Chapter 675 — The Tragedy of An Liwen

Seeing that Wei Zhao wore no particular expression, Gu Pengzhan's heart settled.

Wei Zhao had no wish to deal with these students' parents here. Once he had made sure Gu Mengyao was all right, he said to Gu Pengzhan, "Uncle Chu, I'm stepping out for a bit. I'll be back once Grandpa Guan returns."

"Of course, go and see to your business!" Gu Pengzhan nodded.

Wei Zhao meant to visit Tang Zhi. After the day's events, he felt rather that he had wronged her; his relationship with the eldest young lady was only going to grow more complicated.

Gu Mengyao watched Wei Zhao's retreating back. She wanted to say something, but the words would not come; her face remained cold and impassive...

................

At the entrance of Songshan City First People's Hospital, An Liwen, his kidney cut out, was rushed to the emergency room. The hospital set about saving his life while hurriedly telephoning the police.

The police had already arranged matters with the hospital beforehand: whenever another kidney-theft victim turned up, they were to give emergency treatment first and then contact the police at once.

Qiu Lingshan had not expected another kidney theft to occur on the very day the kidney-cutting ring was smashed -- which meant the gang had still been operating today.

Qiu Lingshan at once dispatched Liu Wangli and his team to the hospital: to protect the victim on the one hand, and on the other to gather criminal evidence against the gang. The victim, after all, was the most important witness.

Interrogation at the station was almost effortless. The tattooed man, ringleader of the criminal gang, put up scarcely any resistance and quickly confessed to his crimes. The entire kidney-cutting ring was a gang under his command, and Doctor Wang had been forced into crime under his coercion -- this was the promise he had made to Doctor Wang beforehand.

As for where the removed kidneys went, the tattooed man also confessed. There were underground black-market brokers dealing in organs in another city, and most of the kidneys in his hands had been sold to them. As to which parties they were sold on to, the tattooed man supplied the contact details of several brokers -- but he made it plain that before his capture he had already phoned those brokers to tip them off, and by now they had all fled; catching them would be impossible.

Faced with the tattooed man's clean-cut recklessness and his readiness to shoulder the blame alone, Qiu Lingshan was quite helpless. Acting on the man's leads, they did indeed find those brokers' premises -- but the places were long since emptied.

And by the tattooed man's account, their dealings had all been conducted under false names, without ever meeting face to face, so the police could find no useful leads at all.

Qiu Lingshan was furious, yet there was nothing to be done. The good news was that the kidney-cutting case could be considered closed. As for those brokers, they were not in this city; the police there could rack their brains over them. Qiu Lingshan did not trouble herself over troubles not her own.

When An Liwen awoke, he found himself lying in a strange place -- which seemed to be a hospital ward. An instant later he felt an unbearable pain in his left flank. He tried to reach out and touch it, but had no strength at all; the anesthetic had only just worn off, and his body's strength had not yet returned.

"Where am I? Is anyone there?" An Liwen grew anxious at once and cried out.

The anesthetic having barely worn off, An Liwen's mind was still somewhat clouded; he could not quite recall the events of before.

"Sir, you're awake?" One of Liu Wangli's subordinates, a man named Zhang Juli, came over and said to An Liwen: "I am Zhang Juli, of the First Criminal Investigation Squadron, City Police Bureau."

"I... I was, ah --" An Liwen's heart gave a slight start. How had he drawn the police to him?

"Sir, I must tell you some very unfortunate news: your left kidney was removed by a criminal gang!" Zhang Juli looked at An Liwen with sympathy.

"What?!" An Liwen's eyes went wide. What? His kidney had been cut out? How could that be? The kidney-cutting ring was his own -- who would dare cut out his kidney? Wait -- Wei Zhao! An Liwen suddenly thought of Wei Zhao, and the scene came rushing back.

In the preoperative preparation room, Wei Zhao had suddenly woken up and then knocked him unconscious... Could it be that Doctor Wang had failed to recognize him, taken him for Wei Zhao, and cut out his kidney?

An Liwen wanted to weep aloud. What was the meaning of this? He had been relieved of a kidney! Truly, clever all his life, foolish for a moment -- the ringleader of a kidney-cutting ring, his own kidney cut out! If word of this got out, would people not laugh their teeth right out of their heads?

An Liwen wanted to phone the tattooed man at once and ask what was going on, but with the police right there, he could hardly make the call. Anxious as he was, he could only curb his impatience and say: "Officer, what is this..."

"I was sent by the captain to keep you safe!" Zhang Juli said. "But you can rest easy -- our people on the force have already smashed the kidney-trafficking ring. You're safe now..."

"Huh? Smashed?" An Liwen was struck by a sudden wave of dizziness. The kidney-trafficking ring smashed? How could that be? How could it have been smashed?

"Sir, there's no need to be afraid..." Zhang Juli assumed An Liwen was frightened and hurried to reassure him. "From what we can tell so far, the ring's key members have all been taken into custody. But to keep any remnants of the ring from doing you harm, we'll be guarding you around the clock here at the hospital!"

An Liwen rolled his eyes and keeled right over in a dead faint! His kidney cut out, and the kidney-trafficking ring smashed -- how could An Liwen not faint?

"Sir, what's wrong?" Zhang Juli was startled. Taking it for a collapse brought on by physical exhaustion, he frantically pressed the call button and summoned a doctor to resuscitate An Liwen...

…

After that chance encounter at the bookstore, Kang Jingming could consider himself acquainted with Guan Xin. But Wei Zhao's appearance had cost him face badly, and though it left Kang Jingming thoroughly annoyed, there was nothing he could do about it.

At noon today, Kang Jingming came to the First Hospital bearing a bouquet of flowers. He did not go straight to Guan Xin, however; instead he wandered about the hospital for several rounds, making sure everyone had seen him -- even Guan Xin, from inside her office -- before staging a chance encounter.

"What a coincidence, Guan Xin -- you're here!" Kang Jingming greeted her, beaming.

"Coincidence?" Guan Xin frowned. She disliked Kang Jingming thoroughly. She had spotted him earlier when he was milling about the corridor; she simply could not be bothered with him. She had not expected him to come seeking her out again, and to feign a chance encounter at that.