A Man Takes Bribes, and They Still Praise His Generosity

Ordinary people couldn't become beasts. Most wouldn't even want to.

But some "people" insisted on crawling closer to the beasts.

He Sen was one such bastard. The things he did might not have earned him many years in prison back on Earth, but once he was behind bars, even petty thieves who stole chickens and dogs would have been unable to resist beating him to a pulp.

The luxurious private room was filled with a fresh fragrance, but even that couldn't mask the stench radiating from He Sen.

A flame seemed to burn in He Sen's chest. He was furious.

This brat was actually ignoring him.

Ever since entering the private room, the kid had only glanced at him once, then sat there arrogantly as if no one else mattered.

Who was he?

He was He Sen, the head of Loyalty Hall!

Even Wang Changhai had to greet him respectfully with a "Brother He."

"Hey, why'd you quit the gangs and decide to join the Security Bureau? And now you're a rookie officer? That sure isn't an easy way to make a living." He Sen folded his arms and spoke with thinly veiled mockery.

Beside him, Qin Si wore a beaming smile as he poured the wine. His hand trembled slightly. How could he fail to hear the sarcasm in He Sen's voice? He hurried to smooth things over.

"Brother He, Master Lin has lofty ambitions. He joined the Security Bureau to keep the peace. With his abilities, it won't be long before he's promoted and earns an official rank."

Damn it.

He Sen, don't you dare start trouble.

I invited you here to help make an introduction, not to stir up trouble.

He Sen let out a mocking laugh.

His tone was full of disdain.

But perhaps remembering why he'd been invited, he didn't say anything more.

Qin Si was every bit the seasoned old hand, slick and worldly. He knew how to get the conversation flowing. At first, he avoided mentioning Jin Biao and instead shared amusing anecdotes to warm up the room.

It was like going to a brothel. You didn't strip off your clothes the moment you walked in. Of course you had some wine, flirted a little, and let the mood build. Once it was right, things would naturally fall into place.

Song Qing and Yang Ming sat there without a word.

Song Qing knew He Sen and Qin Si best of all. Neither of them was any good. If the law were fair, both would have their heads chopped off.

So he hadn't touched a thing. Eating with them made him sick.

Lin Fan noticed his squad leader's reluctance out of the corner of his eye, but Yang Ming didn't seem to care. He wolfed down the food, nodding now and then to show his approval.

Lin Fan smiled. "Master Qin Four, you sure know a lot. I heard that when you were young, you wielded a pair of watermelon knives and fought your way from the southern part of the city to the north without even blinking. You made quite a name for yourself."

Huh!?

Qin Si stared in shock. Who'd come up with such an unbelievable story about him? Fighting from the south of the city to the north? What a load of bullshit.

"Haha, Master Lin, let's not bring up the past. I'm old now, old. I don't have the same drive I used to."

Qin Si ran a hand over his smooth, bald head and waved modestly.

He accepted the story.

When you're out in the world, other people make up your stories, but you give yourself your identity. If someone said it, you might as well own it. Besides, bragging didn't cost a thing.

"Master Lin, let's drink, let's drink." Qin Si lifted his cup, brimming with enthusiasm.

Lin Fan smiled and downed it in one go. The strong liquor hit his stomach and was quickly broken down. He realized Beginner Body Refinement was incredible; alcohol barely affected him.

Body refinement wasn't just about taking a beating. Whenever he improved, he could clearly feel his whole body growing stronger.

His strength and speed had both increased significantly.

Qin Si was displaying his social skills to perfection, but he kept an eye on Song Qing's expression. After all, Song Qing was the squad leader, and his rank in the Security Bureau was much higher than Lin Fan's.

When he saw Song Qing pour Lin Fan a drink of his own accord,

he was stunned.

An astonishing thought surfaced in his mind.

Song Qing might look like a squad leader, but in truth, he had long since become Lin Fan's lackey.

After a few rounds of drinks, Qin Si and He Sen's faces had turned red. Qin Si's was especially flushed.

"Master Qin Four, this dinner isn't just a simple meal, is it? If there's something you want, you might as well say it." Seeing that the time was right, Lin Fan brought it up himself.

Hearing this, Qin Si threw back the wine in his hand and drained it. He set down the cup and sighed. "To tell you the truth, Jin Biao, whom you arrested today, is a distant nephew of mine. His parents died when he was young, so he came to live with me. I'm usually busy and neglected to keep him in line. Then he went and extorted money from the market vendors. It's truly despicable."

"I went to apologize to the vendors, too, and they forgave him."

"So I hope you'll show some mercy and let him go, Master Lin."

Qin Si could make up a story as easily as breathing. He didn't care in the slightest whether it was true. Out in the world, the truth of a story didn't matter. What mattered was having one to tell, so people could save face and find a way out.

You couldn't just demand that someone release a prisoner.

They had their pride, too.

Lin Fan set down his chopsticks and put on an awkward expression. The perceptive Qin Si immediately took a box from behind him and opened it carefully. Inside lay three neat stacks of silver notes.

There were three notes in all, each worth one hundred taels.

The officials he bribed all had fixed rates, with payments made once a month.

A rookie officer got one tael.

A regular officer got five.

A squad leader got twenty.

Clerks and county record keepers got thirty.

Those above them—the deputy magistrate and the county magistrate—got only forty or fifty.

So by handing over three hundred taels in silver notes, Qin Si was giving Lin Fan quite the face.

It wasn't because he was bowing to Lin Fan's lowly position as a rookie officer. He knew that the man surnamed Lin was a tough fighter. If Lin Fan dug in his heels and made an enemy of him, it would be a huge headache.

If a little silver could settle things, then it was only natural to jump at the chance.

Lin Fan looked at the notes without saying anything. Song Qing, sitting to the side, couldn't help speaking up. "Three hundred taels. What an enormous sum. An ordinary family might not earn that much in a lifetime. Even this whole table of food is worth as much as an ordinary person's yearly income."

Qin Si blinked.

What kind of ordinary family made so much money? Twenty taels a year, at least?

"Squad Leader Song, you put that so profoundly."

Qin Si showered him with praise while grumbling inwardly. He'd come all this way, and now he was worrying about the common folk? He'd just turned this whole bribery scene into a sermon.

Lin Fan smiled at Qin Si. "Master Qin Four, are you trying to bribe me? According to page seventeen, line three of the Law, an official who accepts a bribe of one hundred and twenty taels is sentenced to death by hanging, and also receives a beating. Seventy strokes for each tael. If I take your three hundred taels, how many strokes do you think I'd get?"

He Sen was dumbfounded.

Qin Si was dumbfounded, too.

What?

Was there something wrong with you?

I give you silver in good faith, and you start reciting laws at me?

Everyone in Yong'an City knew Qin Si was the most law-ignorant man around.

Qin Si had made it all the way from being clueless about the law to where he was now, so he was naturally quick-witted. His mind worked faster than anyone's. "Master Lin, don't go saying things like that. This isn't a bribe. I'm paying back the money I owe you."

"Paying me back?"

"That's right. When was it again? I borrowed three hundred taels from you. I've still got the IOU right here. Let me find it."

Qin Si rummaged through his clothes, soon pulling out an IOU and placing it in front of Lin Fan.

Lin Fan looked at the words on the IOU and read them aloud. "Today, I, Qin Si, borrowed three hundred taels from Lin Fan..."

There really was an IOU.

Qin Si was good at this. He'd probably gotten so experienced at bribery that he knew some people were afraid to accept money, so he deliberately wrote IOUs.

"Ah!" Lin Fan suddenly realized, slapping his thigh. "I remember now. That was the morning you borrowed it from me, wasn't it?"

"Right, right, right."

"No wonder. I kept feeling like I'd forgotten something. So that's what it was. Master Qin Four really is a man of his word. If you hadn't paid me back, I wouldn't even have remembered. Thanks, then."

Lin Fan reached out, tucked the silver notes into his clothes, then picked up the IOU and tore it in half in front of Qin Si to show it was void. He tucked the torn IOU into his clothes, too.

"Master Qin Four, did we agree on interest back then?"

"Huh?"

Qin Si was stunned.

You fucking beast. You just make things up as you go, don't you?

"Haha, I'm just joking. With the relationship Master Qin Four and I have, talking about interest would only hurt it."

"Right, right. Master Lin is generous and righteous."

Lin Fan was thoroughly satisfied.

Look at that.

He'd gotten money for free, and Qin Si still praised him as generous and righteous.

Nice!