Chapter 43: Coaxing

Le Dong’s words instantly drew the gaze of every officer present toward Xiao Zhang, Hou Kui, and Butler Ma.

The latter visibly stiffened, his eyes darting around as he instinctively tried to lower his head to avoid scrutiny. Butler Ma suddenly snapped his head up, his face a mix of shock and malice, and shrieked, "Slander! That’s a bald-faced lie! Officer, he’s talking nonsense! I’ve served the Boss for decades; why would I kill him? He’s the real murderer! They’re the ones who needed money; they’re the ones who killed for profit!"

Butler Ma spoke with rapid-fire intensity, attempting to seize the initiative, but his bluster could not hide his cowardice from the eyes of the experienced police.

"Shut up! Who told you to speak?" a SWAT officer beside him barked sharply.

The lead officer, suspicious and acting decisively, snapped several photos of the three men and picked up his radio. "Command Center, verify identities immediately: there are three individuals in custody at the scene. Check urgently if they are fugitives at large! Pay special attention to any outstanding warrants involving homicide! Acknowledge!"

A response came back promptly: "Copy that! Verifying immediately!"

The atmosphere turned deathly tense.

Le Dong and Cai Kun watched the police's reaction with bated breath. Butler Ma’s complexion shifted from ashen to deathly pale; beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his lips trembled. He seemed to want to argue further, but under the cold, piercing gaze of the SWAT team, he dared not make another sound.

The brief wait felt like an eternity.

A few minutes later, the radio crackled again, its voice ringing clearly through the silent living room:

"Command Center calling the scene! Preliminary verification confirms the bespectacled youth, 'Xiao Zhang,' real name Zhang Qiang, is the prime suspect in a slaughterhouse murder case from a neighboring province two years ago; he is at large! The bald man, real name Hou San, is an accomplice to Zhang Qiang and is also at large! Both are Grade A wanted fugitives!

The third individual currently shows no record of a fugitive warrant in the local database; further verification of his background and case associations is required. I repeat: Zhang Qiang and Hou San are confirmed Grade A fugitives!"

"Take them down!" the captain commanded.

The SWAT officers, who had been poised for action, lunged like tigers. They instantly pinned the struggling Xiao Zhang and Hou Kui to the floor, and the metallic *click* of handcuffs tightened around their wrists.

"Hahaha! I don't regret it! I've lived a life, killed dozens—I've got nothing to lose even if I die!"

Hou Kui continued his furious tirade, but he was quickly silenced by a rifle butt to the gut, causing him to double over and groan.

Xiao Zhang, by contrast, was eerily calm. He looked at Le Dong, a curved smirk playing on his lips: "Brother Le... you’d better hope I die..."

"Move!"

Their threats were drowned out by the shoving of the SWAT officers.

***

Butler Ma, hearing that he was "safe" for the moment, was just about to let out a sigh of relief when Le Dong loudly interjected, "Officer, I have evidence of Butler Ma’s actions on my phone. Not only can we testify, but there is also Boss Hu. He is the owner of this villa; he can testify as well once he wakes up!"

At these words, the light in Butler Ma’s eyes completely faded. He collapsed to the ground as if his spine had been ripped out, unable to utter another word.

He had spent decades meticulously planning to avoid any entanglement with the police, but now he knew clearly that once Boss Hu woke up, his end would be upon him.

The officer observed Butler Ma’s expression and gathered a rough idea of the situation. He reached out and took Le Dong’s phone.

Before he could check it, the officer in charge of the search reported, "Report! The K-9 unit has completed its preliminary sweep. No traces of narcotics found!"

The lead officer nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the result, as Le Dong had already denied their presence earlier.

He put away Le Dong’s phone and turned his attention to Ma Wenwen on the stretcher. "Why are you here? What exactly happened?"

Le Dong and Cai Kun exchanged a look, both hesitating.

Finally, unable to withstand the piercing scrutiny of the police, Le Dong bit the bullet and said, "I... I was hired by Boss Hu. He said it was to help him handle some... some special matters. I didn't expect to get caught up in their internal murder case..."

This wasn't entirely a lie; it simply concealed the true nature of those "special matters."

The officer’s gaze shifted to Fan Biao and Zhou Fan, especially lingering on Fan Biao’s "outfit" and the corner of the talisman protruding from Zhou Fan’s pocket. "What about you two? Why are you here? You're carrying weapons, and what is going on with this scene?"

Fan Biao let out a sheepish laugh. Even while squatting, he puffed out his chest, wearing an expression that aimed to look both honest and slightly mysterious.

"Comrade Officer, you're asking about this? Heh, I’m Fan Biao, legal representative of the Wangwang Coffin Shop... uh, and also a consultant for the local Folk Culture Research Association! This is my colleague, Zhou Fan. We were researching... uh, researching traditional architectural feng shui and folk psychological counseling!"

He adjusted his hair bun, trying his best to look "professional."

The captain’s eyes were filled with skepticism. "Feng shui and psychological counseling? You brought swords and paper talismans here to provide counseling?"

"Oh, Officer, you’ve misunderstood!" Fan Biao slapped his thigh with an exaggerated expression, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"This isn't an ordinary sword; this is... this is... uh, a replica antique artifact model created by our research association! It’s a prop! As for the paper talismans..."

Fan Biao furrowed his brows, seemingly searching for a plausible reason.

"Uh... those were drawn by my colleague while he was researching ancient folk rituals for exorcism and warding off evil—just for fun! As for why we came..."

Fan Biao’s eyes darted around, and he began to weave a story at high speed. "It was my apprentice! That one right there!" He pointed at Ma Wenwen on the ground. "He called me yesterday, crying and begging, saying his life was in danger working here! How could a master like me sit still after hearing that?"

"Panic made me lose my head. I didn't think to call the police; I just grabbed my colleague and rushed over to save him! Who would have guessed that as soon as we walked in—whoa! Man! These people were fighting like crazy! Swords, clubs, you name it!"

Fan Biao continued, touching the tear in his Tang-style robe with a pained expression, trying to gloss over the situation with a flamboyant performance and the seemingly logical, yet absurd, excuse of "breaking up a fight."

Zhou Fan, standing to the side, felt his mouth twitch. He could only cooperate with Fan Biao, keeping his head low to hide his embarrassment.

The captain and the other officers listened to this "explanation," which was riddled with holes yet delivered with such gravity. Their expressions were priceless.

Some frowned, some curled their lips, and others struggled to keep from laughing out loud.

The excuse was just too ridiculous—two "folk researchers" running into a luxury villa in the dead of night with "prop" swords and talismans to "break up a fight"? And ending up making the scene even more chaotic? It seemed bizarre and completely illogical from every angle.

"Breaking up a fight?"

The captain repeated the phrase, his voice dripping with disbelief. "You break up a fight and end up with a scene like this? What about the marks on the walls? And these marks on your clothes... they look like claw marks?" He pointed at the distinct scorched tears on the edge of Fan Biao’s robe.

Fan Biao’s heart skipped a beat, but his smile remained fixed. His brain worked at lightning speed. "This... oh! Right! Officer, you have a keen eye. It was an accident, absolutely an accident! When we were coming in, we ran into a stray dog on the roadside. We tried to shoo it away, but we got scratched instead. As for the marks on the wall? Those... those were probably made by them fighting earlier? Or... or maybe it’s just old age? They must have cut corners when building this place, it's inevitable! Heh..."

He tried to push everything off as "accidents" and "building decay," matching it with his "I'm so innocent" and "I'm just unlucky" expression, appearing both absurd and comical.

The captain stared at Fan Biao for a full ten seconds, his gaze seemingly trying to look right through him.

Ultimately, the captain seemed to give up on digging deeper into this obviously fabricated excuse—at least, it wasn't the time to do so.

He waved his hand, his voice returning to a cold, official tone.

"Enough! Everyone! Take them all back to the station for detailed statements! Seal off the scene and wait for forensics and evidence technicians! Send the wounded to the hospital and keep them under close watch! Especially these three! And for those two who are unconscious, notify me the moment they wake up!"

"Yes, sir!"

The police responded in unison, then escorted the group away from the villa, which was still heavy with the smell of blood and a lingering, icy chill.

The flashing red and blue police lights once again tore through the silence of the late night. The convoy sped off in the direction of the municipal bureau.

Le Dong leaned against the car window, the long-lost feeling of safety making his eyelids grow heavy...