At the time, even within police circles, very few people knew about Heaven-Measuring Ruler. Those who had heard of it only believed that the organization originated in Country K, with a tiny portion of its forces having infiltrated the country without causing much trouble.
But Lu Hejing noticed that Heaven-Measuring Ruler differed from many criminal organizations. Although it originated in Country K, the way it was developing domestically was peculiar. Its important figures were hidden extremely deeply. Police in other provinces and cities had captured some of its people before, but none of them could be made to reveal crucial information. Heaven-Measuring Ruler also seemed to have another characteristic: indirect crime.
According to the intelligence police had gathered, Heaven-Measuring Ruler rarely committed crimes directly. Instead, it preferred to cultivate crime. If police could not contain it in time, one Heaven-Measuring Ruler could give rise to countless others.
The cult Qiusai, which had once run rampant in the northwest, seemed to have connections to Heaven-Measuring Ruler. But Qiusai’s principal figures had already died during the joint operation in the northwest. Police and special operations forces had paid an enormous price to destroy it, and many elite officers had sacrificed their lives in the fighting.
Lu Hejing felt an invisible urgency. If they could not grasp Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s movements as quickly as possible, then once it became fully established inside the country, the consequences would be unimaginable. Yet at the time, the police could barely even find the organization’s door. The only thing they could try was locating the Qiusai members who had escaped the net. Perhaps those remnants could lead them to Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
It was an extraordinarily difficult task. The police had very few clues, and Lu Hejing was under immense pressure. So he simply chose to step away from the front lines and disappear from public view as much as possible.
The Mobile Unit was an elite, unusually empowered unit within the Provincial Public Security Department, with authority exceeding other teams of the same level. It was also the unit into which Lu Hejing had poured his life’s work. Tang Xiaoli operated in the open; Lu Hejing remained in the shadows. Even after stepping back from frontline work, he still directed the Mobile Unit.
He needed to select the most reliable officer from the Mobile Unit to infiltrate the remnants of Qiusai. That person had to be absolutely loyal, absolutely formidable, and possess the resolve to give up his life at any moment.
More importantly, that person also had to win Qiusai’s trust.
Lu Hejing was deeply troubled. Expanding his search from the Mobile Unit to the entire Provincial Department, he still could not find anyone like that. His superiors did not approve of the plan either. For one thing, no one knew where Qiusai’s fugitives were, and Han Province appeared perfectly peaceful. For another, the operation required them to let Qiusai obtain some information about police movements while minimizing the harm caused by that leakage. The balance was extremely difficult to control. Lu Hejing was unyielding by nature and immediately took all responsibility onto himself.
Because he refused to give up, his superiors tacitly allowed the plan. Lu Hejing stopped limiting his search to the Provincial Department. Young police officers in every city across the province became potential candidates. But that made finding the right operative even harder. The Mobile Unit was his own direct line, and he knew every officer in it inside and out. He also knew most officers at the Provincial Department well enough to judge their character. Officers outside the department were people he did not truly know, and no matter how outstanding they appeared, he could not casually entrust them with something this important.
During that long and anxious search, his attention eventually settled on Han Qu, captain of the Special Police Detachment at Luocheng Municipal Bureau. When Lu Hejing first noticed Han Qu, his immediate thought was of the nephew who seemed to grow less close to him the more outstanding he became. Han Qu and Chen Zheng were practically the twin stars of Luocheng Municipal Bureau, and they were close friends. Lu Hejing had even heard Chen Zheng mention Han Qu.
But Han Qu and Chen Zheng had grown up in completely different environments, and their personalities were polar opposites. Lu Hejing had once wondered why Chen Zheng would become friends with someone like Han Qu. Chen Zheng was his nephew; Lu Hejing understood the pride buried in his bones. If Han Qu had earned Chen Zheng’s admiration, then he had to possess something exceptional.
Lu Hejing spent a great deal of time investigating Han Qu’s background and discovered something almost impossible to hope for in connection with this mission. Han Qu had been born into an educated family. His grandfather was highly cultured, but his parents died too early, so he was raised by that grandfather, who cared for him well. Yet this open-minded and educated old man had himself been a victim of a cult.
Decades earlier, groups using faith as a pretext to cheat people out of money had been everywhere. Han Qu’s grandfather lost a substantial amount to one of them, but even after the cult leader he believed in was convicted, the old man still insisted he had done nothing wrong and that the money he lost had gone where it ought to go. He never admitted he was a victim. On the contrary, he believed that faith had made his later years colorful and meaningful. Even on his deathbed, the stubborn old man was still thanking that imaginary “Lord” of his.
To Qiusai, a police officer with a grandfather like that would be relatively easier to trust than other police officers.
By every measure, Han Qu was the only person who might be able to carry out the mission. But before speaking frankly with him, Lu Hejing still went through a complicated internal struggle. He kept asking himself whether Han Qu could truly infiltrate Heaven-Measuring Ruler. He was gambling that when the police wiped out Qiusai’s remaining forces, Han Qu could seize that one and only opportunity to become a member of Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
If it failed, what would be lost was not only the young man’s career, but his life. And even if it succeeded, would Han Qu truly be able to penetrate deeply enough into Heaven-Measuring Ruler to obtain the criminal organization’s most critical intelligence?
Lu Hejing was already old. If he were twenty years younger, he would have been willing to undertake the mission himself. But time had caught his feet. All he could do was place his hopes in a young man who possessed the same spirit he once had.
Unable to make the final decision, Lu Hejing first tried getting to know Han Qu. The young man he had chosen immediately saw through his hesitation and asked, “Director Lu, I never thought someone like you could hesitate over a decision.”
At the time, Lu Hejing had not told Han Qu anything about the actual mission. He had not even mentioned Heaven-Measuring Ruler. They were only chatting about the Special Police Detachment, public security in Luocheng, and, in passing, Chen Zheng from the Criminal Investigation Detachment.
Yet the seemingly relaxed young man had an unusually sharp gaze, as though he had already sensed that some major responsibility was about to fall on his shoulders.
Lu Hejing sounded him out indirectly. “If two problems are placed in front of you, and choosing either one means someone will inevitably die because of that choice, what would you do?”
Han Qu was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled. “I can’t take care of both, can I?”
Lu Hejing nodded. “That’s right. Objectively, you don’t have the ability to handle both at once.”
“Then I’ll choose the one I should choose.” Han Qu answered quickly this time.
Lu Hejing frowned. “And the one you abandon…”
“I’m fortunate,” Han Qu said, trying to sound relaxed, though Lu Hejing could hear the tension beneath his voice. Han Qu knew too that this question was a test, and that his answer would have far-reaching consequences. “Because I have an excellent group of companions, and a reliable leader like you. I’ll leave the other problem to my companions and to you. From the moment I make my choice, I become an observer. I won’t interfere with your mission.”
Lu Hejing’s shoulders trembled slightly. Only after a long time did he stand, place a hand on Han Qu’s shoulder, and say, “Captain Han, what lies in front of you and me is a difficult road. Perhaps one with no return…”
Three years ago, Han Qu became the most important card in Lu Hejing’s hand. Sure enough, Qiusai’s fugitives resurfaced and attempted to stage an attack in Luocheng. The Municipal Bureau’s Major Crimes Unit and Lu Hejing were both investigating Qiusai, but in reality they had formed two entirely separate lines. Major Crimes operated in the open; Lu Hejing worked in the shadows. To allow Han Qu to enter Qiusai successfully, Lu Hejing sometimes even had to obstruct Major Crimes’ investigation at crucial moments.
By this point, cold sweat had gathered in Chen Zheng’s palms. Countless emotions tangled inside him, and he could not form a complete sentence. He still remembered how everyone at the Municipal Bureau had suspected everyone else back then. He had even suspected the subordinate least likely to have a problem, while his own subordinates had suspected him in return.
When he learned that Han Qu had betrayed him and betrayed the organization, the pain had been impossible to explain to anyone else. Han Qu defected, and orders from above authorized officers to shoot him dead on sight. That day, when the Special Action Team sent word from the front line that Han Qu’s body had been found, Chen Zheng’s mind had gone blank for a very long time.
He had so many things he wanted to ask Han Qu. Why had he done it? Chen Zheng had to ask him in person. Yet Han Qu had simply died like that, not at the hands of the police, but at the hands of a cult leader.
Not long afterward, new information arrived. The Special Action Team had been distracted by an even more urgent mission and failed to keep proper watch over Han Qu’s body. Somehow, the corpse vanished into thin air.
Chen Zheng admitted that in that instant, he actually felt relieved. Even Qiusai’s leader had been captured. Its remaining forces had been swept up, with no fugitives left. So who had moved Han Qu’s body? Could Han Qu have never died at all? As long as Han Qu was alive, Chen Zheng would still have the chance to ask him those questions himself.
For a long while, no one spoke in the living room, where the fragrance of tea lingered in the air. Chen Zheng said softly, “Heaven-Measuring Ruler took him away?”
Lu Hejing nodded. “Luocheng’s situation was extremely tense at the time. In truth, I was already wavering. I kept asking myself whether I really had to prepare for some crisis that might erupt at an unknown point in the future before the crisis right in front of us had even been resolved. By then, not only had you lost contact with Han Qu, I had too. All I knew was that he had basically established himself inside Qiusai, but Heaven-Measuring Ruler showed no sign of intervening. If I continued, I might not only fail to obtain any intelligence about Heaven-Measuring Ruler, I might also lose an outstanding police officer like Han Qu. That would have been a complete defeat.”
Chen Zheng stared at the tea. Its surface was trembling almost imperceptibly.
Wavering was one of the easiest things in the world. No matter how steadfast a person was, it was difficult to remain unmoved when his own life and the lives of others were involved.
“Then I remembered the answer Han Qu gave me.” Lu Hejing let out a long sigh. “He chose to make himself the ‘bad guy’ and threw the remaining problem to me, to you, to everyone standing behind him. Even when Lian Feng nearly killed him, he never once sent me a signal that he wanted to retreat.”
Fragments of the past surfaced in Chen Zheng’s mind. Slowly, he raised a hand to cover his eyes.
Lu Hejing said, “I know this hit you hard. You can blame me. But Han Qu, his circumstances and his choice, you shouldn’t blame him.”
Chen Zheng shook his head. Blood vessels had surfaced in his eyes. “Then did we finish the problem he left us?”
Lu Hejing seemed slightly surprised by his reaction. After a moment, he said, “Yes. We stopped the attack.”
Chen Zheng closed his eyes again, the corners trembling badly. “Then, Little Uncle, did I help? Did I, the person you didn’t choose, hold you back?”
“Bro!” Ming Han had already realized Chen Zheng was on the edge of losing control. One arm went around his shoulders, while the other hand gripped the back of Chen Zheng’s hand tightly.
Chen Zheng stared at Lu Hejing. Rationally, he knew there was no simple right or wrong here. The harder a decision was, the more it required someone in a position of authority to make it. The worst had already passed. He tried to persuade himself as calmly as possible, but he still could not settle his emotions.
“You blame me for not choosing you, and you blame Han Qu for keeping you in the dark,” Lu Hejing said. “But you already know the answer in your heart. Chen Zheng, let me ask you this: if you were in my position, could you have produced a different answer?”
Chen Zheng fell silent. Becoming an undercover operative had never been part of the life he envisioned. He knew better than anyone that he was unsuited to it. Rationally, he also understood that there was nothing unreasonable about Han Qu and Lu Hejing’s choices. But this truth had come too suddenly for him to accept it without resentment.
“I didn’t reject you because you’re my nephew.” Lu Hejing’s voice softened. He crouched in front of Chen Zheng. Only then did Chen Zheng notice the gray at his temples and realize that the seemingly all-powerful Little Uncle of his childhood had grown old.
“But your position and identity made you unsuitable for infiltrating Heaven-Measuring Ruler. The environment you grew up in made it impossible for you to complete this mission!” Lu Hejing said. “I evaluated so many people. Han Qu was the only one whose objective circumstances fit.”
Chen Zheng nodded lightly. “I know.”
Lu Hejing sighed and stood. “Watching you become disappointed, depressed, and self-destructive because of what happened to him hurt me too. I’m your uncle. Driving you to that state made me feel I had failed your parents. But just as Han Qu said, once I made that choice, I had to follow the road all the way to the end. If I hesitated, tried to hold on to this while refusing to give up that, I would accomplish nothing. After Heaven-Measuring Ruler took Han Qu away, your reaction became crucial.”
Chen Zheng looked up. “Mine?”
“We knew nothing about Heaven-Measuring Ruler. But if they rescued Han Qu from Lian Feng, then they saw value in him. An organization like that would certainly investigate Han Qu’s relationships and learn that you were his closest friend.” Lu Hejing said, “Your despair and pain made Han Qu’s ‘betrayal’ more convincing. If you had acted as though nothing happened, or only pretended to fall apart, would they still have believed him?”
Silence spread again. Lu Hejing said, “You’re my nephew, and you blamed me for not assigning that mission to you. Do you understand now? You were carrying out another mission, and it wasn’t an easy one either.”
Chen Zheng’s emotions were still in turmoil, but as long as he wore the uniform, he had to understand. He and Han Qu, and those comrades who had sacrificed themselves or were still fighting, carried different missions that were also, in another sense, the same.
“Han Qu…” Chen Zheng’s throat was painfully dry. “How far has he gotten inside Heaven-Measuring Ruler?”
Lu Hejing shook his head. “It’s difficult. Heaven-Measuring Ruler and Qiusai aren’t on the same level. He’s still being tested by Heaven-Measuring Ruler now. If I’m right, killing Ming Han wasn’t only a test for Zhan Fuhai. It was also a test for Han Qu.”
Chen Zheng frowned as he recalled the two times Han Qu had appeared at the theater. Han Qu had shown up abruptly. At first Chen Zheng thought he was trying to hold him there. Now it seemed Han Qu had used his appearance to warn Chen Zheng that Ming Han was in danger.
Han Qu was being evaluated, so when Zhan Fuhai’s plan proved clumsy, Han Qu had to improve it from Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s perspective. That was effectively pushing one of his own comrades toward death. But if Han Qu wanted to advance further inside Heaven-Measuring Ruler, he had to make choices like that at every turn.
Yet at the final moment, Han Qu had still risked giving Chen Zheng a hint. With anyone else, that hint probably would not have worked.
Chen Zheng’s heart clenched. “Then if Ming Han didn’t die, won’t Han Qu be exposed? Heaven-Measuring Ruler won’t trust him anymore!”
Ming Han pressed his lips together almost imperceptibly. Lu Hejing said, “Not necessarily. If Han Qu dared do it, he must have weighed the consequences. He’s always cautious and isn’t someone ruled by emotion. He would only have given you that hint if he believed he could get away with it.”
Chen Zheng asked again, “Do we know more about Heaven-Measuring Ruler now than we did back then?”
Lu Hejing said, “Now that you know, from this point on you’re part of the operation.”
Chen Zheng smiled and shook his head. “Wasn’t I already part of the operation? You brought me here today because you’d already decided to share the intelligence with me.”
Tang Xiaoli patted the back of the sofa. “Old Lu, Xiao Chen has exactly your temper when you were young.”
Lu Hejing said, “According to the intelligence Han Qu sent back, illegal gambling and drug trafficking are merely smokescreens and ways for Heaven-Measuring Ruler to raise funds. Making money isn’t its primary objective. Or rather, this branch of Heaven-Measuring Ruler that has entered our country only uses those illegal businesses to keep its basic operations running.”
Chen Zheng immediately thought of Hao Le’s assignment: use the cursed dolls to disrupt Zhuquan City’s middle schools, stir up the malice hidden in the students, and select promising “bad seeds” from among them.
Lu Hejing nodded. “That shows Heaven-Measuring Ruler is already preparing for the future. The most difficult problem for us right now is that we can’t identify the person actually making the decisions for the organization. Rescuing Han Qu was most likely that person’s decision. He believed Han Qu could be useful, but for more than a year, Han Qu has tried every method he can think of and still hasn’t uncovered that person’s true identity. The people Han Qu can reach are one level below.”
“Based on the intelligence gathered over the past three years, we can make one basic inference: that person is currently in Han Province,” Lu Hejing said. “Han Qu’s present mission is to obtain that person’s true identity.”
Chen Zheng took some time to absorb this. “Why did Heaven-Measuring Ruler target Ming Han? I still can’t understand that. Among the key people in this case, Zhan Fuhai wanted to cooperate with Heaven-Measuring Ruler and ended up being used by it. Nothing in Luo Yingqiang’s background investigation showed a connection to Heaven-Measuring Ruler. Liu Pinchao was dragged into this because of Liu Chenfeng. So what about Ming Han? He became Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s target out of nowhere. If this was only a test for Han Qu, why did it have to be Ming Han?”
Tang Xiaoli said, “Old Lu and I discussed that too. The person making decisions for Heaven-Measuring Ruler is extremely calculating. He may already have noticed that when we dealt with Qiusai back then, the Mobile Unit was essentially invisible. Ming Han belongs to the Mobile Unit. That person may be wondering whether Han Qu has some connection to us.”
“Then Han Qu would be completely exposed!” Chen Zheng said. “Because Ming Han survived. No, wait. There’s an information gap between us and Han Qu. He must know more about Heaven-Measuring Ruler than we do. If even we can see that suspicion, he couldn’t possibly have overlooked it. Little Uncle, you said he’s absolutely committed to carrying out the mission. If he knew Heaven-Measuring Ruler suspected the Mobile Unit, he would never risk giving me that hint!”
Lu Hejing watched Chen Zheng for a moment, then glanced at Tang Xiaoli. “That makes sense.”
“It probably has something to do with my family.” Ming Han looked at Chen Zheng. “I told Officer Chen before that my father Bu Yangyun’s business is probably problematic. He’s in Country G and hasn’t returned in years. If Heaven-Measuring Ruler can’t easily get to him, using me as a substitute target isn’t impossible.”
Ming Han laughed softly. “Even though Bu Yangyun doesn’t have much affection for me as his son.”
Chen Zheng tugged lightly at Ming Han’s arm. Ming Han patted the back of his hand and said softly, “I’m fine.” Then he continued, “If we’re looking for a common point, Luo Yingqiang and I actually have one. We both seem to have been little more than tools for Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s evaluation, without as much direct connection to the organization as Zhan Fuhai and Liu Pinchao. I’m a police officer, but Bu Yangyun is a businessman, and so was Luo Yingqiang.”
Lu Hejing said, “Could Bu Yangyun and Luo Yingqiang have some connection? Could they have done something together, and that thing be the reason someone wanted them dead?”
Ming Han remained calm. “Bu Yangyun is cold-blooded. He’ll do anything to achieve his goals. Nothing cruel or immoral he might have done would surprise me. He’s simply very good at hiding it. Luo Yingqiang had the same trait.”
Lu Hejing lowered his head and thought for a long time. “That’s one line of inquiry. Can you contact Bu Yangyun now?”
Ming Han said, “I can try. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go to Country G.”
Lu Hejing paced a few steps and calmed himself. “Don’t act yet. We can’t let Heaven-Measuring Ruler notice anything unusual. Old Tang and I will work out a proper plan.”
Tang Xiaoli said earnestly, “Xiao Chen, Xiao Ming, Old Lu and I originally didn’t plan to involve either of you. But things have reached this point and now you know. Go back and think carefully about what you should do. Especially you, Xiao Chen.”
Chen Zheng had taken in too much information that night. Although he had been mentally prepared for part of it, he still felt abnormally exhausted. “I understand.”
“Your reaction affects how far Han Qu can go inside Heaven-Measuring Ruler, and it also affects the plan your uncle has been laying for five years. Before, you didn’t know anything, so every reaction came naturally. Now you know. Continuing the act won’t be easy, and the burden on your shoulders is heavier.” Tang Xiaoli spoke with deep understanding. “Xiao Chen, you have to carry it.”
Chen Zheng’s gaze turned serious, carrying a trace of stubborn defiance. “I won’t let Han Qu die.”
Lu Hejing let out a long sigh and turned his back on Chen Zheng and Ming Han. “Go home. Act the same as you always have.”
Chen Zheng and Ming Han came to attention and saluted Lu Hejing. When they reached the door, Chen Zheng said softly, “Little Uncle, take care.”
Meanwhile, in a small town in northwestern Han Province near the border with a neighboring province, Xu Hetang was studying Han Qu’s bare upper body with interest. His arm had been injured. A bullet had struck him while he was evading Wen Wu’s pursuit. The fragments had already been removed, and his arm was wrapped in bandages.