Chapter 61: The Golden Cicada Society, Ten Years Ago

Golden Cicada Society, ten years ago.

These six words, taken separately, meant nothing unusual. Yet put together, they drained the color from He Chuan’s face.

I walked over to He Chuan and tapped him three times on the head. Then I moved to the window, gazing out at the sky without turning my head, and said, “Let’s leave the Golden Cicada Society aside for now. Tell me about the demon monk Yu Nie. Ten years ago, he was sentenced to death for killing a girl. As far as I know, the manner of her death was the same as with these three recent victims.”

At this, I turned to look at He Chuan. “You lied. You knew Yu Nie ten years ago, and it was you who framed him.”

Though He Chuan was breathing heavily, his blood-soaked shoulder had already stained the bedding. Still, his pale lips curled into a chilling smile.

Seeing that smile, it all became clear to me. Yet, I still didn’t understand—why had He Chuan wanted to harm Yu Nie?

Back then, Yu Nie was only as old as I am now—eighteen.

“Why?” I asked. Seeing He Chuan about to reply, I cut him off. “Don’t waste my time. My patience is limited.”

He Chuan sighed deeply. “You’re right about everything. Why did I go after him?” He smiled again, fixing his gaze on me. “Because ten years ago, he was just like you are now…”

Just like me now? I genuinely didn’t understand what he meant.

Seeing my confusion, He Chuan continued, “Just like you, he was investigating the Golden Cicada Society…”

I knew little about this organization, but from Captain Cui’s few words before his death, I was certain that the Golden Cicada Society was a den of unrepentant villains.

He Chuan seemed to be nothing more than a minion within the Society.

Ten years ago, Yu Nie had just come down from the mountains, brimming with youthful zeal, eager to do something meaningful for the living world. Soon, he set his sights on the Golden Cicada Society as his target. After he foiled two of their major operations, the Society sent He Chuan to deal with him.

The result was Yu Nie’s ten-year imprisonment.

“I don’t know how Yu Nie managed to survive and get out, but I’d planned to frame him again just like before. I never expected that I’d fall into your hands instead.”

I said nothing, simply regarding He Chuan as a hypothesis formed in my mind. Perhaps last night, Yu Nie hadn’t tried to take He Chuan to save him, but rather he’d learned through some channel that He Chuan was the one who framed him—so he came for revenge, or perhaps to use He Chuan to find the Golden Cicada Society?

I closed my eyes. Everything from the previous night replayed before me like a film—from Yu Nie’s appearance, to his escape after I wounded him. Thinking back, he never once admitted to killing Captain Cui. If it wasn’t Yu Nie, then there could only be one possibility…

I opened my eyes and looked at He Chuan. “Besides you, how many members of the Golden Cicada Society are there in Jianghuai? Where are they?”

He Chuan stared blankly for two seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Ha… ha… cough… You’re looking for death!”

I smiled faintly. “That’s right. Whether I live or die depends on you, He Chuan.”

“You’ll never get any information about the Golden Cicada Society from me!”

“Fine. You said you’d walk out in front of the police tonight, so you must have accomplices coming for you. Don’t worry—even if they take you, it’ll only be your corpse they carry away.”

As I spoke, the blade of the fruit knife grazed his throat.

“You… what are you trying to do… you can’t… you…”

“Jiang Huai!”

Just as I was about to make my move, Wang Zihao burst in and saw everything. He shoved me aside and snatched the knife from my hand. “Calm down! If you kill him now, do you expect me to arrest you or not?”

I leaned my left elbow on the windowsill, rubbing my waist with my right hand. After a moment’s thought, I took my phone from my pocket and tossed it to Wang Zihao.

He stared in surprise at the recording file on the screen. When he played it, he heard the conversation I’d just had with He Chuan.

I exhaled deeply and waved my hand. “Maybe we’re all wrong. But no matter what, we have to find Yu Nie first.”

As I spoke, I moved to Wang Zihao’s side. “Brother Hao, only by finding Yu Nie can we get to the bottom of this. Please forgive me. I just want to find the real killer who took Captain Cui’s life.”

“Hm?”

Wang Zihao didn’t understand my last words, but as he turned toward me, I punched him squarely in the face.

Blood trickled from his nose. As he collapsed, I caught him and settled him into a chair.

Looking at his unconscious form, I muttered, “Forgive me.”

I retrieved the handcuff key from Wang Zihao and unlocked all of He Chuan’s restraints.

“What… what are you doing?” He Chuan panicked. In his current state, crippled by the gunshot wound, he couldn’t move his limbs.

In the hospital, even with police watching, he wasn’t afraid—after all, they wouldn’t harm him, and he could wait for his accomplices to rescue him at night.

But he never expected that I would abduct him instead.

“What do you think I’m doing? You should know best,” I sneered.

Carrying He Chuan wasn’t exactly easy, but I managed a steady pace. I could feel him trembling on my back.

“Don’t shout, don’t call out—otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I might do,” I warned.

He Chuan was truly terrified now, especially since he was completely helpless.

In his eyes, I must have seemed like a lunatic—a deranged youth capable of anything.

He Chuan cooperated, lying motionless on my shoulder. “Jiang Huai… If you don’t want me to die on your back, shouldn’t you do something about the stab wound on my shoulder…”

I turned my head slightly and sneered, “Endure it yourself. You think you deserve better?”

[End of Chapter 61: Golden Cicada Society, Ten Years Ago.]