436: Chapter 436 The Truth of the Case, Fang Cheng's Father

Inside the study, a profound silence reigned.

In the corner, wisps of blue smoke still curled upwards from the mouth of the exquisite Boshan censer.

Sunlight streamed through the window, landing precisely on the unputaway Xuan paper on the desk.

The golden speckles of light illuminated the restrained yet sharp character "Cang" even more conspicuously.

Shi Chengyi did not speak; he simply stood before the window with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing out at the courtyard.

No expression could be discerned on his face, but Wei Zheng, sitting on the sofa, could sense an intangible Aura diffusing from his teacher, heavy and solid as a mountain.

"Guangwumen Shooting Incident..."

Shi Chengyi silently chanted in his heart, where violent waves were already churning beneath his calm surface.

To ordinary people, these six words were perhaps merely a line of lead type in a history textbook, a major event that changed the trajectory of the country.

But to him, it was a bottomless pool of murky water and a rare Waterloo in his career.

Back then, the military government and the new and old factions were locked in a stalemate, with undercurrents surging violently in both political and business circles.

The moment the gunfire rang out in front of Guangwu Gate, it was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, completely detonating long-pent-up social conflicts.

Public sentiment surged, and public opinion roared.

President Feng, angrily denounced by newspapers as a "solitary dictator and public thief," bypassed the out-of-control military and police System, went straight to the Special Investigation Team specializing in special affairs, and issued a death order.

To thoroughly investigate the truth of the shooting incident at all costs.

Shi Chengyi, then in the prime of his life, was the head of the Action Department of the Special Investigation Team at the time.

Entrusted with the mission at a critical moment, he personally took command, mobilized the most elite forces of the entire department, and plunged into the investigation of this earth-shattering case.

However, as the investigation deepened, the results sent chills through his entire body.

The bullet casings and traces at the scene were cleaned up meticulously, as if a professional team had "purified" it afterward.

The only few surveillance cameras in the surrounding area had also collectively and bizarrely malfunctioned an hour before the incident.

Several key witnesses who had managed to be found spotting the shooter's traces died bizarrely in various "accidents" even before they could be actually contacted.

The first died in an explosion caused by a gas leak at home, leaving no bones remaining.

The second lost control of the car while driving and plunged off a bridge, dying on the spot.

The third slipped in the bathroom while taking a bath and broke his cervical vertebrae.

The fourth jumped off the balcony of his own twentieth floor in broad daylight, as if suffering from mental derangement...

All deaths were characterized as accidents or suicides, and no trace of murder by outsiders could be found at the scenes.

It was as if a plot from some horror movie was being played out in reality.

But Shi Chengyi knew very well that there were not that many coincidences in this world.

His first reaction was that there was a mole in the team who leaked the witnesses' information.

To verify his conjecture, he set up a trap.

He personally selected two absolutely reliable team members, disguised them as new witnesses, and intentionally reported a fake hiding location to the team.

At the same time, he and the deputy head each personally led a team of elites to lay out an inescapable net in advance around the two members' real safe house.

This was a double trap; regardless of whether the mole passed on fake news or peered into the truth through some means, they would inevitably fall into the trap.

However, the result plunged him into an icy abyss.

The feinting team missed completely.

And the elite squad he personally led, after losing contact with the bait members at the appointed time, chose to break down the door, only to see two corpses that still retained some warmth.

One hanged himself in a rented house, while the other collapsed and died beside the telephone in a hotel room due to sudden myocardial infarction.

They, who were lying in ambush around, never discovered any suspicious person approaching from beginning to end.

At that moment, Shi Chengyi completely overturned the conjecture of a mole.

This was not something humanly possible; no intelligence network could achieve such precise and rapid "targeted elimination".

The fog was heavy, and the clues were entirely broken.

It was as if an invisible, formless hand was quietly erasing all traces, mocking their incompetence.

Just as he was at his wits' end, an autopsy report from the forensics department pointed him in a direction.

The report was for those last two sacrificed team members.

The forensic doctor detected an extremely bizarre physiological phenomenon on their bodies.

Trace amounts of non-pathological cell necrosis appeared in their brainstems and hearts.

At the end of the report, an experienced veteran forensic doctor wrote a highly subjective addendum:

["This doesn't look like suicide; it looks more like... a curse"]

Ordinary detectives would only dismiss this report as nonsense, but when Shi Chengyi saw the words "a curse", his pupils abruptly constricted.

This sentence was like a bolt of lightning, cleaving open the fog in his mind.

He immediately gave a confidential order for the team's experts specializing in "Heterogeneous Energy Science" to re-examine the body samples.

A few hours later, the conclusion came out.

In those necrotic cellular tissues remained an extremely faint negative energy filled with dead silence and rancor.

This energy had a special designation in the internal archives of the Special Investigation Team, codenamed "Cursed Grudge".

They were ability users!

Furthermore, they were powerful mental ability users who could kill from afar, manufacture accidents, and even cause strong-willed Special Investigation Team members to fall victim without a sound.

The direction of the investigation was instantly torn open with a breach.

The Special Investigation Team stopped searching everywhere for the shooter, instead looking for those ability users hiding in the shadows of society.

Following this clue, they peeled back the cocoons from past unsolved cases and gathered similar clues.

Finally, they locked their target onto a mysterious supernatural organization named "Utopia".

But just as he was preparing to close the net and about to touch the truth—the military government fell.

The old and new regimes alternated, and the country plunged into turmoil.

Following closely was a major reshuffle that swept the entire upper class.

Countless politicians and high-ranking officials fell from grace at the sound, ending up in prison.

Even those wealthy families closely connected to the military government suffered purges in this storm, their Origin Qi severely damaged.

Although the Special Investigation Team had a special status, it likewise did not escape unscathed.

Because of their close association with former President Feng, Shi Chengyi and his subordinate Action Department both became key targets for review.

All ongoing missions were forced to be interrupted, and the investigative authority was also confiscated, all transferred to the Intelligence Department.

And the one who took over the hot potato of the "Guangwumen Shooting Incident" was Ling Shaofeng, who was then serving as the deputy head of the Intelligence Department.

Shi Chengyi still remembered to this day the undisguised ambition and sarcasm in Ling Shaofeng's eyes when he took the case files from his hands.

He considered his conscience clear.

Throughout the investigation process, he acted on orders and handled cases according to the rules, with no unspeakable interest collusions with the old government.

But political struggles were just like that: each sovereign brings their own ministers.

The newly appointed big shots were obviously more willing to trust the newcomers they promoted themselves.

Come to think of it, Ling Shaofeng was originally an Advanced investigator of the Action Department.

This person possessed extremely strong abilities, shockingly high work efficiency, and repeatedly cracked major cases, yet was also heavily criticized for unscrupulous means and ruthless actions.

Shi Chengyi's original intention was to suppress him a bit and temper his Heart-Nature, but he didn't expect the two of them to develop conflicts because of this.

In the end, Ling Shaofeng, in a fit of anger, operated through his connections to transfer to the Intelligence Department.

This task handover made the existing rift between the two even deeper.

Subsequent developments were even more full of drama.

After Ling Shaofeng took over the case, in a mere half a month, he swiftly and resolutely cracked this nationwide-shocking shooting incident.

Not only did he shoot several stubborn main culprits on the spot, but he also pried key confessions out of the captured individuals.

All actions were instigated by the upper echelons of the military government and President Feng.

Once the irrefutable evidence was out, the case was successfully closed without any suspense.

The new government took advantage of this to publicize wildly, seized the moral high ground of public opinion, purged the old forces with thunderous momentum, quickly gained control of the situation, and stabilized order.

And Ling Shaofeng, relying on this monumental merit, was exceptionally promoted to the head of the newly established Research Department.

Thereafter, he climbed straight up, being promoted successively, and sat on the throne of the commander of the Special Investigation Team after only two years, with a career path that could be described as smooth sailing.

Ever since then, all case files of the Guangwumen Shooting Incident were classified as top secret and completely sealed away, becoming a political restricted zone that no one dared to touch.

But now...

A martial arts Genius comparable to Chief Li actually had a background related to this deliberately buried old case.

How could this not cause Shi Chengyi's heart to surge with emotions?

Withdrawing his thoughts from past memories, his brows furrowed tightly as he fell into a deep weighing of pros and cons.

Should he or should he not help that young man named Fang Cheng whitewash his background and let him pass the review?

As the person in charge of the case back then, he was clearer than anyone else.

Ling Shaofeng's so-called "case cracking" back then was predictably just finding a few scapegoats to give the new government the explanation they wanted most.

And the new government at that time needed to stabilize people's hearts as soon as possible and clean up the remnants of the previous dynasty, so they also tacitly approved this investigation result.

In other words, this was a tacit political performance show.

The real mastermind behind the scenes was likely still at large to this day.

This young man's father was most likely an innocent person accidentally swept into the storm.

Perhaps he did commit a crime, was targeted by the intelligence personnel under Ling Shaofeng, and was accordingly chosen as one of the scapegoats.

Finally, during the process of resistance, for reasons unknown, he chose to commit suicide and was buried in the fire...

Shi Chengyi slowly stroked the window frame with both hands, his gaze flickering uncertainly as he quickly made calculations.

The Guangwumen Shooting Incident had long since been settled with a final conclusion; even the current government was unwilling to touch this taboo.

If he made a move, it would be equivalent to openly challenging the authority of Ling Shaofeng, who was in charge of the special case.

The other party would definitely make a fuss out of it and slap him with big labels like "attempting to reverse the verdict for the former president" or "shielding the relatives of a major criminal."

A slight misstep, and perhaps his old bones along with the entire Martial Artist faction would be completely cast into a place of eternal damnation.

The risks were self-evident.

But... what about the rewards?

A sharp glint flashed in Shi Chengyi's eyes.

They were likewise unimaginably massive.

That was a martial arts Genius who had stepped into the Inner Scene level and stirred up astronomical phenomena at such a young age!

Once such a figure grew up, they would not be a chess piece, but an existence capable of overturning the entire chessboard.

Ling Shaofeng rose to power relying on those experimental projects of the Research Department, and could mass-produce a batch of "super soldiers", but he could never create a Martial Arts Grandmaster capable of "Heaven-Human Communion".

As long as this young man named Fang Cheng was strong enough, strong enough that everyone could not ignore him, he himself was the greatest "reason".

Moreover, the case back then was intricate and complex, with far-reaching subsequent implications; many suspects were caught and then released without conviction.

Ling Shaofeng might not even remember a failed scapegoat in some corner.

As long as he operated properly, the other party would not even realize his true intentions...

By the time he came to his senses, it might already be too late.

Because as long as Fang Cheng could enter the Special Investigation Team and display incomparable value, he would be the most precious asset of the entire team.

At that time, whoever dared to touch him would be making an enemy of the entire Special Investigation Team, and even the future of the entire country!

Therefore... this high-stakes gamble was worth it!

Shi Chengyi took a deep breath, forcefully settling his churning thoughts.

He slowly turned around, looking at the silently waiting student, his gaze once more becoming as sharp as an eagle's as he asked in a deep voice:

"Is there conclusive evidence proving that Fang Cheng's father directly participated in the shooting incident?"

"No."

Wei Zheng, holding that cup of tea that had long since gone cold, shook his head:

"According to the case files, there are many doubts."

"The special task force initially only suspected that he had private dealings with a certain person involved in the case. In subsequent investigations, they found his whereabouts suspicious, deducing that he might be the murder demon who created multiple murders in Dongdu at that time, and only then launched a pursuit."

"But because the suspect 'committed suicide out of fear of crime' and there was no dead witness to confront, the matter could only be handed over to the Metropolitan Police Department in the end, perfunctorily concluded as 'the serial murder case culprit brought to justice', let alone deeply investigating whether he was related to the Guangwumen Shooting Incident."

Hearing this, Shi Chengyi felt slightly relieved in his heart.

As long as it wasn't ironclad evidence, there was room for maneuver.

With his hands behind his back, he paced the study a few more steps before suddenly stopping.

"An old case from seventeen years ago, and a suspicious one at that; what kind of big problem is this?"

Pondering for a moment, a trace of resolute determination flashed in his eyes:

"As long as the person is real, I will smooth over this little trouble for him."

"Like this, I will personally make a trip to the Ma Family tomorrow and have a good chat with Jianguo..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately shook his head, directly vetoing his own thought.

"No! I'll go right now!"

A burning light ignited in his eyes, and the whole person seemed twenty years younger, recovering the demeanor of that swift and resolute "Department Head Shi" from back then.

Shi Chengyi quickly walked over to the desk, pressed the button for the internal intercom, and his voice instantly became dignified.

"Old Zhang, prepare the car. Go to Tianxin Village."

Hanging up the communication, he immediately turned around.

The previous leisure and desolation had vanished completely, replaced by the decisive and formidable commander's Aura that Wei Zheng was familiar with back in the training camp.

That feeling was like a male lion retired into the mountains, smelling the scent of blood, once again revealing its intimidating claws and teeth.

"Do not leak this matter to anyone for the time being."

Staring at Wei Zheng, he said word by word: "Everything will wait until I have met him in person."

Saying this, he walked over to the coat rack, took down his coat and put it on, his actions crisp and neat, obviously preparing to go out immediately.

Gazing at his teacher's regained fighting spirit, Wei Zheng felt an inexplicable sense of relief and excitement in his heart.

Immediately standing up, he respectfully gave a salute: "Yes!"

Everything he could do had already been done.

Next, how this game of chess that had been dormant for many years should be played,

depended on how the teacher made his move and strategized.

And how that once-in-a-century martial arts Genius would make his own choice.

For some reason, Wei Zheng's heart also held a certain unrealistic expectation for that young man wearing red underwear who looked like a blazing sun.

...

In a small courtyard in Wanghu Town,

a dense pagoda tree cast a patch of shade, blocking the slightly sultry sunlight of noon.

On the stone table, the boundary of Chu and Han was clearly drawn.

Fang Cheng was accompanying his maternal grandfather in a fierce battle, the chess game deadlocked.

The old man pinched a "Cannon" piece, preparing to drop it down.

Fang Cheng's nose suddenly itched, and without warning, he let out a heaven-shaking sneeze.

"Achoo—"

The "Soldier" and "Pawn" on the chessboard were instantly blown askew.

(End of Chapter)