Every word Qiao Huali spoke stabbed into Hu Jia's heart. "My father always considered you his good friend. He often said that a brother is someone you can trust to cover your back on the battlefield. He thought you were, and I thought so too. But he never imagined that the one who would stab him in the back was the person standing behind him."
Hu Jia's voice was filled with unspeakable resentment. He seemed to completely embody Hu Shalong's emotions, fully capable of feeling the pain and disappointment Hu Shalong must have felt at the time.
It would be like telling Hu Jia now that his good brothers, Li Yang and Luo Wenwu, had stabbed him in the back. No one could accept that.
Hu Jia's words also seemed to cause Qiao Huali a moment of distraction. He slowly pulled off the mask, revealing a face that Hu Jia knew all too well.
This mask, worn for too long, truly becomes another face.
"Back then, Shalong and I charged into a bandit stronghold together. I remember, on Nanshan, several bandits surrounded us. We stood back to back and finally fought our way out," Qiao Huali said, looking at Hu Jia, his eyes regaining the affectionate gaze of "Uncle Qiao" looking at a child.
"Back then, I genuinely gave him a chance, but he refused. He insisted on investigating that case, even suspecting me," Qiao Huali squatted down again. He waved his hand gently, and the hand that had been holding the back of Hu Jia's neck loosened.
Hu Jia looked up at Qiao Huali, and Qiao Huali looked back at him. "All these years, I've been filled with guilt. So, I projected my guilt towards him onto you two brothers. But I can't understand, why? Why did you say my name? If you hadn't, once this was over, I would still be your Uncle Qiao. You could still come to my house for dinner, and we uncles and nephews could sit together, clinking glasses, talking late into the night. Wouldn't that be good? Why did you have to call out my name?"
Qiao Huali's voice trembled. "Just pretend! For goodness sake, just pretend!"
Seeing Qiao Huali like that made Hu Jia feel sick.
This was Qiao Huali, someone who always viewed things from his own self-interest. Pretend? How could he pretend?
Every time he thought of his father bleeding out on the ground, every time he thought of Mou Jixuan's screams in the raging inferno, every time he remembered the confusion and panic he felt waking up each week.
How could he pretend after ten years of such a feud?
"Bah!" Hu Jia spat contemptuously. "Don't you dare act like an elder. You're not worthy. You could kill my father back then, and you can kill me now. Why haven't you? Isn't it all about that treasure? Don't try to make your sins sound so noble. You're nothing but a complete hypocrite."
"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. Do you think I haven't had the chance?" Qiao Huali looked at Hu Jia. "All these years, I truly felt guilty about Shalong's death, and I truly saw you as my nephew. The treasure, I had given up on it years ago, I didn't want to look for it anymore. It was you, it was you who found me and said you had discovered the treasure's hiding place."
As he spoke, Qiao Huali actually laughed. "If you hadn't kept chasing the case, would I have been unable to stop? If you hadn't said you found the treasure, would I have become so fixated?"
Qiao Huali's expression changed, his eyes suddenly turning fierce. "Yes, everything you've reached today is your own doing. It was your stubbornness, your inability to let go, it was you who pushed things step by step to this point."
Qiao Huali continued to lecture. Not only did Hu Jia feel this person's mind was not right, but even Tong Meng, standing nearby, was wide-eyed. Indeed, the shameless are invincible.
"Tell me, where is the Orangutan's Den? You have half an hour. If you don't tell me in these 30 minutes, I really can't let you go," Qiao Huali grabbed Hu Jia's collar, pulling his head up. The collar choked Hu Jia, making it hard to breathe.
Hu Jia finally understood. This Qiao Huali was sick. Severely sick.
"I don't know what you mean by 'orangutan,' nor do I know where their den is," Hu Jia spoke the truth.
"No, you must be able to remember. You could remember six years ago, you can definitely do it now," Qiao Huali's emotions were becoming unstable.
Not only was his grip on Hu Jia's hand tight, but his expression had become somewhat ferocious.
Time was running out. He only had half an hour left.
If Hu Jia couldn't recall anything, he would enter a new period of amnesia again. Then, he would have to explain everything all over again, tell the story of that year again, and have to endure seeing Hu Jia scold him like this again.
Unbearable!
He hated being scolded, hated being scolded by someone he liked.
Just like when Hu Shalong scolded him back then, he really hated it!
"Think about the places you used to go often all those years ago, the people you used to see often. Think about whether your father said anything to you before he died. Also, Feng Si, Li Zhenhui, what did they say to you? Think, just think!" Qiao Huali shouted hysterically. "Do you really want to die? Don't you still have a great revenge to exact? Think, just think."
As he spoke, Qiao Huali started to lose control. He grabbed Hu Jia's head and forcefully pushed it into the mud, occasionally yanking his head up to repeatedly smash it against the ground.
Fortunately, this coral dam was entirely mud and sand, but the small pebbles hidden in the soil still cut Hu Jia's forehead.
At this moment, Qiao Huali was conflicted and tangled.
He didn't want to kill Hu Jia, but he was afraid of being scolded by Hu Jia.
If Hu Jia scolded Dao Liu Ye, his heart wouldn't be greatly affected. But if Hu Jia scolded Qiao Huali, he couldn't stand it.
Subconsciously, Qiao Huali separated his identity from that of Liu Ye.
Liu Ye belonged to the thugs.
Qiao Huali was Hu Jia's uncle.
Therefore, he was afraid.
He was afraid of Hu Jia pointing at his nose and scolding him, afraid that if he heard it too much, he would lose control of his emotions and kill him.
As his head repeatedly hit the ground, Hu Jia's pent-up anger slowly rekindled. Yes, he still had a great revenge to exact. Yes, he couldn't die. He still had to get married, he had to marry Lu Qingqing, and he had promised everyone before leaving that they would have a late-night snack together tonight.
Ah...
Suddenly, Hu Jia turned his head sideways, his neck slipping out of Qiao Huali's grip. Lying on the ground, he swiftly swept his leg, knocking over two thugs nearby. Then, before they could react, he quickly got up and launched a punch at Qiao Huali.
Although Qiao Huali was an old police officer, he had held a high position for many years and had received training. His reaction speed naturally couldn't match Hu Jia's.
A direct punch landed squarely on his nose bridge.
Qiao Huali stumbled back two steps. Hu Jia pressed forward, and they exchanged two or three blows. On the surface, Hu Jia seemed to have the upper hand, but this only gave him about ten seconds. Soon, the other thugs attacked.
Hu Jia's gun had been confiscated when he was pinned to the ground. Seeing several of his subordinates reaching for their guns, Qiao Huali hurriedly stopped them. "Don't draw your guns, don't hurt him."
Capture him alive!
This was Qiao Huali's subconscious thought, whether it was to further inquire about the treasure or simply because he didn't want to harm Hu Jia.
Facing the knife-wielding thugs, Hu Jia was fierce at first, one punch per person. But gradually, he began to feel his strength waning.
His body grew increasingly tired, his movements slower. Just as he thought he couldn't go on, a gunshot shattered the silence of the coral dam.