Song Baicheng’s wife cried so loud that it shook the skies. The police were not here yet but the neighbourhood’s guards and several neighbours arrived. The chubby kid was back again but a lady stopped him from entering the bedroom. He was still young, witnessing such a scene would only traumatize him.

Song Baicheng was not a pitiful man but his wife and kid were innocent. The woman had lost her husband and the child had lost his father, both of their lives were about to be changed forever.

When she was done crying, Song Baicheng’s wife wanted to cover him with a blanket but Liang Siyao quickly stopped her. “Please don’t touch anything on the crime scene.”

“The man’s already dead. I want his body to be half decent and not naked on display. He’s dead, can’t I cover him with a blanket?” The woman was very emotional.

“Once the doctor gives the all-clear, you may do whatever you wish. But not now. You should leave.”

“This is my home!” The woman roared as she rushed at Liang Siyao. “If someone has to go, it should be you all!”

Liang Siyao furrowed her brows. “Get out or we will not show restraint!”

“Who are you anyway? You say you are the police, show me proof!” cried the woman, reaching out to grab Liang Siyao’s clothes.

The woman was no match for her. Liang Siyao grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the bedroom.

The woman screamed and cried hysterically in the living room while the neighbours yelled at Liang Siyao for being too rough. It was very noisy and chaotic outside.

Such a scene made Xia Lei’s head hurt but he was also grateful to have Liang Siyao with him. She was a woman, after all. If he were to act in Liang Siyao’s shoes, things would have gone a lot differently.

They both ignored her request that demanded them to present their documents. Bureau 101 and the regular police operated differently. If it was necessary, they could chase everyone out of the house without reservations for their feelings. However, the two did not do so because the mother and son were already in grief. There was no need to salt an already painful wound.

A tensed fifteen minutes passed when something surprising happened. While the special forces from Bureau 101 did not arrive, a group of police did.

When the police arrived, Song Baicheng’s wife started to explain to the team leader as she sobbed while the nosey neighbours also described what happened.

The police who thought they had already understood the situation came before Xia Lei and Liang Siyao. “You both say you’re policemen, which district are you from? Show us your IDs?”

Liang Siyao and Xia Lei did not move.

“They are not the police, they are the murderers!” roared Song Baicheng’s wife.

The leader of the police warned sternly, “If you both do not produce your documents now, we shall take action!”

Liang Siyao finally fished out her documents from the National Security Agency and showed the policeman. When he saw her documents, he immediately had a change of attitude.

“Bring your men away. This doesn’t concern you,” said Liang Siyao.

The leader of the policemen was hesitant.

At this point, another few people appeared at the door, leading them was Ling Han.

When Xia Lei saw Ling Han, he wondered. ‘Song Baicheng just died, how did Ling Han receive news so quickly? And he brought his men with him too.’

Ling Han comforted Song Baicheng’s wife then walked over to Xia Lei. “Xia Lei, long time no see. Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?” Xia Lei asked him the same question.

Ling Han replied, “I rushed over when I received the call.”

“Who called you?” Xia Lei asked.

Ling Han frowned. “Xia Lei, what do you mean by this? Are you investigating me now?”

“No, I am just curious, just asking,” Xia Lei said flatly.

“If you are just curious, then I have questions too. Why are you here?” Ling Han’s glare turned cold.

“I’m here to arrest him,” said Xia Lei.

“Arrest him?

“What happened at the West province was related to him. He leaked intel to the Japenese. This is treason, he betrayed the country,” said Xia Lei.

“Bullshit!” Song Baicheng’s wife roared hysterically. “That’s bullshit! You’re lying! My husband is a good man, not a criminal!”

Xia Lei did not reply. Arguing with this woman was not worth it

Ling Han just held up a hand and the woman stopped talking.

“Do you have evidence?” he asked Xia Lei.

“Would I have come otherwise?” said Xia Lei.

“Show me.”

“Who are you? Why would I show you the evidence?” said Xia Lei.

A cold smile crept up the corner of Ling Han’s lips. “Your wings have hardened. Fine, I am not interested in your so-called evidence anyway. Song Baicheng is my subordinate, a member of my department. We have professionals to deal with matters like this, we do not need your help. Please leave.”

“You want us to leave? What right do you have?” Xia Lei said coldly. “Also, why are you in such a hurry for us to leave? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Watch what you say.” There was a hint of anger in Ling Han’s voice.

Liang Siyao said, “On what grounds are you asking us to leave? I want you all to leave now, get out!”

“Liang Siyao, you don’t have the authority to speak to me like that.” Ling Han looked at her. “Do you want me to dig out the things you did at the CIA?”

“You...” Liang Siyao was so angry she could not speak.

Ignoring Xia Lei and Liang Siyao, Ling Han and his men entered Song Baicheng’s bedroom.

“What do they want?” asked Liang Siyao.

“They are our department’s specialists. They will conduct investigations to find out the reason for Song Baicheng’s death. He deserves this,” said Ling Han.

“Pathologist?”

“Something like that.”

“No!” Liang Siyao wanted to stop them.

Xia Lei grabbed her by the arm. She turned to look at him and he shook his head.

“They...” she wanted to say something but stopped.

Xia Lei pulled her to a corner of the living room then whispered in her ear. “Song Baicheng and Ling Han were transferred to Yu Shanhe’s department. That is an independent body, they have their own investigative team and even their own court. They do have the right to investigate.”

“It’s like thieves guarding their own loot!” Liang Siyao was very angry but had to whisper.

“I know. It’s as clear as day.”

“So that’s it?” Liang Siyao was not satisfied.

Xia Lei said, “Song Baicheng is dead. Any evidence we have is useless. If you force a confrontation with that, you’ll just lose.”

Liang Siyao looked at Xia Lei, her gaze softening. “You let go because you wanted to protect me?”

He nodded. Based on his past experience, with Song Baicheng’s death, the incident of West province had come to a close. The culprit would escape the law, Ling Han and Yu Shanhe would not be involved. On the other hand, Liang Siyao was a woman who ‘leapt’ from CIA to Bureau 101. If she stubbornly pursued the case, she would only get herself into more trouble.

“Let Boss Shi deal with this, do not interfere,” said Xia Lei.

Liang Siyao grunted lightly, then said, “The murderer will escape the law and nothing will happen to the person who betrayed you. It’s so unfair.”

“The world has never been fair. I don’t want to confront people like Ling Han and Yu Shanhe over Song Baicheng’s death like this either. However, I will not stop here. For now, all we can do is wait.”

Revenge could wait.

The agents from Bureau 101 and the doctors arrived but upon their arrival, Ling Han’s ‘specialists’ had determined the cause of his death. It was a blood clot in the brain.

Xia Lei saw the body once again, his hair had been shaved. The person’s shaving skills were horrible, leaving cuts on the man’s head. There were two cuts on the coin-shaped birthmark. Song Baicheng’s body now matched the conclusion that his death was from a blood clot in the brain.

Xia Lei, however, was not surprised by this.

The doctor from Bureau 101 wanted to check the body but Song Baicheng’s wife rushed forward and cried hysterically. She did not let them perform a second autopsy on the body.

“The man is dead. Why must you check twice? What do you all want? Baicheng ah! You were good at your job, you served well...Sob...Now that you’re dead, they are just ruining your body...” his wife cried.

Xia Lei looked at the wife and suddenly understood something. A cold smirk crept up his lips. He initially pitied the woman and her child but realized he was being too kind. A detail surfaced in his mind. She cried relentlessly in front of Liang Siyao and himself but stopped when Ling Han raised his hand. He speculated that this woman must be very familiar with Ling Han.

“She’s very good at acting so I couldn’t tell. Who is she?” Xia Lei mulled over the incident privately though he did not ask aloud. If he wanted to perform investigations on the woman, it would not be smart to speak now. The better option would be to turn to Fan Fan.

It was difficult for Bureau 101’s doctors to do their job due to the woman’s antics. They looked at Xia Lei and Liang Siyao for help.

“What about this, since we already have autopsy results, we’ll take their results. Of course, this is just my opinion. If you need formal instructions, you know who to ask.” When Xia Lei finished, he turned to Liang Siyao “Siyao, let’s go.”

She nodded obediently then left with Xia Lei.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“Xia Lei.” Ling Han halted him. “We’re brothers, I have something to say to you.”

Xia Lei turned to look at him. “Tell me.”

“Sometimes, retreating when the current is too strong is a good choice.”

Xia Lei smiled. “Thank you, I have something to tell you too.”

“Go ahead.”

“A criminal’s path is doomed. Sometimes, giving up evil for good is a good choice.”

Ling Han smiled. “Good one.”

“Goodbye.” Xia Lei waved then left with Liang Siyao.

The two men could not wait for the other to die but were ever so polite to each other on the surface.

Liang Siyao found this very odd.