naruto-story Chapter 79 Don't Cry, Use Your Laws to Send Your Teacher on His Way
Chapter 79 Don't Cry, Use Your Laws to Send Your Teacher on His Way
Ye Cunxin tossed her tablet onto the sofa, pointed to the oil stain on her shirt, and glared at Hou Liangping with displeasure: "Hey, you monkey who looks like you've been punched twice, you disturbed me and made my clothes dirty. Do you know how much this shirt costs? This is... uh, this is your Director Qi's original shirt, priceless, you know?"
Hou Liangping then noticed that there was someone else on the sofa. Seeing Ye Cunxin's disheveled appearance and how she acted as if she owned the place, he was taken aback for a moment, then a look of disdain appeared on his face.
"Qi Tongwei, is this your style? Hiding something in your office..."
"Shut up."
Qi Tongwei suddenly interrupted him. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable chill.
He stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Hou Liangping.
Qi Tongwei was half a head taller than Hou Liangping. Looking down at him from above, the oppressive aura honed on the battlefield made Hou Liangping subconsciously take a half step back.
"Hou Liangping, get your facts straight," Qi Tongwei said coldly. "She's from the Ye family. Are you trying to act tough in front of her? Have you had enough of your old skin?"
Hou Liangping's expression changed. The Ye family? Which Ye family from the capital?
He glanced at Ye Cunxin, who was rolling her eyes at him before bending down to wipe the oil off her shirt. The action accentuated her curves, making them appear even more breathtaking, but he had no interest in looking at her at the moment.
"Let's get down to business." Qi Tongwei pointed to the piece of paper on the table. "What do you want to do with this?"
Hou Liangping took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Investigate!" he gritted his teeth and spat out the single word. "I want to open a case! I want a thorough investigation of the Crescent Lake project! No matter who's involved, even if it's Gao Yuliang, I won't show any mercy!"
"I want him to know that the law is not a toy in his hands!"
Hou Liangping spoke with righteous indignation, his eyes gleaming with the unique light of an idealist.
Qi Tongwei looked at him with a mixture of pity and mockery in his eyes.
"You want to investigate? How?" Qi Tongwei asked. "Take this copy to the provincial party committee and slam your fist on the table? Or go tell Sha Ruijin that your most respected teacher is a corrupt official? Do you have the original? Do you have evidence of the flow of funds? Do you have a recording of Gao Yuliang's confession?"
Hou Liangping was stunned: "I...I can handle the case! As long as the case is filed, I can..."
"You're nothing!"
Qi Tongwei cursed without holding back.
He turned around, walked to the window, and looked out at the bustling streets of Jingzhou.
"Hou Liangping, you're still too green," Qi Tongwei said with his back to him. "Gao Yuliang has been operating in Handong for twenty years, with his protégés and former subordinates all over the country. Do you believe that the moment you file a case, it will be 'technically' shelved? Or they might just transfer you back to the capital and send you to stay somewhere cool?"
"Then what do you suggest we do?!" Hou Liangping exclaimed anxiously. "Are we just going to watch him get away with it?"
"Why should I tell you?" Qi Tongwei turned around, looking at him with a half-smile. "We're not on the same wavelength. You're a high-ranking imperial envoy, and I'm a police chief wallowing in the mud. Your procedural justice is so noble, why are you now begging a 'fallen' like me?"
Hou Liangping's face flushed red and then turned pale.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh.
That feeling of powerlessness suffocated him.
"Qi Tongwei..." Hou Liangping lowered his head, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, "I was wrong before... I misjudged people and things. I'm begging you... to help me."
This was probably the first time in Hou Liangping's life that he had to bow his head to someone.
Especially bowing down to Qi Tongwei.
The air was still for a few seconds.
Ye Cunxin whistled, eager to stir up trouble, and chimed in, "Wow, this is truly a case of the sun rising in the west. Director Qi, they've begged you, can't you just show some mercy? You've been wanting to deal with that old man for a while now anyway."
Qi Tongwei glared at her, then walked up to Hou Liangping.
He reached out and straightened Hou Liangping's crooked tie, his movements surprisingly gentle, just like when seniors took care of juniors back in school.
"I didn't let you know sooner because some paths you have to walk yourself, even if you get hurt badly, before you'll know the pain and which path is the real one."
Qi Tongwei patted Hou Liangping on the shoulder.
"You want to join my scheme? No way."
Hou Liangping suddenly looked up: "Why?"
"Because you are Hou Liangping." Qi Tongwei looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "You are the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. You represent procedural justice and the rule of law. If even you resort to such underhanded tactics, then Gao Yuliang has won."
"What I want you to do is to investigate step by step, openly and honestly. Don't worry about any obstacles; I'll clear them away for you. Don't worry about the evidence; I'll have someone deliver it to you."
Qi Tongwei paused, a cold smile curving his lips.
"For a hypocrite like Gao Yuliang, who talks about the rule of law all the time, what hurts him the most is not going to jail, but being exposed in public by his most prized student using the legal procedures he has taught all his life."
"That's the greatest humiliation for him."
Hou Liangping stared blankly at Qi Tongwei.
He suddenly understood.
Qi Tongwei wasn't preventing him from investigating; rather, he saw him as the final weapon to execute Gao Yuliang—a weapon representing absolute justice, one that left no room for doubt.
This method of killing by destroying one's spirit is ten thousand times more vicious than direct assassination or framing, but it is also ten thousand times more satisfying.
"I see."
Hou Liangping took a deep breath, the confusion in his eyes dissipating, replaced by an unprecedented determination. That determination no longer carried naive arrogance, but rather a heavy, chilling killing intent.
"Since he taught me to be a good official, then I will teach him a lesson and show him what it means to 'surpass one's teacher.'"
Hou Liangping grabbed the photocopy from the table and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute," Qi Tongwei called out to him.
"Is there anything else?"
Qi Tongwei pointed to the door: "Go wash your face and shave. Going to arrest people looking like this will only bring shame to the political and legal department of Han University."
Hou Liangping stroked the stubble on his chin, and an unsightly smile appeared on his lips.
"Don't worry, when I arrest him, I'll be dressed even more smartly than on my wedding day."
Watching Hou Liangping stride away, Qi Tongwei's expression slowly softened.
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a show!" Ye Cunxin jumped off the sofa, ran barefoot to Qi Tongwei's side, and draped her arms around his neck, clinging to him like a koala. "Wouldn't you say you've completely brainwashed this monkey?"
Qi Tongwei gently supported her waist, his hand finding it smooth and warm.
"This isn't brainwashing, it's guiding the situation," Qi Tongwei said calmly. "When the knife is sharpened, it's time to draw blood."
"So what's next?" Ye Cunxin rested her chin on his shoulder and asked curiously, "Gao Yuliang certainly won't just sit idly by, will he?"
Qi Tongwei looked out the window. In the distance, the direction of the provincial party committee compound was faintly visible in the morning mist.
"Of course he wouldn't. A cornered beast will fight to the death; that's the most ruthless thing to do."
Qi Tongwei narrowed his eyes.
"However, I've left him a big surprise. A 'gift' that will ensure he's remembered with infamy even after he dies."
"Let's go, it's time to meet that young master Zhao who's not quite dead yet."