A few minutes later, perhaps feeling that struggling was hopeless and knowing he was destined to die today, Song Shuanzhu finally quieted down, panting heavily.
At the right moment, Wang An made a small noise, letting Song Shuanzhu know that there was someone beside him.
Sure enough, upon hearing the sound Wang An made, Song Shuanzhu acted as if he had grasped a lifeline, speaking in a tone full of pleading
"Good man, sir, did you grab the wrong person? I'm just a poor farmer; there's no use in capturing me."
Wang An did not speak, falling silent once more, as if the slight noise from before had not been intentional.
After another short while, Song Shuanzhu couldn't hold it in and pleaded again
"Sir, please spare me. There's really no use in capturing me; this lowly life of mine isn't worth anything. My wife is pregnant, and I have to go back and look after her. Sir, please let me go..."
And so, Song Shuanzhu went on a rambling streak of pleading, talking for a long time before finally stopping; by the end, he had actually started crying.
One could tell that Song Shuanzhu, a grown man, was on the verge of a total breakdown.
In fact, it wasn't just Song Shuanzhu who was about to break; even Wang An was about to break.
Yes, Wang An was indeed about to break, but Wang An was breaking from the cold!
Mainly, it was just too damn cold in these mountains—bitterly cold, even colder than the courtyard at Song Shuanzhu's house.
The most fucked up part was that as the moon climbed higher in the sky, the temperature continued to drop.
Combined with the constant biting wind and the stray snowflakes hitting his face, Wang An felt that the temperature had most likely dropped below minus 40 degrees, reaching a state of extreme cold.
The reason Wang An felt so cold was primarily because the cotton jacket he was wearing was useless.
If Wang An had worn the fur coat he used for mountain trekking, or at the very least a military overcoat, he certainly wouldn't feel this cold.
There was no helping it; although Yandu was also in the north, its temperatures were simply not on the same level as here in Heilongjiang Province.
One must realize that the lowest temperature in Yandu was around minus 20 degrees, reaching at most the level of "Great Cold."
Minus 20 to minus 30 degrees is called "Severe Cold," and minus 30 to minus 40 is called "Bitter Cold." Only when it exceeds minus 40 does it reach the level of "Extreme Cold."
At the level of "Bitter Cold," splashed water turns to ice instantly; one can imagine how cold "Extreme Cold" is.
Therefore, the cotton jackets sold in Yandu were quite a bit thinner than the ones here in the Northeast.
Thus, it was only natural that Wang An felt he couldn't stand the freezing cold.
It wasn't until Song Shuanzhu cried that Wang An finally strained his voice, speaking in a tone that was not his own
"Enough. It's almost time; I should send you on your way."
After a pause, Wang An added
"I almost forgot. You know, there's a rule in my line of work—I have to let you die knowing the truth, so that nothing comes back to haunt me later, right?"
While fiddling with the handgun, making it emit a piercing "click-clack" sound, Wang An spoke unhurriedly
"Here's how it is: I'm just taking money to settle a grudge. Song Ping told me to bring you into these mountains and kill you so as not to dirty your home. He said your wife is carrying his child and he wants to keep living with her, which is why he paid me to get rid of you."
"Now, let's make a deal: when you get downstairs, before you complain to King Yama, make sure you don't drag me into it. If you have a problem, go find Song Ping; he's the one who wanted you dead. I've got nothing to do with it, alright?"
This string of fabricated lies instantly left Song Shuanzhu stunned, and even his sobbing stopped.
Whether it was fair to say or not, Wang An was truly impressed that Song Shuanzhu, a big man, could cry in such a pathetic manner!
Of course, when facing death, most people probably act this way. And as a common farmer—and a "pseudo-man" who was impotent—it wasn't surprising that Song Shuanzhu would react this way.
However, immediately following this, Song Shuanzhu began to curse loudly through his tears
"Song Ping, I fuck your mother! You slept with my wife and you're hiring someone to kill me? Fuck eight generations of your ancestors! Even as a ghost, I won't let you off..."
Too lazy to listen to these curses and insults, Wang An pressed the handgun against Song Shuanzhu's forehead, pretending to be kind-hearted as he said
"Song Ping said it should take three shots to kill you. He said you were just occupying the toilet without shitting, so you should suffer a bit before you die. Now, the first two shots might hurt a little; just bear with it."
As he spoke, Wang An pressed the gun against Song Shuanzhu's shoulder and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
However, the expected gunshot did not ring out; there was only the "click" of a dry fire.
Simultaneously, Wang An's voice rang out, sounding somewhat exasperated
"Oh, fuck! Why isn't this gun working? Dammit!"
But immediately after, a "bang" echoed in Song Shuanzhu's ear, accompanied by Wang An's startled exclamation
"Holy shit! This gun has a fucking slow reaction time!"
Upon hearing the gunshot and Wang An's cursing, Song Shuanzhu's entire body shuddered. Immediately after, Wang An smelled a faint scent of urine.
Clearly, Song Shuanzhu had been scared into pissing himself, and it was a fairly substantial amount.
To be fair to Song Shuanzhu, it wasn't entirely his fault; he had originally come out of the house intending to urinate, but before he could, Wang An had knocked him unconscious, and he had been holding it until now.
Song Shuanzhu was already at his limit, and being on the brink of death, the shock of the gunshot caused his floodgates to fail, and he wet his pants.
Noticing that Song Shuanzhu had pissed himself, Wang An pretended not to notice, mainly because he couldn't be bothered to care. He said in a complaining tone
"This fucking weather is just fucking cold. It's frozen my gun so it doesn't work right, dammit."
In truth, extreme cold does have a significant impact on the operation of a firearm.
However, this particular scene was intentional on Wang An's part. His goal was still to terrify Song Shuanzhu; he was playing a psychological game.
After the shudder, Song Shuanzhu immediately stopped his cursing and pleading, his voice trembling violently as he begged Wang An
"Good man, please spare me! I know a place where Song Ping hides treasures. Don't kill me—as long as you don't kill me, I'll tell you where it is."
Wang An was momentarily stunned. In fact, the question Wang An had intended to ask next was whether Song Shuanzhu had participated in any evil deeds with Song Ping.
For example, conspiring with Song Ping to kill and rob, collaborating in scams, or perhaps poisoning other people's homes. (End of Chapter)