Chapter 12: Liang Lahua (Part II)

After several hours of communication in that manner, Zhang Heng gradually came to understand and piece together why she had ended up in her current predicament:

Ultimately, the root cause was inextricably linked to the Black Dragon Society.

Here’s how the situation unfolded:

A few years ago, Liang Lahua’s husband was also a member of the Black Dragon Society’s underworld gang, though only a small-time thug.

Within the Black Dragon Society, her husband was specifically responsible for debt collection—he collected protection fees from the territory under the Society’s control on behalf of their boss.

Because he was reliable and capable, each time he collected and handed over the protection fees, the Society’s boss would give him an extra sum of money, which was significantly higher than what he earned before joining the Society.

The Black Dragon Society collected protection fees twice a month from their controlled areas, so her husband earned extra income twice every month.

With the money flowing in, spending naturally followed.

It was around this time that Liang Lahua’s family purchased a house in the town—the very apartment complex her aunt had mentioned to Zhang Heng earlier that afternoon. In other words, the house was bought with local people’s dirty, hard-earned money.

Yet, even after acquiring the house, her husband remained dissatisfied. Around this time, by chance, he was introduced to gambling.

As the saying goes, gambling is a losing game nine times out of ten; not gambling is winning.

Soon, her husband not only lost all their savings gambling but also borrowed from loan sharks to pay off his debts and try to recoup losses.

However, debts snowballed rapidly, and gambling became a bottomless pit. One day, when he had nowhere left to borrow from, he turned to the Black Dragon Society for help.

Thanks to his cunning, he managed to embezzle several sums from the society without being detected, which only fueled his desire to steal larger amounts.

But paper cannot conceal fire forever.

When he attempted to steal from the Society again, his comrades caught on and immediately reported to the boss.

The boss flew into a rage and ordered his men to arrest him on the spot.

After being captured, he faced the situation head-on, honestly confessing his motives for the thefts to the boss and expressing his willingness to atone.

This led to the house being transferred, right in front of the property management staff, to the current occupant.

Yet, this was far from enough for the boss and the gang.

He then proposed a twisted and ruthless plan to the boss: to use his newborn child as collateral to settle the debt.

When he put forth this plan, the boss and his men were stunned—no father in the world had ever sold his own child to cover debts.

But Liang Lahua’s husband, Li Guisheng, was stubborn and hopeless.

On one hand, he needed to settle debts with the Society; on the other, his gambling addiction persisted, requiring more money to fuel his habit.

By then, he was penniless and at a dead end. Secretly, without Liang Lahua knowing, he transferred the house to others in the Society. He also owed large debts to banks and loan companies, becoming both a blacklisted individual and a defaulter.

With no more funds or lenders available, yet desperate for gambling money, he fixated on his newborn child.

After finding a buyer online, he discussed selling the child with his wife. When she refused, he pretended to go on a business trip but secretly watched for an opportunity to take the child.

Finally, he found his chance.

One day, when Liang Lahua took the child to buy children’s clothes, he disguised himself and followed them. After Liang Lahua left the child playing on a slide outside the store and went inside, he seized the moment.

He quickly approached and, since the child recognized his father, the child smiled at him without crying or fussing as he picked him up.

Thus, he successfully abducted and sold the child, using the money to gamble again—and lost once more.

In the end, overwhelmed by mounting debts and creditors, he chose to end his own life.

After his death, the Black Dragon Society’s boss, unable to find him, sent men to search and only found the cold body. They then informed Liang Lahua of the truth.

Liang Lahua, after her child disappeared, sought help online and received an address from kind netizens. When she found her child, the child was in a pitiful state. Though not yet insane, she was mentally shattered.

Only when members of the Society revealed her husband’s truth and his creditors came calling did she fully grasp the grim reality, crushing her spirit utterly.

Liang Lahua recounted this entire story to Zhang Heng by typing it out on her phone.

After reading the whole ordeal, Zhang Heng was both incredulous and shocked.

From his perspective, the case was essentially solved: the abduction and trafficking of Liang Lahua’s child was not simply a brutal crime by strangers but a tragic tale of a father driven by gambling debts to betray his own flesh and blood.

Because outsiders and uninformed bystanders did not know the whole story, they hastily labeled it as a malicious criminal case.

If it truly was a malignant crime, then the prime suspect had to be the child’s biological father.

Indeed, if the father had not succumbed to gambling addiction, lost money, and lacked funds, he would never have hurt his own child, secretly sold him, and caused the child to fall into the hands of traffickers, resulting in the current outcome.

Zhang Heng pondered deeply. Since the case was essentially clear now, three key questions presented themselves:

First: Where is the battered child now? What is his condition?

Second: To whom did the father sell the child? Who was the first buyer?

Third: How did the child come to be in such a state? How many hands did the child pass through?

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Heng decided to ask Liang Lahua the first question directly.

As for the second and third questions, he would have to investigate further himself and report to his superiors before drawing conclusions.

He asked Liang Lahua where her child was now and how he was doing.

Upon hearing this, Liang Lahua could no longer hold back and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Clearly, this was the greatness of a mother’s love—tender and deep as water.

Seeing this, Zhang Heng stopped questioning and quickly handed her tissues to wipe her tears, gently patting her back to comfort her.

After crying for a while, Liang Lahua calmed down.

Just then, someone abruptly pushed open the door.

Zhang Heng and Liang Lahua looked toward the visitor: an elderly woman.

The woman approached and angrily said, “Your crying is too loud and disturbing the neighbors. If it continues, I’ll call the police.”

Perhaps instinctively, Liang Lahua and Zhang Heng nodded in agreement, signaling they would stop crying.

Indeed, calling the police now would benefit no one.

After they nodded and apologized, the elderly woman turned and left.

Liang Lahua then got up and closed the door.

After securing the door, she returned to her seat, picked up Zhang Heng’s phone, and typed a message.

Handing it to Zhang Heng, he read: “Officer, it’s already late—10 p.m. I’d like to tell you about my child’s situation tomorrow. If I keep talking now, it might disturb the neighbors again, which benefits no one. Besides, I can tell you’re tired. Let’s both get some rest.”

Liang Lahua smiled gently at him.

Zhang Heng nodded in return and replied, “Okay.”

Liang Lahua then walked toward the bedroom, heading straight to the master bedroom.

Zhang Heng considered stopping her, recalling that the homeowner had said he could sleep in the adjacent smaller bedroom. But then he realized that if Liang Lahua took the smaller room, she would have to share a bed with him, which would be inappropriate.

Liang Lahua closed the master bedroom door behind her.

Zhang Heng prepared to get ready for bed as well.

He figured he could tidy the master bedroom for her or explain to the homeowner afterward, who would surely understand.

There was no need to worry about which room Liang Lahua slept in.

He went to the bathroom and found her clothes already washed in the washing machine.

He thought to call her but then noticed her door was closed.

So, he folded her clothes and hung them on a rack in the living room.

Then he took a shower and washed his own clothes.

Afterward, lying on the bed in the smaller bedroom, he reflected on the day’s events.

The more he thought, the more confident he felt about his investigative abilities.

Having arrived in this city only two days ago, he had essentially unraveled a case that had baffled the police for years.

Now, all that remained was to verify the findings to close the case completely.

Zhang Heng felt confident this would happen soon.