Chapter 57: Captured

Liu Jun struggled to climb to his feet and looked around at the groaning crowd covering the ground. He hurried over to pick up the little fox and checked it for injuries, letting out a sigh of relief when he found they were mostly superficial. Over on the other side, Brother Lin also struggled to his feet and walked over, handing Liu Jun the brick he had used to smash the old Taoist priest.

"Is it all over?" Liu Jun asked with a faint smile toward Brother Lin, feeling that Second Grandpa had been avenged, even though the ginseng spirit had lost a thousand years of cultivation.

"I know, but we're in trouble now. Fearing something might happen when we came here, I secretly called the police. And now look at these two corpses in front of us," Brother Lin said with a deep frown, gazing at the motionless old Taoist and the group leader lying on the ground.

"Called the police?" Liu Jun barely finished uttering these words when a series of wailing sirens pierced the air, and seven or eight police cars screeched to a halt, followed unexpectedly by several ambulances.

A rush of rapid footsteps sounded from behind. Before Liu Jun could turn around and see clearly, a dozen firearms were aimed straight at his and Brother Lin's heads, while Fatty was already being cuffed by two police officers off to the side. A group of police officers stared at them vigilantly, their eyes filled with intense caution.

"We are police! Drop the weapon in your hands, put your hands behind your head, and squat down!" Hearing the officer's shout, Liu Jun glanced at the blood-stained brick of the Heaven-Overturning Seal still in his hand, and then looked back at the old Taoist, who was entirely lifeless with blood still trickling from his forehead.

Damn it! Forget the Yellow River; even if he jumped straight into the Pacific Ocean right now, he'd never wash himself clean. Would these police officers believe him if he told them straight up that these two men had been killed by the Mountain God? He quickly tossed the Heaven-Overturning Seal brick aside. A crouching police officer slipped on gloves, picked up the brick, and slid it into a transparent evidence bag.

Faced with this formidable array of firearms aimed directly at his head, Liu Jun very obediently squatted down with his hands behind his head, shaping his expression to convey that he was merely a child, completely innocent, and begged them not to shoot by mistake.

Although Liu Jun could use certain Daoist techniques to make his escape, there was genuinely no need for it. Firstly, the police operated strictly according to rules and regulations, and once they investigated thoroughly, they wouldn't wrongfully accuse an innocent person. Besides, where could he even run to? And what about Fatty and the others?

To be honest, in all his years growing up, he had never experienced a scene like this. The only time he had ever been nabbed by the police uncles was back in school during a massive brawl, after which he was hauled down to the precinct station and given a thorough lecture. Being targeted by actual firearms was something he had only ever witnessed on television; experiencing it firsthand for the very first time was undeniably thrilling.

"Report to the captain, firearms and other weapons have been discovered. The current count is seventeen injured and two dead," reported an officer who walked over to the tall police officer standing in front of Liu Jun.

Oh, my goodness. Upon hearing about firearms and fatalities, these police officers grew even more cautious as they glared at Liu Jun and the others, their index fingers resting lightly on the triggers, ready to open fire at any second.

Liu Jun swallowed hard, sweat pouring down his face. "Big guys, my dear police uncles, I honestly didn't kill anyone! You must keep your cool, don't accidentally pull the trigger and wrongfully gun down an innocent person," Liu Jun pleaded with an earnest look.

Yet, not a single surrounding police officer deigned to answer him. Instead, they pulled back their weapon slides, disengaged the safeties, and continued aiming dead at him. Liu Jun's cold sweat poured as if he were taking a bath. If any one of them got nervous, he figured he'd be meeting his sect's founding patriarch ahead of schedule.

"These people—you didn't kill them? Don't tell me they were killed by ghosts?" The tall police officer eyed Liu Jun sideways.

"Well, strictly speaking, they were killed by a god. Ghosts don't take the blame for this one," Liu Jun said cautiously.

"Ha! You're remarkably composed. Caught red-handed, and you're still feeding me tall tales of ghosts and gods?"

"Who's feeding you tall tales? Have a forensic pathologist examine how these two died, and then we'll talk," Liu Jun retorted, rising angrily. This jerk really took him for a murderer.

"Squat down!" As Liu Jun started to stand, the circle of surrounding police officers immediately barked in unison. Liu Jun swiftly squatted back down with his hands behind his head. While an imposing attitude was certainly important, staying alive mattered infinitely more; he hadn't lived enough yet.

"Um, big guy, which precinct are you with? There must be some kind of misunderstanding here."

"Why are you asking that? We are from the Harbin Public Security Bureau's XJ Major Crimes Unit in Heilongjiang province."

"Could you let me make a phone call first?" Liu Jun needed to call Chu Feng to see if someone could rescue him out of here early.

"Absolutely not. Stay put. Trying to make a call to tip off your accomplices?" The tall police officer flatly refused.

"Take everyone back! Send the injured to the hospital, and transport the dead to the mortuary to notify the forensics team. Wrap it up." The group of police officers fell back into their respective duties and grew busy. They clearly moved with practiced familiarity, as this wasn't their first time handling such a situation.

They got into the vehicle and drove all the way to the police station. The moment Liu Jun stepped out of the car, he spotted the station chief waiting anxiously by the entrance. Seeing Liu Jun and the others being escorted out of the car under police custody, the chief hurried over.

"Wait, wait! Captain Yu, Captain Yu, did you guys arrest the wrong people? These two are my forest ranger's grandson and his friend, and the other is one of my rangers. What crime could they possibly have committed?" the station chief asked the tall police officer with an anxious look on his face.

"Chief, you'd better step aside. They are implicated in a murder case involving firearms," the tall police officer replied with a cold expression.

The station chief wore a look of utter astonishment. How could a simple forest patrol turn into a murder case? The police escorted Liu Jun into the station and separated them into individual interrogation rooms.

This interrogation room looked rather different from the ones Liu Jun had seen on television. The walls all around were blue, and upon closer inspection, they didn't seem to be made of ordinary materials; rather, they looked like pieces of soft padding pieced together.

There was a chair positioned toward the back of the interrogation room, directly facing a desk, behind which sat two more chairs. What made it somewhat unusual was that the corners of the desk weren't sharp ninety-degree angles, but curved arcs instead.

Liu Jun was led to the isolated chair and seated, and his handcuffs were secured to the chair as well. After about half an hour, the tall police officer walked in, accompanied by a female officer carrying a file folder.

Once the two of them sat down, they opened a logbook and began questioning him about his name, place of origin, and ID card number, recording the details in the folder.

"Tell us the process of the murder, and your motive," the tall police officer stared straight at Liu Jun, as if he could instantly tell the moment Liu Jun uttered a lie.

"I said it before: I didn't kill anyone. I didn't kill him!" Damn it, don't even think about tricking me, Liu Jun thought to himself.

"You're still arguing even now? Leaving aside the dead fat guy for a moment, the mark on the forehead of this Taoist-robed victim matches the brick you were holding in your hand. And you're telling me you didn't kill him?" The tall police officer was growing irritated.

"If you ask me this right now, how am I supposed to explain it? I did smash that old Daoist's forehead, but I didn't bash him to death! Would you believe me if I told you the Mountain God killed him? If you don't believe it, just wait for the autopsy report before you come looking for me," Liu Jun maintained calmly.

The reason Liu Jun was so confident was that the blow he dealt the old Taoist wasn't fatal, something a forensic pathologist would easily be able to determine. As for the green light the Mountain God used to kill the old Daoist, that supernatural energy only harmed the soul and body, leaving no external wounds on the deceased. Therefore, once the examination was completed, it would certainly be impossible to pin the murder on him.

"You still dare to fabricate lies about ghosts and gods committing murder at this stage? Fine, we'll just wait for the autopsy report, and I'd love to see how you squirm out of this one." The tall police officer stood up and walked out, followed by the female officer, who cast a curious glance back at Liu Jun before leaving.

Once they left, Liu Jun's composure vanished. Damn it, what was he supposed to do now? Even if the autopsy report proved the blow he struck wasn't fatal, the police wouldn't just let him go; he would still remain the primary suspect. He mentally ran through a thorough list of anyone who could possibly help him now. Mo Li and the old codger were miles away in the mountains of Miao territory, Dog Brother was too far away, and asking Dog Brother to rescue them might easily land them all on a wanted list. That left only Chu Feng, but he had no way of contacting him. This was getting impossibly difficult.