Chapter 26: A Wanted Fugitive, a Captain of the Criminal Police, and a County Committee Secretary

Hah!

Qin Chuan, who was busy comforting Li Xiaoyue, caught a glimpse of Song Hui's movements out of the corner of his eye, yet he made no move to stop him immediately.

Reaching for a gun? Good. For a piece of scum like this, just breaking one of his hands would be getting off too easy. Without the gun, how could he justify going for the kill?

Qin Chuan shifted slightly, angling himself perfectly for the strike, a cold glint radiating from the fruit knife in his right hand.

*Click!*

The sound of the safety being disengaged was crisp and melodious. Song Hui’s trembling left hand finally grasped the old Type 54 pistol from its holster. The grip was worn smooth and shiny; the dark, hollow muzzle rose slowly, aiming straight at Qin Chuan.

"Haha! Qin, you bastard, today I’m sending you to your grave!"

*Thwack!*

Then...

"Argh!"

Song Hui saw a flash of cold light streak toward him from Qin Chuan’s direction. A chill ran through his left wrist as the fruit knife pinned it firmly to the wall!

"My hand!"

A sneer flashed in Qin Chuan’s eyes. As he threw the knife, he pushed Li Xiaoyue down onto the bed, shouting, "Watch out for the gun!"

He then raised his leg and delivered a fierce kick to the now-crumbling Song Hui. As luck would have it, the blow landed squarely between his legs.

*Squelch!*

It sounded like eggs shattering. "Awoo!"

Accompanied by Song Hui’s shrill, blood-curdling scream, the sound was so piercing that Li Xiaoyue couldn't help but squeeze her own legs shut.

"Moron..."

Qin Chuan leaned in close to Song Hui, mouthing the word silently before speaking aloud: "Song Hui! You attempted rape, and now you’re trying to silence the witnesses?!"

Ignoring Song Hui, who was curled into a shrimp on the floor, Qin Chuan walked over to the coffee table and dug a tiny camera, no bigger than a fingernail, out of a potted plant. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he had spotted the faint red reflection of the lens the moment he entered the room.

That’s more like it. Providing women to Song Hui, recording the rape, and using the footage for blackmail—this was the classic playbook of a true villain. This was also why Qin Chuan hadn’t killed him outright, choosing instead to bait him into drawing his weapon. Without the gun, Song Hui posed no lethal threat to Qin Chuan. But with the gun, Qin Chuan could justify any level of brutality as self-defense.

*Wail! Wail!*

At that moment, the sound of police sirens began to echo from outside.

***

It seemed Jiang Yaoyao’s call to the police had worked. Within ten minutes, a squad of officers swarmed the building.

The team was led by Liang Kai, the chief of the Zhulin County Urban Police Station. Among all the station chiefs in Zhulin County, Liang Kai was indisputably the top dog. As the head of the urban station, his status was no lower than that of Song Hui, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, as both men served concurrently as members of the County Public Security Bureau’s Party Committee.

Liang Kai had come in person due to the notoriety of the Red Pavilion. As one of the three biggest dens of vice in the county, he knew its background all too well. Upon receiving the report, he had led the charge personally.

The scene he encountered was one he would never forget for the rest of his life.

In the hallway, a poor soul lay on the ground with his arms twisted at unnatural angles, neither dead nor alive. In one room, Sun Tao, the personal secretary to the County Party Secretary, was handcuffed to a radiator, his face covered in blood—and, for some inexplicable reason, completely naked from the waist down.

In another room, Song Hui, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, had his right wrist shattered, with shards of bone protruding through the skin. His left hand was pinned to the wall by a fruit knife, blood dripping steadily. Between his legs lay a pulpy mess, with blood pooling on the floor.

Standing in front of him was a young man who claimed to be a local police officer.

Liang Kai was utterly stunned. What kind of officer would dare to arrest the County Party Secretary’s secretary and the captain of the county’s Criminal Investigation Brigade?

"Old... Old Liang! Arrest him! Quick... get me to the hospital..."

Song Hui, huddled in a corner, recognized Liang Kai’s voice and opened his eyes hazily to call for help.

Qin Chuan didn't even glance at Song Hui. He saluted Liang Kai and immediately reported the situation. "Reporting to Chief Liang, the man in the hallway is the perpetrator of the 318 rape and murder case in Beizhou. Sun Tao and Song Hui are suspected of attempted rape; I have surveillance footage here as evidence. These two women are the victims."

Jiang Yaoyao and Li Xiaoyue, following Qin Chuan’s instructions, had already started recording with their phones. They stood on either side of Qin Chuan, filming from multiple angles to ensure a comprehensive, three-dimensional record.

Liang Kai... he wasn't a good man, but his "Sin Eye" reading showed less than 10 points of evil. In the melting pot of Zhulin County, keeping his sin count under 10 meant he wasn't a saint, but he wasn't a monster either. With the evidence in hand and two witnesses in Jiang Yaoyao and Li Xiaoyue, Sun Tao and Song Hui weren't going anywhere!

***

"Take them away!"

Facing the cameras, Liang Kai knew that regardless of how this played out later, he had to enforce the law impartially right now. However, he couldn't quite figure Qin Chuan out. A lowly officer from Changning Town daring to arrest the County Party Secretary’s secretary and cripple the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade... where did he get the nerve?

The manager of the Red Pavilion was also taken in for questioning.

Zhou Xuexi, who had been preparing for bed, sat in silence for a long time after receiving Liang Kai's call. He had been planning to hold an expanded Party Committee meeting the next day to remove Song Hui. He never expected this kid, Qin Chuan, to be so ferocious.

*Is this the kind of subordinate I’ll have from now on?*

Suddenly, he felt a spark of joy.

Some were happy, while others were not. Take, for instance, Gao Qingshan, the Secretary of the Zhulin County Party Committee.

*Crash!*

An exquisite tea cup shattered as Gao Qingshan slammed it down. "Useless!"

But he quickly calmed himself. Both Sun Tao and Song Hui were his people, yet they had been taken down by a lowly police officer in the Red Pavilion. To Gao Qingshan, it sounded like a fairy tale.

*Has Chen Mingguang finally lost his patience?*

In Zhulin County, the only person capable of being his rival was the County Mayor who had been parachuted in from above. Gao Qingshan had considered peaceful coexistence, but that choice wasn't his to make. His backing in Xing'an City was the Mayor, while Chen Mingguang’s support came from the newly appointed Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. If the winds were turbulent at the top, how could the waters remain calm below?

After pondering for a long time, Gao Qingshan picked up his phone. He hesitated for a moment before dialing a number with no name attached.

"Old Leader, it’s me, Xiao Gao..."