Xu Zhengqing's words hung in the air like a dark omen. Seemingly unmoved by the fact that Wenjie had let the smartphone disappear under the seat and that he was on Captain Luo's most wanted list, he reached into the side compartment on the driver's door. 

Wenjie saw him pull out a small bottle and a cloth. He didn't have much time if he wanted to give Captain Luo another clue. He couldn't get out of the car and it was obvious that Mister Xu wanted to drug him with chloroform. After all, what else was he supposed to drip on the cloth? 

Wenjie didn't know where they were and couldn't give any information about the license plate of the truck, but there was something else Captain Luo should know. 

"The police will catch you and Dai ..."

"Enough talk," Xu Zhenqing interrupted him, turning aside. Before Wenjie could have done anything, he ran his right hand across Wenjie's chest and grabbed the latter's right arm, robbing him of any room to move. In his left hand, he held the cloth, which he pressed into his face quickly. 

Wenjie tried to dodge the cloth and complete his sentence. But Xu Zhengqing pressed the cloth on his mouth so tightly that only a muffled sound passed his lips. Not long after, the world lost consciousness. 

When he woke up again, it was dark around him. He felt a hard surface and heard the sound of an engine. Something was stuck over his mouth. It created a firm pressure and smelled like glue. The same sticky material surrounded his hands and feet. Instinctively, he tried to move his fingers, to no avail. Panic sprouted when he failed to free himself. He tried to turn. In vain. The dark space was too narrow. 

Wenjie closed his eyes and breathed deeply. If he wanted to get out of this again, he should not panic. He had to calm himself down.

Suddenly, the car made a sharp turn and stopped abruptly. Wenjie listened to the sounds. A door was opened. Then he heard Mister Xu speaking, but the trunk muffled the sound and so he didn't understand what was being spoken. Shortly after, the trunk was opened. 

"Had a good nap?" Xu Zhengqing laughed spitefully. "I'm sorry you have to lie so uncomfortably. Our journey will take a while." Without warning, he grabbed him and lifted him out of the trunk. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Wenjie spotted another vehicle on the opposite side of the road, a black minivan. The windows at the back seats were completely opaque. The back door was open. 

Xu Zhengqing took him there, allowing Wenjie to catch a brief glimpse of the license plate. But he didn't have much time to memorize it. By then, his abductor had already brought him inside. The third row of back seats had been partially removed. Wenjie felt the hard surface of the car's floor underneath him while facing the left seat. 

Behind him, Xu Zhengqing climbed into the car. The doors slammed shut with a thud. Then the man climbed past him to the seat, where he made himself comfortable. Wenjie, meanwhile, was desperately trying to get rid of the tape that closed around his hands like a tight-fitting glove.

"Save your strength. You're going to need it. I have a lot planned for you." Xu Zhengqing leaned to the side and caressed his cheek.

Wenjie slid away from him until he bumped into the inside wall of the car. He heard noises coming from the front of the vehicle. He could not see the driver from his position. But he didn't need to do so to hear the engine start. A jolt went through the car, causing Wenjie to slide back a bit and bump his toes against the back door, which Xu Zhengqing had locked before. So he didn't even put effort to push it open, especially since that endeavor would be pretty life-threatening in a moving vehicle. 

"Our trail ends here." Mister Xu grabbed his arm and pulled him forward again. This time he held him tightly so he couldn't roll around as much. "Get used to my company. The police can't catch up with us. By the time they find the other car, we'll be in a safe place."

Wenjie swallowed. The air suddenly seemed incredibly thin to him. Breathing deeply through his nose, he still felt like he wasn't getting enough oxygen. If it weren't for that damn duct tape, he could have breathed through his mouth. 

Xu Zhengqing must have noticed that he was having trouble breathing, so he bent to the side again and tore the tape from Wenjie’s mouth with his other hand. 

Wenjie gasped for air. Tears came to his eyes, but he managed to regain his composure relatively quickly. 

Xu Zhengqing let go of him and straightened up again. For a moment, he regarded him from the side without saying a word. 

"You deserve answers," he finally said. "You shall have them. We have plenty of time for that now."

Wenjie was silent. He didn't know if he wanted to listen to Mister Xu's stories. As bitter as this realization tasted, it was clear that Xu Zhengqing could ultimately tell him anything, and always spin the past to suit him. However, apart from Ding Shenghuo, he was probably the only one who knew firsthand about his father's accident. 

"What I told you about your family was not a lie," Xu Zhengqing mentioned the topic that had driven Wenjie into his hands in the first place. "I just left out some important details." Relaxing, he leaned back in his chair. His gaze wandered over the body of the young man beside him as he did so.

"So it was you? You coerced my father to steal Luoshen. You instructed Ding Shenghuo to kill my mother. You provoked the accident. All because of a painting?" Wenjie's voice quivered. 

Xu Zhengqing grabbed Wenjie's necklace and pulled it over his head. Then he dangled the pendant in front of the student's face. "Your mother died because your father was unreasonable. I only took advantage of her illness to create a dangerous situation for her. She could have survived."

Wenjie stared at him in shock. "Then it wasn't Ding Shenghuo? You killed her?" The realization ripped the ground from under his feet. If he wasn't already lying down, his legs would have given way.

"In a way, yes," Xu Zhengqing countered. "I gave Ding Shenghuo the cloth he used to gag her. But before that, I soaked it with beta-blockers, triggering a life-threatening asthma attack."

Wenjie breathed hastily. The world before his eyes began to spin. "You..." He could no longer bring himself to utter a proper sentence. And that was probably what Xu Zhengqing had intended. He had to calm down.

"Their deaths could have been avoided. He should have just played along." Mister Xu's lips formed an almost wistful smile as he pocketed the necklace. "To the very end, he tried to double-cross me. So I tampered with his car and caused an accident." 

Wenjie trembled in despair. If his hands were free, he would have tried to get his necklace back. But it was all in vain and Mister Xu kept having the upper hand. 

Again Xu Zhengqing reached out his hand to Wenjie. Almost gently, he touched his shoulder. "It's tragic that it had to end this way." He sighed deeply. "You reminded me more than once of the time when your father and I were still friends, before your grandfather's death and before you were born." Wistfulness resonated in his tone as if he truly regretted how everything had ended. 

But from one second to the next, his features hardened. "Before his death, Zhuang Heting called your father to confide the secret of Luoshen to him. After the conversation, your father trampled on our friendship. I hated him for that." 

Wenjie winced slightly. The words came crashing down on him like blows. A thick lump stuck in his throat and he found himself unable to say anything back. 

"One last favor," Xu Zhengqing continued. "Then I would have left him alone. But Yaobai refused. Only your mother's death brought him to his senses." His gaze bored deeply into that of his hostage. 

Wenjie gathered his strength to withstand the mental pressure. "I understand. You don't have to remind me of the means you resort to when things don't go your way. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Xu Zhengqing patted him on the shoulder and then leaned back in his chair. "You're a smart boy, a little more insightful than your father. What I want from you, I will explain to you when we reach our destination. If you had given it to me willingly, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Wenjie felt a chill run down his spine. His instinct told him that Xu Zhengqing was not referring to the secret of the painting, but to something else, something unspoken that filled the space between them.

to be continued...