Brother Lin, Can We Make Peace?

Indoors.

Low, ragged breaths circled through the room.

Master Li was covered in blood, his face swollen and bruised as he curled up on the floor. Several distinct teeth lay scattered beside him.

He'd been beaten senseless.

His whole body ached, as if every bone had come apart.

The fighters he'd brought along hadn't fared any better. They looked strong and capable, but in reality, they were completely useless.

Lin Fan calmly picked up the rag from the table and wiped the blood from his fists. He sniffed it. Before, it had only smelled of blood, but after he'd used the rag, a strange stink had joined it.

"Little Fatty, did you wash this rag? How come it smells worse the more I wipe?" Lin Fan asked with a smile.

"N-no, I didn't wash it." Zhao Er stood frozen in place, staring at Master Li's hateful expression. Then he suddenly snapped back to his senses, his wits returning to him. He grabbed Lin Fan and tried to pull him away. "Brother, hurry and leave! He's Yuan Jiang's adviser. Once his people get here, you won't be able to get away!"

Lin Fan gently patted Zhao Er's hand, signaling him to relax and not panic. Then he looked at Madam Zhao, lying on the bed, walked over, and said with a smile, "Auntie, you remember me, right?"

"I do."

"Don't worry, Auntie. With me here, Little Fatty will be fine. A while ago, I asked him if he was having any trouble, and he said no. I figured he was just too stubborn to admit it, so I came by to check on him."

He'd visited Little Fatty's home once before, not long after they'd started working together. Little Fatty had somehow gotten hold of a roast chicken with two legs already eaten, then mysteriously dragged him home.

The two of them had sat around the table, happily eating together.

And he vaguely remembered the relief and joy in Auntie's eyes when she saw her son had made a friend.

Now he'd made something of himself.

His life was getting better, of course he wouldn't forget Zhao Er, another poor little nobody like him. That house wasn't small; he'd definitely need a steward.

Zhao Er was his first choice.

At that moment, Lin Fan looked at Master Li, who roared furiously, "You're dead! I'm going to kill you! Call for help! Get someone here!"

The fighter looked at the adviser in confusion. How was he supposed to call for help now? The other man would never give him the chance.

But who could have expected this?

Lin Fan pointed at the fighter. "Go on. I'll let you call for help. How many people you can bring is up to you. Don't come crying later that I didn't give you a chance."

"Brother, you can't let them call for help!" Zhao Er hurriedly warned him. He wasn't stupid. If they managed to bring people here, the consequences would be unthinkable.

He knew Brother Lin was valued by Loyalty Hall and had been promoted to head of the pier. As long as he left now and returned to Loyalty Hall's territory, it wouldn't matter how unhappy Master Li was.

Would he dare bring people to cause trouble on Loyalty Hall's turf?

If he did, it wouldn't be a personal matter anymore. It would become a clash between two gangs.

"Relax."

Lin Fan said.

Zhao Er was in a panic. There was no way he could relax, but since his brother had said that, what else could he say?

The fighter got up and cautiously tested the waters. He didn't know if the other man meant it or was just messing with him, waiting for him to believe it and walk toward the door so he could kick him back inside.

He knew that trick all too well.

He'd pulled it plenty of times himself.

Sometimes they'd even add an especially humiliating line: "I told you to go, so you went. Are you stupid?"

"I told you to call for help. Can't you hear me?"

"You really mean it?"

"Go."

The fighter inched toward the door, glancing at Lin Fan now and then. Seeing that the other man remained seated beside the bed without even moving, he quickened his pace, pushed the door open, and went outside. He pulled a Skyrocket Signal from his waist and lit the fuse.

"One arrow piercing the clouds, and thousands of troops come to meet it! Help!"

The fighter shouted at the top of his lungs.

A streak of fire shot into the sky. With a bang, it burst open overhead. It was just an ordinary firework.

Sitting beside the bed, Lin Fan looked through the window at the night sky. "So that's all it is. I thought it would make some special pattern, or maybe a tiger's head."

He shook his head, rather disappointed.

He thought of the movies he'd seen. The Axe Gang's skyrocket signals really did form an axe.

This one was clearly unprofessional.

The firework stood out against the night sky. Anyone who knew the signs could tell it was a distress signal from the Fierce Tiger Gang.

Indoors.

Master Li, who'd been badly beaten, cried out in delight. "You're dead! No one can save you! You like sticking your neck out so much, don't you? Let's see if you've got the guts not to run!"

Master Li didn't know who Lin Fan was, but if Lin Fan told him his name, he'd definitely recognize it.

After all, Lin Fan was famous now.

The incident at Cui Jing Tower had caused a huge stir.

Anyone with even a little standing in the underworld knew about it.

Lin Fan couldn't be bothered with Master Li. Instead, he called Zhao Er over to the bed and said to Auntie, "Auntie, here's the situation. You know Little Fatty is honest and isn't suited to gang life, so I'd like him to leave the Fierce Tiger Gang and come work as the steward at my house. What do you think?"

Zhao Er blinked. "Brother, when did you buy a house?"

"I didn't buy it. My older sister gave it to me."

"Huh? Brother, when did you get an older sister?"

Little Fatty was like a walking bundle of ten thousand questions, always coming up with something to ask.

Lin Fan patiently explained everything. When he finished, Little Fatty stared at him in shock. He hadn't expected the brother he'd become acquainted with through a fight to have made it so big.

Sure enough, outstanding people were outstanding wherever they went.

Madam Zhao took Lin Fan's hand and spoke softly. "Auntie trusts you. It's his good fortune and his luck to have a brother like you looking out for him."

Madam Zhao could tell Lin Fan sincerely wanted what was best for her child.

Her son had suffered plenty since he was little. He was also too filial, wore himself out more than anyone, and carried a heavier burden than anyone. As his mother, she saw it all.

"So you're Lin Fan."

Curled up where he was, Master Li had been imagining how to kill the other man. He'd naturally heard their conversation. They'd mentioned Wang Changhai of Loyalty Hall, as well as Jili Pier.

There was no need to think twice.

Who else could it be but Lin Fan?

"Master Li, you'd better hope the people you called are good fighters. Otherwise, you're in for it," Lin Fan said with a smile.

At those words,

Master Li's face turned deathly pale. A dreadful feeling washed over him.

Lin Fan had swept through eighteen Gold Medal Fighters at Cui Jing Tower without suffering a scratch. Anyone who knew how good a fighter he was would understand what that meant.

Those eighteen Gold Medal Fighters could easily have taken down more than thirty ordinary underlings if they'd joined forces.

Thinking of this,

Master Li hurriedly said, "Brother Lin, it was a misunderstanding. It really was a misunderstanding. Can we make peace?"

"What do you think?"

"I think we can make peace."

"Bullshit."

Lin Fan snapped at him. Even at a time like this, Master Li still wanted to make peace. His head must not have been screwed on right.

What Lin Fan wanted to do was sweep them all away.

Once he became a constable in the Security Bureau,

what were these people?

Merit points—walking merit points, stepping-stones to his promotion.