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Wind Rises in Dragon City Chapter 43
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 15:13:11 +0000 UTCChapter 43: Life's Absurdity, Wishing It Was All a Dream
In the interrogation room, Daxiong was stunned, looking at his parents in disbelief. His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word.
What could he say? The one making this request wasn't Old Yang from the Police Bureau, nor was it the wealthy and powerful Tang Baiqing, but his own parents who had given birth to him and raised him!
Wu's father had lost his usual irritability and parental superiority. He lowered his head and said in a trembling voice: "...They're offering money, ten... ten thousand for each year in prison."
Daxiong sat dumbfounded in the chair, stuttering in response: "Dad... Dad... I don't want to go to prison...!"
Wu's father kept his head down and replied in a hoarse voice: "Son, you know our family's situation. I'm completely finished in this life, no fucking chance of turning things around, but... people still have to live, right? We only have that one broken house, but I have three sons. You're all grown up now, what can I use to set you up in life, to help you marry and have children?!"
Daxiong was speechless. He turned to look at his mother, but she had her back to him, sobbing.
"I just asked that Old Yang, you have intellectual disabilities, which will be taken into consideration in the legal system. They'll give you a low-intelligence test report, you won't be in there for too long," Wu's father continued through gritted teeth. "Stay for six or seven years, we'll get the money, and when you come out, you can still marry and have children. Your older brothers won't forget you... They'll take care of you for the rest of your life."
"I... I won't do it!" Unable to get help from his mother, Daxiong could only stubbornly refuse his father's request.
Wu's father raised his head to look at him: "If you don't do it, when will your older brothers be able to marry? Are you going to let me die without grandchildren?!"
Silence. After a brief silence, Wu's father stood up and fell to his knees with a thud: "I'm kowtowing to you, alright? Help your older brothers, help the family, please?!"
Daxiong looked at his father kneeling before him and unconsciously turned his head away. He wasn't feeling sorry for him, nor was he moved. He only felt helpless.
"Son, please help your older brothers," his mother said, crying with her back still turned to him.
......
Half an hour later, Wu's parents left the interrogation room and talked with Tang's father for a long time in the car outside. They even signed a simple agreement.
For Tang's father, arranging the case and reducing Daxiong's sentence wasn't a problem. He had no need to deceive Wu's family because these things could be solved with money.
For Tang's father, as long as the case could be resolved quickly, with someone taking the fall for his son, and it wouldn't be dug up in the future, that was the best outcome. As for the financial loss, that wasn't his main concern.
Outside the case handling building, after having breakfast, Su Tianyu and the others again applied to the duty officer to see Daxiong, wanting to ask when he would be released. But unexpectedly, the officer told them that Daxiong was about to face arrest.
This confused Su Tianyu, but he had no connections in the Zha'nan District Police Department, so he immediately contacted Yu Mingyuan to inquire about the situation.
Yu Mingyuan had been following this matter and knew much more than Su Tianyu. He hinted to Su Tianyu that Daxiong might be taking the fall for Tang Baiqing, and that the two families had already met and talked.
After learning this news, Su Tianyu was extremely shocked and speechless. Although he had experienced a lot and was used to the so-called coldness of human relationships and the baseness of human nature in this era, he still felt full of rejection and disgust towards this matter.
After communicating on the phone, Su Tianyu asked Yu Mingyuan to use his connections to let him meet with Daxiong, which the latter immediately agreed to.
Before Daxiong was transferred to the Police Bureau for detention, Su Tianyu met him in the interrogation room.
In the dimly lit room, Su Tianyu looked at Daxiong in confusion: "Why did you agree? Do you know what this means? It means your life might be ruined!"
"...My... my parents came," Daxiong lowered his head, his voice hoarse.
"You could have refused them! You have your own life, you don't have to listen to your family for everything!" Su Tianyu wasn't pretending to be a saint or trying to be a moral standard-bearer. In fact, if it were ordinary people's affairs, he wouldn't bother to interfere. But Daxiong was different. After several months of interaction, he felt they were friends - pure friends without any interest relationship.
"Li-Little Yu Brother... they... they raised me after all."
Su Tianyu fell silent.
"Life... life... is full of things we can't... can't do anything about..." Daxiong replied, lowering his head. "...I... I can't watch the warehouse for you anymore... Little Yu Brother."
Su Tianyu turned his head away, not knowing what to say.
Wu's parents agreed, Daxiong himself agreed, and the Tang family was willing to pay. Everything had been arranged perfectly, fitting together seamlessly. What else could Su Tianyu say? Anything he said would be meaningless.
After a moment of silence, Su Tianyu turned to look at Daxiong: "I'll deposit some money for you later. Take good care of yourself."
Daxiong didn't reply, staring blankly at the floor.
Su Tianyu pushed open the door and left, not knowing what emotion he was feeling.
At the entrance of the office building, Bai Hongbo frowned and asked: "What did you say?"
"They reached a private consensus. Daxiong's going in."
"...Sigh, this is really fucking messed up!" Bai Hongbo cursed with a sigh. "But it's also normal, that's how the world is. The Yu family's three sisters live one way, the hostesses live another way, no one can touch each other."
Bai Hongbo's words were like shit, stinking and nauseating, but no one refuted him.
......
Around nine in the morning, Daxiong was transferred to the Police Bureau. This time, Old Yang personally took his statement, and his attitude was no longer so friendly. He narrated the case process with a serious expression throughout.
"You're the warehouse keeper on the third floor, you live there every night," Old Yang said to Daxiong, smoking and speaking slowly and clearly. "Last night, you had just returned when you saw the deceased Qu Ying come to find Tang Baiqing, who was playing cards. They had an argument and conflict over relationship issues. You knew Tang Baiqing before, so you chose to go downstairs to break up the fight. During the process, Qu Ying, having injected illegal hallucinogenic drugs, lost control of her emotions, beat and cursed at you, and used the hammer for fixing boat fasteners to hit you on the back. While resisting, you grabbed the hammer and hit her on the head without subjective intent to kill..."
Daxiong listened without responding.
"In a while, my officers will take you to the Police Bureau hospital for a full body examination. You need to tell the doctor clearly about the external injuries left on your body from Qu Ying's beating, do you understand my meaning?" Old Yang asked tactfully.
Daxiong looked up at him.
"Cooperate with the doctor, check the external injuries," Old Yang reminded again.
In another room, Tang Baiqing sat in a chair, saying to the law enforcement recording monitor: "Yes, Qu Ying hit me first, then Wu Shixiong came down to break up the fight, and she started grappling with him. Because I had spent a lot of money on Qu Ying, she might have been a bit afraid of me, so... she took it out on the worker Wu Shixiong. I was pulling them apart the whole time..."
......
That evening, after signing his statement, Tang Baiqing was released by the Police Bureau, waiting for the next summons.
At 9:30 PM.
In the Police Bureau hospital, Daxiong stood in the room for photographing and recording criminal suspects, his gaze empty.
"Take off your clothes," an officer called out.
Hearing this, Daxiong took off his shirt and pants, standing in front of the height measurement wall wearing only his underwear.
Under the bright lights, Daxiong stood straight, revealing countless wounds of various sizes all over his body. There were cigarette burns, long scars from belt lashings, and wounds the size of fingernails.
These scars varied in color, some black, some brown, presumably not all inflicted at the same time.
The officer looked at him in shock: "You... how did you... get these?"
Daxiong didn't respond.
"Hold up that personal information board, we're taking a photo," the officer instructed.
Daxiong picked up the board from the ground and held it expressionlessly under his chin.
The information board read:
Name: Wu Shixiong
Gender: Male
Household Registration: Zha'nan District, Dragon City
Age: 19 years old
Charge: Suspected of murder
In the room, the camera flash lit up and faded. Daxiong stood by the wall, his face devoid of any subtle expression.
......
A week later, Tang Baiqing resumed normal work, as his father had already settled with the victim's family. The exact amount of money spent was unknown to outsiders.
On the first day back at work, Tang Baiqing was in a bad mood. He had just arrived at the unit intending to take a nap when a leader from the Zha'nan District Dock Gang called him: "Baiqing, are you busy?"
"No, I'm at the unit. What's up?"
"Want to get together?"
"I'm not in the mood."
"Come on, I'm already at your unit's entrance. Come out!" the other invited.
In Zha'nan, at the Su family home.
Su Tianyu was sitting in the stone pavilion, chatting with Third Sister when Yu Mingyuan's call came through.
"Hello?"
"The case is over. Prepare to receive goods."
"Okay," Su Tianyu nodded.
Daxiong had gone in, but it wouldn't affect any sea business, and besides Su Tianyu, Bai Hongbo, and a few others, no one would pay attention to a small figure with intellectual disabilities.
......
On a certain island.
A man sat in a bar, saying softly to another person: "My compensation and discharge fees are about to come through. I'll pay back your money in a while."
"No worries, hehe!" The other person laughed and took a sip of alcohol. "Hey, have you been in contact with Su Dakeng recently?"
