Animal Detective

Chapter 388: Chapter 320: What a Good Donkey

Shen Xin shoved Li Shi into the back seat.

After sobbing his heart out, he slumped into the seat, dazed and listless.

Li Xiaowen looked at the kitchen knife in his hand, his expression grave.

Zhang Kaisheng had been locked up, leaving behind a wife, a son, and a daughter at home.

The son was thirteen and attended middle school in the county; his wife’s family handled picking him up and dropping him off. The daughter was much younger, only five, and hadn’t started elementary school yet.

A woman and a young girl. If they hadn’t stopped him today, it might have been two more lives lost.

Shen Xin considered how to correct the boy’s thinking. At his age, he was extremely rebellious, and Shen Xin wasn’t sure if his words would get through.

But not saying anything was definitely not an option.

After thinking in silence for a while, Shen Xin turned his head and asked, "Li Shi, back when you and your mom went into the mountains to gather herbs and fell into that ravine, what happened that night?"

Li Shi was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected Shen Xin to bring that up.

Beside him, Li Xiaowen looked up, glancing at Li Shi in the rearview mirror with some surprise.

Li Shi pursed his lips and was silent for a moment before saying, "Nothing much happened. My mom broke her leg, so I helped her walk out."

Shen Xin nodded and continued, "You fell into a ravine, your mom broke her leg, and you couldn’t climb out.

You were only eight years old. You helped your mom take the long way around, walking all that distance, and then it got dark. Let me ask you, was that night hard?"

Out in the desolate wilderness, the mountain paths were treacherous.

His mother couldn’t walk on one of her legs. Even if she used a stick as a crutch, it must have been incredibly tough on Li Shi, who was supporting her.

Li Shi didn’t speak. In a daze, he was transported back to that night.

It was so dark in the mountains you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

His mother held him as they huddled in a crevice between the rocks, the sounds of wild animals echoing in their ears from time to time.

Li Shi had never known a night could be so hard to endure.

"It was hard." Li Shi nodded.

Toward the end, his mother had run out of strength and given up. She cried and told him to go on, to leave her behind.

But he didn’t give up. He gritted his teeth and kept going, helping his mother out of the great mountain.

Shen Xin turned his head, stared straight at Li Shi, and asked, "If it was so hard, why didn’t you give up?"

Li Shi answered without hesitation, "She’s my mom."

Shen Xin nodded. "Right. She’s your mom, the person dearest to you, so you couldn’t give up.

So what about today? You said it yourself. Before your mom died, she held your hand and asked you to take good care of your sister. How could you give up now?"

Li Shi bit his lip hard and said nothing.

Shen Xin continued, "Li Shi, everyone runs into hardships. At times like that, you might think, ’Wow, this is so hard. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to live. I might as well just die.’

Once you’re dead, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just like your dad. Your dad felt life was too hard. He worked himself to the bone as a migrant worker, got sick, had no money for treatment, and thought he couldn’t go on living.

So he couldn’t take it anymore. He gave up. He went and attacked Zhang Kaiyong, thinking, ’It’s all his fault. He’s the one who made my life so miserable. I should just beat him to death.’

Li Shi, your dad was defeated by his hardships."

Shen Xin reached out, poked Li Shi in the chest, and said, "And you. Today, you were defeated by your hardships, too. You think Zhang Kaisheng can bully you for the rest of your life, that you, your sister, and your grandma can’t survive.

So you gave up. You’d just kill Zhang Kaisheng’s family, then atone with your own life. Once you’re dead, you won’t have to worry about a thing.

Li Shi, it was so hard back then, and you didn’t give up on your mom. How can you give up on your sister today?"

Shen Xin’s voice grew louder as he pressed the question.

Li Shi’s eyes welled up. He buried his head in his hands in agony, frantically beating his own head, and cried out, "But I don’t have any other choice!"

"What do you mean, you don’t have a choice?"

Shen Xin shot back, "The simplest way is to call the police. Every time he bullies you, you call the police. Fine, let’s say you don’t trust the police, you think they can’t help you. Then you leave.

Take your sister and your grandma and go far away. Leave this place. Your dad named you two Shiyao because he wanted you to get out.

If you can’t stay in Baijia Post, then go. Go somewhere you can stay.

Li Shi, you’re probably thinking, ’I’m just all talk. These things are impossible to do. It’s not like you can just pack up and leave.’

But have you even tried? It doesn’t have to be the methods I mentioned. What about other ways? Have you thought about any? And have you tried them, for your family’s sake?"

Li Shi looked up, staring fixedly at Shen Xin, speechless.

Shen Xin continued, "And your dad. He had it hard, too, but did he try? He said he was sick, couldn’t work, and that the family couldn’t survive.

But could the family really not survive?

He didn’t have health insurance this year, so he could have waited and enrolled next year. He had osteonecrosis of the femoral head, not cancer. Couldn’t he have waited for a little over half a year?

Also, if he didn’t work, would your whole family have starved to death? Your family has been through harder times than this before and still survived, haven’t you?

You’re probably thinking, ’That’s easy for you to say. In reality, it’s not that simple.’

Fine. If you were all alone in this world and decided you didn’t care anymore and just wanted revenge, then fine, go get your swift, violent end.

But if you still have people in your heart that you care about and worry for, why wouldn’t you even try—for them?"

Only Shen Xin’s voice echoed inside the car.

Shen Xin’s mouth was dry from all the talking. He turned to look for some water.

Beside him, Li Xiaowen chose that moment to hand over a bottle of water and gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.

’He was suddenly beginning to understand why Shen Xin was able to solve all those cases.’

’It probably had to do with never giving up easily, never letting himself be defeated by hardship.’

’Then he thought of himself, and the case right in front of them.’

’The evidence was just tossed somewhere in that vast mountain. It’s so hard to find, but does that mean they can just give up?’

’I’m just a guy on a fixed salary. Every year, there are always cases that can’t be solved for one reason or another, and the worst that happens is they just get shelved.’