Chapter 137: Imprisonment?

"Release him?" Officer Liu wondered if he had misheard.

Just a few minutes ago, Wang Guotao had been fully intent on destroying Li Sichen. How could he have suddenly made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn?

As a loyal subordinate to Wang Guotao, Officer Liu knew his boss's temperament all too well—he was a man who always sought absolute revenge. Logically speaking, having just had his ribs mysteriously snapped by Li Sichen, he should never have let the matter rest. Why, then, had he suddenly compromised?

Seeing that Officer Liu was slow to move, Wang Guotao urged him, "That's right, release him! What are you standing there like a fool for? Go ahead! Or are you hoping to watch me break a few more bones?"

Hearing this, Officer Liu finally understood.

He muttered inwardly, "So he was scared. I knew it, how else could you inexplicably compromise and let him go? Oh, Director Wang, Director Wang, I warned you before that this kid is bizarre, but you refused to listen. You had to wait until you got slapped in the face before you were willing to back down. Why put yourself through this? Could it be that you have some kind of masochistic tendency?"

These thoughts stayed strictly in his mind; he wouldn't dare utter them aloud. Otherwise, Wang Guotao would certainly never spare him.

At that moment, Officer Liu also let out a long sigh of relief.

He had wanted to let Li Sichen go for a while now, for no other reason than that Li Sichen was simply too strange.

Unfortunately, bringing Li Sichen to the police station had been Wang Guotao's decision. Without an order from his boss, no matter how much Officer Liu wanted to, he wouldn't dare make the executive decision to release him.

Now, thankfully, the order to release him had finally arrived.

Officer Liu hurried over to Li Sichen and said with a flattering smile, "Young man, you're free to go."

To the astonishment of both Officer Liu and Wang Guotao, Li Sichen didn't get up at all. Instead, he leaned back into the chair, crossed his legs, and smiled, "Want me to leave? Heh. I already said outside the fire scene that getting me to come in was easy, but making me leave won't be such a simple task."

Officer Liu's jaw dropped in shock: "You're not leaving?"

Wang Guotao was dumbfounded as well.

He had originally assumed that by compromising and releasing him, Li Sichen would obediently scram, and the matter would come to an end. But now it seemed the script wasn't following the rhythm he had envisioned.

What the hell kind of situation was this? Anyone else brought into the police station would be desperate to leave as early as possible, yet this kid stubbornly refused to go... What on earth was he trying to pull?

"No, I'm not leaving," Li Sichen nodded, then instructed Officer Liu, "The tea from earlier got knocked over. Go brew me another cup."

Hearing those words, Wang Guotao was truly enraged to the extreme.

You're not leaving, fine, but you want tea brewed as well? What do you think this place is? A teahouse? Should we call a few people over to play chess and cards with you, too?

Despite his intense fury, having suffered those previous bizarre accidents, Wang Guotao dared not vent his anger. He forcefully suppressed the rage inside him, looked at Li Sichen, and asked, "What will it take for you to be willing to leave?"

In the short time since Li Sichen had arrived at the police station, several bizarre and unexpected incidents had occurred back-to-back. He neither wanted nor dared to let Li Sichen stay here any longer. After all, he already had a bleeding head and broken ribs; he simply couldn't withstand any further torture and torment.

Wang Guotao even decided that as long as Li Sichen was willing to leave, he would accept paying compensation and apologizing.

As the saying went, spend money to avert disaster. As long as he could send away this calamity star, there was nothing—neither pride nor money—that he couldn't sacrifice.

Li Sichen replied, "Once the show is over, I'll naturally leave. But for now, the play hasn't even started yet, so I am certainly not going anywhere."

"A show? What show?" Wang Guotao asked, stunned.

His mind failing to catch up for a moment, he frowned and asked, "Officer Liu, did we hire anyone to put on a play at the station today?"

"I haven't heard anything about it..." Officer Liu was equally bewildered. "Besides, this is a police station, who would hire people to perform here? Furthermore, it's already past nine, nearly ten o'clock at night. No one would hire a performance troupe at this hour, would they?"

Hearing the two of them exchange these words, Li Sichen couldn't help it anymore and let out a chuckle.

"What are you laughing at? What kind of medicine are you selling in your gourd?" Wang Guotao demanded with a dark expression.

Li Sichen ignored his question and instead brought up an entirely unrelated matter, "Director Wang, I see that your fortune-telling hall is darkened, and there is a trace of reddish hue between your brows. This is a sign of impending imprisonment! If I were you, I'd find a way to hide or flee far away... Oh, wait, your calamity of imprisonment has already begun to manifest, so even if you wanted to hide, it's too late."

Accompanied by the flickering candlelight, Li Sichen's words carried a mysterious aura.

That mystery sent a chill through Wang Guotao and Officer Liu, making their hair stand on end.

Darkened fortune hall? A trace of reddish hue between the brows?

Officer Liu secretly sized up Wang Guotao.

Unfortunately, because the candlelight was too dim, he couldn't see the condition of Wang Guotao's face clearly at all and thus couldn't confirm whether it was truly as Li Sichen had described.

"Are you cursing me?" Wang Guotao's brow twitched, and he was about to flare up again. However, the moment he prepared to move, a sharp pain shot through his ribs. It caused him to bare his teeth in a grimace while also forcing him to swallow his anger back down.

"He's trying to provoke me into attacking him! No, I mustn't fall for the trap. I must endure!" Wang Guotao told himself inwardly.

His previous experiences told him that Li Sichen was a calamity star. It was just that this calamity star was quite peculiar, taking effect only against those who provoked him. Therefore, to avoid suffering a new round of injuries, he had to keep his temper in check and refrain from losing his temper.

Li Sichen smiled. "I'm not cursing you, merely giving you a friendly reminder... Ah, they're here."

"Here? Who's here?" Wang Guotao asked instinctively.

Li Sichen didn't answer him, simply gazing toward the door of the interrogation room.

Wang Guotao and Officer Liu involuntarily shifted their gazes toward the door as well.

Thud!

A muffled sound suddenly came from the door, startling both Wang Guotao and Officer Liu.

Someone really was here!

Before the two of them could react, the door to the interrogation room was violently pushed open from the outside.

Standing outside the door, alongside a duty officer from the station, were three stern-looking strangers.

For some reason, the moment he laid eyes on these three strangers, a sense of fear—like a mouse meeting a cat—arose deep within Wang Guotao's heart.

He took a deep breath and asked with feigned composure, "Who are you?"

The stranger standing in the center took a step forward, pulled a document out of his briefcase, opened it to show Wang Guotao, and stated, "We are from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. Wang Guotao, please come with us. There are several matters that require your assistance with an investigation!"

"Discipline... Discipline Inspection?"

Hearing the visitor state their affiliation, Wang Guotao's legs instantly turned to jelly.