Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 79: Shadow

That year, Han Shan was still far from the successful man he was today. On the contrary, he could even be considered a scourge of society. He followed behind a big brother to form a group and ran rampage around the street to demand money from innocent civilians.

They called themselves ’mafia’ but in fact they were just a group of thugs whose future was already one step inside the coffin.

Han Shan was 33 years old at that time. His family was poor and his temperament was especially bad under the pressure of society. He did not have any notable skill to speak of, nor could he land a job that could earn money. Simply put, he was a failure of a son. He could not even find a wife to give his parents a grandchild.

It was only when he saw those people kneeling under his feet, begging for mercy with tears and snots running down his face did he finally feel a tad better about himself. As it turned out, the sense of superiority could become addictive in the long run. It made Han Shan think that he could do this for the rest of his life. That he would become more and more powerful until he could finally stand at the top of the food chain.

The tyrannical reign of their ’mafia group’ continued to terrorize the street...

...until the real mafia came to pay them a visit.

Han Shan would never forget the day when he finally learned what ’a beast in human’s clothing’ meant, and that a true devil indeed existed in this world. Masked by a smile of cordiality and courteous words, yet carrying with him the air of death thick enough to suffocate.

The heavy stench of blood, despair and thick fumes assailed his nose as Han Shan lay trembling on the cold warehouse floor, his body spasming violently like a fish thrown out of water. He was in so much pain that he could not even make a sound. Blood was continuously flowing out of right hand which had been cut off, and Han Shan was gripping onto the stump flesh with his left hand, whimpering in extreme agony.

Clad in a pristine white suit with the jacket fluttering behind him, the devil bent down and picked up the severed right hand with elegant fingers covered in bloody gloves. His inky waist-length hair flowed elegantly down his shoulders following his movement.

Overwhelming fear filled Han Shan when the devil approached him and his mind screamed for him to run. Run... Run before the devil gets you!

Alas, he could do nothing but let out a high incoherent wail. His eyes were already blurred due to the excessive blood loss. Cold sweat covered his whole body and the distinct smell of urine wafted out of his pants.

He had been enjoying how the innocent civilians begged him for mercy, yet ironically it was finally his turn to do so. He struggled to get to his knees whilst kowtowing, again and again. "F–Forgive... Forgive me. I won’t do it again, I swear... I won’t do it again!!!"

Amidst the ruined warehouse lit in flames, the hill of fresh corpses who had died with their eyes open in terror, and the onslaught of scorching air that smelled of burnt flesh, the devil crouched down in front of him and smiled.

"Don’t be afraid," the deep and velvety voice was very pleasant to the ear, yet at that moment, Han Shan only thought that it had come from the depth of hell. "You won’t die. Well, at least I won’t kill you." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He let out a brief chuckle and waved the severed hand in front of Han Shan’s eyes. "This... will be a repayment for what you have done." Then he patted Han Shan’s cheek twice with that bloodied hand, his smile turning even more dazzling. "Don’t do bad deeds in the future again, okay? See, it’s very unpleasant when you’re in their position, isn’t it?"

Han Shan could do nothing but nod desperately. Even if the devil told him to cut off his own tongue, he would still do so!

"Good." Satisfied, the devil left as sudden as he had come. He kept his words and let Han Shan leave with a weak breath remaining in his body. Before then, he left two more sentences, "You will live to tell the tale. Remember... ’Shadow’ will always be watching you."

The roaring flames eventually burned the warehouse to crisp, along with tens of corpses who had died inside. Just like that, the mass murder was swept under the rug and the ’mafia group’ that had terrorized the street was gone in the span of one night.

Han Shan was utterly unaware of this, but a few gangster groups in the area had also disappeared on the very same day as if someone had done a massive clean up. Whether they were all dead like Han Shan’s brothers or quietly disappeared by themselves because they heard the news, nobody knew.

It took Han Shan two full months to recuperate in the hospital. During this timeline, he suddenly discovered a huge sum of money in his bank account along with a simple note — ’Hospital fee :)’

No further words needed for him to realize who had sent him the money. It was only a simple smile emoji, yet he felt as if he could sense the devil’s eyes staring at him through the screen. Shivers wrecked his whole body and he almost pissed his pants in fear. He was not even interested to find out how the devil knew his account number. He was only terrified to death!

The amount of money was not suitable to be called ’hospital fee’. It was more than enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. However... when he recalled the devil’s smile and how he told him not to do bad deeds anymore, Han Shan did not dare to rest.

Like a lazy ox that had been whipped, he spared half the money for his parents and half to open a small business. Even if he had nine lives, he still did not dare to do anything illegal for fear that the devil would show up in front of his door again!

He had no idea if it was his luck that had finally shown itself, his business surprisingly went well and he started to earn his first sum of money.

He worked tirelessly day and night as if he would die if he took a rest. He learned accounting, marketing and sales. He observed the trend of stocks and invested in a few potential places. With the aid of money given by the devil, he really washed his hands clean and started to live an honest and proper life. Just like that, Han Shan gradually emerged from his dark past and was reborn to become the man he was now.

It could be said that half of his success was attributed to the devil...

It was only after he made a name for himself in the upper society did Han Shan finally dare to probe around for the devil he had met that year. And then, he finally understood when the devil said — ’shadow’ will always be watching you. As it turned out, his nickname was really ’Shadow’ and everyone who knew him referred to him as Mr. Xiu[1].

Nobody knew his real identity just like how nobody could afford to go against him. He came and went like a shadow. You wouldn’t notice him, but he would always be following your tracks. Nobody could escape from ’Shadow’ and Han Shan was one of the lucky people who could live to tell the tale.

Yet now...

He had never thought that they would meet again!

Realizing that something was wrong with his boss, Manager Wu rushed forward to support his staggering body. "B–Boss, are you okay?!"

The boss, who had always been steady and composed, suddenly looked like he was going to faint straight away as soon as he looked at the surveillance screen. Manager Wu was confused and alarmed. Everyone in the monitor room was stupefied as well.

Han Shan gasped as he was jolted awake from the long passage of memory. He stared at the familiar face on the screen with rapt attention. That person had become more mature than the man he had met all those years ago, but there was no way Han Shan could be mistaken about it! This was indeed the ’Shadow’ — Mr. Xiu!

The fear came crawling back his spine and his left hand instinctively moved to grip his right wrist, feeling the cold metal of an artificial hand that was covered by the gloves. Clearly, more than a decade had already passed by, yet Han Shan felt as if he had just gone through everything all over again. He could still recall vividly the pain and despair surging in his chest as he watched the devil approach him with slow and steady steps.

Shuddering, his entire body broke out in cold sweat and he could not stop trembling like a sieve, even his teeth were chattering.

Han Shan suddenly recalled the order he had given his subordinate and turned to Manager Wu, his eyes bloodshot in horror as he roared. "Tell them to stop! Don’t investigate this person anymore!!"

Although confused, Manager Wu could only comply and make another call to the other party. This time, he decisively told them to stop their operation at once.

Only after hearing that did the tension in Han Shan’s body loosened a bit. Goodness, that was a close call... Mr. Xiu had never liked anyone investigating him. He almost brushed past death once again! Alas, before Han Shan could really take a breath of relief, he heard the voice of the Huo’s brat from the speaker, sounding very arrogant and haughty,

"I am talking to you, damn it! Why the fuck are you staring at me with that damn foolish smile on your face? Are you a fucking idiot?!"

Han Shan’s heart tightened and he almost spurted out a mouthful of blood. This brat...! He... How dare he!! Even if Han Shan were in his position right now, he still would not dare to speak to the devil with that kind of tone no matter how many lives he had!

Gasping, Han Shan grabbed Manager Wu’s arm in a tight grip as he choked out, his voice almost hysterical. "That... That Huo brat! Order the guards to stuff his mouth and force him to kneel down in front of Mr. Xiu! Even if he has to cut off his tongue, he has to get Mr. Xiu’s forgiveness!!"

If this act of his meant severing all connection with Master Huo, then so be it! He absolutely could not afford to offend the devil for the second time!

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[1] Xiū = can mean shadow, guard or shield.