Insights Chapter 105: Demon Slayer

Chapter 105: Demon Slayer

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Night, the eastern part of Penang City. The sky tonight was bright with moonlight, and stars were sparse. It’s been over an hour since the incident occurred. Gu Yanchen didn’t care about his own injuries and went straight to the City Bureau to take charge.

Upon receiving the news of Han Qingyi’s death and Shen Junci’s kidnapping, Director Ding took direct command and began discussing countermeasures. The police confirmed that He Wenlin was the Dream Master, retrieved all his information, and issued a comprehensive wanted notice. The investigation proceeded at an unprecedented speed.

The Sky Net system was activated, searching for He Wenlin’s vehicles. The police identified all properties under his name in Penang and quickly pinpointed this particular building. Drones took flight, hovering in the night sky of the city. Several police cars set off towards the scene, with Gu Yanchen in one of them. He frowned as he examined the information provided by Bai Meng.

He Wenlin’s information largely matched the description he had given Shen Junci in the afternoon, except he was younger than expected. Gu Yanchen’s gaze stopped at the date of birth, and he suddenly paused.

September 25th…He Wenlin’s birthday was the same as his. Even more coincidentally, they were born in the same year. They were born on the same day of the same month and the same year.

As Gu Yanchen continued reading, he learned that He Wenlin had a younger sister who died when he was thirteen. He graduated from college and worked for over a year before getting into a car accident on Christmas…

As he was about to read further, Lu Ying interrupted, “We’ve arrived.”

Inside a dimly lit building, only one window was illuminated. He Wenlin didn’t bother hiding his whereabouts.

The officers ahead had gone to scout the area. A message came over the radio, “Captain Gu, the door downstairs is locked. It will take some time to break through.”

Gu Yanchen got out of the car. He looked up at the illuminated window, then turned to observe the surrounding environment, “Prepare for sniping on the rooftop of the building to the left.”

Gu Yanchen and the SWAT sniper team went upstairs together. Double sniping was like having double insurance for the operation. Only if the main sniper made a mistake would the backup shooter fire. With injuries on his body, Gu Yanchen needed to use the surrounding environment to improve his sniper accuracy. He chose a stable prone position, placed the gun on the ground, and lay down on the rough rooftop.

A tearing pain came from his wound, but Gu Yanchen paid no attention. His expression was serious as he looked through the sniper scope, observing the situation inside the room.

Shen Junci was still alive, with bloodstains on his clothes. Gu Yanchen took a deep breath, calming himself down. He waited for his heartbeat to steady before looking through the scope again. He Wenlin was holding Shen Junci in front of the window, a knife at Shen Junci’s throat. With a downward stroke, he could sever Shen Junci’s throat in seconds.

Their position made it difficult to shoot; He Wenlin was completely hidden behind Shen Junci.

The backup shooter was also aiming, “Captain Gu, the window is small, it’s easy to accidentally hit the hostage.”

Gu Yanchen said, “Wait!”

This was tempered glass; once shot, it might shatter. They only had one chance. Gu Yanchen stared intently at the situation indoors. His index finger slowly rested on the trigger. He silently prayed in his heart. Shen Junci, don’t get hurt.

At that moment, the situation changed…

A few seconds ago, inside the room, He Wenlin had already pulled Shen Junci up, the knife in his hand pressed against Shen Junci’s neck. Shen Junci could feel the cold blade against his skin. He pretended to be weak, leaning on He Wenlin. Despite his appearance, Shen Junci’s gaze remained calm. He lowered his head and saw several police cars parked downstairs. Then, he noticed snipers hiding on the opposite platform.

Gu Yanchen must be there.

With this thought in mind, Shen Junci felt fearless.

“It seems the audience has arrived. Let’s enjoy the show,” He Wenlin smiled, the knife in his hand grazing Shen Junci’s neck… He imagined the splatter of blood, Shen Junci coughing up blood and collapsing, and Gu Yanchen holding Shen Junci’s corpse, crying bitterly.

Just imagining it filled him with excitement. But what he imagined didn’t happen. In that instant, Shen Junci struggled desperately, the ropes broke, and he finally freed himself. Seizing the moment before He Wenlin could react, Shen Junci grabbed He Wenlin’s arm and bit down fiercely on the hand holding the knife. He Wenlin didn’t expect Shen Junci to break free. His hand was bitten, causing him to scream in pain.

They struggled for control of the knife. Shen Junci didn’t hesitate to let go of the fight, suddenly ducking to avoid He Wenlin. In that moment, a bullet shot from the opposite building, shattering the glass with a bang. The bullet pierced through the tempered glass, causing it to shatter into snowflakes, obscuring the view from outside.

It took He Wenlin a moment to realize that his arm had been shot. Blood gushed out, and the knife fell to the ground. Shen Junci picked up the knife and swiftly attacked He Wenlin from behind. With force and determination, he stabbed the knife into He Wenlin’s neck.

It all happened in an instant.

Turning the tables, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat!

Shen Junci had performed thousands of neck dissections, choosing his target with extreme precision. The spot avoided major blood vessels and nerves, bypassed the esophagus and trachea, almost piercing through his entire neck. It would only cause pain, not death.

He Wenlin stared at Shen Junci in disbelief. Then, he screamed. He saw blood, but it was his own. Injured, He Wenlin staggered back, fell to the ground, clutching his neck, blood oozing through his fingers.

Shen Junci breathed heavily. “This is the result I chose, the fourth possibility. I will be safe, and you will go to prison, facing punishment.”

He stared into He Wenlin’s eyes. Blood stained Shen Junci’s lips, his expression fierce. He Wenlin glared at him resentfully. Shen Junci crouched down, slowly pulling the knife from He Welin’s neck, ensuring he was conscious enough to hear every word.

“Some people, when evil themselves, wish everyone else to be worse than them; some people, in their own misfortune, hope for the happiness of all. That’s the difference between people. All your crimes are of your own making! Even if our experiences are similar, you will never be Gu Yanchen, and Gu Yanchen will never be you.”

After speaking, Shen Junci stood up and opened the door for the approaching police. As the police rushed in, the pain from his wounds felt like tearing him apart.

In a daze, He Wenlin seemed to return to his nightmare, but this time, it was different. The illusions shattered by the medical examiner’s blade, the demons dispelled, piece by piece. The dream became clear. He finally turned around and saw all the truths.

…

The afternoon sun cast its light on the lawn, while the other kids were playing in the distance, their laughter echoing. He grabbed his sister’s kite for a moment, then it suddenly got caught in a tree. Feeling a bit regretful and superstitious, he said to his sister behind him, “If anyone asks, just say you accidentally got it stuck there.”

His sister cried, “Brother… Can you help me get the kite down? It’s too high for me to reach.”

He looked up at the tree, feeling apprehensive. “Forget it. Let Dad buy you a new one.”

“But I really like this kite,” the child kept crying, refusing to give up.

He felt annoyed by her crying and walked away, “I still have homework to do. I won’t play with you. Figure it out yourself.”

After a while, he hadn’t finished a single question when he glanced up and saw the child seemingly climbing a tree. Ignoring her, he continued to focus on his work. Suddenly, he heard someone screaming. His sister had fallen from the tree. Adults noticed something was wrong. Someone called for emergency help, while others went to find his parents. He pushed through the crowd to look down at the ground. His sister’s eyes were still open, but there was a gaping wound on her head, blood still flowing.

…

In an instant, he felt like he was back at the scene of a car accident. He woke up from unconsciousness, everything before him was red, hazy. Then, he looked at his girlfriend beside him. Her once beautiful face was now marred with scars, disfigured.

The woman reached out, calling his name, “Wenlin, my leg is broken. What should I do… I’m in so much pain, help me… I’m trapped, I’m so scared.”

The sky was dark, the vehicles were completely deformed, emitting white smoke. All around were people crying, screaming. He trembled as he crawled out of the car, sitting on the ground, his eyes fixed on his girlfriend as if she were some hideous monster. The driver was dead, why wasn’t she?

He dared not touch her, trembling, he said, “I’ll go find help for you…”

In that moment of turning away… He remembered their past promises, their vows of love. If he abandoned her now, he would face condemnation from everyone. He was a lawyer; such public opinion would affect his career. Was he to spend the rest of his life with a disabled, disfigured freak? Why hadn’t she died? It would be better if she had.

Those thoughts echoed in his mind.

The scene was chaotic, no one noticed him. He went to the back of the car, took out a lighter, hands trembling, he flicked it twice before it ignited. The oil spread on the ground caught fire, flames rising, spreading. Then he went to the side of the car, watching the woman and the flames. The woman didn’t know he had started the fire.

She screamed, reaching out toward him with bloody hands, “Help me, save me…”

He stared blankly at it all. Others noticed the fire and quickly grabbed the car’s fire extinguisher to put out the flames. But it was too late.

…

Long-standing insomnia, self-numbing, he had forgotten these things. Or perhaps he had been deceiving himself, refusing to face the truth. Now he remembered. Tears welled up in his eyes. Turns out, his nightmares had always been of his own making. That hell was his own cage. His father, his girlfriend’s parents, those people were right; he was a hideous, despicable murderer. He shouldn’t exist in this world. But no one discovered the crimes he had committed, no law could execute him.

He had killed more than just Han Qingyi. He had killed many people, but no one knew, the police hadn’t found out. Every time, he smiled at others, and they all said he was a compassionate good person. Every time, dressed in a suit and standing in the position of a lawyer, eloquently defending others, everyone said he was a successful lawyer. But the nightmare persisted, constantly reminding him, preventing him from enjoying happiness.

Whenever he did something wrong, darkness always loomed over his heart. He seemed to split apart, one desperately finding reasons for himself, trying to gloss over it all. The other, however, seemed like a demon, inwardly hoping for such things to happen, reveling in the pleasure of evil. To alleviate his pain, he tempted others, every time creating new monsters, drinking their blood; his pain momentarily eased. It was a method of seeking solace in poison, but afterward, his pain would intensify.

He had no choice but to start a new cycle. But, originally, he himself was the demon. This hell was born because of him.

Medical personnel bandaged his wounds. In that moment when his hands were handcuffed, He Wenlin suddenly felt tranquility around him. The curse on him seemed to be broken. It turned out the discomfort did not stem from loneliness but from his conscience, the only one he had. He was in hell because he had not received the punishment he deserved.

Shen Junci walked out of the room, handing the knife to his police colleagues. Medical personnel came to bandage him. Some marveled at the danger just now, others asked him for relevant statements. Even Director Ding specially called to comfort him and told him to rest well.

Shen Junci felt a little tired and a little sleepy, answering each question one by one. Then he waited for the person he was waiting for.

Gu Yanchen finally arrived from the building opposite. His chest heaved, his right hand pressed against his wound, obviously running over. Seeing him safe and sound, Gu Yanchen finally breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out to him, “I’ll take you home.”

Shen Junci looked at the Gu Yanchen in front of him, still wearing a hospital gown under his coat. This strange attire wasn’t ugly at all; instead, it had a unique feeling. He said softly, “I know the way home; you should go back to the hospital. It’s not something to joke about if your wound splits open.”

Gu Yanchen reached out and wiped the bloodstains from Shen Junci’s mouth, “He’s such a fierce little cat, biting people. Wait for me to be discharged, let’s live together,” Gu Yanchen smiled at him, “The meaning of someone waiting for you to come home, it’s different.”

Shen Junci was stunned for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on Gu Yanchen’s palm. The warmth from his fingertips reached his heart. He answered, “Okay.”

On this night, after the demon was slain, a moment of peace finally arrived. Perhaps tomorrow would be a sunny day.