What? I bypassed the woman and walked into the room. It was dim inside, so I had to raise my flashlight and shine it forward. It was better not to shine it, but when I did, I found the old man lying powerlessly on the ground. Countless calligraphy sheets were covering him, and he was still tightly holding a brush in his hand.
His face was down, and there seemed to be a blunt trauma indentation on the back of his head. The ground was covered in blood, which had stained his artworks.
I observed the walls and noticed that the calligraphy sheets should have been pasted there, but now they were all scattered haphazardly over the old man.
The scene was as if the old man had died under the cover of his own works. I squatted beside him, about to take out my phone, when Tang Lao Jiu quickly pulled me from behind: "Are you crazy, milk dog? Do you want to call the police?"
I put on a show of nonchalance: "Of course. Someone's dead, how can we not call the police?"
"Have you forgotten what we do? Calling the police is like digging our own graves!" Tang Lao Jiu said angrily. I suddenly stood up, grabbed his collar, and cursed, "Tang Lao Jiu! Tell me, what do we do now? Are we going to bury the body ourselves? The police will definitely find out, and then what? We were just doing small tasks for the boss. Murder was his idea. If we bury the body and it's discovered, the police will investigate us, and the entire Black Night Forest will be exposed!"
"But if the police come and investigate now, we'll still be discovered!"
"In any case, the body cannot be moved. I'll stay at the scene to protect it. You guys help me!" Of course, I wanted to buy time, as reinforcements would arrive soon, and they would all be captured.
However, I was very curious. How did the old man die?
Comparing his height and weight to the woman from earlier, it was unlikely that the woman could have used a blunt object against him. There was no murder weapon found here. I stood up and observed the window, finding that it had been forcibly pried open. There were footprints on the windowsill.
The killer must have escaped through here. Judging by the size of the footprints, it belonged to a male about 1.8 meters tall and weighing 120 jin. This old fellow had harmed so many people; it was highly probable that it was revenge from an enemy. But this killer was very skilled. He managed to find this place. Theoretically, even the police didn't know that the boss of the Black Night Forest was this old man. So how did this person know?
As I thought, I didn't take out rubber gloves, as doing so would easily expose me. I didn't dare to voice my thoughts, only thinking in my mind.
At this moment, Da Hong, for some unknown reason, suddenly grabbed my arm. I quickly turned to curse, "What are you doing?"
"I am Da Hong!" Da Hong's face was very strange. Tang Lao Jiu also looked confused: "What's wrong, Da Hong?"
"I am Da Hong!" Although this guy could only say this one sentence, his facial expression conveyed a lot.
"Da Hong, you mean this guy is a traitor!" Tang Lao Jiu stared at me vigilantly.
"I am Da Hong!" Da Hong replied again, nodding vigorously.
"You scoundrel! Milk dog, are you working for the police?"
"I'm not! Don't listen to this idiot. How could I be a traitor!"
"Bullshit! No wonder the bomb was discovered by the police last time before it even exploded. You really are an undercover agent!" Tang Lao Jiu drew a gun from his clothes and pressed it firmly against my forehead!
"Old Tang, calm down. I'm really not an undercover agent!"
Although I was a little scared, I tried to remain calm. At this moment, I couldn't panic, or the other party would become even more suspicious of my identity.
"Hmph! You are an undercover agent!" Tang Lao Jiu cocked the safety of the gun with a click, his index finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. My throat tightened to the breaking point. Not to mention I didn't have a gun now, even if I did, it would be too late to retaliate.
"No! Old Tang, I really am..."
Before I could finish, Old San rushed in: "Tang Lao Jiu, what are you doing? Ah! Boss! What happened here?"
"You still have the nerve to ask, this is all your doing. Now that the boss is gone, I'm in charge. If you dare to disobey me, I'll kill you all! Da Hong, grab Old San!"
"I am Da Hong!" As soon as this guy heard the order, he immediately pounced on Old San like a hungry, ferocious tiger. Old San quickly retreated a few steps and swept his leg. Da Hong twisted his hands and flipped Old San to the ground!
Old San struggled a few times but was knocked down by Da Hong's punch. His mouth was bleeding. The difference in strength between them was too great; he was no match. At this moment, I suddenly exerted force, fiercely twisted Tang Lao Jiu's arm, and slapped him. With a crack, the guy hurt so much that he quickly covered his face. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I snatched his gun and pointed it at his head!
Tang Lao Jiu never imagined that I could be so fast. He stood against the wall, stunned, and didn't dare to speak.
"Tang Lao Jiu, you were right. I am indeed working for the police!"
Just as I was about to arrest him, Da Hong roared, like a charging bull, and tore open a nearby table with reckless abandon, leaping at me fiercely!
This guy's strength reminded me of the beastly Xu Zhu. As soon as he attacked, I quickly grabbed Tang Lao Jiu's shoulder, pushed him forward, and kept the gun pointed at his right temple: "Try to take one more step!"
Da Hong braked sharply, smashing into a coffee table. The coffee table shattered powerlessly upon impact. That thing was made of granite!
I gulped heavily. This Da Hong, had he practiced some kind of impenetrable body technique? Stones were broken like this, and if it were another person, wouldn't they be ground into a pulp?
"I am Da Hong!" Da Hong glared at me fiercely, his eyes bloodshot, his muscles tensed. Those two pectoral muscles could easily crush me.
Feeling the absolute disparity in strength, even with a gun in my hand, an immense sense of dread washed over me.
"I am Da Hong!" Da Hong advanced step by step, completely fearless of the gun in my hand. I immediately retorted, "If you take one more step, I'll shoot Old Tang dead!"
"I am Da Hong!" He knocked over the chairs in his path with one hand, approaching without the slightest hesitation. Although he kept repeating that one sentence, I understood much of its meaning: "If he dies, you're next!"
At this very moment, Da Hong had reached me. He shoved Tang Lao Jiu aside with one hand, and at the same time, a swift, powerful punch aimed directly at my face!