Chapter 8 Extralegal Time
"It's not easy. My wife is dead, and I have to raise a child alone." Uncle Zhang took a sip of strong tea, spit out the tea leaves, and couldn't help but sigh again. Yu Hao's heart also began to stir, and his impression of this man deepened a little. "Captain Yu..." Liu Bing suddenly leaned forward. He lowered his voice, his eyes rolling, "Do you think... one of us is the murderer?" This sentence was like a stone hitting the calm water, and the atmosphere at the card table froze instantly. Zhang Li's fingers trembled violently, and Xiao Fang's cigarette stopped in mid-air, and the ashes fell. Uncle Zhang's brows were twisted into a knot, and his rough fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the teacup. Yu Hao slowly stood up, looking around at everyone. His voice was steady, "We can't rule out that possibility." "You mean..." Uncle Zhang's voice tightened, "Wang Shun's killer could have been one of us, our old neighbors?" "Uncle Zhang, don't worry too much." Yu Hao waved his hand. "We're still investigating this case." Uncle Zhang frowned. He'd lived in this village for most of his life, and this was his first time experiencing a murder. The suggestion that the murderer might be hiding nearby made everyone's expressions grow more subtle. Liu Bing unconsciously moved closer to Xiao Fang, as if to distance himself from Uncle Zhang. In his opinion, Uncle Zhang had every reason to kill Wang Shun. He rolled his eyes, trying to recall if he had ever offended him in any way. Xiao Fang stared intently at her cards, as if trying to discern some secret from the patterns. "But don't worry, everyone." Seeing he couldn't get any more information, Yu Hao stood up and straightened his collar. "We'll solve this case as soon as possible." Before he could leave, Liu Bing's eyes rolled, and he remembered something else. He quickly stood up and stopped Yu Hao. "Anything else?" Yu Hao turned around. "Yes, there is." He stepped lightly on the ground and walked over to Yu Hao like a cat. He tilted his head to Yu Hao's ear, covered his ear with his hand, and whispered, "Someone in the village is investigating this matter." Yu Hao looked at his slightly smug expression, calmly asked, "Who?" "Guo Zhong." Liu Bing glanced at the crowd, as if worried that others would hear him complaining, and continued, "This afternoon he was in the village asking about Wang Shun and the progress of your police investigation." "Oh..., there's something like that?" Yu Hao looked puzzled. "That's right, this is strange." "Okay, I get it. Anything else?" Liu Bing shook his head. "That's really nothing." With that, he returned to the card table, his belly throbbing. Yu Hao and...
"It's not easy. My wife died and I have to raise the child alone." Uncle Zhang took a sip of strong tea, spit out the tea leaves, and couldn't help but sigh again.
Yu Hao's heart was also stirred, and his impression of this man deepened a little.
"Captain Yu..." Liu Bing suddenly leaned in closer. He lowered his voice, his eyes rolling around, "Do you think... one of us could be the murderer?"
This sentence was like a stone hitting the calm water, and the atmosphere at the card table froze instantly.
Zhang Li's fingers trembled violently, and Xiao Fang's cigarette stopped in mid-air, with ash falling to the ground.
Uncle Zhang's brows were twisted into a knot, and his rough fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the teacup.
Yu Hao slowly stood up. He looked around at everyone and said in a steady voice, "We can't rule out this possibility."
"You mean..." Uncle Zhang's voice tightened, "Wang Shun's killer could be one of us old neighbors?"
"Uncle Zhang, don't worry too much." Yu Hao waved his hand. "We are still investigating this case."
Uncle Zhang frowned. He had lived in this village for most of his life, but this was the first time he had experienced a murder.
When people mentioned that the murderer might be hiding nearby, their expressions became subtle.
Liu Bing unconsciously moved towards Xiao Fang, as if to stay away from Uncle Zhang. In his opinion, Uncle Zhang had every reason to kill Wang Shun. He rolled his eyes and tried to recall whether he had ever offended him in the past.
Xiao Fang stared at her cards intently, as if trying to find some secret from the patterns.
"But don't worry." Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, Yu Hao stood up and straightened his collar. "We will solve the case as soon as possible."
Before he left, Liu Bing's eyes rolled, and he remembered something, so he quickly stood up and stopped Yu Hao.
"Anything else?" Yu Hao turned around.
"There really is something." He stepped lightly on the ground and walked to Yu Hao like a cat. He tilted his head to the other's ear, covered his ear with his hand, and whispered, "Someone in the village is investigating this matter."
Yu Hao looked at his slightly smug expression, remained calm, and asked, "Who?"
"Guo Zhong." Liu Bing glanced at everyone, as if worried that others would hear him complaining, and continued, "This afternoon he was in the village asking about Wang Shun and the progress of your police investigation."
"Oh..., there is such a thing?" Yu Hao seemed puzzled.
"That's right, this is strange."
“Okay, I understand. Anything else?”
Liu Bing shook his head and said, "That's really gone." Then he returned to the card table with his belly bulging and trembling.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Yu Hao turned and headed for the door. Uncle Zhang's seemingly nonchalant voice came from behind him: "Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all left to fate. It doesn't matter."
Xiao Fang frowned and took a deep puff of her cigarette. Her eyes were vague in the smoke.
Zhang Li kept her head down, her long hair covering half of her face, making it difficult to see her expression.
*
Pushing open the wooden door of the chess and card room, a cold wind blew snowflakes in his face. Yu Hao wrapped his coat tightly around him, and the white air he exhaled condensed into frost under the streetlight.
The streets were deserted late at night, with only a few scattered lights swaying in the wind and snow, like candles that would go out at any time.
He thought of Sun Yong again. The taciturn man left a deep impression on him.
Rough hands, bloodshot eyes, and the fleeting tenderness when she mentioned her son.
The few words he heard in the chess and card room just now made the image of this man in his mind more three-dimensional.
It’s so late, is his night stall still open?
While thinking, Yu Hao had unconsciously walked towards the village entrance. After turning a few dark alleys, the snack street came into view.
Even though it was late at night, the place was still bustling with activity.
Several tables of guests sat around plastic tables, clinking glasses under the dim light.
Their laughter, cursing, and the clinking of wine glasses intertwined together, composing a nocturne of the city's lowest class.
Sun Yong's stall stood alone in the corner. A single incandescent light bulb hung above, swaying precariously in the snow and wind, casting a pale light.
He was tall, seemingly even more burly than Yu Hao, though his back was slightly hunched. He was mechanically stirring the food in the pot, his face obscured by the rising steam.
As Yu Hao approached, Sun Yong looked up and glanced at him.
At that moment, Yu Hao clearly saw a trace of trance flash across his eyes, and then it returned to a stagnant state.
"Can we still do it?" Yu Hao pointed to the empty table.
Sun Yong nodded, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper: "As long as there are customers, we will do it anytime."
He wiped his hands, his knuckles were thick and covered with calluses, "What do you want?"
"Egg fried rice."
Sun Yong turned around and got busy.
Yu Hao sat at the table, observing the silent man. In the firelight, his back looked quiet and lonely.
His movements in making fried rice were so skillful that he was almost numb - pouring oil, beating eggs, adding rice, stir-frying... every step seemed like a mechanical movement that had been repeated thousands of times.
Soon, a plate of golden fried rice arrived. The rice grains were distinct, the eggs were fried to perfection, and sprinkled with chopped green onions, the aroma was fragrant.
"Thank you." Yu Hao picked up the chopsticks and took a bite.
Unexpectedly delicious. The sweet aroma of rice, the tenderness of eggs, and a subtle hint of homely flavor.
Sun Yong didn't say much and turned around to continue his busy work.
The snow fell heavier, but the diners' spirits grew higher and higher.
Young people at one table were singing out of tune with their arms around each other, while middle-aged men at another table were playing finger-guessing games with red faces.
On this cold winter night, some people slept, some cried, and some drank to vent their frustrations.
After Sun Yong finished cooking the last pot of food, he staggered back to the stall.
He held his waist and slowly sat down, as if he still had a back injury.
He pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit it tremblingly. After taking a deep breath, he seemed to come alive, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
Yu Hao watched him silently. This man's fatigue was so real, so heavy, that people couldn't bear to disturb him.
Just then, a burst of noisy footsteps broke the temporary silence.
Five or six young men who looked like gangsters staggered over, their faces flushed and reeking of alcohol.
The leader had dyed yellow hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and eyes as fierce as a wolf.
They walked straight to Sun Yong's stall, and the yellow-haired man kicked over the plastic stool next to him.
"Old Sun!" Huang Mao slapped the table, "Isn't it time to pay this month's salary?"
Sun Yong's hand trembled, and the cigarette butt fell to the ground. He slowly stood up, his face tired and annoyed. "Didn't we just pay it off last month?"
"Last month's is last month's!" The yellow-haired man grabbed Sun Yong's collar and spitted, "What about this month's? Are you trying to renege on your debt?"
Sun Yong's face turned pale, and his fists clenched until they crackled, but eventually, his shoulders slumped. "...No money..."
"No money?" The yellow-haired man laughed strangely, turned around and winked at his younger brothers, "Did you hear that? He said he has no money!"
Amidst the laughter, Sun Yong's forehead veins bulged. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out word by word: "Please...give me...a few days..."
"Okay!" Huangmao's expression suddenly changed, and he overturned the condiment table. The glass bottle smashed to the ground, shards flying everywhere. "Kneel down and beg me!"
Sun Yong's breathing became heavy, his eyes bloodshot. He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, but he never swung his fist.
Huangmao grabbed Sun Yong's collar and raised his fist.
Sun Yong's tall body stumbled back, his left eye instantly turning purple, but he simply clenched his fist tightly and didn't strike out. It was as if what he was holding wasn't his fingers, but his son's tuition, living expenses, and even the cost of buying a house in the city...
The diners around them all lowered their heads, some even quietly slipped away. No one said anything, no one tried to stop them, as if this scene was already commonplace.
Yu Hao watched quietly and ate the fried rice cleanly.
With a "bang", a plate of fried rice hit the yellow-haired man on the head. At the same time, Yu Hao rushed forward in two steps, grabbed the yellow-haired man's wrist, and knocked him to the ground with a neat sweep of the leg.
"Fuck!" The yellow-haired man fell flat on his face, his head bleeding. He struggled to his feet in a panic, cursing, "Who the hell dares to hit me?"
Yu Hao didn't give him time to react and kicked him in the chest again. The yellow-haired man fell to the ground again, and this time he slid directly into the pile of spilled seasonings, his whole body covered with soy sauce and chili powder.
"What are you still standing there for?" Huangmao yelled at his brothers in frustration, "Kill him!"
Five thugs rushed forward.
Yu Hao sneered, dodged the first punch sideways, and hit the opponent's ribs with an elbow.
When the second thug pounced on him, he grabbed the other's arm and threw him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
In less than a minute, all five thugs fell to the ground groaning.
The yellow-haired man picked up a beer bottle and rushed towards Hao shouting, but suddenly froze in place.
A black muzzle of a gun was pointed right between his eyebrows.
"Try?" Yu Hao's voice was colder than ice and snow.
Huangmao's face turned pale instantly. He raised his hands high and the beer bottle fell with a "bang", shattering onto the ground.
"That...that...misunderstanding..." The yellow-haired man muttered, unable to speak a complete sentence.
His eyes were fixed on the cold muzzle of the gun, and he was sure that it was a real gun.
Yu Hao glanced at them and said coldly, "Get lost."
The thugs looked at each other, crawled to their feet, and quickly disappeared in the wind and snow.
"Are you okay?" Yu Hao put away his gun and looked at Sun Yong.
Sun Yong shook his head and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand: "Thank you."
"Next time you encounter something like this, call the police directly."
Sun Yong gave a wry smile and pointed to the distance. "At this hour, no one's at the police station." He said in a low voice, "This is 'out-of-law time'."
Yu Hao was silent.
He knew that in some corners of this city, the sun would never shine.
"Closing the stall," he helped Sun Yong pick up the fallen tables and chairs, "I'll take you home."
Sun Yong didn't refuse and quietly began to clean up the pots and pans. His movements were very slow, as if each item weighed a thousand pounds.
The cart left deep ruts in the snow. The two walked side by side, neither of them speaking.
The cold wind howled, blowing up fine snowflakes that hit my face painfully.
"Is your son... okay?" Yu Hao broke the silence.
Sun Yong's eyes softened for a moment: "Not bad, just not talkative." He paused, "Today... thank you so much."
"It was our police who failed to protect everyone."
Sun Yong shook his head. "It's not your responsibility as criminal police, it's the police station's responsibility..."
He stopped talking before he finished, as if he was drowned in the wind and snow, leaving only a sigh.
Two men walked calmly through the village lanes, their carts squeaking on the snow. Turning a corner, the rental building where the murder occurred loomed before them.
The cordon seals snapped in the wind, waving like a pale hand in the darkness.
Sun Yong stopped and said, "Just send it here."
Yu Hao nodded: "Okay."
Before turning around, Sun Yong forced a smile. It was a little forced and deliberate, but it was indeed a real smile. Perhaps he hadn't smiled for a long time and had forgotten how to smile.
Yu Hao felt the deep gratitude.
He watched Sun Yong pushing the cart away, his back becoming increasingly blurred in the wind and snow.
Turning around and looking at the blocked-off building, the windows on the second floor were dark, like an eye without pupils, staring coldly at the world.
The snow is still falling silently, covering all traces bit by bit.
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