PCJ – Chapter 193 The Trick

Today, the area of the mountain dogs was eerily quiet. Soldier Jimou Lai was doing a night patrol with a flashlight. Normally, when he came by, he would always hear the tallest male mountain dog barking until he responded. But today, when Jimou Lai came, there was no sound at all. He even intentionally cleared his throat to get the mountain dogs’ attention, but still, there was no response.

“What’s wrong with these mountain dogs today? Why are they so quiet?” Jimou Lai muttered to himself.

Shining his flashlight into the dog pen, he found it completely empty. He quickly opened the iron gate of the pen and rushed inside, discovering that all fifteen mountain dogs had disappeared without a trace. Jimou Lai soon found the escape point, where a section of the wire fence was still shaking.

He hurriedly ran to the duty room. “It’s bad, it’s bad! Quickly call the captain! All the mountain dogs have escaped!”

The ringing of the phone woke Zhu Kaixun from his sleep. He gently moved away the two fair arms entwined around him and went to the living room to answer the phone.

“Captain, it’s bad, all the mountain dogs have escaped!”

Jimou Lai’s voice was urgent on the other end of the line. Zhu Kaixun was stunned for a moment. The mountain dogs had actually escaped at this time!

“Captain, Captain, what should we do?” Jimou Lai anxiously waited for Zhu Kaixun’s instructions.

Zhu Kaixun felt a sense of relief, “Forget it. Anyway, these mountain dogs were going to be dismissed soon. Since they’ve decided to leave, let them go. They aren’t that dangerous.”

Jimou Lai was stunned and replied after a while, “Alright, then I’ll go check on Feilong.”

Feilong had suffered a significant setback today, and he was badly injured. Feilong was a prized foreign dog that the police dog squad had obtained with great difficulty. Many people outside wanted to breed with Feilong, but Zhu Kaixun had refused them all. Feilong was Zhu Kaixun’s treasure. Normally, if Feilong was hurt, Zhu Kaixun would take care of him without eating or drinking, but this time he had gone home instead.

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Kaixun didn’t return to the warm embrace of his bed immediately. He sat on the sofa, took a pack of cigarettes from the coffee table, lit one, and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

The living room was dark, but the ceiling was dotted with a few points of light cast by the streetlights outside.

A truck was driving on the road from Zijiang City to Xintian County, its headlights illuminating everything clearly. The truck driver was startled by a large group of stray dogs on the roadside.

“Where did so many stray dogs come from?”

The “stray dogs” the driver referred to were actually the mountain dogs. They followed the road, tracking the faint scent left behind. Fortunately, the jeep carrying the twenty-three puppies had its windows open, leaving a trail of scent on the road. Whenever they encountered a vehicle, the mountain dogs would hide in the roadside woods, concealing themselves in the bushes. There weren’t many vehicles at night, so the mountain dogs moved forward sporadically. It was uncertain when they would reach their destination.

After returning to Gezhuping Town, Luo Changjun immediately interrogated the Wu brothers, Wu Shunrong and Wu Shunyao.

The brothers were held separately, and although Miao Xinghe was a victim of the theft, after Luo Changjun discovered some inconsistencies, Miao Xinghe was also brought to the police station to assist with the investigation.

“Miao Xinghe, since you knew it was the Wu brothers who stole from your house, why did you choose to confront them yourself instead of informing the police?” Luo Changjun stared at Miao Xinghe. Compared to the Wu brothers, Miao Xinghe was craftier and harder to deal with. Luo Changjun had limited information on Miao Xinghe and suspected that there was a significant case involving the three of them.

“Director Luo, I’m innocent. My house was robbed. I was in a financial crunch and went to Wu Shunrong to ask for repayment. How was I supposed to know they had stolen my money? Now that the case is solved, can I get my money back?” Miao Xinghe had regained his composure after initially being terrified by Luo Changjun and had prepared his answers.

“If you want to keep something secret, don’t do it. You, the Wu brothers, and you left the match factory together, went to Guangdong, and came back rich. What did you do in Guangdong to get rich overnight?” Luo Changjun pressed on.

“That’s slander, pure slander. I conduct my business honestly. After taking unpaid leave, I borrowed some money, brought in some goods from Guangdong, and made a profit because few dared to take the risk back then. Within a year or two, I earned enough capital. My business grew bigger and bigger,” Miao Xinghe mixed truth with lies, making it hard to discern his honesty.

“You three went together, you came back wealthy, but they returned penniless. Then they came to you. How do you explain that?” Luo Changjun asked.

“Director Luo, I don’t understand. My house was robbed, I’m the victim. Why are you questioning me instead of the thieves? I have connections with Director Xu Yinshan from Xintian County Public Security Bureau. I’ll report this to him,” Miao Xinghe threatened.

“Report to whoever you want. I’m handling this case by the law. Even if Xu Yinshan is your uncle, it won’t matter,” Luo Changjun wasn’t intimidated and sensed that Miao Xinghe had something to hide.

“Initially, we partnered in business, but after making some money, they took their share and kicked me out. They continued the business without me but quickly lost everything. They borrowed money from me. When my house was robbed, I heard they were back, so I went to demand repayment,” Miao Xinghe confidently replied.

“Don’t be smug, the net of justice has large meshes but lets nothing through. If there’s a flaw, I’ll find it!” Luo Changjun said, leaving Miao Xinghe temporarily in an office.