Although the perpetrators were apprehended, the situation did not unfold as smoothly as everyone had hoped.
The three men adamantly denied any intention to murder, claiming they merely brandished a knife to intimidate the victim, at most intending robbery.
The severity of murder and robbery is vastly different.
Consequently, none of their statements implicated Qi Ge.
This infuriated Lu Jiao.
"Hmph, they deny it, so I should just pretend it never happened?" Fang Guobin was seething. "I'll kick him out as soon as I get back. He's not working for me anymore."
"Mr. Fang, may I offer a suggestion?" Lu Qingqing stepped forward. "Since Qi Ge dared to attack you today, it's possible his hands are already stained with the blood of others."
Lu Qingqing's idea was simple.
If a bad person cannot be caught with direct evidence or witnesses, why not find a "ghost witness"?
"Ghost witness?"
What ghost?
Everyone was baffled.
Lu Qingqing smiled slyly. "Come closer and I'll tell you."
...
While everyone was plotting against Qi Ge, Luo Wenwu was released. He walked out in a daze, completely bewildered.
He had eaten well and slept well during his confinement; anyone would think he had been on a vacation.
His first thought upon release was to find his boss. However, his boss's home was empty, and even Lu Qingqing was nowhere to be found.
So, he decided to find Li Yang, but Li Yang had also disappeared. Surely he couldn't go looking for Yu Yue?
Luo Wenwu walked alone under the night sky, his heart swelling with warmth and gratitude.
It was so late, and neither his boss nor Li Yang were home, they must be working tirelessly to find him.
These two brothers were truly worth it!
However, the thought of being inexplicably locked up for so many days filled Luo Wenwu with anger.
He really wanted someone to talk to.
Ah, right, Lu Jiao.
He must know those three street ruffians who fell into the mud pit. He could ask him what was going on.
...
"He first went to find Hu Jia and the others, and only then to Lu Jiao?" Sixth Master listened to the report from his subordinate, his brow furrowed in thought.
Going to Hu Jia and his group first was understandable, but Lu Jiao...
Isn't he just a pawnshop clerk?
Qiao Huali had watched these children grow up; he knew their social circles intimately.
In the past, Lu Jiao would never have been part of Luo Wenwu's circle of friends. When did he appear?
It seemed Lu Jiao's name only surfaced after Hu Jia and his group returned from Zhong County.
Sixth Master was convinced that Lu Jiao was involved.
Sixth Master tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Go investigate. Investigate Lu Jiao thoroughly."
...
Meanwhile, Qi Ge had initially been relaxed, enjoying tea and pastries, tapping his foot to a tune.
But as time ticked by, he grew increasingly uneasy.
Those men had been sent out yesterday.
Yet today, there was still no rumor in the city about an employee killing his boss.
Even if the mission had failed, those three should have returned to deliver a message. But from morning to night, there was no news of them, and Qi Ge was on pins and needles.
The longer he waited, the more anxious he became; the more anxious, the more agitated; the more agitated, the more frustrated.
He stopped drinking tea, stopped listening to music, and paced back and forth.
Perhaps it was his troubled state of mind, but he kept hearing rustling sounds from inside the room.
At times, it sounded like footsteps.
At other times, it sounded like a squeaking.
He was alone in the house, yet something suddenly banged loudly. Before he could ascertain the source of the sound, a slapping noise emanated from the empty table.
Qi Ge was truly frightened.
As the saying goes, "If one has done no wrong, one need not fear a knock at the door in the dead of night." Normally, Qi Ge might have dismissed such noises.
But today was different; after all, two lives were hanging in the balance.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced. Could it be the ghosts of Fang Guobin and Lu Jiao coming to settle the score?
However, Qi Ge soon began to mock his own timidity and guilt.
If there were really ghosts, why hadn't the others come to claim his life before?
He forced himself to sleep last night, and indeed, it worked well; at least the strange noises stopped.
But, to his utter shock, even more terrifying events unfolded in the latter half of the night.
The mink coat hanging on the coat rack suddenly began to move, as if something was wearing it. It jumped onto the table, then onto the floor, occasionally letting out mournful cries.
A mink coat moving and screaming?
Qi Ge was so terrified he almost wet himself. He couldn't help but curse those three men in his mind. "Didn't they say the man was taken away by the police? Were they lying to me? Did they actually go too far?"
The bizarre scene sent Qi Ge's mind into overdrive. The more he thought about it, the more likely this scenario seemed.
Why would the police arrest someone for no reason? Even if they were confused, why would they only arrest one person?
"Damn bastards, they lied to me." Qi Ge was convinced the man who pawned the mink coat had met a grim fate.
As he pondered this, the mink coat moved again.
Not only could it move, but it occasionally changed in height. Of course, none of that mattered; what was important was that the coat was moving towards him.
It was like an unseen demon extending him a ticket to hell.
Qi Ge finally couldn't bear it.
He immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing and bowing, muttering, "Master, I was forced into this. Please spare me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not human, I've done unconscionable things. Don't come looking for me. I'll burn incense for you every day from now on, praying for your swift reincarnation."
The mink coat paused for a moment. Just as Qi Ge thought his confession was working, the coat moved again.
Qi Ge cried out, "Lu Jiao, Lu Jiao, is that you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry. And that brave man, please be magnanimous. I'm worse than a pig or dog. I only told them to stop you from redeeming the coat, but I never expected them to be so ruthless. You weren't killed by me, I'm sorry, don't seek revenge on me."
Qi Ge was completely terrified. He continued to kowtow and repent. Unsure whose ghost it was, he confessed all the evil deeds he had committed over the years.
His rambling confession, if heard by an outsider, would have been astounding. No one expected such a shopkeeper to be burdened with such heinous crimes.
As Qi Ge continued to beg for forgiveness, the door to his house suddenly opened.
Qi Ge looked up and let out a scream. If he hadn't been kneeling, he would have fainted on the spot.
Walking in was Fang Guobin.
His face was ashen, and in the backlight, he appeared incredibly dark and eerie.
Qi Ge immediately wet himself. "Master, Master," he stammered incoherently.
"Scoundrel!" Fang Guobin stepped forward and kicked Qi Ge squarely in the chest.
Looking at the puddle on the floor, Fang Guobin was filled with disgust.
It was this kick that brought Qi Ge back to his senses.
"You're not dead?" Qi Ge suddenly realized. If the master wasn't dead, then what he had just said...
Instantly, his face turned ashen!
"Master will surely live a long life. As for you, your time has come," said Lu Jiao, who was followed by Hu Jia and others.
And further behind them, the three men he had sent were bound together, heads bowed in silence.
This?
Qi Ge finally understood.
Turning back, Li Yang was lifting the mink coat, revealing a few field mice inside.