PCJ – Chapter 369 Leniency for Confession

Night had fallen, and owls hooted softly in the mountain forest, casting the area around the Wuxi Reservoir into an eerie silence.

“I can’t take it anymore; my eyelids are twitching like crazy. Brother Xiong, are you leaving or not? If you don’t, I’m outta here! We’ve just been lookouts for them, and every time we get nothing. Risking my life for them? No way. Yusheng and his gang have never treated us as their own. Whenever there’s something good, we never get a share,” Wu Guo’an complained, trying to justify his decision to flee.

Xiong Zhanglin hesitated. “Guo’an, why not hang on a bit longer? Let’s wait until tomorrow morning before we go. Maybe Yusheng will send someone to replace us. If they sell this batch of water buffalo tomorrow, we’ll miss out big time if we run now. You know how ruthless Yusheng is. If we betray him and fall into his hands later, we’ll suffer, if not worse.”

“Brother Xiong, trust me. My gut feeling is never wrong. Yusheng might be dangerous here in the mountains, but outside of this place, he’s nothing. I’m heading straight to Guangdong. What’s Yusheng gonna do to me there?” Wu Guo’an had made up his mind.

Xiong Zhanglin was reluctant to abandon the water buffalo. “Who doesn’t want to leave? But where will we go without money? Let’s wait until we get our share from this deal, and then we’ll head to Guangdong together. I know we can’t keep doing this forever.”

Wu Guo’an shook his head. “I’m worried that if we don’t leave now, we might not get another chance.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Xiong Zhanglin made up his mind as well.

Once they decided to run, they didn’t delay further and quickly bolted.

“Changjun, looks like we need to act sooner than planned,” Zhu Kaixun said with a wry smile.

Luo Changjun chuckled helplessly. “Plans never keep up with changes. Old Zhu, your muscles aren’t rusty, right?”

“Watch and see. Who’s rusty, huh, County Magistrate Luo?” Zhu Kaixun stretched and loosened his joints.

But before they could move, they saw Wu Guo’an and Xiong Zhanglin collapse suddenly, as if a giant weight had pinned them to the ground, unable to get up.

“I knew this would happen! Should’ve run during the day,” Wu Guo’an lamented with a mournful face.

Xiong Zhanglin cursed loudly, “Damn it! Whatever you are, if you don’t let Grandpa go, I’ll haunt you even in death!”

Ding dong!

A pinecone whizzed through the air and struck Xiong Zhanglin square on the head, making him yelp in pain.

“Ow! Who is it?”

Xiong Zhanglin had been cursing loudly, thinking he’d encountered some evil spirit and that yelling would scare it away. But this time, he felt a physical attack, something a spirit wouldn’t do. It seemed more like the work of a person.

“Squeak! Squeak!” A little chubby monkey climbed down from a tree, pointing at Xiong Zhanglin and squeaking in delight.

Wu Guo’an struggled desperately, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t move. It was strange because there was nothing physically holding him down. His body was completely free, yet he couldn’t get off the ground.

“Brother Xiong, I think we’re being pressed by ghosts,” Wu Guo’an whimpered.

“I can barely breathe,” Xiong Zhanglin muttered, feeling cold dread seep into his heart.

Luo Changjun and Zhu Kaixun stood in shock, staring at Zhang Jiaohua in disbelief.

“Jiaohua, how did you do that?” Luo Changjun asked.

“Yeah, did you use some kind of magic? Does magic really exist in this world?” Zhu Kaixun’s worldview had been completely shattered by what he’d just seen.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled faintly. “Just a little trick.”

“Let’s deal with these two first,” Luo Changjun said.

A few pairs of feet suddenly appeared in front of Wu Guo’an and Xiong Zhanglin as they struggled on the ground.

“Hey, where are you two from?” Luo Changjun asked loudly.

“Who are you? Why did you ambush us? We’re just villagers from Badong, here to fish by the reservoir,” Xiong Zhanglin quickly replied.

“Why not say you’re here to catch water buffalo?” Zhang Jiaohua giggled.

“We’re just here to fish. The buffalo in the reservoir have nothing to do with us. We saw the buffalo when we arrived, but we don’t know where they came from. If you’re here to get the buffalo, just take them. We didn’t touch them,” Wu Guo’an explained nervously.

“How long have you been fishing here? Did you eat and sleep here too?” Luo Changjun asked.

“We just came today. We happened to see the buffalo. We don’t know who drove them here,” Xiong Zhanglin insisted.

“I was going to help you up when I saw you both stuck on the ground, but since you’re not cooperating, I’ll just leave you here. Jiaohua, what happens if you press a bit harder?” Luo Changjun glanced at the two men struggling on the ground.

“They’ll probably get crushed,” Zhang Jiaohua replied with a knowing look, signaling Jinhu and the others to add more force.

“Help! Help! Don’t press anymore, we’ll die!” Wu Guo’an wailed.

Xiong Zhanglin quickly followed, “I’ll confess! I’ll confess!”

“See? Why make me do this to get you to be honest? You’ve put me in a tough spot,” Luo Changjun chuckled.

The pressure on Wu Guo’an and Xiong Zhanglin’s bodies lightened, but no matter how hard they tried, they still couldn’t stand up.

“I’ll give each of you a chance: whoever talks first gets to stand up,” Luo Changjun said calmly. He wasn’t worried that either of them would stay silent. If they had the guts, they wouldn’t have tried to run away in the first place.

“I’ll go first! I’ll talk!” Wu Guo’an had no intention of resisting.

“Alright, you then,” Luo Changjun said, leaning in close and whispering in Wu Guo’an’s ear. “Can you make sure that guy doesn’t hear this?” He gestured subtly toward Xiong Zhanglin.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled, his lips moving slightly as if casting a spell. After a moment, he said, “It’s done.”

“Alright, let’s talk,” Luo Changjun said, leading Wu Guo’an to a more open spot to sit down.

“You’re police from Xintian County, right?” Wu Guo’an asked.

“More or less. You’re in big trouble this time. Even the provincial authorities know about it,” Luo Changjun replied.

“Officer, we were forced into this! The bullies in our village forced us to steal cattle. My brother Xiong—uh, Xiong Zhanglin—and I are both victims. They never trusted us fully, so every time they made money, they’d go out and have fun without us. We were forced to watch over the cattle,” Wu Guo’an quickly distanced himself from the crime.

“Whether you’re guilty or not isn’t for you to decide. Whether you go to jail depends on how much you confess. Got it? Later, I’ll ask him, and if your story doesn’t match, you’ll be charged with obstructing justice,” Luo Changjun warned.

“Don’t worry, Officer, I’ll be completely honest,” Wu Guo’an said fearfully, though in truth, he was quite cunning.

“Alright, answer my questions honestly,” Luo Changjun instructed.

Wu Guo’an nodded eagerly.

“Who’s your leader? And who are the other members?” Luo Changjun asked.

“Our leader is Huang Yusheng. He’s the infamous thug leader in Shiqi County. His main lieutenants are Chen Fugen and a few others. Xiong Zhanglin and I are just lackeys…” Wu Guo’an continued trying to exonerate himself.

“What about Old Hu?” Luo Changjun asked.

“Old Hu is one of them too, but he’s just like us, working the sidelines,” Wu Guo’an explained.

“So you’re not that important, huh? If that’s the case, your cooperation might not be enough to get you off lightly. We already know about Huang Yusheng. Your role is too small. Do you know how many cattle have been stolen in Xintian County alone? All of that will be pinned on your gang. This is a serious crime, especially during a crackdown on agricultural theft. If anyone’s going to get executed, it might be you two since we caught you red-handed. If Yusheng claims it was all your doing, guess who’s getting the death sentence?” Luo Changjun pressed, sensing that Wu Guo’an was holding back.

“Officer, I’m telling the truth!” Wu Guo’an panicked.

“You may not be lying, but you’re not telling the whole story. Fine, I gave you a chance, and you didn’t take it. Do you really think we just stumbled upon this place by accident?” Luo Changjun, experienced in criminal investigation, was skilled in interrogation.

Frightened, Wu Guo’an began to spill more details, revealing information he had initially withheld, clearly trying to leave himself a way out.

Once Wu Guo’an finished, Luo Changjun turned to interrogate Xiong Zhanglin. Unlike Wu Guo’an, Xiong Zhanglin was straightforward. Realizing the situation, he immediately threw Wu Guo’an under the bus, revealing everything he knew, including things Wu Guo’an had left out.

“It’s a pity they don’t know much about the situation in Xintian. We won’t be able to bust the entire cattle-stealing ring,” Luo Changjun sighed.

“Still, this is pretty good. If you weren’t the county magistrate, you’d make a fine detective,” Zhu Kaixun said, satisfied with the outcome.