Chapter One Hundred and Three: They Frightened Me with a Snake

Li Changqing and Liang Daoyi hailed a taxi and headed for the Lin River.

The river ran long and cut cleanly through all of South Lin City. On the way, the other side called again and arranged to meet at the Upper Riverbank.

The Upper Riverbank was the finest place to admire the scenery along the Lin River. After commercial development, it had open-air cafes, restaurants, fishing clubs, and more.

It happened to be noon. A languid sun spilled over the riverbank, while citizens with leisure time wandered about with their children, running freely across the lawns.

Others sat in restaurants eating fish freshly hauled from the river.

Li Changqing brought Liang Daoyi to an open-air cafe and ordered two coffees.

"Detective Li, they are dangerous. Shouldn't we call the police first?"

Liang Daoyi was tense all over. He looked at the surroundings; with so many people here, Li Changqing probably would not dare to hold him down by force.

He hesitated inwardly. Should he run?

"Mr. Liang, you'd better not try to escape recklessly. Someone is protecting us from the shadows," Li Changqing said, lifting the steaming coffee for a sip. "You can't even be sure those monsters have already set their eyes on us. If you run, wouldn't that make things more dangerous?"

"On the other hand, there are plenty of people here. Those monsters wouldn't dare strike in broad daylight."

A bitter smile touched Liang Daoyi's face. He lowered his head and drank his coffee in silence, saying nothing more.

Li Changqing understood all too well Liang Daoyi's urge to flee. If he were in Liang Daoyi's place, he would also think of every possible way to escape.

Different positions bred different thoughts.

Of course.

Understanding was one thing. Letting the man go was out of the question.

Sipping his coffee, he also spotted Bai Chuan about two hundred meters from the cafe, dressed in a black hoodie and seated after ordering food.

Seeing Bai Chuan there eased his mind somewhat.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses walked over slowly. When he passed by Li Changqing and Liang Daoyi, he said in a low voice, "Come with me."

With that, he strode off ahead.

Li Changqing fixed his gaze on the man's back, his brows drawing tightly together. He reached out, seized Liang Daoyi, and followed after him.

Liang Daoyi's legs were trembling.

In a hushed voice, he asked Li Changqing once again, "Detective Li, can you really protect me?"

"Don't worry." Li Changqing smiled at him.

They went up a flight of steps. By the roadside was a black business van. The middle-aged man opened the door and pointed inside. "Please."

"I won't get in. I won't get in!"

Seeing this, Liang Daoyi hurriedly shook his head and turned to run. But the middle-aged man seemed to have anticipated it; in an instant he stepped forward, covered Liang Daoyi's mouth, and forcibly dragged him into the vehicle.

"Detective Li, please."

The middle-aged man leaned out and motioned for Li Changqing to get in.

Li Changqing hesitated, then said, "You've already caught the person you wanted. You can let Xiaoyu go now, can't you?"

"No rush. That female ghost isn't in my hands. You'll need to come with me first."

There was a catch.

Li Changqing narrowed his eyes. Truly, the old saying was right: trusting a monster was as likely as seeing a sow climb a tree.

If this monster truly cared about keeping faith, then once Liang Daoyi had been captured, Tang Xiaoyu would have been released at the same time.

Now it still wanted him to follow along. Could it be hoping to treat him to a hot pot meal and thank him for his trouble?

Still, that was only natural. If the information Liang Daoyi held was already known to him as well, then capturing Liang Daoyi alone was meaningless.

Li Changqing would have to be dealt with too.

He no longer hesitated and got into the van.

Tang Xiaoyu was still in their hands; he had no way to refuse.

Inside the van, the seating was arranged in a two-two-two layout. At that moment, Liang Daoyi's hands were already bound behind his back, and his mouth was wrapped with tape.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Liang Daoyi looked at Li Changqing with despair in his eyes.

Li Changqing sat down calmly.

The vehicle slowly pulled away.

There were only two "people" on board.

One was the driver in front, and the other was the middle-aged man who had brought him there.

"Detective Li really is a man of his word," the middle-aged man in sunglasses said, sounding quite pleased.

"Where are you taking us?" Li Changqing asked, looking out the window. It seemed they were heading out of the city.

"You'll know when we get there."

The van soon reached the outskirts and slowly drove into a newspaper printing plant. It was the printing facility of the New South Newspaper.

When the van stopped at the gate, the guards did not even ask questions and opened the door directly.

"This is the New South Newspaper's place, isn't it?" Li Changqing asked as they entered and saw the sign outside.

The plant was very quiet. It happened to be a rest day.

At the rear of the plant were several small utility rooms, all low, connected rows of single-story buildings.

Once the vehicle came to a steady stop, the middle-aged man and the driver opened the doors and took Liang Daoyi out.

They were about to drag him away.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Liang Daoyi looked desperately toward Li Changqing, clearly pleading for help.

Li Changqing grabbed Liang Daoyi's wrist and said in a deep voice, "Sir, I haven't even seen Xiaoyu yet. Isn't it inappropriate for you to take Mr. Liang away like this?"

"Inappropriate?"

The middle-aged man turned back and gave Li Changqing a cold look, then pointed at one of the utility rooms. "She's in there."

Inside the gloomy room, Tang Xiaoyu sat on the floor, her face deathly pale. She did not even know how she had gotten there.

The terrifying snakes lunged at her again every time she woke. Clearly they could not actually hurt her, yet she was frightened unconscious over and over again.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and sunlight from outside poured in.

"I'm fighting you to the death!"

Tang Xiaoyu shouted angrily. The moment she sprang to her feet, she saw that the person standing in the doorway was Li Changqing.

"Li Changqing."

The instant she realized it was him, Tang Xiaoyu could no longer hold back her tears. She rushed forward and clung to him tightly. "They scared me unconscious so many times. They knew I was terrified of snakes, so they used them to scare me."

"Why are you only here now?"

Seeing Tang Xiaoyu's haggard appearance, and the venomous snakes in the room hissing with glinting eyes, Li Changqing felt a stab of pain for her.

He knew her too well. This girl did not even dare walk a night road under ordinary circumstances.

To put such a timid soul in a room full of venomous snakes—who knew how much terror she had endured.

"So long as you're all right."

Seeing that she had merely been frightened badly and was not actually injured, Li Changqing finally let out a breath of relief.

At the same time, a nameless fury began to rise within him.

"Who was it that threw the snakes in to scare you?"

Li Changqing looked back.

The middle-aged man and the driver were standing not far away, watching the two of them with great interest.

"A tragic romance?" the middle-aged man said with a chuckle. He removed his sunglasses and added, "Looks like we'll have to settle them first."

Li Changqing clenched his fists and glanced around, not knowing how much longer Bai Chuan would take to arrive.

Purple, eerie light bloomed in the middle-aged man's snake-like pupils, while a black demonic aura slowly seeped out from within him.

The black aura gathered behind him and gradually formed into a giant python. An inexplicable, oppressive force began to emanate from his body.