Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

As Jiang Hu was lifted up by two police officers, one on each side, and led away, his steps were unsteady, as if he were walking on a turbulent pile of cotton, each step weak and unsteady. His shirt, soaked with cold sweat, clung tightly to his skin, the sticky chill creeping up his spine to the top of his head, making him shiver involuntarily. He stubbornly refused to lower his head, his jawline taut like a string about to snap, but the uncontrollable trembling of his knees betrayed the panic hidden deep within him—the transfer record He Feng had slammed on the table earlier was like a dull knife, slowly cutting away at his remaining hope.

He Feng stood motionless, his fingertips twirling the newly verified evidence, watching Jiang Hu's hunched figure disappear at the end of the corridor. His eyes were as deep as a bottomless pool, calm on the surface but turbulent beneath—hanging out here was pointless. Jiang Hu, a cunning old fox steeped in officialdom for years, wouldn't shed a tear until he was truly faced with a death sentence. He needed to give him some time, let him figure out in the detention room whether silence could truly protect his position. Zhang Jie was the sword hanging over his head, honed to a gleaming shine, destined to fall sooner or later. Then they'd see if he could still stubbornly deny it.

Ma Xin watched as Jiang Hu was taken away, her brows furrowed. Turning to He Feng, she spoke with barely suppressed anxiety: "Captain He, this Jiang Hu is completely unresponsive. We've been questioning him all morning, and all he says is 'I don't know' or 'I have no recollection.' We're just one piece of evidence away from sealing his case. What are we going to do? We can't keep him locked up forever, can we? If we keep him locked up, the people behind him will start plotting something."

He Feng smiled faintly, his eyes filled with confidence: "This matter is actually easy to handle. Think about it, if Jiang Hu is really determined to grit his teeth and not say anything, there is no point in continuing the stalemate. In that case... we can only release him first."

"Release him?" Ma Xin was immediately alarmed, her voice rising a half-octave, her displeasure clearly written on her face. "Captain He, what are you saying? We clearly found that he was illegally possessing explosives and colluding with mining bandits for smuggling. The ledgers we found alone are enough to give him a hard time. How can we just release him like that? Isn't this like letting a tiger return to the mountains, waiting for him to turn around and bite us?"

Seeing her puffed-up face, like a little lion with its mane standing on end, He Feng couldn't help but soften his tone and explain, "Don't be anxious, let me analyze it for you. Zhang Jie is still hiding outside. He and Jiang Hu are in cahoots. The dirty deeds they've done over the years mean they must each have dirt on the other. Neither can do without the other. Tell me, if we let Jiang Hu out, who's the first person who can't resist looking for him?"

Ma Xin paused, the anger in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a sudden realization, as if a fog had been lifted. She stared at He Feng and tentatively asked, "Captain He, do you mean... to lure the snake out of its hole? To use Jiang Hu as bait to draw out Zhang Jie, who is hiding in the shadows?"

He Feng nodded, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, making a rhythmic sound: "That's right. Now that Jiang Hu is out, Zhang Jie definitely won't sit still. Either he's afraid we'll turn him against us and he'll betray us; or he's eyeing the remaining stolen money between them and will have to show up eventually. We'll set up surveillance around Jiang Hu's house and at his usual teahouses, waiting for him to come to us, catching him red-handed, with the evidence, and see how they deny it then. If we arrest Zhang Jie, Jiang Hu won't be able to escape a second time."

Ma Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief, a knowing smile appearing on her face. She nodded vigorously, "I understand, this tactic is called 'feigning indifference to lure the enemy into a trap'! Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll go arrange for people to change into plainclothes and keep a close watch on Jiang Hu's residence and the shops he frequents. I'll make sure they're under close surveillance." After she finished speaking, she turned and left with light steps, the pent-up frustration in her heart vanishing like clouds blown away by the wind.

He Feng gazed out the window; sunlight streamed through the glass, dazzling his eye onto his desk. But he knew this calm was merely a facade; the battle raging behind the scenes had only just begun. This game had to be played slowly, step by step, plucking out those hiding behind the scenes before the cheated miners could truly catch their breath. He picked up the evidence, his fingertip lingering on the name "Zhang Jie," a sharp glint in his eyes—the real show was yet to come.

As expected, things unfolded exactly as Jiang Hu had predicted. He pulled strings extensively, from key city departments to old connections in the province, bribing officials at every level, the money flowing out like water. Those seemingly irrefutable pieces of evidence—the illegally possessed hunting rifle, the hush money agreement with the families of the mine disaster victims, and the encrypted call records with Zhang Jie—were all forcibly suppressed. Even crucial pages in the case file were replaced with trivial, rambling accounts. Ultimately, a release notice for "insufficient evidence" was delivered to the detention center. As Jiang Hu walked out of the iron gate, the sunlight made him squint, a smug smile playing on his lips, as if he hadn't just come out of a detention cell, but had won a major battle.

When the news reached the coal mining bureau, Zhao Lei was the first to explode. He slammed his hand on his desk, causing the enamel mug on it to jump up with a loud crash, spilling half a cup of scalding tea. He seemed oblivious, his eyes blazing with fury: "Director! What on earth is going on? That bastard Jiang Hu has committed so many crimes—possessing weapons, colluding with black market dealers to smuggle ore, and disregarding the lives of miners. We've already investigated three mining accidents! So many of our brothers broke their legs while staking out the mountains to catch him, and had their heads smashed by his men while chasing his car. Why are they just being released like that? Was all the blood my brothers shed for nothing?"

He Feng sat behind his desk, the cigarette between his fingers half-burned, the long ash teetering precariously, but he didn't move. Looking at Zhao Lei's red eyes and stubborn expression, he sighed slowly, his voice low and heavy, like a stone pressing down on him: "Zhao Lei, sit down and talk." Only after Zhao Lei angrily pulled over a chair and sat down did he continue, "The people behind Jiang Hu are more powerful than we thought. Someone in the province has spoken to us, saying 'innocent until proven guilty,' and that we should handle this 'prudently.' If we stubbornly refuse to release him now, it will only make things worse. Then, a transfer order from above won't only fail to deal with him, but it might also implicate the brothers in the team—it's not worth it."

Zhao Lei clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, his face flushed red: "Are we just going to let him go like this? It's too frustrating! The brothers can't get over this!"

“They didn’t say we’d just let it go.” He Feng flicked his cigarette ash, a spark landing on the table. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. “Pick a few clever, tight-lipped brothers who are good with the veterans in the team. Put them in civilian clothes and keep a close eye on Jiang Hu. Record everything he does: which hotel he stays at, who he meets, which teahouses he goes to, even buying a pack of cigarettes or making a phone call. Don’t alert him or let him see through any of his tricks.”