Chapter 27: Vengeance Must Be Served Before Dawn

That very night, Ma Qi was arrested, along with a dozen or so of his underlings. They never expected Hua Shier to actually report them to the police, nor did they think the deleted photos could be recovered.

These pickpockets had, on average, just a third-grade education. Their lack of knowledge was their downfall—who would have thought that deleting photos from a phone still left a trash bin for recovery? It was like unnecessarily exposing oneself, a pointless double waste of effort.

When Ma Qi, handcuffed, met Hua Shier at the detective squad, he pointed angrily at him and shouted, “You don’t play fair…”

Hua Shier smirked. The last person to shout that was the Five-Strike Whip, who ended up a failure. He raised his middle finger at Ma Qi and said, “That’s not about fairness, it’s about betrayal. And speaking of fairness… illiteracy is truly scary!”

To joke, Ma Qi and his gang barged into his home intending to beat him up. If Hua Shier still upheld honor and fairness with people like that, he’d be a fool.

After dealing with Ma Qi, Senior Detective Yang planned to send Hua Shier and Chen Nian back since they needed to interrogate Ma Qi’s gang overnight and coordinate with the anti-pickpocket squad to aim for a joint operation to take down the theft ring led by Ma Qi in one fell swoop.

But Hua Shier stopped Detective Yang. “Officer Yang, I have something else to discuss privately.”

Detective Yang was momentarily taken aback. Being a seasoned detective, he immediately sensed Hua Shier had something important to disclose. But he was busy and pointed at Zheng Yi, saying, “Xiao Zheng is my apprentice and highly capable. Anything you need to say, you can tell him. I have some matters to attend to…”

Before he finished, Hua Shier smiled warmly, “This is something I want to tell you—and only you.”

Zheng Yi, impatient with Liu Beishan’s gangsters, snapped, “Say it quickly, don’t waste time. We’re not here to play games!”

Detective Yang paused, cut Zheng Yi off, and told Hua Shier, “Alright, then you tell me.”

He instructed Zheng Yi and others to start interrogating Ma Qi’s gang and led Hua Shier to a nearby lounge.

Chen Nian wanted to go along, but Zheng Yi called after her, “Chen Nian, stay here. I have something to discuss with you!”

Chen Nian shook her head, clearly unwilling to speak with him, and followed Hua Shier instead.

“You!” Zheng Yi wanted to say more, but Detective Yang glanced at his apprentice, then at Chen Nian, and told Zheng Yi, “Go handle the case first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Inside the lounge, Hua Shier smiled at Chen Nian. He had wanted to speak with Detective Yang alone, but since Chen Nian followed, so be it. There was no harm in sharing—he was doing everything openly and honestly, helping the police combat crime. There was nothing to hide.

Detective Yang handed Hua Shier a cigarette and lit one himself, then smiled and said, “You really helped us a lot this time, taking down Ma Qi’s gang. You deserve credit. Whatever you want to say, I’ll help as much as I can—provided it’s within the law!”

He gave Hua Shier an knowing smile.

Hua Shier took a drag and got straight to the point.

“Officer Yang, you’re a detective. You must know everyone running around on the streets here. You should also know what I do, right?”

Yang nodded, bit on his cigarette, “You’re quite self-aware. Of course we know you—anyone who frequents the police station has their name registered with us.”

“Young Liu Beishan, nickname ‘Little Bei Ge’—no serious crimes, but constant minor offenses. Collection of debts, fights, and petty thefts. We handled him before, but since he was underage, we focused on persuasion and education, which is why he’s still out there. When he turns eighteen, he’ll be in for sure.”

Detective Yang chuckled, teasing.

Though Yang spoke of Liu Beishan’s past, Hua Shier knew it was pointless to explain. No one listens to such clarifications.

He accepted it, “It’s just life forcing my hand. I’m alone, not even of age, no school to attend, but I have to eat!”

Yang slapped Hua Shier’s shoulder, “No one’s life is easy, but that’s no excuse for breaking the law!”

Hua Shier was no Liu Beishan; he was an adult and understood the truth in those words. He nodded.

“I was young and naive before. Now that I’m almost an adult, I’ve come to understand. I want to turn my life around. I just worry you won’t give me the chance.”

He was hinting that he wanted to confess but feared being held fully accountable. He trusted Detective Yang would understand.

Sure enough, Yang caught the underlying meaning, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

“Our policy has always been to punish the past to prevent the future, to heal and save. Fighting crime is the symptom’s cure; reform and education are the root. As long as someone isn’t a heinous criminal, we never intend to ruin their life. If you truly want to improve, we’ll be more than happy. How do you know we wouldn’t give you the chance?”

Yang’s words carried deeper meaning. Hua Shier caught on immediately and laughed.

“That’s why I came to talk to you. Your apprentice isn’t as easy to deal with. I think he has a bit of a stubborn streak!”

Yang laughed heartily, “You really have been around. You’re pretty good at sizing people up. Alright, no more beating around the bush. What’s on your mind? I’m busy over there!”

Hua Shier nodded and then thoroughly explained about Boss Wang’s illegal high-interest loans and how he, along with Da Kang and Lai Zi, helped with violent debt collection. He also played the recording of a phone call from Boss Wang, which he had tricked out of him.

Detective Yang and Chen Nian both thought, “This kid really is something else!”

Boss Wang was indeed breaking the law. While this kind of case could be handled by other departments, since someone filed a complaint, Yang didn’t mind taking credit and began a detailed inquiry.

After clarifying everything, they discussed the responsibilities of Hua Shier, Da Kang, and Lai Zi in the matter.

Hua Shier proposed that he and the others could serve as “tainted witnesses” to expose Boss Wang’s illegal lending and violent collections, but they should not be held accountable. They would accept persuasion, education, and fines, but not imprisonment.

Having watched many Hong Kong crime films, Hua Shier wasn’t sure if “tainted witnesses” existed here, but that was his way of putting it.

Detective Yang, as an experienced cop, couldn’t agree blindly. He asked if the three were underage and if they had committed any serious crimes such as murder, grievous bodily harm, robbery, or large-scale theft.

Hua Shier guaranteed none of those applied. According to Liu Beishan’s memories he had inherited, the trio only engaged in minor scuffles and petty thefts.

Yang pondered, “If what you say is true, I can give you an informant status. Since you’re underage, it shouldn’t be a big problem. Today, I’ll handle Ma Qi’s case first. Tomorrow, you bring those two friends here for a joint statement, and we’ll file the case and make arrests!”

Chen Nian’s eyes widened as she saw Hua Shier and Detective Yang reach an agreement, betraying her boss while effortlessly clearing Hua Shier and his friends of any involvement.

Hua Shier was satisfied with the outcome. Since Boss Wang had sold out his address to Ma Qi, he clearly harbored ill intentions, trying to kill him by proxy.

Having already arranged for Ma Qi’s arrest that day, Hua Shier naturally wouldn’t let this Wang go either. He believed in swift retribution—revenge would never wait until the next day.