Chapter 38: The Choice Between Light and Darkness

  "What?" Zhang Qingtian couldn't believe his ears, saying: "How is this possible? It must be a mistake, I'll go ask them to clarify!" With a whoosh, he stood up.

  "Sit down!" Lu Zhong furrowed his brow.

  Zhang Qingtian was scolded by Lu Zhong for the first time, stunned for a moment, but then slowly sat back on the sofa.

  "Think about it, has anything special happened recently? Think carefully." Lu Zhong said as he handed Zhang Qingtian a cigarette.

  Zhang Qing shook his head and said, "No?"

  "Don't rush to conclusions, think about it and then say, for example, have you had any grudges with others or disputes?" Lu Zhong said as he spoke, his mind was also pondering.

  It's impossible for Lu Zhong to believe that Zhang Qingtian would kill someone. Although everyone has a devil in their heart and has impulsive moments, judging from Zhang Qingtian's reaction just now, Lu Zhong knew that Zhang Qingtian had no idea what was happening. If he were pretending to be this good, making himself unable to see any flaws, Lu Zhong could only lament that he had lived two lifetimes in vain.

  Zhang Qingtian has offended too many people, it's no wonder someone wants to get rid of him.

  Let's just talk about the Guangning County Bureau office building project, Zhang Qingtian has been staring at it without letting go, issued two rectification notices, and made three written reports questioning the budget of the project, finally forcing the project to change contractors, and changed to state-owned enterprise Shi Yi Jian Construction.

  Can't you hate Zhang Qingtian for this chain of interest transfer?

  And Zhang Qingtian's case is not an isolated incident either.

  "Ah, I remember now. The other day, I had a conflict with someone." Zhang Qingtian suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "A mysterious person ran to my old mother's house to find me, threatening me not to know what's good for me, saying that he knew I was a filial son, but he also knew where my old mother lived, telling me to be careful and take care of her. It was clearly intimidation, then we had a dispute, in front of my old mother's house, which is the Nanhu small pond, I pushed him into the pond, but the water wasn't even knee-deep, I saw him get up, cursing and walking away."

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly and asked: "Is there anything else?"

  Zhang Qingtian furrowed his brow, thinking again, and recalled several things: the small vendors at the vegetable market who shortchanged customers, the women with heavy makeup at the barber shop, Little Du in the office...and so on.

  This week, there were quite a few people who had conflicts with him.

  Lu Zhong was somewhat helpless, puffing on his cigarette and pondering. "Qingtian, if you go to the Public Security Bureau like this, don't talk nonsense..." Before he could finish speaking, the office door was pushed open and Ouyang Rong strode in, with He Hongmei following behind him, repeatedly saying, "Hey, why didn't you knock on the door?"

  In the conference room of Building No. 1, a mobilization meeting to study the spirit of the Municipal Party Committee's document "On Further Opening Up the City's Consumer Goods Market Prices" was held by Yang Wenxue, the executive deputy director, who kept talking on the stage.

  Ouyang Rong didn't think it was good to go in like that and take people away, but after waiting for over ten minutes, the leader who was speaking on stage still hadn't taken a breath. Just then, he saw the secretary carrying a thermos about to enter the conference room to deliver water, so Ouyang Rong went up to him and asked the secretary for help, calling out "Director Zhang Qingtian of the Inspection Department" to come out, saying "there's an urgent matter to find him".

  The secretary was extremely surprised and said, "What does Zhang Qingtian have to do with the price meeting?" After finishing speaking, he turned his face and walked away, with a very unfriendly attitude. Obviously, this secretary may also have been wronged by Zhang Qingtian, belonging to the same group of people who had a big opinion about Zhang Qingtian. As for Zhang Qingtian's friend, he naturally didn't get along with him either.

  Ouyang Rong polished it for a moment, and then knew that he had been deceived by Lu Zhong. He hurriedly ran back to Building 3, and indeed, in Lu Zhong's office, Zhang Qingtian was caught off guard.

  "Director Lu, why must you?" Ouyang Rong sighed, feeling helpless. This Director Lu was not only from the public security sector but also an excellent public security officer who had cracked many sensational cases and was once awarded the title of First-Class Hero by the Ministry of Public Security. If it were a matter within the public security system, he wouldn't be able to deceive him in the slightest.

  It seems that Lu Zhong also knew that Zhang Qingtian was a suspect in the murder case, but he didn't know what they had just talked about.

  But there's no need to think of excuses now. Lu Zhong's anti-detection ability, I've seen it for myself when we worked together on a case.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "I won't make excuses like Zhang Qingtian just came back from outside. I need to understand what happened since it involves my subordinates. Director Ouyang, I know Zhang Qingtian, how could he be a murderer? You must investigate thoroughly and not wrong an innocent person."

  Ouyang Rong walked towards Zhang Qingtian, pretending not to hear Lu Zhong's words. He had experienced what kind of person Lu Zhong was.

  Young police officer Xiaowang, who came with Ouyang Rong, frowned and looked at Lu Zhen with dissatisfaction, thinking that Director Lu was inexplicably mysterious, acting as if the Public Security Bureau was his own family business. When did it become his turn to point fingers and give orders?

  Moreover, providing false information, deceiving others and taking the opportunity to make unauthorized contact with suspects, is clearly obstructing law enforcement agencies from investigating cases, this can be grounds for on-the-spot detention!

  "What's a murder?" Hearing Lu Zhong's words, He Hongmei stared with wide eyes in surprise. She had only thought that her lover might be a witness to some homicide case, and she never could have imagined that Zhang Qingtian would be linked to a murder suspect in any way.

  Ouyang Rong has already taken out the handcuffs and put them on Zhang Qingtian. He Hongmei immediately shouted: "What are you doing?"

  Ouyang Rong took out his police badge and flashed it in front of Zhang Qingtian, saying: "Zhang Qingtian, there's a murder case that requires your assistance with the investigation. Please come with us."

  Zhang Qingtian turned his head and said to He Hongmei, "Don't worry, I didn't do it, nothing's wrong."

  He Hongmei's tears were about to flow out, grasping Zhang Qingtian's arm and not letting go. "What do you mean nothing's wrong? I told you before, don't always offend people, don't always offend people... You just won't listen..." As she spoke, she began to wipe away her tears. Seeing Ouyang Rong and Xiao Wang about to take Zhang Qingtian away, she hastily said: "Director Ouyang, you must investigate clearly, my husband wouldn't kill anyone..." At this moment, she was no different from an ordinary woman.

  Ouyang Rong hadn't spoken yet, but Xiao Wang was already impatient, frowning and scolding: "You decide whether to kill or not? Let go!"

  Ouyang Rong knew something was wrong as soon as he heard it, and indeed, Lu Zhong looked at Little Wang, furrowed his brow, but didn't say a word.

  Ouyang Rong hurriedly smiled and said to He Hongmei: "Director He, don't worry, we will handle the case impartially and enforce the law civilly. We also hope this is just a misunderstanding." He Hongmei was of equal rank with him, let alone that the Financial Bureau's Finance Department, although not closely related to individuals, could not be underestimated in terms of power. Little Wang had little experience and didn't know how to get along with people, so he naturally had to be polite, especially since this was on Lu Zhong's turf.

  "Ouyang, come, let's chat for a bit." Lu Zhong suddenly smiled and beckoned to Ouyang Rong. Ouyang Rong thought to himself, this Lu Zhong is definitely up to no good.

  But could only laugh and walk past, standing with Lu Zhong in front of the window, whispering to each other.

  Xiao Wang looked at his leader's back in surprise. In the past, when handling cases, he had even been to the municipal party committee office, but he had never seen Ouyang Director be so polite to anyone, and there was even a hint of humility and compromise.

  Is this Director Lu? Who is it?

  Three to five minutes later, Ouyang Rong walked over, gave Xiao Wang a signal with his eyes, and said: "You go out and wait."

  Xiao Wang was stunned for a moment, but in the public security system, the leader's words were orders, and he could only pull the door out and stand at the door, becoming a sentry.

  In the office, Ouyang Rong opened Zhang Qingtian's handcuffs and then sat down beside him.

  "Ouyang, can't you wait outside for a bit?" Lu Zhong asked with a smile.

  Looking at Lu Zhong's hateful smile, Ouyang Rong felt even more depressed, shaking his head desperately. This was already the bottom line. If he left the suspect alone with someone, it would be a principled mistake.

  Lu Zhong went over and spoke in a low voice with Zhang Qingtian. Ouyang Rong sighed deeply, as if to say that he could hear it himself.

  ……

  In the evening, while watching a gunfight video tape at home, the doorbell rang. Lu Zhong went to open the door and was slightly startled to find He Hongmei standing outside.

  Lu Zhong couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, thinking that Wei Xiangxiu had returned. But it seemed that Wei Xiangxiu had gone to another place to study and hadn't been seen for some time.

  As soon as she sat down on the sofa, He Hongmei hastily said: "Director Lu, please help Qingtian, now only you can save him." When mentioning her lover, He Hongmei's eyes turned red.

  It's already been three days and Zhang Qingtian still hasn't been released. He Hongmei had pulled a lot of strings, but couldn't find out anything. In desperation, she thought of Lu Zhong.

  Director Lu is quite familiar with Director Ouyang, and besides, Director Lu was originally from the public security system, so he must know many people in the municipal bureau. Now, only Director Lu can help Qingtian.

  "It's a complicated matter, I've heard." Lu Zhong walked over and turned off the camera.

  A week ago, a dead body was found in Nanhu Lake. The body had not yet decomposed, and forensic experts estimated that the time of death was between noon and evening the day before. Soon after, the city's criminal police found clues while visiting nearby residents. A witness identified the deceased as having had a dispute with the eldest son of the Zhang family, and he personally saw the eldest son pushing the deceased into the lake during the time period when the deceased died. At that time, he saw the deceased get up from the water's edge and thought nothing of it, so he walked away, unaware that a homicide case would occur.

  The eldest son of Old Zhang's family is Zhang Qingtian.

  These messages were revealed by Ouyang Rong, who also said that although there are still several doubts, the criminal investigation department has basically identified Zhang Qingtian as the murderer in an internal meeting. The Criminal Investigation Department has already reported to the procuratorial organ and approved the arrest of Zhang Qingtian.

  Lu Zhong could imagine that if this case was not a misunderstanding, but someone deliberately framed Zhang Qingtian, the people involved would be afraid of being implicated.

  This trip is even more troublesome than expected.

  It's best to stay out of trouble and avoid getting involved, helping Zhang Qingtian will only lead to offending many people, and the person you offend may cause you a lot of trouble.

  But is it just going to be like this? Lu Zhong also felt that if so, then he would be no different from his past life.

  At this time, looking at He Hongmei, a female cadre who was usually very strong and capable, with tears in her eyes, Lu Zhong's heart felt a little more unbearable.

  Zhang Qingtian, perhaps it is a test given by heaven itself? A test of light or darkness?

  Lu Zhong was absent-minded and perfunctory as he saw off He Hongmei, then sat back down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and fell into deep thought.