Po Sir's Police Affairs: The Hunter

It was drizzling the day Sun Jianguo returned to Jiangcheng.

Jiang Bo went to the train station to pick him up. He stood at the exit, watching the crowd surge out, a sea of ​​unfamiliar faces—tired, excited, numb. Tangyuan squatted at his feet, ears perked, watching every door. The rain was light, a fine, dense drizzle, cool against his face. The wind was strong at the exit, whipping the raindrops sideways and wetting his trousers.

Sun Jianguo was the last to emerge. He was wearing that old jacket, his hair even whiter, his back even more hunched. He pulled an old suitcase, the wheels clattering on the ground. He saw Jiang Bo, stopped, and stood there for a long time. His eyes reddened, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. He had aged, much older than when he was in Yueyang. Those few days of waiting were more agonizing than the years of fleeing.

"Let's go." Jiang Bo took his suitcase. "Sir and the others have been waiting for you for a long time."

Sun Jianguo nodded and followed behind Jiang Bo. He walked with a slight limp in his right leg, taking slow, careful steps. Tangyuan ran over, sniffed at his feet, and wagged its tail. Sun Jianguo looked down at it, tears streaming down his face. "What's your name?"

"sweet dumpling."

"Tangyuan. What a nice name." He squatted down, wanting to touch Tangyuan's head, but then pulled his hand back. Tangyuan nudged his hand with its head. He stroked its head, tears dripping onto its fur.

The car headed towards the old pontoon bridge. Sun Jianguo sat in the back seat, staring out the window. He recognized the streets, the buildings, the trees. He had lived here for so many years, worked as a policeman here, investigated cases here, seen that face here, and decided to escape here. He thought he would never come back.

"Do you hate me?" he asked.

Jiang Bo glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "What do I hate about you?"

"They hate me for running away. They hate me for hiding for so many years. They hate me for seeing it all but doing nothing."

Jiang Bo was silent for a while. "I don't hate you. You were also someone who stood at the door watching. You were also someone who couldn't do anything. You were also someone who said sorry. I don't hate you."

Sun Jianguo lowered his head. "I hate myself. I've hated myself for so many years. I hate myself every night. I hate myself for not daring to stand up, for running away, for living."

The car drove onto the old pontoon bridge. The rain was still falling, and the ruins, shrouded in a gray haze, resembled a forgotten battlefield. The bulldozers remained there, rusted and dripping with rain. The weeds, wet and drooping, lay prostrate on the ground, as if weeping. The door to the small house was open, the light on, dim and warm. The gentleman sat in the doorway, a notebook resting on his lap. Seeing the car, he stood up, leaned against the doorframe, and let it in.

Jiang Bo, holding an umbrella, walked to the door. Sun Jianguo followed behind, without an umbrella, the rain soaking his head and shoulders. He stood at the door, looking at his teacher for a long time. His tears mingled with the rain, indistinguishable from each other.

"Teacher Zhou, I'm back."

The man looked at him for a long time. "It's good that you're back. Come in. They're waiting for you."

Sun Jianguo entered the small room. It was dark inside, lit only by a kerosene lamp. Dong Zhenhua sat on the edge of the bed, and Dong Jian'an sat at the table. Two people, two identical faces. Sun Jianguo stood in the doorway, staring at them, stunned. His mouth opened and closed, then opened again. His hands trembled, and his legs shook.

"You...you all..."

Dong Zhenhua stood up. "Jianguo. Long time no see."

Dong Jianan also stood up. "You're back. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Sun Jianguo looked at them, at those two identical faces. Tears streamed down his face. "I was wrong. I was wrong for so many years. I hated the wrong person, feared the wrong person, and went down the wrong path. I hated you." He pointed at Dong Jian'an. "I was afraid of him." He pointed at Dong Zhenhua. "I thought you were one person. I didn't know you were two people. I waited for so many years, hid for so many years, and feared for so many years. I hated the wrong person."

Dong Jian'an lowered his head. "The person you should hate is me. Not the person you hate. I killed those people, I stood at the door watching. He did nothing. He just watched me. He was just like me, unable to do anything. He was just like me, standing at the door watching. He was just like me, saying sorry for many years."

Sun Jianguo walked over and stood in front of Dong Jian'an. "You killed those people. You killed Li Hongmei. You killed Fang Min. You killed those women. You killed the people I investigated. You killed my master. You killed my colleagues. You killed people I knew. You killed people I didn't know. You killed so many people. Why? Why did you kill them?"

Tears streamed down Dong Jian'an's face. "Because I hate. I hate this city, I hate this river, I hate those people. I hate that they saved my brother but not me. I hate that they let me live. I've hated for so many years, killed so many people. But now I don't hate anymore. I've waited for you for so many years, and now I don't hate anymore."

Sun Jianguo stared at him for a long time. "You hate. Does your hatred justify killing? Does your hatred justify standing at the door and watching? Does your hatred justify letting so many people die? Does your hatred justify making so many people wait? Does your hatred justify making so many people cry? Does your hatred justify making so many people hate you?"

Dong Jian'an didn't speak. He lowered his head, looking at his hands. Those hands, which had killed so many people. Now they were trembling.

Sun Jianguo turned around and looked at Dong Zhenhua. "And you? You saw him kill someone, why didn't you stop him? You're a policeman, you're the deputy director, you have a gun. Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you arrest him? Why didn't you say anything? Why were you just standing at the door watching?"

Tears streamed down Dong Zhenhua's face. "Because I was afraid. I was afraid of dying. I was afraid of being exposed. I was afraid that the evidence would be gone, and the truth would be forever buried at the bottom of the river. I chose to live, I chose to remain silent, I chose to stand at the door and watch. I am the same as you, the same as Mr. Dong, the same as Dong Zhiqiang. We can't do anything. We all owe those who died a life."

Sun Jianguo looked at him. "You're afraid. So you can just watch because you're afraid? So you can do nothing because you're afraid? So you can let him continue killing because you're afraid? So you can let those women die because you're afraid? So you can make those families wait because you're afraid? So you can make so many people cry because you're afraid? So you can make so many people hate because you're afraid?"

Dong Zhenhua didn't speak. He lowered his head, looking at his hands. Those hands had never killed anyone, but they had never stopped anyone either. They were trembling.

Sun Jianguo stood there, tears streaming down his face. His shoulders and hands trembled. He cried for a long time, silently, only tears flowing endlessly. The gentleman walked over and stood beside him, saying nothing. Jiang Bo stood in the doorway, also silent. Tangyuan lay on the ground, raising her head to look at this person, then at that person.

After a long while, Sun Jianguo wiped away his tears. "I've hated for so many years, feared for so many years, and run away for so many years. I hated the wrong person, feared the wrong person, and ran the wrong path. Now I don't hate anymore. I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not running away anymore."

He walked up to Dong Jian'an. "You killed so many people, you owe them your lives. You owe them an answer. You owe them an apology. Tell me. I'm listening."

Dong Jian'an looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry to those women, I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to this city. I'm so sorry."

Sun Jianguo looked at him. "Anything else?"

Dong Jian'an lowered his head. "And another thing. I killed them, I hated them, I hated that they were like her. I hated that they weren't her. I hated for so many years, killed so many people. Now I don't hate anymore. Now I won't kill anymore. Now I just say sorry. I can say it as many times as I want. I can say it for a lifetime."

Sun Jianguo didn't speak. He turned and walked up to Dong Zhenhua. "You saw it, but you didn't stop it. You owe those women an answer. You owe them an apology. Tell me. I'm listening."

Dong Zhenhua looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry to those women, I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to this city. I'm so sorry."

Sun Jianguo looked at him. "Anything else?"

Dong Zhenhua lowered his head. "And there's more. I saw it, but I didn't stop it. I chose to live, I chose to remain silent, I chose to stand at the door and watch. I'm like him, like Mr. Dong, like Dong Zhiqiang. We can't do anything. We all owe those who died a life."

Sun Jianguo didn't speak. He turned and walked to his husband. "And you? You've remembered for so many years, written for so many years. You owe those women an answer. You owe them an apology. Tell me. I'm listening."

The man looked at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry to those women, I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to this city. I'm so sorry."

Sun Jianguo looked at him. "Anything else?"

The man lowered his head. "And there's more. I've remembered for so many years, written for so many years. All I can do is remember, all I can do is write, all I can do is apologize. There's nothing I can do. I stand at the door watching. I'm just like them. There's nothing we can do. We all owe those who died a life."

Sun Jianguo didn't speak. He walked to the door and stood in front of Jiang Bo. "And you? Do you hate me? Do you hate me for running away for so many years? Do you hate me for hiding for so many years? Do you hate me for seeing everything but doing nothing?"

Jiang Bo looked at him. "I don't hate you. You were also someone who stood at the door watching. You were also someone who couldn't do anything. You were also someone who said sorry. I don't hate you."

Sun Jianguo lowered his head. "I hate myself. I've hated myself for so many years. But I don't hate anymore. I'm tired. I can't hate anymore."

He turned and looked at the three people inside. "I'm leaving. I'm going back. I'm going back to Yueyang. I'll continue running my supermarket. I'll continue living alone. I'll continue hiding. I'll continue to be afraid. I'll continue to hate. I'll continue to feel sorry. There's nothing I can do. I'm just standing at the door watching. I'm just like you."

He walked out of the hut and into the rain. Jiang Bo chased after him. "Aren't you going to stay? They're waiting for you to come back, not just for you to take one look and leave. The Master has waited for you for so many years, Dong Zhenhua has waited for you for so many years, Dong Jian'an has waited for you for so many years. They're waiting for you to come back so that you'll stay."

Sun Jianguo stopped and stood in the rain. Rain poured over his head, onto his shoulders, and over his body. "Should I stay? What would I do if I stayed? Should I stay and watch them? Should I stay and remember those names? Should I stay and say sorry? I can't do anything. I'm just standing at the door watching. I'm no different from them. What difference does it make whether I stay or not?"

Jiang Bo stood before him. "There's a difference. If you stay, they won't be just one person. If you stay, one more person will remember those names. If you stay, one more person will say 'I'm sorry.' If you stay, one more person will stand at the door watching."

Sun Jianguo looked at him for a long time. His tears mingled with the rain. "I'll stay. I'll stay. I won't leave. I've been away for so many years, hiding for so many years, afraid for so many years. I won't leave. I'll stay. I'll stay to remember those names. I'll stay to write those apologies. I'll stay and stand at the door watching. I can't do anything, but I can remember. I can write. I can apologize."

He turned and walked back into the hut. The gentleman stood at the door, watching him. Dong Zhenhua stood behind the gentleman, watching him. Dong Jian'an stood behind Dong Zhenhua, watching him. He went in and stood between them. The four of them stood in the hut, under the kerosene lamp. Their shadows were cast on the wall, long and thin, like four withered old trees.

Jiang Bo stood at the doorway, watching them. Tangyuan squatted at his feet, looking up with bright, sparkling eyes. He remembered those names, those apologies, those people standing at the doorway watching. They were all here. Mr. Dong, Dong Zhenhua, Dong Jian'an, Sun Jianguo. They were all people standing at the doorway watching. They could do nothing. They had all said sorry. They were standing together now, in that small house, under that kerosene lamp. They weren't going anywhere. They were here, by this river, on these ruins. They were waiting for people to come, waiting for people to leave, waiting for people to remember those names, waiting for people to say those apologies.

He turned and walked into the rain. Tangyuan followed behind. He walked to the car and glanced back. The door of the small house was open, the light was on. They stood in the doorway, four people in a row, waving. Their hands were thin, like withered branches, but they were still waving. The light was still on. He got in the car, started the engine, and drove off the old pontoon bridge. In the rearview mirror, the small house grew farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, but it was still there. The light was still on. Those people were still there. He drove onto the Yangtze River Bridge and looked at the river. The river flowed in the rain, gray and hazy, nothing could be seen clearly. But he knew that those names, those apologies, were all in his heart. Those people standing in the doorway, watching, were also in his heart. They wouldn't leave. They weren't going anywhere. They were here. He wouldn't leave either. He was here too. By this river, in this city, on this land. He would go in. He would.