Chapter 34: He Won’t Take It, You Won’t Take It—how The Hell Am I Supposed To Take It?
A moonless, windy night—common people say this is a killing night.
Street.
“Are you feeling unwell? Why are you shaking so badly?” Lin Fan noticed Yang Ming trembling all over. It had been like this since they left the restaurant. Could he have been poisoned?
“I’m not unwell, just shaking from excitement. I just find it stimulating.”
Ever since becoming a constable, he had followed his master in catching only petty thieves. But recently, the difficulty had skyrocketed. He had caught a murderer and faced a group of knife-wielding thugs. Now, they were even tailing a hall master from Loyalty Hall.
This guy was a big shot.
He had never even dreamed of it before.
He knew why there was such a change—it was Brother Lin. Brother Lin had led him onto this stimulating path.
Song Qing lowered his voice and said, “Are we really going after He Sen?”
“Yes. He Sen is now off to harm a good family—a fourteen-year-old girl. Such beastly behavior, how can we tolerate it? If we don’t take him down, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Lin Fan said.
Originally, Song Qing didn’t know, but just now, Qin Si, who seemed drunk, had casually yet deliberately mentioned it, pointing straight at He Sen.
“He really is worse than a beast.”
Yang Ming clenched his fist tightly. Though very nervous, he had long prepared to show his skills.
Lin Fan said, “Squad Leader, if we take down He Sen, wouldn’t that count as merit?”
Hearing this.
Song Qing fell silent.
Merit?
It would count, but he knew that once they took down He Sen, a storm of retaliation would follow, with Lin Fan as the primary target battered by the winds and rain.
Seeing the squad leader silent, Lin Fan knew he was worried.
“Squad Leader, I’ve loved righting wrongs since I was young. I can’t stand wicked villains who do evil, bully others, and act tyrannically. So my goal and ideals are to join the Public Security Bureau, become a constable, and sweep away the demons and ghouls of the world.”
He spoke these words with great righteousness.
Not a single sentence mentioned my progress.
But every sentence revolved around the core idea of gaining merit.
“Brother Lin, well said! That’s exactly what I think.” Yang Ming nodded vigorously in strong agreement.
“I can tell.”
Nonsense, of course it was obvious.
Yang Ming came from a good family. Though he rarely mentioned it, who didn’t know? His family was wealthy beyond measure, a rich young master. Instead of living a comfortable life, he joined the Public Security Bureau as a constable. Without grand ideals, no normal person would do such a thing.
Squad Leader Song looked at these two singing the same tune and sighed lightly in his heart.
“Taking down He Sen— are you really prepared to face the storm?” Song Qing asked.
Lin Fan smiled. “If I were afraid, I’d be home by now.”
Song Qing looked at Lin Fan beside him. His calm blood seemed to stir. “Good. Since that’s the case, I’ll risk it with you.”
If Lin Fan were like his disciple.
Having ideals but no strength.
He would absolutely try to stop him. What would you use to catch him? What would you use to withstand the fallout?
But now he saw three fearless shining points in Lin Fan.
1: Terrifying strength.
2: Terrifying strength.
3: Terrifying strength.
All indispensable.
“One silver note each.”
Yang Ming didn’t want one—his family had money and didn’t lack it. Song Qing refused even more, sneering at silver notes stained with the blood of innocent common people.
“Squad Leader, he won’t take it, you won’t take it—how can I take it? Being upright is good, resisting all kinds of temptation, but being too rigid won’t work. To deal with these guys, if you’re not as sly as them, how can you handle them?”
“Take it, and we’re in the same boat from now on.”
Still that same line.
He never hogged the rewards.
“Brother Lin, I’ll take it. I want to get on the boat.” Yang Ming felt Brother Lin made perfect sense. Though he didn’t lack money, this wasn’t just money—it was a ticket to board the boat.
“You don’t need to take it. You’re already on the boat.”
“Oh.”
Lin Fan pocketed the silver notes, leaving one and handing it to Song Qing.
Song Qing looked at the silver note before him with a complicated expression, motionless for a moment. Beside him, Yang Ming urged, “Master, take it and board the boat. Once Brother Lin’s boat sets sail, there’s no turning back.”
Looking at Lin Fan’s waiting gaze and his disciple’s urging expression.
Song Qing took the silver note and put it in his pocket. For some reason, his chest suddenly felt hot and solid. He had never carried so much silver taels in his life.
Lin Fan smiled in satisfaction.
Yang Ming had casually mentioned Song Qing’s situation to him. Though a squad leader in the Public Security Bureau, his days weren’t easy—not greedy, not accepting bribery, yet targeted everywhere.
He had two children at home, plus three elders, and his wife. Every day he opened his eyes, there were six mouths to feed.
The pressure was immense.
……
Shantytown.
Crude fence, crude house.
Inside the house.
A dim pine oil lamp was placed on the table. The wick had been trimmed repeatedly, yet it only emitted a glow the size of a soybean, barely illuminating a small area around the worn wooden table.
At the wooden table sat a family of three.
A dark-skinned middle-aged man sat on a low stool, his back slightly hunched, rough calloused hands holding a bowl as he drank porridge.
A graceful girl ate while reading a handwritten book placed beside her bowl.
An utterly ordinary woman sewed an old garment under the lamp, needle and thread shuttling between her fingers. Seeing her daughter engrossed, she pushed the oil lamp closer.
“Daughter, wait until Dad gets his wages tomorrow, and I’ll buy you a book. No more begging others to lend you books to copy.” The man thought of something happy and smiled, the wrinkles at his eyes bunching up, unable to hide his joy.
Normal families wouldn’t waste money buying books for daughters to read.
After all, reading was pointless—they couldn’t take the imperial examination anyway.
“Dad, no need. Copying books is fine—it helps me practice writing too.” The girl felt sorry for her dad’s hard work and didn’t want to spend the money.
“It’s fine. Dad’s wages this month are fifty more coppers than before. All thanks to Master Lin’s compassion for us.”
The man was a porter at Jili Wharf.
Though every day was hard labor, life now had hope.
Their foreman said Master Lin saw their hardship and suggested to Hall Master Wang to raise their wages—something he found unbelievable.
Though Hall Master Wang made the call, all the porters were grateful to Master Lin.
“Dad, Master Lin really is a good man.” The girl always heard her dad talk about Master Lin’s deeds, sparking her curiosity. She wanted to meet this heroic Master Lin.
Or rather, which girl doesn’t dream of romance, fantasizing about her hero idol.
“Of course. At Jili Wharf, who doesn’t give Master Lin a thumbs up? I heard Master Lin joined the Public Security Bureau and became a constable, even catching a gang of ruffians.”
The man set down his bowl, speaking excitedly and proudly.
The woman paused her sewing and chimed in, “I heard about what happened today too. The common people at the marketplace all say Master Lin is a Qingtian. Now with constables like Master Lin who truly get things done, us common folk in the future…”
Bang!
She didn’t finish her words.
The already patched wooden door was violently kicked open from outside.
The warm atmosphere in the house instantly froze.
Three gazes of fear shot toward the doorway.
Under the pitch-black night, a tall figure blocked the entrance. His body hid in the darkness outside the door, only his head poking in. The oil lamp lit half his face, his mouth grinning exaggeratedly upward in a twisted, ferocious smile.
He Sen’s gaze greedily swept over the girl. Seeing her tremble slightly from fear, his eyes burst with a hungry wolf’s green light, full of undisguised possession and lechery.
“She’s really tender…”
“Sir likes what he sees.”
“It makes Sir’s heart… race with excitement.”
