Chapter 553 - 553: 553
Hearing this, Ye Qing's brows furrowed even tighter. He had sensed something strange about the whole affair before but never imagined the traffic police here would be so audacious as to commit such a vile act. Truly the epitome of brazenness!
"Motherfucker, they even dare to deceive me!" bellowed Old Wang Ba, rolling up his sleeves and shouting, "I'm gonna go slice them up!"
"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive!" Lin Dade hurriedly stopped Old Wang Ba and said, "You haven't caught them in the act of blocking your license plate, but they've got evidence of you covering yours. If you go after them and they deny it, you'll just end up in a police station for a while for nothing. It's not worth it!"
"Damn it," exclaimed Old Wang Ba, "are you saying they've turned the world upside down?"
Lin Dade shrugged and said, "They're officials, they hold power; we're just the common folks, what do we have to fight them with? Young Brother Ye, you seem to be well-off, but even a powerful dragon cannot repress a local thug. When you're under someone's roof, sometimes it's better to just endure. There's no point in competing with these people."
Ye Qing didn't say a word, only tightened his frown further. He had been bullied by those in power before while he was in Shenchuan City. He didn't expect the situation in Xishan City to be even worse than that in Shenchuan.
"What the hell are the leaders at the Xishan City Police Department doing?" Old Wang Ba grumbled discontentedly.
"A crooked beam creates a crooked shadow," Lin Dade responded, "that's the way it is. Here in Xishan, there's a higher number of local officials. Even though the Chief of the Police Department was transferred from another place, I've heard that a few of the deputy directors have joined forces with some leaders within the city and have essentially made the chief powerless. Now, these deputy directors call the shots. In the end, it's still locals exploiting locals. Even if the provincial government wants to intervene in the affairs here, it's hard for them to get involved."
Old Wang Ba was pounding the table as he spoke, "I refuse to believe that there's no law in this world anymore!"
"Law..." Lin Dade scoffed, perhaps because he had drunk at noon, he became quite talkative and said, "Here in Xishan City, let me tell you, all this talk about law doesn't count for anything. I don't even know how to describe the police force here. Take for example, the single mother living next to me, her husband used to be a policeman. The man had a decent life, a wife and child, his days went by fine. But later, for some reason, a daughter of a deputy director at the city bureau took a fancy to him and insisted on him divorcing his wife. His heart was so hard that he immediately decided to divorce her."
"You know, with such an affair, the wife naturally wouldn't step back so easily. After their struggles dragged on, the deputy director's daughter got tired of it. To show his loyalty, he had people beat up his wife. You wouldn't believe how viciously she was beaten. It's been half a year, and most of the time she's still bedridden, partly because of the severity of her injuries and partly due to lack of money for treatment. Meanwhile, he's having the time of his life with that deputy director's daughter, flying high and has already been promoted to some kind of team leader. His wife has been lying in bed for half a year, and he hasn't even looked back at her once, only sending people to threaten her to divorce. Over these six months, it's been their five-year-old daughter taking care of his wife. A man like this can be an official. What kind of world are we living in?"
As Lin Dade spoke, he cursed, clearly a man of strong emotion, and after a few drinks, his temper showed and he spoke with a great deal of cynicism.
"Exactly!" Ye Qing sighed and said, "Even the guards who abused Chen Xueru back then have been promoted. The world has changed, the scoundrels are in power!"
Lin Dade nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right. In my opinion, these people should be shot dead directly!"
"But on the other hand," Old Wang Ba chimed in, "if someone makes a mistake, it's not going to be so easy for them to get promoted later, right?"
"You're wrong there!" Lin Dade waved his hand and said, "Let me tell you this, the guard who led the assault on Chen Xueru is now a deputy director at the city police department. The idea of making mistakes and having a hard time getting promoted... it all depends on how you play the game!"
Ye Qing and Old Wang Ba exchanged looks. Lin Dade, once drunk, really didn't hold back, spilling critical information so quickly. Now, the scope of their targets had narrowed significantly. There couldn't be that many deputy directors in the department.
"According to you, that person has done such things and still managed to climb the ranks?" Ye Qing frowned and asked, "Who exactly is this person, to have such great influence?"
Lin Dade slapped his thigh and said, "He's our Xishan City Police Department's Deputy Director Lu..."
He'd hardly gotten the words out when Lin Dade suddenly realized his slip-up, hurriedly closed his mouth, and said no more.
"Lu what? Lu what?" Old Wang Ba pressed."""
Lin Dade's face was full of panic as he waved his hands frantically and insisted, "I... I really don't know, I don't know anything, don't ask me anymore, I really don't know anything..."
Seeing Lin Dade's panicked demeanor, Ye Qing inwardly sighed even more. Just how corrupt were the police in Xishan City for Lin Dade to be too scared to even speak his mind? It was indeed lamentable.
However, Ye Qing didn't pursue the matter any further. After all, he had already obtained two crucial pieces of information. The first was that the man's surname was Lu, and the second was that he was a deputy director of the city police department. There weren't many deputy directors; they just had to find the one named Lu to possibly investigate the case further.
Lin Dade, feeling that he had said too much, dared not speak any further and pretended to be drunk, leaning on the chair. Seeing that they could get no further information, Ye Qing and Old Wang Ba went back to rest in the rented room. After all, Ye Qing had driven overnight to get there, and they were exhausted.
After resting for more than two hours, both of them felt somewhat refreshed. Especially Ye Qing, whose physical strength had also recovered quite a bit. The injuries he sustained before had now significantly healed, and he estimated that he would be completely recovered in another two or three days.
Ye Qing was injured by the group from the Xingyi School, primarily suffering internal injuries. Internal injuries are quite different from external wounds, and for most people, are rather troublesome as they require a long time to heal. In comparison, external injuries are easier to treat. However, for those with Inner Strength, especially Ye Qing, who was well-versed in the Acupoint Seeking Technique, internal injuries were not much trouble. To him, treating internal injuries was much easier than dealing with external wounds.
In the afternoon, Ye Qing and Old Wang Ba split up. Ye Qing followed Lin Dade to the traffic police department to retrieve his car, while Old Wang Ba went to investigate that matter involving Deputy Director Lu.
Having slept off the effects of alcohol, Lin Dade's mind was almost clear, and he greeted Ye Qing with his honest smile. When Ye Qing went to find him, his wife, Wang Cui, had just come out from the neighboring room to deliver food to the mother and daughter next door.
The skinny little girl followed behind Wang Cui, stepping out tentatively and looking around at everything with a pair of big eyes filled with panic and evasion. At her age, most children would be in their parents' arms, playfully demanding attention, but she had to bear the responsibility of taking care of her mother. According to Lin Dade, for the past six months, she had been tending to her mother's meals and all other needs by her bedside. The maturity and understanding of this child were truly moving and heart-wrenching!
Upon seeing Ye Qing, Wang Cui quickly turned to the little girl and said, "Ding Ding, look, this is the uncle who bought medicine for your mother!"
The little girl Ding Ding glanced shyly at Ye Qing, let go of Wang Cui's hand, walked up to Ye Qing, and bowed said, "Uncle, thank you!"
Her voice was still youthful, representing a child just beginning to understand society, yet society had exposed her to its darkest aspects. Nobody knew what her life would turn out to be, but without a doubt, the shadows of her childhood would follow her for a lifetime, never to be erased!
Looking at the little girl, Ye Qing couldn't help but think of the children at the orphanage, all so pitiable and heartrending. He gently touched Ding Ding's head and bent down, said, "No need to thank me, you're a good child, and this was a reward for being good!"
Ding Ding nodded vigorously at Ye Qing and said, "Uncle, don't worry, I will be very good and won't make my mom worry about me!"
Ye Qing sighed. Hearing these words from this child's mouth made them even more poignant. Other kids might not understand what being 'good' really means, but she understood it all too well!
"This child, it's really, which father could bear to do this to her?" Lin Dade came over, patted Ding Ding on the shoulder, and Ding Ding followed Wang Cui to the kitchen.
"Young Brother Ye, what are you up to this afternoon? Wanna go out and take a look around, see some scenery or something?" Lin Dade looked at Ye Qing with a smile and asked, "By the way, why hasn't your father come out?"
Hearing this, Ye Qing almost choked, but he couldn't refute it.
"He went out on his own; don't worry about him," Ye Qing replied. "First, take me to the traffic police department. My car is still there; I'll drive it back."
"Oh," Lin Dade scratched his head and said, "Young Brother Ye, just remember to stay cool when we go to the traffic police department later, okay?"
Ye Qing nodded, and Lin Dade kept reminding him, indicating that he really had no fond feelings for those traffic policemen.
Lin Dade rode his trike, taking Ye Qing towards the traffic police department, and continued to discuss with Ye Qing what to look out for once they got there.
"By the way, Young Brother Ye, what kind of car do you drive?" Lin Dade suddenly asked.
Ye Qing replied, "A Land Rover."
"What rover?" Lin Dade paused for a moment, then laughed awkwardly, "I don't really know car brands. Could you tell me how much your car costs?"
Ye Qing thought for a moment and answered, "About one hundred and sixty or seventy thousand."
"That expensive!?" Lin Dade's eyes widened as he turned to look at Ye Qing and asked, "Then... do you have any acquaintances here in Xishan City?"
"No," Ye Qing replied.
"No?" Lin Dade suddenly looked worried, scratched his head, and said, "Young Brother Ye, driving such an expensive car and without acquaintances in Xishan City, that could be trouble!"