Chapter 49: Faith Above All

When Ji Xingyu and Mo Fei arrived at the police station, a security guard, noticing the unfamiliar license plate, started to step forward to question them. But upon seeing Mo Fei in the passenger seat, he halted in his tracks.

A familiar face—nothing to worry about.

Mo Fei came to the police station more often than he went to work.

“Back again, I see,” the guard greeted Mo Fei, giving him a thumbs-up. “Heard about what happened yesterday. Impressive.”

Mo Fei grinned and waved at him. “Nothing special—helping others helps myself too.”

Human traffickers are undoubtedly among the most detestable criminals in the world.

Ji Xingyu admired the ease with which Mo Fei conversed with everyone at the station. The ability to make friends with anyone was a remarkable skill in itself.

Officer Xiao Xu was flipping through files at his desk and didn’t even bother to look up when Mo Fei entered. He simply pointed to a seat nearby. “Sit.”

“We left in a hurry yesterday. There are still some details that need clarification.” Officer Xu started a recording on his phone, showed it to Mo Fei, and set it aside. “About how you found the traffickers’ hideout—are you still insisting it was your cat who discovered it?”

Mo Fei blinked, pondering for a moment, then answered earnestly, “Actually, I was able to find that place because I’d been observing that gang of traffickers in secret. After persistent effort and with some help from friends, I finally located their hideout.”

Hearing a more credible explanation, Officer Xu perked up and was about to press further when Mo Fei anticipated his question and answered first, “My friends are rather low-key, so they wanted me to take the lead. They just don’t want to be in contact with you guys.”

Officer Xu could only nod in understanding.

After all, it wasn’t as if they were doing anything harmful—they just didn’t want to show their faces.

They continued with a few more procedural questions. When Officer Xu finally stopped the recording, he let out a long breath. “Well, that’s one thing off my plate.”

Mo Fei’s earlier claim that his cat had saved people was impossible to include in an official report; this new version was much more plausible.

Mo Fei smiled faintly, recalling how he’d spent half the night discussing with his elusive friend to come up with this story.

Many things in life are like this—a slight change in the telling harms no one but makes life easier for everyone.

Just a touch of creative embellishment.

“By the way, why did you call me earlier? What happened?” Officer Xu asked.

“Just a small issue,” Mo Fei replied, pointing at Ji Xingyu. “His helmet got stolen. I was arguing with someone about it.”

Officer Xu glanced at Ji Xingyu.

He remembered this man, whose looks outshone most women. A man who seemed perpetually unlucky.

“If an old lady comes by later to return a helmet, hold onto it for us—it’s quite expensive,” Mo Fei said, causing Officer Xu’s expression to grow odd.

He nodded toward the entrance. “Is the helmet you’re talking about that one?”

Mo Fei turned to look.

A man with a buzz cut strode into the station. A thick gold chain hung from his neck, a cigarette dangled from his lips, and an eye tattoo adorned his forehead. In his hand he carried a black helmet that looked entirely out of place with his style.

Ji Xingyu recognized it instantly. “That’s my helmet.”

Though he had found his lost item, his expression betrayed little joy.

Having his helmet handled by such a character made it feel somehow tainted.

Mo Fei’s gaze lingered on the tattooed eye on the man’s forehead. He was now most curious whether that “third eye” was real or merely drawn on. If it was a real tattoo, he wondered about the man’s mindset when he got it.

Mo Fei had no particular opinion on tattoos, but he couldn’t help thinking that particular design was rather unsightly.

Officer Xu was more direct; he began searching for wanted fugitives’ photos on his computer.

The buzz-cut man tossed the helmet onto the counter. “My mom found this. Take it.”

Muttering curses under his breath, he turned to leave, clearly finding the whole affair inauspicious.

Officer Xu stood and called out, “Li Chong?”

The man instinctively turned around.

Seeing this reaction, Officer Xu knew he hadn’t made a mistake. He rushed forward and grabbed the man. “You started a brawl at the barbecue joint a month ago and have been listed as a fugitive ever since.”

As Officer Xu moved in, two or three other officers quickly converged, surrounding them.

“No need to leave in such a hurry. Let’s sit down and have a chat,” Officer Xu said, handing the man off to his colleagues before returning to his seat.

Ji Xingyu was dumbfounded. “Did that really just happen?”

“Why not?” Officer Xu replied, in good spirits. “Some people end up as fugitives without even realizing it—not because they haven’t done wrong, but because they don’t think what they did was wrong.”

“A month ago, that Li Chong was eating with a gang at the barbecue place. Not only did they skip the bill, they also harassed female customers. If recent trafficking cases hadn’t kept us busy, we’d have cuffed him long ago.”

Mo Fei pointed to the helmet now being put away by a policewoman. “Perfect timing. Go collect your things.”

Ji Xingyu nodded and went to complete the procedures.

“I’ve got to admit, ever since you showed up, this place has been a lot livelier,” Officer Xu said to Mo Fei, half in jest, half in earnest.

Mo Fei refused to shoulder the blame. “That’s got nothing to do with me. It just shows that public security still needs improving.”

“You’re right; there are still plenty of people who lack legal awareness,” Officer Xu sighed. “Honestly, I’d rather be idle every day if it meant the world had a bit more peace.”

“There’s an old saying among doctors: ‘Better the medicine on the shelf gathers dust than people suffer from illness.’” Mo Fei smiled. “Officer Xu, you have a noble spirit.”

Officer Xu smiled back, looking at Mo Fei seriously. “I have few friends outside of work—you’re one of them now.”

Mo Fei raised an eyebrow. “Should I be honored?”

Officer Xu seemed to want to say more, but in the end kept silent.

Ji Xingyu returned, helmet in hand. “Shall we go look at lights next?”

“Look at lights?” Mo Fei pulled a face. “Don’t tell me you want to buy a set?”

“Why not?” Ji Xingyu was puzzled. “New ones are brighter.”

Mo Fei shook his head as he stood up.

He glanced at Officer Xu. “We’ll be off, then.”

“Go on, go on,” Officer Xu waved, turning back to his computer. “I have work to do anyway.”

Mo Fei and Ji Xingyu left together, shoulder to shoulder.

“Do you even know how expensive a set of lights is?”

“Expensive? How expensive is expensive?”

“…Damn.”

Through the glass, Officer Xu watched the two figures departing, his expression grave.

He had to admit that Mo Fei possessed a peculiar personal charm, but his mentor’s words rang true as well.

A police officer’s duty is to question every coincidence in the world.

Whether Mo Fei encountered these things by chance or by design, as long as he hadn’t broken the law, they remained friends.

But if one day he crossed the line, Officer Xu would not hesitate.

That was a conviction that stood above his own life and everything else.