Chapter Sixty: Hunting Down the Murderer

  The son of Garrison Commander Wu, Wu Dacheng, was shot dead, and the news spread quickly throughout Hankou.

  Commander Wu immediately drove to the Tian Shun department store upon receiving the report.

  Tian Shun Department Store has been sealed off by police, and a group of people led by the head of Hankou Police Station have arrived at the scene.

  When Commander Wu of the Garrison Command arrived at the scene, the police chief immediately went forward and reported the situation on the spot to Commander Wu.

  When Commander Wu saw his son lying in a pool of blood at the scene, he almost fainted. If it wasn't for the police chief and his bodyguard holding him up, he might have fallen to the ground.

  "What are you Hanzheng police doing? How dare you let someone be killed under your noses. I want you to catch the murderer immediately, catch the murderer immediately." Commander Wu was furious. He pointed at the police chief standing in front of him and shouted loudly.

  "Yes, yes, Commander Wu. This case is a dereliction of duty on my part. I failed to protect young Master Wu. I will do everything in my power to investigate this case thoroughly and apprehend the perpetrator, avenging Young Master Wu." The police chief nodded repeatedly, assuring Commander Wu.

  Soon all the police in Hankou were sent out to search for and find the murderer who killed Wu Dacheng.

  According to the intelligence obtained by the police detectives, someone had seen a person wearing a long gown and a black wide-brimmed hat, with an average build, wearing sunglasses, and sporting a goatee beard at the scene of the crime. The police chief then called in a painter. Based on the description provided, the painter drew a portrait of the suspect, which was posted on streets, alleys, docks, shops, and waterways, offering a reward of 2,000 silver dollars for the capture of the culprit who murdered Wu Gongzi.

  The garrison command also dispatched a portion of its troops, sealing off roads and exits, carefully inspecting suspicious individuals coming and going.

  Hubei Inspector Xiang Yaonan was furious upon hearing the news, and immediately summoned the police chief of Hankou to scold him in person. He ordered him to solve the case within ten days; if he failed to do so, he would be punished.

  Xiao Yaonan ordered the troops stationed in Wuhan to set up checkpoints at various passes and intersections, cooperating with the Hankou police to capture the wanted criminals.

  Ye Tuanzhang's guard battalion also responded to the request of the garrison command and dispatched the 2nd Battalion to assist the Hankou Police Department.

  Ma Fei led his team and was dispatched to the area where the Tian Shun Department Store was located, to carry out inspections and blockade tasks.

  On the day of the incident, Ye Tuanzhang happened to have gone to Xiangyang. It wasn't until Ye Tuanzhang returned that he learned of this major event in Hankou. Ye Tuanzhang was shocked and immediately went to visit Commander Wu at the Garrison Command headquarters.

  "Commander, I've just returned from Xiangyang. Suddenly, I heard that your son, my daughter's husband, has gotten into this kind of trouble. Is there any lead on the murderer?"

  Commander Wu said indignantly to Captain Ye, "I, the Wu family, have only one son, who was killed by the murderer. How can I let it go? I must arrest the murderer who killed my son and make him pay with his life."

  "Yes, yes, Commander. The murderer must be apprehended and brought to justice. For the young master, it's also a matter of avenging my son-in-law." Leaf Team Leader hastily said.

  "Hmm. The despicable culprit. I must catch you." Commander Wu clenched his fist tightly and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

  "Commander Wu, is there any news about the assassin?" Ye Tuanzhang hastily asked.

  Commander Wu shook his head and said: "No, but I have ordered the Garrison Command to cooperate with the Hankou Police Department to hunt down the murderer with all their might. He can't escape either."

  "Could it be that Master Wu has offended someone?" Ye Tuanzhang said with a flicker of his eyes.

  Commander Wu shook his head and said: "What kind of person can my family's Da Cheng offend, even if he did offend someone. Do they dare to commit murder on my turf?"

  "That's right, that's right. However, Commander, I've heard that the Hankou Hong Gang is very powerful. And there are also underworld figures like Zhou Hanqing, Shen Zhanxu and Yang Qingshan, could it be their underlings who did this?" said Ye Tuanzhang.

  Commander Wu thought for a moment and said: "I know these three people. Even if my son has offended them in some way, they wouldn't dare offend me, the Garrison Commander."

  "Could it be that their subordinates are hiding something from them? Commander, let's do a thorough search of the entire city and crack down on these black forces. We'll force them to find the killer, if they can't hand over the killer, we'll eliminate them all. This way, these black forces will have to think of ways to find the killer in order to protect their territory. If it was done by their subordinates, they will definitely hand over the killer, and if not, they will help us investigate. Commander, these gangsters are much more capable than those idle police officers at the Hankou Police Bureau." said Ye Tuanzhang.

  "Good, good. Captain Ye, your idea is great." Commander Wu praised. He immediately turned around and shouted: "Deputy officer."

  "Arrived." The deputy officer came before him at once.

  "Immediately order the garrison command to participate in the search for the murderer, and pay attention to arresting all local gangsters. Notify the Hankou Police Station to immediately arrest Zhou Hanying and Yang Qingshan. And bring them both to the Command Center." Commander Wu gave the order.

  "Yes." The deputy officer saluted and turned around to leave.

  Ma Fei led his team to deploy according to the Garrison Command, strictly checking every passerby. Those who wore long gowns and black wide-brimmed hats with a goatee were arrested.

  At this time, Li Guoting, who was also arranged to patrol the pedestrians on the same street, walked to Ma Fei's side. Ma Fei was directing soldiers to check two middle-aged men wearing long gowns and black hats, with bags on their backs. He didn't notice Li Guoting coming over.

  Li Guoting stretched out his hand from behind Ma Fei and patted Ma Fei's shoulder: "Second Brother." Li Guoting called out.

  Ma Fei was startled and quickly turned around, seeing it was Li Guoting, he asked: "Big brother, is there something?"

  Li Guoting glanced around and saw that Ma Fei was alone, so he pulled Ma Fei's arm and said, "Second brother, come here. I want to ask you something."

  Ma Fei followed Li Guoting to a tree by the street, and Li Guoting looked around again, seeing no one nearby, asked in a low voice: "Second Brother, that Wu Commander's son was killed. It wasn't you who did it, was it?"

  Ma Fei turned his head and looked around, finding no one nearby, then said: "Brother said those words. I, Ma Fei, have the ability? Dare to kill Commander Wu's son. It wasn't me who did it."

  Li Guoting nodded in relief and said, "It's not you, that's good. I know about your relationship with Ye Xinyi, and when I heard that Wu Commander's son was going to marry Ye Xinyi, I was afraid you'd get jealous, do something stupid, and cause this big trouble."

  Ma Fei patted Li Guoting's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I, Ma Fei, am not stupid enough to kill for a woman."

  "Alright, as long as it's not you, I can rest assured. I'm leaving now." Li Guoting and Ma Fei bid farewell, and he went to carry out his search mission.

  For three consecutive days, the Garrison Command and Hankou Police Station arrested more than a dozen suspects wearing long gowns, black hats, and sporting braided beards, who were all detained in the Garrison Command's prison.

  The leader of Hankou's Hong Gang, Zhou Hankui, and the largest black power Yang Qingshan were also "invited" to the Garrison Command by the police bureau.

  Zhou Hankui and Yang Qingshan listened to Wu Commander's explanation. They immediately denied that their subordinates were involved. Wu Commander also had no evidence, so he ordered them to cooperate with the police bureau and the garrison command to catch the murderer.

  Ye Xinyi was overjoyed when she heard that Wu Dacheng had been shot dead in the Shuntian Department Store. She danced with excitement and quickly found Ma Fei, saying: "Ma Fei, you did a great job! You killed that scoundrel!"

  Ma Fei was taken aback and quickly grabbed Ye Xinyi's hand, saying: "Xinyi, what are you talking about? What's good to kill. I didn't kill anyone."

  Ye Xinyi's two eyes stared at Ma Fei, hesitantly saying: "Wasn't Wu Dacheng killed by you?"

  Ma Fei shook his head and said: "How dare I kill him, he is the son of Commander Wu. Don't talk nonsense, Xinyi, you're talking nonsense will get me killed."

  "Who killed him?" Ye Xinyi asked.

  "I don't know who killed him. Anyway, it wasn't me," Ma Fei said.

  "I thought it was you who killed him, but it wasn't you after all. Never mind, whoever did it is fine by me. At least that scoundrel is gone and I'm happy." Yexinyi said with a smile, wrapping her arms around Ma Fei's neck and giving him a peck on the cheek, "Ma Fei, no one can stop us now, I want to marry you."