Dongcun was the furthest village from Yandou Town. There was only one dirt road leading to it. Because it was near an old river embankment, few people frequented the area. Several times, it became the place where a man named Ba Xiong committed rape.
The country road was uneven, and the minivan jiggled along, not moving too fast. Ba Xiong and his companions, seated inside the vehicle, were chatting.
"Brother, I heard the boss you're following now is bigger than the Huangpu River. Chen Nairong, such a powerful figure, was taken down just like that. Truly impressive!" Ba Xiong said. "We've been struggling in our small territory, never seen the big world, never set foot in the major ports. Now we want you to help us make an introduction. We want to join."
"No problem. After we take care of this little lady, if you guys can also take care of Ping An, I guarantee now that you'll get a share of Chen Nairong's former business." Niu Daixing said with a laugh.
"It's quite curious, though. I wonder who the boss you're following is, to possess such power." Ba Xiong pondered. "Killing Ping An is one thing, but someone needs to clean up the mess afterward."
"I don't know why the boss insists on killing Ping An, but I'm absolutely sure that killing him won't stir up any major trouble!" Niu Daixing said confidently.
In the deep autumn countryside, yellow leaves covered the ground. After driving over a muddy path, the minivan stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. This warehouse used to be used by the reservoir to store emergency relief supplies. Later, a new reservoir was built downstream, and this one was abandoned. Now, in this large tract of barren land near the river, only a section of the river embankment was visible, along with this warehouse.
"Arriving at this place, do you still expect someone to save you?" Ba Xiong opened the rear door of the minivan, his face contorted into a ferocious expression as he spoke to Lin Dang.
"Drag her out. If she doesn't cooperate, beat her up first." Ba Xiong nudged Lin Dang's foot with his hand. Lin Dang flinched as if bitten by a snake, quickly retracting her foot.
Not far away on the country road, Ping An, riding his motorcycle, gripped the brakes tightly and drifted around a narrow bend with his knee close to the ground. His movements were fluid and skillful, making the police brothers, who had been trailing him by over a hundred meters, sigh with admiration.
Ping An would never have imagined that his lifelong passion for motorcycles would now become a life-saving skill in his desperate race against time.
Leaping over a pothole at a high angle, a white minivan finally appeared before Ping An.
After being dragged out of the minivan's trunk, Lin Dang's heart had already died.
She instinctively tensed her body, making a final resistance. However, she was no match for the strength of three or four big men. After enduring a beating, her body was drained of its last bit of strength, leaving her no choice but to submit. One of her hands was already tied to a nail on a single bar.
"Still taking pictures?" one of Ba Xiong's men asked with a lewd grin.
"Yes! Take them, and show them to Ping An later. Take a full set!" Niu Daixing said.
"Hahahaha!" A burst of laughter scared away a flock of sparrows preparing for hibernation.
"I, even as a ghost, will not forgive you..." Lin Dang looked at Ba Xiong, who was tying her other hand, one word at a time.
"What?" Ba Xiong leaned his ear closer, wanting to hear what the final words of his prey were.
At that very moment, Lin Dang seemed to have mustered her last ounce of strength and bit down on Ba Xiong's neck.
"Ah!" Ba Xiong cried out in agony. Instinctively, he reached for his neck, only to feel a stream of scorching blood. A piece of flesh from his neck had been bitten off.
"You dirty bitch!" Ba Xiong, driven mad by the pain, pulled out a butterfly knife and ruthlessly plunged it into Lin Dang's abdomen, then yanked it out again.
"This... is good..."
Lin Dang felt a numbness in her abdomen, followed by a burning sensation, and finally, a piercing pain spread throughout her body. Gritting her teeth, she softly uttered these last words.
Drip, a raindrop fell from the sky. Ba Xiong suddenly looked up, his face contorted in pain and ferocity.
Then, a "swish—thwack" sound was heard by everyone.
A steel ball landed on the back of Ba Xiong's head and fell to the ground, merging with a raindrop.
"Police! Don't move!" The policeman who had been trailing Ping An the whole way saw Ping An discard his motorcycle and, without a word, fired a shot from his slingshot. He also shouted loudly.
"Police? Where?" Niu Daixing and the others, hearing the policeman's shout, instinctively looked around. However, they only saw a man in black holding something that was unclear whether it was a gun or a slingshot, running quickly towards them.
"Swish—thwack"
"Swish—thwack"
"Swish—thwack"
Niu Daixing tried to get a clearer look, but before he could even widen his eyes, he heard the sound of steel balls cutting through the air, one after another.
"Ouch!" A steel ball hit Niu Daixing on the nose. Now he understood without even looking; it was a slingshot.
Ping An, walking towards them, resembled a hunter. He seemed unconcerned about the advantage of the slingshot's long-range attack. While powerfully launching the steel balls, he was steadily approaching.
"Who the hell are you... Ouch!" One of Ba Xiong's subordinates, closest to Ping An, seeing him approach, rubbed his swollen eye and stepped forward to question him. Before he could finish, Ping An shot him at point-blank range directly in the forehead.
In fact, the slingshot, as a long-range weapon, displayed its advantage when fired from a distance. But Ping An was fighting in a seemingly suicidal manner. After entering the group of men, he unleashed several point-blank shots. While they were crying out in pain, he quickly went to Lin Dang's side.
"Girl! Girl!"
Ping An, holding his knife-wounded side with one hand, reached out with the other to untie the ropes.
"Ping An, I'll kill you!" Niu Daixing, who had suffered the least beating, was the first to react. He pulled a fruit knife from his body and fiercely stabbed at Ping An, who had his back to him.
Ping An seemed to sense the danger and twisted his body. The knife did not penetrate but instead drew a bloody gash.
"You son of a bitch!" Ping An, without even looking at his wound, turned around, grabbed Niu Daixing, and threw a punch. Niu Daixing, significantly shorter and lighter than Ping An, was like a small chick in Ping An's hands. After just three punches, Niu Daixing had lost consciousness.
Dropping the blood-soaked Niu Daixing, Ping An scanned the scene. He noticed two people had fled by car amidst the chaos. His police brother was sitting on Ba Xiong, pinning another man down with both hands.
The situation was at least under control. Ping An quickly turned back to continue untying Lin Dang.
By this time, Lin Dang had already fainted. Only a faint breath could be felt.
"Girl, don't scare me!"
"Girl, why were you so foolish to come alone?"
Ping An held Lin Dang, shouting loudly. This time, he was truly afraid. He feared that this silly and lovely girl would die in this desolate place.
"Bang!" A gunshot echoed through the wilderness.
Ping An turned his head. He saw Niu Daixing, who had somehow appeared behind him, holding a sharp knife, his face contorted in rage, and then slumped to the ground.
The one who fired the shot was Director Liu, who had arrived by car.
Raindrops gradually connected into lines, falling on the gray, misty mountains.
Ping An was on the left, beside Niu Daixing, whose dead eyes seemed to stare in disbelief. On the right was Lin Dang, appearing close to death. Director Liu's shouts to control the scene continued to echo, but all Ping An could hear was a ringing in his ears. The situation was under control, yet he felt lost, staring at Lin Dang lying in a pool of blood, his body seemingly frozen.
Had she really died like this?
Lin Dang was having a dream.
When she was in school, she didn't like boys her own age.
Her secret crush was her math teacher in high school.
He was a middle-aged man over 40.
Reason told her to hide this small, beautiful affection shyly.
She knew she shouldn't feel this way. She simply liked people who could protect, guide, and love her like a father or an older brother. Thus, when she first met the man whose identity she had assumed in a murder scene, besides the fear of being exposed, she felt a flicker of joy, as if she had done something mischievous and was about to be scolded by her father or educated by her brother. She liked that feeling.
She loved literature, and her greatest dream was to become a journalist. For four years of college, her only idol was that journalist named Ping An, who exposed the underworld regardless of personal danger. They met, got acquainted, and grew closer. Living and working together in a dramatic fashion, Lin Dang spent her most beautiful teenage years. She didn't know if she should turn the admiration she had accumulated over four years into love in real life, but she was always ready to awaken this love.
The dream continued. She lay in Ping An's arms, listening to his nonsensical rationalizations and his exaggerated bragging. As she listened, she heard other voices in her ear—
"Apply for two more units of plasma. Monitor blood pressure. How are the wounds?"
"The area of the penetrating wound isn't large, but there's lung infection. It's difficult to operate!"
"There must be more than one bleeding point!"
"Director, what about the patient's consciousness?"
"Critical condition!"
At the end of the dimly lit corridor was an operating room door flashing "Emergency Treatment." Ping An's hands, dried blood caked on them, were sticky and covered in layers of scab. However, he couldn't bother with that now. For three hours since Lin Dang had been taken into the operating room, he had been sitting there.
"Patient's name?"
"Lin Dang? Oh, no, it's Lin Zexu!"
"Who are you to the patient?"
"Colleague!"
"Sit there and wait!"
"Okay!"
And so, he sat there, waiting.
Although he couldn't help in the operating room, he continued to sit there because the doctor had told him to wait there. It was as if only by sitting there would everything get better. Lin Dang would soon come bouncing out of that cold door, sticking out her tongue.
At some point, he became accustomed to her voice. It seemed that as long as he heard her voice, he could do anything with peace of mind.
Ping An's leader had said he was born to be a journalist. Lin Dang's appearance made Ping An realize that she too was born to be a journalist. Initial admiration, followed by calm interaction, then gradual habit, and finally, a rescue without regard for personal safety.
Though never spoken, she had already opened his long-sealed heart.
He loved her.
From the moment he saw someone stab her with a knife.
He understood that from now on, no one could take her out of his life.
The afternoon sun streamed lazily into the hospital corridor in broken shafts of light. As Mei Qian and An Jing rushed to the hospital, the police officer taking Ping An's statement was beginning to suspect if the person before him was deaf and mute.
"Brother!" An Jing had never seen her brother so disheveled. She rushed forward and hugged him.
"I'm Mei Qian from the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division. Director Liu here knows the situation. He's still chasing suspects and can't get away. You can go back for now; the statement can be taken later." Mei Qian patted the policeman's shoulder.
"Cigarette!" Ping An said without looking up, addressing Mei Qian.
"In the hospital..." Mei Qian started, then suddenly noticed Ping An's red-rimmed eyes and swallowed the rest of his words. He took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and gently handed them over.
"That girl always felt she was capable of anything. I always suspected something was off with Niu Daixing. I didn't dare to investigate rashly." Perhaps seeing a familiar face, Ping An began to blame himself. The tears he had been holding back finally rolled down.
"That's not right!" Ping An suddenly stood up and grabbed Mei Qian's collar. "Niu Jian is dead. You should have visited and investigated, right? What about your investigation and evidence collection? Surely you didn't believe that scoundrel was just a hoodlum? You believed what a hoodlum reported?"
"Ping An, listen to me..." Mei Qian helplessly tried to break free from Ping An's grip, but Ping An only held on tighter.
"After Niu Jian's incident, our investigation found that Niu Daixing disappeared for a while after Niu Jian's death. Moreover, the relationship between Niu Daixing and his father, Niu Jian, was not harmonious. Niu Daixing had once attacked his father with an axe..." Mei Qian began to explain things, looking at Ping An, who was like a mad tiger.
"You were watching him all along? Then how did he have the opportunity to do that to Lin Dang?" Ping An asked in a low voice.
"Who told your people to go to the Niu family and interact with Niu Daixing!" Mei Qian couldn't hold back anymore. He also grabbed Ping An's collar and said, "Do you know that you yourself have been within the scope of suspicion all along! Lin Dang is your person. Your people appeared at the Niu family, and you were seen in public with Niu Daixing. After our people watched them being taken to the police station, thinking they wouldn't be out for a while, they took the opportunity to report the situation and then went to take a bath, and then—"
"You knew Niu Daixing was problematic! Why didn't you say anything? If you had said something, Lin Dang wouldn't have been involved. That foolish girl thought he was really going to sue me and went to beg for mercy!" Ping An said. "That's not right! The new task force was just formed; they wouldn't move that fast—"
"Ask Gao Xiaofei!" Mei Qian yanked Ping An's hand away, exasperated, and squatted on the ground, leaning against the wall.
"What else don't I know!" Ping An asked through gritted teeth.
"The police always know more than you, because we are police. So stop causing trouble. Go back to your job. We all know you're not a bad person. When the real culprits are caught, everything will return to normal!" Mei Qian said, holding onto the last sliver of hope, trying to persuade him.
Persuasion was useless. Ping An patted An Jing's shoulder, lowered his head, and said, "Stay here and keep watch for me. I'll be right back!" Then he left without looking back.
"Gao Xiaofei is in trouble now. Why doesn't Ping An understand our good intentions! He always thinks we police solve cases based on intuition. But no matter who it is, in the face of evidence, anything is possible, even your own father could be suspected!" Mei Qian stood up and cautiously walked to An Jing, muttering to himself.
"Get lost!" This was the first time An Jing had angrily rebuked her beloved from the bottom of her heart.
When he left the Municipal Bureau that morning, Ping An mused on the impermanence of life and the elusiveness of truth. By the afternoon, when he returned to the Municipal Bureau, he was prepared to spend the night in the detention center.
In Gao Xiaofei's office, looking tired, he was patiently handing over the case to Xiang Wanfeng. Although both were team leaders, one was deputy department-level and the other was full department-level, and one came from a provincial department directly, while the other was from the municipal bureau. In terms of rank, they were not on the same level.
"So, you've put in all the effort, and I agree with your direction of investigation. Little Gao, I have to say, you do have some skills." This was not a humble remark made out of comfort. After thoroughly understanding the case, Xiang Wanfeng sincerely admired the efforts of his brothers.
"That's how the case is. One thing leads to another. I always feel like someone is deliberately setting traps for us, waiting for us to jump in. Once we jump in and grasp a clue, we're then surrounded by a sea of mysteries." Gao Xiaofei complained. "The biggest difficulty with this series of cases isn't their complexity. If we had enough time, we could investigate slowly and eventually uncover things. But just as we start to get a lead on a case, a new one occurs. The new case not only cleverly obstructs our investigation but also presents several new investigative directions, causing the snowball to grow larger and larger."
"Little Gao, although you are not on the task force, this pile of cases still cannot do without you. The drug trafficking case you handled is also part of Chen Nairong's case, isn't it? And everyone knows your relationship with Ping An, so you need to be attentive and not just let it go." Xiang Wanfeng said.
"Just tell me what you want. Hurry up. Something has happened to Ping An, and I need to go see him." Gao Xiaofei said impatiently.
"That's what I wanted to talk about. Gao Xiaofei, others may not know, but I know you like to play dirty. With that young girl Lin Dang having this incident, Ping An will likely come to you for an explanation. So don't hide anything. I am now in charge of the task force, you can throw the dirty water at me." Xiang Wanfeng said.
"Every arrangement I made was reported to the organization. The materials are all there. The stakeout points, the points watching Gao Min and Liu Juan, all have people. You can call and ask yourself." Gao Xiaofei's heart twitched when he heard Ping An's name. He lit a cigarette impatiently. "As for the rest, Ping An probably knows more than I do. You can ask him yourself."
"Hmm, I see you haven't sent anyone to watch Ping An?" Xiang Wanfeng asked.
"I'm with him almost every day. I know everything he does." Gao Xiaofei said, exhaling a smoke ring. "So there's no need."
"You know, but I haven't seen you report it!" Xiang Wanfeng pressed.
"Old Xiang, you've been in this circle for so long. You must have heard of Ping An's name. His courage to climb mountains and fight tigers is not something ordinary people can provoke. I don't know what your game is today, and I don't want to know what you and Ping An were whispering about this morning. But I warn you, everything must be done according to the rules. This is the basis of my cooperation with Ping An and our tacit understanding as friends." Gao Xiaofei said. "The case has reached this point; it's just the final step. Ping An is not the mastermind. The mastermind is targeting him. I don't tell him some things, partly because of discipline, and partly to prevent him from going too far. The evidence chain may suspect him, but I, Old Gao, have never."
"Bang!" The office door was suddenly kicked open, and Ping An entered with a ferocious expression.
"There are still twenty minutes until work ends, right?" Ping An asked, looking at the clock on the wall.
"How is Lin Dang? I've wanted to go for a long time. It's just that Branch Chief Xiang here is endless." Sweat suddenly poured down Gao Xiaofei's chubby face like a waterfall.
"Nineteen minutes left!" Ping An said, as if possessed by a hungry ghost.
"Uh, you guys chat. I have something to do!" The cunning Xiang Wanfeng played both sides, then, with a twist of his backside, tried to leave.
"Bang!" Ping An seemed to give Xiang Wanfeng no chance. He kicked his foot backward, closing the office door. "You stay too!"
"Ping An, listen to me. It was my oversight!" Gao Xiaofei said, a little flustered.
"There are sixteen minutes left. You should call your mom first!" Ping An said with a cold face.
"Why should I call my mom?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"Today is the fifteenth. Your mom always makes dumplings. You'll probably lose a few teeth later. Don't go scare the old lady with a swollen face!" Ping An rolled up his sleeves and said expressionlessly.
"Ping An, what do you want? You dare to threaten a police officer? You want to assault a police officer!" Xiang Wanfeng threatened.
"In my understanding, once you finish work, you're temporarily not police officers anymore!" Ping An took off his outer jacket and threw it at Gao Xiaofei's face.
"Ping An, listen to me, listen to me. I didn't want to either, and I feel bad too. I ate Lin Dang's cooking last night. How could I harm her? But she threw herself into it!" Gao Xiaofei said.
"You still have the nerve to mention her cooking. You ate plenty of it! You heartless wretch!" Ping An said fiercely. "It's fine if you treated me as a suspect, you dog. You have your rules to follow, but you should have at least revealed some information about Niu Daixing. He's just a hoodlum; it would have been found out sooner or later. Would Lin Dang have gone to see him if she knew he was a hoodlum?"
"Old Ping! I'm a police officer! I have my discipline to uphold! Even if you were my father and mother, I wouldn't reveal classified information!" Gao Xiaofei also got angry and shouted at Ping An.
"You are a police officer! You damn well are a police officer! So you have the latest intelligence, and you didn't tell me? You haven't given up on the line of Su Xia and Gao Min, have you? Do you know that I almost ruled out that black couple as suspects!" Ping An's anger grew. "Do you know what's behind this case? You damn well don't trust me!"
"You don't say anything! You don't explain anything clearly! How do you know that black couple embezzled Chen Nairong's money? What did you say to that little hoodlum in the bar? Why did you give Su Xia a hundred thousand yuan? You ate noodles in the morning, and Chen Nairong went to find you in the afternoon? Niu Jian, Wu An, Ren Liu – who was the uncle you asked them to contact before they died? Have you explained it to me? Do you trust me?" Gao Xiaofei, his temper flaring, threw a teacup at Ping An.
"Why don't you ask! Did you ask? Did you ask? Every day you pretend to be an elementary school student by my side, appearing loyal on the outside, but inwardly extremely filthy. Ask me!" Ping An blocked the cup with his hand and lunged forward, grabbing Gao Xiaofei and punching him!
"Ping An! You hit me! You hit me! That's it for today!" Gao Xiaofei, stunned for a few seconds, unexpectedly charged at Ping An and pinned him to the ground.
As night fell, the police officers who had been busy with cases all day had already gotten off work. However, Gao Xiaofei's office was in a state of extreme excitement.
Xiang Wanfeng desperately tried to separate the two rolling around, but their strength was too great. Perhaps they had not erupted for a long time, and this fight continued in front of Xiang Wanfeng.
"Ow! Ping An, you're biting me! You damn dog, do you know how much trouble I've cleaned up for you? I was supposed to be on vacation, but when I heard you were involved in a case, I shamelessly came back to help you. You're biting me!" Gao Xiaofei, being taller and heavier, had the upper hand over Ping An, who had fiercely bitten him.
"Forget it! You followed me, thinking of finding a way to get with Fei Keqing, but she's not interested in your big butt. What? I saw through you, right? You don't care about your face anymore, do you? Go ahead and kill me!" Ping An, who was ultimately pinned down by Gao Xiaofei, panted and shouted loudly.
Releasing Ping An's hand, Gao Xiaofei sat cross-legged, facing Ping An, his eyes reddening.
"Ping An, if you say that, we can't be brothers anymore!" Gao Xiaofei said with a choked voice.
"You've always been using me! You're just using me, and then you pretend to be a brother!" Ping An struggled to squat up.
"Ping An! You son of a bitch! Your conscience has been eaten by dogs! I was blind! From today onwards, we are truly not brothers anymore!" Gao Xiaofei, heartbroken, roared. "You're not allowed to call my mom 'godmother' anymore!"