Chapter 597

The gilded coiled dragon pillar dug out from the tree hollow, which once supported Lv Yizhi's twisted faith, has now become a weapon to destroy his last psychological defense.

No matter how lightly he smiled, he could never hide the despair in his heart.

Saying 'Without the protection of power, your fate will most likely be like mine,' from certain circumstances, power is indeed the guardian deity of wealth.

But Lin Dongfan did not believe he would end in tragedy.

My wealth is truly legitimate, able to withstand investigation! You, a huge corrupt tiger, a beast that eats people without spitting bones! How can you compare to me, a human?

Lin Dongfan gazed at Lv Yizhi's deathly pale face, feeling that this old bastard was both pitiable and hateful.

As for pity, there is none at all!

Wei Shouqin is also corrupt, and a single act of corruption amounts to several billion. But Old Wei indeed has a bottom line in medical ethics, and his medical skills are superb; he would not do something that disregards human life.

But this old bastard before him, to achieve his goal, regards human life as mere weeds.

"Over 6 billion!"

Lin Dongfan's voice was as cold as if chilled with ice: 'This golden coiled dragon pillar is enough for you to spend ten lifetimes in Qincheng Prison. Adding the illegal organ harvesting, hiring assassins to murder me and others, you deserve to die! If the court, for some reason, sentences you to death with reprieve, leaving you a slim chance! Then I will investigate the handling judges together.'

Those words were as cold as ice, equivalent to directly announcing Lv Yizhi's death sentence.

Lv Yizhi lowered his head and remained silent for a moment.

Suddenly he gave a bitter smile.

Even without Lv Yizhi's testimony, that military-clad bigwig Xu Chuping above wouldn't be able to hold on; it's just a matter of these two days, and he should be arrested.

Otherwise, Lin Dongfan wouldn't have used such harsh words to extinguish his will to live.

"Lin Dongfan, before I am sentenced to death, I will definitely give you a surprise."

Lv Yizhi lifted his head and looked toward Lin Dongfan.

That faint smile, though seemingly harmless, revealed a vengeful, malicious will, causing Lin Dongfan to narrow his eyes, compose himself, and feel his inner fury blaze like fire.

The so-called surprise is nothing more than a frame-up.

This old bastard!

What tricks does he want to play?

A mere prisoner!

What tricks could he possibly pull?

These doubts flashed through Lin Dongfan's mind, and he replied lightly: 'Old bastard, I await your counterattack!'

Saying this, Lin Dongfan slapped the stone table with his palm, stood up, and walked away.

The next day.

The task force called in a professional engineering crew, which first trimmed the crown and branches of the thousand-year arhat pine, then used a crane to uproot the tree entirely.

They sawed open the trunk and transported the pure gold coiled dragon pillar inside to Baiyue Province.

Many people couldn't figure out what method Lv Yizhi had used to place a coiled dragon pillar up to 9.5 meters long into the tree's core.

At first, Lin Dongfan was also confused.

Only after deeper investigation did he realize it was actually just a simple assembly project.

A small door over a meter high was opened at the base of the tree trunk.

The 9.5-meter-tall golden coiled dragon pillar was divided into nine sections, which were moved into the tree core in sections. Then, inside the tree core, they were assembled into a 9.5-meter-tall coiled dragon pillar, with the joints fused, polished, and the dragon patterns filled in.

It must be said that our country's master craftsmen are truly awesome.

Judging solely by appearance, this coiled dragon pillar shows hardly any flaw; overall it is magnificent, as if cast in one piece, and the coiled dragon carved on the pillar is lifelike.

The greatest pity is that the thousand-year arhat pine was completely destroyed by the chainsaw.

Lin Dongfan, Peng Tianhua, and others stayed in Peach Garden County for three full days to finish the wrap-up work. Tang Zhiyuan, chief of the Lingtan Town Police Station, and the thugs under Lü Shuyong were detained by local public security. Yu Chenghe, the head of the county committee, also voluntarily went to the Bureau task force to surrender and confess his issues.

Place: Lü Family uncle and nephew, Lv Yizhi and Lü Shuyong, were then escorted back to Baiyue Province for trial.

Before departure.

Lin Dongfan specially went to the county Renmin Yiyuan to visit Lingtan Town Mayor Liu Zhuangwen, whose leg had been broken by Lü Shuyong, and fish pond owner Wang Yaosheng, who had been assessed as a minor injury grade two.

Fan Ye paid out of his own pocket and, in a private capacity, gave Wang Yaosheng 50,000 yuan in consolation money.

Wang Yaosheng grasped Lin Dongfan's hand, eyes welling with tears: 'Leader, have the Lü family members really all been arrested? Can I accept this money?'

Look, the psychological shadow is still there.

Lin Dongfan lightly patted Wang Yaosheng's hand back, smiling reassuringly: 'Don't worry, rest and recover here. Once your injury heals, you can go back to raising your fish.'

"Ah... it's like a dream; I thought this time..."

Wang Yaosheng, overwhelmed with mixed joy and sorrow, wiped away his weathered old tears mid-sentence.

Peng Tianhua raised his wrist to check his watch, reminding Lin Dongfan that time was almost up. Lin Dongfan then gave Wang Yaosheng a few more words of comfort before the group left the hospital.

On the way back to Baiyue Province.

Lin Dongfan received a thank-you message from Town Mayor Liu Zhuangwen: 'Director Lin, today your encouragement to me, I will surely keep firmly in mind, not betraying the trust of the Party and the people in me.'

Faced with such 'formal' heartfelt words, Lin Dongfan also smiled speechlessly.

Fan Ye really wanted to say:

You're a good person, but your office may not amount to much; even if I shouted for you today in the county, at most they'd just promote you to the position of town committee secretary.

In the future, it's likely to stop at the town committee level.

But these words hit too hard; after thinking it over, Lin Dongfan dismissed the idea of speaking his mind frankly, for he could hardly advise a good person to cast aside his integrity to learn the art of ruthless pragmatism.

"Take care."

In the end, Lin Dongfan simply replied with those two words.

The official minibus entered the highway, slowly heading toward Yuezhou City, the capital of Baiyue Province; Lin Dongfan also rarely relaxed, putting away his phone and closing his eyes to rest.

At the same time.

In Baiyue Province, Provincial Party Secretary Wang Daochen stood by the office window, gazing at the ever-changing world outside, feeling despondent.

Lv Yizhi fell off his horse, and this was all within Wang Daochen's expectations.

But the secretive Wu Changsheng by his side turned out to be an informant planted by Lv Yizhi for many years, which was somewhat heart‑wrenching; whenever he thought of this, Wang Daochen felt a chill down his spine.

Wu Changsheng is now missing.

Many things remain unclear.

Will the superiors therefore lose trust in him, Wang Daochen? This problem, like a heavy mountain, presses on him so that even breathing becomes a little difficult.

「Thump—」

Suddenly, a light knocking and a call came from behind: "Secretary Wang." Wang Daochen turned his head, saw Song Changeng, and couldn't be bothered to wipe away his worried expression.

Wang Daochen turned and returned to his own workstation.

At a loss, he asked Song Changeng: "The matter of Wu Changsheng must be given a clear accounting. Have the prosecutors found anyone else over there?"

"I just met Prosecutor Chen, and he said they're still investigating." Song Changeng stepped forward and replied.

Wang Daochen said anxiously: "Comrade Lin Dongfan, even during the thorough investigation of the Haishan case, we had already discovered that Wu Changsheng was problematic. Yet for all this time, in front of me he hasn't said a word. Now I really can't fathom him—is he trying to preserve my dignity, or does he not even trust me?"

"Lin Dongfan handled the Haishan case relying on your strong support. I think he's not someone who can't tell right from wrong."

Song Changeng wore a three‑part smile, but didn't dare to speak definitively.

Who knows what Lin Dongfan is thinking—people's hearts are hidden behind their bellies.