Chapter Thirty: A Dead Knot

"Zhao He, Zhao He!" I let out a heavy sigh. If it was manslaughter, sentencing him to more than ten years would be entirely reasonable. If it was excessive self-defense, he would still get around three years. No matter how I looked at it, Zhao He's current situation was grim.

He still cared quite a bit about his little sister. Even while trapped in trouble himself, he had notified Han Shanshan and asked me to come save her. I had no idea how difficult the mess that followed would be to clean up.

"Uncle Zhao, let's go to the police station and take a look first," I suggested to Zhao Xi.

Zhao He had a hard fate, and after killing two people, his yang energy and killing intent were enough to scare off even the fiercest ghosts. Still, I was afraid he might not escape the calamity of imprisonment—or the hurdle posed by the Wang Family.

"There's no other way. Sigh, that boy does nothing but cause trouble. His mother's probably gone mad with rage by now!" Zhao Xi shook his head repeatedly, looking extremely troubled.

After a while, Han Shanshan came running over. "Hey, Qianqian knows Zhao He's been taken to the station and insists on coming along, no matter what."

"I'm talking to you! Tsk, don't you know she's mentally unwell right now?" I pointed at Han Shanshan. That girl really was missing a few wires upstairs. Didn't she know that Qianqian's grandfather had just died? How could she still bring up Zhao He with her?

Han Shanshan stuck out her tongue and shrugged. "The police will come looking for her to take a statement anyway. Besides, I'm worried about Zhao He too. When she asked, I could only tell her the truth."

I looked at Zhao Qian, who was leaning against the wall in the corridor, utterly grief-stricken, and found myself speechless at Han Shanshan.

Once someone fell ill or suffered a mental breakdown, it became very easy for filthy things to prey on them. Zhao Qian had fainted earlier, which was why the fierce ghost had nearly succeeded. Her mental state was still poor, so I suggested that she travel with me in case anything happened again.

Zhao Xi had no objection. He also felt that his daughter would be safer with me. Soon, our three cars left the Central Hospital.

Zhao Qian sat dazed in the passenger seat. After suffering several blows, she had grown much more haggard, too exhausted to say a single word.

I comforted her a few times, but seeing that her spirits were so low, I stopped talking.

We arrived at Chengxiang Police Station in silence.

Zhao He sat on a chair with both his hands and feet shackled. The interrogators were questioning him about some details, while Zhao Qian's mother and a group of relatives stood outside, making phone calls nonstop, apparently trying to pull some strings.

The police bureau's director and deputy director were standing nearby, accompanying Zhao Qian's mother.

Zhao Qian's mother, Ren Yun, was the county's top official in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Just as Zhao Xi was about to step forward and greet her, she raised a hand to stop him, indicating that she was on the phone.

Don't be fooled by how domineering Zhao Xi acted during gatherings of the Zhao Family. In front of Ren Yun, he did not dare utter a peep. Even after his wife finished the call, he still did not dare say anything.

"Wang Heng is dead. What's the Wang Family's situation now?" Ren Yun asked only after ending the call.

"Sigh, his family's already in chaos. They've declared that they'll definitely make trouble for our Zhao Family. They're an Aristocratic Clan of the Arcane Sect. If they attack us from the shadows, there's nothing we can do except take the blow head-on." Zhao Xi sighed heavily. His close friend had died, and Zhao He had beaten him to death. This knot had become a dead knot. Even if they escaped prison, the two sides would still fight to the death.

"The station is already preparing to send someone to examine the body. As for the eyewitness statements, they all say it was legitimate self-defense. If Young Master He hadn't acted so urgently, the victim would probably have strangled your daughter," the deputy director said.

"Can he be acquitted?" Ren Yun asked bluntly.

"This... it depends on the court's ruling." Even the director looked troubled.

Ren Yun had already called the city authorities. She was not a local, but her family's backing was immense. She had married Zhao Xi because they had been classmates at university. Precisely because of that hidden connection, everyone in the county had to show her respect.

"Mom, it's all my fault. If I'd been more careful, this wouldn't have happened." Hearing that even the director could not say for certain what would happen to her brother, Zhao Qian immediately began to cry.

"This has nothing to do with you. Go stand over there." Ren Yun frowned. At home, her husband protected their daughter, while she favored their son. Her son was somewhat reckless, just like her, and was the apple of her eye. Her daughter, however, had been more like her father since childhood, always fiddling with strange, supernatural things. As a public official, Ren Yun had to reject such things.

Back when she and Zhao Xi had been dating, they had quarreled countless times over this. They had broken up and gotten back together repeatedly. Though they had eventually forced themselves to stay together, she had never given her husband much of a pleasant look.

Still, Zhao Xi did have some skill in feng shui. After she graduated, that skill had helped her rise smoothly through the ranks. Aside from this incident, she had hardly encountered any obstacles in her path. That was why she tolerated Zhao Xi. But now that such a major incident had occurred, his feng shui tricks were clearly useless.

If her son really went to prison, all her plans would be thrown into disarray. She had originally intended to arrange a job for Zhao He as soon as he returned from military service and help him develop along the political path. After prison, however, that road would be cut off.

She did not understand the affairs of the Arcane Sect. All she wanted was for her son to remain safe and sound.

Zhao Qian looked at her father with tearful grievance, but unfortunately, Zhao Xi simply could not stand up to his wife.

Every household had its own bundle of troubles. I felt I had no way to deal with another family's affairs, so I could only wait idly nearby.

After exchanging greetings, Han Shanshan came out and called us in to meet Zhao He.

"Han Shanshan told me everything. Brother Tian, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!" Seeing that his sister was safe, Zhao He visibly relaxed and thanked me profusely.

When Han Shanshan had gone inside earlier to arrange our visit, she had explained the whole affair. Zhao He believed firmly in ghosts and spirits just like his sister, so he knew how frightening the situation had been.

"I can help with these matters, but as for your situation, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." I sighed.

"Brother Tian, what are you saying? As long as my sister's all right, I'll accept anything!" Zhao He said boldly, completely unconcerned.

I was utterly speechless with him. All I could do was make idle conversation until visiting hours ended.

Han Shanshan then had someone take Zhao Qian to give her statement and undergo a medical examination.

I figured giving a statement would take several hours, so I idled in the station corridor. Suddenly, I remembered something and called Han Shanshan out. "Han Shanshan, after Wang Heng was struck with the brick, did he stop moving immediately, or did he keep attacking?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that? I heard that the brick smashed his brains right out. Could he still have leaped around afterward? Honestly, you're something else. I'm busy here—what are you making trouble for? And you call me silly all day long. I think you're the silly one!" Han Shanshan put her hands on her hips and laughed at me in annoyance.

"No..." A flash of inspiration struck me. Something was wrong. Under normal circumstances, when a ghost borrowed someone's body, smashing out some brain matter would not kill the person immediately. When Zhang Kaifu had been possessed, it was Xijun who had torn out his soul, and only then had the corpse lost the ability to move.

Could the ghost possessing Wang Heng still be inside him? It had merely been sealed away by someone. It seemed the other party might be skilled at driving out ghosts and harming people. This was much like what had happened to Old Master Zhao before. Perhaps the ghost had not been driven away at all, but had instead been driven back into the body by someone.

"Has the body been examined?" I grabbed Han Shanshan as she patted her backside and tried to leave.

Han Shanshan looked dissatisfied. "What time do you think it is? Dawn's only just breaking, and people haven't even started work yet. Who would examine a corpse in the middle of the night?"

As we spoke, a car arrived outside the police station. Huo Dadong got out and waved at me from a distance with a smile. "Brother Xia, what brings you here too?"

"Captain Huo, you're looking pretty well!" I greeted him in return. Huo Dadong's arrival was truly timely.

"How could I be? Don't let my appearance fool you. My head's been about to split these past two days. Elder Hai's the same. He's still acting as a guide for the people above while they investigate my nephew Zhang Kaifu's fall from the cliff at Xiaoyi Village. Sigh, they even sent a whole minibus this time." Huo Dadong rubbed his forehead. The station had asked him to assist with the Zhang Kaifu investigation, and the city had sent people over specifically.

It seemed Huo Dadong was under plenty of pressure too. Now that another murder had occurred, the matter must have seemed even more complicated to him.

From his words, I understood that the incident at Xiaoyi Village had already alarmed the city. The news had also been tightly sealed. The false report that Zhang Kaifu had fallen off the cliff was probably a smokescreen released by the higher-ups.

"Captain Huo!" Han Shanshan saluted him.

"Mm, Little Han's here too." Huo Dadong nodded, then asked about Zhao He's case. "How's Little Zhao's case going?"

Han Shanshan handed Huo Dadong her notebook. "Captain Huo, it's still the same. But the evidence for legitimate self-defense isn't sufficient. Since someone died, I'm afraid he'll be sentenced for excessive self-defense."

Huo Dadong was in charge of the case? Judging by the situation, he certainly was. Given Ren Yun's connections, how could she not know Huo Dadong? As the county's criminal police captain, any useful resources had to be put to use.

"Where's the body?" Huo Dadong asked.

"Besides the two criminal police officers on duty, the Wang Family's people are guarding it too. They're just waiting for you to bring people over and take over," Han Shanshan replied.

"Mm, the Wang Family." Huo Dadong repeated the words. His brows twitched almost imperceptibly before he looked at me. "This won't be easy. So, Brother Xia, what do you think of the matter?"

"Dead, but not yet still," I said softly.

Huo Dadong's brows immediately jumped, and his face went pale as if dusted with powder. He had not yet recovered from the shock. Since I had said that, this matter was probably far from easy to resolve.

"I just contacted Elder Lin, the man at the station who specializes in this sort of thing. Since you're here, Brother Xia, why don't you come along too?" Huo Dadong did not dare underestimate the matter. He immediately pulled me aside and began making his own calculations. Someone like me, who could even kill a fierce ghost, was always better to have around. Though he was the criminal police captain, he knew that guns could not solve this kind of problem.

"Elder Lin?" I frowned, looking puzzled.

"Elder Lin is Lin Feiyu, the county's old forensic examiner. He knows a little about these matters," Huo Dadong explained.

"All right. Let's go take a look." I nodded and agreed.

"Excellent! Let's head to the morgue now. Little Han, get the materials ready and call Elder Lin too. Oh, and bring a few more brothers with guns. The Wang Family won't be easy to deal with." Huo Dadong's last sentence carried an unclear implication.

"Yes, Captain Huo!" After receiving her orders, Han Shanshan ran back inside.

"Someone from the Wang Family died, so Old Man Wang will definitely demand that the Zhao Family pay with their lives. But Old Madam Zhao and Sister Ren Yun's Ren Family aren't pushovers either. This concerns their grandson and son, after all. The whole affair's incredibly complicated. The Wang Family even said that if the Zhao Family wanted to use legitimate self-defense to escape punishment without giving an explanation, that was fine too. In that case, matters of the Arcane Sect would be handled by the methods of the Arcane Sect. Tsk, what era are we living in?" Huo Dadong explained as he led me along.

The Wang Family was also a prominent family in the county. How could they not know about the tangled political network connecting the Zhao Family and the Ren Family? Zhao He would probably escape punishment sooner or later. That was why they had left word that the enmity of killing a son could never be shared under the same sky, and that matters of the Arcane Sect would be resolved by the methods of the Arcane Sect.

How could the county remain peaceful after that? Huo Dadong was the first person who refused to believe it could!