Hearing this name, aside from surprise, Chen Shi felt a sense of nostalgia. He said, "The person in charge of doing the contacting? Do you mean communication between you and the employer?"

"Yes, Brother Zhou had found us the job. When the employer got angry and wanted to kill us, Brother Zhou made a call and the employer spared us... Of course, this kind of punishment is worse than death."

"Do you know what Zhou Tiannan does for a living?"

"He’s a public school teacher."

"Besides this?"

"Nothing more!" Chu Shifang looked blank.

Lin Dongxue wore a look of disbelief and whispered to Chen Shi, "Zhou Tiannan cultivated a bunch of killers himself. Why did he give the job to other people?"

Chen Shi silently shook his head. He remembered that ten years ago was the period when Zhou Xiao was violently committing crimes. Could it be that their gang was so busy that they outsourced the murder?

Were Chang Qing and his wife worth assassinating? Did they offend an important person, or did they find out about some earth-shattering secret?

In order to confirm that the Zhou Tiannan mentioned by Chu Shifang was the one they knew, Chen Shi asked him to describe Zhou Tiannan’s characteristics. What Chu Shifang described was consistent with the Zhou Tiannan they knew.

What he knew about Zhou Tiannan was limited and he didn't know why the employer wanted to kill Chang Qing and his wife. He and Ma Xiang were just carrying out the mission for monetary gain.

"So how did you and Chang Juan meet?" Chen Shi asked.

"After that incident, I watched the police investigating the case like headless flies. I knew they couldn't figure it out. When I wasn’t killing people, I liked to play mahjong and visit forums. By chance, I saw Chang Juan's posts saying that as long as you pay for her life stocks, you can manipulate her life and play the role of a parent. I thought this was astonishing. The girl’s parents were killed by Ma Xiang and I, but I actually encountered this matter. I was hesitant at the time. I didn’t know whether I should notify Ma Xiang, find the girl, kill her and tie up loose ends, but I didn’t do it in the end. Firstly, the risk was far too great. Secondly, there was no need for it anymore as the matter was already in the past.

“I bought Chang Juan’s life stock using the reward I got for killing her parents. It was really ironic. Then I became her shareholder. This 'game' was quite fun. We discussed what Chang Juan needed to do, what she needed to wear and who she was going to see every day. I became very busy. Most of the people in the group are rich and idle people.”

“I have to mention Ma Xiang here. Ever since that incident, his heart had become warped. He often went out to look for prostitutes in the middle of the night. Ma Xiang had become traumatized and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t get hard no matter what. When he got impatient, he’d hit the prostitutes. Then he was beaten until his face was swollen. After that, he started stalking ordinary women. One night, Ma Xiang suddenly called me. I rushed over to the place he told me about and saw that a couple had been killed. It was very tragic. Ma Xiang was naked. He knelt in the blood and cried, 'I can't get hard no matter what I do!'”

“I said, 'Are you nuts? You have to kill people if you can’t get hard? I don’t even have anything that can get hard even if I wanted to get hard!' As soon as this matter was mentioned, the two of us quarreled, and I got very angry. Why was my dick chopped off when Ma Xiang was the one who raped her? I finally understand now that this was the ingenuity of the employer’s mind. He would never allow us to get along normally again. Perhaps today’s tragedy was due to the seeds planted at that time. I had a fight with Ma Xiang, and then helped him deal with the crime scene. Since then, Ma Xiang kept raping women. As long as he raped, he would kill people. You police would have another unsolved case. I knew he would be the death of us sooner or later but he wouldn’t listen no matter how much I tried to persuade him.”

“One day, Ma Xiang called me excitedly and told me that he had found the little girl, Chang Juan! Ma Xiang had a kind of obsessive idea. He felt that as long as he killed Chang Juan, and finished the unfinished business, his sinful debts would be cleared and he’d be able to get hard again. I was really afraid of what would happen to Chang Juan, because I already viewed her as a daughter at the time. However, Ma Xiang didn’t know about this. I was extremely anxious. After asking around, 13 said that he could find Chang Juan, so we rushed over to rescue her together. Fortunately, we arrived in time and blocked Ma Xiang. After I went back, I had another big fight with Ma Xiang. He said I had dog shit seeping into my head, that I had actually fallen in love with the person I was supposed to kill. I said that he was the one who was crazy. The murder commission was over. I told him not to touch Chang Juan and that killing her wouldn’t cure his dick! Then we parted on bad terms.”

"I gradually realized something. Men are really animals ruled by their bottom halves. Men are irritable because testosterone is at work. Look at young men in their early twenties. All of them are explosive like a gunpowder barrel. All of them just fucking suppress it. Once they are married and have stable sex lives, they are different. If a man can’t get hard, he will become perverted and can do anything since he can’t vent his testosterone. It’s like a rat’s asshole being stuffed with chili powder. It can bite a whole nest of rats to death. Testosterone is truly a harmful thing. I think the country should retain castration sentences and chop off people’s balls. Then men will immediately become rational. Didn't Sima Qian write those things after he lost his balls?!”

"A man will become a sage if he loses his balls, just like me... Ever since I lost these harmful things, my personality has gradually changed, and I can look at all sides when I consider matters. I think it was foolish for Ma Xiang to kill people over such a small matter all day long. At the same time, I knew that he was digging his own grave. One day, he would be the death of himself. Hence, I started to stay away from him. I lived my easy and peaceful life. One day, I found out I had cancer. Motherfucker, Ma Xiang messed around all day long. Why was I the one who got cancer? It must be that I had shielded him from disaster?”

"I even got motherfucking lung cancer. The only thing I loved doing was smoking and I had to quit. The doctor said that I could only live for two more years. Fuck this! There are two things in this world that are most likely to change people. One is castration, and the other is death. One of these two things has already happened to me, and the other is coming soon. I realized the preciousness of life. I realized that it was easy to kill a person but difficult to save them. I wanted to do something helpful for the world. Ma Xiang has been doing all these evil deeds and was always thinking about Chang Juan, so I planned to let him get arrested..."

Chu Shifang shrugged, "The things after that are what I’ve said at the beginning. In fact, I don't care what kind of ending there will be, as long as Chang Juan can survive... I once told her my true identity, and her expression was beyond description. I said I had regretted it and changed, and asked her if she could forgive me. Her answer was that I can order her to do anything, except forgiving Ma Xiang and myself. It really hurt my heart. I hope that she can forgive everything I have done!"

With that said, tears fell from the corners of Chu Shifang’s eyes. Chen Shi glanced at the single-sided mirror. Chang Juan was listening outside right now. From her attitude, Chang Juan didn’t just view Chu Shifang as an enemy. There seemed to be a slight trace of dependence.

What a tangled relationship these two people have.