A Slap

Li Zhaolin had never suffered such humiliation.

On what should have been a joyous day, a bunch of beggars had appeared out of nowhere to block his way.

Then, after reaching Yinshan County, he'd heard that gunshots had been ringing out nonstop at the Lin Family's place.

Now that he'd arrived at the scene,

he finally realized—

the entire Lin Family was probably finished.

And so were the people from his Li Family who'd come with him.

As for Lin Qingyi,

Li Zhaolin had never felt much affection for her.

There were far more considerations behind this marriage than love.

Now, throughout Xiaoshan County,

everyone knew that the Young Master Li of the Li Family was arriving in great style to take a bride today.

If he went back with a whole line of corpses,

where would that leave Li Zhaolin's dignity?

This wasn't just about saving face.

It was a test of whether he could hold his place in the family.

He had personally pushed this matter forward.

It was a trial that would determine whether he was fit to inherit.

With things in such shambles, it wasn't merely a total defeat.

If those covetous uncles and cousins from the other branches of the family found out,

they'd probably pounce on him at once and gnaw him down to the bone.

The more he thought about it, the more that surging fury scorched his insides.

The thread of his reason snapped.

Li Zhaolin suddenly drew the gleaming Browning from his waist.

He pressed the muzzle right against Section Chief Liu's forehead.

His fingertips whitened with the force of his grip, and his voice rasped through clenched teeth:

"Get the hell out of my way! Or I'll blow your head apart right now!"

"Ka-chak—!"

A crisp chorus of rifle bolts being pulled back rang out.

Seeing what had happened, the Security Officers behind Section Chief Liu

raised their rifles without hesitation.

In an instant, every dark muzzle was trained on Li Zhaolin.

The atmosphere tightened like a bowstring drawn taut.

Cold sweat beaded at Section Chief Liu's temples.

With a freezing gun barrel pointed at him, his heart pounded like a drum.

But thinking of the person behind him, he forced himself not to retreat.

A mocking sneer tugged at his face.

"Shoot, then. Go ahead.

Let's see if you can get out of Yinshan County alive after you kill me!"

The icy touch of the gun barrel brought Li Zhaolin somewhat back to his senses.

But with all these eyes on him, how could he simply lower his weapon?

Wouldn't that be even more humiliating?

"Do you know who I am?"

He lifted his chin and barked, trying to sound more imposing than he felt.

"Li Zhaolin of the Xiaoshan Li Family!

You dare point a gun at me? Have you got a death wish?!"

Section Chief Liu swallowed, struggling to keep his voice firm.

"The Xiaoshan Li Family?

What a grand name!

Too bad this is Yinshan County, not Xiaoshan!

Here, you follow Yinshan's rules!"

Hearing their chief stand firm, the Security Officers behind him steadied their rifles, which had begun to waver.

"Elder Lu! Elder He!"

The veins in Li Zhaolin's neck stood out.

He turned to the two silent old men behind him and growled,

"Go disarm them all!

I want to see if these dirt farmers have bones as hard as their mouths!"

Elder Lu and Elder He

were the two martial experts who'd accompanied Li Zhaolin to protect him.

Yet when they heard his order,

they didn't move at once.

Instead, they spoke so quietly only Li Zhaolin could hear them. "Young Master, there's an expert here.

We should avoid a confrontation if possible."

The speaker was Elder Lu, a thin man who was as lanky as a bamboo pole.

At those words, Li Zhaolin whipped around.

His eyes blazed as he glared at Elder Lu.

Now he tells me?

Where was he before?

It was obvious they were watching him make a fool of himself,

letting him lose face in front of everyone!

But no matter how angry he was, he didn't dare take it out on Elder Lu or Elder He.

His grandfather had sent them to protect him.

In a sense, they were also there to keep an eye on him.

His chest heaved violently.

After finally suppressing the urge to lash out,

he turned back

and ground out at Section Chief Liu:

"Get whoever's in charge at the Lu Family out here!

The Lu Family owes my Li Family an explanation for what happened today!"

Section Chief Liu had caught a few words of Elder Lu's quiet warning.

His courage swelled a little more.

He reached out

and slowly pushed aside the gun barrel pressed to his forehead,

sneering as he said, "If I were you, I'd put that useless thing away.

Put it away, and we can all save face. Otherwise, you'll have an even harder time backing down."

Hearing Section Chief Liu's words,

Li Zhaolin wanted nothing more than to shoot him dead.

But reason told him

that if he fired,

he'd die here too.

"I want to see Lu Huaiqian. Tell Lu Huaiqian to come out and talk."

Li Zhaolin lowered his gun, but his attitude remained every bit as arrogant.

Section Chief Liu sneered. "Our Bureau Chief isn't someone just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can demand to see."

At that, Li Zhaolin turned back furiously to Elder Lu and Elder He. "You two are just going to stand there and watch someone humiliate the Young Master of the Li Family!"

Elder Lu spoke coolly. "You'd better watch your words. If I truly wanted to kill you, the people behind you wouldn't have time to save you.

Or do you think he'd really risk his life against me for your sake?"

Section Chief Liu broke into a cold sweat.

A chill ran down his back.

Only now did he realize he might have overdone it.

He cleared his throat. His tone remained firm, but his words were no longer quite so sharp.

"Our Bureau Chief is busy handling a major case. He has no time to see you."

"What exactly did you come here for?"

Section Chief Liu was obviously asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Hearing him, Li Zhaolin was so furious he laughed.

"You're asking what I came here for?"

"My Li Family is taking a bride from the Lin Family. You dare say you don't know about something this important?"

Section Chief Liu had been about to make another sarcastic remark.

But remembering that his life was his own, he changed his words at the last moment.

"My job is to maintain public order in Yinshan County. Whose daughter you marry has nothing to do with me."

After a pause, Section Chief Liu added,

"But if you're hoping to marry this young woman, I'm afraid you won't be taking her home."

"That fugitive who escaped from Xiaoshan County—the Nine-Fingered Yama—

has been on the run in our Yinshan County and committed a crime."

"Everyone in this family was killed by the Nine-Fingered Yama."

"Luckily, we got here in time and stopped the Nine-Fingered Yama from escaping."

"Otherwise, you wouldn't even have found the person who killed them."

Hearing such a flimsy excuse,

Li Zhaolin felt as though they were insulting his intelligence.

He gave a sinister laugh. "Dare to repeat what you just said?"

Section Chief Liu didn't hesitate. He repeated every word.

Li Zhaolin finally couldn't hold back.

He swung his hand and slapped Section Chief Liu hard across the face.

"Pa!"

The sharp crack

made the atmosphere at the scene tighten all over again.

The two old men standing behind Li Zhaolin both furrowed their brows slightly.

Li Zhaolin's behavior was clearly escalating the conflict.

Lu Jing'an had been sitting in the car the whole time. Seeing this, he knew he had no choice but to get out.

"Click."

The door of the black sedan nearby opened.

A tall figure stepped out, unhurried.

He first straightened the immaculate collar of his suit,

then started toward them.

His steady steps crunched across the gravel, the clear sound instantly drawing everyone's gaze.

Seeing Lu Jing'an get out of the car,

Li Zhaolin calmed down instead.

He'd noticed the sedan some time ago.

He didn't know who was inside,

but he knew that the person in the car was the one who called the shots.

So he had to force him to come out.

If he couldn't even meet someone with real authority

and had to go back with a line of corpses,

he'd lose every last shred of face.

Though there wasn't much left to lose now,

at least he'd finally met the man in charge and could salvage some dignity.

Li Zhaolin had never met Lu Jing'an.

But he recognized the man stepping out of the car at a glance.

Seeing Lu Jing'an, Li Zhaolin couldn't help looking down on him.

In Li Zhaolin's eyes, the Lu Family was nothing but a lineage of nouveau riche.

They had no heritage to speak of.

Whenever the scions of prominent families from across the province gathered, they never invited Lu Jing'an.

Even now, seeing Lu Jing'an in person, Li Zhaolin still looked down on him.

With Chen Xuan in tow, Lu Jing'an walked over to the two groups.

Section Chief Liu immediately hurried over and said guiltily, "Sorry, Young Master Lu. I failed to handle things properly."

Lu Jing'an glanced at Section Chief Liu's swollen left cheek.

Then he looked at Li Zhaolin.

"Do you know that assaulting a police officer is a crime?" Lu Jing'an asked Li Zhaolin.

Li Zhaolin curled his lip and gave a scornful smile. "I hit him. What, do I have to pay compensation?"

He held himself arrogantly, trying to take control of the conversation again.

"Pay compensation?" Lu Jing'an seemed to give it serious thought, then nodded.

"Sure. How much are you planning to pay?"

A flicker of disappointment had just crossed Section Chief Liu's mind when Lu Jing'an continued:

"For an injury this serious, interfering with official duties, disturbing the peace... One hundred thousand silver dollars should just about cover it."

Section Chief Liu, who had been feeling a little disappointed, immediately brightened.

One hundred thousand silver dollars for one slap.

Section Chief Liu was willing to offer up his right cheek, too.

At Lu Jing'an's words, Li Zhaolin's expression darkened.

"You're trying to shake me down!"

Lu Jing'an said, "You asked me to name a price, and I did. Now you say I'm shaking you down. If the Li Family can't afford it, you don't have to pay."

After a pause, Lu Jing'an added, "Of course, if the Li Family is short on cash, that's fine too. Section Chief Liu can just hit you back."

At Lu Jing'an's words, Section Chief Liu immediately looked eager to give it a try.

One hundred thousand silver dollars was tempting.

But if he could slap the Li Family's Young Master once,

he'd be happy to do it without the money.

Li Zhaolin's expression grew even uglier.

"Is your Lu Family determined to burn every bridge with my Li Family?"

"Do you realize that if you let him hit you, there'll be no turning back for our families?"

Lu Jing'an suddenly chuckled softly.

But there was no warmth in his eyes. Instead, they were cold as ice.

"Young Master Li, you're wrong.

"This isn't about there being no turning back for the Lu Family and the Li Family."

He stepped half a pace closer, lowering his voice.

Yet every word cut like a knife, sinking clearly into Li Zhaolin's ears:

"Once that slap lands, you, Li Zhaolin, will have no way back in the Li Family."

"Your fiancée is dead, your subordinates are beaten.

"You've disgraced yourself, and you've made the family an enemy for life of the local strongmen in a neighboring county. Tell me, will the Li Family go to any lengths to stand up for you,

"or will they say you were 'overcome with grief and followed Miss Lin in death'?

"That would preserve your reputation as a devoted lover and save face for the Li Family."

Lu Jing'an's words struck Li Zhaolin right where it hurt.

"Section Chief Liu, if Young Master Li won't pay, hit him back," Lu Jing'an instructed.

"Yes, Young Master Lu."

Section Chief Liu answered and rolled up his sleeves.

This time, Elder Lu spoke up before Young Master Li could say a word.

After all, that slap wouldn't just be a blow to Li Zhaolin.

"Young Master Lu, there's no need to make things this ugly."

"You alone may not speak for the Lu Family."

Facing Elder Lu's threat, Lu Jing'an didn't yield an inch. He stared coldly at Elder Lu.

"Whether I speak for the Lu Family isn't for an outsider like you to comment on."

"If the Li Family wants to start a war over one slap, then the Lu Family will see it through to the end."

As Lu Jing'an spoke, Chen Xuan shifted his position slightly.

Clearly, if anything went wrong,

Chen Xuan would act at once.

"Section Chief Liu, do it!"

Lu Jing'an ordered in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Yes!"

Section Chief Liu walked forward without hesitation.

He swung his arm in a full arc and slapped Li Zhaolin hard across the face.

Throughout it all,

Elder Lu and Elder He didn't move a muscle.

The Li Family had already lost the upper hand.

Li Zhaolin's plan had already fallen apart.

They couldn't afford to launch an all-out war against the Lu Family over a single slap.

Li Zhaolin took the slap squarely.

His cheek swelled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

But at that moment, Li Zhaolin burst into loud laughter.

"Good. Good. Very good."

"Lu Jing'an, I admit it—we all underestimated you."

After laughing, heaving breaths shook his chest.

Each word grated out from between his teeth:

"Now! I can take all my people and leave, can't I?"