But until now, no one had contacted him, so after Li Chonglou left Hu Han's office, he immediately called Gao Baisong.
"Brother Li, you finally remembered me."
"Sorry, I had other urgent matters to attend to. Where are you now?"
"I'm at Lao Er's place. You can come over."
"Alright."
Gao Baisong then sent an address, and Li Chonglou hailed a car to head there directly.
Upon arriving, Li Chonglou discovered it was a rather rundown residential area. There was no property management at the entrance, just an open, abandoned iron gate.
The streets inside were unkempt, with a thick layer of fallen leaves and dirt accumulated on the ground.
As Li Chonglou walked through the street, he noticed the paint peeling off the walls. It was hard to imagine that such a neighborhood existed in Shangjing, an international metropolis.
Block B, Unit 701.
It was on the top floor, but there was no elevator. As he ascended, the garbage piled outside the doors was so strong it made Li Chonglou feel dizzy.
When Gao Baisong opened the door, the minimalist interior made Li Chonglou frown deeply.
"Logically, you taxi drivers should have some money, right? Why are you living in a place like this?"
It wasn't that Li Chonglou looked down on such impoverished neighborhoods, but he couldn't understand why individuals like Gao Baisong, with their income, could afford better accommodations.
Gao Baisong sighed and said, "Alas, Lao Er has used up almost all his savings for his son..."
"Where's Lao Er?"
Li Chonglou had not seen Lao Er since entering. Only Gao Baisong and Lao San were in the room.
The entire team was taking turns looking after Lao Er, fearing he might do something drastic.
"He's in the room. Lao Si is also here."
Li Chonglou nodded, and under Gao Baisong's guidance, entered the room to see Lao Er.
He was a stark contrast to his former reckless self when driving a taxi. Not only had he become gaunter, but his physique had also reduced by nearly half!
He looked as if he had been dehydrated, appearing half-dead.
Seeing the three of them enter, Lao Si sighed and said, "He hasn't eaten or drunk for two days. If this continues, I'm afraid he won't make it."
Gao Baisong's brow furrowed. "Still not eating? I thought he would eat something after coming into the room. This won't do."
Lao San suggested, "Why don't we take him to the hospital for an IV drip? Even if he doesn't eat, at least he won't be dehydrated."
"People are made of water. They can go without food for a week, but three days without water can cause serious problems!"
Just as Gao Baisong was about to agree, Li Chonglou suddenly spoke, "Do you want to find out if your son was wrongly accused?"
Lao Er, who had been listless, suddenly trembled and looked up at Li Chonglou.
"I believe your son was wrongly accused. But if you, as his father, don't believe him, I think no matter how much I do, it will be useless."
Lao Er's expression changed instantly. With a hoarse voice, he anxiously said, "How could that be? Of course, I believe him! My son, of course, I believe him! Who wants their son to be a rapist!"
Seeing Lao Er becoming extremely agitated, the other three quickly stepped forward to hold him down. However, Li Chonglou calmly said, "Since you believe him, then take good care of your health. Don't be the one to go first when I've saved the person. Do you want your son to mourn you?"
Lao Er's agitated emotions immediately subsided. A flicker of light appeared in his cloudy eyes, and he murmured, "I'll eat. I'll eat, I need to eat, and I need to get my health back!"
Gao Baisong and the other two also showed signs of relief. However, at this moment, Li Chonglou gave Gao Baisong a look, and then the two of them left the room.
"Tell me the story again, in as much detail as possible."
Gao Baisong's expression turned serious, and he quickly led Li Chonglou to a seat and recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.
There was a detail he hadn't mentioned before.
Before Lao Er's son was arrested, someone had come to their door to collect a debt.
However, he had already run away from home at the time, and the debt collector refused to disclose the specifics, so Lao Er didn't know much about it. It was eventually dropped.
"Did Lao Er pay off his son's debt?" Li Chonglou asked, somewhat puzzled.
"No, they said it was over 500,000 yuan. Lao Er couldn't possibly come up with that money, and at the time, Lao Er didn't even believe the incident. So, he only inquired about the situation back then," Gao Baisong shook his head.
Li Chonglou became even more perplexed. "Did they come back later?"
"No, they only came that once. That's why I didn't tell you earlier; I thought it might have been scammers."
Gao Baisong's suspicion wasn't unreasonable. Scammers were rampant these days, almost omnipresent and insidious. Someone suddenly showing up at their door demanding 500,000 yuan without revealing any other information—anyone who believed them would be a fool.
However, this was from a normal logical perspective. But what if it wasn't?
Li Chonglou's eyes narrowed. He thought of a possibility.
But for now, it was all speculation, so he didn't share his thoughts with Gao Baisong.
After learning all the details and inquiring about the location where Lao Er's son was being held, Li Chonglou left Lao Er's home directly.
Coincidentally, the detention center where Lao Er's son was being held was right next to Lin Qianqian's temporary police station.
Perhaps it was even under her jurisdiction...
Thinking of this, Li Chonglou felt a bit speechless. However, holding onto a sliver of hope, he took a car and headed there again.
On the way, Li Chonglou called Zhou Tong and obtained the contact information of the lawyer he had previously commissioned.
In such cases, ordinary people could not visit the inmates. Only through a third-party lawyer could they inquire and then relay the information.
He had learned these procedures when he helped Zhou Tong get out of trouble. Therefore, upon reaching his destination, Li Chonglou didn't rush in but waited on the spot for the lawyer to arrive.
Zhou Tong's lawyer was an acquaintance of his. Although his standing in the industry wasn't very high, his reputation was no less than that of any top lawyer.
This was because he specialized in handling cases for people at the lower strata of society. Almost all his cases involved ordinary people. As for high-profile cases involving tens or hundreds of millions, it wasn't that he lacked the ability to handle them, but rather that he never took them due to his personal disposition.
This peculiar style had earned him a nickname in the industry: the "Street Sweeper of the Jianghu," implying someone who exclusively cleaned up minor cases.
However, Zhou Tong's friend never cared about this nickname and even felt it was an honor.