Catch the Wolf by the Tail

The sun had not set but the lamps around the high-end area where Ju Shan Garden Teahouse was located were lit. The lamps were antique palace lanterns and the surrounding ancient-style courtyard and pavilion made it look like an ancient compound, extravagant and luxurious.

Places like these were not patronised by regular folk.

A taxi stopped along the road and the door opened. A suit-clad Xia Lei alighted from the taxi.

At 180 cm tall with a slim physique and nice body line, plus a handsome charismatic face, Xia Lei looked like an elite member of the workforce.

Xia Lei walked through the entrance of Ju Shan Garden Teahouse.

After he was in, Xia Lei ordered one of the cheaper Bitan Snow Teas and chose a seat a little further off to the side.

There were many people enjoying their tea, some in the hall, some in private rooms. It seemed quite lively. Xia Lei looked carefully at those around him but did not see Li Qing-Hua. He then used his left eye’s X-ray vision to search the private rooms for Li Qing-Hua.

The private rooms had wooden walls and opaque bamboo curtains. Under normal circumstances, there was no way one could see what was going on in the rooms but the walls and curtains were nothing to Xia Lei. He saw everything in those rooms.

A minute later, his gaze stopped on a room not far from where he was seated.

A man and a woman were in the room.

The man looked over 40, and he was pudgy. His mannerisms and way of speaking looked very much like he was putting on official airs. The woman looked about 27 or 28 and had a good face and body, which could be considered beautiful.

Xia Lei quickly identified the man as Li Qing-Hua. As for the woman, he had no idea who she was. The woman looked nervous and her movements were stiff and awkward. She gave off the feeling that she was not very willing to have tea with Li Qing-Hua. In contrast to the woman’s stiffness, Li Qing-Hua was relaxed and smiling. His eyes roamed over the woman’s chest, waist and bum, and he did not seem to be hiding his desire.

At that moment, Li Qing-Hua reached out and caught the woman’s hand. He caressed her hand and said something. The woman turned red and bent her head. She did not dare look Li Qing-Hua in the eye.

Xia Lei could not hear what he said but he could guess. “This situation looks like Li Qing-Hua used his authority to either bring a subordinate or a woman asking for a favour to this place to take advantage of her. If this is what’s happening, it’s a good opportunity…”

Xia Lei had an idea.

A few minutes later, the bamboo curtains of the room parted and Li Qing-Hua walked out with the woman. The woman followed Li Qing-Hua silently and she covered her face often, not looking at others and avoiding the eyes of others.

Xia Lei also vacated the tea table and walked to the cashier counter. He paid his bill and quickly left the teahouse.

Under the street lamps, Li Qing-Hua wrapped his arm around the woman’s little waist and walked along the pedestrian pathway, heading west. Li Qing-Hua did not detect Xia Lei tailing him at all. His hands stroked her waist and buttocks unscrupulously as he spewed lewd flirtatious words. The woman was so embarrassed that she did not resist and let Li Qing-Hua’s oily hands roam her body.

A few minutes later, Li Qing-Hua and the woman entered a hotel and checked into a room.

Once they checked in, Li Qing-Hua could not hold back and he embraced the woman, kissing and touching her in a horny hurry.

“Chief Li, please wait. I’ll take a shower before I take good care of you, okay?”, said the woman flirtatiously.

Li Qing-Hua chuckled, “What a good girl! Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your husband’s matter. It’s just a simple change of post.”

“You’re generous.” The woman moved to Li Qing-Hua and kissed him, then stripped and walked to the bathroom.

Li Qing-Hua also stripped and lay naked on the bed. He lit a cigarette and contentedly waited for the woman to wash herself clean before she serviced him. He had no inkling that at that moment, a young man was standing right outside his room door, and that young man was staring intently at the door.

The door did not exist at all to Xia Lei. He saw Li Qing-Hua lying on the bed and the situation in the bathroom.

The glass door of the bathroom was not closed properly and there was an inch-wide gap. The pale-skinned woman could be seen showering through the gap. The water danced on her head and flowed along her skin, past her little waist, past her buttocks and down her legs to pool on the floor. The sight was titillating.

Xia Lei closed his eyes at that point.

No hallucinations had appeared when he used the X-ray vision this time, making some rules clearer. As long as he did not use his X-ray vision for certain period of time but used his physical and spiritual energy, he would not have hallucinations.

Li Qing-Hua waited and Xia Lei waited.

The woman exited the bathroom a few minutes later wrapped in a towel. Her pale skin and full figure, combined with the towel half-covering her body made Li Qing-Hua’s desire flare immediately.

“Oh, baby, I can’t hold back any more!” Li Qing-Hua jumped off the bed impatiently and pulled off the woman’s towel, pushing her onto the bed and pouncing upon her like a hungry wolf…

Bang! The room door suddenly burst open and Xia Lei charged into the room with his mobile phone.

The mobile phone was recording and the image of Li Qing-Hua and the woman pressed together showed so clearly on the screen it was blush-inducing.

The woman saw Xia Lei first and she screamed, “Ah..! Someone’s here!”

Li Qing-Hua looked behind at Xia Lei, who had suddenly burst in. He was stupefied for a moment, then shouted angrily, “Who are you? Who let you in? Stop recording!”

Xia Lei ignored his shouts and continued recording the video. Throughout all this, Li Qing-Hua and the woman stayed in their ‘nut-and-bolt’ positions.

“Damn you! Do you know who I am?” Li Qing-Hua lept off the bed and rushed to grab Xia Lei’s phone. He was panicky and afraid.

Xia Lei did not wait for Li Qing-Hua to set his hands on him. He lifted his foot and kicked Li Qing-Hua in the stomach.

“Argh---” Li Qing-Hua screamed and landed heavily on the ground.

The woman on the bed frantically snatched up the phone on the bedside table, and made to call the police, but after pressing two ‘1’s, she stopped. Why? Simple. Li Qing-Hua was the Chief of Police and if this person had the gall to kick the Chief of Police to the ground, wouldn’t it be smashing her own foot with a rock if she reported what she saw?

Xia Lei stopped recording and pocketed his mobile phone. He had what he wanted and there was no need to record more.

“You…” Li Qing-Hua got his breath back and he looked at Xia Lei nervously. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Xia Lei moved a chair, seated himself opposite Li Qing-Hua and the woman and spoke leisurely, “You asked if I knew who you were. I’ll answer. I know who you are - Li Qing-Hua, Chief of Police of Hai-Zhu City North Police Station. Am I right?”

Li Qing-Hua neither confirmed nor denied it. He watched Xia Lei closely, trying to figure out his motives.

“I was forced to come here by you and forced by you to do these actions,” said Xia Lei.

“You’re bull-”, he suddenly saw the anger in Xia Lei’s eyes and swallowed the unfinished ‘shitting’ word, and changed his words. “That’s nonsense. I don’t recognise you - how am I forcing you? Give your phone to me. We can negotiate. I can pretend this never happened.”

Xia Lei laughed dryly. “Li Qing-Hua, you don’t understand the situation, do you? Anti-corruption laws are strict now. What do you think will happen to you if I give this video to the relevant organisations or to the media?”

“You… Name a price.” Li Qing-Hua did his best to push down his rising panic.

“I don’t want your money. I want a bit of justice,” said Xia Lei.

“Justice?” Li Qing-Hua looked slyly at Xia Lei. “What justice?”

“You have a dear nephew named Chen Chuan-Hu. I worked at his construction site and my eye was burnt by an electric arc. He paid 10,000 for my hospitalisation fees but the actual cost was 200,000. The doctor even said that my eye would 100% go blind.”

“Isn’t your eye fine?”

“I was lucky and my eye did not go blind, but my vision is not a third what it used to be.” Xia Lei looked steadily at Li Qing-Hua. “Do you think that 10,000 is enough?”

Li Qing-Hua played along. He shook his head, “Not enough, not enough.”

The corners of Xia Lei’s mouth turned up in a small smile. “I was actually not going to pursue the matter with Chen Chuan-Hu. I paid my bill and had myself discharged and I even had 9,000 left from what he gave me, which I kept as a recuperation fee. However, your dear nephew brought his friends to look for me, asking me to pay for his electric welding machine and transformer. Isn’t that too excessive?”

Li Qing-Hua nodded, “Excessive, excessive.”

Xia Lei continued, “Lucky for me I was discharged early and he did not find me but he had my friend beaten up so badly that he’s still lying in the hospital bed now. I also bore the 8,000 hospital fee. Tell me, how should this matter be resolved?”

“This…” Li Qing-Hua was an old fox and he did not make a stand on the key issue.

“This matter here, Chief Li. How can it be resolved?”, asked Xia Lei.

Li Qing-Hua thought for a bit. “When I get back, I will get someone to arrest him and all the assailants. You can keep your 9,000 and you won’t need to compensate him for the electric welding machine and transformer. As for your friend’s 8,000 hospital fee, I’ll be generous and pay 10,000 out of my own pocket. Will that do?”

Xia Lei shook his head, “No.”

A flash of anger appeared in Li Qing-Hua’s eyes but he was good at hiding it. There was a smile on his face as he said, “Okay, boy. Tell me then, how do you want it resolved?”