Chapter 123: Friendship Is One Thing, Principles Are Another

Kang Ning pulled the handbrake, kept the engine idling, and slowly pushed the car door open to step out. Holding a pistol in his left hand, he walked up to Du Jianwu and stopped two meters away.

Gao Qinghua, standing fifty meters away, hurried toward them, but when he was still twenty meters off, Kang Ning shouted, "Stop! I'm sorry, Brother Gao, you had better not come any closer. I don't want to hurt any of my brothers!"

Gao Qinghua stood twenty meters away, grinding his teeth in frustration. Fearing that Kang Ning might truly do something reckless, he remained rooted to the spot, not daring to move. Unaccustomed to venting with profanity like Du Jianwu, he could only watch the two of them with deep anxiety.

Seeing Kang Ning shift his position slightly to align himself perfectly with Du Jianwu and himself, Gao Qinghua could no longer bear the distrust signaled by such meticulous precautions. In a fit of rage, he began to curse under his breath.

Observing from the corner of his eye that Gao Qinghua had obediently stopped, Kang Ning smiled faintly at Du Jianwu. "Do you have any instructions, Brother Du?"

Du Jianwu glared at him, his voice thick with fury. "You think you're so damn tough, don't you? Huh? If you're so capable, why don't you just walk away!"

Kang Ning, unfazed by the provocation, simply smiled and took a step back toward the open car door, intending to leave. Du Jianwu had no choice but to shout again, "Stop, you idiot! I’ll tell you the truth: Ni San is far smarter than you imagine, and the forces behind him are much larger than you realize. There are even one or two scoundrels within our own ranks serving him. Don’t look at this series of seemingly dead-end cases as if they just faded away; in reality, people have been piecing them together for a long time—they just haven't linked them to you yet. You saw how many men Ni San had with him today, right? As far as I know, the thirty-something-year-old bodyguard who has recently become his right-hand man is a master of martial arts no less skilled than you or me. Furthermore, this entire group is unusually well-armed. It’s clear that Ni San has been prepared, just waiting for a reckless fool like you to show your face!"

Kang Ning was deeply shocked. He calmed himself, walked to within two meters of Du Jianwu, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Du! I will repay this favor another day."

Du Jianwu sighed inwardly. He knew it would be difficult to stop this highly skilled man, but if he let him leave to assassinate Ni San, his own critical mission would be compromised. If Ni San died, the evidence would be destroyed, and many of the crimes would be swept under the rug by corrupt officials in high positions and the hypocritical socialites who backed him. If that happened, he and his comrades, who had struggled in the shadows for over a year, would fail their duty. The gang and their corrupt patrons would likely escape justice, only to wait for the storm to pass before continuing their reign of terror. Their criminal syndicate would learn from this, becoming even more clandestine and harder to root out, and all their hard work would have been for nothing.

Therefore, Du Jianwu was determined not to let Kang Ning leave today. He had to restrain him, lock him up somewhere, and worry about the rest later.

The sensitive Kang Ning seemed to detect something in Du Jianwu’s flickering gaze. He offered an apologetic smile and said, "Brother Du, you don't need to worry about me. If it comes to that, I’ll just wait. I know your character; you would never let a fugitive like me escape so easily. I remember a story about a policeman who arrested his own criminal brother and kept visiting him in prison, always leaving in tears. I suspect you are that kind of man! To spare you from such future sorrow, and because I don't want to spend my days rotting in a cage, I’ll be going now. Please forgive me, Brother Du!"

Just then, a truck approached from behind Kang Ning. Perhaps because the narrow road was partially blocked by the jeep, the driver blared his horn.

The jarring sound of the air horn forced Kang Ning, who was standing in the middle of the road, to reflexively step aside and glance back. Du Jianwu did not let this fleeting opportunity pass. With a powerful kick, he lunged at Kang Ning, knocked the gun from his left hand with a punch, and delivered a lightning-fast kick to his abdomen. In less than a second, Kang Ning—caught off guard while turning—was sent flying over three meters, tumbling into a drainage ditch on the side of the road.

Before the truck could even come to a halt ten meters away, Du Jianwu pounced on the groaning, stomach-clutching Kang Ning, pressing his Type 64 pistol firmly against his temple.

Seeing Gao Qinghua rush over, Du Jianwu shouted, "Quick! Use your handcuffs to secure him; I can't spare a hand!"

Gao Qinghua looked at Du Jianwu, who was kneeling on Kang Ning as if facing a mortal enemy, and sighed. He took out his handcuffs, secured Kang Ning’s wrists, and stood up to snap at the stunned truck driver, "What are you looking at? Police business! Get moving, or I'll handcuff you too!"

The truck driver shuddered, pulled his head back into the cab, and hastily drove away.

Seeing Kang Ning handcuffed and gritting his teeth in pain, Du Jianwu let out a long breath. He holstered his weapon, stood up, and wiped the sweat and dust from his face. "Thanks, Brother. Without your help, I was worried this kid might resist. I can't beat him in a fair fight, and I would have been heartbroken if I’d been forced to shoot."

Gao Qinghua glanced at the curled-up Kang Ning in the ditch, stepped forward to retrieve Kang Ning’s Type 54 pistol, and tucked it into his own belt. He turned back to Du Jianwu and asked, his voice full of heartache, "Little Du, what do you plan to do with him?"

Du Jianwu sighed heavily, his face pained. "Brother, in this line of work, we have no choice. Friendship is one thing, but we cannot abandon our principles! You know my character—I find it just as painful to turn on one of our own."

Gao Qinghua stomped his foot in frustration. "I know your difficulties, but weren't you a bit too ruthless? You hit him hard enough to make him vomit blood. Sigh..."

Du Jianwu looked at the bleeding Kang Ning and shook his head sadly. "Brother, you know how terrifying his skills are. If I hadn't seized the moment and given it my all, I might be the one lying there instead. I had no other choice."

"Say no more, I understand! But Little Du, it seems you've been hiding something important from me. Based on your temperament, I believe you could have let him go." Gao Qinghua stared into Du Jianwu’s eyes, as if trying to uncover the secrets hidden within.

Du Jianwu did not answer. He turned and knelt to check Kang Ning’s injuries. Seeing Kang Ning lying in the ditch, eyes closed in pain and gasping for breath, swallowing blood that stained his lips, chin, and shoulder, Du Jianwu groaned and dealt himself a heavy slap across the face.

Kang Ning forced his eyes open, his throat twitching as he managed a strained smile. "Don't do that, Brother Du. I understand! You are a true policeman. It is my fortune to be caught by you today; at least it's better than being caught by someone else. Brother Du, I don't hold it against you."

Du Jianwu, a man who had faced countless life-or-death tests, felt hot tears stream down his face at Kang Ning's words. He gently wiped the blood from the corner of Kang Ning’s mouth and said in a choked voice, "Good brother... I am sorry."