Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Zheng Hongwen's pupils had begun to dilate, but a sliver of light still shone on Shen Qinghou's expressionless face.

Shen Qinghou took out the tattered sheet of music that Chen Zhiyuan had copied from his inner pocket, unfolded it, and placed it in front of Zheng Hongwen.

The paper was stained with dried brown blood, which was splashed on when Chen Zhiyuan committed suicide by swallowing the pen. The handwriting was neat and clean, and it was the last few sections of "Guangling San".

When Chen Zhiyuan copied this page of the score, he said that once he recovered from his injury, he would play a duet with Shen Qinghou, with him singing and Shen Qinghou playing the instrument.

Zheng Hongwen stared at the sheet music, his unfocused pupils suddenly contracted, and the hissing sound in his throat suddenly became rapid.

He remembered—four years ago, backstage at the provincial song and dance troupe, the tenor whose Adam's apple he had kicked and crushed was standing next to this man.

He didn't even glance at him, didn't remember his face, and just thought he was a nobody musician with no background or connections, and no one would care if he died.

"You don't know me," Shen Qinghou began, his voice distorted by his deafness, each word seeming to be forced out of his throat, "but you definitely know him. His name is Chen Zhiyuan. Four years ago backstage, you kicked and broke his Adam's apple. He can never sing again."

Zheng Hongwen's lips began to tremble violently. He wanted to say something, but his tongue was gone, and he could only make muffled gurgling sounds.

Blood foam gushed from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his chin and neck, soaking his shirt collar bright red.

He shook his head desperately, trying to deny it, trying to beg for mercy, but he couldn't make a sound. He could only watch helplessly as Shen Qinghou's face became clearer and clearer in front of him.

Shen Qinghou put the sheet music back into his inner bag, stared into Zheng Hongwen's eyes, and continued, "The woman you were on top of just now is called Su Wan. She's my ex-girlfriend. You used this mouth to trick her into opening the door, and this hand to force-feed her medicine."

He paused for a second, lowering his voice even further, but because of his deafness, he couldn't control the volume, and each word sounded like a stone hitting the floor: "So, your death here today is half Chen Zhiyuan's debt, and half your own newly incurred debt. Do you understand?"

Zheng Hongwen's eye was split open, not with blood, but with his tear ducts completely out of control, tears mixed with blood streaming down from both sides of his temples.

His eyes trembled wildly in their sockets, his lips moved but no sound came out, only the broken bone in his throat made a final hissing sound in the air, like a whistle being crushed.

He finally understood that this person hadn't come to catch the adulterer, but to take his life.

He can't escape today. It's no use that his uncle is a deputy director, or that he has money and power. He will have to pay for all the sins he committed before.

Shen Qinghou watched as his eyes stopped moving and then loosened his jaw.

Zheng Hongwen's head lolled to one side, he stopped breathing completely, his eyes were still open, and the light inside them gradually cooled down.

His face was still frozen with fear and regret, and the blood on his forehead had dried and formed a dark red scab.

Shen Qinghou stood up, dusted off his knees, and turned to look at Su Wan.

Su Wan leaned against the wall, still trembling, blood still seeping from the soles of her feet, accumulating in a small patch at her feet.

She watched Shen Qinghou walk towards her, without backing down or showing any fear, but her tears fell even more fiercely.

Two years of longing, grievances, and worries all surged up at this moment, choking her and leaving her speechless.

Shen Qinghou walked up to her, squatted down, took out a pack of clean tissues from his coat pocket, pulled out a few sheets, and gently pressed them onto the wound on the sole of her foot.

His movements were very gentle, as if he were afraid of hurting her. His fingertips touched her ankle, and her body trembled. He immediately stopped and looked up at her face.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, his voice still hoarse and a little unnaturally stiff.

He hadn't spoken for so long that his pronunciation was inaccurate, and he didn't even know if he was saying it correctly.

Su Wan shook her head, her tears falling onto the back of his hand, warm to the touch.

"I'm fine." She sniffed and wiped away her tears. "You should go now. I'll handle things here. You won't be able to leave once the police arrive."

Shen Qinghou didn't say anything, but instead took out a few more tissues and pressed them against her wound. Once the bleeding had stopped, he took out a clean gauze from the inside pocket of his coat and bandaged her wound simply.

His movements were very skilled, as if he did this often. His fingers were steady when bandaging, without trembling at all.

After bandaging her up, he stood up, pointed to the door, then to her, indicating that she should go out first.

Su Wan shook her head and reached out to grab his arm.

His arms were stiff, his muscles taut, and his sleeves were still covered with splinters of wood from when he broke down the door.

"I won't go, I'll go with you. I'm worried about you going alone." Her voice was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

Shen Qinghou looked at her hand gripping his arm; it was small, soft, and her fingertips were icy cold.

------

Gu Mingyuan sat in his office at the General Administration, the screen in front of him lit up, and Zhou Chenghai's real-time text report came through the encrypted channel:

Shen Qinghou witnessed Zheng Hongwen's humiliation of Su Wan, and in a fit of rage, he killed Zheng Hongwen.

After Gu Mingyuan finished reading, the corners of his mouth curved up like a hook.

It became.

Zheng Hongwen died, in Su Wan's room, in front of someone under the protection of the General Administration, and at the hands of Shen Qinghou.

The result was cleaner than he had anticipated.

Now it's all good; all that's left is for Shen Qinghou to discover that the people from the General Administration are around Su Wan.

Ideally, Shen Qinghou would have more of the General Administration's blood on his hands.

He immediately activated the encrypted communication and sent an order to Zhou Chenghai: Mobilize all personnel on standby outside the building, seal off the entrances and exits, and surround Shen Qinghou on charges of murder. Don't wait for him to come out; rush in directly. If he resists, kill him on the spot.

After sending the message, he completely deleted the message history, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of the chilled Biluochun tea.

The tea soup has a slightly astringent taste, but it feels surprisingly pleasant to drink.

The appeasement faction wants to negotiate, doesn't it?

Given the fact that they failed to adequately protect Su Wan, let's see how they talk to Shen Qinghou.

Upon receiving the instruction, Zhou Chenghai switched his walkie-talkie to the field channel.

He glanced at the entrance of the building; Shen Qinghou had not yet come out.

The lights from upstairs shone through the window of room 402, glaring brightly in the dark night.

He pressed the call button, enunciating each word with great emphasis: "Attention all personnel, a murder has occurred near Su Wan. The suspect is armed and extremely dangerous. Teams one and two, seal off the front and rear exits. Team three, follow me upstairs to make the arrest. If there is resistance, the use of lethal force is authorized."

The confirmation messages from each group came through the earpiece. In the darkness, a dozen or so dark figures rapidly moved in from the outer alleys, under the trees, and in the garage, the beams of flashlights cutting back and forth in the darkness, their footsteps dense and muffled.

Zhou Chenghai turned off the walkie-talkie, drew his sidearm from his waist, pointed the muzzle downwards, and stepped into the building entrance first.

The team members behind him followed closely, their bulletproof vests rubbing against their uniforms, making a rustling sound.