Good and Evil Chapter 143: Dong Gan'n's Kindness and Wen Xuelan's Repentance

For the next few days, Xu Lang did not visit the Public Security Bureau. Both Zhou Hongwen's missing person case and the illegal human organ trafficking case recently uncovered through the joint efforts of the two city police departments had already been solved. All that remained for the police was to gather evidence, prepare the indictments against Wen Xuelan and her accomplices, and, on another front, hunt down Wang Yiming.

Ever since Feng Liang and his gang were apprehended, the police had issued a warrant for Wang Yiming. Logically speaking, unless he had already fled City Y, someone should have spotted him by now. Yet, up to this point, the police had not uncovered a single clue regarding his whereabouts—an undeniably ominous sign for the authorities.

After leaving the Public Security Bureau with Dong Gan'en's family that day, Xu Lang first treated them to a meal, secured lodging for them, and then spent the next two days showing them around City Y. To be precise, it was hardly Xu Lang guiding them, as he was hardly familiar with City Y himself, leading to a few awkward mix-ups. Fortunately, although Dong Gan'en's mother rarely visited City Y, Dong Yihan had lived there for several years and knew the layout well. Ultimately, it was Dong Yihan who led the way for Xu Lang and the others.

Two days later, Dong Gan'en had to return to school. Having been missing for over a month, he needed to resume his studies now that he was rescued. Regarding the school's stance, Xu Lang had already spoken with Gu Hongsheng, requesting the police to formally clarify the situation. While the school would likely spare Dong Gan'en from expulsion, a disciplinary demerit was unavoidable. Of course, for someone from such an impoverished background as Dong Gan'en, that hardly mattered.

Ever since learning that Dong Gan'en had failed to attend classes, Dong Yihan and her mother had been frantic with worry, enlisting help from all directions to find him. The police notified them the very day he was rescued, prompting them to wait anxiously outside the gates of the Public Security Bureau.

Throughout the two days they spent together, Xu Lang keenly sensed that Dong Yihan was in poor health and her condition was far from optimistic. Yet, he could also see that despite her frail health, the return of her younger brother brought her immense joy. At times, looking at the way Dong Yihan gazed at Dong Gan'en, Xu Lang felt as though he caught a glimpse of his late sister, Xu Chan. Once upon a time, Xu Chan had looked at him with that exact same overflowing tenderness; no matter what mistakes he made, although she might get angry, she never uttered a harsh word.

Consequently, Xu Lang would occasionally drift off, letting his mind wander into the distance. Whenever he snapped back to reality, he would find Dong Gan'en wearing a mischievous grin while Dong Yihan, blushing and lowering her head, peeked at him from the corner of her eye, while their mother looked on at the three of them with profound affection and contentment.

Xu Lang offered no explanation. He knew Dong Gan'en must have misunderstood something, but he had no desire to clarify. Dong Yihan, though a woman of few words, possessed a profound and perceptive intuition, especially heightened by her illness. She saw no trace of the predatory desire typical of men in Xu Lang's eyes. Instead, his gaze evoked an ineffable sorrow within her, as if he were superimposing someone else onto her—perhaps a family member or another deeply cherished person. Yet, precisely because of this, Dong Yihan felt all the more reassured about her brother walking alongside Xu Lang.

Before Dong Gan'en returned to school, Xu Lang and Dong Gan'en accompanied Dong Yihan to the hospital—the finest one in City Y. Initially, the family refused hospitalization there, but under Xu Lang's insistence, they relented, with Xu Lang naturally covering all medical expenses.

Having resolved Dong Gan'en's immediate worries, Xu Lang escorted him back to campus. Afterward, he quietly returned to the hospital to consult Dong Yihan's attending physician regarding her specific condition. Upon learning that her illness was still in its early stages and merely required a compatible bone marrow donor for a successful transplant, Xu Lang didn't hesitate for a second to undergo testing. Whether it was the grace of fate or a genuine destined affinity between him and Dong Yihan, their tissue types matched. While this discovery came as a surprise, it brought him immense joy. He immediately instructed the physician to relay the good news to Dong Yihan while keeping the identity of the donor strictly confidential.

Upon hearing that a suitable bone marrow match had been found, Dong Yihan and her mother were initially thrilled and overjoyed. Soon, however, a heavy silence fell over them. They knew that a bone marrow transplant was a major procedure requiring an exorbitant fee—one far beyond their current means. Just as they found themselves paralyzed by despair, an anonymous benefactor stepped forward to cover the entire cost.

That benefactor was not Xu Lang, but the arrested Wen Xuelan. It was she who paid for the surgery—a gesture that left everyone utterly stunned and baffled.

While Xu Lang was accompanying Dong Gan'en's family, the results of Wen Xuelan's psychological evaluation were finalized. They confirmed that she was entirely of sound mind and suffered from no psychiatric disorders, which brought a sigh of relief to Gu Hongsheng. However, during a routine physical examination, the hospital uncovered an unexpected development: Wen Xuelan was also suffering from late-stage kidney disease. It was as if some relentless, preordained fate was hounding her family.

This medical finding caught everyone off guard, including Xu Lang. The only person who showed no surprise was Wen Xuelan herself. She seemed to have known about her illness all along. Yet, that only made things more paradoxical. Given her wealth, social standing, and current medical technology, securing a kidney transplant through legitimate channels should have been effortless, even without resorting to Feng Liang's syndicate. With the entire human organ trafficking ring under her control, acquiring a kidney should have been child's play.

When the police questioned her about this, Wen Xuelan remained utterly calm, offering only a single, faint remark:

"This is fate."

Those few brief words laid bare the helplessness and sorrow buried deep within her heart. Her mother had died of kidney disease; her father had suffered the same fate; her long-time lover as well. Now, the cycle had reached her. Perhaps, as she said, it was all destiny.

In light of her critical medical condition, the police granted Wen Xuelan bail pending trial. Although she was spared a detention center cell and allowed to return home, every single move she made remained under tight police surveillance.

Whether driven by the ancient adage that a dying person's words are benevolent and a dying bird's song is mournful, upon her release, Wen Xuelan first retained two prominent lawyers to donate all her remaining liquid assets to a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting kidney disease patients. Following that, she signed an organ donation agreement, explicitly stating that upon her death, all healthy organs should be harvested for those in need, while her remains were to be bequeathed to the medical department of University Y for research purposes. Furthermore, she liquidated all her real estate holdings, directing the proceeds entirely toward compensating the organ donors she had previously harmed.

Before Wen Xuelan left the detention center, Xu Lang had met with her in secret. Apart from the two of them, no one knew the contents of their conversation. Ultimately, they reached a certain agreement during that talk—one that did not breach any legal boundaries.

Shortly after Wen Xuelan was released on bail, Ning Yanran and her team finally unraveled why Wang Yiming had entered her orbit.

Wang Yiming had a younger brother by eight years named Wang Feiteng. The two brothers had been exceptionally close since childhood, with Wang Yiming always shielding his younger sibling. Emboldened by his older brother's protection, Wang Feiteng grew increasingly reckless and devoid of consequence. While Wang Yiming was away serving in the military, Wang Feiteng participated in a violent street brawl that left a victim severely injured and reduced to a vegetative state. Because he was a minor at the time, he was sent to a juvenile detention center for a two-year reform sentence.

Upon his release, rather than reforming, Wang Feiteng sank deeper into vice, picking up habits like heavy drinking, gambling, and eventually drug addiction—all completely unknown to Wang Yiming. Strunck by mounting debts he could no longer repay, Wang Feiteng ultimately resorted to selling his kidney. The broker who received him was none other than Feng Liang.

The surgery took place in Wen Xuelan's private clinic. Cruelly, shortly after undergoing the procedure and receiving thirty thousand yuan, Wang Feiteng suffered severe postoperative complications and dropped dead on the street.

By the time Wang Yiming was discharged from military service and tracked his brother down, Wang Feiteng's body had long since been cremated, reduced to ashes sealed inside a funerary urn.

Wang Yiming had first appeared in Wen Xuelan's vicinity five years ago, shortly after he was detained by the police for involvement in a bar fight.

Upon uncovering this crucial lead, Ning Yanran immediately notified Xu Lang. A chilling realization struck them simultaneously: Wen Xuelan, currently outside the detention center, was in grave danger. Wang Yiming likely had never fled City Y; instead, he was lurking in the shadows, watching the police's every move.

If their deductions were correct, Wang Yiming's proximity to Wen Xuelan over the years had never been about money—it was entirely about avenging his brother, Wang Feiteng. Yet, what puzzled Xu Lang was why, having known Wen Xuelan for five years, Wang Yiming had not eliminated her long ago instead of remaining by her side. More importantly, what was his ultimate endgame?

Sensing the imminent peril surrounding Wen Xuelan, Ning Yanran dialed her cell phone immediately. The ringtone droned on for a long time without an answer. When the call finally disconnected automatically and she redialed, she found that Wen Xuelan's phone had been switched off. An ominous premonition gripped Ning Yanran. She immediately called the officers assigned to monitor Wen Xuelan, but their phones similarly rang out until disconnection. Without a doubt, something had gone terribly wrong.

Ning Yanran rushed to Gu Hongsheng, requesting the technical division to track the signals of Wen Xuelan's phone and those of the surveillance team. While Wen Xuelan's phone remained powered off and untraceable, the signal for the surveillance officers' devices was successfully located: they were stationary inside Wen Xuelan's villa.

Situated in the Western Mountain District of City Y, the villa had been specially constructed for Wen Xuelan by Wen Mingde years ago. When she liquidated her real estate during her bail proceedings, this was the sole property she retained.

With the surveillance officers' phones located inside the villa, Wen Xuelan was undoubtedly there as well. Under the circumstances, only two scenarios were possible:

First, Wen Xuelan was staging an elaborate escape and acting out a charade for the police.

Second, she had been abducted or perhaps murdered, with Wang Yiming as the prime suspect.

Xu Lang quickly dismissed the first possibility as highly improbable. If Wen Xuelan had wanted to flee, she would have done so long ago without resorting to such elaborate theatrics. Even if she managed to escape abroad, her days were numbered; medical reports indicated she had less than three months to live. Destined to die soon, she had no reason to drag herself to a foreign land just to draw her final breath.

Thus, Xu Lang leaned heavily toward the second scenario. Without wasting a second, he and Ning Yanran piled into a car and sped toward the villa.

Midway through their drive, Gu Hongsheng's phone rang. Upon answering, he was greeted by the muffled sobs of a woman, accompanied by the heavy, ragged breathing of a man. A moment later, the man roared through the receiver: "Director Gu, why did you let her out? Why? Don't you know how many innocent lives she ruined? Is it just because she has more money than everyone else?"

While Ning Yanran found the voice unfamiliar, both Gu Hongsheng and Xu Lang recognized it instantly. The moment the man uttered his opening sentence, they knew exactly who was on the line: Wang Yiming.

"Are you Wang Yiming? I am Gu Hongsheng, Director of the City Y Public Security Bureau. State your demands, and I will consider them," Gu Hongsheng said urgently.

"That's right, I am Wang Yiming—the Wang Yiming you've put on the wanted list."

"Wang Yiming, where are you right now?"

"Director Gu, what do you think? Could you possibly not know where I am?"

"You're at Wen Xuelan's house?"

"Spot on."

"Wang Yiming, don't do anything rash! You're still young, and you didn't directly participate in the organ trafficking; you won't face the death penalty. Think this through carefully!"

"Director Gu, save me the speech. I know all your police tricks by heart."

"If that's the case, why choose this path?"

"Director Gu, take a guess. Aren't you a cop? Surely you can figure that out."

While Gu Hongsheng kept Wang Yiming on the line, Xu Lang and Ning Yanran pressed harder on the accelerator, hurtling toward the destination. As their vehicles pulled up in tandem before the villa's gates, Xu Lang looked up at the rooftop and saw a woman with her hands and feet bound standing precariously at the edge. Wang Yiming stood right behind Wen Xuelan, holding his phone in one hand and a pistol in the other, the barrel pressed firmly against her temple.

Seeing the scene unfold, Ning Yanran moved to rush past the gates, but Xu Lang intercepted her. Halting at the front, he surveyed the rooftop and said, "The situation inside is unknown. We wait until the Armed Police arrive before entering."

Seeing Wen Xuelan alive on the roof brought a momentary wave of relief to Xu Lang. Though she appeared deeply imperiled, at least she was still breathing. What troubled him more were the surveillance officers. Their current status—dead or alive—remained unknown. If they were still alive, where were they? Were they bound or merely knocked unconscious? If they had been murdered by Wang Yiming, the nature of the crime would escalate dramatically from kidnapping to capital murder, with the victims being police officers. The consequences for Wang Yiming would be unimaginably severe.

Standing below, Xu Lang meticulously observed Wang Yiming's movements. He noticed that the pistol in the man's hand was a standard police issue firearm, confirming that the surveillance detail had indeed been ambushed. Furthermore, Xu Lang spotted a second holster at Wang Yiming's waist containing another firearm—one whose make did not match police inventory, heightening his sense of dread.

Glancing between the rooftop and the surrounding terrain, Xu Lang lingered for a brief moment before whispering instructions to Ning Yanran. Brushing aside her immediate objections, he slipped swiftly into the villa through a blind spot hidden from Wang Yiming's line of sight.

Upon stepping inside, Xu Lang found the ground-floor living room in disarray, bearing unmistakable signs of a violent struggle. Sofas and coffee tables were overturned, and shattered glass littered the floor. Fortunately, there were no bodies of police officers in sight. However, as he reached the foot of the staircase leading to the second floor, a grim sight caught his eye: a trail of fresh blood.

The blood did not trail downward from above; instead, it began at the base of the stairs on the first floor and led upward toward the second.

At that sight, Xu Lang's heart skipped a beat, and he silently prayed that Wang Yiming had not committed the ultimate atrocity against the police officers.