novelraw Chapter 869: Interrogation
Chapter 869: Interrogation
"It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember, as long as I do, and I want to tell you something: from today on, no matter what you plan to do to me, I hope you think it over thoroughly, because no matter what you do to me, if I find out it’s you causing trouble behind my back, I will repay you a hundredfold on your wife’s head. If you truly love your wife and don’t want her to get hurt, you’d better behave yourself and not do anything to harm me."
As Xu Ke said this, he looked at the old drunk with a smile, but his eyes still lacked warmth, making people feel a chill down their spine.
"What do you mean by that? I have no grudges against you in the past or recently. What could I possibly do to you?" said the old drunk seriously, a hint of grievance and confusion on his face, making Xu Ke want to applaud him for his impressive acting skills. With such acting, an Oscar would surely be in the bag.
"Exactly, we have no grudges. I don’t even know how I offended you. I haven’t been in the town for long; I don’t even know everyone yet. Most of the time, I just wander around and take pictures. I really can’t figure out how I offended you, so much so that you and Brother Zhao would team up against me."
The "Brother Zhao" Xu Ke mentioned was the young man’s home where he was currently staying.
The old drunk was baffled by Xu Ke’s words, his face a big question mark of bewilderment, and this time his confusion was genuine. "When did I ever mess with you?"
"Things have come to this point; isn’t it pointless to keep pretending? I’ve been honest with you; there’s no need for you to act here. You know exactly what you’ve done."
Xu Ke’s face bore a cold disdain, showing that he didn’t want to say more.
The old drunk, bewildered by Xu Ke’s attitude, was at a loss, "No, you can’t leave. Today you must tell me clearly what I’ve done to you."
Xu Ke looked at the path blocked by the old drunk and showed a smirk, "This was something both sides were aware of; I didn’t want to bring it up. But since you’re putting on a hurt face and playing games with me, let’s just be candid about it."
"Let’s start from when I arrived in this town. When I was a kid, an old Taoist once read my fortune, saying I had nothing in my life but smoothness, that whatever I did would go smoothly. And it had proven true; everything I did was indeed smooth sailing until I got to this town, where nothing went smoothly."
Xu Ke glanced at the old drunk and continued passionately, "I originally planned to stay here for just a day or two. I had my ticket ready and was at the train station when the police suddenly took me back for alleged theft and detained me until my train left before releasing me. Then the owner invited me to stay longer, and then their family came asking for money and trashed the hotel. Then they took me to his brother’s place, and next was the scam I encountered at the market. Don’t you find all these too coincidental?"
"In my previous twenty-something years, I hadn’t encountered as many events as I did in this half-month in the town." Xu Ke fixed his gaze firmly on the old drunk and said.
"But what does that prove?" The old drunk’s hand, hidden behind his back, was nervously twitching.
"Prove what? I overheard something. One day I got home earlier than usual and heard Brother Zhao angrily talking on the phone, saying he wanted to send me to jail, that he wanted to destroy me. I couldn’t figure out what I did to offend him. So I followed him and saw you two together; you two seemed quite close."
Xu Ke sighed, making the man’s body instinctively shudder, and before he could think, he began to deny, "I have nothing to do with him, and I know nothing about what you just said."
"It’s all come to this, and I’m this clear about it. Does denying it here make any sense? Just like you don’t believe me, do you think I’d believe your denial?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow and asked back.
The old drunk was stumped by Xu Ke’s words, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Whether you admit it or not, I’ve got my eyes on you. You better ensure you don’t do anything to harm me, or I’ll surely throw your household into turmoil." Xu Ke’s threat left the old drunk both shocked and furious. But no matter his anger, Xu Ke didn’t care, and after shoving the old drunk aside, he nonchalantly left, no longer exhibiting the well-behaved demeanor of earlier, looking anything but a good person.
"A true wolf," the old drunk said through gritted teeth, watching Xu Ke’s departing figure with a dark expression. But only someone like him could possibly be absorbed into the organization. At the thought that they might end up being in the same boat, the old drunk felt his stomach churn, almost wanting to vomit up his meal in disgust.
Xu Ke couldn’t care less what curses the old drunk might be uttering about him once he left. But today’s task was accomplished, if not overachieved, which left Xu Ke in an excellent mood, humming a tune as he returned to the young man’s house.
As soon as he entered, a cloud of smoke greeted him, billowing around the room like a fairyland—though this fairyland had a rather off-putting smell.
Xu Ke paused at the doorway for a while before stepping inside, where the messy sounds grew louder.
Xu Ke waved away the smoke blocking his view and took a closer look. Aha, the living room sofas, along with the coffee table, had been moved aside, replaced by a small square table. Four people sat around it playing mahjong, surrounded by three or four others offering advice, littering the floor with beer, cigarette butts, and melon seed shells. Xu Ke’s entrance went unnoticed until he spoke, finally drawing the attention of the young man absorbed in the game.
"Brother Zhao, why haven’t I seen the owner? Where is he?"
"Oh, you’re back. The owner went back to watch over his little hotel. I don’t know why he’s so eager; we rarely get outsiders at our hotel, no one stays there usually, so what’s the rush to renovate?" the young man replied absentmindedly, glancing up at Xu Ke, his eyes still glued to his hand of tiles, looking ready for battle.