Chapter 22

After being hit by the anesthetic dart, a king cobra of this weight would take at least two hours to regain consciousness. Fan Yajun did not believe that a single acupuncture needle could wake it up from the anesthetic state.

However, an unbelievable scene unfolded before him. The acupuncture needle had not even stopped vibrating when the king cobra had already regained consciousness. Xu Chunliang quickly withdrew the needle.

Fan Yajun warned, "Be careful, it's dangerous."

A king cobra of this size is quite aggressive.

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "It's fine, I haven't offended it."

Lu Qi said, "Mr. Xu, ask it who killed its companion."

Fan Yajun glanced at Lu Qi, wondering if the police now believed in this.

Xu Chunliang whispered something, and the snake began to move, its target being Fan Yajun.

Fan Yajun swallowed hard. He had never seen such a bizarre situation. Who was this guy? Could he really understand snake language and communicate with snakes without any barriers?

Fan Yajun stood there, neither attacking nor fleeing. Fortunately, the large snake did not attack him but raised its head and flicked its tongue about a meter away from him, its eyes locking onto him.

Fan Yajun tried to remain calm and said, "It still remembers a grudge."

Lu Qi coldly replied, "I'm afraid it remembers the murder of its mate."

Li Zhong and Zhou Meng also arrived, appearing behind Fan Yajun.

Fan Yajun realized something was wrong and put on a puzzled look. "What do you mean, Officer Lu?"

Lu Qi sternly asked, "What's in your pocket?"

Fan Yajun's heart sank. When he picked up the packaging, he had been particularly careful, and there was clearly no one around.

Li Zhong said, "If you want to keep something secret, you mustn't do it. Fan Yajun, your every move has been recorded."

Zhou Meng added, "Master Fan, it turns out you were the one who killed the female snake."

Fan Yajun broke out in a cold sweat and defended himself, "It wasn't me." He took out the flattened phone box from his pocket: "Is it wrong to pick up trash and protect the environment?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You had already anesthetized the king cobra, why did you still want to kill it? Were you afraid it would tell me the truth?"

Fan Yajun finally understood. From the beginning, it was all a setup. They had deliberately separated from him, and the phone box was placed there to attract his attention.

What he couldn't understand was why the snake was there. One thing was certain: they must have installed surveillance cameras somewhere nearby.

Fan Yajun was drenched in cold sweat. If picking up the phone box could still be explained, the attempt to kill the king cobra could not. Lu Qi and his team were too cunning, setting up such a trap for him.

Lu Qi said, "Not only are you skilled at catching snakes, but you also know how to train them. You used your expertise to drive two large snakes to rob the phone store, then used your identity as a professional snake catcher from the Forestry Bureau to take them away and release them, arranging for your accomplices to wait at the release site to take the stolen goods without anyone knowing."

Fan Yajun, with an innocent look, said, "I didn't do it, what evidence do you have?"

Lu Qi sternly said, "Are you still not telling the truth? Hand over the stolen goods and reveal your accomplices!"

"You are slandering me!"

Xu Chunliang said, "Snakes don't lie. It said that you were the one who sent them to rob the phone store that day. The female snake swallowed ten phones, but you betrayed them and killed the female snake after they did your bidding!"

Fan Yajun now believed eighty percent of it. Xu Chunliang really understood snake language. His head drooped like a frost-bitten eggplant: "I didn't steal, I only helped take it to the release site." This statement already admitted his involvement in the crime.

Lu Qi and Li Zhong moved forward together. Lu Qi took out handcuffs and put them on Fan Yajun: "We'll talk about this back at the station."

Fan Yajun submitted without any resistance. He wasn't stupid; he was already surrounded and couldn't escape.

Xu Chunliang came to the king cobra and put it in a snake bag, saying to Lu Qi, "We're done here, I'll return it to the zoo."

Fan Yajun was stunned. He had always thought this king cobra was the original male snake and that the snake had betrayed him completely. But he never expected that they had used a similar king cobra to trick him. It was all a setup!

Lu Qi said, "Don't have any侥幸心理 (侥幸心理 means侥幸 psychology, which can be translated as '侥幸 mentality' or '侥幸 attitude'). We suspected you from the beginning. The law is vast but not without gaps."

Fan Yajun finally conceded in the face of reality. On the way back, he admitted that he had been used due to his gambling addiction, but he was not the mastermind behind the theft. The planner was a snake trainer named Han Tianchi, who owned the two king cobras. Han Tianchi gave him 30,000 yuan to catch the snakes and help release them.

Fan Yajun said he didn't know the snakes had stolen so many phones and had no way to contact Han Tianchi.

Lu Qi knew Fan Yajun wasn't telling the whole truth. This was a group that used animals to commit crimes, and this phone theft was likely not their first offense.

Although they didn't catch the mastermind this time, Fan Yajun's confession gave them hope. They would follow the leads and track down the entire criminal gang.

Xu Chunliang had provided them with significant help in this operation. The idea was all his. Lu Qi offered to apply for a bravery award for Xu Chunliang, but he declined. He helped because Lu Qi was the first kind person he met in this world.

Xu Chunliang also became very interested in the mastermind, Han Tianchi. A person who could drive two large snakes to rob openly was definitely a master. But why did he kill the female snake after the deed? There must be some hidden reason, and the mystery would likely be solved in time.

Ding Si finally couldn't hold back his anger. After the conflict at Minnan Seafood City, he was seething with rage and wanted to get back at Xu Chunliang, to teach him a harsh lesson and make him beg for mercy.

That night, when he tried to vent his anger during intimacy, he found himself unable to perform, which reminded him of Xu Chunliang's harsh words before he left.

Ding Si didn't believe in superstitions, but no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't perform. His wife's contemptuous look added to his humiliation.

The same thing happened the next day, and the day after that, even with different partners. Ding Si began to panic. He finally realized that Xu Chunliang wasn't just bluffing; he had truly encountered a master.

On the fourth day, with no improvement, Ding Si couldn't wait any longer. He went to Changxing Hospital to find Xu Chunliang, not for revenge.

When Ding Si arrived at the medical affairs office, Xu Chunliang was in the mediation room with Wang Dalei. Only Cheng Xiaohong was in the office, and Zhou Wenbin was in a meeting. Seeing Ding Si, Cheng Xiaohong was alarmed, thinking he had come to cause trouble.

However, Ding Si's expression was different from that day. He smiled at her, a bit awkwardly, and said, "Hello, is Director Xu here?"

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaohong judged that Ding Si wasn't there to cause trouble. He even called Xu Chunliang "Director Xu," just like Wang Dalei had.

"He's busy, why don't you sit and wait?" she suggested.

Ding Si nodded and politely said, "Thank you," then sat on the sofa in the reception area, legs together, hands on his knees, feeling uneasy and anxious.

Wang Dalei had just been released from detention. This time, he came to Changxing to sign the mediation agreement, fully conceding. Since Xu Chunliang joined the medical affairs office, their attitude had become unprecedentedly firm. Wang Dalei had already been defeated by Xu Chunliang twice: the first time with two slaps, the second time with a back throw and police detention. His recent维权 (维权 means维权, which can be translated as '维权' or '维权') history was a history of blood and tears.

The incident of Old Lady Jiang fainting in the medical affairs office had nothing to do with him, but she insisted it was his fault. Wang Dalei had never felt so wronged. When he saw Xu Chunliang, he couldn't forget this: "Director Xu, you should have seen clearly that Old Lady Jiang fainting had nothing to do with me."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "The matter is over, why bring it up again?"

"But we need to be fair, right? We can't wrong a good person. I paid for the medical expenses, compensated, and was detained. I'm more wronged than Dou E!"

"What do you want to prove? That you're a good person, that the police made a mistake, or that the hospital is responsible for Old Lady Jiang's incident?"

"I don't mean that. I just want to prove my innocence."

Xu Chunliang placed the mediation agreement in front of him. "Can you read?"

"Who do you think I am? I graduated from junior high school." Wang Dalei took the agreement, most concerned about the amount. The hospital had initially agreed to pay him 50,000 yuan to settle the dispute.

But when he found the amount, it had been reduced from 50,000 to 30,000.

Wang Dalei was furious. "What's going on? It was supposed to be 50,000, why is it now 30,000?" Initially, Wang Dalei had asked for 2 million yuan, but he knew deep down that his father's death had nothing to do with Changxing Hospital. However, he couldn't let go of such a good opportunity to make money.

Xu Chunliang said, "The hospital did agree to 50,000, but you didn't agree."

"I agree now, you can't go back on your word! That's too much!"

Xu Chunliang replied, "The hospital did agree to 50,000, but you didn't agree at the time."