Chapter 078: The Centipede Crawling Beneath the Skin

“Damn!”
Fortunately, Prince Hao’s quick reflexes saved him from being splattered with Chen Hu’s black blood.
With a swift palm strike, Chen Hu coughed up blood, spraying it everywhere.
Afterward, he slumped in his chair, head tilted back, gasping for air.
But as he struggled to breathe, something seemed to crawl up his throat.
His face contorted in agony, and he tried to grab at it with his hands.
Just as he lifted his arms, I seized the chain between his handcuffs and forced him back down.
He gagged and retched, his legs kicking wildly, but I ignored him, my eyes fixed intently on his mouth.
A pitch-black centipede’s head emerged from between his lips!
“This is what I’ve been waiting for!”
With lightning speed, my hand formed a sword gesture, and I pinched the centipede’s head between my forefinger and middle finger.
“Come out!”
I pulled the giant, black-brown centipede straight out of Chen Hu’s stomach, alive!
As it landed on the floor, its body writhed and twisted, and it set its sights on a new target: Prince Hao.
Just as it was about to touch the tip of Prince Hao’s shoe, a yellow talisman struck its back.
Boom!
The charm ignited instantly, flames engulfing the centipede. Within three seconds, not a trace of it remained—only a pile of black ash on the ground.
Chen Hu kept gasping for air. Though pain still twisted his features, his complexion had visibly improved.

Prince Hao stood frozen, staring at me with wide, stunned eyes.
Perhaps he couldn’t fathom why such a huge centipede was inside Chen Hu’s body.
Perhaps he couldn’t understand how Chen Hu survived with such a thing inside him.
The interrogation room’s table and chairs were smeared with fresh blood from Chen Hu’s outburst, so I didn’t bother to sit. I stood before him and asked, “How did you contact the person who cursed you?”
Chen Hu shook his head, struggling for breath as he explained that now both he and his partner were in trouble; their previous ways of contacting people were useless.
Hearing this, I grew irritated. “So after all that effort, you just wanted me to break your curse? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No, no! I know who their next target is! They’ll make a move, and when they do, you’ll have your chance! I… I don’t want to die…”
Chen Hu was safe for now, but no one could predict what other methods his enemies might use to claim his life.
To survive, he had to cooperate with us. Only by taking them down together could he truly be at ease.
His words, however, made Prince Hao realize something unusual.
“The next target?” Prince Hao finally recovered from his shock. “You don’t choose randomly? The targets are already selected?”
Chen Hu nodded, admitting that although he didn’t know why, every time they acted, it was against specific children.
After thinking for a while, he said, “Before we make a move, we receive detailed information about the child, as well as the parents’ habits, and then choose the place accordingly.”
He paused again and added, “It feels like someone’s placing an order…”
Prince Hao rubbed his brow, then looked up at me.
I understood. “Tell us, who is the next target, and who is your superior?”
“My colleague from my hometown, Hong Liang, is the one above me. He provides me with information, and after we succeed, he picks up the child at a designated location.”
Without needing much prompting, Chen Hu willingly revealed everything he knew about Hong Liang.
After Prince Hao finished recording the details, Chen Hu finally revealed the next target: “Our original plan was to move on Song Baoguo’s three-month-old son, Song Chao, in three days.”

Hearing all this, I was a bit disappointed. I had assumed his superior would be the murderer of Qin Ruo and her daughter.
Judging by the old man’s acquaintance with my grandfather, he must be at least seventy years old, and with such skills, he couldn’t possibly be Chen Hu’s coworker.
But when Chen Hu mentioned Song Baoguo’s name, both Prince Hao and I were deeply surprised.
In Jianghuai, Song Baoguo was a prominent figure, frequently featured in the newspapers.
Compared to Zhang Shancai, Song Baoguo was a world apart—the difference between them was insurmountable.
Though both were businessmen, Song Baoguo was a man who inspired respect.
In his youth, he had joined the Korean War, and after returning, he took over the family business. With honesty and diligence, he grew the enterprise ever larger.
It was said that Song Baoguo’s family were “red capitalists” in the previous generation, who used their business acumen to earn money during the war and donated everything to the cause, playing an indispensable role on the path to victory.
“You must be insane! Targeting Song Baoguo’s youngest son?”
“Do you even know who Song Baoguo is? He’s a big shot who travels with bodyguards. Just you lot—how would you ever catch his son?”
Chen Hu shook his head. “If it were just us, it would never work, but the Society has sent people to assist.”
Hearing this, I frowned and tilted my head to question Chen Hu, “Wait, what Society are you talking about?”
Chen Hu looked up at me, fear flickering in his eyes.
But at last, he swallowed and replied, “The Golden Cicada Society…”