The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s
Chapter 235 - 199

Chapter 235: Chapter 199

Wei looked at the fairy-like figure stepping out of the car, and everyone paused in awe, observing Zhang Tian and Su Qing’s respectful demeanor.

Wei contemplated deeply, something was amiss! He was well aware of the troublemakers in Mo Junhua’s battalion, regarding no one but Mo Junhua himself highly—believing himself to be second only to one, ahem, even as a battalion commander... he felt somewhat invisible.

Facing such reverence towards a woman, what unknown events could have taken place here? Later on, he resolved to summon Su Qing for questioning—she was the only one from whom he could possibly extract any information.

"Hello, may I ask if you are Comrade Lan Tian?"

Before Wei could step forward to speak, an officer by his side quickly advanced to ask; Lan Tian glanced at Wei behind the officer, then focused on the officer in front, nodding, "Hello, I am Lan Tian."

"Let’s discuss this matter back in my office." The officer was about to speak further, but Wei interrupted, "This area’s too crowded for a discussion."

The group headed to Wei’s office, which was filled with people—a compact space occupied by Su Qing, Zhang Tian, Ding Lei, Wei’s chief of staff, and two military officers from the headquarters.

"Commander Wei, as you are aware, we are here on a mission that the senior leadership greatly values, sending us to gather details after delays have already cost us much time; once we are done here, we need to report back."

One of the officers opened the conversation before Wei could, putting an end to any chance Wei might have had to speak to Lan Tian. Wei inwardly cursed, realizing their behavior suggested they were guarding against inconsistencies, even having guards accompany them to fetch people.

He signaled to Ding Lei, "Go, take these comrades along with Comrade Lan Tian to the adjacent office."

Su Qing and Zhang Tian started to follow, but Wei stopped them, "No need to go; they won’t let you in. Just stay here honestly. I have a secret weapon; lock the door and follow me."

The chief of staff’s expression twitched—didn’t the misalignment of leadership influence the rest? Though this was on his mind, he followed Wei nonetheless.

Upon entering, Lan Tian found an office with just a desk, chairs positioned two on one side, and one on the other, with portraits of the ten marshals on the wall. After scanning the room, Lan Tian settled on the side with one chair.

The two military officers, one young and one middle-aged, closed the door as they entered, stationing two armed guards at the door to prevent others from getting close.

"Hello, Comrade Lan Tian, we’re just here to get some information from you; there’s no need to be nervous," the middle-aged officer said amiably, smiling.

Lan Tian nodded, "I’m not nervous. It’s every citizen’s duty to assist our comrades."

"..." The officer choked, taken aback by her eloquent response.

It was clear they were the ones asking the questions, yet she quickly turned it around to seem as if she was helping them.

This young lady was no ordinary one! Their questioning today felt increasingly uncertain!

Next door in Wei’s office was more intriguing, as it so happened that Wei had previously drilled small holes in the walls to eavesdrop, now coming in handy for them.

"That camp commander’s wife is quite something! Listening to her, she won’t be disadvantaged," Wei remarked, reflecting upon their earlier conversation—apart from Su Qing, everyone else agreed. Worried, Wei was about to share his thoughts when the office next door resumed their interrogation.

The two officers had clear roles: the younger recorded the exchanges while the middle-aged man asked the questions.

"Comrade Lan Tian, what is your relationship with Comrade Mo Junhua?"

"Spouses," Lan Tian answered succinctly, not waiting for the middle-aged officer to continue, she promptly added, "Comrade, I have a question I’d like to ask for your advice. I’m confident you can answer it without breaching military discipline."

Caught off-guard by how forward she was, it seemed churlish not to respond.

"Please, go ahead."

"I’d like to know which aspect of your work I am supposed to assist with, as I was summoned in haste without being briefed. Could you enlighten me, comrade?"

The middle-aged officer: "..." As per your words, I must report to you before we can proceed with our work?

"Ptuh"

"Ahem, ahem." The listeners in Wei’s office, especially Wei and his chief of staff, nearly choked on their laughter. They liked this girl; she perfectly matched their tone.

"She used to be like this," Wei commented, looking at Su Qing and Zhang Tian.

"I don’t know," they both shook their heads. Having only met a few times, Su Qing thought the camp commander’s wife was a decent person, while Zhang Tian remarked, "Sister-in-law doesn’t visit the military base often."

"Enough, quiet down, are we listening or not?" the chief of staff impatiently glared, prompting Wei to touch his nose and remain silent.

...

After a moment of silence, the middle-aged officer finally picked his words, "Here’s the situation: we’ve received a report from the populace about Comrade Mo Junhua, hence we came to investigate. As you are Mo Junhua’s spouse, and you understand his matters well, we approached you for clarification of what Comrade Mo Junhua is typically like."

Veteran comrades are veteran comrades indeed, speaking hidden meanings within their words. They talked a lot but didn’t reveal what crime Mo Junhua committed. Instead, they implied that Lan Tian, being the closest person to Mo Junhua, should know his secrets.

"Old Fox." Wei growled in frustration. "This is seduction."

Even though Mo Junhua’s wife is smart and clever, facing an old fox, she would eventually fall into his trap.

Lan Tian squinted at the middle-aged military man opposite her, judging her before even asking questions. She hid the coldness in her eyes, suddenly pursed her lips and smiled lightly, "Comrade soldier, rest assured, I will withhold nothing that I know."

"Good, let’s begin," the young military man next to him signaled to start recording.

"Comrade Lan Tian, how do you know Comrade Mo Junhua?"

"Grew up in the same village." Do we even need to ask?

Middle-aged military man: "..." The interrogation couldn’t proceed.

"What does Comrade Mo Junhua usually do at home? Is there anything special?"

Lan Tian raised her eyes to glare at the middle-aged military man, a smirk of mockery fleeting across her lips, "I don’t know."

"Slam!" The young officer was infuriated and slammed his pen down. After listening for so long, nothing useful came out, only useless talk, and now, she just says she doesn’t know.

"Comrade Lan Tian, I hope you cooperate with us fully so that we can resolve this matter quickly and Comrade Mo Junhua can return soon. You know the organization’s policies: leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist. Not reporting or harboring is also an offense."

While the young soldier spoke, the middle-aged one remained silent, eyes fixed on his teacup as if flowers were blooming within it.

One playing good cop, the other playing bad cop.

Lan Tian eyed the young officer questioningly, then seriously turned to the middle-aged man, "I remember the public often says that soldiers are upright, brave, and just; messengers of justice and public servants who help relieve the people’s difficulties and are the protectors of the masses."

The middle-aged military man nodded, they have always been doing so. His smile hadn’t fully spread when he heard Lan Tian say, "Comrade, would those words count as a threat to me?"

The middle-aged military man’s hand trembled, nearly unable to hold his teacup, looking up to see the young lady’s clear eyes reflecting his image, earnestly staring at him.

The young lady truly believed that. The public servant was threatening her, a member of the public.

"Comrade Mr. Xiao Yang, mind your tone," the middle-aged military man set down his teacup and reprimanded the young officer about to lash out, then turned back to Lan Tian, sincerely apologizing, "Comrade Lan Tian, on behalf of Mr. Xiao Yang, I apologize. My surname is Xu; you can call me Mr. Xu, and this is Mr. Xiao Yang."

"I accept your apology." Lan Tian nodded, listening attentively.

The middle-aged man continued, "Mr. Xiao Yang just now had a bad tone and was unclear. Comrade Lan Tian, let’s return to our previous question, tell me, why don’t you know."

Lan Tian spread her hands, "I really don’t know. My relationship with Comrade Mo Junhua is like two parallel lines. He lives his life, I live mine. I don’t know his matters, he doesn’t know mine."

The two interrogating officers were taken aback, not used to seeing a couple living like this. Wei and his team listening secretly were also taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"I’m busy, and he’s busy."

The young officer was skeptical. What could a wife from a rural area be busy with? No children even, can’t she find a better excuse for lying?

"Mo Junhua is busy with training, away from home for long periods. I’m studying in a school in Shanghai, always busy with my studies. The school is far from the military unit, and commuting is inconvenient so I stay at home, hardly meeting him all year round. Comrade, how could I know his affairs?"

Today isn’t a day for interrogation, the middle-aged military man thought.

"You’re from a rural area, right?" blurted the young officer, swallowing back the words "what studying?" under Mr. Xu’s sharp gaze.

The young lady is not someone to take lightly; as they talked, she led them into a pit.

Indeed, hearing the young lady say, "Comrade, your ideological awareness is poor. What about rural people? Can’t rural people strive to improve? Counting three generations up, your family was also from a rural background. Without farmers planting crops and mulberries, where would you get your fine clothes and food?"

See, led into the ditch again.

"Comrade Lan Tian, we are talking about Comrade Mo Junhua’s issues now, so let’s stick to the point," can we please not digress?

Lan Tian nodded, it wasn’t her who brought up the topic. "In recent years, I have seen him even less, as if he disappeared suddenly. Neither alive nor dead seen. The last time I saw him was a month ago when two comrades from the unit, Su Qingjiang and Jiang Xiaoshan, came to my school and found Mo Junhua unconscious at the Military District Hospital."

Lan Tian paused, her gaze somber, "I was busy with college entrance examinations before and didn’t have time to inquire. Since you’re here, I’d like to know, why did Mo Junhua get so severely injured, and as a family member, why wasn’t I notified by the military unit?"

"..." The middle-aged military man was already powerless to comment, not even a few sentences in and they were off track again.