"What happened to you?" Mother Lin's face showed no emotion at all.
Lin Shuguang walked into the house as if nothing had happened, with Lin Xiaoxi still clinging to him like a "dog-skin plaster." "I went to a friend's place."
Mother Lin glared at him. "Your friend's pretty impressive, huh? They even made it onto TV?"
Lin Shuguang's smile froze.
Lin Xiaoxi wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "We saw everything."
With that, she nimbly jumped down.
Lin Shuguang looked up and found Lin Haiyang and Mother Lin both staring at him. His smile instantly turned sheepish.
Mother Lin abruptly stood up. "You little brat, grown capable, have you? You dared to go to such a dangerous place! Huai City is huge, and there are so many powerful people here. What were you fooling around for?"
Lin Shuguang lowered his head without explaining. Whatever his own mother said, he nodded along to it, his attitude toward admitting fault excellent.
After scolding him for quite a while, Mother Lin walked over and grabbed his arm, checking him from head to toe. Though her tone was stern, she was clearly concerned. "Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Lin Shuguang smiled. "I wasn't hurt. A vicious beast at that level couldn't withstand even one hand of mine."
Mother Lin raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh? Feeling pretty proud of yourself?"
Lin Shuguang: "..."
Mother Lin turned around and simply left.
Lin Haiyang followed her, but before leaving, he gave Lin Shuguang a thumbs-up.
Lin Shuguang immediately perked up and returned the gesture.
Just then, a petite figure once again threw herself into his arms.
Lin Xiaoxi raised her head, her eyes shining. "Brother, are you especially powerful now?"
"More or less." Lin Shuguang answered casually.
Lin Xiaoxi said, "Oh," then happily hopped back to the bedroom.
Lin Shuguang looked puzzled.
Why was this girl so happy?
Early the next morning.
Lin Shuguang ate breakfast with his family, then went to the Special Management Bureau to report in.
He went to the Ninth Division first.
The moment the Square-faced Section Chief saw Lin Shuguang, he froze. "You're back?"
Lin Shuguang smiled and nodded, then carried over the gift packages in his hands. "I got back last night. Since I had nothing else to do, I thought I'd report back to the bureau early. These are some specialty snacks I bought in Demon Capital. They weren't expensive. I just saw people there eating them all the time, so I brought some for everyone."
"You're back, and you even brought gifts." The Square-faced Section Chief smiled as he stepped forward to accept them.
"Section Chief, does the bureau have any assignments lately? I'm back now, so feel free to put me to work however you like. Don't stand on ceremony." Lin Shuguang plopped himself down in a chair.
Everything he said was meant to hint that the Square-faced Section Chief should bring up the matter of the Blood Desolate Land on his own.
Who would have thought that after accepting the gifts, the Square-faced Section Chief would instead feel too embarrassed to really put Lin Shuguang to work? Concerned, he said, "You just got back, so get some proper rest. Leave the fighting and killing to the others. It's not easy to get a holiday, so just enjoy yourself. I'll hold down the fort here. Nothing will happen."
Lin Shuguang rose on the spot and declared righteously, "No, no, no, Section Chief, please don't say that to me. I'm absolutely loyal to Great Xia. You have to give me a chance to serve the nation! I'm always ready!"
"This..." The Square-faced Section Chief froze.
This isn't how the script is supposed to go...
He had assumed that Lin Shuguang had come bearing gifts because he wanted to quietly enjoy this long holiday.
But that wasn't the case?
After pondering for a moment, the Square-faced Section Chief said, "There haven't been any assignments lately. There was only something at Longhu Road last night. I don't know if you're aware of it."
"I know. I handled it last night." Lin Shuguang nodded.
He made it sound as if he had merely taken care of some trivial matter.
The Square-faced Section Chief stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. "I really underestimated you. There aren't any minor assignments, but there is one major assignment. The trouble is, there's simply too much uncertainty."
Lin Shuguang's eyes lit up.
He immediately thought of the Blood Desolate Land!
He straightened up without revealing anything, his words solemn and grave. "I have no hesitation about bleeding and sweating for Great Xia. Just tell me about it, Section Chief!"
The Square-faced Section Chief looked at Lin Shuguang with boundless emotion.
What a righteous young man. In this day and age, people like him are rare...
He spoke earnestly in a low voice. "This matter involves classified information, so I can't say much. But I imagine you've already heard something about it over in Demon Capital. Something similar has happened in Huai City recently as well. Now even the Governor has sent people..."
Lin Shuguang immediately declared, "No matter how great the hardship, I'll take part! Born a son of Great Xia, I have no hesitation!"
The Square-faced Section Chief opened and closed his mouth...
After a long while, he said, "I don't have the authority to approve this assignment. You'd better go to Si Bureau and sound him out."
Hearing this, Lin Shuguang felt as if he had wasted a great many facial expressions. Without showing anything, he started walking. "Thank you for the reminder, Section Chief. I'll go right now."
The Square-faced Section Chief stared in astonishment at Lin Shuguang's departing back, instantly both amused and exasperated.
"He really is impatient... Looks like all those things he did in Demon Capital were true. Now that he's back, I wonder if the skies over Huai City are about to be turned upside down again.
"Even if they are, so be it. Huai City has been quiet for too long. It's about time some fresh blood was injected into it."
Elsewhere at that moment.
Knock, knock!
"Come in." Si Qianjun answered casually.
The door opened, and Lin Shuguang poked his head in with a sly grin.
"Si Bureau, did you miss me?"
Si Qianjun's hand, which was holding his teacup, stopped dead. He cast a sidelong glance over, then calmly covered the tea box and placed it in the cabinet inside his desk. With a click, he locked it.
His movements were not very practiced. Most likely, the locked cabinet had only recently been installed after he heard that Lin Shuguang was about to return.
Lin Shuguang: "..."
He closed the door.
Then he handed over two more gift packages. "Si Bureau, I brought you some Demon Capital specialties. You can try them when you have time. I heard the shop assistant say that this thing is known as a man's second spring and is good for the body. I don't really understand what that means, but I figured you'd like it."
Si Qianjun gave a cold laugh, completely unmoved by the ploy.
"Speak. What are you trying to do?"
Lin Shuguang immediately looked as though he had been insulted. He turned to Si Qianjun reproachfully. "Si Bureau, that's going too far. I've been gone for more than three months, and I went out of my way to make time to pick out a gift for you. Yet you think of me like that? My little heart hurts even more than when I bled and sweated for the Special Management Bureau back then. It feels as if someone has hammered it more than a thousand times. My heart is being cut by knives."
"..." Si Qianjun was covered in black lines. "Then I thank you?"
Lin Shuguang immediately grinned. "No need, no need."
Si Qianjun snorted coldly. Even now, he couldn't forget the heartache of Lin Shuguang "stealing" two packets of his tea before leaving. That was fine tea he had obtained from Dragon City only after pestering them relentlessly. Even the Commander couldn't bear to drink much of it, yet Lin Shuguang had taken two packets in the blink of an eye.
At the time, Si Qianjun had indeed been coaxed into a moment of rash generosity and waved his hand grandly. "Take whatever catches your eye."
In the end, that brat had taken two packets of his tea with an embarrassed look on his face.
Now that he thought about it, he wanted nothing more than to strangle the boy.
After setting down the gifts, Lin Shuguang's expression suddenly turned solemn. He straightened his back and shouted, "Lin Shuguang of the Special Management Bureau's Ninth Division, reporting in!
"Please approve my entry into the Blood Desolate Land, Si Bureau!"
Si Qianjun looked over when he heard this.
The room fell silent.
Before you continue