Dusk.
Outside Xianwei Tower.
"It's been ages since I last ate here." Lin Fan still remembered the place fondly. He even found himself missing Steward Li. The man was certainly generous, but he hadn't come around to see him in a while.
If Steward Li knew what Lin Fan was thinking, he would have waved his hands frantically.
He couldn't visit. He really couldn't.
The gang leader had said Lin Fan had joined the Security Bureau with grand ambitions and couldn't be won over. As for the silver they'd spent before, they might as well have fed it to a dog.
Steward Li had been very unhappy about that.
What kind of thing was that to say? He'd eaten the food too. Was the gang leader calling him a dog as well?
"Brother Lin, Qin Si invited you alone. Is it really okay to bring us along?" Yang Ming asked uneasily.
Bringing extra guests was one thing, but they weren't even women.
It seemed a bit much.
Captain Song felt the same way. He hadn't wanted to come, but Lin Fan had told him that brute force wouldn't work. If they wanted to take the gang down, they had to infiltrate it and become brothers with them.
He'd thought it over and decided Lin Fan made a lot of sense.
"It's fine. Just keep quiet when we get there. Leave everything to me," Lin Fan said.
Captain Song and Yang Ming nodded.
At that moment, Lin Fan seemed less like a rookie officer and more like a captain, while Song Qing and Yang Ming looked like the rookies.
"Oh, Master Lin! You're here at last." The moment the shopkeeper saw Lin Fan in his uniform, an iron cudgel strapped to his back, he hurried over with a respectful greeting.
Master Lin sure knew how to shake things up. One moment he was one thing, the next he was an officer.
"Mm. Lead the way."
"Right away."
As soon as Lin Fan stepped into the restaurant, professional habit made him glance across the main hall. At once, he spotted an old acquaintance sitting alone in a corner, drinking and eating.
Steward Li.
Steward Li was washing down each bite with a sip of wine, savoring the delicious food in front of him. After all that overeating in recent weeks, his stomach had grown delicate.
He only wanted to eat at Xianwei Tower now. Other food was hard to digest.
Hmm... Someone was looking at him.
Anyone who'd been stared at a lot knew the feeling. When someone kept watching you, you developed a strange sense of it and couldn't help feeling uncomfortable all over.
Steward Li looked up, searching for the source of that gaze. He spotted Lin Fan at the foot of the stairs at once.
He wanted to greet him warmly, but then he noticed something off about Lin Fan's expression. It held all kinds of emotions.
Delight!
Shock!
Disappointment!
Regret!
It was as if Lin Fan were saying, Aren't we friends? How could you come eat by yourself without inviting me?
Steward Li thought back to everything that had happened. He'd approached Lin Fan with an ulterior motive, but as they'd spent time together, their relationship had grown closer and closer until they were like brothers.
He could tell that, though they'd both been putting on an act, over time they'd become friends.
Steward Li was about to get up, greet him warmly, and explain why he'd come here to eat alone. But just as he formed the thought, Lin Fan said nothing. He didn't even look at him. Instead, he chatted and laughed with the people beside him as they went up the stairs.
Steward Li saw Lin Fan's cheek twitch in profile. It was the disappointment he felt in him.
Steward Li's mouth fell slightly open. Though a thousand words filled his heart, he didn't know how to begin. He drained his cup, lowered his head, and stared at the food before him. It had lost its flavor, as though he'd done something to feel guilty about.
"Brother Lin, I really wasn't eating alone! Since you consider me a friend, shouldn't you come find me if I don't come to see you?"
He muttered to himself.
Another cup of strong liquor slid down his throat.
It only took a few cups for him to get drunk.
On the second floor, in the Palace Chamber.
Qin Si sat waiting. Another man sat beside him, burly and broad-backed, with a fierce air about him. Overall, though, he looked none too bright.
They'd agreed to meet one-on-one, just the two of them.
But Peng Chang's report had left Qin Si unsure what to do. At first, he'd wanted to invite Wang Changhai along, since Wang Changhai was on fairly good terms with Lin Fan and might make things easier.
Who could have guessed that Wang Changhai would say he wasn't feeling well and politely decline?
With no other choice, Qin Si had invited another hall master from Loyalty Hall: He Sen, the man sitting before him.
"Qin Si, relax. With me here, that kid won't dare disrespect you. I'm a hall master, after all. When he sees me, he'll have to respectfully call me Hall Master He."
He Sen picked up a bull penis with his bare hand and stuffed it into his mouth. His disgusting table manners made Qin Si's stomach turn.
He was already regretting inviting He Sen.
Damn it, don't ruin this for me.
I came here to negotiate with Lin, and I brought my sincerity.
He Sen grinned, a front tooth missing. His smile was grotesque. "This is the good stuff. Great for your health. Once I'm done helping you out, I've got a young maiden to go have some fun with. Fourteen years old, fresh as can be."
"Heh, Hall Master He, you certainly know how to have fun. Just be careful, though. If things get out of hand, it'll be hard to clean up," Qin Si said with distaste.
What a fucking pervert.
The women in the brothels were so much better. They knew every trick in the book, and they were skilled at playing, singing, and everything else.
One squeeze, one lift, and they could bring you to the brink. It was a hell of a rush.
What kind of mind did it take to force a respectable young woman?
He Sen scoffed. "You think I haven't been around? Things get out of hand? The only way that'd happen is if her family didn't want to live."
Footsteps sounded outside, followed by the shopkeeper's voice.
"Master Lin, this is the room."
The door opened.
Qin Si stood up, about to greet him as Master Lin, when Lin Fan proved even more enthusiastic. A smile spread across his face as he opened his arms.
"Master Qin Four! It's been ages!"
He embraced Qin Si and patted his back.
Qin Si's hands hovered awkwardly as he froze in confusion.
Hadn't they met before?
Lin Fan had him completely flummoxed.
But seeing how warmly Lin Fan greeted him, Qin Si smiled too and patted Lin Fan's back. "Master Lin, it really has been ages. I've missed you terribly."
When you were away from home, you had to know how to put on an act.
Just look at them now. Anyone who saw them would say they were clearly close—true brothers.
He Sen leaned back in his chair, head cocked as he watched. He didn't move at all, as if to say, I, Hall Master He, am right here. If you have any sense, you'll respectfully call me Hall Master He.
They let go.
Qin Si noticed the two other people beside Lin Fan and was startled. He'd brought people too?
And he'd brought Song Qing and Yang Ming.
Qin Si knew Song Qing very well. He was like a rock in a latrine—stinking and stubborn.
Lin Fan smiled. "Master Qin Four, I know you said we'd meet one-on-one and talk privately, but I figured you'd bring someone along, so I brought two people to meet you as well. You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh, Master Lin, what are you talking about? I couldn't be happier," Qin Si replied. "Come, come, have a seat. The dishes are all here. We were just waiting for you to arrive before we got started."
Lin Fan looked at He Sen.
He hadn't expected Qin Si to bring him. Back when he'd been working around Jili Pier, he'd heard people talk about him.
He Sen was the most vile bastard in Loyalty Hall.
He liked forcing himself on respectable young women. And afterward, if any of their family members put up even a little resistance, he'd find a way to torture them.
Lin Fan glanced at the plate of bull penis in front of He Sen.
He knew some young woman would be on He Sen's mind tonight.
Fuck you.
He'd originally planned to take down Qin Si tonight.
Now he'd changed targets. Tonight, he was going to beat He Sen to death.
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