With something this serious happening, of course someone called the police.
The Mangdian Police Station is quite efficient in responding to calls, especially after hearing that a police officer from higher up had been trapped by villagers. The officer who received the call immediately reported to the station chief, Meng Yan, who then personally led a team in the station's only vehicle.
Meng Yan was stunned when he saw Shi Dazhuang. It took him a while to react. He stood at attention, saluted, and respectfully called out " Captain Shi." He was so excited that his body trembled and he almost shed tears.
Shi Dazhuang looked for a long time before recognizing him, then grabbed the director's shoulder and said, "You're Meng Yan!"
Meng Yan said, "Reporting to the boss, I am Meng Yan!"
Shi Dazhuang punched him. "You little brat, you're still alive!"
The punch landed so hard that blood spurted out. Meng Yan was startled and realized that Shi Dazhuang's arm was injured and the wound was still bleeding.
He quickly had someone fetch a first-aid kit from the police car, and while stopping the bleeding and bandaging Shi Dazhuang, he asked what had happened.
Shi Dazhuang briefly recounted the events to him.
Meng Yan cursed, "Damn it, this is outrageous!"
He called over a nearby auxiliary police officer, " Han Bo, Kuaziba is your area! You better get this straight, or I'll skin you alive!"
The middle-aged man in the auxiliary police uniform bowed and nodded in response, then went over to inquire about the situation.
Meng Yan explained to Shi Dazhuang, "Our small station only has five officers on duty. They also have to help the anti-drug squad keep watch on people, so we couldn't manage it all. That's why we recruited some locals to assist with security. It was all approved by higher-ups."
Han Laizi and several other injured people lying on the ground kept groaning.
Han Laizi shouted especially loudly, "Oh my dick! Oh my balls! The police are killing people!"
A police auxiliary officer Han Bo Hanbo went up and kicked him, yelling, "Shut up! Get up!"
Han Laizi saw Han Bo, he groaned even louder and cried out, "Oh, Brother Han Bo! You have to stand up for me! That policeman—oh no, it's him—" He pointed at Qingmu, "He's not a policeman! He beat people! He broke the legs of several of my brothers! He even kicked my balls! Oh, my balls—"
Han Bo glanced at Qingmu, puzzled. How could such a refined-looking young man have beaten these men so badly? He walked over to the men with broken legs, squatted down, and touched their legs. "Where did you break it?"
The man lying on the ground sobbed, pointing to his calf and saying, "Look, look, this one, it's all bent over, the bone is showing!"
Han Bo was so angry his nose almost crooked. He stood up and kicked one of them in the leg. "Still bending over! Still showing your bones! I'll break your leg! I'll teach you to fake cry!"
He squatted down again, groped Han Laizi's crotch, and asked, "Are your balls broken?"
Han Laizi said, "Ugh, it's broken!"
Han Bo cursed, "Smash your head! Smash your cunt! You think you can still spout nonsense after your balls are broken? You think I'm stupid!"
He cursed and kicked at the same time, "All you do is blabber on and on, causing Laozi endless trouble!"
After being pinched and scolded like that, Han Laizi suddenly felt that the pain had lessened. He stared blankly at Han Bo and asked, "Is my ball okay?"
Han Bo retorted angrily, "Are you out of your mind?!"
Those with broken legs also stood up, somewhat dazed.
Han Laizi was sure he was alright, he said to Han Bo, "Brother Han Bo, you're from the same clan as me, you have to stand up for me! They took my wife..."
Before he could finish speaking, Han Bo slapped him across the face, cutting him off. "Don't try to claim kinship with me! I don't have such a close relative as you!"
After he finished speaking, he gave a wink, and Han Laizi realized that he had gone a bit too far today. He also saw that Chief Meng of the police station had saluted Shi Dazhuang earlier, and knew that he was not going to get away with it today.
Han Bo returned, bowing low, and reported to Meng Yan, "Looks like it was a misunderstanding! A bunch of unruly people, uneducated and ignorant of the law, thankfully..." He glanced at Shi Dazhuang's bandaged wound, "Thankfully nothing serious happened. Otherwise, let's take the main culprit away and let the others go!"
Meng Yan had already learned about the situation from Shi Dazhuang and knew that the police station bore some responsibility for the matter, and the problem likely lay with Han Bo.
He said calmly, "Take those guys who were lying on the ground groaning earlier, along with the book, back with them." He then instructed another policeman to send the unrelated individuals back to Kuaziba, and to find out what happened.
When they returned to the police station, there wasn't enough room in the police car, and Shi Dazhuang happened to have a car, so he, Qingmu, Yu Meiren didn't ride in the police car.
Meng Yan looked at Shi Dazhuang's hand and said, " Captain Shi, let me drive your car."
Shi Dazhuang smiled slightly and said, "Alright, then I'll enjoy what it's like to have Chief Meng as my driver."
He said that, but he knew in his heart that it was Meng Yan's duty not to let Shi Dazhuang drive alone before fully understanding the situation.
When Shi Dazhuang was the captain of the anti-drug squad in Ruihekou, Meng Yan was a member of the squad. Later, during a pursuit mission, he disappeared in the tropical jungle. Everyone thought he was dead, and Shi Dazhuang even presided over his "funeral."
Besides the guns carried by drug dealers, the greatest danger for anti-narcotics police is the treacherous rainforest environment. They not only have to be wary of armed drug dealers, but also have to endure swarms of mosquitoes, leeches, Venomous Snake, and thorny vines that grow like whips in the forest, as well as caves under decaying leaves, various animal traps, snares, and landmines buried during wartime that could explode at any time.
Sometimes, one kick is all it takes to kill someone.
"I'm tough! King Yama won't take me!" Meng Yan said casually as he helped Shi Dazhuang into the car. "That time I fell into a cave and couldn't climb out. I thought I was going to die. Later I found out that the cave had another exit. After getting out, I got lost and spent several months in the jungle before I came back. When I returned, I found that the grass on my grave was already more than a foot tall!"
He laughed loudly, "Just in time for Qingming Festival to visit my own grave!"
He spoke lightly, but Shi Dazhuang knew all too well how much life-or-death struggle he had endured. He asked, "You came back alive, why didn't you let me know?"
"Hey, I survived, but I'm riddled with illnesses that won't heal. I couldn't make it in the narcotics squad, so I came to the police station to coast along," Meng Yan said. "I heard you went to a big city up north to work in criminal investigation. I figured you'd be pretty busy, so I didn't tell you. We can't hold our superiors back, can we?"
Shi Dazhuang thought for a moment and decided to use some personal connections, so he asked, "Do you want to come north with me? Our criminal investigation team is in dire need of someone as capable as you."
Meng Yan remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and saying, "I've been living in the mountains for too long, I'm afraid I won't be used to big cities! Anyway, I'm all alone in this life, and I have no other ambitions, so I might as well just grow old and die here."