After a while, one of the detectives’ phones rang. “Boss Yu’s dinner party.”

“Today, the guy he killed was one of his lackeys. He thought it was a rival causing trouble, got all nervous, and now he’s invited us over. The car’s already at the door. You coming?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Let this kid sit here for a while.”

The two detectives left, and it was several hours before they returned, faces flushed from drinking.

“Murder and assaulting a police officer—the charges are set. He’s not getting away with even a peanut. Just because he’s practiced martial arts for a few years, he thinks he’s some kind of hero. Still a college student, but has no basic legal awareness. No matter how good your skills are, can you beat a gun? I really don’t know how your parents raised you, raising you for nothing.” Seeing James Carter sneer, the detective got annoyed and slammed the table, scolding him.

“Parasites of the nation!”

“What did you say?”

“Two parasites of the nation!” James Carter sneered coldly. He had already said what was on his mind, and now the police were lecturing him with a bunch of high-sounding principles. He couldn’t help but get angry, especially since they made him squat while talking—he’d had enough.

Anyway, his mom had said someone would get him out. He was just feeling stifled and hungry. The interrogation had taken a long time, and those two detectives had gone out for lunch. James Carter figured it was about time for dinner.

“Fuck your mother! Lawless! Do you even know where you are? Still so arrogant!” One of the detectives, hearing James Carter curse, flew into a rage, spat out obscenities, grabbed an electric baton, and was about to open the iron door to give James Carter a beating.

Swish! Blood rushed to James Carter’s face. “If he dares come in and hit me, I’ll just snap the handcuffs, grab his gun, and fight my way out.”

Just as James Carter was steeling himself, there was a bang—the interrogation room door opened, and a burly plainclothes detective walked in. “Captain!”

“Someone else is taking over this case. Give me all the files.” The detective captain glanced at James Carter, his eyes lingering on his hands for a moment, a strange glint flashing in his gaze.

“What! This kid is way too arrogant—he killed someone and injured Deputy Captain Zhang. We’ve already got it all figured out. What’s left to investigate? And who’s taking over?” one of the detectives protested.

“This kid’s crimes go beyond this. Orders from above! It’s not our business anymore. If the media comes to interview, be careful what you say.” With that, he took the files, and the two detectives led James Carter out.

“People from above? Who exactly? Looks like my mom really does have some powerful connections. But who are they? If they’d come any later, things would’ve gotten out of hand. Even my mom might not have been able to handle it.”

Outside, sure enough, it was already evening. James Carter, along with the files, was pushed into a police car.

“A descendant of Wang Yangming—no wonder you’ve got some backbone.” As soon as he was pushed in, bang, the door was shut tight. “So, you don’t need me to unlock your handcuffs, do you?”

The car was already moving. In the back, James Carter heard a clear, pleasant voice, and a soft, fragrant scent wafted into his nose. “Smells so good!” He saw the back of a woman in a police uniform in the driver’s seat, her long black hair flowing down, waves of fragrance drifting over.

“Another woman? Did killing someone suddenly give me good luck with women? I just groped one earlier, and now here’s another? Do I have to kill to get lucky with women? How strange. But a woman is always better than a man.”

Click! He snapped the handcuffs, grabbed the right cuff with his left hand, twisted his wrist, and tore it apart, then did the same with the other. James Carter flexed his wrists and finally felt much more comfortable.

The ride was silent. Breathing in the fragrance, James Carter kneaded the handcuffs into a flat strip, then stretched them out long, while his stomach growled loudly. The whole car could hear it. James Carter couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Woof woof! Woof woof! He heard deep dog barks as the car drove into a villa in a luxurious neighborhood. The female officer didn’t look back, just got out of the car. “Wait here a moment, I’ll be right back.”

James Carter couldn’t see her face clearly, but there was nothing he could do. He had to go along with whatever happened, feeling it was all mysterious but not daring to ask, lest he cause trouble. After a while, a car horn sounded nearby: “Get in yourself.”

James Carter got out of the police car and saw, not far away, a huge wolfdog tied up, taller than a person’s waist, its blood-red tongue flicking out, gleaming white fangs bared, front paws crouched on the ground in a tiger-like stance, ready to pounce, a low growl rumbling in its throat. It looked like it could leap at him at any moment!

He saw a BMW drive out of the garage and stop nearby. James Carter didn’t know where they were taking him, so he just went along, opened the front door, and squeezed in.

“My god, I’ve run into a fox spirit!”

James Carter felt breathless, as if Emperor Ming of Tang had met Yang Guifei, or Cao Pi had encountered the goddess of the Luo River.