When Lin Fan returned to the Security Bureau, the bailiffs looked at him as if he were a ghost.
They ran faster than dogs.
They'd clearly heard about his heroic deeds. The most explosive one was undoubtedly the punch he'd landed squarely in Chen Xingzhi's old face in broad daylight.
When Lin Fan and Captain Song entered the prison,
the bailiffs who'd hidden far away whispered among themselves.
"Terrifying. That Lin fellow is really audacious, daring to hit even Headman Chen. I reckon his days are numbered."
"Of course they are. Who doesn't know our Headman Chen is petty?"
"What was he thinking? He became a bailiff, with easy work every day and plenty of chances to skim a little off the top. Why stir up all this trouble? He's definitely got something wrong with him."
"He'd have to be crazy to do something like that."
If you asked them why they'd become bailiffs,
they'd surely answer with righteous conviction:
"For the people."
"For fairness."
"For justice."
But in private, of course being a bailiff was great. There were plenty of perks, and life was so comfortable it was hard to describe.
Inside the prison,
Lin Fan stood far away from Captain Song, avoiding the shit-eater He Sen's shit-stench attack. Its destructive power was terrifying.
Yang Ming held a bucket of water with a look of disgust and poured it over He Sen again and again.
"Gentlemen, please, let me back in my cell. He stinks too much. I can't take it." Jin Biao's arrogance had vanished without a trace. His eyes now held the honest, meek look of a decent man.
Lin Fan covered his nose and waved away the air in front of him. "Damn it, a villain's a villain. He even eats shit."
He Sen let the foul water wash over him. Hearing Lin Fan's voice, he struggled and roared, his face contorted. "Lin Fan, I'm going to kill you! Kill you!"
If looks could kill, He Sen would have raped him to death with his eyes.
And it would have been a truly, truly horrible death.
"Ugh..."
Yang Ming's expression changed. He ran to the trash can in the corner, bent over, and retched again and again. It was bad enough when the man was quiet, but once he started talking, the stench of shit got even stronger.
A moment later, Yang Ming returned to Lin Fan helplessly.
"Brother, I can't get him clean."
"It's fine. How much have they confessed?"
When he'd captured He Sen and the others, Lin Fan had never intended to let them go. They would certainly be killed, but how, when, and by what means—that was a science in itself.
At the mention of it, Yang Ming's cheeks puffed with anger.
"Brother, they're despicable. This guy's stubborn as a mule and won't confess to anything. But his underlings have told us everything they know, and it all points to He Sen. In just half a year, they violated more than fifty women."
Hearing this,
Lin Fan drew a deep breath too.
That meant more than fifty families—not... possibly even more. Some of the women were married, which meant two families were affected. When something like this happened, where could they even go to seek justice?
"Headman, did none of these cases ever get resolved?" Lin Fan asked.
Song Qing replied, "Most were handled by Chen Xingzhi. Some people were made scapegoats and confessed on their own. It was hard to pin anything on He Sen."
Lin Fan cursed furiously. "Damn Chen Xingzhi. If he dares show his face in front of me now, I'll beat him until he's crippled."
If Yang Ming had said that, Captain Song would certainly have scolded him and told him to stop talking nonsense.
But it was Lin Fan who'd said it.
He knew Lin Fan really could do it.
At that moment, Lin Fan was furious beyond words.
This was the damn ancient world. Officials colluded with gangs, and for ordinary people, it was nothing short of a hell-level disaster.
He secretly swore that as he rose through the ranks, he would bring every criminal in Yong'an City to justice. Not a single one would escape.
Lin Fan pulled Yang Ming aside and asked in a low voice, "Most of them are capital offenses, right?"
Yang Ming pondered for a moment. "Most of them are. Just a few didn't commit crimes severe enough to warrant execution. According to the law, they'd get twenty years of hard labor."
"Hard labor? They're wasting food just by staying alive. Split up their crimes and make sure they all get the death penalty."
Lin Fan said it casually, but Yang Ming felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if, in Brother Lin's mouth, the death penalty was no different from a beating with a cane.
"Isn't that a lot of people to kill? Should we do it in batches?"
As Yang Ming spoke, he looked toward the prisoners. Their hair stood on end under his gaze, and they all had the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
Lin Fan looked at Yang Ming strangely. He'd thought Yang Ming was worried that executing too many prisoners would look bad, and wanted to spare a few. He hadn't expected him to suggest doing it in batches.
That was truly ruthless.
"Brother, did I say something wrong? Why are you looking at me so strangely?" Yang Ming asked curiously.
Lin Fan waved a hand. "It's nothing. There's no need to do it in batches. Whether they die sooner or later, they're going to die anyway, so we might as well deal with them all at once. Besides, there isn't enough room in our prison. More and more prisoners will keep getting sent here, so we need to free up some space."
"That makes sense."
Whatever Brother Lin said,
he would always support him.
As for why he'd asked so many questions, it was because he could tell Brother Lin loved explaining things to people. That would help him understand the reason, while also satisfying Brother Lin's urge to enlighten others.
Two birds with one stone.
A win-win.
Just then, Lin Fan was informed that someone was waiting for him at the entrance. When he arrived, he saw Wang Changhai and a group of his men waiting there.
"Hall Master, what brings you here?"
He was only asking for show. The higher-ups of Loyalty Hall had probably lost their nerve and wanted to use Wang Changhai's relationship with him to put pressure on him.
Wang Changhai looked at Lin Fan with mixed feelings. He was the one who'd promoted Lin Fan, but who could have imagined he'd rise so quickly, becoming a bailiff in the blink of an eye and then doing something so earth-shattering?
When he'd heard the news, he'd been truly stunned.
Even sitting at home, he'd felt a chill run through him, his whole body trembling.
"Brother, I'm calling you Brother now—my Brother Fan! Why did you have to arrest He Sen? Now the gang's leader and three hall masters want to see you. They're watching you like a pack of tigers, I tell you."
Wang Changhai was in such a panic he had no idea what to do.
When his wife had heard about it,
she'd nearly fainted.
Lin Fan said, "He Sen committed one evil deed after another. As a bailiff, who else was I supposed to arrest? Since the higher-ups of Loyalty Hall want to see me, then I'll meet with them. It was bound to happen sooner or later."
He wasn't afraid of them at all.
Wang Changhai said anxiously, "What's the point of seeing them? Your sister's worried sick. She insisted I find a way to help, but what... what could I do? So I brought all my men here. Have them stay with you for a while, just in case the gang's people get desperate and try to ambush you."
Lin Fan smiled.
"Ambush me?"
"Hall Master, if they were capable of pulling something like that off, I'd have to give them credit."
He'd long been ready to face the higher-ups of Loyalty Hall head-on.
Wang Changhai blinked, his eyes clouded with confusion.
"Can't you listen to me and take it slow?"
"Hall Master, I appreciate your good intentions. Since they want to see me, let's meet them. Come on, I have nothing to do right now anyway. Let's see what tricks they have up their sleeves."
Lin Fan showed no fear.
He was going to face off against those guys from Loyalty Hall.
"Hey, hey, wait, wait!"
Wang Changhai stamped his feet in a panic and hurried after him.
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