Of course, Wang An didn't care about the first two; he only cared about the latter. If it were confirmed that Song Shuanzhu was a participant, Wang An would not hesitate to beat him to death right then and there.
Wang An believed that by this point, Song Shuanzhu would certainly be in a state where he would answer whatever was asked of him.
However, what Wang An never expected was that before he could even ask, Song Shuanzhu actually blurted out such a sentence.
Consequently, a look of joy appeared on Wang An's face, and he followed Song Shuanzhu's lead, saying
"Treasures? What treasures? Are they valuable?"
Hearing that Wang An was interested in treasures, Song Shuanzhu hurriedly said
"Valuable, definitely valuable! I guarantee that the things Song Ping hid are all valuable treasures."
Wang An felt that Song Shuanzhu was likely not lying, but what left him puzzled was that during the interrogation of Song Ping during the day, Song Ping had not mentioned anything about hidden treasures.
This was quite strange.
One had to realize that after Wang An had used various "memory recovery massage techniques" on Song Ping, Song Ping had remembered even the things he stole as a child, yet he hadn't uttered a single word about hiding treasures.
Of course, none of the three of them had thought to ask him.
The main reason they hadn't asked was that the furs, bear gall, and musk Song Ping had collected in Shuangqiao Township, as well as the stolen money, the furs in the warehouse of Song Ping's home, and the bear gall and furs inside their house, had all been confiscated.
Added together, these things were certainly not a small sum of money.
Therefore, logically speaking, there should be nothing left in Song Ping's home; he should have been stripped clean.
It would be hard for anyone to believe that this old rascal Song Ping could have other assets besides those valuable items!
If there really were other valuable things, just how damn rich was this old rascal Song Ping?
Thinking of this, Wang An suddenly realized something and said directly
"Are you talking about the warehouse in the commune? Or the warehouse at his house? If it's the stuff in those two places, then you can just go ahead and die."
"Everyone knows those things are valuable, but do you think I can just go to his house and rob them? Fuck! Even if I could rob them, where the hell would I hide them? Tell me, are you fucking playing with me?"
Wang An's point was very reasonable. Half a warehouse of furs was indeed valuable, but the target was too large!
How could Wang An dare to brazenly go to someone's house and steal furs? Moreover, the furs and bear gall had already been confiscated; Wang An couldn't exactly go and rob the Public Security Bureau, could he? What a joke.
As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Song Shuanzhu hurriedly said
"Not those two places, not those two places! Those are his open warehouses. He has another place specifically for hiding the good stuff, right in the mountains. Really, Great Uncle, I'm not lying to you."
Wang An didn't continue following that lead. Instead, he shifted his tone, speaking like a charlatan
"Tell you what, let's put the treasure thing aside for now; I'm not interested. My gun actually fucking misfired when I shot you earlier. I reckon there must be some meaning behind this; most likely, the Heavens don't want you to die."
"So, since even the Heavens don't want you to die, I'll give you a chance to live. I'll ask you a few questions, and you tell me the truth. If you tell the truth, I'll follow the will of Heaven and not kill you. But if you lie, I'll have to beat you to death. How about that?"
Hearing that he had a chance to survive, Song Shuanzhu nodded frantically and said
"Please speak, Good Man, please speak!"
Wang An's expression turned solemn as he asked
"How many lives are on Song Ping's hands?"
Upon hearing this, Song Shuanzhu immediately said
"This... this... I don't know! I really don't know! I usually just drive the sled to help him deliver furs; he never let me get close before he went to collect the furs."
Wang An didn't mind and asked again
"On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, you helped Song Ping haul furs from the commune to his house. Before unloading the cart, did you see a large paw skin in his warehouse?"
Song Shuanzhu hurriedly replied
"I saw it, I saw it! I was the one who hauled that large paw skin back for him on the sled a few days prior."
Wang An narrowed his eyes and asked
"Which day did you haul it back for him?"
Song Shuanzhu thought for a moment and quickly said
"The third day of the twelfth month. Yes, the third. That day, before noon, he had me drive the sled to take him to the Shiqiaobao area. Halfway there, he told me to wait for him by the road. After a short while, I saw him come back in a rush carrying a sack. The mouth of the sack wasn't tied, and I saw it was a large paw skin."
"In a rush" was the local dialect for being hurried and frantic.
As soon as Song Shuanzhu finished speaking, Wang An immediately asked
"On the twenty-ninth day of the eleventh lunar month, where did you two go?"
Song Shuanzhu answered almost without hesitation
"To Sanhe Village in Xingsheng Township, to the far west."
Wang An asked expressionlessly
"When did you come back?"
Song Shuanzhu replied
"It was already dark when we left, and it was midnight by the time we got home."
Wang An asked
"You dared to run back in the dead of night? Weren't you afraid something would happen on the way?"
Song Shuanzhu suddenly cursed
"I don't know what the hell was wrong with that idiot Song Ping. I told him we should find a place to stay and leave during the day, but he insisted on going. Then, I reckon when we got to the vicinity of Kaoshan Village, he insisted on taking a shit. I smoked two packs of cigarettes on the sled before that idiot finally came back."
Wang An asked again
"Was he holding anything in his hand before he went to take a shit?"
Song Shuanzhu thought for a long time before saying
"It was pitch black then, I didn't see anything. Anyway, he took the gun with him, saying he was afraid there were wolves in the woods."
After hearing this, Wang An smacked his lips, suddenly feeling that this whole night had been a fucking waste of effort.
Mainly, Wang An could be certain that Song Shuanzhu was absolutely not lying.
First, Wang An had never let Song Shuanzhu know who he was from start to finish.
Second, Wang An had already stoked Song Shuanzhu's hatred toward Song Ping.
Third, under Wang An's repeated torture, Song Shuanzhu's spirit had completely collapsed; he likely wouldn't dare to lie.
Finally, the questions Wang An asked were not interconnected; it was impossible for Song Shuanzhu to know exactly what Wang An was trying to find out.
Sighing, Wang An suddenly remembered what Song Shuanzhu had said about Song Ping hiding treasures. Thus, Wang An said with renewed interest
"Fine, I've decided to follow the will of Heaven and not kill you today. Now, you have to tell me, where did Song Ping hide those treasures?"
Song Shuanzhu said in disbelief
"Great Uncle, you... you... you're really not killing me? Then, what about Song Ping's part? Wasn't money already spent on that?"
Truth be told, Song Shuanzhu was actually a very honest and simple man. Even when he learned that Song Ping had hired people to kill him, his reaction was one of grief and indignation, rather than an attitude of wanting to kill Song Ping.