Chapter 398: Chapter 326: Case Closed, Clear Skies
「The county hospital.」
In the treatment room, Tian Kui had already been washed clean.
His paws were wrapped in gauze.
An attending surgeon from the hospital had performed a minor operation to treat him.
They had also brought in a professional veterinarian from the livestock station for a consultation on his medication.
Shen Xin had also cleaned himself up and changed his clothes. He was now watching over Tian Kui by his side.
Tian Kui was fast asleep, snoring softly.
Exhaustion washed over Shen Xin as well. Staring at Tian Kui, he couldn’t help but think about what Guo Jin had said earlier.
It was true. Tian Kui was incredibly capable and could do so much.
Leaving him in Ma Chang Town, in Shiyao, did seem like a bit of a waste.
To be honest, Shen Xin himself was reluctant to let him go.
After all, he had trained the dog with his own hands.
His mind racing with these thoughts, Shen Xin drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up, it was already the next day. Someone, he didn’t know who, had covered him with a blanket.
The moment he opened his eyes, he didn’t see Tian Kui.
He hurried out the door to look for him.
He bumped into Li Xiaowen, who told him that Tian Kui had gotten up and gone for a stroll on his own.
Guo Jin had tried to keep him from getting up, but Tian Kui wasn’t having it. He ran off to the restroom to relieve himself and then went out for a walk.
Li Xiaowen smiled. "You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t wake you. The city leaders just came by to see Tian Kui, but he wouldn’t give them the time of day. Didn’t even spare them a proper glance."
’That sounds just like Tian Kui,’ Shen Xin thought, and quickly asked for an update.
He had dozed off without meaning to.
"This is what we have for now." Li Xiaowen’s eyes were also bloodshot. He sighed and held up three fingers.
Shen Xin sucked in a sharp breath.
Li Xiaowen said, "It could’ve been worse. It was a massive accident, with so many people buried."
Out of twenty-two people, it was a miracle that so many survived.
And Tian Kui had truly played a crucial role.
Otherwise, the city leaders wouldn’t have made a special trip just to see him.
They even said on the spot that they would report Tian Kui’s merits and publicize his heroic deeds.
Shen Xin found Tian Kui.
He had even been moved into a hospital room, with Guo Jin watching over him.
When Tian Kui saw Shen Xin, he let out a bark, immediately jumped off the bed, and trotted over.
Shen Xin played with him for a moment, but then remembered the case and asked about Duan Dongqiang’s situation.
Most importantly, had they found any evidence among the recovered items that could definitively link to Duan Dongqiang?
"Yes."
At this, a smile appeared on Li Xiaowen’s face. "I finally had a chance to ask Old Xu last night. There was indeed a brick wrapped inside the clothes."
"And we got lucky. On that brick, we found a large, clear bloody fingerprint. Old Xu looked at it and said the conditions for identification are good."
Shen Xin was overjoyed.
’So these past few days of work weren’t for nothing after all.’
Thinking back to Duan Dongqiang’s arrogant demeanor when he left after the first interrogation, Shen Xin felt a surge of anger.
He asked for the details.
The brick had been wrapped in a plastic bag and was well-preserved.
There were traces of flesh and blood on the impact surface, as well as a single hair.
The weather had been muggy those few days, but the brick was dry, creating the right conditions to leave a fingerprint when handled.
"Captain Li, when is the interrogation? I’d like to sit in on it too."
Shen Xin wanted to see Duan Dongqiang scared to the point of tears.
Li Xiaowen chuckled. "Then let’s go. I was just thinking of heading back to interrogate him now."
Now that the man was in custody, he had to be interrogated.
With the bloody fingerprint, they had enough.
Shen Xin immediately stood up.
Just then, Guo Jin stopped him. "Shen Xin, what do you think about what I told you last night?"
Seeing that Li Xiaowen was also there, Guo Jin went ahead and explained his idea again.
After listening, Li Xiaowen’s expression shifted slightly. He fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "That could work. Chief Guo has a point. An exceptional dog like Tian Kui is indeed somewhat wasted here with us."
Having witnessed Tian Kui’s abilities firsthand, Li Xiaowen felt Guo Jin was right.
Such a good police dog shouldn’t be stuck out in the sticks.
Seeing Shen Xin’s hesitation, Guo Jin smiled. "Just get us a replacement, that’s all. It doesn’t have to be this exceptional, just good enough for the job."
’Actually, all the police dogs I train are pretty much this good,’ Shen Xin thought to himself.
Seeing Tian Kui turn his head to look at him, Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
A replacement would be fine.
There was a second batch of police dogs at the base waiting to be assigned anyway.
"By the way, how’s Ten Thousand?"
Shen Xin quickly asked.
Donkeys are timid by nature. Their stubbornness is actually a form of fear.
But as the mudslide was about to hit, Ten Thousand, who had been unwilling to come near, had turned back and run toward him in an attempt to save him.
For that alone, he was his life-saving donkey.
Shen Xin had already decided he would take him back to Nanjiang and care for him.
Shen Xin was relieved to learn that Ten Thousand had been moved to the station. After grabbing breakfast outside the hospital, he followed Li Xiaowen to the Criminal Investigation Division.
At nearly eleven in the morning, the interrogation of Duan Dongqiang, who had been brought back to the county Public Security Bureau, began.
Li Xiaowen conducted the interrogation himself.
Shen Xin was in the observation room next door.
Handcuffed and sitting in the cold interrogation chair, Duan Dongqiang looked haggard.
He had been arrested the previous evening, but with the heavy rainstorm, no one had paid him any mind. He had been locked up ever since.
He had been with the others and knew what they were searching for.
So he must have known that since he’d been arrested, the item had been found.
Under these circumstances, he knew the jig was up. After a whole night, no matter how much he clung to a sliver of hope, his psychological defenses were now on the verge of collapse.
Li Xiaowen’s interrogation style was very steady.
Or rather, combined with his naturally cold expression, he was very good at controlling the atmosphere.
After entering the room, he didn’t say a word. He just stared silently at Duan Dongqiang.
Beads of sweat formed on Duan Dongqiang’s forehead. He wrung his hands, restless and uneasy.
The moment before Duan Dongqiang’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he was about to speak, Li Xiaowen finally broke the silence.
It was just one sentence.
"We found it."
The choice of words, the timing—it was perfect, piercing straight through Duan Dongqiang’s psychological defenses.
Duan Dongqiang reacted as if he’d been jolted, breaking into a heavy sweat. He frantically asked what they had found.
Li Xiaowen snorted softly, silently picked up the photo of the evidence, and said, "You’re asking me about something you threw away yourself?"
The moment he saw the photo, his accumulated fear completely shattered any lingering hope.
"I... I..."
Duan Dongqiang stammered "I" for a long time without forming a complete sentence.
Li Xiaowen slapped the photo on the table and asked in a low voice, "Speak. How did you attack Zhang Kaiyong?"
He used his cold demeanor to maintain an air of superiority, suppressing Duan Dongqiang and giving him the impression that he already knew everything.
In this situation, any excuses Duan Dongqiang might have concocted throughout the night were likely forgotten completely.
And then he confessed.
Shen Xin listened in silence.
It was almost exactly as he’d stated in his first testimony. He had heard people arguing.
But instead of ignoring it, he got out of bed to check.
He hid behind the wall and watched, personally witnessing Li Xingping hit Zhang Kaiyong a few times with a brick.
His heart pounded in fear, and he only dared to come out after Li Xingping was long gone.
At first, he thought Zhang Kaiyong was dead, but then he saw Zhang Kaiyong climb back to his feet on his own.
Then, hiding behind the wall, he heard Zhang Kaiyong cursing.
He was cursing Li Xingping, muttering about how he would kill him, how he would "never give it to you," and how he was going to "take care of him."
In that moment, as if possessed, Duan Dongqiang thought of his own troubles.
How he had been assigned the most remote plot of land, and when he went to argue, the man had said that an old bachelor like him could just plant whatever and it would be enough to feed himself.
Zhang Kaisheng had even hit him before.
"When the village was pouring concrete, it was just a few square feet. I asked him, what’s the big deal with helping me pour mine while you’re at it?"
Duan Dongqiang grew more agitated as he spoke. "Why did they pour it for others, then? Weren’t they just looking down on me? Then he saw me, and he cursed me out, asking why I didn’t stop it, why I just stood there and watched him get beaten."
"Stop it, my ass! I got so pissed, I just grabbed a nearby brick, went out there, and... and bashed his brains in."
He finished speaking, his eyes wide.
But under Li Xiaowen’s cold, harsh gaze, he suddenly broke down. With a mournful expression, he hypocritically tried to defend himself, claiming he never meant to kill him, only to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Who knew that after a few hits, Zhang Kaiyong would stop moving?
In the observation room, Zhu Qiuwei shook his head slightly and murmured, "The difference of a single thought."
Shen Xin nodded.
Li Xingping had a momentary lapse, and, unable to contain his anger, chose to resort to violence.
And Duan Dongqiang, also in a momentary lapse, chose to commit murder.
But thinking of Zhang Kaisheng’s arrogance, it seemed as if Zhang Kaiyong’s fate was sealed.
But regardless, the case was solved.
Walking out of the Criminal Investigation Division headquarters, the weather had cleared up. After the heavy rain, the sky was a pristine, clear blue.
Shen Xin’s mood, like the sky, became bright and clear.
At the same time, it was time to go home.
...
Shen Xin stayed in Ma Chang Town for one more day, arranging for a truck to transport Ten Thousand back to Nanjiang.
The town was still in chaos.
Many villages had been affected by the torrential downpour.
Baijia Post, for example, had also experienced a landslide.
The few families from up the mountain, in particular, were now temporarily housed in the town.
「Early on the third day, outside the town government building.」
Shen Xin said his farewells one by one to Miao Dingqiang and the others who had come to see him off.
His gaze sharpened, and he spotted Li Shi behind the crowd. The little guy was staring at him intently.
Shen Xin walked over to him.
"I’m about to leave. Not even a hug?" Shen Xin said with a smile, opening his arms.
Shen Xin had already entrusted Li Shi’s situation to Guo Jin, who would help handle the aftermath.
As for the family’s future, Miao Dingqiang would also help look after them.
Li Shi pressed his lips together, but finally threw himself into Shen Xin’s embrace.
Shen Xin patted his back, softly urging him to study hard.
"Don’t let hardship get you down, especially when there are people you care about."
Shen Xin released him and tapped his finger on the boy’s chest, over his heart.
Li Shi nodded slightly, his eyes turning a little red.
Shen Xin said, "Say something, kid."
Li Shi bit his lip, but still couldn’t say anything.
But that was okay.
Shen Xin gave his head a final affectionate ruffle and turned to get in the car.
Tian Kui poked his head out and barked twice at Guo Jin.
Just those two barks made Guo Jin’s eyes well up, and he quickly turned his head away.
The car started to move, and the crowd in the rearview mirror gradually receded into the distance.
Just then, a figure came chasing after them.
It was Li Shi.
He was riding a brand-new bicycle.
A parting gift from Shen Xin.
Shen Xin quickly told the driver to stop, then leaned out the window to look at Li Shi.
Li Shi propped up his bicycle but didn’t come closer. He just watched Shen Xin quietly.
"Is there something else you want to say?" Shen Xin shouted.
Li Shi didn’t speak.
Shen Xin waved at him, gesturing for him to go back.
But after the car started moving again, he saw in the rearview mirror that the boy was chasing them once more.
He kept chasing, following the car for a long way, until it rounded a mountain bend. Only then did Shen Xin see him stop.
He stood on a high point, leaning on his bicycle, motionless in the morning sun.
From far away, his voice finally carried over.
Shen Xin heard it. It was just two words: "Thank you."
The kid had finally said thank you.
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