Chapter 53: Cao Xingwang's Animal Instincts

Facing Xie Hongyi’s provocation, Xu Lang did not get angry; he merely smiled slightly. Young people nowadays were always so restless, believing that pairing leather jackets with underwear, flaunting thick gold chains, and shouting their words made them stylish. Of course, this was only their own idea of style.

Cao Xiangwen shot Xie Hongyi a fierce glare and hurriedly said, “Er Gou, watch how you speak to the officer—this is an officer from the Public Security Bureau of S City.”

After speaking, Cao Xiangwen glanced cautiously at Xu Lang. Seeing that Xu Lang was not angry and still smiling at Xie Hongyi, Cao Xiangwen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Lang truly wasn’t angry. He wouldn’t stoop to argue with a young man only a few years his junior. Besides, he himself was still young. Waiting for Cao Xiangwen to finish, Xu Lang explained, “My name is Xu Lang, from the Public Security Bureau. I have a few matters I’d like to ask about.”

Upon hearing that Xu Lang was from the Public Security Bureau of S City, Xie Hongyi immediately realized the gravity of the situation. His provocative expression vanished, replaced by an awkward smile. He asked, “Officer Xu, what do you want to know?”

“Where were you last night?” Xu Lang asked.

Xie Hongyi thought for a moment and replied, “Last night? Yesterday afternoon, I ate at home, then visited my uncle’s place, played mahjong for a while, and didn’t return home until after one in the morning.”

“Mahjong?”

Xu Lang took in this information, first studying Xie Hongyi, who looked calmly back at him. Then Xu Lang looked at Cao Xiangwen, who seemed a bit embarrassed. After all, the village chief was a public servant, and playing mahjong wasn’t unusual in the countryside, but for the authorities to know about it was still somewhat improper.

“How many of you were there?” Xu Lang asked again.

“Me, my uncle, my third brother, and third sister-in-law—four people in total,” Xie Hongyi continued.

“Third brother, third sister-in-law?” Xu Lang looked at Xie Hongyi in confusion.

Seeing Xu Lang didn’t know who he meant, Xie Hongyi explained, “They’re all people from our village.”

Xu Lang didn’t pursue the matter further, instead asking, “When was the last time you saw Cao Xingwang?”

“Cao Xingwang?”

Upon hearing Xu Lang mention Cao Xingwang, Xie Hongyi paused, then understood and said, “You mean the Bandit?”

Xu Lang nodded.

“The last time I saw the Bandit was the night before last. He brought a woman home, argued with the old man, kicked down the door, and left with the woman. I happened to be heading home and ran into him,” Xie Hongyi said.

“Woman? What kind of woman? Do you know her name?” Xu Lang pressed.

“A woman dressed very provocatively—clearly not a decent person, probably a hostess. As for her name, I don’t know,” Xie Hongyi replied.

Xu Lang listened, then turned to Cao Xiangwen, who shook his head and said, “I know the Bandit found a woman after coming out this time, but I never saw her. Since his release, he rarely stayed in the village. I’m not really clear on his situation. To be honest, even as the village chief, I don’t dare interfere in the Bandit’s affairs.”

Hearing this, Xu Lang pondered for a moment, then asked a few more questions but did not pursue the matter further. Meanwhile, Zhao Hua began interviewing other residents of Caojia Village.

Three hours later, their investigation was nearly complete, and the scene had been fully examined. Xu Lang and his team returned to the Public Security Bureau.

Through interviews with the villagers and examination of the Bandit's—Cao Xingwang’s—past records, it was clear that Cao Xingwang was utterly lacking in filial piety and rebellion, barely worthy of being called human. From birth to death, his deeds were too numerous and heinous to recount.

At seventeen, after raping a girl from the village and being denounced by the villagers, he fled Caojia Village for T City, where he lived a vagrant life. Cao Kangping and Xie Lianhan, his parents, compensated the victim’s family with a pig and about a hundred pounds of grain. After that, the girl’s family moved away, and the incident faded into memory.

In T City, rather than reforming or finding honest work, Cao Xingwang continued to associate with unsavory characters. They spent their days idling, eating and drinking, and when their money ran out, resorted to theft. Initially, they targeted train and bus stations, but their lack of experience led to their capture after only three thefts. They were sentenced to three years in a labor camp.

Three years later, Cao Xingwang was released. With no money, he returned home. His parents, who hadn’t seen him in three years, were overjoyed, despite his frequent troublemaking. Being their only child, born late in life, they were lenient. At twenty, an adult, he still refused to help with farm work, spending his days sleeping. His father rose early to work the fields, his mother cooked breakfast and brought it to his bedside, calling him to eat. Yet even this wasn’t enough for Cao Xingwang; he constantly complained about coarse food, lack of alcohol, and absence of meat. Rural families often slaughtered a pig for the year, curing the meat to last, but in the Kangping household, the pork would be consumed within two months.

Cao Xingwang loved meat and alcohol and, when drunk, would cause trouble, frequently cursing his parents with “old fools”—his habitual insult. The villagers all knew the situation but dared not intervene, as whenever Cao Xingwang drank too much, he’d make a scene and resort to violence. Not long after his return, he beat a villager so severely that the man was hospitalized—a man who was, by generation, his uncle.

Afterward, the authorities took him away. Given his prior conviction, he was sentenced to five years. In prison, he attempted to escape and received an additional six months. After five and a half years, he was released but showed no signs of reform. Back home at twenty-six, his parents were nearly seventy. His peers had children, but he remained single. His father tried to find him a wife, hoping marriage would curb his behavior.

Yet Cao Xingwang had never been a law-abiding person. He was unruly in school, graduated with no skills, and spent his days lazing about, drinking, smoking, and gambling. His earlier crime, though settled privately, was well-known in the village and surrounding areas. No one would risk their daughter’s future by marrying her to him.

After his release, he stayed home for a while, even more volatile than before. Previously, he only cursed at his parents; now, if anything displeased him, he would beat or berate them. Once, returning late and hungry from gambling, he found his mother cooking pancakes. Impatient, he stormed into the kitchen, saw the food, and started cursing, calling her “old fool,” then grabbed a bucket of slop and poured it over her head. Tears mixed with the slop on her aged face as she looked up at the son who towered over her, feeling bitter and afraid, wiping herself clean and returning to her work in silence. Cao Xingwang showed no sympathy, slapped her, and went back to bed.

From then on, any displeasure prompted him to beat his parents—perhaps the food wasn't to his liking, or they spoke out of turn, or his father had no money for him. Once, when his mother returned late from the fields and there was no breakfast, he beat her so badly he broke three of her ribs. His father, with the neighbors’ help, rushed her to the hospital. Cao Xingwang didn’t even look back, leaving for S City after the assault.

Short on money, he resorted to highway robbery, snatching a purse from a young woman and raping her. The victim reported him, and he was soon arrested. As a repeat offender, he received a ten-year sentence. In prison, he refused to reform, shirked work whenever possible, and his elderly parents continued to visit, bringing food and clothing. Cao Xingwang showed no gratitude, complaining about the quality of their gifts.

After ten years, he was released. Now thirty-seven, his father was over seventy, unable to work, and his mother’s health had declined from years of labor. Back home, he continued his parasitic life, still beating and berating his parents. His favorite pastime was making his nearly seventy-year-old mother kneel, riding on her back as if she were a horse.

This time, through an introduction, a divorced woman named Chen Lan married him. The elderly couple hoped marriage would bring change, as did the villagers. Instead, Cao Xingwang grew worse, not only abusing his parents but also his wife.

Chen Lan was a good woman, renowned both in Caojia Village and her previous home. She handled all the farm work, and three months after the wedding, she became pregnant. When Cao Xingwang lost money gambling, he went out and stole over a thousand yuan, was caught, and sentenced to a year and a half.

During his imprisonment, Chen Lan stayed, managed the fields, and gave birth to a healthy son, waiting for his release. After a year and a half, he was released, nearly forty, and his son was a year old. Back home, he resumed his old ways, abusing his parents and wife. Once, he beat Chen Lan so severely she was hospitalized with persistent bloody urine. During her stay, he never visited, instead falling into prostitution, frequenting hostesses.

After recovering, Chen Lan lost all hope. When their son was nearly two, she left to work elsewhere, leaving S City for good, with no news since.