In truth, there weren’t many details Shen Hao could provide. After all, the situation back then had been critical—life and death decided in an instant. How could he have seen that much?

He could only do his best to tell Bai Qi everything he had seen, without leaving out a single detail.

However, after he finished speaking, a thoughtful expression appeared on Bai Qi’s face. Clearly, even with so few details, Bai Qi had gained some ideas—perhaps he had already grasped part of the truth.

“Well? Think of something?” Shen Hao asked curiously when he saw this.

“I did think of something,” Bai Qi replied, coming back to his senses and smiling at Shen Hao. “It seems it was the right decision to talk to you alone. At the very least, even though what you described was limited, there was one key point.”

“What key point?” Shen Hao asked instinctively. He felt that the police probably wouldn’t catch the killer anytime soon, so it was necessary for him to understand the killer as much as possible to prepare himself.

“The tattoo,” Bai Qi said, gesturing over his left chest, roughly tracing the way the tattoo coiled.

“A gang organization?” Bai Qi guessed.

“More terrifying than a gang,” Bai Qi continued. “This organization is called the Snake Bone Society. Its members tattoo a coiling snake skeleton on their chest—men on the left chest, women on the right. The Snake Bone Society is huge, an international organization, but the domestic and overseas branches aren’t in a subordinate relationship; they cooperate with each other… Forget it, there’s no real use telling you all this. You just need to know that the Snake Bone Society is not simple.”

Bai Qi explained for a while, but felt there was little point in going on, so he stopped and said, “Since the killer saw you, he might come after you. That’s why I’m telling you about him—so you can be mentally prepared.”

“Alright, go on,” Shen Hao said. He had just been pondering how powerful the Snake Bone Society might be, but upon hearing this, he quickly pulled his thoughts back and focused.

“The killer is an external-style martial artist. He practices Iron Sand Palm. I’m sure you noticed this as well—his palms were unusually thick and broad. That’s the most obvious sign of practicing Iron Sand Palm. It’s said that when Iron Sand Palm reaches the highest level, it returns to simplicity, and the hands look normal again. I’ve never seen anyone like that myself, so I don’t know if it’s true… Anyway, as far as this killer is concerned, he has already reached the stage where external force penetrates inward. That means when he strikes a target with a palm, the surface only shows bruising without breaking the skin, but the internal organs are penetrated by the palm force…”

“…The two palm prints on the victim’s body were exactly like this. Someone who can reach this level has already achieved considerable mastery of Iron Sand Palm. If he really comes looking for you, you must not confront him head-on. Otherwise, you’ll end up with broken bones while he walks away unscathed.”

Bai Qi seemed a bit worried and warned him seriously.

Shen Hao nodded solemnly.

“If you discover any clues or run into him, call me immediately.”

As he spoke, Bai Qi gave Shen Hao his phone number, wanting him to remember it. However, Shen Hao said somewhat awkwardly, “Sorry, when I go out for morning runs, I usually don’t bring my phone. Why don’t you save my number instead?” As he spoke, he recited his number.

Bai Qi didn’t say anything. After saving it, he tried calling once. After it rang a few times, he hung up so Shen Hao’s phone would have a missed call record.

“Alright, that’s it then. I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’ll be leaving,” Bai Qi said, standing up.

“No need to see you off,” Shen Hao replied, also standing.

Watching Bai Qi walk away, Shen Hao glanced at the sky. Because of the interruption, he had only practiced the Eight Yin Fan halfway. With no choice, he went back into the woods and practiced it again from the beginning. After finishing, he didn’t continue running but went straight home.

Over the next few days, while remaining cautious, he continued to maintain his usual routine.

As time passed, everything remained calm. Occasionally, he would contact Bai Qi by phone to get updates. After analyzing the situation, they both felt that the killer was unlikely to remain in this area. After all, the murder had been committed and the objective achieved. Nanzhou City was so large—finding some other place to hide would be far safer than staying near Mingzhu Residential Complex. There was no reason to linger here.

Although the police were continuously checking surveillance footage, the workload was enormous. For martial artists, there were many ways to avoid cameras—such as not taking normal routes, moving across rooftops, or destroying cameras from a distance with thrown stones.

To catch the killer through the surveillance network, they would have to inspect a massive number of cameras centered around Mingzhu Residential Complex.

That wasn’t something that could be done in a short time.

Shen Hao had already mentally prepared himself for this. He figured there was no need to stay cooped up at home just because the killer hadn’t been caught.

So, a week later, he started looking for a job online.

With his current appearance, he could still use his ID and diploma, but formal companies required pre-employment medical examinations, which he couldn’t do. On top of that, he needed time to practice martial arts. After weighing everything, he decided to look for a job with plenty of free time.

Such jobs were hard to find, and the pay was inevitably much lower than what he’d earned before. But as long as it wasn’t too low—enough to cover his monthly rent of two thousand yuan and leave him sufficient free time—he could accept it.

After persistent effort, he finally found a job he was satisfied with.

A bar called Nightingale was hiring male waiters. Working hours were from 5:00 p.m. to midnight. Accommodation and dinner were provided, with a monthly salary of 2,500 yuan. For a waiter position, this was already quite good, especially since accommodation and dinner were included, saving on rent and dinner expenses.

However, what he valued most was the working schedule. Unlike other jobs that required overtime, this one truly meant 5:00 p.m. to midnight—no more, no less.

That left him plenty of daytime hours to practice.

As for the provided accommodation, after speaking with the hiring manager, he decided to continue renting his current place. The bar’s housing was a shared dormitory with multiple people.

Living with seven or eight people meant very little privacy. Given his current situation—using the bathroom, showering, changing clothes—he’d already need to be careful. Practicing martial arts there would be completely impossible. If he dared to meditate in public view, he’d surely be treated like a lunatic.

Not to mention, with so many people, it wouldn’t be quiet. How could one practice in such an environment?

So he declined the accommodation. As for the dinner, it was better than nothing.

The final point that satisfied him was that the bar was very close to his rented place—about a ten-minute walk. Extremely convenient. No need to catch buses or subways. He could stroll to work every day at an easy pace, which felt quite pleasant.

Since the job was quite appealing, he worried about competition and quickly contacted them. Soon, the start date was set. All that remained was to begin work.

……

Nightingale Bar was located at No. 146 Haisha Street.

This street was packed with entertainment venues—nightclubs, KTVs, massage parlors, and bars.

In the past, Guo Zhengde had brought him here to sing, dance, drink, and get massages.

However, he didn’t like noisy places like nightclubs. The music was too loud, and the flashing lights made him uncomfortable. After going once, he refused to go again no matter what.

As for KTV, he wasn’t good at singing, so he naturally had no interest.

In the end, the massage parlors were what he liked best—especially one with a male masseur whose technique was exceptional, leaving people feeling utterly blissful. Aside from the times Guo Zhengde treated him, he’d occasionally gone there on his own once or twice.

Finally, bars… For someone who got dizzy after just two bottles of beer, he was even less interested.

Guo Zhengde often said he didn’t seem like a young person—never going to nightclubs, bars, or KTVs, not enjoying nightlife, living a dull life.

But Shen Hao felt differently. Did being young really mean having to go to nightclubs, bars, and KTVs to enjoy nightlife?

Compared to those places, he preferred finding a late-night food stall, sitting down to grill skewers and eat barbecue. Since he never gained weight, he figured he should enjoy good food while he was young.

Guo Zhengde only half agreed with this mindset. He still felt that young people should go to nightclubs, bars, and KTVs…

However, life was unpredictable. Shen Hao never would have imagined that one day he’d end up working in a bar—especially as a waiter.

“Xiao Hao! Room 205 wants a case of beer!”

“Got it! Coming right up!”

Following the voice, a girl wearing a short-sleeved top and a tight skirt, with makeup on and a curvy figure, her neckline revealing a bit too much, poked her head out of a private room and shouted toward the counter.

Dressed in a waiter’s uniform, Shen Hao responded, bent down, grabbed a case of beer from a stack behind the counter, and carried it across the slightly soft carpet toward Room 205.

Before he even reached the door, he could hear a hoarse, ear-splitting singing voice coming from inside, mercilessly assaulting his eardrums.

After carrying the beer inside, Shen Hao quickly retreated and closed the door behind him. Only then did he exhale, feeling that it was finally much quieter.

That singing was truly awful. It was impressive that the people inside could listen to it and still cheer.

Shaking his head, he returned to his post and sat down inside, ready to respond at any moment.

During standby time, he could browse novels or watch movies on his phone. As long as he wasn’t too blatant and didn’t get caught by the supervisor, there wouldn’t be any issues.

Nightingale Bar had two floors. The first floor was a standard bar, serving various cocktails, with a small stage. Occasionally, amateur singers or bands would perform there. If customers wanted, they could also go on stage to request songs or sing themselves—but those who dared to do so were usually very confident in their singing. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the nerve to embarrass themselves on stage.

Because of this, those who went on stage were generally of high quality.

The second floor was the KTV area, with two horizontal corridors and one vertical corridor, forming a sideways “H.”

There were nine private rooms in total. Shen Hao’s job was to check the rooms before guests arrived. When guests came, he would serve tea, pour drinks, and deliver fruit and snacks.

When there was nothing to do, he would stay at the bar counter at the intersection of the corridors, on standby, ready to respond to calls—adding snacks, beer, and so on to the private rooms.

As for cleaning, that wasn’t his responsibility. There were dedicated staff to handle it.