He was writing a book about a murderous author. Now he's accused of four murders.

A Chinese crime writer working on a novel about a serial-killing author may have based the book’s storyline on his own life.

Liu Yongbiao, an award-winning Chinese crime novelist, was arrested early Friday morning for allegedly bludgeoning four people to death 22 years ago, according to The Guardian.

Yongbiao wrote in the preface to his novel The Guilty Secret that he was working on a follow-up book about a murderous novelist who evades arrest.

The book was going to be named The Beautiful Writer who Killed, according to News18.

In November 1995, two men attempted to rob a guesthouse in Huzhou, China — but one man fought back against the pair of intruders, according to The Guardian. The two robbers beat the man to death, and then killed three other people, including the 13-year-old grandson of the couple who owned the guest house.

For years, authorities could not determine who committed the crime. But a DNA test conducted 22 years later indicated that Yongbiao and another unidentified 64-year-old man was involved in the murder.

When authorities arrested the author, he didn’t try to claim he was innocent.

“I’ve been waiting for you here all this time,” he said.

Yongbiao, who grew up in a poor Chinese village, was editing a school newspaper and teaching a literature course at the time of his arrest, according to News18.

“(Liu) was a very serious person,” said Fang Ming, who had Yongbiao as a teacher for three years. “He rarely smiled and often criticized his students. Though he never raised his voice, he always wore his disappointment on his face.”

As he was being arrested, Yongbiao handed police officers a one-page letter he addressed to his wife.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for the last 20 years,” it read, according to News18. “Today there is finally a conclusion. I can finally be free from the mental torment I’ve endured for so long.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 5:52 AM with the headline "He was writing a book about a murderous author. Now he's accused of four murders.."