reason at the last moment and chooses empathy. It's not that he can't solve the case, but that he can't bear to.

The article concludes by saying—

"Murder on the Orient Express isn't a book about 'guessing the murderer,' but rather a book about 'guessing the human heart.' The old fox from Mount Akina uses a classic mystery framework to house a profound exploration of human nature. This book completely undermines the stereotype that 'detective novels are merely popular entertainment.'"

After this article circulated in academic circles, several professors in Chinese literature departments included it in their course recommended reading.

What one of the professors didn't know was that the author of the book he recommended sat in the third row of his class.

Lin Yuan looked at the words "The Old Fool of Mount Akina's Murder on the Orient Express" that popped up on the PPT, and a very faint smile flashed across his eyes.

Zhou Zixuan nudged him from the side: "Brother Yuan, look, that old scoundrel is in the textbook now."

"Um."

"Just who is this old scoundrel? He writes fantasy novels and then suddenly turns around and writes suspense novels and gets called 'Gods' again? This isn't something a normal person would do."

"Maybe it's not human."

"...Can't you speak properly?"

But what truly made "Murder on the Orient Express" a household name was not literary criticism.

It was that big debate on social media about "legal justice versus vigilante justice".

It all started with a Weibo post.

A legal blogger with a million followers posted a long article after reading the book.

When the law fails to punish evildoers, do ordinary people have the right to conduct their own trials?

Akina, the old scoundrel, posed this question in "Murder on the Orient Express," but did not provide an answer.

Cassetti kidnapped and murdered a young girl, using money and power to escape punishment. The families of the twelve victims joined forces to seek revenge, each stabbing the other once, and executed them collectively.

Are they guilty? Of course they are, they are murderers.

Were they wrong? The law was wrong. But what about conscience?

The old man's brilliance lies in his neutrality. He has Poirot, a believer in the law, break his lifelong principles and weave lies for twelve murderers. This is not a denial of the law, but an honest presentation of its limitations.

Which is more important, procedural justice or moral justice? The old man didn't answer. He handed the knife to the reader.

This Weibo post was forwarded over a million times overnight.

The comments section was in an uproar.

[@Law Graduate Student: Procedural justice is the bottom line of civilization. If everyone can use the name of "justice" to commit crimes against themselves, the law becomes meaningless. Today it's Cassetti, tomorrow it could be an innocent person wrongly convicted.]

[@OfficeWorker: You're right, but if your daughter were kidnapped and murdered, and the killer paid money and was released without charge, could you still sit down and talk about "procedural justice"?]

[@Criminal Lawyer: As a lawyer, I must say that procedural justice is unwavering. But as a person, I remained silent for a long time after reading this book.]

[@History PhD: What chilled me most in the book wasn't the murders, but the "collective" element. Twelve people, one person alone wouldn't dare to do it. But a group together, they do. The old man isn't writing a mystery; he's writing about group psychology—that moral boundaries gradually blur when people are in a group.]

[@Book Reviewer Lao Zhang: The most striking aspect of this book is that it breaks down the binary narrative of good versus evil. The deceased Cassetti's crimes are unforgivable, but the avenger also bears the guilt of murder; Poirot, who should have upheld the law, chose to empathize with the suffering of the masses. No one is purely good, and no one is purely evil. The old man's message is simply this: human nature is inherently gray, and reality can never be simply divided into right and wrong.]

Major media outlets have also joined the discussion.

Southern Weekly published a special report titled "Social Questions Raised by a Detective Novel".

CCTV's "Today's Talk" aired a special program featuring a dialogue between a law professor and a literary critic on the theme of "The Boundary Between Legal Principles and Human Sentiments."

On Zhihu, under the question "How to evaluate Akina Mountain Old Man's 'Murder on the Orient Express'", more than 300 answers have appeared. The most upvoted answer is 40,000 words long, which breaks down the book from three dimensions: jurisprudence, ethics, and sociology.

Academic papers focusing on the book have even appeared on CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure).

A web novel has inspired an academic paper.

This is probably the first time in the history of Chinese literature.

The operations department of Hongqiezi Literature Network has been fighting a war lately.

The editor-in-chief's desk was piled with documents, all of them requests for adaptation.

Film adaptation rights: Three film and television companies submitted bids simultaneously, with the highest bid reaching eight figures.

Stage play adaptation rights: The National Theatre of China and Poly Theatre have both expressed their intention to cooperate.

Overseas copyrights: Eleven foreign publishers contacted copyright agents.

Game adaptation rights: Two game companies want to turn "Murder on the Orient Express" into an interactive mystery game.

The editor-in-chief looked at the pile of documents, rubbed his temples, and sent a private message to the author's account, "Old Fool of Mount Akina."

[Dear author, have you seen these invitations? Would you mind replying?]

The author's profile shows: Unread.

The editor-in-chief waited another day.

still none.

He even suspected that the old scoundrel had disappeared again.

Lin Yuan was in class when he saw those private messages.

I placed my phone on the table and secretly glanced at it.

Eight figures for film adaptation rights.

He twitched his lips slightly, then turned off his phone and continued listening to the lecture.

After class, he walked to a corner of the campus and sent a message to the editor-in-chief of Red Eggplant—

[The adaptation rights aren't urgent. Send me a list of offers for the film adaptation rights first; put the rest on hold for now.]

The editor-in-chief replied instantly: 【Received! Take your time to consider it!】

Lin Yuan turned off his phone, leaned against the tree trunk, and looked up at the May sunlight filtering through the leaves.

"Zhu Xian" cemented his legendary status in the online literature world. "Qian Xuesen" established his place in the film industry. "Murder on the Orient Express"...

This gave him a real name in the literary world.

Old scoundrel of Mount Akina.

He is no longer "the online novelist who wrote Jade Dynasty," but rather—a writer who is being seriously discussed in academic circles.

At the same time, in dormitory 404.

Xie Wanyin lay on the bed scrolling through Weibo, becoming more and more excited as she scrolled.

"Sisters! There's a 40,000-word analysis of this book on Zhihu! 40,000 words!"

"I saw it." Su Zhiyuan leaned against the headboard reading a book without looking up.

"And there's a paper on CNKI! CNKI! A web novel is on CNKI!"

"I saw it too."

Xie Wanyin rolled over and sighed, "Just like in 'Zhu Xian.' The old scoundrel always leaves the final blow to the readers."

Su Zhiyuan closed the book: "That's why you can't stop."

Xie Wanyin did not refute.

Outside the window, the May sun shines brightly.

That evening, Lin Yuan returned to his dormitory and turned on his computer.

The author's inbox is overflowing with messages.

He didn't look at the adaptation offers, but instead opened the comments section.

The latest top comment—

[Reader "The Ghost of the Orient Express": You old fool, you owe me an answer. Poirot made his choice, but what about you? Do you think he made the right one?]

Lin Yuan looked at the comment, thought for a moment, and typed—

[Old Man of Mount Akina: I'm only responsible for handing over the knife. Whether you get hit or not is up to you.]

release.

He turned off the computer and lay back down on the bed.

"Brother Yuan," Qian Zhuangzhuang poked his head out from the top bunk, "Have you read that old scoundrel's new book yet?"

"I saw it."

"How is it?"

"good."

"Not bad?!" Qian Zhuangzhuang almost tumbled off his bunk. "The dorms at the neighboring university of political science and law were so noisy last night that two groups almost got into a fight over whether Poirot should have lied—and you call that not bad?"

"It's precisely because they started arguing," Lin Yuan rolled over, "that it proves this book can't be rated."

Qian Zhuangzhuang remained silent for three seconds.

"Brother Yuan, sometimes you talk like an old scoundrel."

"……sleep."

"oh."

The lights went out.

The dormitory quieted down.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin beam of light on the floor.

Lin Yuan stared at the ceiling, recalling the night he wrote the last chapter.

Poirot, clutching the cross necklace, walked into the snowstorm.

He was also thinking about that question at the time—if it were me, what would I choose?

he does not know.