Chapter 36: Yi Zhonghai Paraded Through the Streets, the Deaf Old Lady Goes Missing

Early the next morning, Director Wang arrived at the No. 95 courtyard and immediately finalized the divorce between the First Aunt and Yi Zhonghai.

Looking at the divorce certificate in her hand, the First Aunt wept with joy. "Sob, sob, I can finally have a child of my own."

Yi Zhonghai’s expression was grim. Watching her weep, he tried to strike her down with a cruel remark: "Liu Cuiqin, do you think you can just get pregnant and have a child now that you’ve divorced me? Do you know why I chose to marry you? Because you have a heart condition. Pregnancy and childbirth would kill you. I was saving your life!"

Liu Cuiqin, the former First Aunt, snorted coldly. "Humph, the future is no concern of yours. I will not only have my child, but I will also be just fine."

With that, she hurried toward Wang Lin’s home.

Yi Zhonghai’s expression grew even darker, as if his face might drip with shadow. However, he could not leave yet; a more humiliating ordeal awaited him: the public parade of shame.

Director Wang watched Yi Zhonghai coldly. She used to think he was a decent man who respected his elders and cared for the young, and he had managed the No. 95 courtyard so well that it was named a model residence year after year. People from other courtyards had reported him before, claiming he suppressed all disputes within the compound. At the time, she hadn't paid it much mind, thinking that if he could suppress them, it surely wasn't anything serious—it only proved his competence.

But recently, after reading the dossier on Yi Zhonghai provided by Wang Lin, she realized how wrong she had been. Due to her own negligence, Yi Zhonghai had become the absolute despot of the No. 95 courtyard; no matter the issue, it was always settled by a word or two from him.

Fortunately, this situation hadn't reached the higher-ups. If they had discovered a man like Yi Zhonghai ruling over her jurisdiction, not only would Yi be finished, but she would likely lose her position as the neighborhood committee director, if not worse.

"Take him out for the parade."

"Yes, Director Wang."

The clerks accompanying the director hung a pair of worn-out shoes around Yi Zhonghai’s neck, tied his hands with a rope, and began to parade him through the streets.

"Oh my, isn't that Yi Zhonghai, the First Master of the No. 95 courtyard? He’s so old, yet he’s still engaging in illicit affairs. How shameless!" The speaker was someone who had long looked down on Yi; he was also a managing master of another courtyard, but he knew where to draw the line. Having loathed Yi’s conduct, he had reported him many times.

"You don't know the half of it. The woman he was having an affair with is his own apprentice's wife."

"Impossible! Is Yi Zhonghai really that shameless?"

"Pfft, how could a man like him be any good? His apprentice is an enemy spy. Can a person who teaches an enemy spy be a good man?"

"Right, right. Definitely not a good man."

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Yi Zhonghai buried his head deep, though his eyes were filled with resentment and fury. *Damn them, damn them all. You useless lot and that Wang Lin—you all deserve to die.*

He complained incessantly in his heart. He now regretted not protecting the Deaf Old Lady. If she hadn't been captured, he might have used her connections to avoid this fate. Some children even looked at him with disgust, and a few picked up pebbles from the ground to throw at him. Though the stones were small and the children weak, the impact was excruciating for Yi Zhonghai; his reputation was completely shattered today.

Director Wang listened to the commentary, which included voices from the residents of the No. 95 courtyard. Only now did she realize how long the residents had suffered under Yi. Because she hadn't investigated the reports in time or addressed the root of the problem, the residents had eventually succumbed to Yi Zhonghai’s tyranny, too afraid to resist.

***

At the Rolling Mill’s security department, a group of men stared coldly at Shazhu.

"Speak. Where did the Deaf Old Lady go?"

Shazhu, acting as if he were impervious to pressure, lay across two chairs with his legs crossed and spoke indifferently. "You’ve been guarding the place from the outside and you don't know where she went—how would I?"

In truth, Shazhu was panicking. By the second day, the Deaf Old Lady’s status as an enemy spy had been confirmed. She was supposed to be taken away by the police, but somehow, overnight, a living person had simply vanished. Shazhu was terrified of being branded an enemy spy himself, but his stubborn nature made him resistant to threats.

Director Wang walked in at that moment. Looking at the nonchalant Shazhu, she said calmly, "Shazhu, if you truly don't know, we have no choice but to let the police take you in. A living person disappears from the room you were in, and you expect us to believe you had nothing to do with it?"

Li Huaide sighed and added, "Even though the factory needs you to cook for the special kitchen, I cannot cover for you when it comes to matters involving enemy spies."

Li Huaide turned to leave, signaling the police to take Shazhu away. Seeing them move, Shazhu finally panicked. "No, no! I really don't know! I slept the whole night, and when I woke up, the old lady was just gone. Really, I'm not lying to you!"

Wang Lin walked in at that moment. "Let Shazhu go. The matter of the Deaf Old Lady has nothing to do with him. She was rescued by enemy agents from across the sea."

Li Huaide considered punishing the guards, but Wang Lin spoke again. "Director Li, it wasn't their fault either. The ones who rescued her were special operatives. These men are just ordinary people; they never stood a chance of detecting them."

"Very well. Since Deputy Factory Director Wang is interceding for you, I will let this slide for now. Shazhu, you may return as well."

Li Huaide took the opportunity to back down. He was a clever man; he knew that the world was not as simple as it seemed. If it weren't for the many extraordinary talents within the Great Xia, the foreign superhumans would have long ago turned the country upside down.

The security personnel, feeling Li Huaide’s icy gaze, were drenched in cold sweat, nearly frightened out of their wits. They knew full well that letting an enemy spy escape on their watch was a grave offense.

"Thank you, thank you, Director Li! Thank you, Deputy Director Wang!"

After making his arrangements, Wang Lin decided to return to the No. 95 courtyard. He had chosen to live there rather than in the leadership housing because he had sensed an anomaly in the energy field of the courtyard. At first, he suspected the Deaf Old Lady was behind it, but now that she was gone, the energy field remained unchanged. He had to uncover the cause as soon as possible to prevent any unnecessary disaster.