Chapter 239: Escape

2022-05-20

After the court adjourned, given the seriousness of my case, I knew there would be many more hearings. Only when all witnesses, physical evidence and every clue had been examined would the verdict be passed. Usually, decisions hinge on two main factors—what we call internal and external causes.

External causes are the witnesses and physical evidence, though people rely mostly on the physical evidence. It’s common knowledge that without multiple eyewitnesses, oral testimony is often unreliable. Even if a witness claims to have seen something with their own eyes, their account is inevitably colored by emotions and assumptions. The truth easily slips through the cracks.

Physical evidence and traces left at the scene, on the other hand, are objective. Sure, sometimes the perpetrator might fake up a crime scene, but compared to what people say, physical evidence is much easier to check and verify.

Internal causes concern the person themselves—whether they had the time, ability or motive. These are the best tools to single out a suspect.

Once the person is identified, you compare physical and witness evidence against them. If it lines up, the case is solved. If not, you look for someone else.

In fact, confessions play a very minor part and barely sway the outcome. Some people might admit to a crime just for the money, but if someone confesses under those circumstances, it’s basically useless.

Both the internal and external factors point right at me.

I closed my eyes and tugged at my hair, slowly and helplessly. I realized that whoever set me up had gathered every single piece of evidence pointing to me without missing anything. That isn’t something just anyone could pull off.

All the evidence leads back to me. If the verdict comes down, just like that lawyer said, I’m looking at at least ten years in prison. But knowing I’m innocent and still having to rot away behind bars for nothing—that’s something I just can’t accept.

At least I’d told the lawyer what I wanted. Still, I wasn’t sure if Sister Mao would help me. Honestly, my relationship with her has always been one of mutual use. When I was captain of the Special Investigation Team, she needed my help. Now that I’m nothing, will she still do anything for me?

I had no idea, but right now, Sister Mao is my only hope.

That afternoon, just as I expected, word came that the next hearing would be three days later. And I knew—three days from now, I’d probably be sentenced.

Once sentenced, I’d be transferred somewhere much more secure. If that happened, there’d be no way to make a move.

Later that afternoon, the lawyer Sister Mao hired came to see me.

I looked at him and asked slowly, “Did you tell everything I said to Sister Mao?”

The lawyer nodded. His face showed deep worry, but he kept his gestures steady so the guards wouldn’t notice anything odd. Jaw clenched, hand gripping the desk, he finally said, “Have you thought about the serious consequences of this? If you truly didn’t do it, even with a wrongful charge, there’s always a way out.”

He leaned forward, eyes darting toward the door. “But if you go through with this, before the truth comes out, you’ll be called a fugitive.”

I nodded.

He forced a strained smile, as if I was missing his point. “Sister Mao asked me to save your neck at all costs. If you really go down this road, you might lose your life instead.”

I gave a weak laugh. “You don’t have to scare me. I was part of the Special Investigation Team myself. I know the consequences. It’s not as severe as you’re making it out.”

“It’s definitely not as easy as you think,” he shot back. “Even if everything’s ready on the outside, how are you actually planning to get out?”

I sighed. “Got a cigarette?”

He nodded and pulled one out. “Need a smoke?”

“Hey! No smoking here. Put that away!”

I glanced from the guards to the lawyer, leaning forward until my upper body pressed over the table. “Light it.”

“What?” He blinked at me.

“Light it! Now!” I urged.

At that very moment, I heard the lock turning from outside.

The lawyer hesitated, then made up his mind and lit the cigarette.

Someone burst in.

The cigarette landed on the table.

The intruder seized the lawyer and yanked him aside while grabbing for the cigarette. I wore handcuffs, but they didn’t really hinder me. I snatched the cigarette up without hesitation and shoved it straight into my mouth.

Instantly, the burning end scorched my tongue. Hot blisters erupted across my mouth. I wanted to spit out the cigarette, but I knew that if I did, I’d have no shot at pulling off my plan.

Clamping my hands over my mouth, I fought my instincts to spit it out. Pressing the cigarette hard with my tongue, I made sure it was out, then forced myself to swallow the butt in one grim gulp. Finally, I let go, thrashing in my chair.

The man who’d come in clearly hadn’t seen anything like this before. Hands flailing, he shouted, “He swallowed a cigarette! Someone just swallowed a lit cigarette!”

My pained howls and wild struggling caught the attention of half the staff outside. An older man hurried over and stared at me writhing on the floor. “What’s going on? What happened?”

“He swallowed the cigarette.”

“What? It was still burning?”

“Yeah! He tossed it in his mouth and swallowed it in one go. Judging by the look, it burned him up pretty bad.”

The older guy pulled out a flashlight. “You two, hold him down. I’ve seen this trick a hundred times. They hide cigarettes under their tongue and fake pain, but there’s never anything really wrong.”

The two men exchanged glances and pinned me to the ground.

They unlocked my handcuffs and pinned my arms, trying to pry open my mouth.

Gritting my teeth, I sucked hard at my burned tongue, drawing out as much pus and blood as possible until my mouth was full with the metallic taste. At last, they pried my jaw open and I spat a bloody mouthful right at their faces.

The thick mixture of blood and fluids from my burns splattered all over one man. Blood dripped down his face.

Red in the face with anger and frustration, he barked, “What are you waiting for? Get him to the hospital—he just spit up half a pint of blood!”

With that, two men scrambled to pick me up and rushed me outside.

I kept up the act, wincing and groaning in pain, but inside I was breathing a sigh of relief. The injury was internal—something doctors wouldn’t easily spot from the outside. With their current medical skills, they’d never detect what really happened to me. So they’d send me to the nearest hospital, and from then on, everything would depend on Sister Mao.

They escorted me out.

Soon, they loaded me into a vehicle.

But just as the car started up, someone approached. A member of Team Leader Li’s squad—Zhang Qinrui.

As a forensic specialist, Zhang Qinrui would be able to spot anything off with my injury. He ran up, asking, “What’s going on? I heard someone was hurt—what happened?”

He got into the car. The engine roared to life.

I understood the risk. If Zhang Qinrui saw my mouth injury, he’d immediately be suspicious. So I clamped both hands over my mouth, pulling a face twisted with pain.

“Why is it you?” Zhang Qinrui asked. “What’s the matter?”

I kept silent.

Someone jumped in: “Swallowed a burning cigarette—saw it myself. His mouth and throat are covered in blisters. He coughed up a mouthful of blood on the floor.”

He couldn’t have actually seen the blisters, of course, because I crushed the cigarette dead with my tongue before swallowing it. But in the chaos, he hadn’t noticed the details, and his words didn’t quite match the truth.

Thinking quickly, I sucked at my burnt tongue once more, filling my mouth with blood even though the wound wasn’t all that serious. The pain was still overwhelming. It reminded me of a scientific fact: no one can bite through their own tongue on purpose. The pain simply exceeds human tolerance.

This time, instead of spitting it out all at once, I let the blood slowly seep between my fingers.

The car sped faster and faster.