Chapter 574 - 574: Not Allowed to Kill, But Can I Hit?
No one paid attention to Lu Jiangong's feelings, not even Kong Anwu dared to utter a half a word. Anyone could see that Liu Changping was behaving unusually, and although Kong Anwu didn't know exactly what had happened, he was aware that it would be very unwise to provoke Liu Changping at this moment. Everyone knew Liu Changping to be a composed man; he had never, before today, cursed at someone in front of so many people!
Liu Changping walked to the door of the ward, knocked on the door, and said, "Ye Qing, it's me!"
Hearing this voice, Ye Qing immediately let out a sigh of relief. Liu Changping had finally arrived, and this matter should at last come to an end.
As soon as the door opened, the guns of dozens of police officers were aimed at Ye Qing. This time, Ye Qing did not have Lu Xiaoli as a shield, and if these men were to fire, then Ye Qing would be as good as dead!
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Liu Changping frowned and shouted loudly, "All of you, lower your guns!"
The surrounding police officers, not many of whom recognized Liu Changping, were at a loss as to what to do for a moment. Seeing the awkward situation, Kong Anwu turned his head and snapped angrily, "Didn't you hear what Director Liu said? All of you, lower your guns!"
Finally realizing who Liu Changping was, there was no longer any hesitation, and all the officers lowered their guns.
At this point, Ye Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he also felt surprised. He had always been unaware of Liu Changping's identity, but now, he finally learned it – Liu Changping was Director Liu. Could it be that he was the head of the Dong Province Police Department?
Ye Qing glanced at Old Wang Ba beside him, who was smilingly looking at him; it seemed he had known everything all along. Ye Qing also finally understood what Old Wang Ba had said before – this time he had actually helped Liu Changping find his daughter; he truly had found himself a powerful backer!
Compared to the power of Director Liu Changping from the Provincial Police Department, the influence of the Ding Family in Shenchuan City was nothing!
"Where is she?" asked Liu Changping, his voice trembling slightly from excessive excitement.
Ye Qing looked at Zhou Guiting beside him and said, "It's her."
As he spoke, Ye Qing handed the yellowed Blood Letter to Liu Changping.
Liu Changping took the envelope but did not open it; instead, he just stared blankly at Zhou Guiting lying on the bed. No one knew what was wrong with him, but Ye Qingwang and Old Wang Ba alone understood his feelings. This girl was not only the only descendant of the old director after fifty years but also the fruit of his love with his first love. Seeing her, how could Liu Changping possibly stay calm?
After a long while, Liu Changping finally stepped slowly into the ward. He stood beside the bed, gazing dazedly at Zhou Guiting with unspeakable tenderness and compassion in his eyes, until a tear could no longer be contained, and it slid down the lines at the corner of his eye across his cheek.
Seeing Liu Changping like this, Ye Qing too was filled with emotion. In his heart, regardless of Liu Changping's identity, being able to find his daughter and thus providing Zhou Guiting someone to rely on in the future was also a good thing.
Meanwhile, the people inside the room quickly took advantage of Ye Qing's distraction and fled the ward one after another. Lu Xiaoli immediately ran out the door and hid behind Lu Jiangong, pointing at Ye Qing inside the room, she furiously yelled, "Dad, quickly kill him! Kill him for me!"
Lu Jiangong already sensed that something was amiss. Even though he did not know the relationship between Liu Changping and Zhou Guiting, he knew he was in trouble this time. Hearing his daughter's cries made him feel even more awkward.
Before he could stop Lu Xiaoli, two men rushed forward and knocked her to the ground, their actions extremely swift.
"What are you doing?" Lu Jiangong exclaimed in panic, turning to look. The ones who had taken action were actually two soldiers in uniform. At the same time, Minister Feng Yumin of the Armed Forces strode in with a few people, and the police in the corridor had already been completely replaced by fully armed soldiers!
In Xishan City, the only person who could mobilize such troops was Minister Feng Yumin. Feng Yumin, a veteran who had participated in the Vietnam War, was always very forceful. He seldom interfered with the city's affairs, but once he became angry, even the city's Party Secretary had to give way to him, let alone Lu Jiangong!
"Let Xiaoli go!" Zhang Jun roared, trying to rush forward, but was promptly knocked to the ground. The Zhang family members also wanted to take this opportunity to show off in front of Lu Jiangong, but their end was equally miserable, all subdued on the ground.
"Minister Feng, what does this mean?" Lu Jiangong asked shakily, he was truly afraid of Feng Yumin.
Feng Yumin ignored him and respectfully addressed a robust elderly man next to him, "Commander, it seems Director Liu has beaten us to it!"
"Commander?"
This title made Lu Jiangong's complexion change once again. Who else could be addressed like that by Feng Yumin? Could it be that this person beside him was the current Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Province Military Region, a member of the provincial committee, Zhou Bolong?
Lu Jiangong looked carefully at the elder beside Wang Jianxin, turning deathly pale: Could this man truly be Zhou Bolong, the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Province Military Region?
For a moment, Lu Jiangong felt his throat was dry. What on earth was going on today? The Provincial Police Department Director had arrived, and so had the East Province Military Region Commander-in-Chief. The sudden convergence of these two bosses in Xishan City didn't look like any good news at all.
Nobody paid attention to Lu Jiangong. Feng Yumin accompanied Zhou Bolong into the ward. As soon as Zhou Bolong entered, he fixed his gaze on Zhou Guiting, and after half a minute, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter, "Old Liu, now you finally have your own child, so you won't have to dote on my grandson anymore, will you?"
Zhou Bolong's words seemed to awaken Liu Changping, who extended his hand with a tremble and gently straightened the hair on Zhou Guiting's forehead. Looking at Zhou Guiting lying unconscious and then at the little girl sitting by the bed, he finally let out a long sigh.
Liu Changping bent down to pick up the little girl, who was full of panic, her little hands still clutching Zhou Guiting's hand, unwilling to let go.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid," Liu Changping tried to keep his voice calm and softly asked, "What's your name?"
The girl, still full of panic, looked at Liu Changping and said tremulously, "Don't... Don't bully my mom..."
Those words instantly brought tears to Liu Changping's eyes again. Looking at the little girl and the scars on both her and Zhou Guiting, Liu Changping seemed to age even more. Holding the little girl in his arms, he softly said, "No one will bully you again, never again!"
Watching the scene, Zhou Bolong's eyes also became wet. He suddenly turned and strode out of the ward, shouting angrily, "Damn it, who bullied them, mother and daughter?"
Zhou Bolong was a former commander who had seen combat and killed men. Now infuriated, his presence was particularly intimidating. Under Zhou Bolong's pressure, several people who knew the truth could no longer hold back and quietly looked towards Lu Jiangong, Lu Xiaoli, and the members of the Zhang family.
The Zhang family members were now stunned. Even though they still didn't know what had happened, even an idiot could see that Zhou Guiting's status had changed. As the old commander's gaze turned towards them, Zhang family members who had just been strutting about were now shaking with fear.
"Damn, was it you? I'll kill you!" Zhou Bolong cursed angrily, drawing his gun and charging towards these people. The Zhang family members were terrified out of their wits, wanting to run away, but they were pinned to the ground by several soldiers and had no strength to struggle.
Just as Zhou Bolong was about to shoot, Feng Yumin couldn't bring himself to stop him. But killing someone here, that was no minor matter.
At this critical moment, Liu Changping suddenly rushed out from behind, hastily deflecting Zhou Bolong's gun away.
"Old Zhou, don't be rash," Liu Changping held Yue Linchuan's pistol, looking coldly at Lu Jiangong and others, said sternly, "Leave the trial to the court, we don't need to commit crimes!"
Zhou Bolong shouted, "Crap, you've become a fool from being a cop. Killing is a crime? I've used mortars on the battlefield, so am I supposed to be executed dozens of times?"
"Old Zhou, that was on the battlefield!" Liu Changping shook his head, while also seizing the gun from Zhou Bolong's hand.
Zhou Bolong calmed down a bit after being stopped by Liu Changping. He glared at Liu Changping and said, "You, you've become so soft over these years as a cop. You've lost all your backbone. If it had been my daughter, I would have shot these bastards hundreds of times!"
Liu Changping replied, "Backbone is one thing, but I'm a policeman, I can't break the law knowingly!"
Zhou Bolong argued, "What nonsense about knowingly break the law. Let me tell you, someone like this should be executed first and then tried, there would never be a miscarriage of justice!"
Liu Changping shook his head, "Whatever the outcome, that's for the court to decide, we don't have the right to judge. Old Zhou, this isn't a battlefield anymore, you should reign it in, this is a society ruled by law, we have to speak with legal terms, you..."
Zhou Bolong was frustrated and waved his hand repeatedly, "Alright, alright, can't I stop arguing with you? Stop nagging, give me back my gun!"
Liu Changping said, "Old Zhou, I've said it, we can't kill them..."
"Enough with the crap, do I look like someone clueless?" Zhou Bolong snatched the gun back, shoved it into his waist, turned around, and kicked Zhang Jun in the stomach, shouting, "If I can't shoot someone, I can still beat the crap out of them, can't I?"
Liu Changping: "..."
Entering the room, Ye Qing briefed Liu Changping on the situation. After listening to Ye Qing, Liu Changping left the room with a detached expression and quietly observed the Zhang family members being beaten up by Yue Linchuan. They were crying out in pain, but no one dared to intervene or even speak up.
Joking? Who dared to contradict Zhou Bolong in front of so many people, other than Liu Changping?
After Zhou Bolong finished beating them, the Zhang family members were almost all lying on the ground. Though not seriously injured, they dared not get up. By now the Zhang family members deeply regretted their actions. They had a clear picture of what had transpired, especially that they had just forced the daughter of the Dong Province Police Department Director to divorce Zhang Jun—the divorce agreement was still in Ye Qing's hands. At this moment, the members of the Zhang family felt as though they were as good as dead, especially Zhang Xia, who regretted her actions to the point of tears.