Crazy Crimes

Luan Chong approached Ye Kang with a sinister smile.

"Kid, if you kneel and call me Grandfather three times, I'll let you go today."

As he spoke, he stretched out his huge hand and grabbed Ye Kang by the shoulder.

Feeling the immense force on his shoulder, Ye Kang sneered as well and raised a hand to seize Luan Chong's wrist.

With only a slight exertion of force, Luan Chong immediately felt as though an elephant had stomped on him. His entire arm hurt so badly he wished he were dead.

He let out a muffled groan and, without a second thought, swung his other hand down with all his strength.

"You're courting death!"

"Too noisy."

Boom!

Ye Kang kicked out, instantly sending Luan Chong flying off the second floor.

On the first floor, everyone had thought Qiu Niang would be unable to escape disaster today. Yet Luan Chong had barely been upstairs for ten breaths before he came flying back out.

No, he should have been thrown out, smashing headfirst through an Eight Immortals table.

Everyone was stunned.

"Senior Brother! Are you all right?!"

"Who dared hit my Senior Brother?! He's the Young Master of the Giant Wolf Gang!"

Several lackeys were terrified and hurried over to help Luan Chong up.

They still wanted to spit out threats, but Luan Chong, having come to his senses, slapped one of them hard across the face.

"Shut up! That man is an expert!"

He knew when to bend and when to stretch, immediately admitting defeat. "May I ask which expert you are? I was reckless today, but the Giant Wolf Gang is no easy target either. If you have the guts, give your name!"

Ye Kang casually leaned his head out and removed the waist token at his side.

"Imperial City Department special envoy, ordered to investigate the theft of the Luminous Pearl. If you refuse to leave, This Official will have reason to suspect your Giant Wolf Gang."

As his words fell, cries of alarm sounded.

"So he's an Imperial City Department expert!"

"No wonder he dared to hit Luan Chong. The imperial court stands behind him!"

"Do Imperial City Department experts come to Drunken Spring House to have fun too?"

Luan Chong and the others also realized things had gone wrong.

They had no desire to get entangled in any Luminous Pearl theft case.

Luan Chong hurriedly denied it. "Nonsense! This old man has plenty of good things—why would I covet a mere Luminous Pearl? I failed today, but I'll reclaim this loss sooner or later. Let's go!"

Luan Chong used the fiercest tone to say the most cowardly words, then hurriedly led his men away.

Soon afterward, a burst of applause sounded through Drunken Spring House.

"As expected of someone from the imperial court! What backbone!"

"Well done! These jianghu rabble rely on their martial strength to bully the good and weak. Jiangping Prefecture has suffered beyond endurance!"

Qiu Niang, who had been scared out of her wits, looked at Ye Kang with tender, affectionate eyes.

What had just happened truly set ripples stirring in her heart.

She hurried over and wrapped her arms around Ye Kang. "Thank you, my lord, for saving my life! This humble woman has no way to repay you. If my lord does not mind..."

"There's no need for repayment. I didn't come here for pleasure either."

Ye Kang cut Qiu Niang off, turned to break free from her embrace, and took out a slip of paper.

"Take this note and tuck it beneath your pillow. Tomorrow morning, bring it to the yamen and beat the drum to report a case."

Qiu Niang was left with a face full of bewilderment.

"My lord, Qiu Niang has not been robbed. How can I file a false report?"

Ye Kang smiled mysteriously. "Whether it counts as a false report is for me to decide. Just do this, then this..."

A moment later.

Ye Kang held a silk handkerchief, seemingly wrapped around something.

Under everyone's reverent gaze, he left Drunken Spring House.

Only then did the innkeeper, her face covered in blood from the beating, dare to go upstairs.

"Oh, my little ancestor, what happened to you?"

The innkeeper was stunned. Qiu Niang lay on the bed with a quilt covering her body, her face flushed red, making it impossible to tell what had just happened.

That night, He Zhi and his subordinate brothers set out once more.

Having learned from the previous night's lesson, every household had tightly shut its doors.

But to the Imperial City Department's elite, that was no obstacle at all.

Before long, the brothers returned to the Prefect's Mansion carrying large and small bundles of gold, silver, and valuables.

Ye Kang stood watch in the courtyard, looking at the things his brothers had brought back.

His expression gradually shifted from calm to strange.

"I told you brothers to steal stranger things, but isn't this a little too strange?"

All sorts of objects covered the ground.

There were salted duck eggs, old smoking pipes, hoes, baby cradles...

Most outrageous of all, one brother had directly carried in a bucket of foul-smelling stuff, driving everyone far away with the stench.

Facing Ye Kang's question, that brother said with an embarrassed face, "Commander Ye, the moment I went out, I ran into someone carrying Golden Juice. I figured nothing could be stranger than this, so I left a note and carried the Golden Juice away."

"You're ruthless!"

Ye Kang could not help giving him a thumbs-up.

With talent like this, the Imperial City Department had found treasure!

But regardless, in a single night, the brothers had handed out twenty notes, thoroughly establishing the reputation of the Grand Thief.

Ye Kang was extremely satisfied.

Second Day.

As expected, the area outside the yamen was bustling with activity.

Dozens of people had come to report cases, wildly accusing the Grand Thief.

"Honorable magistrate, uphold justice for me! That thief took my family's baby cradle! My child doesn't even have a place to sleep!"

"Prefect, mine too! That villain stole all my cooking tools. I can't even light the stove, and I'm still starving!"

"And me, and me..."

The reasons for reporting cases came in every conceivable variety, making the Prefect's scalp go numb.

The watching crowd was also filled with righteous indignation.

Who would have thought this Grand Thief had no scruples, stealing everything under the sun? He was simply lawless!

At that moment, a small sedan chair was carried over.

Qiu Niang stepped out, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. The moment she came up, she cried, "Please uphold justice, Prefect! This common woman's intimate garments were stolen by the Grand Thief. This is the note he left behind."

So the thing Ye Kang had been holding yesterday was Qiu Niang's intimate clothing.

That move was truly vicious enough, and the watching crowd instantly exploded into uproar.

Countless pieces of news spread throughout the city.

Inside an inn.

The White-robed Young Master had just gotten up and was about to go downstairs for breakfast when the conversation of several people below drifted into his ears.

"Have you heard? That Grand Thief went mad last night and committed more than twenty crimes. He even robbed Uncle Da Sha, the fool who carries manure!"

"More than that! That Grand Thief is a real pervert. He even took away the intimate garments of Drunken Spring House's top courtesan!"

"What? What I heard was that he stole all the clothes in Drunken Spring House, not even sparing the madam's!"

"What corrupt times! What an insult to decency! The darkness of this man's mind and the perversion of his actions are simply outrageous beyond all measure!"

The guests downstairs discussed it heatedly.

With every sentence they spoke, the White-robed Young Master's face grew uglier. In the end, his entire face twisted.

"You shameless dog of a thief! I'll fight you to the death!"

He slammed the Superior Room door shut and rushed into the room, panting heavily without end. Finally, he could not help clutching a pillow and bursting into tears.

"Dog thief, dog thief, dog thief, dog thief! Stealing other things would have been one thing, but you even framed me with a prostitute's clothes! Great humiliation—aaah!"