With only two rooms and a hall, the layout was quite small. The decorations were not very exquisite, but the furnishings inside had a different taste compared to other people. It couldn't be said to be elegant, but it gave off a very neat and clean outlook.
There were quite a number of books in the house. Most of them were works of the family. Some belonged to Chu Zhao's grandfather, some belonged to Chu Zhao's father and a portion were Chu Zhao's.
Chu Zhao's grandfather started off as a military scout. He was then arranged to be in the criminal police and could be considered one of the earliest batch of truly significant criminal police of China. Chu Zhao's father also started off as a soldier when he was younger and was dispatched to join the Defensive Counterattack against Vietnam[1] and earned merits. He relied on the relationships his old man earned and started off at a high position. Later on, because of his outstanding capability and being adept at conducting himself, his official career was smooth sailing.
Su Bai's Su family relatives which he rarely mingled around and Aroma's Liu Family were two families which were considered one of the batches of contributing families when the republic was founded. They still remained standing even though they experienced several political crisis and gradually transformed into what they were today. These type of red nobilities and functionary families had different intrinsic qualities, almost similar to the imperial families of the ancient times. As long as they weren't foolish and didn't stand at the wrong side, they basically could benefit alongside the country.
When they were young, Chu Zhao was able to play together with Su Bai and Aroma as well as Gu Fan because of the foundations of his grandfather and father. The Chinese word for friend[2] contained two strings of coins. Meaning that if both parties' financial status were not equal, it would be hard for them to truly be friends. It was enough to see that it wasn't easy for Chu Zhao's grandfather and father who struggled out from grassroots.
Perhaps because these two generations had bumpkin origins, they had much higher expectation for the next generation. Chu Zhao was actually sloppy from how he presented himself.
Su Bai remembered that Chu Zhao knew how to play a few musical instruments and could even write good calligraphy when they studied together. He was more someone like from a literary family that someone from a military family.
Perhaps he should have been like Su Bai, following the path of his own choice, ordinarily attending a university or traveling alone to be an artist. Because of this, when his family forced him to be a police officer, he revealed a strong rebellion.
Su Bai still didn't enter through the main entrance this time. It was already a habit to scale walls and climb through windows. Chu Zhao's bedroom window was not locked because it was the seventh floor. It was very difficult for a burglar to climb in. It may be difficult for burglars, but it was a walk in the park for Su Bai.
Using both his hands and feet, Su Bai climbed to Chu Zhao's balcony within a few breaths of time. He reached out and patted off the dust on his trench coat and straightened up his collar. Su Bai pushed open the room's French window and walked in.
This should be Chu Zhao's parent's bedroom. The bedroom had red carpeting, the bed sheets were white in color and the blankets were folded to look like tofu cubes.
Conversation could be heard from the living room; it was a male and a female. It should be Chu Zhao's parents talking. Both of them should be having their dinner.
Su Bai walked to the side of the door, and his hand gently twisted the doorknob. A small opening could be seen. Su Bai then held a dagger in one hand and directly opened the door.
"Kachak!"
The ice-cold tip of a gun was pressed against Su Bai's chest.
A man nearing his fifties was holding on to a gun, pointing towards Su Bai. He should be Chu Zhao's father, Chu Jianguo.
Chu Jianguo's other hand was holding a pair of chopsticks which were still holding on some stewed eggplants. It was obvious that he had just gotten over from the dining table. His speed was fast and he had very sharp senses. He was no doubt an old soldier and an old criminal police baptized by the war.
Su Bai lifted both his arms above his head making a surrender gesture. His body was relaxed.
Chu Jianguo glanced at the dagger in Su Bai's hand, he had a smiling expression as he said:
"You don't look like a little thief. Seems like you came here to murder someone."
Chu Zhao's mother was still sitting on the chair. She looked very nervous, but she did not panic.
The last time Su Bai met Chu Jianguo was seven or eight years ago. The brothers would meet occasionally over the years but basically wouldn't meet the elders, especially since the few youngsters founded the Murder Club. They couldn't let their families notice any traces.
Su Bai was confident that Chu Jianguo could roughly remember his looks but definitely wouldn't remember his voice.
"I came over to ask about something."
"Oh, ask about something?" Chu Jianguo revealed a playful smile. "When other people ask about something, they bring along cigarettes and liquor as they smile at the entrance, but when it comes to you, why are you carrying a dagger, scaling walls and even wearing a mask?"
Su Bai's body bumped towards the front.
"BANG!"
A gunshot was fired.
Because the gun was pressed against Su Bai's body, the gunshot was muffled and wasn't loud. When Su Bai previously inclined his body, the gun was forcefully pointing downwards and the bullet shot into his stomach area and even left a hole.
Chu Jianguo only took a single shot, and he fired decisively. He was confident Su Bai would fall to the ground with this shot. This was the experience of an old soldier and old criminal police. It might have been effective against normal people, but for a psycho like Su Bai who had broken away from being a normal human, it wasn't applicable.
After being shot, Su Bai did not lose his strength and fall but instead instantly activated his zombie state. Su Bai's arm held on to Chu Jianguo's neck. He turned around and lifted him up, letting his head touch the ceiling. At the same time, Su Bai's other hand held the Exorciser and placed it beside Chu Jianguo's neck.
Chu Zhao's mother covered he mouth and did not scream. She was afraid her scream would force the assailant to murder her husband, afraid she would provoke Su Bai.
"I came to ask about Wang Xue's case of '94, not to commit murder."
Su Bai's ice-cold pupils stared towards Chu Jianguo through the mask.
Chu Jianguo wasn't excessively nervous, even though he had trouble breathing and his complexion wasn't looking too good. Su Bai was able to tell that Chu Zhao's father was actually calm.
"Fine...I'll...tell...you..."
Su Bai released his grip and Chu Jianguo sat on the ground and rubbed his neck. At the same time, he said unreconciled, "If I was younger by ten years, you wouldn't be able to beat me."
"I did not use my full strength," Su Bai replied.
"..." Chu Jianguo.
Su Bai walked over to the dining table and bowed towards Chu Zhao's mother: "Aunty, could you pour me some water?"
Chu Jianguo walked over at that moment and pulled over a chair to sit, hinting his wife to serve some drinks.
Su Bai also sat down and kept the Exorciser, but he still continued to wear the mask. He wasn't afraid of Chu Jianguo suddenly turning violent because he was confident in controlling the whole situation. If it was a normal situation, treating people like Chu Jianguo's level who were the country's cadre wound be heavily bounded by karma. However, when doing reality task like right now, he could act at his own discretion as long as it wasn't overboard and intentional. Dreadful Radio would be understanding.
Su Bai had never intended to injure Chu Zhao's father. If he were to save or help Chu Zhao but kill his whole family along the way, that would be too morally bankrupt.
"It was indeed me who handled the case. Just ask what you want to know," Chu Jianguo said.
"Why don't you tell me what you wish to say first?" Su Bai reached out his hand to receive the cup from Chu Zhao's mother and then took a sip. He wasn't worried the would be anything in the water. The whole situation turned for the better, and Su Bai did not unleash any killing intent. He could tell when Chu Zhao's mother held back from screaming; she wasn't a fool and definitely wouldn't be doing anything foolish.
"There is some information in my study. We can discuss this there."
Chu Jianguo got up and walked towards his study. At the same time, he told his wife, "Don't call to inform anyone. We both will just be chatting."
Chu Zhao's mother nodded her head.
Su Bai smiled. This family was really quite harmonious.
He followed Chu Jianguo into the study. The study wasn't very big; there was a book rack and a desk with a computer on it.
Chu Jianguo turned on his computer. "I sorted out the case and saved it in the computer."
Su Bai was not surprised that Chu Jianguo knew how to use a computer. These days, you naturally couldn't be outdated if you wished to be promoted and climb higher.
Chu Jianguo turned the monitor towards Su Bai, It was a picture of Wang Xue.
"That's her." Su Bai said.
"This lady had a tragic death. I could still remember clearly that she was forcefully tortured to death." Chu Jianguo's tone brought a hint of reminiscence and sigh. Twenty years ago, when this incident happened, he was just transferred from his unit, and his son was just born at that time.
"I want to know who the murderer was. There were rumours at that time that you police were shielding the murderer because that murderer's family background was not that simple." Su Bai placed his foot on the table and looked at Chu Jianguo.
"They were just following the herd. At that time, I was almost finished investigating and had informed the victim's family that the truth would come to light. But alas, the higher-ups called for a halt. In the end, this whole case was forever covered up, covered up for twenty years."
"I don't quite understand what you said." Su Bai looked at Chu Jianguo playfully. "There's a little antilogy."
"Heh heh." Chu Jianguo laughed. "Even if the murderer had background, it was useless when it came to this case. This case had been so hyped up that everyone knows about it. If it was said that it was to protect a murderer with family background, then the losses outweighed the gains."
"But you mentioned the higher-ups..."
Chu Jianguo interrupted Su Bai; he even crossed his arms.
"If I told you the murderer was not a single person but tens of people or even hundreds of people, you tell me. Would you still arrest them and make it public?"