63: Chapter 63 Cause and Effect in the Lighter

Sure enough, before long, the villa welcomed that preoccupied man.

Zhao Yi sat on the sofa, head bowed, his shoulders slumped.

The lighter, sealed in a transparent evidence bag, sat on the ebony coffee table in front of him.

The villa was quiet, with only the faint hum of the central air conditioning.

"Brother Jiang..."

Zhao Yi spoke, his voice hoarse and dry.

For Taiwan novels, the top choice is Chaogeili.

He looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring at Jiang Feng.

"I beg you."

He only said those two words.

"Tell me, what exactly happened that night."

Jiang Feng looked at him and nodded.

He turned to Old Chen.

"Go get a blanket and brew a strong cup of honey water."

Old Chen gave an affirmative response and turned toward the storage room.

Only then did Jiang Feng look back at Zhao Yi.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Some images might make you very uncomfortable."

Zhao Yi gave a wretched laugh, revealing teeth stained yellow by smoke.

"Right now, is there anything that could be more uncomfortable than this?"

He pointed to his heart.

Jiang Feng didn't try to persuade him further.

"Then get ready."

Jiang Feng's voice was very soft.

"It's about to begin."

He reached out his right hand and picked up the lighter.

Jiang Feng closed his eyes.

[Causal Vision], activate.

The scenery before him faded, and his surroundings plunged into darkness.

Fragmented images flooded into his mind.

The first image.

Jinghai City First People's Hospital, Renal Dialysis Center.

A payment slip with a long string of zeros on it.

A man in an old jacket, his back hunched, stood before the payment window for a long time.

That was a younger Liu Zhengguo.

The second image.

An underground parking lot.

A black travel bag was thrown at Liu Zhengguo's feet, its zipper open to reveal neatly stacked red banknotes.

Across from him, a man with a scar on his face patted his shoulder and smiled.

"Consultant Liu, a smart man."

The third image.

Nangang Wharf, abandoned warehouse.

Torrential rain hammered against the tin roof, making a dense sound like war drums.

Li Xiang lay in a pool of blood, a dagger plunged into his chest, his eyes wide as he looked at the person in front of him.

"Uncle Liu... why..."

Behind Liu Zhengguo stood several drug dealers.

"Don't blame me, A-Xiang." Liu Zhengguo's voice trembled amidst the sound of rain. "Yueyue's illness can't wait any longer."

The fourth image.

A chaotic scuffle.

In his final moments of life, Li Xiang erupted with incredible strength and lunged at Liu Zhengguo.

The two of them rolled on the ground mixed with rainwater.

In the chaos, a metal object slipped out of Liu Zhengguo's inner pocket.

With a clang, it fell to the ground.

It rolled a few times and happened to slide into a gap between two precast concrete slabs, vanishing from sight.

The scene was chaotic; no one noticed this detail.

A few minutes later, everything returned to silence.

Liu Zhengguo stood up, straightened his messy clothes, and fired a finishing shot at the corpse on the ground.

He gave the scene one last check, confirming no traces were left behind, before hurriedly leaving with his men.

He didn't realize that the protective amulet his daughter had given him was left beneath these ruins.

...

Jiang Feng opened his eyes.

He loosened his fingers, and the evidence bag fell back onto the coffee table.

He leaned back into the sofa, pressing his temples.

"Brother Jiang?"

Zhao Yi leaned forward, looking at him nervously.

Old Chen also walked over quickly, pressing a cup of warm honey water into Jiang Feng's hand.

Jiang Feng took a large gulp, the sweet liquid helping him recover his strength.

He looked up at Zhao Yi.

He began to recount everything he had just "seen."

"Liu Zhengguo has a daughter named Liu Yue, in the late stages of uremia."

Zhao Yi's body jolted.

He knew about this; Liu Yue's long-term hospitalization was a secret known to the entire detachment.

"Three years ago, the hospital issued a critical condition notice. The only way was a kidney transplant, plus a special imported medicine. The cost was astronomical."

Jiang Feng looked into Zhao Yi's eyes.

"He had no money."

"Just then, the drug trafficking ring he was tracking approached him."

Zhao Yi's breathing became heavy, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

"That night, the transaction at the pier was a setup from the very beginning."

"Li Xiang was your informant, and he was also an informant personally developed by Liu Zhengguo. Li Xiang found the core information about the transaction and reported it to Liu Zhengguo immediately."

"But Liu Zhengguo sold that information to the drug dealers."

Jiang Feng's voice echoed in the quiet living room, every word hammering at Zhao Yi's defenses.

"The drug dealers set an ambush to take out Li Xiang. But they didn't expect him to be so alert, and he was armed."

"A gunfight broke out at the scene. Li Xiang wounded two drug dealers but was shot himself and hid in the warehouse."

"Liu Zhengguo arrived afterward."

"He tricked Li Xiang into opening the door."

"Then, from behind, he stabbed Li Xiang."

Zhao Yi's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Then he said Li Xiang had to die by the drug dealers' guns so it would fit the procedure for 'dying in the line of duty'."

"So, that final shot was fired by the drug lord."

"And before that, Li Xiang and Liu Zhengguo got into a scuffle." Jiang Feng's finger tapped the evidence bag on the coffee table. "This lighter fell out of Liu Zhengguo's pocket then."

Silence fell over the living room.

Zhao Yi kept his head down, motionless.

After a long time.

A hot drop of liquid splashed onto the back of his hand.

Immediately followed by a second drop, then a third...

He didn't make a sound, but his shoulders were twitching violently.

That Uncle Liu, who had watched him grow up and taught him step-by-step how to shoot and interrogate.

That elder who, when he was at his most lost, patted his shoulder and said, 'Xiao Yi, as a policeman, you must be worthy of this uniform.'

That mentor he had once respected and trusted the most...

It turned out that from beginning to end, it was all a scam.

Jiang Feng watched him, not disturbing him.

He had Old Chen drape the blanket over Zhao Yi, then picked up the cup of honey water himself and sipped it slowly.

Not until Zhao Yi's twitching gradually subsided did he speak again.

"He didn't do it for the money."

Zhao Yi looked up, his eyes bloodshot and voice hoarse. "Then what was it for?"

"He did it for his daughter's life."

Jiang Feng put down his cup.

"All the drug ring's ledgers, all the transaction records from over the years, and the list of protectors are all recorded on a USB drive."

"That USB drive is hidden in the lining of the cross-stitch frame titled 'Great Ambitions' hanging on his office wall."

Jiang Feng looked at Zhao Yi.

"That was the final escape route he left for himself; in case the drug dealers turned on him, he could use it to negotiate."

"It is also the final key for him to judge himself."

Zhao Yi closed his eyes.

Tears slid silently down his resolute cheeks.