July 28, 2013. New City Construction Site held its groundbreaking ceremony. Zhou Quan was appointed project manager. Mr. Huang and Wang Changping posed for media cameras as they cut the ribbon, while Xu Min stood aside, avoiding the lenses.
After the ceremony, Mr. Huang walked over to Xu Min and joked, "Teacher Xu, why hide from the camera on such a big day?"
Xu Min shook his head. "I don't like being on camera." With that, he left, leaving Mr. Huang and me standing there.
I knew Xu Min had a past, but after all these years, I still hadn't figured out what it was. Mr. Huang had never pressed him about it either. But just now, watching Xu Min's retreating back, Mr. Huang turned to me and asked, "Do you think Xu Min is trustworthy?"
His question startled me. Noticing my reaction, he added, "Don't look at me like that. What we're doing now could cost us our heads. If things go wrong, it's over. Zhou Quan and Wang Changping won't talk—but what if, one day, Xu Min spills everything to those rival bosses?"
I argued, "You hold his school records. He's reliable."
Mr. Huang shook his head. "School records mean nothing. Do you know how many big shots bought their diplomas there? If word got out I have those records, they'd crush me to bury it. Once things settle down, they'll come after me. Forget it."
He fell silent, then said, "Dig into his real identity. Find something we can hold over him."
I took a photo of Xu Min's household registration document he'd shown me years ago. Back then, his registered name was still Xu Min, but his hometown in the north was listed—though the house there had long been seized.
Digging deeper, I uncovered the truth: Xu Min had changed his name just two years ago when altering his registration. His real name was Lu Gong, and he had an older brother named Lu Yong. After their father died, Lu Yong got hooked on drugs, gambled away their family fortune, and even borrowed from loan sharks. When he couldn't repay them, he'd lured thugs to their neighborhood—rumor had it someone was killed. Their mother had died not long after, and the family home was seized over unpaid debts.
Piecing this together, I understood Xu Min's background. I reported it all to Mr. Huang.
After hearing the story, Mr. Huang thought for a moment and said, "Feng, find a way to leak Xu Min's current whereabouts to his brother. But make sure neither of them traces it back to us. The rest will take care of itself."
Three months later, Lu Yong showed up. He lingered around the construction site for half a month, then approached Xu Min, begging for a job. He claimed he wanted to turn his life around, tearfully thanking Mr. Huang and Xu Min for their kindness. Xu Min agreed, and Mr. Huang approved.
A month passed. Then one day, Xu Min called me, asking for help moving "goods"—a request so unusual, I brought two men with me to the site.
It turned out Xu Min wanted us to beat Lu Yong senseless. As we did, Lu Yong rambled deliriously: "It's my fault… I ruined you… Shouldn't have gambled… shouldn't have killed… shouldn't have lied to you…"
Watching him break down, I stopped and went to fetch Xu Min. When Xu Min entered, he knelt and whispered something to Lu Yong, then came out and asked me to go to the north to "handle a body." I agreed.
Before leaving, I told Mr. Huang. He said, "Don't clean it up too thoroughly. Leave a bone—something to hold over him."
In the north, I found the burial site behind an abandoned steel mill, on a hill dotted with graves. The corpse's skull had a jagged indentation—clearly bludgeoned to death. I disposed of the body but kept a leg bone. When I returned, I told Xu Min the job was done.
I asked where Lu Yong was.
Xu Min stared at the construction site. "He's buried here. The first body here… but not the last."