Xu Zhengyang slightly raised his chin and glanced at the chair that had been overturned on the ground.
Hao Peng bent over, picked up the chair, and then sat down shakily.
*Slap!* Another slap!
"Holy crap..." Hao Peng was going crazy! This was too much!
Of course, before he could finish his furious rant, he received another slap, forcing him to swallow the rest of his curse back, leaving him feeling even more bitter, helpless, and disgusted.
Hao Peng lowered his head, hunched his shoulders, and gritted his teeth as he said, "You, you, damn it..."
Snap!
"If I weren't handcuffed..."
Snap!
"Not chained up by shackles..."
Snap!
"I fucking..."
Snap!
"Tear you to pieces!"
Snap!
Hao Peng's right cheek was swollen high, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth and nostrils, yet he stubbornly raised his head, staring fiercely at Xu Zhengyang. From his furious eyes, it was clear that he wished he could devour Xu Zhengyang alive or pickle him in a jar of salted vegetables and chew him up slowly.
*Slap!* Another slap!
Hao Peng did not lower his head, but continued to stare at Xu Zhengyang without saying another word.
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
...
"You, are you ever going to shut up?!" Hao Peng was truly enraged this time, roaring furiously.
Slap! He was met with another heavy slap across the face.
The problem is... Xu Zhengyang only slaps people's left cheeks. Why don't you switch to the right cheek and slap them a few times? But he didn't switch. Even when Hao Peng deliberately extended his right cheek to hint that he should hit him there to balance things out, he still ignored it and continued to use his right hand to fight Hao Peng's left cheek.
Hmm, my hand is a bit sore and red; I reckon it'll swell up soon.
Xu Zhengyang looked at Hao Peng calmly for a while, then grinned, revealing an extremely sinister and smug smile.
It's infuriating, and they won't even pay for it.
Hao Peng's eyes were filled with deep-seated hatred, helplessness, and resentment... his eyes seemed about to burst out of their sockets. Especially when he saw that Xu Zhengyang's originally calm face now showing that smug, triumphant smile, Hao Peng's blood boiled with rage, his whole body trembled, and he gritted his teeth.
At the same time, a hint of relief and liberation finally appeared on his expression, because he noticed that Xu Zhengyang's right hand was already red, and judging from his expression, it seemed that he was about to end this purely bullying and humiliating behavior.
But then, Xu Zhengyang raised his left hand.
Hao Peng looked utterly desperate!
Snap snap snap...
Snap snap...
A series of slaps landed on Hao Peng's right cheek.
Fortunately, Hao Peng seemed to have become numb to the pain. Well, there was another benefit: his left cheek finally received the long-awaited equal treatment.
Tap tap tap!
The interrogation room door was knocked on again, this time with a noticeably louder sound than before.
Xu Zhengyang looked up, smiled slightly at Zhong Shan's somewhat dissatisfied gaze at the window, and then turned and walked towards the three tables.
Hao Peng finally saw a glimmer of hope for relief. His body felt like his bones had fallen apart, and he slumped into a chair, his head hanging low, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth and nostrils.
The room returned to calm, the light remained dim, and the atmosphere remained incredibly oppressive and stifling.
As Xu Zhengyang walked to the table, he suddenly turned around and walked towards Hao Peng.
Hao Peng nervously raised his head and looked at Xu Zhengyang.
Xu Zhengyang took out a cigarette, lit one, and handed it to Hao Peng.
Hao Peng was stunned for a moment, then his expression was full of gratitude, and his eyes seemed to be brimming with tears. He tentatively took the cigarette with trembling hands, took a few deep drags, and felt that these few puffs of cigarette smoke were... really delicious.
Xu Zhengyang seemed a little tired as well. He walked slowly and unhurriedly behind the three tables, lighting a cigarette for himself as he went.
Hao Peng stared blankly at the young man's retreating figure. Suddenly, he realized with a start, this guy wasn't human! He was a fucking devil! A monster, or a madman, a psychopath, a sadist! I don't even know him! Why is he beating and humiliating me like this, without saying a word? Is he mute? Oh no, he did speak earlier. Since entering this interrogation room, this bastard has only said two sentences, four words: Get up, get up!
Xu Zhengyang sat down behind the table in the middle, looking somewhat tired. He leaned back lazily, propped his elbows on the table, squinted at Hao Peng, and calmly said while smoking, "Feeling better?"
Hao Peng looked puzzled, but inwardly he was cursing.
Of course, he didn't know that Xu Zhengyang wasn't talking to him at all, and there was no one else in the interrogation room.
"Hao Peng," Xu Zhengyang called out softly.
Hao Peng looked at Xu Zhengyang, waiting for him to ask something. He was finally going to talk to me.
"Actually, I don't have any deep-seated hatred for you personally, and we didn't know each other before," Xu Zhengyang said calmly, speaking the truth.
Hao Peng became increasingly puzzled and annoyed, but he remained silent.
"Do you think you should have been hit?" Xu Zhengyang asked, squinting his eyes.
This tone and questioning style is somewhat similar to the tone and questioning style commonly used by parents when disciplining children who have made mistakes.
Hao Peng was stunned.
"Answer," Xu Zhengyang said, extending his left hand and tapping his middle finger lightly on the table.
"Serves you right," Hao Peng replied with a wry smile. After calming down a bit, he said with a frank expression, "Drug trafficking is a capital offense."
“When a person does something immoral, especially harming so many people and committing so many crimes, they always have to suffer some punishment and retribution, right?” Xu Zhengyang’s tone had become somewhat calm, as if he were chatting about everyday matters. He shook his head and said, “Don’t think that dying is enough to atone for your sins and evil deeds. It’s not that easy…”
Hao Peng frowned, looking at Xu Zhengyang with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he meant. Was there some harsher punishment besides death? This wasn't ancient times, with torture methods like being torn apart by five horses, being sliced into a thousand pieces, or being rolled in a pig cage—torture that made people suffer unbearably. Hmm, could he think that humiliating me, beating me, and slapping me dozens or even hundreds of times was enough to make me suffer?
Yeah, it's really frustrating, really... infuriating.
"Two people want to see you," Xu Zhengyang suddenly changed the subject.
Hao Peng looked bewildered.
Xu Zhengyang said calmly, "I've granted you permission to appear in front of Hao Peng. Yes, he can see you now."
Sure enough, Hao Peng's eyes widened, his face filled with horror and disbelief as he stared at the two people who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
No, no, it's not two people, it's a ghost!
Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao!
Before Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao could say anything, Hao Peng suddenly rolled his eyes, fell to the ground with a thud, and fainted.
With a whoosh, the interrogation room door was pushed open, and Zhong Shan and Sulu strode in.
Sulu bent down to check on Hao Peng's condition, while Zhong Shan walked up to Xu Zhengyang with a gloomy expression and scolded in a low voice, "Nonsense, nonsense, what are you doing?"
"That son of a bitch is such a coward. He actually dared to traffic drugs with that kind of guts." Xu Zhengyang sighed with some disappointment, then smiled and said to Zhong Shan, "Uncle, he just fainted from fright. He won't die. Don't worry."
"What exactly did you do?" Zhong Shan's eyes were filled with doubt and... a little bit of fear.
The interrogation room was very ordinary; the county public security bureau never spent money on improving its facilities, so it wasn't soundproof. Anyone standing outside could faintly hear the conversation inside. In particular, Zhong Shan had been watching closely from outside, so he heard Xu Zhengyang's nonsensical words clearly.
Xu Zhengyang hesitated for a moment, then stood up and whispered in Zhong Shan's ear, "Didn't I tell you? If anything strange happens, don't be surprised... Actually, the Earth God arranged for the ghosts of Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao to come out and meet Hao Peng. Otherwise, why do you think he would suddenly be so frightened that he fainted?"
"What?" Zhong Shan was taken aback and hurriedly looked around, only to find the room normal and there was no ghost in sight.
"You can't see it," Xu Zhengyang said softly.
"Can you see it?" Zhong Shan asked.
"Um."
Zhong Shan was speechless.
Over there, Sulu pinched Hao Peng's philtrum for a while, and Hao Peng finally woke up from his coma. Then, with a look of fear and terror on his face, he looked around and suddenly grabbed Sulu's arm with his handcuffed hands, pleadingly crying, "Take me out of here, I don't want to stay here, no, I don't want to stay here, I want to leave..."
"Captain Zhong, he's alright. He just seemed to have fainted from extreme shock," Sulu said to Zhong Shan as he got up, freeing himself from Hao Peng.
"Oh," Zhong Shan replied somewhat blankly.
Xu Zhengyang scratched his head and said, "Uncle, can I chat with him a little longer?"
Zhong Shan paused for a moment, frowned and thought for a while, then turned and walked out, saying, "Don't cause any trouble!"
"Hmm," Xu Zhengyang said with a slight smile.
Seeing Captain Zhong give him a wink, Sulu looked at Xu Zhengyang with some confusion and surprise, then turned and walked out the door without further hesitation.
"No, no, no, I don't want to be here, I want to leave! Please, please, I'll confess everything, I'll tell you everything, really, please don't go, don't go..." Hao Peng crawled out in terror, chasing after the gate, which was slammed shut from the outside.
Hao Peng sat huddled under the door, trembling as he squeezed the iron door with his back, as if trying to get out.
"You've seen it too, people become ghosts when they die. Ghosts exist in this world." Xu Zhengyang gave Hao Peng a rare smile. "So don't even think about biting your tongue to commit suicide or anything like that. It's useless. You'll still be scared even after you die, right?"
Hao Peng trembled all over, his face pale and his lips purple, staring in terror at Xu Zhengyang and... the two ghosts standing in front of the table.
"Don't talk," Xu Zhengyang waved his hand to stop the two men who were about to step forward and angrily berate Hao Peng. "It's pointless."
Then, Xu Zhengyang calmly said to Hao Peng, "You're very surprised, very unbelievable, aren't you?"
"Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. Hao Peng, you're not stupid, you're even smarter than most people. You would have done very well in other businesses, made a lot of money, supported your wife and children, and your family would have lived a much happier and more prosperous life than the average person... But you, you went down the wrong path, you were ruthless and vicious. Not to mention how many people and families your drug trafficking has harmed, I'm too lazy to care or ask about that, but you killed Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao. Cheng Jinchang was an honest man, honest to the point of being kind. He didn't even intend to report you for drug trafficking. Okay, you killed him, so you have a reason, afraid he would ruin your plans, so you killed him to cover it up. But what about Cui Yao? She knew nothing, she was just a virtuous wife and mother, a kind woman, a filial daughter-in-law, a virtuous wife, a mother of a child who was only six years old... You destroyed a family!"
"Now you regret it, aren't you worried about what will happen to your wife and children after you die?"
"But have you ever thought about it? Your child has a mother, but what about Cheng Jinchang's daughter?"
"You might think what I'm saying is useless, and even if you regret it, it will be too late..."
"By the way, weren't you very fond of your cousin Xing Yufen? You cared a lot about her happiness, but you dragged them down the path of crime. Well, of course, you can't entirely blame yourself; they were too greedy. Moreover, they were involved in the murder of Cheng Jinchang and his wife, so they can't escape the death penalty... What? You're wondering why I know all this, aren't you? You thought you were careful and didn't leave any evidence or handles when you did everything, so nothing would happen. But now you should know that heaven is watching what people do, and there are gods three feet above your head!"
"Well, I guess you still won't admit that Xing Yufen and Tian Qing were involved in drug trafficking and murder, but that doesn't matter."
"What you should be thinking about most now is how to atone for your sins in your final days and accumulate some good karma for your son. Otherwise... I'm sure he will live a life of suffering because he has to atone for your sins. Isn't there an old saying, 'The son pays for the father's debts'...?"