The Overlord of Puluo

Chapter 5: They’re All Liars

Old Chen suspected that Li Banfeng, He Jiaqing, and Lu Xiaolan were involved in a love triangle. That made Li Banfeng a little angry. No, he wasn’t just a little angry; he was furious. Nevertheless, he restrained himself. He suppressed his rage and even put on a small smile.

Old Chen was deliberately provoking Li Banfeng, thinking he could get the information he wanted this way.

He might even try pushing me to have a psychotic episode so that he can treat me as a mentally unstable suspect and arrest me.

Enunciating each word very clearly, Li Banfeng stated flatly, ”Lu Xiaolan and I aren’t even friends, let alone anything more. You can ask my university roommates or other classmates to verify that.”

Old Chen asked, ”Is there really nothing between you two?”

Li Banfeng replied calmly, ”If there was something between us, I would tell you there is. But there’s nothing, so I’m telling you there’s nothing. If you don’t believe me, just go investigate. It’s that simple. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.”

It really was that simple.

Old Chen nodded. ”I believe you.”

Li Banfeng continued, ”It’s true I was the one who brought He Jiaqing to the hospital, but you can’t possibly pin me as the culprit because of that, can you? His third uncle is here too. Why don’t you call him over? Let’s clear everything up together.”

”I’m not treating you as the culprit. If I were, I’d have taken you back to the station already.” Old Chen took out a pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket but resisted the urge to light one. ”As for He Jiaqing’s third uncle, you’re talking about He Haisheng, right? He was the one who called the police, brought me to the hospital, and told me to look for you.”

Li Banfeng was speechless. Jiaqing’s third uncle is pretty sinister.

Old Chen put his pack of cigarettes back into his chest pocket. ”Before He Jiaqing’s incident, he had a meal with you and some drinks. After a round of drinks, he passed out. You said you took him to the train station. We’ll check the surveillance footage there. I believe you’re telling the truth, and I hope this matter has nothing to do with you. But let me remind you that things aren’t looking good for you right now. We’ll be investigating the matter, and you should do your best to cooperate with us. Additionally, try not to leave Yuezhou.”

Ka-da-da~

It was Li Banfeng’s phone.

The corner of Li Banfeng’s eye twitched. It’s probably a message from He Jiaqing.

He wondered whether he should tell this police officer about it. Li Banfeng felt very conflicted.

”Did someone contact you?” Old Chen gave a knowing smile, as if he had seen through Li Banfeng’s hesitation. ”There are things you might not want to tell me right now, and that’s fine. When you’re ready to talk, come find me.”

Old Chen walked out of the ward with Li Banfeng. When they reached the hospital entrance, the two men parted ways.

Old Chen got into a black sedan. There were two passengers inside.

Sitting in the back seat was a woman in her early twenties, dressed in office attire. Brushing aside the fringe of her short bob, she straightened her rimless glasses, crossed her legs neatly, and turned slightly toward Old Chen. Only a third of her perfectly round, peach-shaped bottom was resting on the seat.

This young woman was You Xuehan, codename Tangyuan[1]. She was their team’s secretary.

Holding an elaborately decorated notebook, You Xuehan asked respectfully, ”Captain Chen, how did it go?”

Old Chen lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes and the deep smile lines on his face smoothed out at the same time, like the tension was melting away from his body.

”That kid’s got good mental fortitude; he knows how to hold back his emotions. But I don’t think he’s a Dark Ability User. He’s probably just a Bleater. But he definitely knows something. Has anyone contacted him by phone in the past few days regarding what happened with He Jiaqing?”

You Xuehan opened up Li Banfeng’s file. ”I just checked his phone records. He’s only made one call, and it was to emergency services. The university called him twice. There were no other calls. He didn’t get any text messages either—not even one.”

”I’m guessing it’s not that there’s none; it’s that we just can’t see it in his phone records,” Old Chen said, exhaling a puff of smoke. ”He tensed up the moment he heard his phone ring with a new message. Someone’s contacting him, but he doesn’t want anyone else to know.”

The man in the front passenger seat turned toward Old Chen and offered a suggestion. ”If he’s suspicious, why not just arrest him?”

The man appeared to be around thirty. He had thick brows, big eyes, contoured cheekbones, and a sharp jawline. He was fairly handsome. However, his hair was thinning, so he had it slicked back with shiny hair grease in an extremely neat hairstyle.

”Arrest him?” Old Chen frowned as he turned to look at the man. ”On what grounds?”

The man didn’t seem to realize there was a major problem with his suggestion. ”Since he has a motive, it would be best to keep him in custody.”

Old Chen’s tone grew heavier. ”What motive does he have?”

The man remained oblivious. ”If this has nothing to do with him, then why did he take He Jiaqing to the hospital?”

Old Chen snapped and said furiously, ”What the fuck is this nonsense that you’re spouting?!”

The man didn’t respond. He simply turned away and gazed out the car window.

His name was Xiao Zhenggong, but the members of his team called him Deputy Xiao.

He kept his eyes on the scenery outside, the disdain on his face sending a clear message. Xiao Zhenggong wasn’t afraid of Old Chen, nor did he think he had done anything wrong. He just didn’t want to waste words arguing with the old guy.

Even though Xiao Zhenggong had his back to Old Chen, Old Chen could see his face clearly in the side mirror.

Old Chen let out a sigh. ”From the very day you joined the bureau, I’ve been telling you the same thing. Complete your tasks, follow the rules, and don’t forget your damn conscience. And yet, even after all this time, you still don’t fucking get it!”

You Xuehan pursed her lips. The tense atmosphere made her uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject. ”I’ve done a rudimentary check of Li Banfeng’s background. He was abandoned as a baby and grew up in an orphanage. He has no criminal record, but he has been investigated a few times for acting in self-defense.”

”Self-defense?” Old Chen’s interest was piqued. He took the file from her. ”Took on three people, left two seriously injured and one with minor injuries. Took on five people, left one seriously injured and four with minor injuries... He’s that good in a fight? Sure didn’t look it. He’s got a pretty average build!”

He flipped through Li Banfeng’s file seriously. Halfway through, he laughed. ”This kid... he’s really nuts.”

You Xuehan asked, ”Captain Chen, do we still need to watch Li Banfeng?”

Old Chen thought about it for a moment and said, ”Have Lightbulb keep an eye on him.”

You Xuehan reminded him, ”Lightbulb’s only been on the job for a month. It would be better to let Blockhead handle it.”

Old Chen took another deep drag of his cigarette. ”There’s no need to send Blockhead to watch a Bleater. It’s a good chance for Lightbulb to get some practice. Send Blockhead to watch He Haisheng instead. Now that guy won’t be easy to deal with.”

***

After boarding a subway train, Li Banfeng took out his phone. Just as he had expected, he had gotten a new text message. However, it wasn’t from He Jiaqing.

Old Chen: Hello, this is Old Chen.

Old Chen? He’s the one who messaged me? That old guy... was he testing me earlier? What’s the point of sending this message? Is it just to test me?

Oh, I guess not. By sending this message, he gave me his number. He really does want me to contact him of my own accord.

Li Banfeng had no intention of contacting Old Chen, but there was one thing he was very curious about. During their conversation in the ward, Li Banfeng did not see Old Chen take out his phone.

So how had he sent the text message? Had someone helped him send the text message in secret? Or did this Old Chen have some sort of special ability?

And what about He Jiaqing? He was lying unconscious in the hospital. If he really was sending Li Banfeng text messages, then how was he doing it?

This wasn’t in line with the world he knew.

But so what if it’s different? What’s that got to do with me? Jiaqing is now under the care of his third uncle, so I don’t need to get involved anymore. I’ll just stick to moving bricks and live a quiet and peaceful life. None of this has anything to do with me anymore.

Li Banfeng wanted to forget everything as quickly as possible. He unlocked his phone and began scrolling aimlessly through news articles.

This was the headline of the first one.

”8.83 Seconds—Renowned Sprinter Qiao Yuesheng Makes a New 100m World Record Again! What He Said in the Interview Will Shock You!”

What did he say?

Li Banfeng opened up the article.

The Diamond League has just concluded. Renowned sprinter Qiao Yuesheng has made waves once again with a record-breaking 8.83 seconds, breaking the world record he set just last month. Who could have imagined that this legendary athlete once nearly gave up on his dream due to financial hardship? Born into a humble and ordinary farming family...

The article was very long, detailing Qiao Yuesheng’s life from his birth all the way to his championship win at the Diamond League. At the very end of the article, Li Banfeng finally found what Qiao Yuesheng said in the interview: ”Dreams have nothing to do with skin color.”

It was a very inspirational quote. However, Li Banfeng remembered that this was a famous quote from the previous year, rather than this year. Despite being an Asian, Qiao Yuesheng had been dominating the 100-meter track since then, and now, he had even shattered the nine-second world record.

Li Banfeng opened up the next article.

”Famous Celebrity Chu Zikai Reveals the Secrets of the Entertainment Industry.”

Ten years ago, Chu Zikai took the Chinese music scene by storm with his hit single ”I Am Your Guokui”[2]. His pure and sincere singing voice has touched countless fans.

This musical prodigy made shocking revelations to the public, opening the eyes of countless people to the reality of the entertainment industry.

Now thirty-one, Chu Zikai was born into a regular working-class family and has loved music since childhood...

Li Banfeng thought, This one outlines his life from birth too.

He couldn’t be bothered reading it. He skipped to the next article.

”Shocking News! The Sun Is Not an Only Child. Astronomers Discover It Might Have a Younger Brother!”

Recently, astronomers made a shocking discovery. Our sun may not be an only child. It might have an undiscovered companion star.

As the master of the solar system and the star upon which all life depends, the sun was born 4.6 billion years ago...

Li Banfeng was annoyed. Even the sun has to have its story start from its birth. All these clickbait writers must have had the same damn teacher!

His phone’s notification sound rang again.

Ka-da-da!

He received a new text message. This one was from He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing: Bro, don’t trust them. They’re all liars.

Li Banfeng: Who do you mean by ”they”?

He Jiaqing: Third Uncle, the cops, even the He Jiaqing you saw—every one of them is a liar.

Li Banfeng put away his phone. All of a sudden, the subway train felt much colder than usual.

1. Tangyuan is a kind of food. It’s boiled or deep-fried balls of glutinous rice flour, usually eaten during the Lantern Festival. ☜

2. Guokui is a kind of Chinese flatbread, and there are various regional versions. ☜