Chapter 99: Revenge

"How about this, there is a matter, as long as you agree, I will try my best to work on it, striving to verify that you brothers did not belong to a hooligan armed fight. As for your deceased brother, we will come forward and let their village provide appropriate compensation; after all, the incident happened on their ground. Then, your brother's funeral can also be cremated here! Let the deceased be laid to rest as soon as possible!"

"What?!" Chang Huaqiang jumped up from the stool all of a sudden!

Old Shi was startled by his sudden action, then reacted, "Slap!" He slammed the table: "What are you doing? Sit down!"

Then he pulled a long face and said: "I am doing this for your own good! Do you know what the situation is now? The national crackdown! For this kind of hooligan fight, it is all handled strictly, heavily, and quickly! Did your two brothers participate in the armed fight? Hmm? Do you want me to read Chang Huazhong's confession to you?"

Although Chang Huaqiang had traveled north and south over the years and seen some of the world, this was the first time he had encountered such a thing. Coupled with his extremely lacking legal knowledge, and thinking that Chang Huazhong didn't know where he was or what his situation was, and there was no one around to consult with! For a moment, a feeling of helplessness surged into his heart!

Just as he was at a loss, Old Shi said again: "I am also doing this for your own good. You are out and about, can you say that the things loaded in the car are completely problem-free? Besides, you don't have reliable evidence now. We went to the road you mentioned and didn't see the tree you said was blocking the road! We can't just determine that someone robbed you based on your one-sided words, right?"

Chang Huaqiang finally understood completely. It seemed that the reason the other party dared to do this kind of thing near their own village without any avoidance was because they had something to rely on! I'm afraid that as soon as the two brothers reported the case, the other side knew about it. Otherwise, how could the scene have been cleaned up so cleanly?

And this person in front of him, who kept Chang Huazhong from seeing him, was probably also using Chang Huazhong to restrain him. God knows what he had been tricked into saying by this person, who was younger than him? Perhaps Huazhong said the same thing as him, but this old oil-slick in front of him just wouldn't let him make up his mind, making him afraid to gamble!

Hmph! This cunning old thing! Chang Huaqiang thought of this and raised his voice: "Where is my brother Chang Huazhong? I want to see him!"

"Heh heh! We found Chang Huazhong's fingerprints on the handle of the knife that killed Chang Huasheng. He is now a suspect in the murder and cannot see anyone!" Seeing that he was no longer timid, Old Shi played his trump card.

Chang Huaqiang was caught by his weak point and didn't know what to do for a moment. Seeing this, Old Shi continued: "I'll be straight with you! The only way to save your brother is for you to do as I say. This case will be closed as an accidental death. We will issue you an accidental death certificate, cremate him here, and the village will give you some compensation. Both sides will not pursue the matter further, and this will be the end of it. If you keep digging, I'm afraid your brother won't be safe either!"

"Ah!" This completely shocked Chang Huaqiang! Although he wasn't familiar with the law, he knew right from wrong! This was completely mud-slinging and shielding criminals!

The other party had spoken to this point, and they had calculated that he had no power to resist! Heh! Chang Huaqiang let out a cold laugh in his heart! It seemed he was still too naive!

Chang Huaqiang held his head with both hands and was silent for ten minutes. Old Shi was not in a hurry, drinking tea unhurriedly, occasionally making "slurp, slurp" sounds.

"Where is my third brother? If you want me to agree, let me see him first!" Chang Huaqiang made up his mind and stood up abruptly!

This time Old Shi didn't pull a long face and slam the table. He chuckled dryly: "Young people are flexible. Going with the flow is the smart way!"

After saying this, he took out a folder, opened the transcript inside, and said: "Come, sign your name on it, and you can go with your brother. Chang Huasheng's remains have already been sent to the crematorium. You go directly there in a while, and come back to get the car after you're done!"

Chang Huaqiang signed the transcripts one by one, numbly. The tears he had held back for a long time finally flowed down the corners of his eyes...

At three o'clock in the morning, Chang Huazhong was holding a dark little box and sobbing incessantly. This was the free urn arranged by the crematorium. Chang Huaqiang walked in front with a livid face, and the two walked slowly through the streets of the small city in the winter night like wandering ghosts.

I don't know how long it took, but when they reached the gate of the county Gongan Bureau, the sky was already dawning. Chang Huaqiang looked back at his little brother's red and swollen eyes and said word by word: "Huazhong! Stop crying! It's useless, Second Brother won't come back! And no one will stand up for us because of your tears! From now on, we can only make others cry! I will never allow others to make us cry again!"

———

"Haha!" Chang Huazhong in the wheelchair quietly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand and laughed: "Damn it! That time we killed that bumpkin was really satisfying! Second Brother! The 21st century is almost here! Big Brother and I are welcoming the new century on our own turf! Are you happy?"

———

Finally, the three brothers set off for their hometown again, only one of them had turned into a handful of ashes!

Three months later, on an early spring evening, on a small road connecting a small city in Xiangxi, Huaxian, to Nanjiang Province, an old farmer in his fifties was pulling a cart of miscellaneous wood used for firewood, walking slowly. Suddenly, he felt a blur before his eyes, and something jumped out from the drainage ditch on the side of the road. When he looked closely, he saw a person wearing a thin black padded jacket, with a hood attached to the hat on his head and face, with only his eyes exposed. The old man met the eyes of that person and felt a sudden panic! That person's gaze was too fierce!

The old man hurriedly looked away and continued on his way, pulling the cart. After walking another ten meters or so, the scene in the drainage ditch in the distance, because the distance had shortened, also kept appearing before the old man's eyes.

At this time, he saw a person lying splayed out on the side of the ditch. On such a cold day, how could someone be lying here?

The old man felt strange, so he stepped forward quickly, but the scene before him scared him so much that he sat on the ground...

The deceased was a villager from a village under the jurisdiction of Huaxian, a hooligan nicknamed Er Gou, Lyu Dali. This person usually had no proper job, but he had a capable brother-in-law who found a connection to give him a position in the county security team, which was a job where he got paid without having to attend. Usually, when he had nothing to do, he would wander around the mountains and hunt some game for fun.

When he was discovered by the old man, his body was still warm. There were bruises all over his body, and two of his ribs were broken. According to the identification by the county forensic doctor, what took his life was a 4-centimeter-long, 10-centimeter-deep wound in his heart! The corners of the wound were one blunt and one sharp, piercing into the deceased's pericardial cavity, causing the deceased to die from massive bleeding.

Deputy Director Du of the county Gongan Bureau and the criminal police officer Old Shi, who rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, felt their hearts "skip a beat" when they saw the appearance of the deceased! Deputy Director Du even tripped and almost fell, but fortunately, Old Shi was quick-eyed and fast-handed and supported him! ===== CHAPTER 100 =====