Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 312 Liu and Wang cooperate

In the small courtyard near Andingmen, the curtains were drawn again. Liu Guangtian sat on the sofa, with Deputy Director Wang sitting opposite him; the tea in front of them had gone cold.

"He's here again," Liu Guangtian said. "He came to see me again last night. He wants to talk to Daokou."

"What did you promise him?"

"I told him to give me a few more days so I can ask you first." Liu Guangtian looked at him. "We can't delay any longer. If we drag this out any longer, he'll ask for anything."

Deputy Director Wang leaned back on the sofa, deep in thought. After investigating for over a month, he found Yan Jiekuang's daily routine to be simple: hauling goods from Andingmen, going to the recycling station, collecting scrap in the alleyways, selling the scrap to the recycling company, and returning home. He didn't associate with any suspicious people. He didn't even know how to use a camera; the photos definitely weren't taken by him.

"He must have someone backing him," Deputy Director Wang said, "but I can't find anything about it."

"What should we do then?"

"Let's get the photo back first." Deputy Director Wang stood up. "As long as that photo is still in his hands, we'll remain on the defensive. If the people behind him wanted to expose this, they would have done it already. I guess they want to cooperate with me to deal with Yan Jiekuang first, and then he'll naturally come out."

Liu Guangtian also stood up: "How do we take it?"

"He goes out to collect recyclables at five o'clock every morning. There's a quiet alley in the morning, so I picked that spot."

"Director Wang, are you going in person?"

"I don't trust anyone else. You wait here. They should be able to bring the person over tomorrow."

It was a little after five in the morning, before dawn. Yan Jiekuang rode his tricycle into Yunju and Shijing Hutongs, the back of the vehicle half-loaded with scrap.

He rode to a corner, a dull thud on the back of his head, and everything went black. Deputy Director Wang appeared behind him, holding a short wooden stick. He picked up Yan Jiekuang, put him in the back of the tricycle, covered him with an old oilcloth, and rode the tricycle to the courtyard at Andingmen.

A basin of cold water was poured over Yan Jiekuang's head, causing him to choke and cough violently. After struggling for a while, he realized that his hands were tied to the back of a chair, his mouth was taped shut, and he was completely unable to move.

He looked up and saw Liu Guangtian standing in front of him, holding a short stick in his hand, his eyes bloodshot, and veins bulging on his forehead.

There was another person standing next to him, with a mole on his chin facing him. Yan Jiekuang recognized the mole; it was Deputy Director Wang.

He tensed up, his back pressed against the chair back, making a whimpering sound. Liu Guangtian didn't give him any more time to think. With a "ya," he swung the short stick and struck him on the shoulder, making his collarbone tremble.

The second blow landed on his arm, the third on his stomach. Liu Guangtian struck hard, yelling "Ah!" as the stick rained down. Yan Jiekuang curled up, his sobs from under the duct tape growing more urgent and muffled.

Seeing that the time was right, Deputy Director Wang stepped forward and pulled Liu Guangtian back, saying, "That's enough. If we keep fighting, someone will really die."

Liu Guangtian shook off his hand, his voice rising to a shrill, piercing tone, like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Don't worry about it. He's driving me to the brink of death; I'll take him down with me!"

As he spoke, he pulled a dagger from his lower back and pressed it against Yan Jiekuang's neck. Yan Jiekuang's throat tightened, his breathing stopped, and the dagger pressed against his neck, feeling icy cold. His breathing became rapid again, his chest heaving violently, he shook his head desperately, tears seeping from the corners of his eyes, his hands struggling violently behind his back.

Deputy Director Wang stepped forward, looking Yan Jiekuang in the eye: "If you confess honestly, I can't stop him. If you confess, you might still have a chance to live."

Yan Jiekuang nodded frantically. Deputy Director Wang reached out and tore off the tape from his mouth.

"Where did you get the photos?" Liu Guangtian roared, his voice sharp and piercing, without sheathing his knife.

"Someone threw it in..." Yan Jiekuang trembled, almost wetting himself in fear. "That day I was sitting in the recycling center... and an envelope was thrown in... inside were photos... just two..."

"Who threw it?"

"I really don't know..." Yan Jiekuang said, his voice trembling with tears, "I didn't see that person..."

"Are there any other photos? What about the negatives?"

"That's it... just two... one I gave to Liu Guangtian... the other is in my recycle bin drawer... there are no negatives, I was just kidding..."

Liu Guangtian sheathed his dagger and glanced at Deputy Director Wang. Deputy Director Wang nodded, walked to the telephone in the corner of the room, and dialed a number. After a few rings, the other end answered.

"It's me. Please make arrangements to call the Qianmen grocery store in the morning and have Yan's Recycling Station answer the phone. Tell them there's a truckload of scrap metal for sale near Dongzhimen and ask them to send someone over as soon as possible."

The person on the other end responded and hung up.

Deputy Director Wang put down the phone, turned to Liu Guangtian and said, "The grocery store opens at eight o'clock, and the people from the recycling station will be transferred then."

Liu Guangtian sheathed his knife, glanced at Yan Jiekuang, said nothing, and turned to leave.

A little after 8:00, Xiao Dang answered the phone at the grocery store and said after a few words, "Okay, okay, we'll send someone over right away."

She ran to the recycling station and shouted to Jie Di, "There's a truckload of scrap metal near Dongzhimen that needs us to collect it now. Jie Kuang isn't here, and the driver's off-duty. What do we do?"

Jie Di thought for a moment: "If we all go, four tricycles will be enough. Brother, let's ignore him for now; we can't let our business fall through."

Xiao Dang nodded, called over three helpers, and she and Jie Di took charge of a tricycle. They closed the door, pedaled off on the tricycle.

Liu Guangtian came out of the alley, watched the group leave, climbed over the wall, went to the desk, took out his key, and opened the bottom drawer.

Inside was a manila envelope. He pulled it out and glanced at it; there were words written on the back. He put the envelope in his pocket, locked the drawer, climbed over the wall, and quickly walked back to the courtyard.

Deputy Director Wang took the envelope, took out the photo and examined it. The writing was clearly done with his left hand. He put the photo in his pocket, walked behind Yan Jiekuang, and untied the rope.

"I've taken the photos. You don't have the negatives, so this matter ends here." Deputy Director Wang's voice was not loud. "Keep the recycling station business running, and don't say a word you shouldn't."

Liu Guangtian stood to the side, gesturing with the famous dagger, his voice high-pitched and thin: "If you dare to go around talking nonsense, I'll trade my life for your family of three. Think it over carefully."

Yan Jiekuang stood up from the chair, his legs still trembling, and slowly made his way to the open space in the courtyard, supporting himself against the wall. He didn't dare to say a word, pushed his tricycle out the door, and rode towards Nanluoguxiang. Only after riding a short distance did he burst into a tirade of curses.

When he got home, he quickly fetched water to change his clothes. He first took off his pants to wash himself, and when he took off his undershirt, he saw a large bruise on his shoulder, as well as on his arms and body.

"That Liu Guangtian, that idiot, he's a monster. He's too ruthless."

After finishing his tirade, Yan Jiekuang leaned back in his chair, the aggravation of his shoulder injury causing him to hiss again. He knew he had lost everything this time, and could only console himself that he was still alive and that the business at Andingmen was still there.

After resting for a while, he grimaced as he got dressed and pushed his tricycle out of the hospital gate.