On the way to being taken away, Doctor Sun neither screamed nor shouted, cooperating actively and earnestly, seemingly hoping for leniency.
Government, jail cell.
"Sir, I truly didn't break any laws. This is coercion! I'm just an ordinary doctor; how could I possibly commit any crimes?" Doctor Sun sat on the iron chair, staring in fear at Lin Fan, who was chaining his limbs, and spoke nervously.
"Don't rush, just wait a bit." Lin Fan said as the iron chain clanked in his hands. He locked up Doctor Sun's legs, then secured his hands to the armrests of the chair.
He tugged on the chains.
Very secure. With his opponent's strength, he shouldn't be able to struggle free.
"Sir, I'm just a helpless doctor who wouldn't hurt a chicken. There's no need to detain me like this." Doctor Sun pleaded.
Lin Fan smiled and said, "Lying, are we? Your cultivation level has reached three years, which makes you a minor nobody. My men might not even be able to beat you."
Doctor Sun froze in shock, his heart rattled—the devil, how did he know that I've been cultivating?
"Sir, it's a misunderstanding! I'm just a city doctor skilled in human anatomy. I stumbled upon an ordinary cultivation technique and practiced it casually. After all, picking herbs requires physical strength."
He tried his hardest to explain, hoping his words would be believed.
"Indeed, cultivation is good for building strength. Your *Five Poison Palm* practice isn't bad." Lin Fan responded casually. After ensuring everything was in order, he motioned and said, "All of you stand guard here. Don't let him sleep. Douse him with cold water every half hour."
"Understood, Boss," Wang Baoliu replied firmly.
At this moment, Doctor Sun looked at Lin Fan with an expression that resembled seeing a ghost.
How does this guy know all this?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
"Doctor Sun, stay put. If you figure it out, tell me the real story. Who attacked the caravan, and who collaborated with the demons?"
"Cooperate properly, and I'll give you a way out. If you don't cooperate, think about the consequences yourself."
Lin Fan left the dungeon, ignoring Doctor Sun's cries of innocence.
People like this are usually very stubborn.
In situations like this right now, getting anything useful out of him is virtually impossible.
Doctor Sun's residence.
Lin Fan returned alone. The courtyard was quiet, utterly silent, and he proceeded towards the room.
He returned to investigate the situation.
To see if there was anything suspicious.
Inside the room.
The bathtub remained, with the wooden duck on the water unmoving and silent.
"Where could secrets be hidden?"
Lin Fan pondered, then walked to the edge of the bed. His fingers tapped along the headboard to the footboard but found no anomalies.
He crouched down to examine the bed's underside carefully—nothing there.
He then knocked on the floor tiles. Hollow thuds echoed, but none were different; all were solid.
"Impressive! These classic hiding techniques are all absent, which suggests Doctor Sun is experienced and quite adept." Lin Fan murmured to himself. What was once a one-hundred-percent suspicion of Doctor Sun had grown to one-thousand-percent suspicion.
If Doctor Sun knew Lin Fan's current thoughts,
He'd definitely roar in anger:
"To fabricate a charge against someone—isn't that just asking for it? You're not human!"
Not a single corner of the room was left unchecked.
Even the wooden pillars supporting the house were tapped from top to bottom. Still, nothing was found.
"If there's nothing in this room, then let's check the other rooms. Logically, the study is most likely." Lin Fan thought for a moment. Yes, that must be it. The study is a classic place to hide things.
Leaving this room, he moved to the adjacent one.
Bookshelves lined three walls here. There weren't many books; the room was more decorated than functional.
"Hmph, being a doctor with so few medical books? Suspicious for sure." Lin Fan chuckled. Escaping his searches was simply impossible.
Not unless you're hiding it in the heavens.
Lin Fan's gaze was drawn to a bonsai.
He approached the bonsai, placed his hands on its base, and began twisting it. If there really was a secret location, there would surely be the crisp sound of a 'click,' followed by a bookshelf moving or a trapdoor opening.
But what should have happened didn't occur.
Lifting lightly, he picked up the bonsai outright—nothing unusual.
"Turns out, very clever. Hidden depths indeed."
Lin Fan didn't give up. His eyes scanned every corner until he came to the bookshelf, pulling out the books one by one. Still, what he was hoping for didn't happen.
He turned to the desk, carefully moving each object atop it.
After a long time.
Lin Fan sat on a chair, deeply immersed in thought. Where did he go wrong? This shouldn't be how it turned out.
Then suddenly—
His gaze locked onto the wooden chair beneath him.
"Could it be…"
He didn't waste words.
Standing up immediately, he lifted the wooden chair, then gently put it back down, walking away casually.
He didn't say much else.
Sometimes—
Overthinking can indeed be a terrifying thing.
But as a constable, when investigating clues, even without results, you absolutely cannot lose faith. After all, there are several more rooms left to search.
How could you give up so easily?
Back in the dungeon.
Splosh!
Wang Baoliu poured a bucket of cold water directly over Doctor Sun.
"I'm genuinely innocent! You're using illegal punishment. I'm going to expose your rough conduct to the world!"
Doctor Sun shivered, goosebumps rising all over his body. It was freezing. Sitting there stark naked, a constable nearby was even fanning him with a leaf fan.
"Sun Tao, you might as well confess honestly. Our boss is never wrong. You've definitely done something." Wang Baoliu frowned and glared angrily, trying to appear fierce.
Doctor Sun—aka Sun Tao—grimaced. "Bao Liu, I'm truly innocent. When you were a child and got a fever, burning so hot no one could touch you, several doctors said you couldn't be saved. I was the one who brought you back. Have you forgotten?"
"Hmm?" Wang Baoliu looked puzzled. "Did that really happen? My dad told me the doctor asked for a high price, and our family couldn't afford it. The neighbors pooled resources to pay for medicine. How come it's you who saved me?"
"Brother Bao Liu, why waste words with him? Boss just told us to watch over him—that's all. Come, have some hot soup; it's a bit chilly tonight." Another constable chimed in.
Sun Tao trembled uncontrollably, his speech faltering through chattering teeth. "Bao Liu, let's not talk so much—just give me a sip of hot soup, will you? It's too cold."
"No can do! Boss said to keep you cold. Giving you hot soup? You think I'm an idiot?" Wang Baoliu retorted, picking up his hot soup. He pulled out a meat bun from his coat pocket, handed one to his companion, then took a bite of his own bun and sipped his soup contentedly. Life was good.
At the residence.
"Sigh."
Lin Fan had given up. He'd thoroughly searched the house inside and out, not a single corner overlooked, yet he still found nothing of value.
And so, he was plunged into deep self-doubt.
Was he overthinking?
Head lowered, he walked outside.
Suddenly—
His peripheral vision caught sight of a dried-up well nearby.
"Hmm?"
All his professional instincts and experience told him:
This place is not ordinary.