Chapter 224: Arrested

The young police officer said with a hint of anger, "I'm telling you, Deputy Su, we've already gone out of our way to give you face—why are you talking in such a sarcastic tone? Your statement is just one side of the story, and the witness who vouched for you? The victim says he's in cahoots with you, so his testimony holds no weight."

Su Xinghui chuckled, thinking how truly impressive their ability was to turn black into white: his statement was "one-sided," but theirs was evidence? Even the witness's testimony was now invalid just because they said he was in cahoots with him?

The young police officer said, "Deputy Su, what are you laughing at?"

Su Xinghui said, "So my statement doesn't count, but theirs does? They say the witness is in cahoots with me, so he is? Their words aren't one-sided?"

The young police officer said, "Are you questioning our investigation? Let me tell you, with your attitude, we can easily classify your actions as assault and battery—just detain you for a few days right now. We're only giving you face because you're a government official. Don't push your luck!"

Su Xinghui couldn't be bothered to argue with him and said lazily, "Fine, don't worry about saving me any face; go ahead and detain me if you want, as long as you're prepared for the consequences when the time comes."

【6】 Su Xinghui was too lazy to argue; he said lazily, "Fine, don't give me face—arrest me if you must. Just make sure you can save face when the time comes."

The young police officer said, "We're all people of standing—why make things so tense? Just pay a couple hundred yuan for medical expenses, that's all. It's not much money."

Su Xinghui said, "I'll ask you one thing: there's a thief named Lao Shu—this noon, I helped your Public Security Unit's officers catch him. How did he get released? I want to know exactly what happened."

The young police officer's face changed, but he quickly forced calm and said, "He's not a thief. Our officers arrested the wrong person. Once we figured it out, we let him go."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Alright, you're impressive, really impressive—you can turn black into white. I'm done talking to you. I'll say this one thing: I reject mediation. Today, I'm determined to see how this ends!"

After saying this, Su Xinghui closed his eyes and rested.

The young police officer was both angry and afraid—he knew full well that if this were properly investigated, it would fall apart completely. Chang Hu and his gang were infamous thieves in Shangjun County, but he had ingratiated himself with Tao Yanbin, who always smoothed things over for them.

Chang Hu didn't just curry favor with Tao Yanbin—he was good at handling people. He regularly bribed the Public Security Unit, the police station, and other places they frequently dealt with—taking them out to meals, giving cigarettes, sometimes even cash. Most of these officers knew Chang Hu personally and would cover for him.

After Wu Jun arrested Lao Shu and brought him to the Public Security Unit, one of the officers recognized Lao Shu. Lao Shu begged him for mercy, and the officer told Deputy Captain Gong Jianjun— the same man who had answered the alarm call and led the team to the scene. Gong Jianjun then ordered Lao Shu's release.

Of course, Lao Shu had promised to bribe Gong Jianjun and the others. But just one hour after being released, he was arrested again—this time reported by someone else—and along with him, several of his accomplices.

If Su Xinghui had been an ordinary person, he'd have been in deep trouble—the police would've easily labeled this a brawl resulting in injury, and he'd have spent days in detention, fined and forced to pay medical compensation.

It was only because this young officer noticed, while taking his statement, that Su Xinghui was the Deputy Director of the Party and Government Office of Meng Hu Ling Township—and that he was only twenty-two years old—that it struck him as highly unusual, so he took the statement to show Gong Jianjun.