Earth.
Duanmu Ren had been living in fear and walking on thin ice lately.
Taixuan Villa had already been a hot topic.
After the old man seeking medical treatment died an unnatural death, its popularity skyrocketed far ahead of everything else.
No one believed the official announcement and explanation from Shiling County.
The middle-aged woman who knocked down the old man—a party involved in the incident—cried tearfully as she accused the security guards of murder, unexpectedly becoming a righteous mega-influencer fighting against injustice and exposing the truth.
News that the security guards present were lackeys of a local mob boss in Shiling County also spread wildly, becoming indirect ironclad proof of the security guards committing murder.
What drove Duanmu Ren into even deeper despair was that after the incident, the key party involved, Hua Chunning, had completely vanished without a trace.
And so, after netizens pooled their wisdom and compiled information from all sides, they finally uncovered the "truth" of the matter!
Duanmu Ren, the magistrate of Shiling County, had abandoned his beliefs, fallen for the bewitchment of charlatans, drained fiscal funds to push vanity projects to scam subsidies, and acted as a protective umbrella for dark and evil forces, condoning gangsters beating an innocent sick old man to death!
Outcries to punish corrupt officials and dark, evil forces reached a crescendo!
Let alone Duanmu Ren, even the provincial and municipal leaders had never witnessed such a surging tide of public opinion. They had no choice but to issue an announcement removing Duanmu Ren from his post for investigation to appease the public outrage.
Duanmu Ren had no room to struggle and could only obediently cooperate. However, he did not admit defeat entirely; he rushed straight to his father-in-law's house and, without saying a word, knelt directly in front of his father-in-law's study.
Years ago, it was right here that Duanmu Ren had knelt through the night before successfully asking to marry his teacher's infamous daughter.
Though called asking for marriage, in reality, it was marrying into the family as a matrilocal son-in-law.
In his father-in-law's home, Duanmu Ren's status was inferior even to that of a nanny, enduring endless humiliation.
Later, as his official rank rose, his status improved slightly, though he still had to watch others' expressions carefully.
Once he took a godfather in the provincial government and became county magistrate, Duanmu Ren never set foot in this humiliating place again.
Now, to save his skin, he could only reenact the past.
He knelt for an entire night once more.
The next morning, his father-in-law—cultured, with deliberately dyed black hair, looking very young unlike a retired old man—ate breakfast while attended by a charming young nanny. Only then did he unhurriedly wipe his hands and sneer mockingly, "When the wind is strong enough, even pigs can fly. Did you really think your wings had grown strong?"
Duanmu Ren's shrewdness had long been honed; fully prepared to endure any humiliation, he said in a low voice, "Father speaks the truth."
Seeing that Duanmu Ren's attitude was acceptable and unwilling to give up this son-in-law who maintained the family's facade, his father-in-law waved his hand. "I will ask a few old friends. Go back and wait for news!"
Duanmu Ren breathed a sigh of relief.
His father-in-law had retired from a powerful executive deputy position and had extensive connections in the city.
Most importantly, he was truly innocent in this matter.
As long as key figures spoke up for him, even if he couldn't get off completely scot-free, he could at least preserve his status and avoid prison.
First of all, the cure of the old coal miners with pneumoconiosis in the villages surrounding Taixuan Villa was an ironclad fact; Hua Chunning was at least no fraud.
Furthermore, the old man who died at Taixuan Villa had been ruled out as having died of external force after a joint provincial and municipal autopsy.
It was just that the netizens refused to accept it.
Moreover, while Taixuan Villa had indeed received subsidies, its astounding achievements were equally real.
Inspections, commendations, and interviews from the province, the city, and even the capital had never ceased, all documented and verifiable.
Most crucial of all, he had been scared out of his wits by Li Chengxuan's spellcraft, so he truly hadn't profited from the project this time. On the contrary, he had even pulled a considerable sum from his private slush fund to subsidize it.
Soon, good news came from the city.
A main leader had spoken up on his behalf, and the investigation team was called off.
Of course, it was impossible for Duanmu Ren to be reinstated to his original position.
He would first go to a marginal department in the city to lie low for a while.
Duanmu Ren was already satisfied, visiting his father-in-law's house every day to show his filial devotion.
...
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
With his head lowered and steps hurried, Duanmu Ren walked into the director's office at the innermost end of the dilapidated office building and shut the door tight.
Now, Duanmu Ren was no longer a powerful county chief holding sway over a vast domain, but had been reassigned to a marginal municipal department, the Civil Affairs Bureau, as acting director.
Lately, the winds of fortune seemed noticeably off again.
The municipal investigation against him had already been halted.
This time, the crisis came from the provincial level.
Egging on by certain "righteous" netizens, the family of the deceased old man went straight to the province to report him.
Crucially, they had clearly received guidance from someone with ulterior motives this time; instead of confining themselves to Taixuan Villa, they dug up several engineering projects Duanmu Ren had run in earlier years.
Duanmu Ren panicked completely this time.
Regarding Taixuan Villa, he truly was clean and possessed a clear conscience.
But if they dragged up old accounts, that would mean real trouble.
Once the news spread that the provincial government was assembling an investigation team, Duanmu Ren experienced the fickleness of human relationships once again.
His former cohorts felt their positions endangered, each doing everything possible to draw a clear line between themselves and him.
His subordinates in the Civil Affairs Bureau avoided him like the plague; unless absolutely forced to, no one would enter his office.
His nominal wife had gone abroad on vacation and could no longer be reached.
When he went to his father-in-law's house again, the main gate was tightly locked, reportedly having taken the young nanny to the southern seaside for vacation and recuperation.
Even looking back at the municipal government's arrangement for him, Duanmu Ren felt there was a deeper meaning—a move that allowed room for both attack and defense.
Transferring someone from a power position to a marginal role could be generously called the organization "protecting" a cadre.
To put it bluntly, it was "shelving" him to facilitate investigation and settlement of accounts.
In terms of despair, Duanmu Ren was even worse off now than when he was banished to an impoverished mountain village back in the day.
Back then, it was merely an uncertain future and hopeless life.
Now, he knew full well that disaster was looming, yet he was utterly powerless, able only to watch helplessly as his doom approached.
Yet Duanmu Ren still refused to admit defeat or accept his fate, just like back then.
Duanmu Ren began organizing his thoughts to search for a way out.
Fleeing abroad would be immensely difficult; he was likely already under an exit ban.
In that case... he would simply flip the table!
Duanmu Ren came from a poor background. In his youth, he had been naive and innocent, even genuinely wishing to cultivate himself, regulate his family, govern the state, and bring peace to the people.
Unfortunately, he was quickly battered black and blue by harsh reality.
Later, after achieving "enlightenment" at the pig farm, his mindset completely flipped.
Ideals and beliefs were things to display to others after achieving success.
If a nobody wanted to achieve anything, they could only rely on viciousness and ruthlessness!
Relying on these two principles, Duanmu Ren had counterattacked all the way up to the esteemed position of county magistrate.
Now that death was at his door, he had to be even more vicious and ruthless!
Duanmu Ren pulled out his phone and made several calls. As expected, no one answered. Unsurprised, he chuckled and sent a text message to each declined number containing only a string of digits.
Moments later, calls from unfamiliar numbers began pouring in continuously.
Someone shouted angrily, "Duanmu, what do you think you're doing?! You're breaking the rules."
Someone placated, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out. I'll let you know if there's any news."
Someone threatened, "What nonsense are you sending out? Watch your tongue, or disaster will come from it."
Duanmu Ren merely sneered without responding.
They were all shrewd foxes; no matter how embellishing one's language was, one's inner thoughts could be seen through.
Instead, resolute silence was far more intimidating.
Putting down his phone, Duanmu Ren immediately drove to the provincial capital, heading straight for the provincial hospital.
In a special care room, an emaciated old man lay in bed receiving oxygen. Seeing Duanmu Ren, he waved his hand to dismiss the nurse and said in a dry voice, "Duanmu, you've been quite active lately."
"Godfather." Duanmu Ren sat by the bed, helped tuck in the blanket, and lowered his voice. "I didn't want to either. It's mainly that someone refuses to let me off. The city had already reached a conclusion, yet they insisted on bringing it up to the province. They're really pushing me too far."
The emaciated old man chuckled softly. "That's because your style is usually too overbearing, and you didn't pay attention to uniting your colleagues."
Duanmu Ren adopted a respectful attitude, lowering his head to admit fault.
The emaciated old man glanced at Duanmu Ren and slowly said, "Just now, my eldest son complained to me, saying you threatened him."
Duanmu Ren didn't deny it, explaining, "Godfather, I didn't want to either. But when a wall totters, everyone gives it a push, and so many people wouldn't even pick up my calls. That's really going too far. I was... merely saving myself."
"I didn't say you were wrong." The emaciated old man soothed gently, then asked, "The female doctor who cured the pneumoconiosis earlier—can you still reach her?!"
Duanmu Ren's heart stirred. Looking at the various instruments beside the bed, he said vaguely, "I'll give it a try after I go back."
"Mm." The emaciated old man nodded slightly, his breathing growing labored. As the instruments at the bedside began to sound alarms, doctors and nurses rushed in.
Before an auxiliary ventilator mask was placed over him, the emaciated old man murmured faint words: "Duanmu, make it fast. I... don't have much time left."
Three days later, a rumor began circulating in the provincial capital.
A heavyweight leader, without mentioning specific people or matters, had criticized relevant departments in a semi-public setting for failing to think independently and becoming echoes of public opinion. He even asked sternly: who was actually governing now—tried-and-tested officials, or the easily agitated netizens?
The joint investigation team, which had already set out and made it halfway, was urgently recalled and disbanded on the spot.
Returning to the Civil Affairs Bureau, Duanmu Ren looked at the deputy director coming to report work with a beaming face, and smiled with a nod.
...
Duanmu Ren's life returned to its normal track.
Even after this storm, many people viewed Duanmu Ren in a new light, holding him in considerable awe.
Duanmu Ren was very satisfied as well.
His only worry was that his promise to his godfather to find the miracle female doctor remained unfulfilled.
However, these were minor details.
It wasn't as if he hadn't put effort into looking; if he truly couldn't reach her, what else could he do?!
Half a month later, news arrived that his godfather had fallen into a coma and entered the ICU for emergency resuscitation.
Ever since he threatened his godfather's eldest son last time, the two had completely fallen out; going there would likely end in a fight.
In fact, Duanmu Ren could already predict the upcoming plot.
His godfather would be left in the ICU by those children to hang onto his last breath while they carved up his pension and family assets, cashing in on the old man's remaining influence as quickly as possible to squeeze out his final bits of value.
If he went, he might even be misunderstood as coming to claim a piece of the inheritance.
After some thought, Duanmu Ren decided not to join the fray, preferring to wait until the old man drew his last breath before seeing him off one final time.
Ding!
Someone sent a message.
Duanmu Ren opened it casually, only to instantly sit up straight as though confronting a formidable foe.
The sender turned out to be Li Jiabao, the nominal major shareholder of Taixuan Villa whom he had long forgotten!
The message contained only a few simple words: "Come to Taixuan Villa immediately."
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