By dawn, Qin Guan knew the day's court hearing was postponed.
They had interrogated him all night, tormented him all night, only to deliver this bad news.
In truth, even if they hadn't told him, Qin Guan could have guessed. He was implicated in two cases, two murders—related murders at that—so naturally, they would be tried jointly.
He sat in the interrogation room, his exhausted mind erecting two invisible barriers, shutting out the sounds from the outside world.
After He Zhisheng left, two waves of police officers came in to question him.
But Qin Guan said nothing.
What was there to say?
Regarding his father-in-law's death, a case had already been filed, and he had already confessed verbally. Beyond that, he wouldn't say more—perhaps postponing the trial was good; he needed time to think carefully, needed time to discuss thoroughly with his legal team.
It was only a verbal confession, after all. They had no other evidence. The only so-called evidence, the wheelchair, was actually fabricated by He Zhisheng.
Fabricated evidence naturally couldn't be presented in court.
Court, the courtroom—Qin Guan closed his eyes. In a daze, he saw himself again, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, standing under the spotlight of everyone's gaze, speaking eloquently.
Yes, even at this moment, Qin Guan, having calmed down once more, still hadn't given up.
He had never been one to give up easily. As a child, on that poor mountain, in that filthy home, with parents like that, he was dealt an almost impossible hand. Yet he had struggled his way out, carved a path to prosperity. How could he possibly admit defeat now?
Nor was he so easy to defeat.
In his father-in-law's case, a conviction based solely on his few words would be difficult.
His mother-in-law? He hadn't admitted to that at all.
The troublesome case was Qi Min's murder—Qin Guan had spent a long time analyzing it. Though He Zhisheng spoke with absolute certainty, Qin Guan knew there were doubts in the case that He Zhisheng hadn't resolved.
Meaning, this case wasn't a guaranteed loss either.
As long as there was a sliver of hope, even a thread, Qin Guan could come back to life.
Qin Guan kept bolstering his own spirits inwardly, all while keeping his eyes closed, sitting as still as a monk in deep meditation—he wouldn't respond to any of their coercive questioning before his lawyer arrived.
When Old He pushed the door open, Qin Guan was still "meditating."
"He won't say anything, no matter how we ask!" Officer Wu muttered in frustration—he had pulled an all-nighter, his face weary. Of course, getting nothing out of the suspect was what annoyed him most.
No one would get a word out of him.
Qin Guan remained motionless, eyes shut—they had no more evidence. Their only remaining path was to force his mouth open. He wouldn't let them succeed.
"Qin Guan, stop waiting. Your lawyer, Jiang Yanbing, was just arrested by me! He's been detained for suspicion of kidnapping a child! He can't handle your case anymore!" Old He got straight to the point.
Qin Guan's eyes snapped open.
Old He wasn't lying. Because "kidnapping" his daughter to disrupt Xu Ruyi's courtroom performance was a plan Qin Guan and Lawyer Jiang had previously agreed upon.
However, Qin Guan had never imagined that Old He wouldn't notify Lawyer Jiang in time.
"That's right, I did it on purpose," Old He said, looking pleased and relaxed. "I caught the hint in your tone last night. I knew you'd make a move first thing this morning, so I went to wait near Guanlan Court at dawn. Jiang Yanbing walked right out, easy pickings."
"Jiang Yanbing's a straightforward guy, not wishy-washy like you. Once arrested, he confessed immediately, admitted he was acting on your orders. So, Qin Guan, stop stalling. Time to talk. None of your tricks will work now! Don't want to talk today? Fine. I've got plenty of time. Get up! Come on, I happen to be free, I'll take you back!"
Qin Guan hung his head and walked slowly in front of Old He.
The path back from the interrogation room wasn't long, just three or four minutes, but to Qin Guan, it felt interminable.
His legs felt as heavy as lead.
Old He was in a good mood, chattering on about how Jiang Yanbing was caught. Qin Guan heard the words, but only one thought filled his mind—his lawyer was detained. What should he do?
Find a new lawyer?
With enough money, some firm might take the case. But where would Qin Guan get "enough money"? All these years, none of the Xu family's properties had been sold; they were all held tightly by his in-laws. After their deaths, Xu Ruyi hadn't touched them either. The houses, shops, assets—half of which should rightfully belong to Qin Guan—were now completely out of his reach.
So, just as He Zhisheng said, what tricks did he have left?
Deny everything? How long could he hold out?
No tricks left.
Xu Ruyi had won.
And He Zhisheng—who knew what underhanded dealings that pair had going on behind the scenes? That bitch would stoop to any low, unscrupulous act to bring him down.
Thinking of Xu Ruyi, thinking of that woman sitting in the shadows, scheming with a sneering laugh, Qin Guan felt the suppressed fury in his heart surge like a tsunami.
The three of them had now exited the building.
Qin Guan looked around—there were no surveillance cameras at the junction connecting these two buildings.
He had one last path—an idea gradually formed in Qin Guan's mind—the last one, the brutal but effective path his drunkard father had always favored.
After all, there was no other way.
Qin Guan made up his mind. He turned suddenly and rammed his head violently into Old He's face.
Blood gushed instantly from Old He's nose.
Before Old He could react, Qin Guan had already flung himself towards a nearby pillar and the metal guardrail—a square metal railing, its paint chipped in places. Qin Guan scraped his face hard against it, immediately leaving a streak of blood.
One streak, two, three.
Old He rushed over to pull him back. Qin Guan threw himself backwards onto the ground, rolling back and forth, his head striking the concrete floor repeatedly.
"You hit me! He Zhisheng, you're finished! You assaulted a suspect!"
Blood was now also flowing from Qin Guan's nose from the impact. His face was smeared with it, a bruise rapidly forming on his forehead. Blood dripped from his chin onto his prison uniform, drawing a ridiculous thick crimson line.
"You hit me!" Qin Guan sat on the ground, his eyes filled with laughter—mocking laughter. The blood smeared across his face made his grin ghastly and insane. "Look! Look what you've done to me! What a responsible police officer you are! You have to take me to the hospital now! I need to go to the hospital!"
His eyes gleamed. "I need to go to the hospital! Did you hear me, He Zhisheng—"
He roared, scrambled to his feet, and before Old He's stunned eyes, suddenly sprinted towards the pillar and rammed his head into it with all his might—
Even though Old He reacted quickly, leaping to grab Qin Guan, Qin Guan's head still struck the pillar.
Blood flowed from his forehead.
His vision blurred. Officers and a doctor, rushing over, immediately surrounded Qin Guan, trying to stanch the bleeding. Qin Guan lay still, only muttering, "I need... I need the hospital... My head hurts... This isn't superficial... He, He Zhisheng, beat me... I need a full-body checkup..."
"Pah!" Old He spat out a mouthful of blood, angrily taking the tissue offered by an officer and pressing it to his injured nose—he never imagined the guy would go this crazy.
Reaching such a dead end, what good would madness do? Go to the hospital? Could he escape from the hospital?
"The hospital..." Qin Guan's gaze grew increasingly unfocused as he groaned. "I need the hospital... I need everyone to know... Qi Min's case... He Zhisheng didn't investigate it properly... So many doubts... Nothing adds up. He colluded with Xu Ruyi to rush the case closed... The hair... The time of death..."
Old He froze.
Qin Guan was right.
The case of Xu's father had just begun. But the most important, most closely watched case—Qi Min's murder—after reopening, had revealed more and more doubts. The first problem, the one Old He still couldn't explain, was Qi Min's hair—Qi Min had always had long hair. In all the surveillance footage from around the time of the incident, she had long hair. But the corpse had short hair.