He was relieved.
Qin Si looked delighted, as if to show he knew everything was settled. The other man had accepted the banknotes, which meant they were on the same side from now on.
The only thing he still couldn't figure out was Song Qing.
That man was stubborn as a mule, digging in his heels and refusing to take bribes.
So why was he willing to attend a dinner like this now, and even accept a bribe right in front of someone else?
He couldn't make sense of it.
Had he really given in?
As far as he knew, plenty of people were unhappy with Song Qing.
The Loyalty Hall, the Fierce Tiger Gang.
And those wealthy families and merchants hated Song Qing too. After all, which of their children could keep their noses clean? They were bound to bully and prey on people. And when those children ended up in Song Qing's hands, no matter how much pleading or gift-giving their families tried, he wouldn't so much as look at them. He insisted on following the rules.
With no other choice, they had to seek out higher-ranking officials.
He knew how greedy those officials were.
Naturally, the price they paid was steep.
And with it came anger and hatred.
"Master Lin, about my nephew's case... could you go a little easy on him?" Qin Si asked with a smile.
Lin Fan sighed softly. "To be honest, it's too late."
"Huh?"
"He extorted people at the market in broad daylight, with everyone watching. I swore to the people that he'd be punished severely. If I let him go now, where would that leave my own reputation? And the Security Bureau's? The people would curse my name."
Lin Fan acted as if he were in a difficult position.
But Qin Si couldn't understand it. So what if they cursed him? He'd already accepted the banknotes. With the Security Bureau in its current state, was there a single constable who hadn't been cursed by the people?
Of course, what he said out loud was different. "You're right. This really is difficult to handle."
Lin Fan said, "You'd better not try to bail your nephew out. He's confessed to everything he shouldn't have, including murder. Did you know?"
"What!?"
Qin Si looked utterly shocked, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "Master Lin, you can't just make something like that up! That's a life-for-a-life offense! How could he do such a thing? How did this end up involving a death? This... this..."
His acting was flawless.
If Lin Fan didn't know what Qin Si was like, he might have thought he was a good man.
Qin Si was used to murder. In their line of work, who didn't have a few lives on their hands?
Though this world hadn't quite reached the point where human lives were as worthless as weeds, people of their status could kill a few commoners at the bottom of society with ease, without it making the slightest difference.
Lin Fan said, "He kept insisting you'd ordered him to do it, but I could tell at a glance he was lying. He just made the accusation off the cuff."
Lin Fan had made the whole thing up.
"He was talking nonsense! Master Lin, I, Qin Si, am an upright man, a law-abiding citizen. How could I do such a thing? I can't believe my nephew even tried to drag me into this. He mustn't be let off lightly. Absolutely not!"
Qin Si cursed Jin Biao up and down in his head.
Damn it!
How dare he spout such nonsense? Sure, I've killed people, but when did I ever tell you, Jin Biao, to kill anyone for me?
"Exactly. So he can't be released. Does that make sense to you?"
"Yes, absolutely."
Whether Jin Biao lived or died didn't matter to Qin Si. He'd only used Jin Biao's case as a stepping stone to get closer to Lin Fan.
Now that he'd achieved his goal, he didn't care whether Jin Biao got out or not.
"Master Lin, sentence him however you see fit. I, Qin Si, won't interfere." Qin Si spoke with conviction. "Come, let's drink and talk."
At that moment, He Sen heard everything they said.
Something felt wrong.
But for the moment, he couldn't put his finger on what.
Dusk settled in. Qin Si's boisterous shouts and drinking carried from the private room. They drank three rounds, then six, until wine flasks were piled across the floor and table.
Suddenly, the private room's door swung open, and a furtive head poked inside. He nodded at He Sen and gave him a knowing grin.
Seeing Qin Si drunk and woozy, He Sen didn't say goodbye to him, or even to Lin Fan. He got up and left the room.
Lin Fan knew the other man was about to make his move.
"Master Lin, le-let's keep dr-drinking." Qin Si draped an arm over Lin Fan's shoulder, slurring his words and swaying on his feet. "Huh? Where's He Sen? Oh, right. He's off to have some fun. There's a fourteen-year-old girl, real young, and she's going to be..."
Lin Fan lifted Qin Si's arm off his shoulder, planted a large hand on his bald head, and pressed it down onto the table.
"You've had too much. Go to sleep."
Lin Fan picked up a sixty-pound iron baton from the corner, slung it behind his back, and nodded to the squad leader and Yang Ming. Then he left the private room and hurried after He Sen.
Inside, Qin Si rested his head against the table, muttering, "Keep drinking, keep drinking."
Not long after,
"Fourth Master, they're gone." Peng Chang pushed open the door and came over to Qin Si.
Qin Si, whose head had still been against the table, suddenly lifted it. He shoved his fingers down his throat and gagged hard. In an instant, he opened his mouth and vomited violently, like a bursting waterfall.
Holy shit!
Peng Chang grimaced. The stench was so acrid and pungent he couldn't stand it. He really couldn't take it.
When Qin Si had finished throwing up, Peng Chang handed him a facecloth. Qin Si wiped his face hard and gulped in deep breaths. Thankfully, before coming, he'd made a point of taking the hangover remedy prescribed by the doctor. It had kept him clearheaded the whole time.
Otherwise, after drinking that much, he'd have been dead drunk long ago.
He'd also told the manager to bring extra flasks all at once, one for each person. The wine in his own flask had been watered down. If he hadn't thought it would be too obvious, he would've swapped it for water.
"Fourth Master, is this kid easy to deal with?" Peng Chang asked.
Qin Si's expression turned stern. "He's not easy to deal with. He's not rigid like Song Qing. This kid's got a flexible bottom line. You could even say he's exactly what you'd expect from someone who came out of a gang—not a good person."
"So what do we do now?"
"Nothing. I've given him the benefits he's due. Now we'll see if he's really set on going to war with me. Tell everyone to keep their heads down at the market for a while. If this kid catches them, I won't be able to get them out."
Just because he hadn't studied didn't mean he was stupid.
If he really were stupid, he wouldn't have made it this far or built up the reputation he had.
"Did you see which way they went? Were they following He Sen?" Qin Si asked.
Peng Chang buttered him up. "Fourth Master, you really are a master strategist. You guessed right—they went in the same direction as He Sen."
"Quit sucking up. Come on. We should have a good show to watch soon. This is a chance to see where he stands, especially since He Sen is the Loyalty Hall's hall master." Qin Si was looking forward to it.
He'd deliberately slurred his words at the end.
He'd made his meaning perfectly clear.
Qin Si strode out. Peng Chang looked at the vomit smeared along the edge of his shoe in disgust, grabbed the facecloth Fourth Master had used, and quickly wiped it clean. Then he hurried after him.
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