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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
In the morning, Huzi and I hurried to the town without having breakfast. It was the beginning of the month, and Chen Coffin would go to the county to buy a batch of paint for coffins at the start of every month.
Futu Ridge had only about twenty thousand people in total across ten villages; not everyone died all the time. Sometimes, Chen Coffin would also take on carpentry work to supplement his income. He owned a three-wheeled vehicle that ran on oil, which could easily cover several dozen miles. When Huzi wanted to visit his grandfather before, I had already contacted Chen Coffin to give us a ride.
After arriving at the police station where Li Fugui was held, we identified ourselves and requested to see him. A police officer, upon hearing that we were family of Li Fugui, led us to the waiting room. After a while, two other officers brought us to the door of the interrogation room. Through the glass window, we saw Li Fugui sitting silently at the table inside, handcuffed and shackled.
One tall police officer standing outside the door said, "Your grandfather is quite stubborn; he won’t say anything. He thinks that by openly killing someone as significant as a member of the Huang Family, he can escape punishment?"
I frowned and replied, "We are here to see him; his interrogation has nothing to do with us."
The tall policeman chuckled and said, "Oh, it has everything to do with you."
With that, he opened the door and entered the interrogation room. He pointed at Huzi and me outside and said, "Li Fugui, you should recognize these two."
Li Fugui responded, "I recognize them."
"That's good," said the tall policeman as he stepped out of the interrogation room and signaled a group of officers to enter. They all carried batons and looked ready for action.
"Well?" one of the female officers asked.
"What?" Li Fugui replied expressionlessly.
"How did you kill him? What was your motive? I want a detailed account of how it happened!" she shouted.
Li Fugui said, "I killed him; I don’t want to discuss how it happened. Seeing you all digging into my past without finding anything substantial—now my grandson is here; are you trying to embarrass me in front of him?"
"You have quite the temper, old man. The director has already given the order that you must confess today. If you continue to make things difficult for us, don't blame us for being rude," said the Tall Policeman.
Li Fugui raised an eyebrow and replied, "I would like to see how you plan to be rude to me."
The Tall Policeman was about to charge at him when a female officer pulled him back. She said, "Do you have any idea what kind of status the person you killed has in this county?"
Li Fugui shrugged and said, "Sorry, but I don't care about that."
"Hit him! Hit him hard!" The Tall Policeman was furious and struck Li Fugui with his baton, producing a dull thud.
Outside, Huzi tried to rush in but I held him back. I said, "Your grandfather will be fine; these cops are the ones who are going to regret this."
Li Fugui sat motionless in the interrogation room. He glanced at the red mark on his arm and disdainfully looked at the Tall Policeman. "Did you skip breakfast this morning?"
The Tall Policeman was completely enraged. He swung his baton down onto Li Fugui's head, causing blood to spill from the wound. Yet, Li Fugui remained still, staring at the Tall Policeman. The officer swung his baton again towards Li Fugui's temple, but Li Fugui suddenly widened his eyes. With a swift motion, he broke free from the handcuffs binding him, grabbed the incoming baton with his left hand, and seized the Tall Policeman by the neck with his right hand, slamming him against the wall.
"Let him go!" "Let Captain Ma go!" A group of officers pointed their batons at Li Fugui, shouting loudly as they rushed in with their weapons raised.
Li Fugui threw the Tall Policeman to the ground and turned around, delivering a few punches that left the entire room of officers sprawled on the floor unable to move. The Tall Policeman got back up and drew his gun, pointing it at Li Fugui while shouting, "Don't move! Otherwise, I'll shoot!"
Without turning around, Li Fugui replied, "You'd better not pull that trigger; otherwise, you'll be the one who dies."
Li Fugui then moved to open the interrogation room door just as the Tall Policeman was about to pull the trigger. Suddenly, a middle-aged fat man in police uniform burst in with a group of people behind him, shouting, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
Seeing the middle-aged man approach, the Tall Policeman finally lowered his weapon. The fat man glanced around at the disheveled officers in the interrogation room but pretended not to notice them. He smiled ingratiatingly at Li Fugui and said, "Li the Village Head, I'm the director of this bureau. You can just call me Dong. My subordinates acted thoughtlessly and laid hands on you; I'll make sure they apologize right away."
"So you are the Director. I thought you weren't going to use the number I gave you," Li Fugui said coldly, looking at Director Dong. He then pointed to the shackles on his feet. "First, unlock my shackles."
"Yes, I'll have someone do that for you right away," Director Dong replied.
Li Fugui added, "I meant for you to do it."
Director Dong quickly acknowledged and rushed into the interrogation room, snatching the keys from the Tall Police Officer's hands. He then knelt before Li Fugui, trembling as he unlocked the shackles.
"Can I leave now?" Li Fugui asked.
Director Dong smiled and said, "Of course, I'll have someone drive you back. By the way, Li the Village Head, I've booked a table at a nearby hotel and would like to invite you and your family for a meal as an apology. You..."
"No need for that; I'm not used to city food," Li Fugui replied.
Li Fugui glanced at the Tall Police Officer who was lost in thought in the interrogation room and waved him over. The officer swallowed hard; from Director Dong's demeanor, he already sensed that this old man was not an ordinary person.
"Hello, Leader," the tall officer stammered, visibly shaken.
Li Fugui pushed him against the wall and delivered a punch to his abdomen. The Tall Police Officer doubled over, clutching his stomach and collapsing to the ground; it seemed he would at least suffer from gastrointestinal bleeding.
After dealing with him, Li Fugui walked out. He said in a low voice, "Director Dong, the public security in the county isn't very good. If there's another crackdown, you might find yourself in trouble too. Take care."
After Li Fugui left, Huzi and I followed him out of the police station.
Inside the police station, a group of trembling officers asked, "Director Dong, who exactly is he?"
"Director Dong said, 'It's better if you don't know. I will die if this gets out. In any case, Li Fugui has special privileges. Hurry up and notify all departments to suppress this case, delete all information regarding him, including surveillance footage. From now on, don't interfere with any cases related to Futu Ridge. Also, if there are relatives involved in gangs at home, let them know to stay hidden; something big is about to happen.'
We followed Li Fugui back home in a rented car. Throughout the journey, Li Fugui sat silently in his seat. Huzi and I exchanged glances from the backseat but said nothing, both astonished and bewildered by what had just occurred.
Li Fugui's identity was unusual; even Huzi, his own grandson, had no idea who Li Fugui really was. Huzi's father had been strictly monitored by Li Fugui and likely didn't know about his other identity either.
A village chief openly killed someone from a prominent family in the county, and the police chief was terrified after just one phone call. He wanted to erase everything related to Li Fugui and acknowledged that he was a person with special privileges.
What kind of person was Li Fugui to possess such extraordinary power?
It was undeniable that Li Fugui was the son of Li Wuye. Rumor had it that Li Wuye had been a bandit in Shandong for several years. In those days, banditry was a profession that instilled fear; they robbed and committed heinous acts, although there were occasional tales of robbing the rich to help the poor.
Later, due to wartime needs, military-civilian cooperation led to bandits being hunted down and incorporated into the army, gradually eliminating the profession. However, Li Fugui was just a child during the war and could not have been conscripted into the military. Moreover, since Li Wuye had retired from that life, it seemed impossible for his son to live a life on the edge.
The villagers only knew that Li Wuye was an outstanding figure in Futu Ridge; no one dared approach him. His ancestors had been farmers in Futu Ridge for generations, so it seemed unlikely for Li Fugui to have had any chance of mingling with high society. The only mystery lay in the years he disappeared from Bright Moon Village.
Li Fugui had a fierce temperament as a youth. Before the Ten-Year Catastrophe, he vanished from Futu Ridge. The year after Calamity struck, Li Wuye was shot dead; his body hung from a tree. Upon hearing the news, Li Fugui rushed back and quickly rose to prominence in Futu Ridge. Strangely enough, he had no helpers and no connections with either the underworld or legitimate society.
If I hadn't witnessed his seemingly immortal abilities that night, I would never have believed that someone could single-handedly carve out their own path in this world.
But what could such a person possibly want in this desolate place called Futu Ridge?"
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