Wang Meng stopped choking Xu Lan and immediately sent him on his way.

“Sergeant Xu, when are you free? The members of team two would like to have a reunion with you. We haven’t heard from you for over a month now, you didn’t even send us a letter…”

The young men felt that they were abandoned by Xu Lan. They had seen first hand how Lao Chen handled things and could understand the reason behind Xu Lan’s departure.

“Yeah, we should have a reunion. I’ll decide on the venue and let all of you know,” Xu Lan nodded before continuing, “what does the chief need from me?”

“He didn’t say. I was told to bring you to him,” Wang Hao replied.

Both of them made their way to the office. Wang Hao reminded Xu Lan about the reunion before leaving him by the door.

‘Knock, knock…’

“Come in.”

Xu Lan pushed open the door and was choked by the smoky scent. Hu Cheng was smoking from his tobacco pipe while reading through the files. After noticing Xu Lan’s discomfort, he opened the windows hurriedly. Hu Cheng smiled at Xu Lan with his yellow teeth.

“You’re here! Have a seat. Would you like some water?” It was a rhetorical question, as Hu Cheng had already passed Xu Lan a glass of water.

“Chief, I heard that you wanted to talk?”

“Uh huh. It’s no big deal actually.” Hu Cheng smiled.

“Heh, if there isn’t anything, I’ll make a move now. Bai Wu is waiting for me at home,” Xu Lan said, emphasizing on Bai Wu’s name his reply. He stood up and was about to leave.

“Xu Lan!” Hu Cheng halted Xu Lan after seeing that Xu Lan was leaving for real. “Xu Lan, I’m sorry for making such a decision back then.”

Xu Lan looked at Hu Cheng with a crooked smile on his face.

“Uh, everyone has something that they want to protect. I can understand where you’re coming from.” Being able to understand why Hu Cheng did what he did and being angry at him for what he did were two different things altogether. Xu Lan felt it was unnecessary to forgive someone who betrayed him.

“That has been bothering me and I haven’t been eating or sleeping well because of it. When Qin Lao brought up the offer, I…” Unsure of how to express his guilt, Hu Cheng paused momentarily.

“Are you thirsty? Would you like to have some water?” Xu Lan offered the warm water to Hu Cheng.

“…”

“Lao Hu, have you ever forgiven those who harmed Hu Hai?” Xu Lan queried.

“Both of you just can’t forgive me, can you?” Hu Cheng looked at Xu Lan, unsure of what to say. The office was saturated with the air of his shame and regret.

“Sometimes I’m quite easygoing, sometimes I’m not. When Bai Wu is involved, it’s always the latter. I can understand where you’re coming from, Lao Hu, I really do. However, being able to understand you is as far as it gets.” Xu Lan smiled in a polite and distant manner.

“They’ve been talking about you all these years. Honestly, I don’t think I did anything wrong. If you were in my position, I’m sure you would’ve done the same. Unfortunately, Sun Fei did not forgive me and soon, even Teacher Wang found out about it.” Hu Cheng lowered his head and explained miserably.

“Uh huh, you’re right. Hence, there’s no point for you to bother yourself about it. I heard about Li Xiu’s escape, mind telling me what’s that about? He should’ve been sentenced to death back then! Heck!” The moment Xu Lan mentioned Li Xiu, he felt a shiver down his spine. The perfect suspect!

“Uhm, Li Xiu was rescued by an unknown creature. The creature was seen on the surveillance footage when it tried to break into the prison cell. After that, the surveillance footage remained in a blank and blurry state. When it finally resumed its normal operation, Li Xiu already went missing,” Hu Cheng replied, putting some thought into it.

“No clue at all?” Xu Lan pursued further.

“After Li Xiu left, the surveillance footage showed a black tail. It looked exactly the same as Bai Wu’s,” Hu Cheng said.