Ji Xun neither tried to guess Huo Ranyin nor Yuan Yue.
He had only called Huo Ranyin because he was too sleepy after just waking up and wanted to chat with someone. Once the drowsiness passed, the police captain could go back to his own business.
He hung up, opened his laptop, and stared at the blank document with a headache.
Thankfully, he wasn’t an online serialized author who needed to post updates daily. Otherwise, he would have missed a hundred deadlines by now, and the author’s ashes would have been scattered to the winds.
Ji Xun grumbled to himself, then scrolled through his chat history and found his editor, Poison Fruit. His last reply must have been too cold, causing the editor’s “author-is-procrastinating” radar to go on high alert. The messages that followed had become much more cautious:
“Teacher Ji, if you can’t finish before the New Year, would after the New Year be possible?”
“After the editorial department receives the manuscript, it still has to be submitted to the publishing house for approval. Only after the publisher approves and issues an ISBN can it be printed and released.”
“We can have the factory work overtime for printing, but the approval process takes at least three months. With all that, a July or August release would be for the best…”
Ji Xun calculated the time.
The New Year was in a few days. No matter what, the criminals should be wrapping things up and going home for a peaceful holiday.
He should be able to finish this book, right?
Ji Xun typed: “Probably not…”
“The goddess Mazu was born in the first year of the Jianlong era of the Song Dynasty…”
The documentary playing on the TV was part of the folk custom materials Ji Xun had been watching for his writing. Today’s episode was a cultural introduction to the goddess Mazu.
Coincidentally, Yuan Yue had said that Sun Fujing’s family worshiped Mazu.
“The worship of the goddess Mazu is prevalent along the southeastern coast of our country, especially in Putian, Fujian…”
Ji Xun thought idly. Sun Fujing had always lived near Ning City, and his ancestral home wasn’t Fujian. Mazu worship hadn’t been very popular in Ning City in modern times, and he wasn’t a sailor… It was somewhat strange.
“The Meizhou Mazu Ancestral Temple has a plaque with calligraphy copied from Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. This is because in the fifth year of the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty, Lu Yundi encountered danger during an envoy mission and was saved by Mazu’s help, allowing him to return safely. When the news reached the court, Emperor Huizong was greatly pleased and bestowed the two characters ‘Shun Ji’ (Smooth Passage). Inside the hall…”
Ji Xun looked up.
“Boats sail smoothly, wind and waves are calm.” He recited the eight characters he had once seen in Tang Jinglong’s safe.
Meng Fushan had said, “Be careful, Tang Jinglong isn’t as simple as you think.”
Meng Fushan, Tang Jinglong, Sun Fujing.
The goddess Mazu?
Ji Xun stared at the TV for a long time. In his chat window with the editor, the half-finished message, “Probably not,” also lay there, lonely, for a long time.
Poison Fruit Editor: “?”
Teacher, why did you stop talking? Is it “probably not a problem” or “probably not possible”?
There’s a huge difference between the two.
He was scratching at his heart and lungs with anxiety!
With Feng Jiamei’s confession, the situation reached a breakthrough. More and more evidence surfaced. The police department’s upper management held another seminar, connecting with Yuan Yue, who was in Yi’an County. After learning that Yuan Yue’s side had also obtained evidence and was on his way back to Ning City, they immediately made the decision to carry out the arrest, with Huo Ranyin, captain of the Second Criminal Investigation Unit, leading the operation.
The decision was made, but there were still some concerns about the actual operation.
After going to Zhongqi Law Firm in the morning, Sun Fujing had entered his house with a young female lawyer named Lin Yun. They sat in the living room, drinking tea and chatting. The living room had a floor-to-ceiling window. The surveillance team members were hidden on a similar floor in the opposite building, their eyes glued to the scene, not daring to blink. Their faces, exposed to the wind, were about to freeze stiff.
In addition, Sun Fujing also had a live-in maid in his house. The maid, surnamed Chen, was a 50-year-old woman who had been working for Sun Fujing for five or six years.
“We’ll move after the lawyer leaves,” Huo Ranyin said.
They waited for two hours. Tan Mingjiu was crouched in a car below, his hands on the window, his head peeking out just a little, staring at the people coming in and out of Sun Fujing’s building, afraid that Sun Fujing would hide among them and slip away.
But clearly, they were overthinking it.
For the entire afternoon, Sun Fujing showed no intention of moving, and neither did the female lawyer he had brought home.
Tan Mingjiu repeated the intelligence from the surveillance team upstairs: “They haven’t spoken for a full fifteen minutes. An old man and a young woman. They haven’t spoken for fifteen minutes, but the young woman isn’t leaving. What does that mean?”
No one answered. The police officers were all mentally exhausted from waiting for the operation.
In his loneliness, Tan Mingjiu missed Ji Xun. His longing seemed to take shape, as a figure resembling Ji Xun flashed past in the landscaped bushes ahead.
“Ji… Ji Xun?”
“Who did you say?” Huo Ranyin turned his head.
Tan Mingjiu quickly rubbed his eyes and looked forward again, but apart from the swaying shadows of the trees, he couldn’t see any familiar figure. He said hesitantly, “No, I didn’t say anyone. I was saying, that young female lawyer inside is taking her time coming out. She must be waiting for us to show up, right? Why don’t we just go in? We’re just arresting a 60-year-old man, not fighting drug dealers with firearms. Do we really need to pick a time? Even if he’s as cunning as an old fox, in the face of ironclad evidence, forget hiring one lawyer to wait, even if he hired a dozen, he’d have to surrender.”
The other police officers also looked at Huo Ranyin.
Huo Ranyin pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Since they’re waiting for us, we’ll go right in…”
With the order given, the previously listless crowd was instantly revived. They jumped up from their seats, flung open the car doors, and followed behind Huo Ranyin, quickly arriving at Sun Fujing’s front door.
Huo Ranyin knocked.
He knocked three times. The door opened. The live-in maid saw the police and didn’t seem surprised at all. She said very politely, “Officers, you’re here. Mr. Sun and Lawyer Lin have been waiting in the living room for a long time.”
With that, she led them into the living room and had them sit opposite Sun Fujing.
In the living room, Sun Fujing and Lin Yun sat together.
Lin Yun was a young female lawyer with long hair, wearing a dress and high heels. She was slender and thin, but her face radiated confidence—the confidence of someone who was well-prepared and eager to debate with the police on behalf of her client.
But he still had a faint doubt in his heart.
Even if Sun Fujing was looking for a lawyer for his defense… why would he find such a young female lawyer?
“Tea?” Sun Fujing said. “Or water?”
“Neither is necessary,” Huo Ranyin spoke. “Mr. Sun, please come with us to the station. There are some matters that require your cooperation.”
“No rush,” Sun Fujing smiled. “For the sake of an old man who has been waiting for you all afternoon, let’s chat a bit. Surely the four of you officers aren’t worried I’ll grow a pair of wings and fly away, are you?”
“Officer, what is your surname?” Lin Yun spoke at the same time. “The police act according to the law. May I know what law my client has broken to be taken to the police station?”
“The police have the right to summon any citizen.”
“They do. But they need to state the reason,” Lin Yun said aggressively.
“In special circumstances, the reason may not be disclosed,” Huo Ranyin said.
“My client also has special circumstances.” Lin Yun took out a prepared hospital record. This thick stack of papers was her weapon. “Mr. Sun suffers from a serious cardiovascular disease and cannot be agitated or overworked. If the police take him away without reason, I’m afraid that’s not justifiable.”
They exchanged a round of words. The door that had just been closed was knocked on again. The maid opened it, and standing outside was Yuan Yue.
Yuan Yue had rushed over from Yi’an County.
He gave a quick nod to Huo Ranyin and the others, then said to Sun Fujing, “Mr. Sun, the quality inspection report from the relevant departments proves that the Yi’an No. 1 High School building project you presided over 22 years ago seriously violates national standards. We need you to come back to the station with us to explain.”
Sun Fujing, who had been sitting all this time, finally spoke.
He looked like a kindly old man, smiling at everyone, showing no sign of panic even when facing so many police officers.
But of course, he was no kindly old man.
He put on his reading glasses, opened a notebook beside him, wet his finger with saliva, and flipped a page. “So that’s how it is? Let me find the person in charge of material procurement at that time. Alas, 22 years have passed. I don’t know if he’s still alive or where he’s gone, but I can give you the phone number he left back then. I think the police will get more answers from him than from me… After all, he was solely responsible for material procurement.”
Lin Yun smoothly added, “More importantly, this project was never completed. As early as 22 years ago, Mr. Sun went into bankruptcy liquidation because the project’s funding chain broke. I believe this matter should have been concluded back then. What reason do the police have to bring it up again now?”
“Then what about Fuxing Education’s involvement in the sale and distribution of pornographic photos and videos?” Huo Ranyin followed up.
The hand flipping through the notebook paused.
He squinted his eyes and looked at Huo Ranyin. “Oh… oh, is it Qian Shumao? That guy really did keep something. What evidence did you find from him? It can’t be a recording, can it? I remember that secret recordings are not legally valid, right, Xiao Lin?”
He asked the female lawyer beside him.
Lin Yun was a bit surprised at this point. She knew about the unfinished building; that’s what they had been talking about. But what was this about Fuxing Education selling and distributing pornographic videos and photos?
Sun Fujing had not communicated this with her.
But a lawyer and her client stand together. She echoed Sun Fujing’s words: “Secret recordings have no legal validity whatsoever.”
“Who said the only evidence the police have is a recording?” Huo Ranyin retorted. “Mr. Sun Fujing, have you never considered that over the past 22 years, the uneducated migrant worker from back then has also been striving to improve? That he learned to keep accounts… and just like the original Tang Zhixue, he recorded every single one of your loopholes in an account book?”
“…” Huo Ranyin had revealed too much information. Lin Yun was stunned.
The lawyer fell silent, but Sun Fujing did not.
Sun Fujing asked Lin Yun, “How many years do you get for distributing pornography?”
Lin Yun: “That…”
“Just say it, it’s fine.”
“There are three tiers of punishment. For minor offenses, it’s less than three years. For ordinary cases, three to ten years. For particularly serious cases, ten years to life imprisonment.”
Sun Fujing nodded.
“I see. Lawyer Lin, please come over here. I have some secrets to tell you…”
The old man beckoned to the female lawyer.
He beckoned with his left hand. As for his right hand, it had been deep in the pocket of his coat. Now, his right hand, in a gripping posture, was slowly being withdrawn.
Huo Ranyin inadvertently glanced at this, and his expression changed drastically. He shouted, “Move!”
But Lin Yun was sitting right next to Sun Fujing. She leaned in, getting close to him. What awaited her was not Sun Fujing’s whispered secret, but the black muzzle of a gun.
The muzzle was pressed against Lin Yun’s temple.
This sudden change was like the fuse of gunpowder being lit. After a sizzling sound of sparks, a silent but huge explosion went off in everyone’s minds. The body’s instincts moved faster than reason. With a whoosh, Huo Ranyin, Yuan Yue, and all the police officers drew their pistols from their waists, their muzzles aimed straight at Sun Fujing.
The two sides were in a standoff. Facing the gun muzzles from the front, Sun Fujing was not at all anxious. The corners of his mouth stretched wide, his amiable smile turning sinister and terrifying.
“I told you, don’t be anxious. If you’re anxious, her head will be gone.”
“Sun Fujing!” Tan Mingjiu, the quickest with words, shouted sharply, “Selling pornography and murder are different crimes. Don’t make one mistake after another!”
“Maybe it’s different for you, but for an old man, what’s the difference between ten years and a death sentence? If I kill her, at least I’ll have a young girl to accompany me on the road to the underworld.”
His gun pressed against the female lawyer’s temple. The lawyer was scared stiff, her face almost rigid like a wooden board, and this board was twitching violently. Her eyes were like an out-of-control faucet, tears streaming out in large gushes.
“Save… save… save me…”
The police did indeed have an overwhelming advantage—but it was useless. Sun Fujing had a hostage.
This was the soft flesh beneath the armor, the heart within the steel. Their lifeline was in the other’s hand. They had to protect every innocent citizen.
“Back off,” Sun Fujing ordered the police. “Back out the door. I’ll count to three. If you’re not back by then—”
“…”
Huo Ranyin and Yuan Yue, along with the others, slowly backed away, all the way to the doorway.
Then Yuan Yue ducked behind a wall and immediately reported the situation to headquarters. After finishing his report, he suddenly sensed movement on the stairs and immediately raised his gun towards the stairwell.
Then he saw a head peeking out. Ji Xun’s head.
Ji Xun was sneaking around, beckoning to him.
At the same time, Huo Ranyin was negotiating with Sun Fujing: “Don’t get agitated. Whatever you want, we can talk about it.”
Sun Fujing suddenly became tender. “Of course, of course. How could the police watch an innocent person die in vain? Look at this young girl, only in her early twenties, a graduate from a prestigious school, just starting out in society, with a bright future ahead of her, and elderly parents who have poured half their lives into her… Isn’t she worth being buried with a decrepit old man like me, who already has one foot in the grave, right?”
He said to Lin Yun:
“So don’t make any rash moves. Don’t think about escaping my control and running to the police. Think about your parents. You don’t want to leave this world, and you don’t want to leave them, right?”
Lin Yun sobbed and nodded frantically.
“Good. Then, Xiao Chen,” Sun Fujing called to the maid, “draw the curtains. Draw them tight. I don’t want to get my head blown off by a sniper.”
The maid in the room was also stunned by the situation, cowering in a corner, afraid to move.
Sun Fujing waved his hand violently and shouted, “Quick!”
Under the threat to her life, the maid scrambled to her feet and drew the two heavy curtains shut. The light in the room dimmed, as if two giant bat wings had spread open, blocking out the daylight.
At the same time, Sun Fujing moved with Lin Yun. His apartment was on the thirtieth floor. He was in the living room, facing Huo Ranyin, able to see the entrance and all the other rooms, while the drawn curtains behind him also sealed off the last danger from a sniper.
He commanded, “Get me a car. No following. After I leave Ning City, I will naturally let her go.”
“We can agree to the first part, but we can’t let you take the hostage with you. Otherwise, what if you harm the hostage when you’re out of our sight?” Huo Ranyin said.
“If you don’t agree, I’ll shoot her right now!”
“I’ll switch with her,” Huo Ranyin said again. “I’ll go with you. You have a gun, and I won’t carry any equipment.”
Sun Fujing laughed as if he had heard a great joke. “Captain, you are a good captain, and I am an old man, and a bad man. Tell me, would an old, bad man choose a young girl, or a strong, professionally trained police captain like you? You want to come over and switch with her, is that it… alright, alright, that’s actually possible. Shoot yourself.”
“The arm, the right shoulder.”
“Shoot yourself once, then come over and exchange for her.”
