Scene Swap

Deep in the night.

Yanhe Pavilion remained brightly lit.

Inside a private room on the third floor.

Two constables in plain clothes were looking at Bandit Brother, who had just walked in.

He was followed by a waiter.

The moment they entered, the waiter handed over the wine he was carrying.

Bandit Brother took it naturally and toasted the officers, "Officers! I am late, I am late, please accept my apologies!"

"No need."

One of the constables sitting across the room waved his hand when he saw Bandit Brother preparing to pour a drink, then tilted his head slightly to ask:

"Shopkeeper Sun, I heard you hosted Young Hero Chen for a meal a few days ago.

How is his... character?"

These two constables had been sent by Constable Yan.

This was part of Constable Yan's current effort to probe the background of Chen Guan.

When he learned that the proprietor of Yanhe Pavilion had apparently spent half an hour dining with Chen Guan, seemingly in deep conversation.

He had sent these two subordinates to inquire about it.

"Ah, it's a long story..."

Upon hearing the constable's question, Bandit Brother realized they had been sent by Constable Yan.

Knowing was one thing, but over the years, every time he saw constables coming to eat.

Bandit Brother would feel a tightness in his chest, wondering if his true identity had been exposed.

With a guilty conscience, it was impossible to interact with the law naturally.

However.

After a dozen years, he had grown accustomed to this tension.

Now.

Facing the two constables' questions.

He maintained as natural an expression as he could, picking and choosing what to say as he recounted the general events.

"My impression of Young Hero Chen is that he is steady and prudent, and very easygoing with others.

I didn't see any of the cold, murderous reputation mentioned in the rumors..."

Bandit Brother spoke, mostly saying good things.

This was to ensure that if Constable Yan were to find Chen Guan in the future, no conflicts would arise because of his own words.

Otherwise, he would be the one to suffer.

After all, one was a head constable, and the other was a martial arts expert who could kill and vanish without a trace.

He couldn't afford to offend either of them.

"Young Hero Chen is gentle?" The two constables secretly weighed Bandit Brother's words.

In the end, they decided to believe only half of it.

With that fifty percent discount, combined with the constables' recent investigations and Chen Guan's polite responses to people on the street a few days ago.

It seemed Young Hero Chen was quite direct and could be considered easygoing.

He was a normal person with nothing strange about him.

If there was anything strange, it was just his unusual appearance.

"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Sun."

Having received their answer, the two constables stood up to leave, "How much for this table of food and wine?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Bandit Brother smiled obsequiously, "It brings glory to my humble shop that you two could come; your presence is worth a thousand gold!

If I were to ask for payment, I should be the one paying you!"

"In that case..."

When the two constables heard that the meal, worth four taels of silver, was free, they didn't hesitate or stand on ceremony, fully embracing the idea that "respect is better than obedience."

"Since the shopkeeper says so... we shall take our leave."

To actually ask the shopkeeper for nine hundred and ninety-nine taels of gold would be excessive.

But to simply mooch a meal without doing any favors, while actually asking questions, the two constables felt no guilt and left decisively.

"They act more like bandits than I ever did..."

Watching their retreating figures, Bandit Brother felt a fire of resentment burning in his heart.

With this in mind, Bandit Brother looked back at his staff.

"Once the last few tables have cleared out, settle the accounts and close up shop."

Sun Mansion was the home of the Yanhe Pavilion proprietor.

It was located on a street in the northern part of town.

It was now roughly three in the morning.

After settling the accounts and closing up, Bandit Brother was traveling home in a small carriage, escorted by two guards.

"Master has returned..."

Upon arriving at the entrance.

The butler, who had been waiting by the door, stepped forward early to help Bandit Brother out of the carriage.

Under normal circumstances, Bandit Brother always returned between three and four in the morning.

Although he employed an accountant.

Bandit Brother was greedy for money and enjoyed watching the accountant balance the books after closing.

This was one of his greatest hobbies.

However.

Tonight, Chen Guan was the one suffering.

Currently, on the roof of a room in the backyard.

Chen Guan had been staking out the place for two hours.

At this moment, accompanied by the sound of several footsteps.

Just as Chen Guan was starting to feel sleepy, he saw a slightly intoxicated Bandit Brother being helped inside by the butler and the others.

I'm here feeding mosquitoes while he's drinking wine; that's what you call living the good life.

Chen Guan mocked himself in his boredom, then braced himself and quietly shifted a tile beneath him to peer through the gap.

Under his gaze.

Chen Guan watched as these people escorted Bandit Brother into the room and brought over a basin of water to soak his feet.

Following that, it seemed they were going to provide a massage, and a slender woman walked over from the distance.

Especially after Bandit Brother sobered up, he even took another medicinal pill.

Chen Guan felt that this proprietor's comforts were endless.

Damn it, is this going to go on until dawn?

I wanted to wait until he was alone to find an opportunity to strike and resolve the doubts in my heart.

But looking at it now, that doesn't seem reliable.

Chen Guan pondered for a few breaths, then saw the butler and the others retreat, leaving only the woman and Bandit Brother in the room.

With that.

He waited for about another minute until the butler and the others had left the courtyard.

In the next second, Chen Guan moved like a gecko crawling along a wall, sliding down the eaves and the wall, and used his spiritual energy to push the door open without a sound.

At this moment, on the bed.

Bandit Brother was smiling broadly as he held the bashful woman, his attention completely off the door.

It wasn't until Chen Guan crossed a five-meter distance in a single stride and arrived before the two of them.

As the lamplight hit Chen Guan, a shadow loomed over their field of vision.

"Wh—"

Bandit Brother finally snapped back to reality and instinctively looked up.

But Chen Guan had already tapped the woman with a finger, knocking her unconscious.

At the same time, Chen Guan's other hand had already clamped onto Bandit Brother's throat.

"You..."

Bandit Brother was completely stunned, his hands went limp, and the woman slipped from his embrace, collapsing softly onto the plush bed.

The bed was made very soft, and the sound was faint.

"Do not speak loudly."

Chen Guan's voice sounded strange, appearing somewhat aged; he had used spiritual energy to alter his tone.

"You... I..." Facing such a life-or-death threat, Bandit Brother trembled like a sieve; the vigor he had just gained from the medicinal pill was scared right back into him.

"Where is the wealth in this mansion?"

Chen Guan, imitating the style of a master bandit, asked about the money first.

"Under the bed..." Bandit Brother felt a sudden sense of relief upon hearing that the demand was only for money.

Because Chen Guan wore a mask, he assumed he was dealing with a fellow professional—a cat burglar.

Cat burglars, as a rule, only sought wealth and spared lives as long as their targets cooperated.

"Good man! I know the rules of the trade!"

To save his own skin, Bandit Brother didn't wait for Chen Guan to interrogate him, but instead spoke with full cooperation: "You see my shadow, I see your silver.

The money is under the bed; I shall retrieve it, and you shall take it.

If you loosen your grip, I will keep my head bowed and never look upon your face."

Is he always this articulate?

To be honest, Chen Guan was genuinely thrown off by how smoothly the man spoke.

After all, he wasn't actually a cat burglar.

Running into what sounded like "professional jargon" left Chen Guan unsure of how to respond.

However, recalling Iron Fan's claim that the manager of Yanhe Pavilion might be a bandit, Chen Guan's mind stirred. Drawing upon his social experience from his past life, he used a bit of trickery to bluff him:

"Could it be that you and I are of the same path?

If that is truly the case, then I have offended a brother today."

As Chen Guan spoke, he not only loosened his grip but also cupped his hands in a salute, displaying full sincerity and apology.