"Too many people will cause problems, I can go by myself."

Are you sure there's no problem?

I nodded solemnly, and then Manager Wu told me where Ye Zhi was being illegally detained... In fact, it was in an abandoned warehouse not far from the hotel, guarded by only two villagers on shifts, and a dog was also there to assist.

Therefore, my judgment was correct. The villagers are still villagers after all. Their detention of people was more out of emotion, so it was impossible for them to have a high level of vigilance.

...

I researched similar land dispute cases online to gain a better understanding before going alone to the warehouse where Ye Zhi was being held. The warehouse was very close to the sea, with a yard outside that was overgrown with weeds, clearly having been abandoned for a long time. The person sitting guarding the entrance was a young man of about 20 years old. Judging from his appearance, he didn't seem like the type to be particularly difficult to communicate with.

I walked up to him, smiled, and asked, "Brother, I'm here in Sanya for tourism. Are there any upscale hotels around here that you could recommend?"

The young man was completely unsuspecting of me. He pointed to Ye Zhi's hotel and replied, "Near this beach, the hotel in front is the most upscale... but you won't be able to stay there."

I pretended to glance in the direction of the hotel and said, "I see all the lights are on... so why can't we stay here?"

“This hotel has taken our village’s land and is not paying us… We are currently making a fuss with them.”

"Wow, that's really heartless... Come on, buddy, have a smoke to perk yourself up, and tell me what really happened."

The young man took the cigarette from my hand, and I lit it for him. Perhaps because he was bored after watching all night, he actually started chatting with me, who was pretending to ask for directions. Judging from what we talked about, he really didn't know that the root of the conflict was with their village committee, so there really was someone distorting the truth behind these villagers' backs.

I calmly lit a cigarette and said, "That shouldn't be the case... If the hotel hadn't paid your land acquisition compensation, the relevant departments wouldn't have allowed them to start construction... Are you not aware of the situation?"

"I don't know, that's what everyone in the village is saying... Some say they were detained by the village committee, anyway, I just followed them and made a scene!"

I nodded, looked around again, and asked, "I don't see anyone around here. Are you here?"

The young man glanced into the warehouse, then lowered his voice and said to me, "The hotel manager is locked up inside. I'm watching over him here!"

I pretended to be stunned for a moment, then replied in a very surprised tone, "Brother... this is illegal detention... who is so despicable as to send you to do this?"

"What illegal detention?"

"Look, this is the online explanation of illegal detention... This is a criminal offense, and you'll be held criminally liable. You don't seem like an uneducated person; surely you understand this basic legal knowledge?"

The young man seemed a little guilty and replied, "This was something we all discussed together. If it's a crime, you can't just punish me, can you?"

"Brother, to be honest with you... I'm a lawyer myself, and I've seen far too many cases of illegal detention, including situations like yours... People like you who cause trouble in groups generally have a mentality that 'the law won't punish everyone'... To some extent, that's true... But in the end, those who instigate the trouble, and those like you who commit specific crimes, will definitely be arrested and severely punished... You can't just break the law and kill people at will because of the saying 'the law won't punish everyone,' right?... If that were the case, the country would be in chaos! So in the end, a few people will definitely be arrested and severely punished... Last month, someone like you who caused trouble wasn't even charged with illegal detention, but directly with kidnapping... and was sentenced to fifteen years."

Don't scare me!

"I'm not kidding you, you've really been tricked... I'm just asking, why were you sent instead of anyone else?"

The young man glanced at me nervously and replied, "My parents died early, and the villagers raised me. They always made me do any kind of physical labor."

"Brother, let me emphasize again... this isn't physical labor, it's a crime... you'd better release him right now."

The young man looked scared, but he was still rational. He asked me with a hint of wariness, "Why are you getting involved in this when you're just asking for directions?"