Before Li Shang could speak, Chang Erbing next to him couldn't contain his anger, suddenly slapped the search warrant onto Ma Bin's face, and said harshly, "Refusing a search is a serious crime. Step aside, or I'll take you back to the Patrol Office, and it won't be easy for you to come out again."

A red handprint was left on Ma Bin's face as he awkwardly stepped back.

He wiped the search warrant from his face, rolled it into a ball in front of the two of them, stuffed it into his mouth, picked up a bottle of liquor from the bar, and swallowed it down his throat.

"You?" Chang Erbing was stunned in shock, never having seen anyone dare to eat a search warrant in front of a Chief Constable.

Furious, he reached out to grab Ma Bin by the neck.

Ma Bin stood still, as members of the Cyan Wolf Gang around them smashed their bottles simultaneously and surrounded them menacingly.

Chang Erbing's hand froze an inch from Ma Bin's neck, sweat quickly appearing on his forehead. He blustered, "You swallowed the search warrant!"

Ma Bin wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, "Who saw that?"

Li Shang kicked a chair over onto the floor, pulling Chang Erbing back as he let out an incredulous laugh, "So be it, harboring a murderer and resisting arrest. Cyan Wolf Gang's guts really exceed my imagination."

Ma Bin seemed momentarily intimidated by Li Shang's aura, pondered for a moment, then waved his hand. The surrounding gang members dropped their bottles and dispersed.

Then he lowered his voice, spoke with a blend of soft and firm, "I apologize, Captain Li, please understand the deep sorrow of a father losing his child in middle age."

"Our Cyan Wolf Gang absolutely did not harbor Zheng Hang. In fact, Boss Zheng also believes Zheng Hang was murdered."

"I'm afraid the Patrol Office got this case wrong. Now you're coming to search, just adding salt to our boss's wound. The boss doesn't want to see anyone from the Patrol Office right now, so..."

"How about this, the Cyan Wolf Gang has already narrowed down the suspect range of this case. Just give us another week, once we catch the real culprit, I'll certainly persuade Boss Zheng to host a banquet to apologize to Captain Li. How about it?"

Li Shang stared deeply at Ma Bin, with a meaningful expression, "Are you implying that I, Li Shang, have created a wrongful case, and this little Cyan Wolf Gang wants to teach the Patrol Office how to investigate a case?"

Li Shang's eyes bled with undisguised murderous intent as he turned to leave without further words, and Chang Erbing quickly followed with a cold snort.

Ma Bin waited in place for three seconds, plastering a rather flustered expression on his face, and then chased to the door.

Ma Bin caught up to Li Shang, hurriedly explaining, "Captain Li, that's not what I meant, the Cyan Wolf Gang wouldn't dare to tell the Patrol Office what to do, it's just..."

Ma Bin stuttered, sighed deeply, "Boss Zheng is just immersed in grief, just wanting to find the real culprit and avenge his son. We mean no harm, I hope Captain Li can understand."

Having said that, Ma Bin quickly took out a check from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "This is from Boss Zheng, for Captain Li and the guys to have some tea."

Li Shang glanced at the number on the check, his expression slightly easing.

He, who prided himself on his ability to read people as though with x-ray eyes, could clearly see who had handed the check to him.

Li Shang put away the check and said quietly, "The Patrol Office needs to close the case and catch the culprit, the Cyan Wolf Gang wants to find the culprit and take revenge. These two things don't conflict, do you understand?"

Ma Bin was stunned, showing a confused look.

Out of consideration for the check, Li Shang added, "It's impossible for the Patrol Office to be wrong in their case. I don't care whether the Cyan Wolf Gang admits it or not, but don't let any noise come to my ears, got it?"

Ma Bin suddenly understood and nodded, "The Patrol Office needs face, Boss Zheng wants the inside job done."

Li Shang frowned, thinking Ma Bin had some smarts, but not much, this kind of understanding is fine but shouldn't be said to the face.

But then again, it made sense. A gang member, no matter how smart, lacked insight and understanding of rules.

Ma Bin seemed to realize he shouldn't have said that, showing an apologetic expression, gritting his teeth and asking Li Shang to wait a moment, then took out two gold bars to hand over.

Li Shang and Chang Erbing exchanged a glance, each taking a bar, with a teaching smile on their faces.

No rules can be taught, it's not a big problem.

Li Shang took out a cardholder from his pocket and handed a card to Ma Bin, who hurriedly took it.

Li Shang spoke in a lowered, quiet voice, "The pain of losing a child is understandable, but don't lose your mind and do things without considering the consequences, causing trouble for others."

Ma Bin nodded, "Captain Li rest assured, I will persuade Boss Zheng."

"Persuade?!!"

Li Shang's lips curled with contempt, scoffing,

"You're a smart man and loyal enough to Boss Zheng. But let me teach you something, a gang is like a quagmire. The most loyal tend to sink to the bottom first."

Ma Bin looked embarrassed, unsure how to respond.

"Think about what I said." Li Shang tossed out the words, swaggering away with Chang Erbing.

Ma Bin watched the two leave, and his face, previously filled with expressions, became indifferent as he placed the business card in his pocket.

Then, not rushing, he took out a white handkerchief and knelt down meticulously to wipe and smooth out the wine stain on his pant leg.

Leaving the Blood Rose Bar, as he settled into the blue and white car, Chang Erbing started the engine and said to Li Shang in the backseat, "Captain Li, even though the Cyan Wolf Gang's boss is stubborn, the second-in-command seems quite reasonable; this trip was worth it."

Li Shang gently replied, somewhat contemptuously, "That's typical. These gangs usually choose the boss based on the highest martial arts cultivation, the one who can fight the best, rarely picking someone who can think."

Chang Erbing nodded and continued, "Judging by the Cyan Wolf Gang, it seems they really are searching everywhere for the real culprit. Could it be Zheng Hang hasn't actually gone into hiding after committing murder but is dead with no corpse found?"

Li Shang half-squinted, "What do you think?"

"I think..." Chang Erbing caught a glimpse of Li Shang's gloomy face in the rearview mirror, changing his words to, "The Cyan Wolf Gang puts on a good show, but unfortunately, we've investigated Zheng Hang's last phone communications."

"Wang Wei was called to the school warehouse by Zheng Hang, and before she died, her bank account received a transfer from Zheng Hang. The evidence is solid; Wang Wei was lured and murdered by Zheng Hang." analyzed Chang Erbing clearly.

Li Shang gave a cold snort, decisively stating, "The case is closed. Anyone who tries to overturn it is just asking for trouble. Don't bring it up again."

Chang Erbing nodded and asked as they drove out of 798 Street, "Captain Li, where are we headed now?"

Li Shang: "Back to the station to apply for another search warrant."

Chang Erbing: "Ma Bin paid us already; going after him again isn't right."

Li Shang lit a cigarette, exhaling slowly: "You ate yesterday, won't you eat today?"

Chang Erbing swallowed his saliva but felt a thrill inside, thinking, "Captain Li has quite the appetite. But if we get a gold bar today, could there be another tomorrow? Damn, it's no wonder everyone at the station loves working under Captain Li."

Li Shang didn't hide his greed, straightforwardly saying, "Today's share was given by Ma Bin."

"But Ma Bin doesn't control the Cyan Wolf Gang, so what he offers is just scraps."

"If we want the real deal, we need to pry open Zheng Si's mouth. Once we do, we'll get the meat, and not just once; we can feast on the Cyan Wolf Gang anytime we want."

"This case is the best opportunity."

"There's a major case being supervised by the headquarters right now, and they haven't called us for support, which means we're not part of it. So, in the meantime, we brothers have to find our own food."

Chang Erbing fully understood, admiringly acknowledging, "High-level thinking, Captain Li, you intend to tame this wolf into a house dog, using a blunt knife to carve the meat."

Li Shang rolled down the window, flicking the cigarette butt out: "When you work with me, Li Shang, I can't promise you a crown on your head, but at least I can guarantee you'll eat your fill!"

Chang Erbing nodded vigorously, trusting Captain Li's words, and made up his mind to follow his lead in future cases. When Captain Li said east, he would never head west.

The blue and white car drove steadily back to the Patrol Office.

…

——Boss, Li Shang came with a Chief Constable causing trouble, but Bin took care of it.

——Following Bin's instructions, I'm guarding Boss Zheng. Lately, Boss Zheng seems a bit deranged, even having played a few women to death.

——Another woman's body buried; since Brother Tong's burial, I've been burying bodies daily.

——Boss, I'm so anxious; I feel like I'm in danger. I'm terrified the next body I bury might be my own.

Morning.

Feng Mu awoke, glancing at four unread messages on his phone.

He sensed that Ma Wei was under tremendous mental pressure, as he was almost incoherent.

Humans cannot bury their own bodies, so what Ma Wei feared wouldn't happen.

As for the events Ma Wei reported, they were only snippets. Or rather, Ma Wei, from his perspective, could only see the surface, not the core behind it all.

From this, Feng Mu couldn't deduce the connections behind these events; perhaps they were just standalone incidents?

The only piece of useful information was…

"Zheng Si's deranged?!" Feng Mu pondered, "The meaning behind 'guarding' here is intriguing; is this a form of soft detention?"

…...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.