by Lei Mi
Sun Pu's face suddenly twitched and he pulled the trigger.
Fang Mu instantly dove to the side. At nearly the same moment, he heard the gunshot. A bullet flew past his cheek and smashed into the door of Cell 8.
With no time to think, Fang Mu spun around and sprinted out of the room, pushed open the iron door, and burst into the corridor.
Another bullet cracked from the gun and whizzed into the door.
With his heart nearly bursting from his chest, Fang Mu ran down the corridor and ducked into Cell 5. Panting, he leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.
Hurried steps sounded from the corridor outside. Just as they passed the door to his cell, they stopped.
Holding his breath, Fang Mu listened closely.
Sun Pu stood there, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, he laughed. "You made me lose control, shidi." He paused. "Truly disgraceful, no? A shixiong should always be better at keeping his cool than his shidi."
Two gunshots rang out.
Fang Mu quickly calculated; at most Sun Pu had only five bullets left.
Sun Pu knew this, too. The darkness was the best cover he could hope for. Standing in the inky hallway, he didn't dare act rashly. Raising the gun, he listened for movement.
"Where are you, shidi?" he yelled. "Don't hide like a little rat!"
As the echo from his voice slowly vanished, Sun Pu held his breath and listened closely, but no sounds emerged from the darkness.
He laughed wickedly. "Speaking of rats," he said, cautiously stepping forward, "did you like the ones I left for you at Meng Fanzhe's house?"
Squinting, he took stock of his surroundings. "I was originally going to use them to help Meng Fanzhe overcome his fear; I never expected that I would actually end up using them on his mother. You are the reason she died, shidi." His tone brimmed with derision. "If you hadn't been speaking on the phone so loudly in the library hallway, you would have been able to find that letter and catch me a long time ago." He laughed. "Then Zhang Yao and Professor Qiao would still be alive, no?"
At once Fang Mu felt all the blood rush to his head. In that instant, he wanted more than anything to rush into the corridor and stab Sun Pu to death.
Seeming to hear Fang Mu's quickening breath, Sun Pu did his utmost to figure out what direction that minute sound was coming from.
"Angry? Then come out here. Let's see if you're able to avenge their deaths."
Hearing this actually made Fang Mu calm down. Forcing himself to breathe more slowly, he leaned against the wall and didn't move.
Sun Pu listened again. Unable to determine Fang Mu's position, he continued his taunting."Do you still remember Meng Fanzhe?" He feigned a sorrowful sigh. "What an unlucky kid. You know, I actually liked him a lot, and really did try to help him. It was such a shame that you and Tai Wei had to give me such a scare that night." He paused. "That's right, I have to admit it, you scared me. I was a little panicked, so what could I do but sacrifice the kid? But you have to acknowledge that it was an effective trick. Meng Fanzhe always was such an obedient kid." He chuckled. "Do you admire me, shidi?"
Fang Mu slowly crouched down and, very gently, felt around with his hand. He soon touched something that felt like the broken leg of a desk.
"When did you guess it was me?" Sun Pu asked, inching forward. "When I began teaching Professor Qiao's class?" He laughed easily. "I knew that was a bit of a risk, but the teacher's lectern is just too enticing for me. Can you understand that?" He took a few steps and stopped, then did so again, all the while paying close attention to the noises around him.
Fang Mu gently pulled on the desk leg. Realizing that it wasn't heavy at all, he quietly picked it up and then stepped cautiously to the cell entrance.
One, two, three...
Fang Mu suddenly burst out of the cell, hurling the desk leg in the direction of the iron door. He immediately slipped into Cell 6.
By the time Sun Pu heard the noise it was already too late. The desk leg smashed forcefully into his nose, the stunning pain making his vision swim. Protecting his face with one hand, he took a few steps back and fired two shots.
Those twin shots rang out.
In the light of the muzzle flash, Sun Pu discovered that the corridor was empty.
Shamed into anger, he rushed forward. Swiftly realizing this unwise, he hurriedly squatted down.
His nose burned and his eyes stung. Something hot was trickling out of his nostrils and down his face. When he wiped it away, his hand came away sticky and sickly sweet.
"Well done…" Sun Pu said, restraining his anger. He forced a smile. "You're cleverer than I thought, shidi." Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he continued. "You made me bleed, kid. Lucky for you I'm not Ma Kai, otherwise I'd suck all the blood out of your body!"
Startled, Fang Mu couldn't help but say, "Ma Kai?"
The sound gave away his position.
Realizing immediately that Fang Mu was up ahead in Cell 6, Sun Pu gripped his pistol and cautiously drew closer.
"Surprised? That's right; Ma Kai was once my patient, just like Meng Fanzhe. He was ripe for research, but sadly he didn't trust me and ran off after only a few sessions. Later," Sun Pu said, pressing himself against the wall and slowly feeling for the doorway, "when I heard someone was going around killing people and sucking their blood, I knew it had to be him. Do you know what a pleasant surprise that was? I thought that I had finally found an opportunity to prove myself again. I never expected that you would get there first…" He finally felt what seemed to be the doorway. He could faintly hear Fang Mu breathing rapidly inside.
He was on the other side of the wall, right beside the doorway.
"That should make you understand how much I hate you!" Sun Pu burst through the door and spun to the right. At the same instant he aimed and fired at the space just beside the doorway.
The gunshot echoed into the space ahead.
As the bullet flashed from the end of the gun, Sun Pu saw that the direction he had fired in was empty.
Before he could react, Fang Mu leapt from his crouched position at the foot of the wall. He smashed headlong into Sun Pu's chest.
Sun Pu squeezed the trigger and two more bullets burst from the end of the gun. He lost his balance, falling backwards to the floor.
The collision left Fang Mu dizzy as well. Feeling his legs go weak, he fell heavily to the floor.
Across from him, Sun Pu squeezed the trigger again, but the gun clicked emptily.
Relief flooded Fang Mu.
Now you've got no more bullets.
Holding his blade, Fang Mu slowly stood up, pulling out the lighter and flicking it on.
With a small whiff, a little flame appeared in his hand. Despite its size, it clearly illuminated their surroundings.
Sun Pu sat on the ground a few feet away. His face was shining with sweat and he was madly searching for something on his body.
Gripping the knife, Fang Mu walked closer and closer.
Sun Pu tried to scoot back, mumbling, "Don't…don't…"
Seeing the fear and despair in his eyes, Fang Mu felt a burst of retribution.
"Are you scared?" He slowed his steps. "Did the people you killed ever ask you for mercy? Did they?"
"I'm begging you…don't kill me…please…" Sun Pu's voice sounded like he was crying and his eyes seemed to fill with tears.
But in a flash, that penitent look was replaced with a cunning smirk. He suddenly stopped moving backwards. With one hand, he popped the empty magazine out of the gun and snapped another new clip in with the other.
Fang Mu froze. He had more bullets!
He instinctively hurled the lighter at Sun Pu and then turned and ran.
In the blink of an eye, Sun Pu had loaded the ammunition, cocked the gun, and fired two shots in Fang Mu's retreating direction.
Fang Mu felt the bullets whistle past him and slam against the iron bars of the cell across the hallway. Another shot roared from behind him and the bullet smashed i
nto the floor beside his foot.
Fang Mu sprinted to the iron door at the far entrance of the corridor and pushed it as hard as he could, but it wouldn't budge. He felt the door. An iron lock had been placed over the handle.
Behind him another gunshot cracked out. Another bullet struck the door beside him, sending up sparks.
Diving out of the way, Fang Mu scrambled into Cell 1. Having seen Fang Mu escape into Cell 1, Sun Pu slowly stood up and felt the floor around his feet until he found the lighter. He walked down the corridor.
When he reached the entrance to Cell 1, he flicked on the lighter.
One side of the room was stacked with old, broken-down desks and chairs. The other side was empty.
Sun Pu chuckled, unable to contain his satisfaction. "Tai Wei had an extra clip on him. You didn't know?"
Fang Mu was lying behind the desks and chairs, his heart filled with fear and hatred.
Damn, I was too careless.
"You want to try again, shidi?" Sun Pu asked, sounding as if he thought victory was already assured. "Will you still not admit that you've lost?"
Fang Mu's knife hand began to tremble. His opponent still had three bullets and he knew where Fang Mu was hiding. His death was just a matter of time.
Is this how it's going to end?
"Are you really going to be this stubborn?" Sun Pu sighed dramatically. "You're just like that old fool, you know that?"
Professor Qiao…
"Do what you have to do, using your own methods."
"That's right, I am like Professor Qiao," Fang Mu said, slowly and carefully climbing to his feet. He pressed himself against the wall in the narrow space between it and the desks. "But do you know what the difference is between us and you?"
"Oh?" Sun Pu sounded a little surprised. "What difference is that?"
"You really are an excellent psychological profiler," Fang Mu said, keeping an eye on the light in the doorway. "But you're soulless. Therefore you lack the sense of duty and respect that your profession demands. Everything you've done has been for yourself alone. We, on the other hand, are willing to sacrifice our own lives to protect those of others."
At that moment, Fang Mu finally understood why Professor Qiao had made no sound when he died in the flames.
Killing him had been Sun Pu's final attempt to send Fang Mu into a psychological breakdown. He knew that flames, the scent of burning flesh, and the anguished cries of pain would awaken Fang Mu's most devastating memories. But Professor Qiao knew this as well. Therefore, he had kept quiet, even as he was being burned alive, because he wanted to lessen the psychological impact on Fang Mu.
"Shut up! You're talking nonsense!" Sun Pu's voice trembled as he stepped inside the room.
Fang Mu carefully shifted his body.
"Do you know why Professor Qiao despised you and favored me?"
"You're just an idiotic bungler!" Sun Pu yelled, his voice a little hoarse from the strain. "I'm ten thousand times stronger than you, a million times!"
Fang Mu slowly slid toward the space between all the desks and chairs. Gradually he drew closer and closer to the doorway.
"In fact," Fang Mu said, "you're just an arrogant man who doesn't know a thing; a pitiful wretch whose only chance to save face was to torture a confession out of the wrong man!"
"Shut up!" It was the last wrong thing to say for Sun Pu, driving him past any logic. He charged wildly into the room, firing in Fang Mu's direction.
Fang Mu smashed his whole body against the enormous pile of desks and chairs, toppling them forward with a crashing roar. Standing beneath them, Sun Pu only had time to scream in surprise before they showered down on him.
Fang Mu also fell forward, landing on an upside down desk. Ignoring the sharp pain in his calf, he scrambled over to where Sun Pu had fallen.
Sun Pu had just thrown one of the desks off and was groping desperately for the fallen gun.
Fang Mu grabbed a chair and smashed it over Sun Pu's head.
The force of the blow broke the chair to pieces and opened a huge cut in Sun Pu's head. The gash immediately gushed blood.
Kneeling on Sun Pu's chest, Fang Mu brought his dagger to Sun Pu's throat with lightning speed. "Move again and I'll slice you open!"
Sun Pu opened his mouth, and then his head fell to the side and he lay still.
Picking up the pistol, Fang Mu looked at the suddenly comatose Sun Pu. He held the gun to his face.
Fang Mu's chest rapidly rose and fell and his teeth chattered as he struggled within himself, glaring down at the man responsible for so much death, his finger wanting to squeeze the trigger. After a few seconds, he slowly lowered the gun. He bent over, grabbed Sun Pu's collar, and with difficulty, dragged him out of Cell 1.
The way back felt unimaginably long. Now that he had lost consciousness, Sun Pu's body was incredibly heavy. By the time Fang Mu managed to drag him back into Cell 7, he was beyond exhausted.
Tai Wei hung limply from the cross, his eyes half-closed and his wrists bloody and torn. Hearing the sound of movement, he looked up. When he saw Fang Mu walk into the room, covered in filth and dragging the blood-covered Sun Pu behind him, his face registered first surprise and then absolute triumph. With newfound strength, he bellowed something and struggled against his shackles.
After dragging and dropping Sun Pu to the middle of the room, Fang Mu stood upright and panted for breath. He walked over and ripped the tape from Tai Wei's mouth.
Ignoring the pain caused by the tape tearing from his lips, Tai Wei immediately asked, "What happened? Is he dead?"
"Not yet," said Fang Mu weakly. He knelt and used his knife to cut the rope around Tai Wei's feet. When he was done, he forced himself to stand up and looked at Tai Wei's chained, bloody wrists. "Where's the key?"
"It's probably on his body. Go and check."
Fang Mu nodded and walked shakily over to Sun Pu. Kneeling beside him, he went through his pockets.
He could feel that the key was inside the breast pocket of Sun Pu's jacket, but the zipper was broken from the fight and wouldn't budge. Pulling out his knife, Fang Mu prepared to cut it open.
Suddenly, the motionless Sun Pu began to laugh.
Startled, Fang Mu leapt to his feet, grabbed the pistol and aimed it at him.
His face covered in blood and filth, Sun Pu opened his swollen eyes a crack and looked at Fang Mu and Tai Wei. The more he laughed, the more pleased with himself he seemed to become.
The sound of his hoarse laughter reverberated in the empty room, growing so loud that it was impossible to endure.
"Stop laughing!" Fang Mu's hands shook slightly as he held the pistol. He felt like Sun Pu's laughter was beating against his own heart. "I'm telling you – stop laughing!"
"You…you really think you've beaten me?" Sun Pu said, coughing as he laughed.
"Pah!" Tai Wei spat on the floor, looking as if there was nothing he wanted to do more than rush over and kick Sun Pu in the face. "You still won't admit it's over? The only thing left for you is to wait for your own execution!"
"My execution?" Sun Pu suddenly stopped laughing and made a strange face. "I've got a mental disorder! I'm a madman! You really think they're gonna execute me?"
Fang Mu's heart fell. No one knew the finer points of mental illness better than Sun Pu. If he really did try to play mad, he just might be able to get away with it.
Fang Mu turned and looked at Tai Wei. He was also staring dumbstruck at Sun Pu, as if he had never expected the guy would try to play this card.
"Stop dreaming!" yelled Tai Wei. "You think the medical experts at the courthouse are all idiots?" His voice was firm, but it was obvious that he lacked confidence in the words.
Ignoring him, Sun Pu prattled on to himself, sounding just like a madman. "After receiving unjust treatment and with no way to shake his despondent mood, a sensitive criminologist finally lost his mind and made a big mistake. Ha!" An exuberant look on his face, he continued. "Well, you two, what do you think?"
/> His face pale, Fang Mu stared at Sun Pu.
"You're both welcome to come visit me at the mental institution," Sun Pu said, sounding just as insane. "I'll buy you something to eat! What would you like? How about barbecue? What do you say, shidi?" Propping his head up with his arm, he gave Fang Mu a big smile. "Barbecue, mm..." He chuckled. "I just love that smell…"
With a roar, Fang Mu dove on Sun Pu and pinned him to the floor.
Tossing the knife aside, he clamped his hand over Sun Pu's mouth and pressed the barrel of the gun against his forehead.
Tears fell from Fang Mu's eyes as his whole body trembled with rage.
Jin Qiao, curled up inside the packing box…
Meng Fanzhe, with no hope of being saved…
Professor Qiao, dying in silence…
You can't let him get away…
You can't!
Fang Mu cocked the pistol. This action seemed to excite Sun Pu and he began to yell, his words muffled behind Fang Mu's hand.
"Do it…. Come on… Kill me…"
The muscles in Fang Mu's face twitched as he stared at Sun Pu. The look in the guy's eyes seemed to be taunting him on… It would be so easy...
Just one light pull of the trigger…
And this demon would be sent straight to hell…
"Don't shoot, Fang Mu!" Tai Wei shouted. "That's what he wants you to do! Don't fall for it!"
Fang Mu's body shook. He placed his finger firmly against the trigger.
A shot rang out.
And then another.
Tai Wei sadly looked away. It was over. Fang Mu had gotten his payback. But the price was too high. Suddenly he heard a sharp sound. A moment later something seemed to roll beneath his feet.
He looked down. It was a spent bullet shell.
He quickly looked up.
Sun Pu's head was still whole. His eyes were tightly shut and he seemed to be holding his breath, his face red from the effort.
Less than two inches above the top of his head, two shallow holes had been chipped into the cement.
Fang Mu was still in the same position, his arms outstretched and holding the gun. Smoke rose from the barrel. The clip was empty.
