Facing Meng Xiangyang’s gradually crumbling expression, Shi Ting gave a cold laugh and spread all the evidence in front of him one by one.

“The bloody garment has tested positive for traces of a fragrance matching the men’s cologne you habitually use. This revolver also bears your fingerprints, and ballistic testing confirms it is the weapon that killed Xie Jun and Xiao Yan. Combined with the missing candlestick and bedsheet from your room, it is beyond doubt that after committing the murders, you returned to your room, removed your blood-soaked pajamas, stripped the sheet from your bed to wrap the bloody clothing and the firearm inside, placed the bronze candlestick in the bundle to weigh it down, then opened the window and threw the package into the artificial lake.”

Seeing Meng Xiangyang about to speak, Shi Ting cut him off without ceremony. “You want to say that Feifei was in the room with you, so you could not have done any of this in front of her? Unfortunately, we found traces of sleeping medication in the residual wine in the glass on the nightstand. You gave her that glass to drink before the two of you were intimate. Once the drug took effect, you slipped out of the room.”

Meng Xiangyang had not expected his scheme to be seen through so completely. His brow furrowed and his expression turned murderous.

“You were standing in the bathroom of that room and could see clearly through the window what was happening outside. So when you noticed Xie Jun step out, you quietly followed him. It was already the middle of the night, and there was no one outside the villa. Seeing an opportunity, you waited until Xie Jun was relieving himself beneath a tree, then fired two shots into his back. After killing Xie Jun, you dragged his body to his car, then smashed the car window and used the same gun to kill Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan had once been your person — she had betrayed you for Xie Jun, and you had long harbored a grudge against both of them. So you killed her along with him.”

Shi Ting paused, then let the corner of his mouth curl slightly. “You had intended to push the car down into a ravine on the slope to make it look like an accident, but that failed. So you fell back on your second option and used the lighter on Xie Jun’s person to set fire to the foot mat beneath him. You thought burning the bodies to ash would make identification impossible — but most of the corpses were still preserved. The forensic examiner identified the source of the two charred bodies and determined the cause of death.”

“If I had harbored a grudge against Xie Jun for so long, why did I not kill him sooner, or simply have someone else do it? Why do it myself?” Meng Xiangyang sneered. “Xie Jun was nothing but an ant.”

“Good and evil lie in a single impulse. You may have disliked him long ago, but you had never actually planned to kill him. Last night, you had an argument with Xie Jun — he had apparently obtained some kind of leverage over you and posed a threat. Combined with old and new grievances alike, the murderous impulse took root in your heart. At that moment you had only one thought: kill Xie Jun and be done with it.”

“Ha! Director Shi is quite the guessing game.” Meng Xiangyang laughed coldly. “Where is your evidence?”

“Chief of Staff Meng, I do not think you yet understand your current situation. As for why you chose to kill Xie Jun at this particular time and no other — that is entirely beside the point. The physical evidence and witness testimony are before you. The charge of deliberate homicide against you cannot be changed.”

“Witness?”

“Ah, yes — on top of all this, there is an additional charge to add to Chief of Staff Meng’s account: attempted murder of Military Police Bureau officers. The villa manager, a man named Tian Jian, confessed long ago that it was you who instructed him to deliberately lock me and Bai Jin in the bathroom of the storage room and set it on fire. Aside from the matter of Xie Jun, this charge alone carries the death penalty.”

Meng Xiangyang stared fixedly at Shi Ting’s face, searching for any chink in that flawless expression — any weakness to exploit. But the face his enemy showed him revealed no flaw.

Under that unbroken gaze, Meng Xiangyang finally yielded. Even his breath and bearing softened remarkably. “Director Shi, we are all family here. There are no outsiders present today, so let me make you a proposal.”

Shi Ting looked at him quietly and said nothing.

“My elder brother supports Shi Qian and Shi Guang. But Shi Qian’s cause is now lost — word came recently that he was ambushed by bandits and his whereabouts are now unknown. Never mind returning to Shun Cheng; whether he survives at all is a question. So all of the Meng family’s hopes rest on Shi Guang.” Meng Xiangyang watched Shi Ting guardedly, and when the other man still showed no reaction, he gritted his teeth and pressed on. “Although my elder brother has thrown his full support behind Shi Guang, I give you my word — as long as you let me go today, I and all the troops in Shun Cheng will be at your disposal. I will give you my full support in contending against Shi Guang.”

“What does Chief of Staff Meng think I need to contend with Shi Guang over?”

“Naturally, the supreme authority over Bei Di.” Meng Xiangyang leaned forward with a coaxing tone. “Director Shi, you too are the Marshal’s son. Have you never thought about the power of Bei Di? This territory is vast, its resources abundant — it is a national treasure. Even if it were me, if I had even a drop of the Marshal’s blood, I would fight for it too.”

Meng Xiangyang could not believe Shi Ting would be unmoved. For a Marshal’s son who had nothing and no one to rely on, having someone like himself as backing would be like fortune falling from the sky.

Of course, his so-called support was nothing more than words. Once Shi Ting truly needed him, he had more than enough ways to appear cooperative while secretly working against him. Shi Ting thought he had the strength to match Shi Guang — but it was nothing more than an egg striking a stone; sheer overconfidence.

Shi Ting listened, then suddenly gave a soft laugh.

“What is Director Shi laughing at?” Meng Xiangyang showed dissatisfaction. He had already lowered himself this far to plead with him — what more did the man want?

“What makes Chief of Staff Meng think I need your backing?”

“You don’t want it? The troops in Shun Cheng are all in my grasp.”

“Chief of Staff Meng is mistaken. The army belongs to the Marshal, and the true authority over the army rests in the Marshal’s hands. Are you saying the Meng family intends to revolt?”

“Shi Xingzhi!” Meng Xiangyang tried to spring to his feet, but the interrogation chair constrained him. He could only glare at the man before him with blazing eyes. “Watch your tongue.”

“My apologies — whatever face Chief of Staff Meng wishes to offer others, he may keep for himself. The backing you speak of is worth nothing to me.”

“Shi Xingzhi, you are truly arrogant.” Meng Xiangyang ground his teeth. “You can keep me locked up here. Just wait and see whether the Meng family will let you go.”

Meng Xiangyang was confident that as long as his elder brother Meng Xiangyang petitioned the Marshal directly, the Marshal would pardon him out of consideration for the Meng family’s loyalty. The Marshal had relied on the Meng family for many years — they held an unrivaled position under his banner — and for the sake of his own rule, the Marshal would not make an enemy of the Meng family.

“Very well.” Meng Xiangyang leaned back in the chair. “Shi Xingzhi, listen carefully — I will sit here and wait for you to come beg me to leave. But by that point, whether or not I choose to leave will no longer be your call. Even if you kneel before me and lick my shoes, I will still need you to bark like a dog three times.”

Shi Ting rose slowly to his feet. “Then Chief of Staff Meng can wait here at his leisure. Rest assured, I will have people bring you fine food and drink these next few days. After all, you do not have many meals left to enjoy.”

Shi Ting walked out of the interrogation room and said to Bai Jin, who stood outside, “Draw a blood sample from him and run a test.”

“Brother Seven, you suspect Meng Xiangyang was drugged?”

“Meng Xiangyang was right about one thing — he and Xie Jun had a longstanding grudge. If he wanted Xie Jun gone, he could easily have sent someone else to do it. There was no reason to act himself. By that logic, they had clashed and fallen out more than once before — so why did Meng Xiangyang choose this particular occasion to act? And he clearly was not prepared; we exposed him with almost no difficulty.”

Bai Jin fell into thought. “Brother Seven, the more you analyze it, the more it does seem to hold up. But good and evil lie in a single impulse — maybe Meng Xiangyang simply acted on a moment of rashness.”

“Since there is a point of doubt, it never hurts to investigate. Though—” Shi Ting shook his head. “So much time has passed. Whatever he might have taken has almost certainly been metabolized out of his system. All right, go run the test.”

“Yes.”

Meng Xiangyang had barely been locked up in the Military Police Bureau before Meng Xiangyang received word.

“Murdered someone?” Meng Xiangyang shot up from his chair. “Who did Third Brother kill?”

“He allegedly killed one man and one woman. The Military Police Bureau has solid evidence and has taken Chief of Staff Meng into custody.”

“Outrageous. What right does the Military Police Bureau have to detain a member of the Meng family? Even if Third Brother did do this, it should not fall under the Military Police Bureau’s jurisdiction.” Meng Xiangyang strode quickly toward the door. “Bring men with you — we are going to get Third Brother out.”

“Minister, the Military Police Bureau operates under the authority of the Shun Cheng Law — which the Marshal promulgated personally. Even if we show up, as long as they invoke the Shun Cheng Law, there is nothing we can do. We can hardly open fire on the Military Police Bureau. Not to mention, Director Shi is the Marshal’s son, and he has been in considerable favor of late.”

“That Shi Xingzhi is nothing — just a lowly creature born of a maidservant.” Meng Xiangyang had never taken Shi Ting seriously, and his tone dripped with contempt. But when he thought of the Shun Cheng Law, he hesitated. His subordinate was right — the Shun Cheng Law was personally promulgated by the Marshal. If he rushed over to retrieve his brother, he might not make it past the Marshal.

“Go. We are paying a visit to the Marshal’s headquarters.”

Since he could not go to the Military Police Bureau to retrieve his brother, he would get a letter of unconditional pardon from the Marshal instead. He did not believe Shi Ting would dare defy the Marshal’s authority.

Having made up his mind, Meng Xiangyang brought his men and set off without delay for the Marshal’s headquarters.