Chapter 714: Last-minute Goal[1]

Xu Guolong was wearing make-up, glasses, and a wig. He opened his hands as if to embrace Xin Bai. "Do you know how much I’ve missed you these past few days? I killed those people and forced the police to release you. It was all for you!"

Xin Bai backed away while trembling. He looked at the person hanging from the tree. The man had a noose around his neck and there were a few stones under his feet. The stones were picked up from nearby and all very irregular in shape. He could only use his feet to try and struggle for balance on those stones to avoid being hanged. Although this was very difficult, the desire to survive forced him to do so.

There was a piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth, which was soaked in saliva. His eyes were jet-black and his complexion was shallow. He was extremely haggard.

"You... you’re lying to me!" Xin Bai said.

"Yes!" Xu Guolong grinned. "The picture I showed you was something I photoshopped. I didn't take the female neighbor you have a crush on as a hostage, but this person..." Xu Guolong used his thumb to point behind him, "is meaningful to you in the same way."

Xin Bai kept shaking. His hands and feet became cold. The man on the tree seemed a tad familiar, but standing in front of Xu Guolong, he was full of tension and fear. He couldn't remember who that person was.

"You have to admit that we already have some kind of special connection. That’s why I can trick you out with a single message. In the eyes of outsiders, I’m a murderer and a demon. Even the water I’ve drunk before would poison people... Haha, these are words from your novel. However, you dare to come to see me late at night because you know that I won’t hurt you. Loving you is like loving myself. Everything I do is for you... To tell you the truth, I plan to escape, but I have to conduct one important matter before I escape. This person, Lan Xiao, is the nightmare of your life. I want you to kill him yourself!"

"Lan... Lan Xiao?" Xin Bai looked at that face. After over 20 years and being imprisoned by Xu Guolong for a while, he was barely recognizable.

It was indeed Lan Xiao, the little bully who insulted and bullied him in a multitude of ways when he was a child, causing him to feel like he was thrown in a pan of hot oil every day he went to school. It always made him hide in his bed and cry. Lan Xiao was his childhood nightmare.

It was also this person who caused a life’s truth to be inscribed in his bones - Others are hell. It’s caused him to always have a deep-rooted fear of strangers.

This surge of thoughts flooded Xin Bai's chest, making him almost unable to breathe.

"I’ve already prepared everything. You just need to kick the rocks under his feet, then leave this place and go back to the house to sleep before the police find out. As for me, I’ll escape from Long'an. This murder will also fall on my head. When I get arrested one day, I’ll also tell the police that I was the one who did it. No one will think it was you. You don’t have to take any risks, but you can end your nightmare with your own hands. This is the parting gift I’ll give you. Do it!" Xu Guolong tempted him with a crazed smile.

Xin Bai, as if being nudged forward by ghosts, walked towards this "gift". Lan Xiao whimpered, twisting his body desperately with hot tears rolling out of his eyes.

When he was only one step away from Lan Xiao, Xin Bai stopped. "Why do you have to make me kill someone?"

Xu Guolong hugged him from behind, rubbed his face against his shoulder, and said affectionately, "It’s because the first time I saw your words, I seemed to be looking at myself. I shared a strong resonance with it. I couldn’t contain myself from loving you! However, you were just a little-known online writer. Only a few thousand or just over 10,000 readers knew your name at best. I couldn’t accept that. I want you to become the best suspense novelist in the world. What you need is an extraordinary experience. I tortured you and imprisoned you so that you could grow up. Ever since you 'appreciated' the process of my murders, your words have indeed been baptized,[2] but that isn’t enough. You have to kill someone to truly awaken and become a better version of yourself. Come on, my love!"

The man talked about this fanatically, blowing hot air at Xin Bai’s face, which only made him feel sick. However, he didn’t dare to resist him too blatantly, so he turned around to escape the sweaty hug.

"You’re wrong. Writing suspense novels doesnt require murder. Just like people who write fairy tales may not have been to a fantasy world. People who write romance novels may not have all fallen in love. The experience of being bullied when I was a child has already become my memory and is a part of me. That is a demon of my heart and the source of my inspiration. Creators are people who can only imagine if they aren’t satisfied in reality. Their status is humble and their souls are tall. This is what a writer is. I don’t need to do this kind of thing at all, and you don’t understand me at all!"

He said these words he’d kept in his heart all in one breath.

"Do as I say!!!" Xu Guolong roared with spit landing on Xin Bai's face. He shook Xin Bai's shoulders. "I did so much for you! Why don't you appreciate it? Which reader would love you like this? Tell me! Tell me!"

"Go to hell, you psycho!!!"

Xu Guolong's abdomen became cold. He looked down and stared. Xin Bai's trembling hand was slowly leaving a knife that had pierced his abdomen. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Compared to the physical pain, the pain in his heart was even more unbearable for him. His passion was regarded as trash, and the person he loved most hated him so much!

"Ahh!!!"

Xu Guolong yelled, and his shout alarmed the birds in the forest who flapped into the dark night sky.

Noticing that the situation wasn’t boding well, Xin Bai pushed him away and ran. Xu Guolong was dominated by adrenaline. He pulled out the small knife from his abdomen. Xin Bai, who had never killed anyone, didn't even stab the knife deep enough. He chased after Xin Bai, crazed, and soon after, Xin Bai's back was within reach.

With a cruel decision, he raised the knife. He wanted to kill Xin Bai, then light a fire to burn himself to death in a pile of fire. Their bodies would melt together and they would have to be buried together in the future. There will always be two people buried in Xin Bai's tomb forever, and they will always be together in death.

Xu Guolong slammed Xin Bai to the ground, gritted his teeth, and raised the knife. In his desperation, Xin Bai grabbed a stone and hit Xu Guolong in the face. Xu Guolong felt warm liquid flow down his forehead, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of pain.

Xin Bai continued struggling to escape. The two were fighting on the grass. Xu Guolong pounced again and held him down, like a lover’s wrestle. He held up the knife to stab Xin Bai's paling face.

At this time…

"Xu Guolong!"

Hearing the stern shout, he raised his head on reflex. Lin Dongxue stood a few meters away with a gun raised in her hands.

The situation was critical. Lin Dongxue didn't have much time to think, so she squeezed the trigger. Xu Guolong looked as though he was hit in the chest with a fist and his body fell backwards.

The bullet pierced his heart. He lay on the ground and kept vomiting blood. He watched Xin Bai crawl over to observe him. Xu Guolong acted as though he had something to say, but purposely made his words unclear. As expected, Xin Bai fell into his trap and leaned over to listen to his last words.

The knife in Xu Guolong's hand suddenly lifted. He was ready to die with Xin Bai. Chen Shi, who rushed over, called out, "careful" before pulling Xin Bai away.

With this failed attempt, it exhausted Xu Guolong's last ounce of strength. His eyes were open as he died, looking as though he was both lonely and unwilling to accept things as they were. Thus ended his sinful life...

1. Can also mean sudden murder.

2. His writing seems as though it’s had a rebirth. As in, it’s a lot better now.