Chapter 389: Good Advice Can't Persuade the Doomed Ghost 1

A body weight of two hundred catties.

He fell from a table more than one meter high.

Onlookers winced in pain.

Liu Haizhong, however, sprang up from the ground as if unharmed.

Shazhu clearly saw a flash of painful ferocity cross Liu Haizhong's face as he got up.

He was so scared he didn't even feel the pain.

He felt a surge of cheerfulness.

Zhang Zehua would surely have to give everyone a satisfactory explanation, even if Shazhu and the others, with their overly compassionate hearts, did not hold him accountable.

Liu Haizhong would not let him off either; as an official-obsessed man, he would find ways to deal with Zhang Zehua, and his methods would have to be ruthless.

Basically.

This happened at the Siheyuan Dayuan meeting.

Who organized the Dayuan meeting?

Liu Haizhong!

At the Dayuan meeting he organized, Zhang Zehua accused this book of being stolen property.

Just think about it.

Would Liu Haizhong be liable for this as well?

In an attempt to clear his own responsibility, Liu Haizhong would surely give Zhang Zehua a stern lecture, and would employ even harsher methods than those used against outsiders to demonstrate that he had nothing to do with Zhang Zehua.

So far.

The scales of victory.

They tipped in favor of Shazhu.

He felt a small sense of pride at not having Yu Li follow him back.

He silently took a step back.

He gave the stage to Liu Haizhong and Zhang Zehua.

If I'm not mistaken.

What follows should be a big showdown between the two of them, like dogs fighting.

Sure enough.

Liu Haizhong moved up to Zhang Zehua, pointing at the book still held aloft by him, and shouted.

"Zhang Zehua, Shazhu said you have a chamber pot on your head; I thought Shazhu was mistaken, but it turns out Shazhu was right—is your head nothing but a cesspool full of feces and urine? Can't you use your brain when something happens? What is this? This is a book, that person's book; you say Shazhu stole it—did you see that little receipt? Could it possibly have been stolen?"

Zhang Zehua, his mind a blank.

He stiffly turned his head.

He glanced at Liu Haizhong.

He then glanced at Shazhu and the others present.

In his eyes,

showing a strong pleading look.

As long as these people don't divulge this, Zhang Zehua will be fine.

The problem is, maybe?

Just a moment ago, you, Zhang Zehua, were vicious and wanted Shazhu's family dead; the next second, seeing the situation turn against you, you wanted to settle things peacefully.

That's pure wishful thinking.

Shazhu and the others chose to handle things by the book.

That's equivalent to nipping the threat in the bud.

If they agreed to Zhang Zehua's proposal, they would be playing ostrich, likely committing the crime of covering up, and everyone present would have to be educated.

So Zhang Zehua's pleading is utterly pointless.

Zhang Zehua must also realize this; he finally turned his gaze to Liu Haizhong, moved his lips, wanting to say a few words, but couldn't utter a sound.

"Zhang Zehua, Zhang Zehua, you truly have the gall of a dog, recklessly putting labels on people; taking this book to make a fuss, you say Shazhu stole it—are you trying to say that the person who issued this shopping receipt is actually Shazhu's accomplice? You have no brain; do you think everyone here is as brainless as you?"

Liu Haizhong, eager to clear his name.

Just as Shazhu had anticipated.

He began shouting at Zhang Zehua in a loud, ranting manner.

"Come clean—who put you up to this? Who gave you the guts? Tell me honestly—why do you say Shazhu stole this book? Give me a full and frank account; if you dare lie, I, Liu Haizhong, won't stand on ceremony—speak!"

Zhang Zehua caught the meaning in Liu Haizhong's words, his gaze becoming even more pitiful.

All this.

It's all like playing music to a cow.

Liu Haizhong had already resolved to sacrifice the pawn to save the king; Zhang Zehua's pleading would not only fail to achieve the expected effect, but would further provoke him.

"The only road before you now is to come clean completely, Zhang Zehua—this is your last chance."

Zhang Zehua shook his hand.

The book in his hand also swayed.

A round token about one-third the size of an adult's palm, accompanying Zhang Zehua's shaking of the book, fell out from within the book.

It landed in an unfortunate spot.

It landed on a pile of dog feces.

Zhang Zehua, already pallid, grew even paler and feebler in the dim light.

The matter of the book.

Not yet resolved.

Now the round token has fallen onto dog feces again.

Analyzing the sequence of events at the scene, the later incident is undoubtedly somewhat bigger than the earlier one, and its consequences are also somewhat more serious!

Zhang Zehua's mother couldn't bear this result and fainted straight away.

His wife also became like an ant on a hot pan, so anxious she couldn't stand it, pinching her mother-in-law's philtrum hard with her fingers, while murmuring something under her breath.

Only the younger children, due to their age and cognition, were completely unaware that their family already faced imminent disaster, and they innocently watched everything happening in the scene.

When the sky falls, there is a big one to prop it up.

Liu Haizhong, as the person holding the highest position in the courtyard.

He must take responsibility for these matters.

The neighbors, one by one, remained silent, watching Liu Haizhong's flustered hands and feet like spectators at a show, either taking the book from Zhang Zehua's hand or picking up that round token from the ground, huffing and wiping it as best they could with their sleeves, so busy they forgot themselves, and instead forgot the culprit, Zhang Zehua.

Twenty minutes passed.

Liu Haizhong carefully wiped the round token clean, together with the book, and respectfully handed it to Shazhu.

Shazhu knew what Liu Haizhong was respecting; he received the item with both hands and held it to his chest as if it were a treasure.

Staring fixedly at Liu Haizhong.

His gaze carried a hint of indeterminate meaning.

"You few, get a rope, I'll have you restrain Zhang Zehua; the rest of you, go home each to your own family, each find your own mother; before you leave, I, Liu Haizhong, warn you all: shut your mouths!"

The next morning.

Shazhu, who was using the public toilet outside.

He ran into Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui briefly explained the situation of Zhang Zehua's family.

Liu Haizhong, worried that delays would bring complications, sent Zhang Zehua's family away overnight last night.

Exactly where they went.

Opinions varied.

Some said they went to a place where it snows heavily three seasons out of four; some said they went to a mountain where it rains year-round; and others said they went to a place where sandstorms blow for ten months of the year.

Besides these rumors.

There was also a piece of gossip that hardly anyone paid attention to.

It said that Zhang Zehua had an incident last night, was sent by Liu Haizhong to work underground, his parents returned to their hometown, his wife divorced him, took the child, and remarried a lame old bachelor.

All of this.

Does this have anything to do with Shazhu?

No!

If it weren't for Zhang Zehua trying to curry favor with Liu Haizhong by targeting Shazhu, none of this would have happened; Zhang Zehua chose the wrong target.

No one can blame outsiders.