Meanwhile, Tu Bin had initially taken the same attitude as Zhan Fuhai: ask whatever you want, police, and I’ll answer every question with “I don’t know.” But when Chen Zheng repeated what Zhou Hong had said, Tu Bin’s expression grew more and more colorful until he finally could not help defending himself. “I didn’t know the one coming was a cop either! Fuck me, President Zhan told me to do this. I didn’t even know Liu Pinchao had killed someone! Luo Yingqiang really was killed by Liu Pinchao? He… he didn’t look capable of that!”
Tu Bin had the face and manner of a petty streetwise thug. He really did not look like someone capable of planning the entire operation.
Chen Zheng said, “Don’t rush to cry innocence. Ji Shun and Zhou Hong are both your men, aren’t they? One gave Liu Pinchao shelter for several days and delivered him to the theater on your orders. The other impersonated Liu Pinchao on your orders. You think you can separate yourself from this?”
Tu Bin shouted anxiously, “But I really didn’t know Liu Pinchao had killed anyone! And I sure as hell didn’t know President Zhan was… was planning to go after you police!”
Chen Zheng motioned for him to calm down. “Then explain properly how Zhan Fuhai instructed you, and tell me who has been in contact with him recently.”
Tu Bin had no choice but to talk. Years ago, he had piled up a mountain of debt and fled to Nanshan City. With nowhere left to turn, he met Zhan Fuhai, who kept him around as muscle. Tu Bin proved useful, quietly dealing with plenty of people for Zhan Fuhai. Later, when Yunxiang Entertainment formed a proper security team, Tu Bin became a squad leader and gradually worked his way up to running the whole team.
Zhan Fuhai treated him well and gave him plenty of freedom. Tu Bin had never disappointed him over all those years and considered himself one of Zhan Fuhai’s trusted men. He knew he was poorly educated, so he never asked about business matters. Whatever Zhan Fuhai told him to do, he did without asking for the story behind it.
Before anything happened to Luo Yingqiang, Tu Bin learned of Liu Pinchao’s existence from Zhan Fuhai. Everything he later ordered Ji Shun and Zhou Hong to do had come from Zhan Fuhai. The only thing Tu Bin knew that they did not was that the tower crane had already been sabotaged. Zhou Hong would definitely die once he climbed it, and so would the person Zhou Hong lured up there.
Chen Zheng took out Ming Han’s photograph. “You really didn’t know he was a police officer?”
Tu Bin glanced at it once, lowered his head, and stammered, “I didn’t.”
Chen Zheng said, “You’re Zhan Fuhai’s trusted man. He handed you something this important. You expect me to believe he never told you the target was police?”
“I… I…” Tu Bin could no longer keep arguing. He admitted that he knew Zhan Fuhai wanted to deal with a police officer, but insisted he had thought it was only some ordinary neighborhood cop. He had never expected the target to be someone so important.
Chen Zheng suddenly asked, “Do you know Han Qu?”
Tu Bin looked blank. “Who?”
Chen Zheng showed him Han Qu’s photograph. “He was at the venue last night. You didn’t notice him?”
Tu Bin muttered, “There were so many people at the theater, how was I supposed to notice everyone? Besides, I had a job yesterday. I was watching Area B!”
“What about before yesterday?” Chen Zheng asked. “You only need to answer one thing. Have you ever seen him around Zhan Fuhai?”
Tu Bin thought for a long time, then shook his head. “Honestly, no.”
Dawn was approaching when Liu Pinchao woke in his hospital bed. The moment he saw Ming Han, his eyes reddened. The first thing he said was, “I’m sorry to you. I’m even more sorry to my brother.”
Major Crimes officers were there too, turning the hospital room into a temporary interrogation room. Ming Han was struggling to control his emotions. “Brother Chao, didn’t we agree you’d bring me any leads you found? What the hell were you doing?”
Cheng Cu stepped forward. “Bird, sit this one out. I’ll question him.”
Ming Han stared at Liu Pinchao with a deep frown. There were too many things he wanted to ask, but this was not the time to let personal emotion interfere with the investigation. He stepped back against the wall and handed control of the questioning to Major Crimes.
Cheng Cu asked, “Liu Pinchao, someone saw you leaving the foot spa around the time Luo Yingqiang and ‘Zhang Yinan’ were killed. Is that true?”
Liu Pinchao nodded.
Cheng Cu asked, “What did you go there to do?”
“Kill someone.”
“Who?”
“Luo Yingqiang. And the person who was with him.”
Even though Ming Han had already known what the answer would be, he still could not stop himself from lifting his face, closing his eyes, and sighing. His mentor had entrusted his only remaining family member to Ming Han. Not only had Ming Han failed to look after Liu Pinchao, he had watched helplessly as Liu Pinchao slid into the abyss.
How had it come to this? It had begun when Ming Han discovered that Lü Ou’s mother, Xu Hetang, might be connected to Heaven-Measuring Ruler. He was the one who told Liu Pinchao to keep watch on Xu Hetang. If he had never done that, would Liu Pinchao have avoided this path?
Cheng Cu continued, “Why did you kill Luo Yingqiang?”
Liu Pinchao glanced at Ming Han, but Ming Han’s eyes were closed, and he never saw it.
“To avenge my older brother,” Liu Pinchao said calmly.
Ming Han snapped back to attention.
“Who was your older brother? What did Luo Yingqiang have to do with him?”
Liu Pinchao began talking about his brother, Liu Chenfeng. His voice was full of exhaustion and guilt he could not hide. He started with the two brothers depending on each other for survival and continued through Liu Chenfeng becoming an important member of the Provincial Public Security Department Mobile Unit.
Ming Han had to interrupt. “Liu Chenfeng was my mentor. Some of the missions he carried out were classified.”
Cheng Cu understood and let Ming Han take over the questioning.
“Did you find out that Luo Yingqiang killed Liu Chenfeng?” Ming Han’s brows drew tight as he stared unwaveringly at Liu Pinchao.
Liu Pinchao said, “I didn’t find evidence. I… walked into a trap. They wanted to use me to kill you.”
The words did not seem to connect with what had come before. Cheng Cu did not understand at once, and neither did Ming Han. “Brother Chao, don’t rush to vent your emotions. Let’s clear things up one question at a time. I’m not the only one in Nanshan City now. Old Tang is here too.”
Liu Pinchao’s eyes widened slightly. “Tang Xiaoli?”
“Yes. For you, Liu Chenfeng’s younger brother, he arrived before dawn.”
Liu Pinchao pressed his lips together as though enduring something. Several minutes passed before he finally spoke. “It was Xu Hetang. She told me my brother was killed by Luo Yingqiang.”
That day, after Liu Pinchao found traces of Xu Hetang in Zhuquan City, he should have reported them to Ming Han immediately. But from the case in Zhuquan City and Ming Han’s reaction, he had already guessed that Xu Hetang was probably connected to the mission Liu Chenfeng had been carrying out before his death.
When Liu Chenfeng was alive, Liu Pinchao was always at odds with him. He did not like the police either. He thought Liu Chenfeng was rigidly righteous, willing to sacrifice himself for the public and bound by an endless list of rules.
Why live such an exhausting life?
Only after Liu Chenfeng was gone did Liu Pinchao realize how important his brother had been. From then on, he had only two goals left in life: avenge his brother and look after his brother’s apprentice. For years there had been no clues, and he had lived like an ordinary person. But once a clue finally appeared, all the hatred and impulses he normally kept suppressed erupted at once.
He was different from Liu Chenfeng and Ming Han. He was not a police officer. He did not have to be constrained by police rules, and he did not need to bring wrongdoers to justice through the law. What he wanted was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If he could take revenge with his own hands, Ming Han’s burden would become lighter too, and when he eventually died, he would have an answer for Liu Chenfeng.
After arriving in Nanshan City, Xu Hetang discovered him and seemed almost to be deliberately waiting for him to approach. He hesitated briefly. For one thing, Nanshan City was Ming Han’s hometown. For another, he could not explain Xu Hetang’s behavior. What if it was a trap? After thinking it over again and again, he decided to tell Ming Han that he had followed Xu Hetang to Nanshan City. Anything he could not figure out himself, he would leave to Ming Han to think through.
Not long after sending the message, he came face-to-face with Xu Hetang. She smiled at him. “You’ve been following me for a long time. As it happens, I also want to work with you. Shall we find somewhere to talk?”
He remained wary and did not get into the car immediately, but Xu Hetang gave him a reason he could not refuse. “I know why you’re following me. You want to know who killed Liu Chenfeng, and I happen to know the answer.”
The car headed toward the New District and stopped inside an empty garage. Xu Hetang did not ask him to get out. Instead, she handed him a stack of photographs. The man in them was Luo Yingqiang.
“This man is the richest man in Nanshan City. Back then, Officer Liu infiltrated an organization called Heaven-Measuring Ruler and discovered that Yingqiang Group and Heaven-Measuring Ruler had an exchange of interests. Before Officer Liu could send the intelligence back, Luo Yingqiang discovered him and had him silenced.” Xu Hetang smoked as she spoke, the driver-side window open. Liu Pinchao’s hand shook violently around the photographs.
“Why should I believe you?” He struggled to hold on to his reason.
“Then let me ask you something. Why were you following me?” Xu Hetang countered with a smile.
Liu Pinchao said, “…Because you’re part of Heaven-Measuring Ruler.”
Xu Hetang’s smile deepened. “As expected of Officer Liu’s younger brother. You understand quickly.”
After that, Xu Hetang showed Liu Pinchao more “evidence,” including photographs of Liu Chenfeng together with Luo Yingqiang and audio recordings in which Luo Yingqiang mentioned Liu Chenfeng. Liu Pinchao asked why she was telling him any of this. With a helpless expression, Xu Hetang said it was because she wanted to leave Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
She brought up her son, Lü Ou, blaming herself for abandoning her family years ago in pursuit of a so-called future and boarding Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s ship, after which she had lived a life that could never see daylight. She admitted that her role inside Heaven-Measuring Ruler was that of a liaison, connecting its various people in charge with its clients. Wealthy businessmen like Luo Yingqiang were among those clients.
Luo Yingqiang had been one of the first clients assigned to her, so she knew his actions inside out. When Liu Chenfeng investigated Heaven-Measuring Ruler, ordinarily he would never have uncovered anything. The organization kept an extremely low profile and had a group of liaisons like Xu Hetang cleaning up after clients to keep them outside police sight. Yet Luo Yingqiang had insisted on flaunting how untouchable he was and attracted the attention of a police officer as sharp as Liu Chenfeng.
In fact, Liu Chenfeng had no evidence in his hands at the time. But once a police officer started watching someone Heaven-Measuring Ruler served, complications were bound to follow. Heaven-Measuring Ruler decided to temporarily cut ties with Luo Yingqiang, but Luo Yingqiang took matters into his own hands and killed Liu Chenfeng.
Liu Pinchao shook uncontrollably as he listened, hatred burning around him like fire.
Xu Hetang continued. She said the incident had angered Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s higher-ups, and as Luo Yingqiang’s liaison, she had also been implicated and punished.
Although Luo Yingqiang had had no dealings with Heaven-Measuring Ruler in recent years, his continued existence was still a ticking time bomb for the organization. So Heaven-Measuring Ruler wanted him eliminated.
The method mattered. Heaven-Measuring Ruler had countless ways to take a person’s life, but how could it kill two birds with one stone? Xu Hetang had been given the task of arranging for Liu Chenfeng’s younger brother to take revenge.
It was unquestionably a risky decision. But if Liu Pinchao did the killing, Heaven-Measuring Ruler could disappear completely from Luo Yingqiang’s death, while Liu Pinchao would get to avenge his brother.
“You can refuse,” Xu Hetang said sympathetically. “I’m not telling you this to force you. I only want you to have the right to choose.”
“When?” Liu Pinchao stared at the photographs, his eyes bloodshot. He did not need justice. The opportunity had been placed in front of him, and he saw no reason to refuse it.
Xu Hetang smiled. “Tonight, at the place where we met not long ago. I’ve arranged everything. All you need to do is use this knife to cut Luo Yingqiang’s artery.”
He took the sharp knife Xu Hetang handed him. Its polished surface reflected his distorted face. He felt his blood surging through his body, while a voice inside him said, Bro, I’m going to avenge you.
Xu Hetang then took him out of the garage and into a room. He showered and rested there. After nightfall, he was sent to the foot spa. By then, he had changed into the clothes Xu Hetang prepared and was hiding in the sixth-floor VIP area, waiting for his chance to strike Luo Yingqiang.
Late that night, Luo Yingqiang appeared exactly as promised, accompanied by a young man he was keeping. While Liu Pinchao was worrying about how to deal with both of them at once, the young man kept urging Luo Yingqiang to drink.
Liu Pinchao went forward with the knife and killed them both.
He heard movement outside. Perhaps it was someone Xu Hetang had sent to clean up afterward, or perhaps it was staff from the foot spa. Either way, his task was complete. He had to leave immediately.
The person who received him was Ji Shun. Liu Pinchao stayed at Ji Shun’s home for several days, with Ji Shun constantly looking at him curiously. After that, he was delivered to Yunxiang Theater. He expected to see Xu Hetang there and have her tell him what came next. Instead, he met a stranger, Zhan Fuhai. Liu Pinchao was suddenly imprisoned, and Xu Hetang never appeared again.
Liu Pinchao buried his face in his hands and stayed silent for a long time. “Everything happened too fast. I heard Luo Yingqiang had killed my brother, and after I saw those photographs, I stopped thinking straight. I… I’d been holding it in for years. Sitting in Xu Hetang’s car, the only thought in my head was that I had to kill Luo Yingqiang. This was my one chance. If I missed it, I’d never be able to avenge my brother in this lifetime.”
His voice grew drier, his shoulders trembling faintly. “I barely stopped to think at all. My brother was right about me. I’m missing a screw. Xu Hetang said it, and I believed her. I killed those people. It was only afterward, when I couldn’t see Xu Hetang anymore and they kept me locked up, that I started wondering whether I’d been used.”
“But I couldn’t understand it. I’m a useless nobody. What could they possibly gain from using me? My brother is already gone. Could anything I do still affect him? The only person I can affect… is you.”
Liu Pinchao raised his head. His lifeless eyes settled on Ming Han. “It took being locked up for so long before I finally understood. They wanted to use me to hurt you.” His gaze shifted toward Ming Han’s injured arm, guilt spreading across his numb face. “I’m sorry. My brother will never forgive me.”
Ming Han sighed, stepped closer, and put an arm around his shoulders, emotion slipping out of his control. “Master really won’t forgive you, Brother Chao. How could you kill someone?”
At this point, Liu Pinchao would face judgment under the law.
At the municipal bureau, Chen Zheng had questioned several people who worked for Zhan Fuhai and was now standing by the window, letting his mind go blank. Almost everyone in Major Crimes had stayed up all night. Some were taking the chance to sleep face-down on desks, while others silently ate breakfast. Ming Han returned carrying a bowl of beef porridge for Chen Zheng. Chen Zheng accepted it, and the two went to the temporary office they had to themselves.
As Chen Zheng ate, Ming Han told him what Liu Pinchao had confessed. The more Chen Zheng heard, the tighter his brows drew.
“Why would Xu Hetang do this?” Ming Han had already thought about it extensively at the hospital, but because the people involved were closely connected to him, he was not sure whether emotion was distorting his judgment.
“Liu Pinchao probably isn’t wrong. They, Heaven-Measuring Ruler, were targeting you.” Chen Zheng’s expression was grave. “Xu Hetang knew you had Liu Pinchao look for her around Lü Ou, so she used that against you. Or… she may have known you would do that before you ever did it, and prepared the next step, and the one after that, in advance.”
Ming Han frowned, his voice unusually low after staying up all night. “Why?”
“If she’s from Heaven-Measuring Ruler, then she knows very clearly that Liu Chenfeng had two people he cared about most: you, his only apprentice, and the disappointing younger brother he left at home. He wanted the two of you to help each other. After he died, you really did become people who trusted each other. So Xu Hetang could infer that if you ever needed to use resources outside the police to look for her, you would probably turn to Liu Pinchao.” Chen Zheng said, “And Liu Pinchao has a fatal weakness. The moment Liu Chenfeng is involved, he loses his reason easily. Someone without reason is like a puppet on strings.”
Ming Han listened in silence. After a long while, he said, “Once I learned Liu Pinchao had disappeared in Nanshan City, I would find a way to come here. That gets them halfway to their goal. Sooner or later I’d discover that Liu Pinchao was connected to the case, then trace him to Yunxiang Theater, and then they could…”
Chen Zheng said, “Use someone who closely resembled Liu Pinchao to lure you in, then kill you with an ‘accident.’”
The office fell silent. About five minutes later, Chen Zheng continued, “But there are too many unresolved points. Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s obvious reason for wanting you gone is that you’re Liu Chenfeng’s apprentice. But Liu Chenfeng never passed any intelligence to you, and you only began investigating Heaven-Measuring Ruler recently. It’s difficult to understand why they would go to such lengths and build such an elaborate trap specifically for you. Unless…”
Chen Zheng suddenly stopped, his eyes turning cold.
Ming Han asked, “Bro, what is it?”
Chen Zheng did not answer immediately. Just then, something had suddenly occurred to him. A major reason Ming Han was investigating Heaven-Measuring Ruler at all was Chen Zheng himself. The Mobile Unit had always been extremely cautious in its investigation of Heaven-Measuring Ruler, but Chen Zheng had broken through that caution, and Ming Han had stood on his side. Looked at from that angle, it was possible Chen Zheng had pushed Ming Han into danger.
“Were you about to say this has something to do with Bu Yangyun?” Ming Han asked.
Chen Zheng froze and almost failed to react. “Bu Yangyun?”
Ming Han raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t what you were thinking when you suddenly stopped?”
Chen Zheng opened his mouth. He and Ming Han usually thought along similar lines and had a natural tacit understanding, but this time they had unexpectedly gone in completely different directions. He quickly steadied himself. “How did we get to Bu Yangyun?”
Ming Han said, “He was also a businessman in Nanshan City. He built himself up through my mother, but later broke away from the Ming family. It’s hard to say he didn’t have someone backing him. We talked about this before, didn’t we? The fact that he went abroad at the height of his career has always been suspicious.”
Ming Han paused. “We just haven’t had time to investigate him.”
Chen Zheng’s thoughts had been somewhat chaotic a moment ago, but now that Ming Han had said it, he followed the line. “Maybe Heaven-Measuring Ruler was behind Bu Yangyun. Or maybe Bu Yangyun and Heaven-Measuring Ruler were enemies, and Xu Hetang tried to eliminate you this time because you’re Bu Yangyun’s son?”
Ming Han rubbed his buzz cut, still confused. “That doesn’t really make sense either. What difference is there between Bu Yangyun and me and two complete strangers?”
Chen Zheng wrote down the still-unclear possibility. Ming Han asked what he had been thinking a moment ago. Chen Zheng pressed a hand to his forehead. “Got sidetracked. I suddenly forgot.”
Ming Han watched him for a while but did not pursue it. “What about Xu Hetang’s claim that Luo Yingqiang killed my mentor?”
Chen Zheng said, “It may only have been a lie used to control Liu Pinchao. Luo Yingqiang may have had some connection to Heaven-Measuring Ruler, or at least known it existed. But the idea that his cooperation with them went as deep as killing a police officer feels unlikely to me.”
Ming Han nodded. “Right. We investigated Luo Yingqiang from so many angles before and never found any trace of Heaven-Measuring Ruler. At minimum, that suggests his connection to them wasn’t especially close. Xu Hetang… she really knows how to manipulate people.”
Chen Zheng gathered the bowl and spoon, intending to throw them away. Ming Han stood. “I’ll do it.”
Chen Zheng said, “It’s fine.”
Ming Han said, “Bro, after everything last night, I never properly thanked you.”
Chen Zheng had not expected the sudden gratitude and laughed softly. “Why so serious?”
Ming Han shook his head. “If it weren’t for you, I’d either have fallen to my death or been crippled. There’s no such thing as thanking you too much.”
Chen Zheng drifted off for a moment. By the time he came back to himself, Ming Han had already disposed of the trash and returned.
“Bro, what are you thinking about now?” Ming Han asked.
This time Chen Zheng did not hide it. Ever since seeing Han Qu the previous day, something had remained lodged in his chest, and he urgently needed someone reliable to help him think it through.
“Do you know why I appeared when I did?”
“Hm?” Ming Han said. “I asked you that at the time. Why did you suddenly come over?”
“Because I saw Han Qu.” Chen Zheng pressed his lips together, struggling to decide how to explain the sequence clearly.
While he was silent, Ming Han watched him quietly. After a moment he said, “Wen Wu couldn’t catch him. His appearance was too sudden.”
“Yes. Too sudden.” Chen Zheng said, “Han Qu had nothing to do with our plan yesterday. He should never have appeared. Wait a second. I don’t know how to explain this cleanly yet.”
Ming Han nodded.
“For almost two years, the thing I’ve wanted most has been to find Han Qu, alive or dead. My former leaders and coworkers thought I’d become completely dispirited. For a while, I thought so too. But I never once gave up on catching him.” Chen Zheng spoke slowly, thinking through every sentence. “Yesterday we split up. I watched Zhan Fuhai in Area A while you searched Area B. Depending on what happened with Zhan Fuhai, I might have gone over later to support you and Zhou Jue. But that would have been much later. I would never have reached you in time.”
Ming Han answered quietly, “Right.”
“Han Qu appeared so suddenly that the instant I saw him, my mind went blank. I acted purely on instinct and chased him without caring about anything else.” Chen Zheng said, “I have to admit that at that moment, I even forgot what our operation was. I only had one thought: he was not getting away from me today.”
“The area outside the theater was packed. I lost him, but after a while I saw him again. I’m certain he saw me too. He turned and ran toward the theater but didn’t go inside. I followed him and didn’t lose him this time. Halfway through, I suddenly realized his appearance was a trap, so I broke off immediately, left Area A to Cheng Cu and Wen Wu, and came straight to find you.” Chen Zheng took a deep breath and looked at Ming Han, once again confirming that he really was safe. “Do you know why?”
Ming Han said, “He gave you some kind of hint?”
Chen Zheng shook his head. “I know what he’s capable of. I used to compete with him often. In direct confrontation and tracking, I couldn’t beat him. His first appearance was already strange. What reason did he have to show himself in a place like that? The second time was even stranger, almost as if he deliberately wanted me to see him and deliberately wanted me to chase. With his ability, he could have shaken me off completely.”
Ming Han said, “So you realized he was distracting you and keeping you tied up in Area A?”
“Yes.” Thinking back to that life-or-death moment made Chen Zheng’s voice tremble slightly. “I stopped and thought about it. If he was willing to expose himself just to hold me there, what was he trying to achieve? Only you and Zhou Jue were in Area B. Everything happened too fast. I didn’t have time to work out what kind of danger you might be facing. My only thought was to get to Area B immediately. As for Han Qu, I had no choice but to give him up for the moment and let Wen Wu follow him. Wen Wu wasn’t even with me, so he was probably going to lose him, but there was nothing else I could do.”
Ming Han moved behind Chen Zheng and gently patted his back.
“Do you understand? The feeling is too strange.” Chen Zheng’s brows drew tight. “If Han Qu hadn’t appeared, then even if I eventually went to Area B, I wouldn’t have made it in time to save you. Han Qu appeared to attract my attention and keep me in Area A, but because I know him too well, what he did instead alerted me that something was wrong in Area B. That’s why I reached you in time. In fact… in fact, he indirectly saved you.”
The meeting room was filled with the sound of hurried breathing.
After a moment, Ming Han said, “Then Han Qu saved me.”
Chen Zheng found his calmness at that moment almost unbelievable.
“All we can look at right now are the facts. Whether there was a trap behind those facts, or something else, we don’t have enough information to reach a definite answer.” Ming Han bent down, resting one hand on the back of Chen Zheng’s chair. “If you keep thinking about it, you’ll only wind yourself into knots. Bro, you’re exhausted. Do you want to rest for a while?”
Chen Zheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ming Han was right. Han Qu’s appearance had shattered his composure, and after the terrifying ordeal during the night, both his mind and body were spent.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ming Han asked with unusual gentleness when he met Chen Zheng’s slightly dazed gaze.
Chen Zheng shook his head, trying to keep himself awake. “I was just wondering how you accepted so quickly the possibility that Han Qu saved you… something that sounds this absurd.”
“Because I’m the one who was saved,” Ming Han said. “Whatever his purpose was, objectively speaking, I survived.”