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Before long, Xiao Fang pulled Zhai Qiang to his feet.
"Go inside and put on some pants before coming out," Yuan Jun said to Zhai Qiang. "But don’t even think about running away; we’re on the sixth floor, and a fall from here would mean either death or serious injury."
Zhai Qiang stood up, staring at Yuan Jun.
Yuan Jun smiled and said, "If you think you can take me on, go ahead and try."
Zhai Qiang's lips twitched, but he remained silent as he slowly walked away. Moments later, he emerged from the room dressed. It was clear that Zhai Qiang understood his own limitations; he knew he couldn't match Yuan Jun's strength, and there was no chance of escaping through the front door. Being on the sixth floor meant jumping down would lead to certain doom.
With no other options, Zhai Qiang came out like a docile rabbit.
Yuan Jun looked at Zhai Qiang and said, "Since you’re not planning to run, sit down and tell me why you wanted to escape."
Zhai Qiang accepted his fate and sat on a stool beside the coffee table. He didn’t look at Yuan Jun but instead directed his gaze toward Old Shao, who was sitting on the sofa. Having followed a leader before, Zhai Qiang knew that in most situations, it wasn’t the leader who was capable of fighting; rather, it was often the seemingly harmless old man sitting there.
"I admit defeat. I’m curious about what kind of people you brothers are," Zhai Qiang said slowly. "But this matter has nothing to do with me. Those of us who live by the blade are always at risk; debts are debts—whoever wants them back can come for them. Isn’t that right?"
Hearing Zhai Qiang’s vague words, Yuan Jun frowned and said, "We are..."
Old Shao interrupted Yuan Jun, looking at Zhai Qiang without speaking. It seemed that Zhai Qiang regarded Old Shao and his group as people from the underworld. This assumption wasn’t entirely unfounded; those who navigated society often had their share of troubles and enemies.
It appeared that Zhai Qiang thought Old Shao and his companions were merely using their legitimate identities as a cover while seeking revenge. Old Shao wasn’t in a hurry to reveal his true identity because it seemed that Zhai Qiang might lead them to other cases worth investigating. At that point, they could hand over this case to other detectives in the City Bureau.
With this thought in mind, Old Shao began to formulate a plan.
However, at this moment, Zhai Qiang had revealed too little information. Regardless of what Old Shao said next, it could easily expose a flaw. Therefore, smiling at Zhai Qiang was the best course of action. Old Shao did just that; he smiled at Zhai Qiang and then turned to Xu Yiman beside him. "Xu Yiman, please make me a cup of tea."
Xu Yiman didn’t understand why Old Shao, at his age, was pretending to be a black market boss, but she replied, "Got it, Old Shao. Do you have any tea here?"
Seeing that her man was somewhat intimidated by these people, Xiao Fang naturally decided not to intervene further. Previously, she had felt bold enough to speak her mind because her partner had a good reputation on the streets; wherever they went, people would call out to him as Brother Qiang. Ordinary folks wouldn’t dare speak loudly to her. But now she felt a twinge of fear herself.
"Yes! Yes!" she hurriedly replied, "I'll get you some tea right away."
Jiang He did not understand what these people were doing; he couldn't sense the subtle atmosphere in the room. If it had been the old Jiang He, he would have asked what was going on, but the current Jiang He had at least learned to remain silent. The Chinese often value subtlety and leaving things unsaid, allowing others to guess their intentions. Although Jiang He couldn't fully grasp this concept yet, he understood its purpose.
He stood to the side like an Imperial Guard, saying nothing, simply observing Old Shao and quietly learning from his experience.
"Continue," Old Shao said, watching Xu Yiman and Xiao Fang pour the tea without looking at Zhai Qiang, his tone calm.
Zhai Qiang looked at the composed Old Shao and slapped his thigh, saying, "Since I've admitted defeat, I'll be straightforward. Disputes over territory happen often, but family should not be involved. I didn't expect you to come looking for me. Rules are rules; from now on, you can handle the bad debts from Huang Family Shed."
Upon hearing the name Huang Family Shed, others showed no reaction, but both Old Shao and Jiang He were taken aback. This Huang Family Shed was indeed the name of the place where Li Erdan rented a room in Dragon City. The area around Huang Family Shed was mostly makeshift constructions built by homeowners themselves; it only cost six hundred yuan a month, while the actual cost was estimated to be around several tens of thousands. It wouldn't take long to recoup that investment.
Jiang He recalled the makeshift six-story building where the hallways were plastered with phrases like "Pay your debts." The Zhai Qiang before him was clearly a debt collector; there had to be some connection between them. At that moment, Jiang He had many questions he wanted to ask Zhai Qiang but glanced at Old Shao, who remained expressionless.
Old Shao was also contemplating this matter. Suddenly, he realized that Zhai Qiang was essentially "confessing." No matter what, this scene couldn't end here; Old Shao needed to extract more information.
At that moment, Xiao Fang entered the living room carrying several cups of tea. As she walked in, she said, "We're all in this line of work; it's not easy for anyone. I apologize on behalf of Zhai Qiang. Harmony brings wealth; let's talk things over peacefully."
Old Shao gently blew on his tea but said nothing.
Zhai Qiang frowned slightly; he was growing impatient. "Boss," he said, "we're just helping someone else out. Given your age, you must be a boss yourself rather than someone who helps others. Please don't make things difficult for us underlings. If there's something to discuss, why not talk it over with my boss? I'm just here to help."
The tea had cooled a bit when Old Shao finally took a sip and remarked, "Hmm, this tea is quite good. Zhai Qiang, when was the last time you collected debts?"
Zhai Qiang let out a sigh of relief; it felt much less intimidating when the old man spoke directly to him with a smile. However, he still couldn't figure out which faction this elder belonged to; he had never seen this person before nor encountered such a way of greeting.
After pondering for a moment, Zhai Qiang replied, "Three nights ago."
"Were you alone?" Old Shao asked.
Zhai Qiang looked at Old Shao, who was still sipping his tea.
"I also have two brothers," Zhai Qiang said. "We know some people are hiding in the Huang Family Shed, so we went in and taught them a lesson, telling them to pay up soon, or else we'd take their heads. Everyone in our line of work knows that these people need to be shown some color; otherwise, they won't listen. But there was really one Rolling Meat we caught in the bathroom, and we beat him until the floor was covered in blood."
Old Shao nodded and said, "I want the names of these people."
"What do you mean?" Zhai Qiang replied. "We don't ask for names; we just want the money."
Old Shao gently placed his cup on the tea table and said, "Then tell me who you saw that night!"
As he spoke, Old Shao lightly clenched his teeth, his voice floating softly but clearly landing in Zhai Qiang's ears. Zhai Qiang suddenly realized that the people before him didn’t seem to be from the underworld; they weren’t here to compete with him for business.
He suddenly recalled a scene he had witnessed three days ago, and his whole body trembled as if shaken by a sieve. Could it be that these people were connected to that incident?
"No!" Zhai Qiang exclaimed suddenly. "I don’t know anything; I didn’t see anything."
Such a clumsy attempt at denial could not escape Old Shao's keen perception; he knew something must have happened.
"What did you see?" Old Shao asked gently.
"I really didn’t see anything," Zhai Qiang stammered, trembling more and more. "I swear, I didn’t see anything."
Suddenly, Old Shao made a shocking move—he swept the tea cup off the table, and it shattered on the ground with a loud crash, scattering glass shards everywhere, creating an atmosphere of fear. Not only were Zhai Qiang and Xiao Fang startled, but even the members of the special project team were taken aback, unsure of what had come over Old Shao.
Yuan Jun wanted to step forward to ask Old Shao what was wrong, but Old Shao frowned and signaled with his eyes for Yuan Jun not to act rashly.
Zhai Qiang was startled and hurriedly jumped off the bench, kneeling on the ground. He trembled as he pleaded, "It really has nothing to do with me! I truly didn’t see anything! I’m not one of you; please let me go! I swear I didn’t see anything!"
Despite being a professional thug, Zhai Qiang was now terrified to this extent. If it weren't for something particularly horrifying, he wouldn’t have been reduced to such a state. It was clear he had encountered something significant, but what exactly happened and where would require Old Shao to extract it from him.
"Alright, the night before last, you left the Huang Family Shed and went where?" Old Shao changed the topic and asked.
"The crematorium..." Zhai Qiang blurted out, but then quickly corrected himself, "No, I was wrong. That night, I went straight home from the Huang Family Shed. I didn't go anywhere or see anyone."
Everyone was shocked; Zhai Qiang had actually been to the crematorium. Old Shao intended to reveal his identity, but seeing Zhai Qiang's fearful demeanor, he figured that even if he did reveal himself, it wouldn't matter. For someone like Rolling Meat, it required an Evil Person to deal with another Evil Person.
"This is your last chance!" Shao the Elder said. "What did you really see that night?"
"I swear I didn't see anything, nothing at all!" Zhai Qiang was on the verge of tears.
Old Shao stood up, pulled out the gun behind Yuan Jun, and pointed it at Zhai Qiang. "I'm asking you what you saw near the crematorium that night. Can't you speak?"
With that, Old Shao chambered a round.
At this moment, Zhai Qiang finally stammered, "That night, I saw someone... someone was stuffing things into a corpse's stomach. I really couldn't see that person's face clearly. I know you're drug lords and can kill without blinking, but I truly didn't see anything else. Please don't kill me!"
Upon hearing this, Old Shao suddenly burst into laughter.
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