We drove back to the station and told the chief everything. He frowned as deeply as possible. He said with hesitation, “We can’t bring Hao Ren in without absolute proof. As you know, the public opinion of the police is already very bad. If this is not handled carefully, we’ll all be toast.”
Gu Chen hated this kind of preferential treatment the most, “Cooperating with the police is the civil responsibility of every citizen, why should Hao Ren be any different. He doesn’t have an extra hand or leg, so why can’t we bring him in? Are you afraid that the public will level the whole station?”
The chief nodded. “Yes, the public has started a donation drive to help him complete his dream of opening a dojo. In just mere hours, the donation has accrued 500000 RMB, that is more than enough to open a dojo at Elm Town. However, the donation is still coming in. It might go over 1000000 RMB.” Noting the color on the chief’s cheeks, I knew he must have been one of the donors. Perhaps he thought that would turn the public opinion on the law enforcement around. After all, many influential people at Elm Town had participated in the named donations.
I thought about it and said, “In that case, we’ll bring him in tomorrow. Let Hao Ren have a good night's sleep.”
The chief nodded. “When the reporters are gone tomorrow, I’ll invite him to the station. When you open your eyes next, Hao Ren will already be in the interrogation room. Special time calls for special measures. I’m sure you can understand that.”
I smiled silently.
That night, I kept pondering about something. No matter what, this whole incident was started by Zhang Bin, both objectively and subjectively. In Zhang Bin’s 20 years plus life, perhaps no one had really treated him as a human being. As the post stated, he was forced into a life of crime to survive since he was young. Perhaps Zhang Bin had gotten used to living in the dark, perhaps he could get used to living with the additional burden of being a murderer.
On the other hand, Hao Ren stood on the moral high ground because he lost his children due to Zhang Bin. His action was understandable.
For the public, if we forcibly pulled Hao Ren down from the moral high ground, perhaps the public might not be able to accept it… Even though the truth was merely two people who had not really murdered, but instead had framed each other. If either one of them was imprisoned, they would be out in mere months.
However, the dilapidation Zhang Bin exuded when he left the station that afternoon stuck in my mind. “Am I forever condemned for my past?”
I tossed and turned before finally falling asleep. When I woke up the next day, it was already 10 am. No one woke up. When I exited the bedroom, I saw Hao Ren walk into the station with the chief. Hao Ren was still the same but the chief treated Hao Ren completely differently. He bowed and led the way while Hao Ren followed behind. It was like Hao Ren was some kind of official on duty.
When he saw me, the chief said, “Xiao Wu, Hao Ren is here. I’ve decided to move our talk with him to the conference room. The interrogation room doesn’t feel suitable for Hao Ren.”
Gu Chen frowned deeper, like he could explode at any moment. I shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter, this is just a questioning. We only need Hao Ren to answer our questions honestly. Is that okay with you, Hao Ren?” He nodded.
Inside the conference room, Hao Ren looked at me and I looked at Hao Ren. When I last saw him, he was wearing an old sweater but now he was wearing a very expensive winter coat and he had a shiny new phone. After all, he was now in possession of at least 1000000 RMB. And this money was more than enough for him to have a comfortable life at Elm Town. He didn’t need to worry about Wang An’s tuition anymore, I heard that he already got a scholarship.
“Hao Ren.” I recited the name.
“That’s me.” Hao Ren nodded.
I looked at Hao Ren and an indescribable disgust rose within me. “At this point of investigation, I already know all the truth. Your series of actions, the subsequent points of your plan, I know everything. Lucky for you, you have succeeded. Your dream is to open a dojo and to give your children better lives, and you have done it. But it is on the backs of 2 dead children.”
Hao Ren looked at me and said evenly, “There’s nothing wrong with pursuing my dream and wanting to give my children a better life, is there?”
I nodded seriously as I placed my arms on the table. “Indeed, but is your conscience really clean if you build that kind of bliss on two dead children?”
Hao Ren scoffed, “Bliss is bliss, no matter the sacrifice. My son, Du Zigui and my daughter, Fang Xiao Qi can’t enjoy that bliss anymore but I still have another son and daughter, they deserve this bliss... no matter the price!” Hao Ren frowned. “I might be able to understand you better if you have been homeless on a winter day or you have spent the day without anything to eat.”
I smiled, “Interestingly enough, I have experienced both of those things. But I still won’t pick the path you did.”
Gu Chen tapped on the table and said, “Can you two not speak in circles anymore?”
I looked at Hao Ren and began, “Then let me start by telling everyone what you have done. Actually when you dropped Wang An off at Teacher Zhao’s place, you had already planned to make use of Teacher Zhao. This is because you understand Wang An’s personality, you know that he will seek mad revenge when he finds out about the incident with his older brother and sister.” I shrugged, “So you left Wang An with Teacher Zhao, hoping that she would note everything. But you didn’t expect Wang An to accidentally kill Guo Feng. But for you, this cannot be considered a bad thing because due to the loss of her son, Teacher Zhao has helped you voice the thoughts in your mind. Her son’s death made your case even more interesting”
“The thoughts in my mind?” Hao Ren asked, “I merely agreed with what she said.”
I scoffed. “No, you were the mastermind behind her speech. You know what kind of basis her words were built on. However, you were the one who burned down your own house, you were the one who ‘imprisoned’ Zhao Xiaoli, so that you could have more moral leverage.”
Hao Ren was silent.
I continued, “Zhang Bin only played one role in this event which was to run his mouth at the dinner table. Du Zigui drank the amodyne on his own, he took the drugs on his own. You must have met up with Du Zigui after he had raped Fang Xiao Qi.”
Hao Ren’s body trembled.
I said, “Du Zigui told you the truth, perhaps he blamed Zhang Bin or perhaps he blamed himself, but the truth was, the rape had happened. As a father, you must be devastated but you didn’t know how to handle it. Fang Xiao Qi didn’t come to you because it was not her personality to do so. You didn’t ask her either because you were afraid of hurting her. With her silence, you assumed things would heal with time.” I said, “But you also know things can’t end like that. You have to make Zhang Bin pay. At the same time, you knew you couldn't come to the police because Du Zigui was the main culprit in most things.”
Hao Ren was still silent.
“Therefore you came up with a series of events to turn the blame onto Zhang Bin.” I looked into Hao Ren’s eyes. “You disappeared and Fang Xiao Qi assumed you were unable to face her anymore after knowing the truth, so she died on Lunar New Year’s Eve. By then, you couldn’t turn back anymore. Your daughter was dead. If you stopped then, everything would be for nothing. In the end, it was Du Zigui who gave you the wonderful solution.” I explained slowly. “Fang Xiao Qi was dead and Du Zigui didn’t want to live anymore. So this was the last honor you wanted to give your son? He left you with a detailed plan, including sending you to Dong Xing City to upload the murder video and to hire the 50 cent army. It was very successful.”
“Yes, it was. He always had a brilliant mind.” Hao Ren’s brows smoothed out.
I pulled on my hair. “Actually Du Zigui didn’t go to find Zhang Bin to duel as he claimed in the video but instead he went to commit suicide. He left the strangulation mark on his neck, for us, no, for the public to believe that he was murdered. But in reality, he stripped down and jumped into the winter river. He hooked his nails under the ice so that he wouldn’t float away. It was a painful way to die but he was willing to do it for the sake of penance.”
I turned to Gu Chen. “And the evidence?”
Gu Chen placed the document on the table and said, “This is the detailed plan Du Zigui has sent to you. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Hao Ren opened his arms and said, “I have nothing to say. What you said is the truth. But you know, like the tires in a moving car, we’re already on the roll, it’s too late to stop now.”
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