6. The Playground Murder Case (Part 2)
Jiang Zhi Han took a deep breath, exhaled, and tried his best to calm himself down. Almost relying on instinct, he decided to rush forward to save a life that might be lost. But he didn't have extraordinary martial arts skills, he didn't have a gun, and he didn't have the advantage of numbers. So, he had to come up with a clear plan.
He quickly counted the number of people, 7. Apart from the one being beaten up, there was another injured person lying on the ground, but those seven guys didn't seem to be interested in him anymore. Now everyone was surrounding the person who was being beaten up, some were kicking with their feet and others were hitting with iron rods.
Jiang Zhihan picked up a few large stones from the ground and put them in his pocket, pushed his bicycle down the stairs, got on it, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Murder! Call the police! Murder!" While shouting, he rode his bike and rushed forward. The people surrounding him were momentarily stunned, then the leader angrily said: "What's all this nonsense? Nail, take two people to deal with that kid." Jiang Zhihan continued to shout with all his might, saw three people rushing towards him, and quickly turned his bicycle around and rushed past from the side. The three men chased after him frantically, but it was clear that they couldn't keep up with the speed of the bicycle.
Riding out over a hundred meters, Jiang Zihan turned his head to look back and saw that he had already left the three guys behind by a distance. He made a sharp turn with his bike, circled around, and rushed back in the direction of the leader. This move was clearly beyond the expectations of the three pursuers. The three people were stunned, looking at each other in dismay: "Is this guy crazy?" Jiang Zihan rode his bike over to them, but found that no one came forward to fight him. He estimated the distance, made an emergency brake about 20 meters away, and with one foot on the ground, said to the leader: "Just educate him a bit, don't be stupid and beat someone to death, or you'll have to flee for your life." The people on the other side clearly didn't expect anyone to come over and educate them. The man next to the leader was hot-tempered, and with a stick he hit the injured person on the ground, shouting: "I'm not only going to beat him to death, I'll also cripple you!"
Jiang Zhihan waited for a few seconds, then suddenly took out the stones from his pocket and threw them with all his might. Catching the enemy off guard, and adding a bit of luck, one of the stones actually hit the big brother's lip, causing blood to flow out. At this point, the leading big brother couldn't bear it anymore, pointing at Jiang Zhihan: "Take him down". Jiang Zhihan didn't dare hesitate, he remembered that there was a police station outside the school gate, and at the entrance of the school, there were two security guards, so his goal was to get out of the school. Taking advantage of the moment before the two groups merged, Jiang Zhihan rode his bike to the corner of the playground, pushed it up the stairs, got on, and sped towards the school gate from the highway next to the playground. The three guys in front tried to ambush him from the side of the road, but ultimately were a step too slow. However, they still picked up over a dozen stones from the road and threw them at Jiang Zhihan. Jiang Zhihan felt that his head had been hit by one of the stones, with hot blood flowing out. But he didn't feel any pain, nor did he dare to stop for even a moment, speeding forward in a flash. There were already many people on the side of the road pointing and staring, but not a single person came forward.
Rushed to the school gate, the two security guards from the Security Department were still standing there. Jiang Zihan thought, I've been calling for a killer all the way, but these two haven't moved an inch, it seems they can't be relied on. He didn't stop the car, just slowed down and shouted loudly, "There are thugs outside chopping people with knives, someone's life is in danger!" Then he sped out of the school gate, turned left, remembering that the police station was located in that direction.
Just about 100 meters away from the ride, I saw four police officers wearing uniforms walking over. Jiang Zhihan looked at the people and his hanging heart finally came down. He stopped the car and said to the leader: "There are seven hooligans in the school beating a student with iron bars, one of them has a big knife. One student may be seriously injured." "Are you hurt?" The young police officer in front looked like he was under 30, but seemed to be the leader of the group. He was very satisfied with Jiang Zhihan's brief description. He grabbed Jiang Zhihan's head and turned it around to take a look, saying: "It's not a big deal, just a scratch." "Little Li, come help him to the nearby clinic for treatment." The police officer paused and asked again: "Are you sure someone has a knife?" At that time in Zhongzhou, ordinary police officers were equipped with handcuffs and batons at most, so they were very sensitive to dangerous prohibited knives. Jiang Zhihan used his hand to describe: "It's this long, this wide, only the leader has one." "I know," the police officer touched his own utility belt, Jiang Zhihan caught a glimpse of a leather holster that looked like a gun holster.
The speaker's skill, the group of chasing soldiers had already rushed out of the school gate. One of them turned a corner and saw the four police officers. The leader shouted and scattered, dividing into three groups. One group rushed across the road, one group ran to the other side of the school gate, and the last group turned back and ran towards the school. The leading policeman had sharp eyes and quickly spotted the man with a machete rushing across the road. He shouted loudly, "Everyone stop, or I'll shoot!" A veteran policeman stepped forward, grasping his right hand, saying, "Lin Suo, don't be impulsive, there are too many people here, we absolutely can't use guns. Thugs fighting isn't a big deal." Lin Suo said, "Alright, I'll go chase the group that ran across the road. Old Ma, you lead a few people to check on the injured." Old Ma held his hand and slowly said, "In this kind of situation, whether or not any students from No. 7 Middle School were injured is the top priority. You're the leader, you should go take a look. I'm more familiar with the local terrain, so I'll chase those guys. If we can't catch up, it's no big deal. The people around here must have seen them before, and asking around will give us some leads."
Lin Shuo said briefly, "Okay, I'll go take a look," and ran towards the school. Old Ma turned around and instructed, "Little Zheng, follow Lin Shuo to handle it." Then he turned his head and asked Jiang Zhihan, "Did you make the emergency call?" Jiang Zhihan thought to himself, if you ask two more questions, the person will be gone without a trace. But in his 16 years of life, he had never directly dealt with the police like this before, and subconsciously had some respect for them. He honestly replied, "I got a friend to make the call." Old Ma asked further, "A good friend?" Jiang Zhihan felt that this question was strange, but still replied, "A good friend." Old Ma smiled warmly and said, "Good kid, follow Little Li and take care of your wound properly. Don't go back too late and worry your parents. By the way, we might come to ask you a few more questions in two days if someone is seriously injured. Leave your name, home address, class, and teacher's name with Little Li." Jiang Zhihan agreed, and as they spoke, the big brother who had been holding the cleaver disappeared into a small alley on the other side of the road.
Jiang Zihan followed Xiao Li to the nearby clinic, but found that it didn't open until 10:00 on Saturday. Xiao Li asked for his contact information and said, "Let's go to the Second Hospital, it's closest from here. Don't forget to get a tetanus shot." Jiang Zihan nodded in agreement, covering the wound on his head, got on his bicycle and rushed to the Second Hospital.
Back at home, it was already noon. With a large band-aid on his forehead, as soon as he entered the dormitory area, there were old ladies and aunties asking and gossiping. Jiang Zhihan was too lazy to explain much, mumbled a few words, and rushed back home. From young to old, except for falling off a tricycle at the age of four, Jiang Zhihan had never been seriously injured. His parents couldn't help but worry, asked about what happened, and Jiang Zhihan didn't hide anything, explaining the whole thing from start to finish. Jiang Yongwen just nodded his head, didn't say much, but in his heart, he was somewhat proud of his son's courage, which was beyond his own. Li Ruoruo was very conflicted, on one hand, she was happy and proud, but on the other hand, she was worried about possible revenge from the gang, wanting to teach Jiang Zhihan to mind his own business in the future, but then thought that saying so would go against the values she had instilled in him. She opened her mouth, but ultimately said: "This kind of thing should be handled by the police, and you should be less impulsive in the future."
Jiang Zihan understood his parents' concerns and didn't argue much, simply nodding his head. After a while, Li Ruo suddenly remembered something and came over to Jiang Zihan, saying: "Tomorrow night, come with me to visit an elder."
"Who is it?"
"He was a fellow educated youth in the same team when I went to the mountains and countryside. Now he is already the director of the Municipal Science and Education Bureau. You go ask him for help, learn from him, and maybe he can also help with university exams or job assignments in the future."
Finally, Li Ruoruo complained again: "Your head is wrapped like a rice dumpling, and when you go to someone's house, they'll think you're going to fight."
"Mom, I didn't do anything wrong, what's there to be ashamed of?"
