Chapter 81: When One Seeks to Condemn, Pretexts Are Never Lacking

I finally understood why Chen Fan had urged Luo Feng and me to flee in such haste over the phone. Most likely, he’d gotten wind of some action Tang Jia was planning, which is why he’d called to warn us. Only, Chen Fan had made a misjudgment himself; Tang Jia had brought so many police officers along, it was clear her actions represented official police business. If we were to run, the situation would only become more serious.

In the distance, Gong Yuanhai stood with both hands in his pockets, a self-satisfied smile on his face. I could see him clearly, but after just a brief glance, his figure slipped behind the courtyard wall—no one else present, other than me, would have noticed his presence. Luo Feng, still bearing fresh wounds, looked pale, his voice hoarse when he spoke.

But Luo Feng was no stranger to peril; he showed not the slightest sign of fear. He questioned Tang Jia’s authority to arrest him, prompting her to repeat what she had just said: suspicion of murder. She was referring, of course, to the case of Wu Qingshan, who had been killed in the haunted old mansion.

Luo Feng cursed loudly, “The coroner gave a time of death from days ago; I was still in the port district then—how could I have committed murder?”

Tang Jia sneered, “Seems you have quite the sources, to know even the details of the police investigation.” As she said this, her gaze lingered on me for a few moments. Luo Feng, stung by her retort, was left speechless, while his men grew restless. But Luo Feng was a man accustomed to handling major affairs. Not just in the capital—even in the port district, openly clashing with the police would be disastrous for him.

With just a glance, Luo Feng signaled his men to stand down.

I wouldn’t let Tang Jia take Luo Feng away so easily. Stepping forward, I extended my hand in front of her. She asked what I wanted. I scoffed, “If you’re here to arrest someone, where’s your detention order or arrest warrant?” I knew full well she had neither. It was obvious the police had no evidence tying Luo Feng to the crime; under these circumstances, she couldn’t possibly produce either document.

Luo Feng was a notorious figure, but a gang leader from the port district couldn’t simply be disposed of at will. The police had always been cautious, gathering evidence regarding Luo Feng’s criminal activities. The timing wasn’t right, so logically, the police shouldn’t have made such a reckless move. The only reason I could think of was that Tang Jia was exploiting a technicality—using this case to warn Luo Feng, and by extension, discouraging me from associating with him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Tang Jia admitted directly that she had neither warrant nor detention order.

Luo Feng burst out laughing. “You wretch, trying to take me away without either of those? If it weren’t for the fact you used to be Fang Han’s woman, I’d have dealt with you already.”

Everyone present was a little taken aback, especially the officers behind Tang Jia. They had realized by now that the “Fang Han” Luo Feng mentioned was me. In their eyes, my association with Luo Feng marked me as a gang member too. They never expected that Tang Jia and I had a past.

Sure enough, Tang Jia’s shoulders trembled. Luo Feng’s men jeered, saying the police couldn’t just make arbitrary arrests, and not to assume none of them knew the law.

Tang Jia’s face turned red, then immediately pale. She took a deep breath and said, “We found Luo Feng’s blood at the crime scene, as well as unidentified fingerprints and footprints. Combined with evidence that Luo Feng was at the old mansion that night, the situation is urgent—the police are within their rights to detain him.”

Tang Jia forced her justification to completion. I was about to refute her when Luo Feng patted my shoulder, signaling me not to argue further. He was willing to go with the police. I thought it over—escalating things with the authorities wouldn’t benefit either of us. Without evidence, the police couldn’t hold Luo Feng for long.

Luo Feng’s willingness to cooperate surprised the officers, but they nonetheless took him away.

After the police had all left, Tang Jia remained where she was, fixing me with a stare that seemed to say: if she could arrest Luo Feng, she could just as easily arrest me—a warning, plain and simple. I only shrugged and asked mockingly, “Was it Gong Yuanhai who suggested you make this arrest?”

Tang Jia asked why I thought so. I looked at her with a sardonic smile. “Go back and tell Gong Yuanhai he’d better stay away from me. My reluctance to pursue certain matters doesn’t mean I lack the ability. If he keeps harassing me, he won’t even know what hit him.”

Tang Jia looked at me in disbelief, saying she never expected words like that to come from a former police academy student. She even defended Gong Yuanhai, insisting I was wrong about him, and suggesting my resentment stemmed from her getting together with him.

“Tang Jia, let me say this one last time: you’re no longer worth being the reason I hate someone. No matter what you hide, it won’t help. You didn’t report this arrest to your superiors—you’d better start thinking about how to explain yourself.” I turned to head inside, then paused. “Luo Feng was right—you really are despicable. I honestly can’t tell if you’re truly naïve or just pretending. Gong Yuanhai was here just now.”

Even as the door closed, I could still hear Tang Jia asking what I meant—she had no idea Gong Yuanhai had been there moments before.

A chill settled over me as I sat on the sofa. Wang Yazhuo asked, “That policewoman—was she your girlfriend?”

A cold glare from me was enough to silence Wang Yazhuo. Luo Feng’s men anxiously asked what we should do. I told them not to worry—within twenty-four hours, Luo Feng would be released. Other than the blood at the scene, Luo Feng had no real connection to this case.

What surprised me was that Gong Yuanhai had actually succeeded in persuading Tang Jia to make the unauthorized arrest.

We waited at Luo Feng’s place for a while until someone came in to say another police officer had arrived outside. I knew it had to be Chen Fan. I invited him in, and as soon as he saw me, he rushed over, out of breath, asking if Luo Feng had been taken away. I nodded and asked him to explain what was going on.

Tang Jia and Chen Fan weren’t on the same team; more precisely, they were in a superior-subordinate relationship. Because the case involved a certain actress, the higher-ups had assigned Tang Jia to lead the investigation. Chen Fan had only learned about Tang Jia’s action by chance, and sure enough, according to him, her arrest was not ordered by her superiors.

“They ignore what should be investigated, and arrest those who shouldn’t be arrested. It’s no wonder the police can’t solve cases,” I said, my words dripping with sarcasm, though inwardly I felt a growing sense of unease. Gong Yuanhai’s appearance nearby suggested that Tang Jia’s operation may indeed have been instigated by him.

But on second thought, Tang Jia wasn’t a fool. She wouldn’t act recklessly unless it benefited her.

I realized a scenario highly unfavorable to Luo Feng: Tang Jia might be using this opportunity to proactively insert herself into the investigation against him. The police had never stopped investigating Luo Feng, but had always been cautious, never daring bold moves. Now, it seemed Tang Jia intended to act first and report later, forcing her way into the case and persuading her superiors afterward.

If she managed to uncover anything, it would be a major victory for her.

Gong Yuanhai specialized in criminal psychology and was adept at reading people. It wasn’t impossible that he had convinced Tang Jia with such reasoning.

The “ghost restaurant” case in the port district had left four dead, all connected to me, and I’d been seen with Luo Feng in the port district. Now, in Wu Qingshan’s case, Luo Feng’s blood was at the crime scene. Even if everyone knew Luo Feng wasn’t the killer, his repeated connections to major cases might have convinced Tang Jia that this was her chance to arrest him.

Since Tang Jia had acted on her own initiative, she must have been confident she could convince her superiors.

With this in mind, I instructed Luo Feng’s men to keep everyone in line for the time being—no drinking, no troublemaking, and absolutely no major operations. As for Luo Feng’s company, I knew it inside out and it was completely clean. As long as we were careful, there would be no problems.

Now was not the time to give the police any excuse.

Everyone knew the old saying: “If you want to frame someone, there will always be a charge to pin on them.”