Chapter 33: 32: "I have parents, you are an orphan.
Under the night sky.
On a desolate plain outside of Fengtian City, bodies lay scattered in puddles of blood, and the cold autumn breeze cut to the bone.
The howling wind seemed to carry the resentful roars of the corpses strewn on the ground.
Standing amidst the bodies, Chen Miao turned to look behind him and saw, not far off, seven or eight Enforcement Bureau vehicles with flashing lights and blaring sirens had stopped on the nearby road, with roughly thirty people now getting out of the cars and slowly closing in.
"..."
Chen Miao twitched the corners of his mouth as he eyed the scene and began considering whether the police would believe him if he said he hadn't killed anyone and was just a law-abiding citizen who had simply failed to break up the fight.
"Don't be afraid."
Just then, Doctor Gou gave Chen Miao's shoulder a light pat and handed him the blood-stained knife, "We're all acquaintances here; they won't lay a hand on you."
Almost instantly!
The two points that Chen Miao had added to Agility a few days ago came into play as his body quickly retreated backward, and he looked up in shock and disbelief, his voice involuntarily rising as he stared at Doctor Gou, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Has he gone mad?
To think he had come all this way to help out; was this fucking Doctor Gou trying to frame him, to make him take the fall?
Fuck!
This guy, a big shot from three years ago, must have his own connections within the Enforcement Bureau. He could just pull someone in to deal with the Bureau, especially someone like him with an unregistered residence and no background. It couldn't be more perfect.
In that instant, numerous possibilities of Doctor Gou framing him flashed through Chen Miao's mind, and he had already started to consider whether his Thompson Submachine Gun was capable of gunning down all the cops behind him.
As for proving his innocence, it had never even crossed his mind. It was impossible to succeed; throughout history, there was only proof of guilt, never innocence. Those who framed you always knew better how innocent you were than you did.
It wasn't his fault for being paranoid, given that having a murder weapon shoved into your hands right in front of the police was just too damn outrageous!
"..."
Seeing how sensitive Chen Miao was, Doctor Gou first let out a somewhat exasperated sigh, but quickly he understood why Chen Miao had reacted that way. He looked up at the position of the police and spoke in an urgently-paced voice.
"We don't have much time left. There are things I must make clear, so I'll get straight to the point."
"In Fengtian City, or rather the whole Federation, there are two sets of laws that govern Supernatural Occupation professionals and ordinary Lifestyle Occupation citizens, though officially there's only one, of course. For someone like me with a fairly strong Combat Power among Supernatural Occupation professionals, these cops who've arrived on scene won't make the arrest."
"They're just trying to earn their keep and have no desire to die out here."
"After I escape, they'll issue a warrant, but that's about it. Afterward, I'll find it difficult to move around freely in any of the Federation's main cities, except for 'Broken Pot City,' which can accommodate my existence."
"Killing in secret realms isn't illegal, but killing outside of them is subject to trial."
"Don't worry about my safety, nor yours. They might take you back for a simple investigation, just tell the truth, and that's all. After all, you didn't kill anyone. The only thing you need to be concerned about now is that the descendants of these people might come looking for revenge against you."
Chen Miao turned to gaze at the officers who, although closing the distance, were moving at an incredibly slow pace, seemingly terrified that they would reach Doctor Gou before he had a chance to run. After hesitating for a long moment, he finally spoke.
"That's not a concern. All those people died in the secret realm."
"All?"
"Yeah, shouldn't have missed anyone, all neat and tidy."
"..."
Doctor Gou, expressionless, fell into silence before speaking after a short pause, "That's good, now there are absolutely no worries for the future, no one will come to trouble you."
"To be honest, I was planning to atone with my death tonight, I didn't intend to live."
"I've had enough of living these past three years, and the thing I regret the most now is not dying in that rainy night three years ago, cowardly hiding in the clinic as if into my mother's embrace."
"Tonight, Lady Luck has favored me and given me another life, so I'm planning to go to Broken Pot City and restore the clinic my parents left behind to greater glory. It's just a pity that I couldn't bring out the ancestral sign."
"If there's a chance for us to meet again in the future, with your temperament, I guess it won't be long before you've committed murder, broken the law, and run off to Broken Pot City. Then you can give me some good advice on how to run a clinic."
Chen Miao's mouth twitched slightly, and he found himself at a loss for words for a moment. What did it mean by 'with your temperament'? If those people hadn't been asking for it, would he have needed to create such bloodshed?
All this bloodshed, how many good deeds will it take to settle the account with Yama?
Maybe start by finding a capable accountant in prison, kill them to send ahead, and have them specifically handle balancing his account with Yama.
"Here, take this."
With not much time to spare, after confirming that Doctor Gou had no intention of setting him up, he pulled out from his chest the plaque that read 'Little Sunflower Andrology Clinic' and handed it to Doctor Gou, "Before I leave, I brought this for you. I thought that if I had to collect your body, I would use this as your gravestone, to make my life worthwhile."
"You kid."
Doctor Gou looked at Chen Miao with an odd expression as he produced a plaque over a meter long from his chest and suddenly smiled, "This thing of mine isn't a prop, can't be stuffed into a backpack. You've got some other opportunity on you, kid."
"That's good, it actually suits the gunman occupation quite well."
"I was thinking of advising you to change your occupation, but now it seems unnecessary."
"Be careful out there, such trump cards must be kept absolutely secret. As for me, don't worry, I was born tight-lipped."
"There's nothing else to instruct, if we get a chance to meet in Broken Pot City in the future, that's fine. I don't know why, but the more I see you, kid, the more I take to you. Just like me, you're full of boundless passion for the mysteries, daring to gamble with your life, having extra opportunities, and also having a close brother."
"There's just one difference."
"I have parents, and you are an orphan."
"You don't have to worry about anyone looking after your parents when you're gone, so when you gamble with your life you're even more unbridled. It's actually not bad to be an orphan with your character; otherwise, sooner or later, you would experience the sorrow of parents burying their child."
"As for this knife, take it. It's a piece of junk, not for you, it's for those people behind you. They need to bring something back to report, otherwise, their leader's report wouldn't look good."
"With this knife, at least they could write a report about a fierce battle with the felon for three hundred rounds, inflicting serious injuries on the felon, the felon then abandoning the knife and making a far escape, and requesting the issuance of a warrant."
"..."
Chen Miao looked at the knife in Doctor Gou's hands with an odd expression and said distantly, "Just throw it on the ground."
Even if Doctor Gou broke heaven and earth, he didn't want to leave his fingerprints on this murder weapon.
Even if Doctor Gou had no ill will.
But to those behind him, his fingerprints on the murder weapon meant something, it meant that a report of capturing the felon on the spot would look a little better when submitted.