PCJ – Chapter 365 Confessed to Everything

Wang Shuigen glanced at Luo Changjun, then lowered his head.

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m asking you a question! Your sister was killed because of you, and you’re still acting like this?” Zhang Qigao picked up a bamboo stick and lashed it across Wang Shuigen’s body.

“Ouch!” Wang Shuigen was wearing only a white vest and a pair of shorts. The bamboo stick didn’t cause any serious injury, but it was very painful. One strike left a red mark on his body, resembling a spider web.

“Yes, yes, I’m from Ban Shan Village, Maotouqiao,” Wang Shuigen hurriedly said as Zhang Qigao raised the stick again.

“I thought you were tougher, but it only took one hit from a bamboo stick to make you give in. When County Magistrate Luo asks you a question, you’ll answer it truthfully. If you leave anything out or give a wrong answer, I’ll hit you with the stick again,” Zhang Qigao said.

“I’ll answer, I’ll answer,” Wang Shuigen’s eyes followed the bamboo stick in Zhang Qigao’s hand, terrified it would land on him again.

“Let me ask you, did you also take part in the cattle theft at Maotouqiao?” Luo Changjun asked.

“No! I had nothing to do with that!” Wang Shuigen immediately denied it.

“It seems I’ve found the right person,” Luo Changjun thought. Even if Wang Shuigen wasn’t directly involved, his expression revealed that he knew something.

“I don’t know anything, asking me is useless,” Wang Shuigen panicked.

“Oh, it seems you’ve forgotten how painful the bamboo stick feels. You scoundrel! You even stole money from elderly people in their 60s and 70s, and nearly got your sister killed. You think you can talk your way out of this?” Zhang Qigao lashed him several more times, making Wang Shuigen cry out in pain.

“Stop, stop! I’ll talk!” Wang Shuigen pleaded, “The cattle theft had nothing to do with me! It was some people from out of town—I don’t know any of them.”

“If you don’t know them, how do you know they’re from out of town?” Luo Changjun saw through Wang Shuigen’s attempt to distance himself from the crime.

“They spoke with an accent, like they were from Shiqi County in Wuxi City,” Wang Shuigen, trying to make his story believable, fabricated the details.

“You don’t understand your situation. I’m not begging you; you’re the one who needs me. If you confess to the cattle theft, I can guarantee you won’t go to jail. But if you don’t cooperate, your current theft case is undeniable. The evidence is solid: over a thousand yuan in cash and valuable gold and silver items, totaling well over ten thousand yuan. You’ve probably done this before. This is a major crime, and during a crackdown, you could even lose your life for it,” Luo Changjun warned, telling Zhang Qigao to hold off.

At that moment, a chubby monkey was holding a dog whistle, not sure how to use it but refusing to throw it away.

“Fat monkey, what are you holding? Let me see!” Zhang Jiaohua spotted the object in the monkey’s hand. He didn’t know what it was since he hadn’t seen Wang Shuigen use the small metal tube.

But the moment the leopard saw the dog whistle, it began barking ferociously, as if it had encountered an enemy.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

“What’s wrong with you, Leopard?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, puzzled.

“Woof, woof, woof!” The leopard kept barking at the whistle in the monkey’s hand, clearly not just pretending.

Zhang Jiaohua knew something was up. The leopard wasn’t barking for no reason; something about the whistle was angering it.

The monkey quickly hid the whistle behind its back, as if worried someone would take its toy, and climbed up a tree, refusing to come down.

“Come down, fat monkey!” Zhang Jiaohua called.

But the monkey shook its head stubbornly.

“I’ve got peanuts and sunflower seeds. Want to trade?” Zhang Jiaohua took some peanuts, sunflower seeds, and a few candies from his pocket.

Tempted, the monkey pointed at the whistle, then at the snacks in Zhang Jiaohua’s hand, indicating it wanted to trade.

“Alright, I’ll trade,” Zhang Jiaohua agreed.

The monkey didn’t come down, though. It wrapped its tail around a branch, hanging upside down, and used its paw to hand Zhang Jiaohua a small pouch, signaling him to put the snacks in it.

Zhang Jiaohua put the snacks into the pouch, and the monkey quickly passed him the whistle before retreating up the tree.

The leopard continued barking madly at the whistle in Zhang Jiaohua’s hand.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Jiaohua was stunned.

“Where did you get that whistle, Jiaohua?” Luo Changjun noticed the scene.

“The fat monkey picked it up. It doesn’t seem to work, but the dogs are terrified of it. When I blew it, they acted like they were dying,” Zhang Jiaohua explained.

“That might be a dog whistle. Where did the monkey find it?” Luo Changjun asked.

The monkey pointed at Wang Shuigen, chirping.

“It’s his?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

The monkey nodded.

“That makes sense. Last night, when he robbed Uncle Ji Wang’s house, he must have used the whistle to keep the dogs quiet,” Zhang Qigao realized.

Every household in the village had dogs. Without a dog whistle, the entire village would have been alerted by barking. But no one heard anything last night because the thief had a dog whistle.

“No wonder those cattle thieves stole so many cows without anyone noticing. Wang Shuigen, are you still denying your involvement? Even with this whistle, you won’t be able to clear your name. I told you, over a dozen cows were stolen in Maotouqiao. In some villages, there’s not a single cow left. Even if we don’t arrest you, word about the whistle will spread, and you’ll never be able to return home,” Luo Changjun warned.

“You can’t do that! I’m not the only one with a whistle. I really didn’t steal the cows,” Wang Shuigen continued to deny it.

“Wang Shuigen, be honest! Did you come to our Meizitang village to scout it out?” Zhang Jiaohua asked loudly.

This startled the entire village. Why had Wang Shuigen come to Meizitang? Was he planning to steal more than just Uncle Ji Wang’s money? What was his real purpose?

Buffaloes were essential for farming, each one as valuable as several laborers. Without them, plowing the fields would take forever.

“Wang Shuigen, speak up! Were you scouting our village?” Zhang Qigao lashed him twice with the bamboo stick.

“No, no!” Wang Shuigen cried out in pain.

“Wang Shuigen, even now, you won’t tell the truth? Do you want to see me die before you’ll confess?” Wang Fang suddenly staggered out of the house, shouting. She collapsed to the ground.

“Sis, don’t die! I’ll talk, I’ll confess everything!” Wang Shuigen shouted.

“It was Yuan Changlin! He wanted me to help him steal cattle because he knew I had the dog whistle. I made the whistle by accident while making other whistles a few years ago. We stole some cured meat together two years ago, but Yuan Changlin was caught and snitched on me. I was jailed for a few months. This year, he came to me again, saying cows were easy to steal because in most villages, the barns are far from the houses. The only concern was the dogs. He knew I had the whistle and wanted me to join. I didn’t trust him, so I refused, but he offered me 500 yuan to buy the whistle. I had no idea they would steal so many cows. I came to Meizitang to hide because I was afraid they’d get caught and implicate me,” Wang Shuigen confessed.

“Could Yuan Changlin steal that many cows on his own?” Luo Changjun asked, skeptical.

“No, of course not. I heard there were a few others from the town, and they used a truck to transport the stolen cows out of the area overnight, to be slaughtered and sold in a big city,” Wang Shuigen revealed more details.

“Do you know who these people from the town are?” Luo Changjun asked.

Wang Shuigen shook his head, “I don’t know them, but there was a bald, fat guy. They called him ‘Fathead.’”

“Fathead? Are you sure?” Luo Changjun asked, recognizing the name from his years working in the town.

“Yes, I’m sure. I saw them that day in the woods. The bald guy was hard to miss, and I heard them call him ‘Fathead,’” Wang Shuigen confirmed.

“Do you know anything else?” Luo Changjun asked.

“With all the attention on the case, they haven’t dared to move the cows. The ones stolen from Maotouqiao are still hidden in the mountains,” Wang Shuigen disclosed another crucial piece of information.

“Do you know where?” Luo Changjun asked excitedly.

Wang Shuigen shook his head, “No, I didn’t dare follow them. These people are ruthless. I came to Meizitang to hide because I was afraid they’d kill me to keep me quiet.”