Chapter 192: So You

Zhou Dewang looked up at Li Xuewu in disbelief, then at the pitch-black muzzle of the gun. With a "thud," he knelt on the ground.

Li Xuewu put the gun away, engaged the safety, and looked down at Zhou Laosan again. "I told you already, even if your brother worked in the Heavenly Court, it wouldn't help. Why did you have to shout that plea for help in the alleyway?"

Zhou Laosan felt cold sweat breaking out on his back and his thighs cramping. He could feel the foot Li Xuewu was using to stomp on his head beginning to exert force. This god of slaughter clearly wasn't just trying to scare him; even with his most powerful backer standing right in front of his brother, he really intended to cripple his hands.

Just as Li Xuewu lifted the long gun, his strength building to its peak, ready to smash it down, Zhou Laosan screamed, "I'll talk! I'll talk! Don't smash it, don't smash it! It's..."

Li Xuewu couldn't hold back his strength, but he could control the direction. The rifle butt didn't land on Zhou Laosan's hand, but on the empty ground right in front of his nose. The gore and blood on the rifle butt splattered onto Zhou Laosan's face and into his mouth.

"Ptooey, ptooey! I told you, I told you! Spare me, sob sob sob, spare me!"

Li Xuewu shook his slightly numb hand, still stepping on Zhou Laosan's head, and said to the stunned Shen Fang, "Keep him detained here for now. I'll interrogate him in a while. As for that fatty, get him medical treatment, and once he's done, bring him back for continued detention."

He then pointed to the one kneeling at the door. "Detain that one for disturbing the peace and obstructing official duties. We'll see after I interrogate the others."

Zhou Dewang was numb by now. This Li Xuewu had changed completely from a few years ago; he was too ruthless. He lifted his head slightly and said, "I don't care anymore. I won't interfere. Can I leave now?"

Shen Fang had recovered his senses. He ignored Zhou Dewang. He had been too polite to him in the past, helping each other out with small matters, but he hadn't expected Zhou to treat him like an insider and dare to come to his station to act like a big shot.

He gave a look to Old Xing and the others. Wu Zi took the handcuffs, cuffed Zhou Dewang, and dragged him toward the detention room. On the way, Zhou Dewang tried to shout, but Wu Zi punched him, forcing the sound back into his stomach.

Seeing there were no outsiders around, Shen Fang said, "Tonight, all the brothers are on your side. Don't worry about having him here; it's absolutely no problem. It's just..."

Li Xuewu smiled, pulled out Zhou Laosan's snow-white shirt from under his foot to wipe the rifle butt clean, and patted Zhou Laosan's face, which had turned pale with fear. "I'm going to make a phone call now to comfort my younger brother and sister who were scared by your shouting. I believe this much time is enough for you to write a confession and a statement of your crimes with my colleagues, right?"

Zhou Laosan's heart was pounding. That moment just now was too damn stimulating; he was still panting heavily.

"Enough... *huff*... enough, enough..."

Li Xuewu ignored him and said to the line of people holding their heads, "If you have anything to confess, hurry up and be honest with the police uncles. If I come back and see you still acting like this, I'll perform a rifle-butt-smashing-palm trick for you. You've seen it; I'm not very skilled at it yet, blood splatters everywhere, I still need to practice."

The line of squatting people shrank their heads, their hands trembling as they held their heads. *Damn, practice more? We only have two hands each, enough for you to practice twice on each of us. *

He walked over to Shen Fang and whispered, "When have I, Li Xuewu, ever eaten alone? If there's a benefit, would I forget you, Old Shen? What do you think our relationship is?"

Shen Fang felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to explain to Li Xuewu, "I'm not just one person, after all. Look..."

Li Xuewu lightly poked Shen Fang's stomach with his fist. "Alright, this pie is big enough for you to eat. Is Station Chief Guan retiring?"

Shen Fang nodded slightly. "He's not managing things anymore. First he'll go to the branch bureau, then he'll retire."

Li Xuewu said, "Alright, I know. Just wait. The station chief position is yours; it won't run away."

Shen Fang still put on a show. "Heh, it's all about serving the people. I'm fine with anything."

Li Xuewu looked at Old Xing and the others who were watching them. "Then I'll serve the people for Old Xing as well."

Seeing that Station Chief Shen and Station Chief Li had reached a "consensus," Old Xing joked along, "That would be great. Thank you, Station Chief Li, for the promotion. I can definitely handle being station chief!"

Shen Fang laughed and scolded Old Xing, "Handle my ass. You can handle anything. Hurry up and interrogate them. Wu Zi, take some men and send this black fatty to the hospital."

After giving instructions, he led Li Xuewu to the office. Walking in, Li Xuewu took a cigarette Shen Fang offered, walked to the phone, checked the sky outside, looked at his watch, and asked for the number of Dong Wenxue's home.

Dong Wenxue had clearly just arrived home; he waited a while before answering the phone.

"Who is this?"

"It's me, Teacher. I've run into a situation here."

"Speak."

Li Xuewu reported the situation from this afternoon to Dong Wenxue in detail, including the events at the police station.

After listening, Dong Wenxue pondered for a moment and said, "The dog has jumped over the wall in desperation; it seems we can start reeling in the line. Also, the mouse hasn't come out of its hole yet, so be mentally prepared. The play you wanted has already been performed. Don't worry about today's matter anymore; just do what you need to do. The steel mill side will proceed according to plan; the water-testing plan remains unchanged. Comfort your family well; the rest will be handled by Dongfeng."

Li Xuewu nodded, said goodbye to Dong Wenxue, and hung up the phone.

Shen Fang stood with his arms crossed, watching Li Xuewu finish the call. He narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems you, kid, are really not a simple character. Just now, I thought you couldn't control yourself and were going to use public office for private revenge. I didn't expect there to be an inside story."

He didn't hide anything from Shen Fang because he could pull Shen Fang in now. The "lone wolf" act performed at the station today was also to lure Shen Fang in, including the final arrangement to have these people brought back to the station and handed over to them to handle.

This was to prevent infiltration and interference from the steel mill side. Shen Fang was also the type who wouldn't release the hawk until he saw the rabbit; if you didn't show him the sweetness, he wouldn't go all out.

Seeing Li Xuewu fire two shots tonight, not even putting the Grain Bureau section chief in his eyes, and daring to be so ruthless, he must have had full preparations. It seemed this case wasn't just small; the pie was very big.

Why did Shen Fang finally pull out his Type 54 and point it at Zhou Dewang? That was a declaration. Even without the station's Type 54s backing him, Zhou Dewang would have had to kneel, but the fact that he and his men pulled out their Type 54s meant they were standing on the same front as Li Xuewu.

You have to bear the risks, but you also share the benefits.

In this world, there is no groundless hatred, nor is there groundless love. Why did Station Chief Shen call him "brother"? There are many students on the street; which one can just walk in and call him brother?

Why did Shen Fang promise Li Xuecai and Li Xue in front of Li Xuewu that they could come to him if they had trouble? It was to draw a line to his side for Li Xuewu, who was about to take flight.

Why did Shen Fang tell Li Xuewu directly about the situation of the official station chief, Guan Dalian, in front of his subordinates? It was for "heart-to-heart" communication. You know my situation, and I know yours; this is the solid bond of a long-term interest relationship.

This isn't something that can be built over a meal or one or two favors; this concerns vital interests.

Li Xuewu picked up the cigarette he had placed on the edge of the table while making the call, took a puff, and said, "It wasn't entirely for the interrogation. Thinking about it now, I'm still a bit scared."

Shen Fang nodded in understanding. "I know. What those of us in this line of work fear most is implicating our families. These people will use any means necessary. So, even if you had selfish motives just now, I wouldn't have stopped you, let alone when it was for the interrogation."

This was said with skill; it was to provide cover for Li Xuewu. In this era, interrogations didn't pay much attention to methods; as long as you interrogated the criminal facts, it was the correct method.

This was also why Old Xing and the others didn't stop Li Xuewu when he went on a rampage; they were even more ruthless than Li Xuewu, and you had to be ruthless to deal with these people.

Li Xuewu inhaled the smoke into his lungs and exhaled, easing his emotions. "I haven't contributed much to my family, and doing this job already means putting my head on my belt. If I brought any pain to my family, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life."

"So that's why you said that and did that?" Shen Fang raised an eyebrow and asked.

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Some little thugs are just cheap-skinned; you can't reason with them. Instead, only when you hurt them and make them miserable will they fear you and listen to you properly. Of course, use this method cautiously. Today's case is special, and I'm not afraid, but you still have to move up, so pay attention to the influence."

Shen Fang stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, blew the ash off his arm, and said indifferently, "I'm already 'Shen the Scarface'; what good reputation do I have left to be influenced?"

Li Xuewu couldn't help but laugh or cry. "Digging up old accounts isn't something a station chief comrade should do. Look forward. Look, didn't I bring you merit?"

Shen Fang nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Deputy Station Chief Li Xuewu, for carrying the Type 56 and working hard to deliver it, scolding me, and training me. I'm really lucky to be able to receive a share of the merit."

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

Li Xuewu shook his head. "Sigh, it's hard to be a good person these days. We take the initiative to deliver merit, but people say we're impolite and that it's just luck. Sigh, I have to go to the branch bureau to see if there's anywhere to voice our district's public security problems."

"Li, don't you dare spout nonsense! If you dare to drag me down, I'm not finished with you."

Li Xuewu wasn't afraid of the posturing Shen Fang. He smiled and said, "Then tell me, didn't I deliver merit to you?"

Shen Fang was a bit annoyed but couldn't refute it. He could only nod reluctantly. "Yes, yes, yes, I suppose so."

Li Xuewu emphasized, "Don't be reluctant. If you are, I'll call someone to transfer these few scumbags to the steel mill."

Seeing Li Xuewu about to play dirty, Shen Fang nodded helplessly. "Yes, yes, it's Station Chief Li who is merciful and rewarding me, Shen Fang. Happy now? Not reluctant, not reluctant."

Li Xuewu smiled. "As long as you're not reluctant. Don't say I'm not considerate in the future. When have I ever forgotten you?"

Shen Fang wanted to complain about how every time he was dragged along to clean up Li's mess, but he didn't say it out loud. This guy wasn't a good pie; if he said it, he might really ruin the merit he had in hand.

Li Xuewu didn't waste time with Shen Fang. He opened the door and went to the internal affairs room. Knocking on the door, he saw Li Xue chatting with Ji Yuxiu, while Li Xuecai was sitting on the side, supporting his right palm with his left hand, watching the two of them with a smile.

Seeing Li Xuewu enter, Li Xuecai and Li Xue both stood up and called out "Second Brother."

Ji Yuxiu looked at Li Xuewu's smiling face; she couldn't reconcile it with the image of the person in the lobby who was smashing people with a rifle butt.

"What are you chatting about? Chatting quite happily, huh?"

Li Xuecai glanced at Ji Yuxiu. Seeing his Second Brother looking at him, he lowered his head in embarrassment. Li Xue, however, had just stabilized her emotions, but now she was a bit agitated again. Thinking of her Second Brother's crazy behavior just now, tears began to well up in her eyes.

Li Xuewu walked over and rubbed Li Xue's head. "My sister is the strongest. Learn from your sister Yuxiu; you need to have a big heart."

Ji Yuxiu scolded Li Xuewu, "Station Chief Li, you can't be like this. I'm helping you take care of your younger brother and sister, and you're still making fun of me."

Li Xuewu said to Ji Yuxiu, "Thank you, thank you. My younger brother will be 18 after the New Year, one year older than you. My younger sister will be 16, two years younger than you. You're all around the same age. Today counts as meeting; communicate more in the future."

Ji Yuxiu had a curious and playful personality. Seeing Li Xuewu introduce their ages, it meant they were friends.

"That would be great. When I'm off, I'll go to your house to find you to play."

Li Xuewu said this on purpose. As soon as he entered the room, he saw his younger brother's eyes fixed on Ji Yuxiu's face. How could he not know his younger brother's thoughts?

Actually, Ji Yuxiu's family conditions were quite good, but Li Xuewu wasn't used to Ji Yuxiu's personality. Especially since such a family might be more suitable for Li Xuecai's personality, but not very suitable for himself, because he had too many thoughts.

Now Li Xuewu intended to narrow the distance between them to create opportunities for his younger brother.

Seeing Ji Yuxiu say she wanted to go to their house to play, Li Xuewu hadn't said anything yet, but Li Xuecai excitedly said, "Great! I finish school at 4:30 every day and am usually at home. My sister is too."

Li Xue, distracted by her Second Brother, also forgot her agitation. She pulled Ji Yuxiu's hand and said, "Sister, I'm at home every day after school. If you have time, come over."

Ji Yuxiu looked at the two of them with a smile, feeling that having friends was really quite good.

"Mm-hmm, I'm not working this weekend. I'll go to your house to find you, and we'll go out to play."

Seeing the three of them agree, Li Xuewu said to Ji Yuxiu, "It's late, and I still have work to do. I'll send them home first. You know my address; the first house on the left after entering the front courtyard is our home."

Ji Yuxiu wanted to make an appointment with Li Xuewu, but Li Xuewu didn't have time. Amidst Li Xuecai's reluctance to part and Li Xue's farewells, Li Xuewu used the police station's sidecar motorcycle to carry the two of them home.

Entering the house, he saw Li Shun, Liu Yin, his eldest brother, and his eldest sister-in-law all sitting in the main room waiting. Only Great-Grandma and Old Biaozi were sitting on the *kang* as if nothing had happened. Great-Grandma was coaxing Li Shu with a rattle-drum. Hearing the "dong-dong" sound, Li Shu used her little hands to grab Great-Grandma's hand.

Seeing her three children return, Liu Yin hurriedly stood up and asked, "How did it go?"

Seeing his second son calm and his third son spirited, and his little daughter no longer depressed as she had been at home, Li Shun knew the matter had been resolved.

Li Xuewu let the somewhat agitated Li Xuecai give the report, while he went to the inner room to coax Li Shu. Today, his handling of Li Xuecai had really scared Li Shu.

Li Xuecai had experienced a stimulating experience today that he had never had in his life: being beaten by bad guys, being beaten by his Second Brother, watching his Second Brother beat bad guys, beating bad guys himself, watching his Second Brother go crazy beating bad guys... Most importantly, there was a pretty big sister to comfort him at the end.

Watching his third son excitedly flying and wanting to bite people while recounting what happened at the police station, Li Shun and the others were dumbfounded, especially when hearing his third son talk about his second son using a rifle butt to smash people's palms.

Great-Grandma, sitting on the edge of the *kang*, hit her second grandson, who was leaning on the *kang* watching the child, with her hand, clearly blaming her grandson for being reckless.

Great-Grandpa just knocked his pipe and didn't say anything. Whatever his family's children did was right; what was there to say? Great-Grandpa looked gentle, but he was the most indulgent toward the children. Since they were small, whatever Li Xuewu wanted to play, there was nothing he wouldn't agree to.

Li Xuewu said he wanted a wooden gun, and Great-Grandpa would take good boards and use a saw to make a gun for Li Xuewu, long ones, short ones, all kinds, and even paint them, just like the real thing.

It was the same today. Li Xuewu was tossing around the whole courtyard, from the recycling station to the retail store, front courtyard, back courtyard, west courtyard. Li Shun had long been unable to stand it and wanted to speak up, but he didn't dare because he saw Great-Grandpa by Li Xuewu's side.

Seeing his grandson capable and not being bullied, this was what Great-Grandpa was most proud of. As for using a rifle butt to smash people's palms, *heh*, Xiao Laosan was just a blustering personality; how could he see clearly from so far away? He was just talking nonsense. Anyway, his grandson was good.

Li Shun was listening with a furrowed brow, but Liu Yin looked at her second son, who was holding the child and playing, with a look of praise, as if she had vented her hatred. Liu Yin had no awareness of the rule of law or moral red lines; anyone who bullied her children, she wished she could go up and tear them limb from limb herself.

Eldest sister-in-law Zhao Yafang was seeing her family describe the ruthlessness of this second younger brother-in-law in detail for the first time. She looked at the man who was being grabbed by Li Shu's little hands and was grimacing but not dodging, not quite believing it. Li Shu had long fingernails, and grabbing people hurt.

Afraid that her brother-in-law was bragging, Zhao Yafang asked the quietly sitting younger sister-in-law in a low voice. Seeing her younger sister-in-law nod proudly, she widened her eyes in disbelief.

The people in the room couldn't imagine how painful it was to have a palm smashed to pieces, but they could personally feel how terrifying Li Xuewu was after he went on a rampage; it was nothing like the daughter-slave look he had now.

Seeing his younger son finish speaking, still wanting to tell again how he slapped that person in the mouth.

"Dad, Mom, let me tell you, when I saw that person, I didn't hesitate at all. I went up and just... look at my hand, I really just 'pa-pa' slapped him a bunch. You didn't see it, I was..."

Li Shun coughed and said, "Stop blustering. Go get some medicine yourself, and let your mom help you apply medicine to your face and hands."

He stopped his younger son, who was looking a bit unseemly, and looked at his second son, who was holding the child. "You still need to be cautious in your actions, especially in the way you do things. But I won't say much to you today. First, this is your job, and I don't understand it, so I won't express an opinion. Second, you must have been mentally prepared to be able to do this. The path is yours. If there's anything like this in the future, tell the family so the family can be prepared."

Li Xuewu gently pulled away Li Shu's little hand that was grabbing his nose. This little ancestor's newly grown fingernails were sharp, and she wanted to grab everything she saw. She grabbed him with all her might, as if she were taking revenge for him scaring her, and she was saying something to him with "oh-oh" sounds.

Li Xuewu put his daughter's fingers into his mouth and bit them, making Li Shu giggle. Taking advantage of the moment his daughter was laughing, he replied to his father's words: "I know, Dad. I'll definitely be careful next time."

Li Shun nodded and said to his wife and daughter-in-law, "Since everything is fine, let's eat."

Liu Yin and Zhao Yafang stood up to serve the dishes and rice that were being kept warm in the pot. Although Li Xuewu wanted to go back to the station to deal with those few scumbags, it was already mealtime, so he didn't mind waiting a little while. He held Li Shu and let Great-Grandma eat first, and he would switch to eat later.

Li Xuewu thought that he couldn't show tension at home, otherwise his family would be in a state of panic, and they wouldn't be able to live their lives.

Li Shu already understood things now. Seeing everyone go to the table to eat, she was also a bit anxious. She twisted her body, looked at the table, pointed with her finger, turned her head to Li Xuewu, and said, "Ah~"

Li Xuewu looked at his daughter's little appearance, kissed her little face, and smiled, answering, "Ah-ya? Eating? We can't eat that now. Wait for Dad to ask Grandma if there's any milk."

Liu Yin, who was eating, said, "Don't feed her anymore. She's already had milk twice tonight. If you feed her again, she'll be stuffed."

"Look at your daughter, has she gained weight these past few days? Her Great-Grandma can almost not hold her anymore."

Li Xuewu bounced Li Shu and felt that she had indeed gained weight these past few days; even her little face had become rosy.

"Oh my, daughter, you're too good at eating. I'm afraid our family is going to raise a little fat pig."

After speaking, he opened the toy box he bought in the afternoon, took out the music box, wound it up, and let Li Shu watch it and play.

This music box was really a good thing; it could play for a long time after being wound up. Li Shu stared at the music box without blinking, pointed with her finger, and said to Li Xuewu, "Ah, ya~ ya!"

Li Xuewu really couldn't understand what his daughter was saying, but seeing his daughter happy and laughing along was enough. Seeing Li Xuewu smile, Li Shu clapped her little hands at the music box and let out giggles.

The family members eating, watching the "demon king" transform into a "daughter-doting maniac," all felt it was incredible, as if this family member had suddenly grown up.

This "demon king" gave all his gentleness and smiles to the little cutie in his arms and to his family, while the remaining coldness and severity were left for his enemies.

Recently, he hadn't been getting off work at a set time. If he saw that his house wasn't dark at night, he would come home to check on the child. Sometimes Li Shu was asleep, so he would just kiss her little hands and touch her face. Sometimes, if he caught Li Shu not asleep, he would hold her and coax her to sleep before returning to the inverted room.

Even if Li Shu didn't see Li Xuewu for a day or a few days, she didn't feel like a stranger. She had already started chatting with Li Xuewu, babbling while counting fingers.

Anyway, he couldn't understand what Li Shu was saying; Li Xuewu just responded, smiled, or played along.

Great-Grandma ate slowly. Liu Yin finished eating first, took the child from Li Xuewu's hands, and said, "Give the child to me, go eat."

Li Shu, who had just been held in his arms, wouldn't have it. She pointed at Li Xuewu, wanting a hug. Liu Yin said, "Great-granddaughter, be good, let your dad eat, we'll play with a good toy Dad bought," while winding up the somersaulting doll and placing it on the *kang*. Watching the martial arts clown doll somersaulting non-stop, she finally coaxed Li Shu.

Li Xuewu walked to the door, washed his hands, and sat at the table to start eating.

He hadn't eaten at home for several days. Something happened tonight, so Liu Yin didn't make anything else; she stir-fried cabbage slices, fried dried cabbage, and had a bowl of meat sauce.

Li Xuewu ate quickly. Although he was the last to sit at the table, he finished eating at about the same time as everyone else.

After finishing the meal, he drank a cup of boiled water that Liu Yin had cooled for him, said hello, dressed neatly, and went out the door.

Even though so many things happened today, Li Shun still didn't say anything to stop his son from going out, because he knew his son's position was very important now and there would be some night tasks. Even if they weren't confidential, Li Xuewu wouldn't tell the family, so although Li Shun and Liu Yin were worried, they couldn't stop him.

Li Xuewu arrived at the west courtyard, kicked the motorcycle to start it, went out the door, turned the alleyway corner, got onto the main road, and headed toward the police station.

Arriving at the station, he saw Wu Zi waiting in the lobby. He gave the keys to Wu Zi, told him to go park the car, and followed the direction Wu Zi pointed to find the interrogation room.

Entering the end of the corridor, he found the room where Zhou Laosan was being interrogated from the door plate.

He knocked on the door. A young man opened it. Old Xing sat inside and looked out, told the young policeman to continue, and walked out himself.

"Station Chief Li, he's finished confessing. We're going to follow the record and ask again."

Li Xuewu nodded. This was the procedure. Some people would intentionally or unintentionally forget things they had done, so they needed to be interrogated again according to the timeline.

Li Xuewu wasn't prepared to go in. This kid had already been scared out of his wits; there was no need to ask him anything else; he would say everything.

But some things needed to be explained: "In a while, focus on asking how these things were handled in the past, how his brother helped smooth things over, and who was involved."

Old Xing knew what Li Xuewu meant. This was to nail the two brothers down directly, to avoid any reversals in the future.

Old Xing had no objection to Li Xuewu's instructions, because he had also drawn his gun in the lobby. There was no turning back once the bow was drawn; Zhou Dewang had to die.

Seeing Li Xuewu had no other instructions, he nodded, said he understood, and went into the room to continue the interrogation.

Why do some interrogations take a long time? It's not that the criminal's evil deeds are too numerous to be told in three days and three nights, but that the investigators will ask again and again, pursuing details again and again.

Sometimes a question will have two answers, or a question will have an uncertain answer, which requires implementing such questions.

Li Xuewu listened at the doors of various interrogation rooms. Just then, Wu Zi, who had finished parking the car, came back and asked Li Xuewu, "Station Chief Li, which one do you want to listen to? I'll find it for you."

Li Xuewu waved his hand. He had already found the room he wanted to listen to. This time, he didn't knock, but pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside the room sat Shen Fang and a young policeman. The one handcuffed to the chair was Zhou Dewang.

Seeing Li Xuewu enter, Shen Fang ignored him and continued to stare at Zhou Dewang and ask questions, but Zhou Dewang didn't pay attention to Shen Fang, instead looking at Li Xuewu who had entered the room.

"Li, we all grew up together. Although we don't have any friendship, we don't have any hatred, right? Is it necessary?"

Li Xuewu had lost his previous brutality by now. He sat in the seat the young policeman had given up and looked at Zhou Dewang, who had a face full of *jianghu* aura.

"I remember your home is over at Baochao, right?"

Seeing Li Xuewu chatting calmly with him, clearly wanting to ease the relationship, he didn't keep his tone hard anymore, instead waving his hand at Li Xuewu, wanting a cigarette.

Li Xuewu took a Da Qianmen cigarette out of his pocket and tossed it over. Zhou Dewang caught it with his handcuffed hands, and the young policeman, at Shen Fang's signal, lit the cigarette for Zhou Dewang.

Zhou Dewang took a puff, eased his nervous mood, and then said, "Yeah, when we were little, Liu Zi always went over to your side to play. He mentioned you to me. Later, he said you went to be a soldier, and there was no news of you. I only heard from Liu Zi recently that you entered the steel mill, and I was even thinking of finding you to throw a welcome party for you."

Li Xuewu didn't light a cigarette, instead leaning back in the chair and saying, "Is Liu Zi doing well?"

Zhou Dewang blew the ash off the sleeve of his dark blue Zhongshan suit and said, "Heh, just so-so. He went to the Beijing Railway Station. I relied on my old man's light to get into the Grain Bureau, and now I've barely managed to mix into a deputy section chief, in charge of grain distribution."

Seeing Zhou Dewang turn the topic back and start talking about his background and work again, Li Xuewu laughed "hehe" and asked, "How is your old man's health? I remember he had bronchitis, right?"

Zhou Dewang also smiled and said, "Same old, just taking medicine. That's an old problem of his. At his age, it can't be cured. My old lady's health isn't good either; she has heart problems. Isn't that it? My good-for-nothing younger brother always causes trouble, and the old lady just dotes on this one. I'm also annoyed and have no way out, but I have to manage him no matter what."

Li Xuewu nodded noncommittally, stood up, and as if chatting casually, in the eyes of the young man, this Station Chief Li wasn't that irritable, as if he were chatting with a friend he hadn't seen for many years.

Only Shen Fang kept staring at Li Xuewu. He knew Li Xuewu's character; this guy was like a dog, his face changed as soon as he said it would, and you didn't know when he would suddenly give you a blow. He looked fine now, but just wait.

When he walked to Zhou Dewang's side, Li Xuewu asked inadvertently, "Hey, I remember you seem to have a younger sister, no, is it an older sister? Is it an older sister or a younger sister?"

Zhou Dewang was handcuffed to the chair and didn't see the change in Li Xuewu's expression beside him, but hearing the voice hadn't changed, he thought they were still chatting about family matters.

"Heh, both older and younger sisters. My older sister is the eldest in our family, so Shang Debiao is called Xiao Laosan. My older sister got married the year you left. Her partner is from the machinery factory. Last year, the factory area merged, and she followed her husband to Jinmen."

"My younger sister is in the same class as you and Shang Debiao, and she's best friends with Wang Yajuan and Wang Yamei. They're all in the textile factory now. You should know this, right?"

Li Xuewu stood side-by-side with Zhou Dewang, patted Zhou Dewang on the shoulder, and said, "Oh, oh, all great beauties. What did you say just now? You were going to throw a welcome party for me, right?"

Zhou Dewang was stunned, but immediately said, "Yes, yes, we haven't been together for a long time. Let's call Old Liu and have a gathering. My treat."

Li Xuewu laughed "hehe," but this laughter made one feel goosebumps all over.

"You and Shang Debiao are really brothers; you're both so hospitable. You said you were going to treat me to a welcome party, but your younger brother was one step ahead of you and already 'treated' me and 'welcomed' me. It's just that he was too enthusiastic, and I couldn't quite take it."

Zhou Dewang knew his younger brother must have offended Li Xuewu, and it wasn't what Li Xuewu said, about treating him or welcoming him. He was just being polite, and his younger brother couldn't have done that.

"Heh, Shang Debiao is also ignorant. He must have offended you. Look, we all grew up together. If there's anything, just say it, and we can talk it out. Why go to such great lengths? Look, you even alarmed Station Chief Shen."

Li Xuewu also laughed along with Zhou Dewang and said, "Yeah, Shang Debiao is ignorant. Just think, if someone blocked Shang Debiao in the alley and slapped him, blocked your younger sister and touched her all over, and blocked your younger brother and sister and said they wanted to kill your whole family, what would you do?"

With every word Li Xuewu said, Zhou Dewang's face turned white once. By the time Li Xuewu finished his three sentences, there wasn't a trace of blood left on Zhou Dewang's face; it was terrifyingly pale.

"Not... not necessary, right... how could he have that... that kind of guts..."

Li Xuewu patted Zhou Dewang on the shoulder again and said, "Your old man's health isn't good, and my father isn't young anymore. Your old lady has heart disease, but my younger brother is also the apple of my mother's eye. Your younger sister is like a delicate flower, and my younger sister is also in the bloom of youth. You say your family members are people, so what are my family members?"

"You're talking to me about friendship now, so what should I talk to my family about?"

Li Xuewu walked toward the door while speaking, and without looking back, said, "Your younger brother has already confessed your affairs. Don't even think about that so-called 'connection' of yours. This time, your younger brother played the role of the gun very thoroughly. He must eat a bullet. If you don't want to 'share the same fate as brothers,' for the sake of Liu Zi, as long as you confess everything voluntarily, I'll count it as a surrender. Whether you live or die, you choose."

After speaking, he walked out the door without caring about Zhou Dewang, who had already collapsed in the chair.

Shen Fang had finally seen Li Xuewu's power. He had been grinding with this Zhou Dewang for half a day and couldn't pry his mouth open. Li Xuewu came in, lit a cigarette, chatted about family matters, and didn't show any anger, yet Zhou Dewang, who could be considered a leader, collapsed.

In this state, Zhou Dewang would say anything you asked him. His younger brother had already sunk, and he still wanted to drag his legs down with him. The rope above had already broken. Now he was like a person who had fallen into the water, panting heavily, answering Shen Fang's questions one by one, confessing everything he could.

It was as if he were shedding the burden on his body while drowning, confessing his past affairs one by one, as if it lightened his burden. Finally, he leaned back in the chair, feeling relaxed, as if even the handcuffs on his hands had lost their weight.

Li Xuewu already knew who had instigated it, so there was no need to worry about this case anymore. Coming over again was just to clear up the lingering problem of Zhou Dewang.

Since he had pulled Shen Fang into the game, he had to share the benefits with Shen Fang. These 7+1 people were Li Xuewu's gift to Shen Fang. Although they were small fish, as long as they touched the edge of that kind of matter, there were no small fish or big fish; they all counted as fish.

He told Wu Zi, who was guarding the door, that he was leaving first and that the rest of the matter would be handled by Shen Fang.

He pushed the bicycle out of the police station's courtyard gate. When he reached the alleyway entrance and saw the streetlights, he got on the bike and rode toward the outskirts of the city.

Arriving at the residential area where the target was, he went up to the second floor of the bookstore just like yesterday. Today, it was supposed to be Xu Ning's shift, but Xu Ning had suffered such a serious injury that he could only come to watch it himself.

The door was opened by Zhao Yajun. He hadn't seen Zhao Yajun and the others at the police station today, so he thought it must have been specially arranged by Xu Ning.

Today, Zhao Yajun was even more excited than yesterday because he was carrying a weapon—a Type 56, with a holster on his waist and a Type 54 tucked in.

Li Xuewu handed the canvas bag containing the Type 56 to Zhao Yajun and asked, "Who helped you get the guns?"

Zhao Yajun carried Li Xuewu's canvas bag on his shoulder and replied, "It was Li Kezhang Xu and Warehouse Keeper Yuan."

Li Xuewu nodded without asking any more questions, and stepped up to the second floor.

It was still that small room, still these few people. Two were monitoring, and the others had gone to sleep.

Li Xuewu looked through the telescope given up by a team member. The light in Hu Zhengquan's window on the third floor was still on.

"Is there anyone at the target's home?"

The team member stood up and replied, "No. The target went to the club across the street 23 minutes ago. Several cars came over tonight, and Liu Zhaolun and Gao Fengkun went in to investigate."

Li Xuewu knew the target had already discovered them. Now, covert investigation was meaningless, but Li Xuewu wasn't prepared to withdraw. Li Xuewu had a feeling that this would be the final battlefield.

He returned the telescope to the team member and went to the lobby to wake up the team members who were changing shifts.

These team members thought it was time to change shifts and were about to go change, but were stopped by Li Xuewu.

"It's not time yet. Let's go to the target's home to take a look. Bring your weapons and follow me."

These team members were used to taking orders. They carried their long guns and followed Li Xuewu downstairs, took the long guns from Zhao Yajun's hands, and loaded them.

Seeing Li Xuewu load his gun, the others also loaded theirs.

Li Xuewu counted the number of people. There were 5 who could go with him. He nodded to the 5 people and led the way out the door.

Since covert investigation had lost its meaning, he would use a "beat the grass to scare the snake" and "drive the snake out of its hole" tactic.

Li Xuewu led the people into the courtyard openly and climbed the stairs. Even if someone passed by in the corridor, Li Xuewu and his group ignored them.

They were wearing uniforms, so these people wouldn't care even if they saw them.

When they reached the location of Hu Zhengquan's home on the third floor, it was just as Xu Ning had discovered during his investigation: the entrance to Hu Zhengquan's home was clean. Unlike other people's doorways, which were piled with cabbage, potatoes, and fire stoves, there wasn't even a cabbage leaf at his door, let alone cabbage.

Ps: Good brothers, it's not that I'm intentionally breaking the chapter; it's because of the word count limit. *Sob sob sob*, can you give Wu Wen Nong Mo your precious monthly votes~

Thank you~

This chapter is an extra for Alliance Leader Li Xinxiamuo!

Thank you, old iron~~

Rubbing my little hands, begging for votes!