In the end, He Juan’s plans for a hot shower and sleep had to be postponed in lieu of making a trip to the local police station.

His mood was sullen for the entire journey. Of course, who wouldn’t, when a problem suddenly cropped up when he expected it the least?

When he arrived, a man received him at the front gate while bowing deeply, "I–I apologize, Boss! This is negligence on my part. Please... Please forgive me!" The man was so terrified that he kept stuttering on his words, his face alternating between red and pale. His bulky figure notwithstanding, he was trembling like a newborn kitten in front of He Juan, head hung low and eyes trained to the ground.

He Juan took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to draw his gun out. He reminded himself that he had lost control of himself once, it would not be good to repeat the same thing in less than two hours, in front of the police station at that. Moreover, he was not so irrational as to kill someone who had admitted to their mistake. No humans are free of flaws, after all.

He gave a smile that did not quite reach his eyes and patted the man on the shoulder, causing the latter to tremble even harder. "You are lucky that you called me before the damage has been done, otherwise..." he chuckled and watched as a large bead of sweat rolled down the man’s cheek. Sighing, He Juan decided to spare the man and stepped back. "Okay, lead me in."

The man was just waiting for him to say this. He perked up and enthusiastically gestured for He Juan to follow him.

After that, it was a series of formalities, paperwork and pleasantries that took two full hours. The corner of He Juan’s lips had long become stiff. He swore he was going to snap if the police officer were to pull out another paper again for him to sign, which fortunately did not happen.

It was not like he hated the police. He admired them for their efforts to uphold justice in the society. Still, he’d rather them become more flexible than to stick with the law they loved so much – the law that was proven useless in protecting the people they were supposed to protect.

"Alright, that’s all." The police officer stood up, gathered the files and offered a hand toward He Juan. "It’s a pleasure to be cooperating with you, Mr. Xiu."

Finally. He Juan visibly breathed a sigh of relief and his smile became a tad more genuine as he shook the other’s hand. "Likewise."

Beside him, the lackey also heaved a sigh and wiped the sweat on his forehead, presumably relieved that he would not have to be responsible for a massacre in the police station. While the officer was not paying attention, He Juan cast him a glance and whispered in a voice only both of them could hear, "After this, go back and receive your punishment." He was willing to forgive the man, but it did not mean that he would revoke the punishment. Their Xuanlong was even stricter than most legal organizations, and people had to learn the consequences of their mistakes.

The man paled instantly, but he made no further effort to resist. "...Yes."

Satisfied, He Juan turned to follow the officer down the hallway until they arrived at the door that was signed with ’Interrogation Room 3’. The officer pushed the door open without knocking, startling the thin figure inside. "Hey, kid. Come out! You’re free now!"

He Juan finally got to see the minor who had been innocently implicated in the mess and he felt another spark of anger burning in his chest. Oh God... he was practically a child! How could his subordinate be so careless as to make him a scapegoat?! It seemed like he had to increase the punishment to make the man remember this lesson clearly!

The boy’s gaze shifted from the police officer to him, and He Juan was startled to discover how dark they were – so dark that not a hint of light could be reflected within. The boy blinked, a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes before he quickly replaced it with a scowl.

Without saying anything, he jumped down from the chair and went to He Juan’s side.

It was not until they came out from the police station that the boy halted in his tracks, demanding, "Who are you?"

"Hmm?" He Juan turned around to find the boy glaring at him, hard. His entire body was tensed with his fists balled tight.

He Juan did not notice it back in the interrogation room because of the dim lighting, but as it turned out the boy’s eyes were not fully black. There was a swirl of blue within that made them look like precious jewels. Very beautiful and soulful. Sadly, the boy was down to mere skin and bones, and He Juan could easily spot a dozen bruises on his face, arms and legs. It was unknown how severe the rest of the injuries were beneath the clothes.

He knew that child abuse was not uncommon, but knowing it and seeing it in person were two completely different things. He spent a split second to be glad that the boy’s father was no longer around to torture him.

He was too absorbed in taking in the boy’s appearance, not noticing that trembles began to wreck that thin and slender body. "Are you..." he gritted out. "Are you the one who killed him?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Smart boy, aren’t you?" He Juan’s lips curved into a smile. "If you had asked these questions inside, you wouldn’t have been able to leave. After all, I have pretended to be your distant uncle..." he chuckled and shook his head with a helpless look. "As for your last question... no. I’m not the one who killed him, but I know who did. Do you want me to tell you?" He asked gently.

"No," the answer came so fast that He Juan was a bit taken aback. "No, I don’t want to know. As long as it’s not me..." the boy murmured under his breath, his lashes quivered akin to a pair of butterfly wings.

He Juan blinked, not expecting such a reaction. "Aren’t you sad?"

The boy snorted, his disdain apparent for the world to see. "Why should I?"

He Juan raised a brow, intrigued. Are all children this mature or is it just this boy in front of him? "You..." The boy was so thin and short that He Juan had to bend his waist so that they were on the same eye level. He once again sighed when he spotted the horrible bruises on the boy’s thin face. "Why are you acting so adult-like?" He Juan asked in exasperation. He couldn’t resist reaching out to pat the boy on the head. "Children like you are supposed to play around and have fun, you know."

He Juan meant well when he said this, but who could have guessed that the boy would instantly explode in anger? He roughly slapped He Juan’s hand away and bristled, eyes burning in rage. "I am not a child! I am already fourteen years old!!"

"Fourteen?" He Juan was unable to keep the surprise and incredulity out of his face, and noticing that his reaction only served to fuel the boy’s anger, he straightened up and hastily masked his surprise with an awkward cough, "My bad, you just look... so young."

’Young’ was not even adequate to describe the boy. He was so tiny that He Juan assumed that he was only around seven or eight years old at most! Alas, he sensibly refrained from saying anything about it because he had a hunch that it would only make the situation worse.

The boy raised his chin, fixed him a glare and stressed each word heavily. "I. Am. Fourteen!"