Chapter 67: No Guilt in the Heart

Comrade Li Xuewu, please come over and sit down.

Li Xuewu nodded, walked to the desk, and sat beside Liu Guoyou.

At this moment, it was best to speak little and act cautiously—the fewer words, the better; if you didn’t have to speak, don’t.

The cadre in the Zhongshan suit glanced at Li Xuewu and tapped his pen against the notebook on the desk.

“Comrade Li Xuewu, I work in the Waishi Force; my surname is Zhou. This is Director Liu. We have some matters to clarify with you—please answer our questions truthfully.”

“Yes.”

“You were involved in handling the accident involving the train you escorted the night before yesterday, correct?”

Li Xuewu saw everyone in the room turn to look at him, as if waiting for his reply.

“Yes, I was there.”

“Did you notice any identifying features on the deceased when you examined them beneath the train?”

“No, it was pitch dark, we only had one flashlight, and...”

The cadre understood what Li Xuewu meant—the deceased’s head had been crushed.

Director Liu asked: “We know your record. Based on your experience in the Reconnaissance Company, what do you think caused the deceased to collide with the train?”

Li Xuewu carefully recalled the scene at the time and replied: “The situation was urgent then; I didn’t examine the scene closely. I assumed it was just an accident. But from the position of the body beneath the train...”

Here, Li Xuewu paused, recalling the deceased’s posture.

Director Liu and Cadre Zhou fixed their eyes on Li Xuewu, as if any wrong word might trigger panic.

Even Liu Guoyou beside him turned pale, staring at Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes, recalling again, undisturbed by their gaze, then stated firmly: “I believe it was an accident. The deceased was lying between the two rails, clutching the child tightly to his chest. There were no signs of restraint—no evidence of forced or passive death.”

“I told you so! Our train was added last-minute; the schedule wasn’t fixed. The villagers couldn’t have known a train was coming!” Liu Guoyou slapped his thigh in excitement, confirming Li Xuewu’s words.

Cadre Zhou and the others exhaled in relief, glancing toward the sofa.

Li Xuewu continued: “But the woman seemed to have been caught and dragged up. She had no visible injuries—only a hole on the top of her head from hitting a stone from the embankment.”

Liu Guoyou and Han Dache both nodded in agreement.

Cadre Zhou nodded at Li Xuewu and asked: “Can you tell if there was any... well, conflict or tension between them?”

Li Xuewu gave a bitter smile and replied: “I’m from the Reconnaissance Company, not the Investigative Team. I’ve never handled criminal investigations. I can’t say what I’m not sure of. But I’m certain—the man beneath the train loved his child, and so did the woman.”

Cadre Zhou and Director Liu exchanged a glance and nodded.

Director Liu asked: “How did you discover the child?”

“Habit.”

“Habit?”

“Yes. A habit formed on the battlefield—every time, I checked whether fallen comrades still had signs of life.”

siluke.

Director Liu and Cadre Zhou, seated beside him, hadn’t expected the young guard to give such an answer—his words stirred an instant solemnity within them.

Director Liu paused, then asked: “Did you see the child’s appearance or physical features clearly?”

Li Xuewu blinked, puzzled by the question, but answered honestly: “I didn’t at the time. It was the station attendant who noticed it during the handover. Train Chief Liu even said it might be a child from an ethnic minority.”

Hearing this, Liu Guoyou grimaced awkwardly.

Cadre Zhou looked at Liu Guoyou, then asked Li Xuewu: “Did you pick up the child? Did you notice anything unusual?”

Li Xuewu frowned at Cadre Zhou and said: “I did. I found nothing unusual—just took the child from the deceased’s arms. Train Chief Liu and the others were there too.”

The cadre narrowed his eyes, glancing at Li Xuewu, then at Liu Guoyou and Han Dache.

Li Xuewu guessed it might be about the deceased’s hand clutching the child... that incident had been mentioned by Liu Guoyou and Han Dache, but Li Xuewu couldn’t confirm it—now wasn’t the time to speak of strange things.

“Did you see how Comrade Liu Guoyou handled the bodies by the track?”

“I saw.”

“Can you describe it?”

Li Xuewu did not look at Liu Guoyou or Han Dache—he described Liu Guoyou’s actions truthfully, but omitted what Liu Guoyou had said on the train.

After hearing Li Xuewu’s account, Liu Guoyou visibly relaxed.

Li Xuewu knew perfectly well what could be said and what couldn’t.

Cadre Zhou nodded, glanced toward the bedroom, and asked: “Why did you put a note and money inside the child’s wrapping at the station?”

Li Xuewu fell silent for a moment before answering: “Ever since I pulled the child from beneath the train, he never cried. When I tried to soothe him, he looked so sweet—it reminded me of my younger siblings when they were little. I immediately assumed his parents were gone. I feared something might be wrong with him, so I placed the note and money.”

The two interrogators said nothing in response to Li Xuewu’s answer or the emotion behind it.

“When exactly did you place the note and money?”

“During the handover at the station...”

“After you noticed the child’s distinctive features?”

“Yes, but I wrote the note on the train.”

The cadre fell silent, then asked solemnly: “Are you certain you didn’t know the nationality of the person beneath the train when you handled the accident?”

“When I rescued them, I never thought about nationality. Especially not a corpse. The dead deserve respect. If I could help, I helped.”

“What about the child? Didn’t you act that way because you suspected it was a special child?”

Li Xuewu turned silently to stare at the foreigner who had suddenly interrupted him—his Mandarin was slightly off.

The foreign diplomat, dressed in a suit and tie, with a probing expression, met Li Xuewu’s gaze without flinching, his blue eyes fixed steadily on him.

“I have no guilt in my heart.”

The two foreign diplomats were taken aback by Li Xuewu’s words.

Cadre Zhou nodded and asked Director Liu, the foreign diplomat on the sofa, and the two couples: “The final on-site handler has described his actions. His character has been tested. We believe his account. Do you have any further questions?”

The foreigner on the sofa exchanged glances with the others—no one spoke.

The middle-aged man across from them frowned and muttered: “Nothing left to ask. Those who shouldn’t have been saved were saved. Those who should have been saved are gone. What more is there to say?”

The young man beside him lifted his chin and asked: “Who even are these people? All we know is my sister is gone. What does that man have to do with our family? Besides, my sister was already like that—will these two old brothers pay compensation or not?”

This family was strange—the young woman’s face was cold, but she only looked toward the foreign diplomat and Cadre Zhou when compensation was mentioned.

The woman with the scarf simply wept, but her gaze at Li Xuewu was complex—gratitude? Or something else?

Li Xuewu didn’t know their identities, but regarding the child, he had nothing to answer for. Could he have left that little life freezing on the tracks?

Though confused and troubled, he couldn’t speak in this setting—only frowned and remained silent.

Liang Ganshi, who had brought Li Xuewu in, now led Li Xuewu, Liu Guoyou, and the others out of the room, under Cadre Zhou’s signal, to the room across the hall.