Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter Six : 3

After the meeting, Xu Ruilong called Du Jianping and a few others to his office for a small meeting. He emphasized the key points of the next steps, then suddenly asked Chu Tianying, “What has Simiao been doing lately?”

Chu Tianying was taken aback. “Director Liu? She seems to have been at the evidence storage center these past few days.”

“Did she have Ma Xiaozhong and Guo Xiaofen investigating Sweeping Mouse Ridge’s case?”

“No, impossible,” Chu Tianying replied without hesitation. “Director Liu knows the rules; she’s already withdrawn from the case and will not interfere again.”

“Stop covering for her!” Xu Ruilong said. “Prison No. 1 called me this morning, saying Ma Xiaozhong and Guo Xiaofen went there yesterday afternoon to inquire about Zhou Liping’s years in prison. Would Ma Xiaozhong have dared to do that without Simiao’s backing?”

“Maybe Guo Xiaofen wants to write a feature article about this case and asked Ma Xiaozhong to help her make the connections,” Chu Tianying said. “You know, whenever something happens, those reporters always dig up dirt from years ago.”

“The problem is, Guo Xiaofen has already resigned from the newspaper, didn’t you know?” Xu Ruilong glared at him. “Call Ma Xiaozhong after the meeting and tell him to watch his step.” He turned to Du Jianping and asked, “Why hasn’t Tao Zhouyao returned to China yet?”

Du Jianping quickly replied, “We’ve already contacted the Paris Police Headquarters and the Chinese Embassy in France, asking them to find Tao Zhouyao as soon as possible and urge her to return home…”

Seeing his hesitation, Xu Ruilong said impatiently, “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Du Jianping cautiously said, “I heard that Love Charity Foundation has spoken to their superiors…”

“Nonsense!” Xu Ruilong suddenly exploded. “What ‘above’? Which ‘above’? Right now, the ‘above’ is just four words: ‘Rule of Law’! No hidden rules, no shady deals, everything’s open and aboveboard. If you obey the law, the country protects you; if you break the law, even the King of Heaven cannot protect you—it’s that simple!”

Du Jianping nodded repeatedly in agreement.

“Jianping.” Xu Ruilong had intended to say something harsh but softened his tone as he spoke. “You cannot let the longer you work make you become more timid and hesitant. How can you be so indecisive? You’re Husband An, and the people’s interests come first. You must etch this into your very bones.”

Leaving the director’s office, Chu Tianying called Ma Xiaozhong to convey Xu Ruilong’s warning and ask him to pass on his gratitude to Huyan Yun, explaining that Love Charity Foundation might have indeed “made a request,” but it was pointless. After hanging up the phone, Ma Xiaozhong blinked his small eyes for a while and said to the group of people in the room, “Old Chu’s phone call was quite revealing!”

Huyan Yun, after discovering Xing Qisheng’s dining receipt at the lobby bar of Hefeng Hotel, which showed that he had not been drinking that night, told Liu Simiao about this, along with his and Li Ziyong’s exploration of the fourth floor of Block E. Although Liu Simiao deeply resented him, she could not deny that he was indeed skilled at reasoning, and she also found the actions of Tao Zhouyao and Zhang Chunyang on the night of the incident suspicious. Therefore, she assigned Chu Tianying to present the restaurant receipt as crucial new evidence at the “midterm meeting” and to subtly guide the investigation towards Tao Zhouyao and Zhang Chunyang.

At this very moment, Guo Xiaofen, Ma Xiaozhong, and Li Ziyong were at Huyan Yun’s home, discussing the findings of their investigation over the past two days. After Ma Xiaozhong recounted his conversation with Chu Tianying, Guo Xiaofen could not help but laugh: “Director Xu really took it seriously, but then gently put it down. Those two words, ‘be careful,’ are practically giving our investigation the green light.”

“It’s also meant for Du Jianping, letting him know he’s not handling this case alone, urging him to hurry up.” Huyan Yun turned to Li Ziyong. “I don’t understand. The other day, when we went to Hefeng Hotel, Old Dou said Xing Qixian ‘made a call to the higher-ups,’ and Old Liao also said, ‘His connections are very strong,’ as if Love Charity Foundation was holding up an ironclad protective umbrella. But Director Xu’s tone is completely unfounded.”

Li Ziyong smiled and said, “Huyan, you’ve been to the zoo and seen the monkey mountain, right? A huge cage with hundreds of monkeys jumping around, big and small, men and women, young and old. They have their own set of rules for eating, drinking, playing, having fun, rewards and punishments, and promotions… Love Charity Foundation—that’s a group of monkeys who have confined themselves to the monkey mountain. They form their own system, entertaining themselves within that system, completely ignoring and rejecting outsiders and even the outside world. This system itself is built and maintained through various relationships, so they think the world…”

“Everything could be solved through connections. When trouble arises, they do not rely on their abilities to resolve it, but rather on connections to smooth things over. Whether they can find connections or not, whether things are smoothed over or not, they always manage to make it sound plausible in the end. They deceive each other, yet believe everyone else’s words, living each day in a world of lies, blissfully happy and carefree. But there’s one thing: no one can dismantle their cage, not even for their own good. If you dare to, they will fight you to the death. Of course, as a result of long-term captivity, they have little fighting ability; they just make shrill cries and look terrible…”

“How can a group like this survive in this society for long?”

“That’s the problem. This group not only survives but thrives, easily eliminating many excellent competitors who lack the necessary connections,” Li Ziyong said with a wry smile. “Take public relations firms, for example. Employees at companies like BlueFocus and Ogilvy work like crazy, ‘5+2’ and ‘day and night,’ working themselves to the bone, snatching clients and orders like wolves. But at the Mingyi Public Relations Company—you saw it the other day—there are hardly any people during working hours. Most employees just play games during work hours, go to karaoke after work, eat their fill, and then drift through the night. But as soon as we put up our Love Charity Foundation sign, countless companies rush to us, and we have to be selective…”

“Why? Are those companies just cheapskates?” Ma Xiaozhong was also curious.

“Because we are a subsidiary of Love Charity Foundation, and Love Charity Foundation has ‘tax reduction qualifications’—”

“Doesn’t the government exempt charitable organizations from taxes?” Guo Xiaofen asked in surprise. “How come there’s this ‘tax reduction qualification’?”

“Most companies donate to charities purely for public welfare, but some do it for tax reduction—the government has relevant policies that allow companies to receive a corresponding tax reduction for donations to charities. But it’s not like companies can get tax reductions no matter who they donate to. Many private charities don’t have this qualification, but Love Charity Foundation is different. It’s called a private charity, but it’s actually backed by a big company and has ‘tax reduction qualifications’—”

“To put it bluntly, it’s just a damn cheapskate!” Ma Xiaozhong cursed. “Have some backbone! What can you do if you do not want that tax reduction?!”

“You don’t understand, Old Ma,” said Li Ziyong. “How many employees of the Love Charity Foundation and its subsidiaries don’t have connections? Donating money is like supporting them. Sometimes, pampering a pet is more effective than directly giving gifts to its owner—that’s why those companies are scrambling to curry favor with us, hoping to establish connections with the foundation’s upper echelons.”

Hearing this, Huyan Yun let out a long sigh.

“In recent years, the country’s anti-corruption efforts have intensified, and their lives have become increasingly difficult. But ultimately, they still stick together, just getting by day by day,” said Li Ziyong. “The other day, when we went to the Yanzhao Hotel to find Sun Jinghua, you were wondering why, these days, you need to register in a notebook to reserve a venue in the convention hall. That’s because the convention center of those hotels is what I call ‘Monkey Mountain.’ For them, nothing’s more terrifying than evolution. As long as maintaining the status quo does not affect their eating, drinking, and having fun, they’d be happy to stay perched in the trees for another ten thousand years.”

Guo Xiaofen murmured, “I simply cannot imagine that such a group of people still exists in the 21st century…”

Li Ziyong’s tone was very heavy: “When I was a policeman, I only saw the overt evil. Only after taking off that uniform did I discover the covert evil. Overt evil devours people, and covert evil devours people without spitting out the bones. It’s hard to say which is worse than the other…”

“Didn’t you and Hu Yan go back to the Yanzhao Hotel?” Guo Xiaofen asked.

“We went, but the staff insisted on not seeing us without an appointment, so we had to make an appointment for the day after tomorrow,” Li Ziyong said helplessly. “By the way, did you and Lao Ma go to see Fang Mei?”

“We went yesterday morning, but unfortunately, we didn’t see her. They said Fang Mei went to Shanghai on a business trip and will not be back until next week. So Old Ma and I took a bus to Prison No. 1 of the city to find out about Zhou Liping’s behavior during his imprisonment.”

Guo Xiaofen and Ma Xiaozhong were received by Old Feng, a prison guard from the 16th ward of Prison No. 1 of the city. Old Feng had an unusually long face and spoke slowly with a slight drawl, but his expression was very accurate. According to him, Zhou Liping was under 18 when he committed the crime and was detained in a juvenile detention center. However, by the time the case was closed, he was over 18 and transferred to Prison No. 1, where he remained for eight years.

Prisons had their own hierarchy; rapists were at the bottom, while murderers were at the very top. Moreover, Zhou Liping, a “suspected serial killer,” despite his youth, was someone no one dared to mess with from the day he entered prison. Furthermore, according to the rules, inmates addressed him with the prefix “Master” after his name.

When “Master Ping” first arrived, the prison administration held a special meeting to discuss “what kind of work to assign him.” For prisoners with “extremely high violence levels,” they could not be allowed to handle any tools. Cooking in the kitchen required knives, no way; pruning plants required gardening shears, no way; earthwork required shovels and picks, absolutely no way… But they couldn’t let Zhou Liping be idle either, as he would definitely cause trouble if he were idle for too long. Finally, they simply assigned him to manage the library. To everyone’s surprise, in less than a month, the library was completely transformed.

“Zhou Liping cleaned the tables, chairs, and bookshelves until they shone, repaired all the old books, and even applied for library management software for borrowing registration. Seeing him diligently labeling each book with a barcode and scanning it into the computer every day, it’s hard to imagine that he was a vicious killer who killed so many people,” said Old Feng.

In Old Feng’s opinion, Zhou Liping was the easiest prisoner to manage. He did not slack off, never caused trouble, and followed prison rules and regulations meticulously, even better than the guards expected. However, he was somewhat unique. Prisons, to put it bluntly, were like a breeding ground for poisonous insects, storing various venomous creatures in a sealed jar. Although there were guards watching, it could easily result in serious injury or even death in the cell. Therefore, the prisoners secretly form cliques for self-protection.

Only Zhou Liping was an exception. He was extremely independent. As Old Feng put it, “He seemed a bit arrogant and looked down on the other prisoners.” For eight whole years, he did not befriend any fellow inmates. He ignored those who wanted to join his ranks, and he did not care if other groups tried to recruit him. If any other prisoner acted like that, they would have been dealt with long ago. But Zhou Liping was, after all, a “serial killer.” In the entire city’s Prison No. 1, no one still alive was more ruthless than him. Even the fiercest prison bullies could only keep their distance from him.

“He was usually very quiet, not talkative, always thinking. He spent his free time reading and exercising. In his cell, he did push-ups, ran in place, and did pull-ups using the bunk bed frame. He was very fit,” Old Feng said. “Prison life is not what people outside think—just eating, sleeping, and labor reform—no. From the perspective of prisoners reintegrating into society after release, we arranged many courses for them to continue their studies. Of course, the instructors were mainly inmates themselves.”

“Zhou Liping enrolled in several courses and studied very diligently, especially in car repair and appliance repair. He quickly became proficient, even surpassing his teachers. Later, when our own cars or appliances broke down, we supervising officers would ask him for help, and he could fix anything. Over time, everyone became less wary of him… But then, in his fifth year of imprisonment, a major incident occurred.”

There was an inmate nicknamed “Old Hei,” who had been brought in for robbery and rape. This kind of double criminal was someone the other inmates did not dare to mistreat like they would a rapist. Not only did the offender show no remorse, but he also boasted to other inmates every day about raping several young girls, vividly describing their bleeding and screams… Some inmates reported this to the guards, and even after being locked up for a few days, he continued his boasting upon release. One day, as he was recounting his glorious deeds to a group of loyal listeners on the playground, Zhou Liping, who was repairing the fence nearby, walked by. According to other inmates, he walked normally, and his expression was normal, just like someone who should have simply passed by. But in that instant as he passed by, Zhou Liping suddenly produced something in his hand, swiftly poked Zhou Hei’s scrotum several times, and then walked past at a normal pace.

Watching Old Hei writhe on the ground, screaming in agony as he clutched his bleeding genitals, several inmates vomited, and a few younger ones sat down and sobbed uncontrollably…

Although the guards had not witnessed the scene, the instant they learned of the incident, they suddenly realized that Zhou Liping was still Zhou Liping; his speed, ruthlessness, and viciousness remained those of the inhuman, deranged killer he once was.

The investigation proved that the murder weapon in Zhou Liping’s hand was a long nail pulled directly from the fence.

Zhou Liping was shackled and placed in solitary confinement. He began a hunger strike for the next few days, but in prison, such behavior would only result in harsher punishment…

“And then?” Huyan Yun could not help but ask.

“You’d never guess who saved Zhou Liping,” Guo Xiaofen said.

“Who?”

“Lin Xiangming.”

“Xiangming?!” Huyan Yun exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, it was Xiangming,” Guo Xiaofen said. “Around that time, Lin Xiangming had just returned to China and launched the country’s first ‘Psychopathic Interview Project,’ planning to interview incarcerated serial killers to understand the characteristics of such crimes in China. He had previously handled Zhou Liping’s case and could even be said to be the direct driving force behind Zhou Liping’s reduced sentence, but he had never met with Zhou Liping alone after Zhou Liping’s arrest. After hearing about this, he specifically came to interview Zhou Liping.”

Huyan Yun’s eyes widened, and his breathing became heavier: “Did the prison keep a record of the interviews?”

“No.” Guo Xiaofen shook her head. “Xiangming’s interview project was submitted for a national key scientific research project and received funding. It has a certain degree of confidentiality. His interview with Zhou Liping was conducted alone, and no written, image, or video materials were left behind…”

Disappointment immediately appeared on Huyan Yun’s face.

“Old Feng recalled that the interview lasted for more than two hours. Shortly after it ended, Lin Xiangming issued a psychiatric evaluation report, stating that Zhou Liping’s attack on Old Hei was a sudden act caused by intermittent mental disorder and therefore legally exempt from liability. Xiangming was an authority in this field, and being a favorite of Director Xu, who had brought him back from abroad, the prison authorities were very accommodating and immediately released Zhou Liping from solitary confinement,” Guo Xiaofen said. “After his release, Zhou Liping’s mental state changed significantly.”

Clearly somewhat dissatisfied with Lin Xiangming’s repeated assistance to Zhou Liping, Li Ziyong muttered, “Is he even more smug now?”

“No,” said Guo Xiaofen. “Old Feng said that from then until his release, Zhou Liping behaved no differently than before, working diligently and actively reforming himself. But before, his expression was always one of despair, indifference, and confusion. After seeing Lin Xiangming, however, his eyes lit up, and he even occasionally showed a slight smile—something he had not done in the previous five years.”

Li Ziyong frowned, puzzled.

Huyan Yun slowly walked to the desk, lifted the glass cover, and picked up a yellowed photograph—a group photo of him and his friends from a high school trip to Qingdao. On a steep, craggy rock by the overcast sea, a group of fearless students sat, each laughing heartily and spiritedly. Only the handsome young man sitting beside them, though also smiling, revealed a hint of sorrow in his smile…

“Huyan, what’s wrong?” Guo Xiaofen asked softly.

Huyan stood there for a long, long time before letting out a sigh: “Don’t you think that every time a case occurs, as long as Xiangming appears, even just a glimpse of him, there’s always an unexpected ending?”