Chapter 158: Investigating the Case

Seeing that his master refused to get up again, Chen Liang finally loosened his grip on the old man's hand. "You're a veteran of the underground yourself, so you should know the rule about keeping your wealth hidden, right?"

"That old fellow surnamed Zhu handed over two heavy gold bars right off the bat. Tell me, does free pie ever fall from the sky in this world?"

The old master was taken aback by Chen Liang's words. "Isn't he just asking for your help? What's wrong with paying a deposit beforehand?"

"Oh, Master, you really..." After all, this was his elder, and some things were truly hard for Chen Liang to put into words.

"You brat, your wings are getting stiff, aren't they?" Though Chen Liang left the rest unsaid, his tone still irritated the old man immensely!

"I... Where is my whip?! Today I'm going to teach you a proper lesson on respecting your teacher and the Dao!"

Chen Liang had grown up being beaten with that whip. Forget about actually seeing it; just hearing those words from his master's mouth sent a shiver straight through his heart!

Fleeing toward the courtyard entrance like a stray dog chased by its owner, he called out, "Master, can we talk this over civilly? If not, I'm out of here!"

"Get your ass back over here right now! Today you must make this clear to me!" The old master glanced at the whip in his hand, then looked at Chen Liang, who was running faster than a hound. With a resigned sigh, he tossed the whip onto the coffee table and scolded Chen Liang.

"Got it, but Master, you mustn't suddenly whip me, or I'll have to run again!" Stealing a nervous glance at the whip, Chen Liang took the opportunity while pouring tea for his master to nudge the weapon a little further away.

"Master, you haven't been active in the pugilistic world for years, so you don't understand the current situation. This is a new society where the people are the masters of the house. What kind of talk is there about deposits anymore?"

"Master, just think about it—what do I do for a living? If I take those gold bars from the Zhu family today, do you believe that in less than two days, I'll be facing a firing squad?"

Looking at his master, who had fallen into deep thought, Chen Liang continued, "Besides, I have a feeling that this fellow surnamed Zhu is no good either. Is his grandson really as innocent as he claims? If a murder really was committed, tell me, should I help him or not?"

"If I help, I'll be breaking the law knowingly, adding crimes to my offense. If I don't help, I've already taken his money, leaving evidence in his hands. By then, if that fellow surnamed Zhu spreads the word that I took bribes, I'll never escape the net of the law, Master!"

Hearing Chen Liang analyze the situation so thoroughly, the master finally let out a long sigh. "Ah! One really has to bow to old age! From now on, I'm staying out of these messy affairs. Handle this however you see fit! Help if you can, and forget it if you can't!"

In the end, Chen Liang managed to persuade his master. After all, Chen Liang was the disciple who would eventually look after him in his old age; he couldn't ruin Chen Liang just to save face.

Leaving his master's home, Chen Liang headed straight for the East City Sub-bureau, as Zhu Liu's grandson had been arrested by the Sanlitun Police Station under its jurisdiction.

According to standard case-handling procedures, the Sanlitun station should have already transferred the case to the sub-bureau, so going directly there was guaranteed to be right.

Upon arriving at the East City Sub-bureau, Chen Liang greeted the familiar police officers along the way and walked straight to the door of the director's office.

Giving a polite knock and waiting for a voice inside to invite him in, Chen Liang opened the door and stepped inside.

"Director Zhang, I heard you have some good tea here, so I specifically came to beg for a cup!"

"Hah! What a rare guest! What wind blew our ruthless detective, Section Chief Chen, all the way over here?"

That brat Chen Liang had made quite a name for himself in various circles by now. He was a rising star in the police system, and there wasn't a police station in the entire Four-Nine City where he didn't know someone.

"Section Chief Chen, my sub-bureau isn't as wealthy as your security section. Good tea? I don't have any. This coarse tea scrap is just some I managed to swipe when I went to a meeting in the city last time!"

"Oh come on, Director Zhang! Crying poor to me won't work. The big and small affairs of our section are decided by our section chief; you've knocked on the wrong door!" Hearing this, Chen Liang quickly cut off Director Zhang's complaints, pulling out his senior uncle to use as a shield.

"Now look here, Section Chief Chen, what kind of person do you take old Zhang for? Am I someone who cares about those few copper coins? I'm just saying that if we have a chance to cooperate again in the future, you, Section Chief Chen, had better cut me a little slack!"

During the last crackdown, Chen Liang had led the security section in collaborative case-handling with various sub-bureaus, and all those partnerships had been quite pleasant.

Chen Liang wasn't the type to hog all the credit for himself; whenever there was an achievement, he shared it with everyone, and old Zhang had basked in his reflected glory quite a few times.

"Oh, you mean that? No problem at all. If we get the chance to collaborate next time, I'll definitely let you take the lion's share. How does that sound?"

Chen Liang genuinely didn't care about such things. Having attained the rank of a deputy section-level cadre at such a young age, he didn't need to worry about promotions in the near future.

"Good! Section Chief Chen is certainly straightforward and a real stand-up guy!..."

After the two of them exchanged some more casual, nutrient-free corporate flattery, old Zhang finally asked, with lingering reluctance, if Chen Liang had a specific purpose for his visit today.

"Well, I actually do need a favor this time. Isn't there a murder case over in Sanlitun? I was entrusted by someone to come and take a look."

Director Zhang was quite surprised. He hadn't expected an ordinary homicide case to draw the attention of Chen Liang. Who would have guessed that family had such connections!

"Section Chief Chen, there really isn't much to say about this case. The human and physical evidence are all complete, so you've made a wasted trip!"

After thinking for a moment, Director Zhang decided to give Chen Liang the inside story on the case. "It was just a bunch of young hoodlums who got too drunk and accidentally killed someone. There's nothing to investigate!"

"I see. Then, Director Zhang, would it be possible for me to meet the killer? I have a few questions I'd like to ask him." After pondering for a moment, Chen Liang made his request.

"Is that all? Come on, I'll take you to see him right now!" Director Zhang stood up and led Chen Liang toward the detention cell in the courtyard at the back of the sub-bureau.

Upon reaching the entrance of the cell block, Chen Liang handed a pack of Peak cigarettes to Director Zhang. "Sorry to trouble you, smoke a cigarette at the door while I go inside to ask a couple of questions and come right back."

Accepting the cigarette handed to him by Chen Liang, Director Zhang waved a hand. "No worries at all, take your time asking, there's no rush!"

After offering a few more polite remarks, Chen Liang turned, pushed open the door, and stepped inside. No matter which department it belonged to, a detention cell was always a dark, damp place that never saw the light of day.

As soon as he entered, Chen Liang frowned at the pungent odor. How should he describe it? It smelled exactly like baking durian in a microwave at home—someone who didn't know any better would think you were baking excrement.

Enduring the discomfort, Chen Liang walked up to the iron bars of the cell and looked at the unkempt young man huddled in the straw. "Are you Zhu Liu's grandson, Zhu Zhenguo?"

"Hey! Are you still breathing?" When the young man failed to react, Chen Liang raised his foot and kicked hard against the iron bars.

The loud clatter finally shocked the dazed Zhu Zhenguo back to reality.

"Leader! I've been wronged! I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone!"

The very first words Zhu Zhenguo uttered upon seeing Chen Liang made the latter's frown deepen even further!