Chapter 1392
We must drive into the village!
What's most chilling is that these elderly people look incredibly old, with an average age of over ninety. They all appear frail and exhausted, as if a slight gust of wind could blow them over.
They closed their eyes or stared blankly ahead, seemingly unresponsive to the police cars parked not far away and the gathered crowd.
But it is precisely this silence and indifference that forms a barrier more difficult to cross than an iron gate—a barrier made up of "aging" and "vulnerability" themselves, a barrier that makes people hesitant to act.
Who would dare touch them? If there's even the slightest push, what if an elderly person falls to the ground, gets hurt, develops a sudden illness, or even dies on the spot? Who could bear the responsibility? This is not just a matter of obstructed law enforcement; it's a moral and humane trap that could instantly ignite public opinion and put law enforcement officers in an extremely passive position.
Gao Linfeng's face instantly turned extremely ugly; the situation he feared most had indeed occurred. Xue Jingshan had indeed resorted to his tried-and-true "old man card," and this time, the person he sent out looked older and in even more "precarious" condition than ever before.
He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and gestured for Lao Li and Xiao Zhang to follow him toward the group of elderly people. Luo Fei and the members of the Ghost Team stood still, watching quietly.
Gao Linfeng stopped about two or three meters away from the elderly, cleared his throat, and spoke in a calm but clear voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are police officers from the Dongguan City Public Security Bureau, here on official business in Xuejia Village. Please make way and let us in."
He showed his police officer ID.
The old people seemed not to hear, not even lifting their eyelids. The oldest-looking old man, sitting in the very middle, who was so thin he was just skin and bones, with cloudy eyes, slowly turned his head and spoke in a hoarse, lisping voice.
"Xuejia Village...only welcomes people with the surname Xue...people with other surnames...are not welcome."
He spoke slowly, but his tone carried an undeniable stubbornness.
Gao Linfeng patiently tried to reason with him.
"Sir, we're not here to cause trouble; we're simply carrying out our duties lawfully. Sitting at the gate and obstructing police from carrying out their duties is illegal. Please cooperate and move aside, okay?"
"Illegal?"
Another old woman, leaning against a doorpost and with almost no teeth left, chuckled in a high-pitched voice.
“Arrest me…arrest me and put me in jail…I’m ninety-three…I’ve never been to a state prison before…it’ll be a good opportunity to experience it…Captain Gao, right? You’d better prepare a good coffin for me…I’m afraid of dying in jail and causing you trouble…”
Her words elicited a murmur of unintelligible murmurs and agreement from the other elderly people.
"Yes, arrest us..."
"I've lived this long enough..."
"Jail? Do they provide meals? If they do, I'll go..."
The old people chattered amongst themselves, their words absurd yet carrying a chilling "fearlessness."
They are truly unafraid, or perhaps at their age, they have nothing left to lose. Death may not be frightening to them; rather, it might be a relief.
The essence of Xue Jingshan's strategy lies in using their "fearlessness" to counter the law enforcement officers' "fearlessness."
Gao Linfeng's face turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
He felt a deep sense of powerlessness and anger. Faced with this group of elderly people who were not even afraid of death, any legal provisions, policy explanations, or even coercion and inducement seemed pale, laughable, and utterly ineffective.
Could he really order his men to forcibly drag these frail elderly people away? Leaving aside the moral and public pressure, just consider the potential consequences—he couldn't bear the responsibility if any of the elderly suffered an accident due to struggling or fright. Last time, their criminal investigation team was stopped outside the village by similar methods and returned empty-handed.
He was seething with anger and tried to communicate with them again, but the old people either ignored him or responded with words that were half confused and half provocative, and they wouldn't listen to reason.
Gao Linfeng was completely at a loss. He could only turn around in frustration and walk back to Luo Fei's side, his face full of helplessness and defeat.
"Director Luo, you see, these elderly people..."
Gao Linfeng pointed towards the gate, his voice carrying suppressed annoyance and a barely perceptible hint of "I told you this would happen."
"No matter what I say, it's no use; they won't listen to reason."
They're too old; we dare not move them. The risk of forcibly removing them is too high—what if something happens…”
He paused, looked at the two tightly closed doors and the densely packed elderly people under the doorway, then looked at the small side door next to it that seemed passable, but which also had elderly people sitting or leaning against it, and tentatively proposed a compromise solution.
"How about this... we don't drive in, we park the car here and walk into the village? We can go through that small gate on the side, be careful, maybe we can get through."
Although... although this is a bit...
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: the police came in a patrol car to arrest people, but couldn't even enter the village and had to get out and walk. This was a huge compromise and a sign of weakness, and if word got out, it would become a huge joke and a heavy blow to the authority of law enforcement.
But he felt that this might be the only seemingly feasible solution at the moment. At least it would allow Luo Fei and the others to "go in and take a look," to personally experience the atmosphere inside Xuejia Village, and perhaps then they would understand the severity of the situation and change their strategy.
However, after hearing Gao Linfeng's words, Luo Fei's ever-present calm smile vanished.
He glanced at the elderly people blocking the door, then at Gao Linfeng's face, which showed a mixture of helplessness, frustration, and a hint of "if only I had known," and his brows furrowed slightly.
Walking into the village? This might seem like a compromise to address the practical difficulties, but in Luo Fei's view, it was precisely falling into Xue Jingshan's trap—a concession of principle. Police enforcement represents the public power of the state; how could they abandon their tools and enter on foot as if making a mere visit simply because a few elderly people were sitting on the ground blocking their way? This wasn't just a matter of face; it was a erosion of legal principles and authority. If he yielded today and walked in, then next time, Xuejia Village would dare to use even more extreme methods to obstruct law enforcement.
More importantly, Xue Jingshan wanted this effect of "successfully blocking" the law enforcement officers, and he wanted them to "back down" or "compromise in humiliation".
Luo Fei slowly shook his head, his gaze sharpening and resolute once more. He glanced at the Ghost Team members around him, each with a different expression. Teacher Huang still wore a smile, Xiao Qi's fingers lightly brushed against the scabbard, and Tie Shan's figure seemed even more upright. Then, he turned back to Gao Linfeng, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable resolve, and spoke each word clearly.
"No."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the imposing archway at the village entrance, the tightly closed iron gate, and the silent, stubborn figures of the old people beneath the gate. His voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"We must drive into the village today!"
Luo Fei's words, "Today, we must drive into the village," echoed clearly in the open space under the archway, carrying a resolute tone that stunned Gao Linfeng and the three criminal police officers behind him.
Looking at Luo Fei's calm yet unusually resolute profile, and then at the seven or eight elderly people standing in front of the tightly closed iron gate, seemingly blending into the cold cement floor and exuding a silent yet intensely resistant aura, a sense of absurdity and powerlessness welled up in their hearts.
Gao Linfeng opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, such as analyzing the disastrous public opinion consequences that might result from forcibly evicting them, or emphasizing the reality that these elderly people were being manipulated by Xue Jingshan and were completely unreasonable. However, Luo Fei stopped looking at him and instead strode towards the group of elderly people blocking the door.
His pace was slow, even leisurely, as if he were not walking towards a formidable barrier built by "aging," but simply taking a normal stroll.
Seeing Luo Fei's actions, the members of the criminal investigation team couldn't help but exchange opinions in hushed tones, their voices filled with skepticism and worry.
"Director Luo is... still not giving up, and wants to go and persuade him in person?"
Xiao Zhang lowered his voice, his face clearly saying, "How could this possibly work?"
Old Li crossed his arms, his brows furrowed in worry.
"Persuade them? What can we do to persuade them? I learned my lesson from these old folks last time I was here; they're completely impervious to reason. Try to explain the law to them? They're hard of hearing and can't hear you! Try to reason with them? They pretend to be confused and don't understand! Try to appeal to their personal feelings? They only care about Xue Jingshan and the Xue family! Director Luo is still too young and underestimates the stubbornness of these old people who are steeped in clan mentality and controlled by Xue Jingshan."
Xiao Wang also came over, his voice tinged with helplessness.
“Yes, didn’t Captain Gao just try it? It was completely useless. I think Director Luo’s trip is just a formality. In the end, we’ll have to come back to reality—either we’ll slink in and lose face, or we’ll have to turn back and report that we encountered collective obstruction from the villagers and were unable to carry it out. This isn’t the first time.”
His words revealed a familiarity with similar scenarios and a hidden sense of frustration.
Gao Linfeng listened to his subordinates' discussion but did not speak up to stop them, because he also had similar thoughts swirling in his mind, even more so.
He understood Xue Jingshan's methods better than his team members. These "old treasures" who were pushed forward were Xuejia Village's most effective "human shields," specifically used to deal with those parts of the state apparatus who valued procedures, discretion, and restraint. In his view, Luo Fei's persistence was more like a stubbornness stemming from a lack of understanding of the actual situation, or a reluctance to easily admit defeat to his subordinates.
He sighed inwardly, his eyes fixed on Luo Fei's back, ready to deal with any unexpected situations that might arise—for example, if one of the elderly people got agitated and caused an accident.
Luo Fei stopped about 1.5 meters away from the elderly people. This distance was neither too intimidating nor too intimidating, allowing his voice to be heard clearly.
He glanced at the elderly people, whose faces were aged, whose eyes were either cloudy, indifferent, or harboring hidden resistance, cleared his throat, and spoke in a calm and clear tone.
"Gentlemen, this is Luo Fei from the National Security Department. We have obtained conclusive evidence that Xue Shihao from your village is suspected of a serious murder case. We are here to carry out an arrest in accordance with the law. Your sitting here is obstructing state organs from performing their duties, which is illegal. Please understand and cooperate with our work, and make way for us."
His words directly pointed out the "murder case" and the "lawful arrest," without beating around the bush, attempting to exert pressure by emphasizing the seriousness of the case and the authority of the law.
However, he was met with stagnant silence and an attitude that said, "I can't hear you, I don't understand, I'm just sitting here."
A few seconds later, the gaunt old man sitting in the middle who had spoken to Gao Linfeng earlier slightly raised his eyelids, his cloudy gaze sweeping over Luo Fei's face, and his hoarse voice slowly rang out, carrying a deep-rooted xenophobia and arrogance.
“Young man… what do you call yourself… National Security? We don’t care if you’re National Security or Local Security… Xuejia Village… has its own rules… a village with the surname Xue… doesn’t welcome outsiders pointing fingers…”
Another elderly woman, leaning against the doorframe and missing several teeth, smacked her lips and added in a shrill voice.
“That’s right! Shihao is a kid we’ve watched grow up... He’s very capable... Even if... even if something happens to him outside... that’s our Xue family’s business... We have family rules... We have a clan leader... It’s not your place as outsiders to interfere!”
The "family rules" and "clan head" she mentioned clearly refer to Xue Jingshan and the clan authority he represents. In her and other elderly people's simple understanding, clan rules seem to be above national laws, or at least, in Xuejia Village, this should be the case.
Luo Fei frowned slightly, but his tone remained calm as he attempted to reason further.
"Old man, the law of the country is greater than family rules."
Murder is a serious crime no matter where it is committed, and must be tried and punished by the laws of the country.
This isn't just an internal matter for Xuejia Village; it's a criminal case involving death and violating national criminal law. Your obstruction of law enforcement, if serious, will also result in legal consequences. Please think carefully: is it worth risking yourselves for a criminal suspect?
"Legal liability?"
An old man with age spots on his face, clutching an ebony cane, suddenly became excited. He slammed the cane head heavily on the ground with a thud, raising his voice, which was already somewhat weak.
"We're all this age... with our necks almost buried... what are we afraid of taking responsibility for? If you're so capable... then arrest us all! We can go to the city and live off the government!"
These words drew mumbled agreement and low laughter from several elderly people nearby. Clearly, they didn't care at all and even regarded it as a form of defiance.
The gaunt old man who spoke first had an even more stubborn glint in his eyes. He stared intently at Luo Fei and spoke slowly and deliberately, as if using all his strength.
"Outsiders...want to enter Xuejia Village...unless...unless they have to step over us old bones!"
These words were spoken with extreme resolve, carrying a martyr-like obsession, completely sealing off any possibility of rational communication.
As soon as the words were spoken, the agitated old man with the cane beside him, seemingly ignited by some kind of self-sacrificing emotion, or perhaps receiving some tacit approval, shakily raised his ebony cane and made a feint towards Luo Fei's direction. Although the distance was still too great to pose a real threat, the gesture and intention were blatantly clear—they were willing to use "force" to defend this barrier. (End of Chapter)