Chapter 89
Chapter 89
By the time Song Xiaotian finished speaking, Meng Yifan and I were stunned.
After everything, it turned out he was still a cop. His original undercover mission had been to investigate the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange case.
It was just that later on, the plan shifted toward wiping out the criminal underworld of Lanjiang City.
“Do you know why I’ve been helping you with everything I had from the very beginning?”
Song Xiaotian turned to glance at me. “When I told you about that serial case from fifteen years ago, you told me about this Seven Deaths for Life Exchange thing. You directly linked the serial murders to the Massacre Case.”
“You connected so many dots. I spent a year undercover and couldn’t find the killer, yet you gave me the answer right away. You told me all those cases were committed by Lv Zhengxian, and that Du Ruhai is Lv Zhengxian.”
I was speechless. It took me a long moment to stutter out, “It was only because you gave me the clues that I was able to piece them together…”
Song Xiaotian gave a bitter laugh. “Maybe it’s just fate. Destiny tied us together, letting us learn the whole truth, even if we have no way to bring that man to justice.”
“Do you know why I walked out earlier when Du Ruhai tried to flip me?”
“To stall for time,” I said, “so someone could bring up Li Xiumei’s ashes.”
He shook his head. “Not really. When I saw Lin Zhifeng with Du Ruhai, I was debating whether to continue my undercover work by staying by Du Ruhai’s side. But on second thought, if I truly resolved to go deep undercover with him, I would have had to tell him exactly where Du Mingyang’s ashes were hidden. Tonight’s outcome would have been unsolvable-a dead end.”
Confused, Meng Yifan asked, “Why would it be a dead end? At worst, we would’ve been imprisoned by Du Ruhai first, and then you could’ve found a way to rescue us later, right?”
Song Xiaotian shook his head again. “When I asked him to spare your lives, he actually agreed. His agreement meant he definitely intended to kill you. It just meant changing a public execution into a private murder. I had no choice but to have someone bring up Li Xiumei’s ashes to protect you first.”
I sighed and asked him, “So what do you do now? You’ve completely fallen out with Lin Zhifeng. He’s the underworld boss of Lanjiang City; he’ll definitely put a hit out on you. Also… are you really going to prison?”
Song Xiaotian smiled. “Lin Zhifeng is nothing to worry about. My Master and the others are definitely moving in soon. A lot of people are about to be arrested, including that superior who fired me-you saw him at the Club just now.”
“As for whether I’ll go to prison, it probably won’t be that severe. But this time, I really might not be able to be a cop anymore.”
As he said those last words, I saw a flicker of loneliness on his face.
Even though he constantly claimed he didn’t like being a cop and badmouthed the force every chance he got, I could tell that deep down, he truly wanted to be one.
He was a good cop. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have scolded us along with Brother Liu when he found out Brother Liu had taken our money.
He was an upright officer.
Meng Yifan, showing a rare bit of tact, quickly changed the subject. “I can’t figure out this Old Zhao Seven. Since he’s not on Du Ruhai’s side, why did he mess with us like that? Everyone’s goal was to deal with Du Ruhai, yet that bastard tried to get us killed!”
“He didn’t intend to leave us for dead,” I said.
Meng Yifan cursed, “He lured us to that place! If it wasn’t for Li Xiumei tonight, at least two of the three of us would be dead.”
I hated Old Zhao Seven too; the man had a twisted sense of humor.
But truth be told, he really hadn’t intended to harm us.
I broke it down for Meng Yifan: “When Du Ruhai took the urn, Old Zhao Seven didn’t even blink. He was calmer than we were because he knew Li Xiumei was in our car from the very beginning. As for how he knew, don’t forget what he does for a living. He probably even calculated that we were going to his house to steal from him.”
I suspected that back when he went to buy cigarettes, he already knew what I was up to-even though I’d hidden Du Mingyang’s urn under the seat and put the empty bag in the trunk.
So, he knew all along that Li Xiumei would be brought inside, and he knew we wouldn’t get into any real trouble tonight.
But the hateful part was that he played us like fools, letting us walk right into danger.
“Smart.”
Song Xiaotian shot me an appreciative glance. “Old Zhao Seven’s depth is definitely no shallower than Du Ruhai’s. He probably didn’t lie to us today; he just played us. I suspect those letters he mentioned really are at Du Ruhai’s place.”
I didn’t quite understand that and asked Song Xiaotian why he thought so.
“I’m guessing you guys didn’t see it.”
Song Xiaotian cursed, “That old bastard was faking being unconscious when Li Xiumei attacked him. When we were running, I saw him sneak into one of the rooms. I bet he took advantage of the chaos to go in and grab those letters, or at least take photos of them.”
Meng Yifan and I were instantly stunned.
That old man… was he even human anymore?
Not only was he plotting against us, but he also knew exactly what we were thinking and what we were going to do next. And while knowing our next moves, he used us to achieve his own goals.
This man was fucking terrifying!
I suspected even Du Ruhai couldn’t match his level of scheming.
“Do you think Li Xiumei can actually kill Du Ruhai tonight?” Meng Yifan asked suddenly. “If she just kills him directly, wouldn’t that be the end of it? All our problems would be solved.”
Song Xiaotian shook his head. “She probably won’t succeed. I don’t think Du Ruhai dies that easily. But if Li Xiumei really does kill him, that would be fantastic.”
The car pulled over to the side of the road. I looked out the window and realized Song Xiaotian had driven us to the foot of Baishi Mountain.
He got out and found his own Buick. After opening the door, he turned back to look at us. “I might disappear for two days. Don’t try to contact me during that time.”
Meng Yifan and I asked him what he was going to do.
He said firmly, “I’ve collected a lot of evidence against Lin Zhifeng and some of our internal people. I need to hand those things over to my Master. I need to make sure the people who belong behind bars get sent there first.”
I frowned. “You’ll be in danger. They’re going to try and crush you over the next two days.”
Song Xiaotian laughed. “The person who can take my life hasn’t been born yet. Besides, I’m a cop. As long as I’m a cop for a day, I have to do what a cop should do. I’ll come find you once I’ve settled things. Don’t contact me. If anything goes wrong, I don’t want to drag you down with me.”
Before we could say another word, he got into his car and drove away.
Meng Yifan looked worried. “Do you think anything will happen to him? Undercovers never have a good ending. He’s basically offended every criminal out there, and I bet the people inside his department are going to try and screw him over too.”
I sighed. “We’re too weak to help him. He’s always the one helping us. We can only pray for his safety.”
To be honest, I suddenly felt like our level of moral character wasn’t even worthy of being his brothers.
He truly was a righteous, good cop.