Things That Shouldn't Be Asked

Tong Haojing rushed back to the West City Police Station from his hometown's Tangdu River Big House Clan, and it was already past nine in the morning. In the West City Police Station's conference room, Director Tang was convening a morning meeting with all the officers. This was a routine practice: every Monday, they would summarize the previous week's work and arrange the upcoming week's tasks. Tong Haojing sat to the left of Old Jiang, with Ke Qian to his right.

The conference room was neither too large nor too small, and the police officers and station leaders spoke in turn.

Officer Lan and Lu Tong reported on their on-site investigation of Long Qiaozhen's apparent suicide by hanging in Fuyun Village. They found no suspicious circumstances, and the scene matched the characteristics of suicide. Qian Fu from the municipal bureau and the forensic doctor had concluded it was suicide, and the case was not considered a criminal one.

Old Jiang spoke: "A thug who hasn't been seen in a while appeared on Hongqiao Street two days ago. It's highly likely that a new gambling den has opened up. Recently, there have been fights between two groups around Hongdu City, but no one reported it..."

Old Jiang deliberately omitted the information about the ID card.

It was Tong Haojing's turn to speak. He coughed twice, cleared his throat, and said, "To the leaders and colleagues, I have nothing much to say. In short, I'll follow Teacher Jiang! I will resolutely complete the tasks assigned by the Director. However, I'd like to ask, who is this Long Qiaozhen, and why did she commit suicide?" Everyone looked at Tong Haojing with a strange gaze.

"This, this might need to be asked of the Criminal Investigation Brigade. They said there was no need to investigate further; the deceased couldn't bear the pain of her illness!" Officer Lan answered somewhat hastily, clearly not meaning it. In such a setting, it was hardly the place for a newcomer to speak. In everyone's eyes, Tong Haojing's actions were either rash or a display of reckless bravery without understanding the situation's depth.

Little did they know that the truth often lies hidden within such seemingly shallow inquiries.

Deputy Director Liu Yang commented on the on-site situation at Yunding Mountain reported by Officer Lan and Lu Tong: "I should have gone to the scene that day, but I couldn't make it due to a meeting at the bureau. When investigating a scene, you need to ask more 'whys.' Pay attention to the traces and physical evidence left at the scene; don't just follow others blindly. Of course, experts from the Criminal Investigation Brigade were there, so there's nothing we can say. Gentlemen, I'm not blaming you..."

Ke Qian didn't speak. Instead, as Tong Haojing finished, she quietly asked him by his ear, "Why is your head bruised? I have a band-aid here, take it!"

Tong Haojing felt the warmth of concern from the opposite sex, but his reaction was a cold smile. He whispered, "It's a minor issue, nothing serious."

Director Tang, with his chiseled face and serious expression, made his final remarks: "The overall public security situation has been stable this week. However, we must pay close attention to the situation reported by Old Jiang. The station will send Officer Lan and Lu Tong from the Criminal Investigation Squadron to investigate. Old Jiang needs to cooperate. Our new officer, Tong Haojing, needs to speed up his familiarization with the public security situation in Hongqiao Community and provide more valuable leads to the station. I want to emphasize one point: when doing anything, don't jump to conclusions; act according to the law and with evidence..."

The short meeting ended. Ke Qian called Tong Haojing to the administrative office to collect a newly issued, state-of-the-art law enforcement recorder. Ke Qian patiently explained its various functions and operating techniques to Tong Haojing. Tong Haojing was quick-witted and learned quickly, but he was particularly interested in the recorder's powerful storage capabilities.

"Ke Qian, can this law enforcement recorder record video? How much can it store?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Just asking!"

"You won't tell me? Then I don't know!" Ke Qian playfully teased, guessing Tong Haojing had some ulterior motive.

In fact, recording video was one of the work methods Tong Haojing had already planned in his mind. He had learned about it during his training at the Police Academy. Perhaps work would be easy for him, which explained why Tong Haojing had so readily agreed to Tang Changan's request—something Old Jiang hadn't anticipated.

Old Jiang emerged from the conference room with a displeased expression. Having taken on a disciple this time, he decided he still needed to guide him. After all, it was good for young people to have lofty ambitions. Today, he was quite interested in taking Tong Haojing to familiarize himself with the public security situation in Hongqiao Community.

"Let's go, we're going to tour the community today!"

This was Tong Haojing's first time out on such a task, and he was very excited. He agreed without a second thought.

"Sure, right now?"

Before Old Jiang could reply, Tong Haojing was about to head downstairs to the backyard to ride his Prince motorcycle. Old Jiang quickly stopped him: "You're young, you should walk and exercise your body. To familiarize yourself with the situation, you must walk. This way, you can delve deeper." Tong Haojing's intention was to get to the community faster, while old police officers like Old Jiang disapproved of constantly getting in and out of vehicles.

People bustled past on the street. Tong Haojing walked behind Old Jiang, listening to him recount stories about Hongqiao Community. Suddenly, Tong Haojing asked out of the blue, "Teacher Jiang, who is the thug?" Tong Haojing strode ahead of Old Jiang, turned to face him, appearing determined to get an answer.

Jiang Hongde said, "The thug, he's just a small-time hoodlum. His real name is Hu Pan. After making money selling goose meat, he started hanging around with other troublemakers in Hongdu City or in casinos. He has a sister named Hu Lian. She died years ago from an overdose of drugs, which caused hallucinations, and she jumped to her death. They are twins."

"Was that the one who died in front of Tangdu Middle School years ago?"

"Yes, yes! That was Hu Lian, who died from a drug overdose after jumping. People like that deserve to die! Sigh, how did you know?"

"I was studying at Tangdu Middle School at the time. I heard that the girl jumped to stop her brother from using drugs."

"Indeed, the sister died tragically. It wasn't worth it!"

Tong Haojing, with a look of suspicion, asked himself, Where have I seen this person before? Does he also use drugs?

Old Jiang replied, "If he uses drugs, this person is an accomplice of Scarface—Middle-parted Hair. His hair hasn't grown out yet." Tong Haojing then realized with a jolt that Middle-parted Hair was the thug, and the thug was Hu Pan.

"So the thug is Middle-parted Hair!" Tong Haojing's anger flared up. "How did he get out? Wasn't he caught for his previous offense?"

"They caught one, but he was released on bail. He was out in a few days. As for Scarface, he's even more vicious. When the police got wind of his location and went to arrest him, they came up empty. Scarface happened to encounter the police while escaping, but he still got away. Officer Lan was even injured. I heard that Officer Lan and Lu Tong went to arrange bail for the thug and took 50,000 yuan in bail money from him. The thug returned to the city quite smug. Oh, I almost forgot, you are a hero, our role model. It's a pity that the victim, Long Qiaozhen, hanged herself. What can be done when the witness is dead? The police station had no choice but to release him!"

"What about Scarface? Is no one looking into him?"

"Because the person involved is dead, every time we act, we just scout around Scarface's place. Nothing progresses. By the way, Director Tang should know about this matter!"

In reality, Old Jiang was never clear about who was handling this case. He only knew that Hu Pan was released by people from the police station.

"How could this happen? What about that Shorty?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, don't say what you shouldn't say. Understand?"

Tong Haojing was confused and didn't quite understand the intricate details, but he felt a sense of dissatisfaction.

"Okay! I understand!"

Tong Haojing replied outwardly, but his mind was filled with question marks. He followed Old Jiang slowly across the crosswalk, as if lost in thought. The red light turned on, and the honking horns startled Tong Haojing.

"Hurry up, there's a car coming, be careful!" Old Jiang reminded him.

Tong Haojing's focused expression made him forget he was on a busy street. Snapping back to reality, he strode forward, shrugged his shoulders, and with his long legs, he quickly reached the other side of the street.

"You're still thinking about that Middle-parted Hair, aren't you? What's past is past. It's better to stir up less trouble. Why worry so much!"

Old Jiang's words sounded a bit passive and world-weary. After all, he was over fifty. Expecting him to have the passion of a young man was perhaps asking too much. Tong Haojing understood Old Jiang's perspective, but his own doubts made him restless. With his youthful drive and passion, he wouldn't just give up and sink into complacency. At this moment, the only thing he could do was to ask Director Tang Changan why such lawbreakers could get away with it.

Time can resolve everything, and opportunities are prepared for patient and determined individuals. Tong Haojing firmly believed this.

Tong Haojing then asked, "What happened that night when you encountered the situation?"

Jiang Hongde said, "Little Tong, I apologize. It was an emergency that night, and I didn't have time for you." Jiang Hongde truly felt bad for leaving Little Tong out on his first day. "There was gambling in Aomen Alley. They had lookouts. Before I could get close, the people at the scene scattered. But it's good that they weren't caught; chasing them away, even if we couldn't arrest them, shows we did our duty."

"It's nothing, look, I'm fine!" Tong Haojing said, clenching his fist and flexing the muscles in his arm, displaying a powerful youthful vitality to Old Jiang.

Jiang Hongde, like a teacher, offered sincere advice: "Tong Haojing, this is a work method. You must remember it!" It was clear that Old Jiang was imparting his experience of getting out of dangerous situations. In today's public security work, the public's eyes are sharp. With the slightest mistake, you could be questioned or complained about. However, Tong Haojing had a different perspective. He harbored a deep hatred for evil and seemed to possess a ruthless determination to eradicate such ugly phenomena.

Tong Haojing just listened quietly, not answering directly but changing the subject: "I knew that night, you must have encountered something!"

Hongqiao Community was an old urban area. From the day he accepted the task, Tong Haojing planned to start his door-to-door investigation from the commercial households along the stone railings of Hongqiao. It was Tong Haojing's first time entering Hongqiao Community, and the residents were very enthusiastic. They thought he was replacing Old Jiang and eagerly vied to report problems to Tong Haojing. Tong Haojing patiently listened, using the household information previously recorded by Old Jiang as a basis, verifying each one. He used the law enforcement recorder to document each conversation, physical characteristics, household location, building structure, and various other information. Thanks to Old Jiang's prior investigation, the work progressed smoothly. Now, to complete the task assigned by the Director, Tong Haojing felt confident. The situation Old Jiang worried about no longer existed for him. He would give Old Jiang a pleasant surprise, bringing sunshine to his face. Master Jiang was indeed worthy of his reputation.