Chapter 262: Extremely Wicked, Unfit to Be Human

"Tell me about it."

Yu Dazhang looked at him with a solemn face:

"As long as it's not too excessive, and it's within the scope of my authority, I'll do my best to satisfy you."

This answer didn't quite match what He Tianxin had expected.

He had assumed the fat man before him would agree without hesitation.

He never expected that, before the conditions were even stated, limits had already been set.

"Then let's start with the first condition."

He Tianxin pushed himself up a little to sit straighter, then gasped for breath twice before saying:

"I can be frank, but what I've done must not affect my children and family—especially my children, they must not be affected in the slightest."

After saying this, he looked eagerly at the fat man before him, hoping he would agree and give his assurance.

He doesn't understand the law? Yu Dazhang tried to find some flaw on He Tianxin's face.

Unfortunately, he couldn't read anything; He Tianxin's expression was very serious.

"This request isn't excessive, it can be considered."

Yu Dazhang didn't dare speak too definitively, because he feared this was He Tianxin testing him.

"No." He Tianxin refused:

"I must get a definite answer. If you don't agree, there's no point in us continuing this conversation."

He didn't expect anyone to be able to find him… Yu Dazhang quickly made his judgment inwardly.

Precisely because of this, he had never paid attention to the relevant legal provisions.

Article 12 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that before a verdict is rendered according to law, no one may be determined guilty.

That's why the term "suspect" exists.

This also means that dying before a verdict leaves no criminal record.

The police will withdraw the case, the procuratorate will make a decision not to prosecute, and the court will stop the trial.

So once a criminal suspect dies, criminal pursuit terminates immediately, thus leaving no criminal record, and of course it won't affect the next generation.

Obviously, the He Tianxin before him was unlikely to last until a verdict.

This was already end-of-life care, and his current state couldn't be faked.

"Alright, I agree."

Yu Dazhang nodded and replied:

"But you have to tell the truth, without any concealment."

He had no intention of explaining these legal provisions to He Tianxin.

If he did, the other party would have no scruples and would very likely refuse to cooperate.

Hearing Yu Dazhang agree, He Tianxin's eyes lit up more than before, and he hurriedly nodded to show he understood.

"Tell me the second condition." Yu Dazhang urged.

Given He Tianxin's current condition, he could pass away at any moment.

So Yu Dazhang didn't dare waste any more time on him.

"I'll only talk about my own affairs."

He Tianxin took a deep breath:

"I won't talk about other people's affairs, and I don't want to."

Is he being loyal, or has he been threatened… Yu Dazhang found himself momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

Mainly because he couldn't determine which category He Tianxin fell into.

"This request is a bit excessive."

Yu Dazhang said, choosing his words carefully:

"I came here precisely to get a full picture from you."

"Then I'm sorry." He Tianxin shook his head:

"Everything I did was for my family. I hope you can understand."

He's been threatened… Yu Dazhang heard the unspoken meaning in his words.

To silence a dying man, threatening the lives of his family is the most effective method.

"Alright." Yu Dazhang nodded:

"Then tell me about your own affairs." He then beckoned to Liu Miao.

Liu Miao understood, immediately brought over a chair, sat beside him, took out a pen and notebook, ready to take notes at any moment.

Seeing this, He Tianxin first closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds, then opened them, looked at the two and said:

"Sixteen years ago, I was studying at Xicheng No. 2 Middle School. During school, I was always bullied by the troublemakers in my class."

"Because my family was well-off, they always found various excuses to extort money from me, and later it was almost outright robbery."

"Later, I met two guys from other schools at the arcade. It was them who made me a member of the Xicheng Twelve Young Masters."

He spoke very slowly, and after talking for a while, had to stop to catch his breath and rest.

During his break, Yu Dazhang seized the chance to ask:

"How did you guys get this title? Does it have any special meaning?"

"No special meaning, it's just a name." He Tianxin replied:

"Besides, I wasn't the one who came up with the name. Even if it has a meaning, I wouldn't know."

He's evading information about that person… Yu Dazhang knew he had concerns, so he didn't press too much.

!

He Tianxin rested a while longer before continuing:

"You already know the conditions for joining them. At the time, the ones I hated most were the few classmates who were always bullying me."

"So I teamed up with a few of them, kidnapped the ringleader, and killed him with my own hands."

"After that, I framed another classmate who often bullied me, making him take the blame."

He Tianxin then recounted the incident in detail.

He also gave the names of both the victim and the one who'd been wrongly accused.

Liu Miao sat beside him, recording rapidly with a pen, not daring to relax for a moment, afraid of missing a single word.

"Even if you hadn't told us this, we would have uncovered it sooner or later."

Yu Dazhang wore a somewhat dissatisfied expression:

"Tell me something I'm interested in. I'm very curious—what did you people do to Han Lianwen back then?"

When Han Lianwen had been mentioned earlier, he'd noticed He Tianxin's reaction was off.

It seemed He Tianxin was very afraid to bring up this person.

Yu Dazhang couldn't quite figure it out—clearly they were the ones who'd abducted Han Lianwen, and they were also the ones who'd committed the violence, so why would he be so afraid?

Sure enough, the moment Han Lianwen was brought up, He Tianxin immediately shook his head and refused:

"I said it already—I'll only talk about my own business."

"You weren't involved in what happened to Han Lianwen back then?" Yu Dazhang pressed.

He Tianxin fell silent.

He looked to be wrestling with himself.

"I understand," Yu Dazhang said, staring at him:

"All of you took part, including you."

"It's not that you don't want to talk about Han Lianwen—it's that you can't bring yourself to say it. What could be so shameful you can't get the words out?"

"You've already told me about killing someone and framing another—whatever else could you possibly not say?"

His words seemed to be addressed to He Tianxin, but in truth he was asking himself.

Yu Dazhang was accustomed to using this kind of self-questioning method to reason through cases.

"There's only one answer," he went on:

"What you people did to Han Lianwen was so depraved it was beneath human decency!"

"Although I don't know exactly what you did, the fact that you're running from it like this means it must have been extremely cruel…"

Before Yu Dazhang could continue, He Tianxin suddenly cried out in agitation:

"Stop!"

That shout seemed to use up every ounce of strength in his body, and his face instantly went deathly pale.

The body that had been leaning against the bed now curled up into a ball.

His hands gripped the bedsheet so tightly his fingernails dug in, yet he seemed to feel no pain at all.

"I don't know, I don't know."

He Tianxin gasped for air, as if enduring immense agony, the words seeming to be squeezed out through gritted teeth:

"I didn't want to either, but I had no choice…"

His voice grew smaller and smaller, until at last his mouth only moved, yet no sound came out.

(End of chapter)