Chapter 714: The Final Strike

Xu Guolong had changed his appearance, wearing glasses and a wig. With arms wide open, he approached Xin Bai as if to embrace him, saying, “Do you know how much I’ve missed you these past few days? I killed those people to force the police to release you—all for you!”

Xin Bai shivered and stepped back. He glanced at the person hanging from a tree. The man’s neck was in a noose, and he balanced precariously on some uneven stones he had found nearby. To avoid being strangled, he had to grip them tightly with his feet, a desperate struggle for survival.

A cloth gag, soaked with saliva, muffled his cries. His eyes were dark and his skin pallid, looking extremely worn out.

“You… you lied to me!” Xin Bai stammered.

“Yes!” Xu Guolong grinned. “The photo I showed you was fake. I didn’t take your crush as a hostage. But this person…” Xu pointed behind him with his thumb, “is just as important to you.”

Xin Bai trembled uncontrollably, feeling cold in his limbs. The man hanging from the tree looked familiar, but facing Xu Guolong filled him with so much fear that he couldn’t remember who it was.

“You have to admit, we share a special bond. That’s why I could trick you with a single message. Others see me as a killer, a demon, thinking even my drinking water could be poisonous… Haha, that’s from your novel. Yet, you dared to meet me at night because you know I won’t hurt you. I love you as much as I love myself. Everything I did was for you. To be honest, I’m planning to escape, but before I do, I want to do something important. This man—Lan Xiao—is your lifelong nightmare. I want you to kill him yourself!”

“Lan… Lan Xiao?” Xin Bai looked at the man’s face. After more than twenty years, combined with the time he had been imprisoned by Xu Guolong, he almost didn’t recognize him.

Indeed, it was Lan Xiao, the bully from his childhood who made every school day feel like torture, and who haunted his childhood, leaving him crying alone in his bed.

It was this person who engraved the idea that ‘hell is other people’ into his bones, making him fear strangers deeply.

The swirling emotions overwhelmed Xin Bai, making it hard for him to breathe.

“I’ve set everything up. You just need to kick away the stones under his feet, then leave. Go back home and sleep before the police find out. I’ll take the blame when I’m caught one day, saying I did it. No one will suspect you. You can end your nightmare without any risk. This is my parting gift to you. Do it!” Xu Guolong coaxed with a mad smile.

Xin Bai, almost in a trance, walked towards this “gift.” Lan Xiao whimpered, tears streaming down his face as he struggled.

When Xin Bai was just a step away, he stopped and asked, “Why do you want me to kill someone?”

Xu Guolong embraced him from behind, rubbing his face against Xin Bai’s shoulder, whispering, “Because the first time I read your writing, I felt like I saw myself. It resonated so strongly with me. I fell in love with you, deeply! But you’re just a moderately famous online writer with only a few thousand readers. I can’t accept that. I want you to be the greatest suspense novelist ever. You need an extraordinary experience. I tortured and imprisoned you so you could grow. Your writing improved after witnessing my murders, but it’s not enough. You need to kill someone to truly awaken and become better. Come on, dear!”

Xu Guolong’s passionate words, coupled with his warm breath on Xin Bai’s face, made him feel sick. He didn’t dare openly resist, so he slipped out of the embrace.

“You’re wrong. Writing suspense novels doesn’t require killing. Just like fairy tale writers don’t have to visit fantasy worlds, and romance novelists don’t have to experience love. My childhood bullying is part of my memory and inspires me. Creators fantasize because they’re unfulfilled in reality. They’re humble in status but grand in soul. That’s what a writer is. I don’t need to do this, and you don’t understand me at all!”

He spoke his mind in one breath.

“Do as I say!!!” Xu Guolong roared, spitting on Xin Bai’s face. He shook Xin Bai’s shoulders. “I’ve done so much for you! Why don’t you appreciate it? Which reader loves you as much as I do? Tell me! Tell me!”

“Die, you freak!!!”

Xu Guolong felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He looked down to see Xin Bai’s trembling hand withdrawing a small knife. He struggled to breathe.

The emotional pain was worse than the physical. His passion was treated as garbage, and his beloved hated him!

“Ah!!!”

Xu Guolong screamed, startling the birds in the forest, making them flee into the dark night sky.

Sensing danger, Xin Bai pushed him away and ran. Driven by adrenaline, Xu Guolong pulled the knife from his abdomen. Xin Bai’s inexperience with stabbing meant the knife didn’t go deep enough. Xu Guolong chased after him, quickly closing the gap.

He raised the knife, determined to kill Xin Bai, then set a fire to burn them both. Their ashes would mingle, and they would be buried together. In death, they would be inseparable.

Xu Guolong pounced, knocking Xin Bai to the ground. As he raised the knife, Xin Bai grabbed a rock and struck him on the face. Xu Guolong felt warm blood trickle down but no pain.

Struggling, Xin Bai tried to escape, but Xu Guolong pinned him down again, raising the knife to stab his terrified face.

At that moment…

“Xu Guolong!”

A sharp voice called. Instinctively, he looked up to see Lin Dongxue standing a few meters away, pointing a gun at him.

In the critical moment, Lin Dongxue didn’t hesitate and pulled the trigger. Xu Guolong felt a punch to his chest, sending him backward.

The bullet pierced his heart. Lying on the ground, coughing blood, he saw Xin Bai crawling towards him. Pretending to have final words, he mumbled. Xin Bai, falling for the trick, leaned in to listen.

Xu Guolong’s hand shot up with the knife, aiming for a mutual death. But Chen Shi, rushing over, yelled, “Watch out!” and pulled Xin Bai away.

The missed strike drained Xu Guolong’s last strength. With regret and emptiness, he breathed his last, ending his life of crime.