Chapter 824: I Am Song Lang

The other party left an address and then hung up the phone.

The bandaged man sat down, took out a cigarette, and threw it away in frustration. He turned on the office computer and pulled up the surveillance footage from earlier.

The video showed that the person who took Kaowei didn’t sneak in from outside. While the bandaged man was fighting with a group of people, a man in a suit quietly slipped out of the manager’s office and dragged Kaowei out the back door.

The bandaged man left the office, grabbed “Impressionist” from the ground, and took the car keys from him.

Half an hour later, he arrived at a newly completed, yet uninhabited, mixed-use building. The entire structure was pitch dark, exuding a sinister atmosphere. With the elevator not yet powered, he could only climb the long staircase.

All the way up, the bandaged man was highly alert, meticulously inspecting every corner. He reached the top floor and saw a light shining in the empty space. Under the light, Kaowei was tied to a chair with her hands behind her back and a cloth gag in her mouth. Seeing the bandaged man arrive, she started to whimper.

Overjoyed, the bandaged man approached her, but suddenly someone emerged from behind. He instinctively turned and swung his fist, only for it to be caught by a gloved hand. The other hand held a syringe, which was plunged into the bandaged man’s neck.

Instantly, he felt powerless, collapsing to one knee, unable to move his arms.

The assailant gave him a cold look and circled behind him. An old man then stepped out from behind a pillar. Dressed in traditional Chinese attire, his hair and beard were white, and he leaned on a dragon-headed cane. The bandaged man recognized him from a photograph; he was Lie Guoxiao, a notorious gangster on the police watchlist.

Realizing he had fallen for such a cheap trick, the bandaged man bitterly smiled, feeling the heaviness of his body increasing. He bit his lip to stay conscious, a taste of blood filling his mouth.

“Where have you been hiding these past two years? Have you been well?” Lie Guoxiao greeted as if it were a casual conversation.

“Stop pretending. I’m here, let her go!” the bandaged man shouted weakly.

“Don’t worry, we won’t harm your woman. Wang Xi, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. You did a great service for me. But the longer a secret is kept, the more dangerous it becomes. You understand that, right?”

“You want to kill me to silence me?”

“No, no, you’ve gotten dumber? Just give that thing back to me. I’m always on edge, worried that a third person might see it. I can’t tolerate anything threatening my position being out of my control. You must return it to me.” Lie Guoxiao extended a hand.

The bandaged man frowned, the drug affecting his thoughts, slowing them down. He guessed that the “thing” Lie Guoxiao mentioned was the leverage Wang Xi had on him, so he responded, “That’s my life insurance, I can’t give it back.”

“I understand, it’s smart to keep some leverage when dealing with me. But that was back then… now, I’m different. I call the shots. If you return it to me, I guarantee no one will ever bother you and your girl again. We’ll leave each other alone.”

The bandaged man squinted his eyes. Even though his mind was foggy, he understood one thing: agreeing to this deal was impossible. Once Lie Guoxiao had the leverage, he would kill him.

Besides, he didn’t even have it.

Damn, why did he get involved in all this mess? His mind was drifting, and the two people in front of him morphed into Han Luoxi and Li Mu, their faces pale, bullet holes in their foreheads still bleeding. Han Luoxi said, “Why avoid all this instead of facing it? This isn’t the Song Lang I know.”

Li Mu added, “Having a disciple like you is a disgrace to my entire career!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the bandaged man muttered, tears streaming down his face.

“Li Mu” came over and started beating him. The bandaged man could only passively defend himself. “Li Mu” stomped on him hard, the pain snapping him back to reality—it was actually Lie Guoxiao’s henchman beating him.

“Where is it? Where is it?” the man asked through gritted teeth as he hit him.

“Enough, Liu Feng,” Lie Guoxiao ordered.

“The truth serum isn’t working. Should I give him more?” Liu Feng asked.

“40 milliliters is already a lot. Any more, and he’ll be done for.” Lie Guoxiao walked over, poked the bandaged man with his cane, testing the serum’s effect, and asked, “Who are you?”

“A sinner.”

“Ha, ha!” Lie Guoxiao laughed dryly, “How poetic. What’s your name?”

“Song Lang.”

“Damn it, he doesn’t even know his own name… Wait, he’s not Wang Xi! He’s not Wang Xi! Song Lang? The cop who killed his colleague?”

Suddenly, sirens blared outside. Liu Feng glanced out the window, “Boss Lie, this guy called the cops!”

Lie Guoxiao gritted his teeth, “After all this, it’s been a mistake. Let him suffer his fate. Let’s go!”

Indeed, it was the bandaged man who called the police. The only excuse to get a large police presence at this hour was “I’ve seen the fugitive Song Lang.” The plan was to rescue Kaowei and run, with the police distracting these guys. But it backfired.

As the sirens got closer, the bandaged man, holding onto his fading consciousness, slowly crawled towards Kaowei. He tried to untie the ropes binding her, but they were too tight.

Kaowei managed to get the gag out of her mouth and anxiously kicked him, “Wake up, wake up! Now is not the time to sleep.”

The bandaged man looked up, seeing Kaowei turn into Han Luoxi. He tearfully said, “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“I believe you. Hurry, wake up!” Kaowei urged.

“Ah!”

The bandaged man shouted, summoning his strength. Using his teeth and hands, he finally untied Kaowei’s ropes before passing out.

Suddenly, a splash of cold water choked him awake. He looked up and found himself in a bathroom, his head submerged in a sink full of water—Kaowei had dunked his head to force him awake. She was truly a decisive woman.

Outside, footsteps rushed by. Kaowei anxiously said, “The police are here. How will you escape?”

“You know who I am now. Why help me escape? If you run out there shouting, ‘Song Lang is here,’ you’ll get a huge reward,” the bandaged man said, eyes sharp.

“Then what would I be? A traitor?” Kaowei gave a bitter smile and grabbed his hand, “I’ll hide myself. The police won’t bother with me. You find a way to get out!”