Master, Didn't You Say We Shouldn't Worship Force?

Tense. Thrilling. An indescribable rush of excitement.

A murderer.

A real murderer!!!

And he'd actually taken him down just like that. Thinking back over the whole sequence of moves, he felt it deserved a score of—

9.8 points.

As for why it wasn't a perfect score, he wanted to leave himself room to improve.

"Are you two all right?" Lin Fan asked.

The young officer with the injured arm shook his head.

The older man took several breaths, clasped his hands, and said, "Thank you for coming to our aid, young brother. If not for you, who knows what might have happened just now. I'm Song Qing of the Security Bureau, and this is my apprentice, Yang Ming."

After speaking, he glanced at the murderer lying motionless on the ground and felt a lingering shiver of fear.

It had been far too dangerous. They'd nearly fallen at the man's hands.

Lin Fan returned the salute, clasping his hands. "When I see injustice, I draw my blade to help. I'm Lin Fan. I'm determined to pass the Law Examination and join the Security Bureau as an officer, doing my part to keep Yong'an City safe. How could I stand by when I ran into a murderer?"

One had to learn to say the right things.

Just look: the moment he stated his ambition, the two officers' expressions changed.

"Excellent! Heroes emerge from the young," Song Qing said with a sigh. Then he glanced around. "Brother Lin, it's late. Why don't you come with us to take the murderer back to the Security Bureau? We can have a proper talk there."

"Sounds good."

Song Qing and Yang Ming were both somewhat injured, and the murderer was unconscious. Carrying him off by his arms and legs would be difficult, so Lin Fan stepped forward, grabbed the man by the ankle, and dragged him along the ground.

Song Qing was startled by the sight.

What incredible arm strength.

Taking what he'd just witnessed into account, his assessment of Lin Fan was: agile, nimble, and exceptionally brave.

An ordinary person couldn't have pulled off that seamless string of moves.

And any ordinary citizen who learned there was a murderer around would have run off long ago.

The Security Bureau stood beside the county yamen, with just one street between them.

It was late, and only one person was on duty at the bureau. The commotion as they entered woke him from a deep sleep. Grumbling, he came out to see who was making trouble in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.

Until...

"Captain Song, what's going on?" The duty officer looked puzzled.

Song Qing pointed at the murderer. "We've apprehended Hu Yong, the man responsible for three murders."

The duty officer stared in shock. "What? So he's Hu Yong! He really does have a vicious look. Congratulations, Captain Song! You've done a great service!"

Song Qing nodded. It was indeed a great service, but it wouldn't do him much good. At his current rank, it was difficult to advance any further. The credit for catching a single murderer wasn't enough.

His apprentice, though, could use the credit to rise from a rookie officer to a full-fledged officer, earning an official position and a modest salary.

There was a world of difference between receiving a salary and living off allowances.

Song Qing gave the order for his apprentice and the duty officer to take the murderer to the cells. Then he warmly led Lin Fan to the inner hall, brewed tea himself, and thanked him for what he'd done that night.

It was Lin Fan's first time entering the Security Bureau.

He just hadn't expected the place responsible for keeping Yong'an City safe to be so shabby.

The blue-brick floor was badly worn, the stone walls were crumbling, and even the carved flowers on the grand chair beneath him had been rubbed smooth. The armrests were polished to a shine.

Song Qing started the conversation, and Lin Fan followed along. They hadn't talked long when Yang Ming came in with his wounds bandaged. He sat down, drank some tea, and tried to calm himself after the ordeal.

But when he learned Lin Fan worked for Wang Changhai of Loyalty Hall, he stared at him in astonishment.

He hadn't expected the righteous Brother Lin, who'd rushed to help them, to be mixed up with the underworld.

His master, on the other hand, remained utterly calm, clearly not taking the matter to heart.

"Wang Changhai of Loyalty Hall may be a bit rough around the edges, but he's one of the decent ones there. Working under him isn't a bad thing. And the fact that he entrusted Jili Pier to you shows how much he trusts you," Song Qing said.

Lin Fan hadn't expected the head of his hall to earn such a judgment.

But when he thought about it, it seemed about right. There were plenty of poor folk scraping by at the pier, and he'd never seen the head of his hall bully any of them.

"The boss is pretty benevolent toward the brothers who work under him," Lin Fan said.

Song Qing had dealings with the city's gangs, though they certainly weren't friendly. After all, the gangs had done plenty of evil in the city, and bullying the common folk was the least of it. The serious crimes they were involved in were enough to get them beheaded.

But... it was best not to bring that up.

Collusion between officials and gangsters had always been hard to root out.

Song Qing changed the subject, turning to the Law Examination. "How well have you mastered the law?"

"Not bad."

"Oh? 'Not bad' means you're doing well. Study hard for the exam. Whatever else happens, I'll make sure today's deed is entered into the record. It'll be a great help when you apply to join the Security Bureau," Song Qing said.

Lin Fan set down his teacup and stood, grateful. "Thank you, Captain Song."

Song Qing quickly supported Lin Fan's clasped hands. "There's no need for that. You really did us a huge favor this time. If you truly want to join the Security Bureau, then heed my advice: from now on, no matter what happens, don't take on any dirty work for Loyalty Hall."

Lin Fan listened and nodded.

He could tell Song Qing didn't care about his current identity. He also seemed to approve of Lin Fan's choice to join the Security Bureau.

His chances of getting in now seemed better than before.

It was getting late, so Lin Fan took his leave. He hadn't received any tangible reward, but the words Song Qing had shared with him were the greatest reward of all.

To join the Security Bureau, he needed more than a little ability. He also needed connections, and now he had them.

That trip to the tavern tonight had been worth it.

Beneath the night sky, the moonlight was soft as Lin Fan strode lightly toward home.

In the inner hall.

"Master, can someone from Loyalty Hall really join the Security Bureau?" Yang Ming asked, voicing the doubt in his heart. It wasn't that he had anything against Lin Fan, but Loyalty Hall was still part of the underworld.

Song Qing stood with his hands behind his back in the doorway, gazing out at the moonlit night. Slowly, he said, "Why not? As officers, we must be upright and impartial, but we must also be worse than bad men and more wicked than evil men. Naive people aren't fit to become officers. Do you know why I chose to take you on?"

Yang Ming answered, "Because I didn't pay them off, the senior officers wouldn't take me on. You were the only one willing to."

"That's only one reason. The other is that I saw a conviction in you—a conviction to protect the peace of Yong'an City. Your family is well off, and your name carries weight in your hometown. You've managed not to be corrupted by those interests. I've been an officer for decades, and honestly, I've seen too many promising young people start out with pure hearts, only to end up as those people's lackeys."

Lackeys!!

Yang Ming understood. His master had been deeply disappointed in those people.

"Master, I'll make sure I never lose sight of what matters. But even if he passes the Law Examination, he might not get selected. As far as I know, most of the people taking it this time have local status and powerful connections. I'm worried he..."

"What's there to worry about? You think all these decades of my life have been for nothing?"

"Master, are you going to step in yourself?"

Yang Ming was astonished. He hadn't expected his master to think so highly of Lin Fan. In all the time he'd been at his master's side, he'd never seen him pull strings for anyone.

"Are you wondering why I think so highly of him?"

"A little."

"Because he can really fight."

"Huh? Being able to fight counts? But Master, didn't you say that as officers, we shouldn't worship force, and should talk things out whenever possible?"

At that, Song Qing rolled his eyes. "That depends on the person. I was afraid you'd get beaten to death not long after joining."

Yang Ming: ...

All right.

Thinking back on Lin Fan's performance that night, he had to admit the man really could fight.