Water Margin: Gao Yanei is actually a Gal Genius

next day

Gao Jin woke up in his room at Fan Hua Ju feeling rather irritable, not because he had gotten up late. Occasionally sleeping an extra hour or two was a treat for himself.

Last night, Gao Jin invited three masters to teach him their skills. He was just about to mount his horse when he discovered that his injury to his buttocks was having a significant impact. Helpless, he could only pretend that the masters had said something wrong. He was very angry and chased all the masters away.

When the manager of Fan Hua Ju came to apologize, he was already lying on the couch pretending to be fast asleep.

However, it was difficult to get the money back after it had been spent, which greatly displeased Gao Jin, who prided himself on being thrifty.

After getting dressed, Gao Jin went straight to the window of the room. All he could see were the fish-scale-like green tile roofs of Tokyo City, and nearby, on the flying bridge of the three-story Fanlou, women were coming and going.

That crazy woman can't just throw away her reputation and come to the brothel to beat me up, can she?

Gao Jin thought he had succeeded. He turned around and went to the table, poured himself a glass of wine, and began to eat with the dishes that had been served in the morning.

No matter how unruly, willful, or powerful that crazy woman is, can she possibly outmaneuver me, a person from the future who has no taboos?

Thinking of something happy, Gao Jin couldn't help but hum a little tune, even forgetting his annoyance at having wasted money.

"Use the double..." Gao Jin was humming a song. With a "bang", the door to the room was kicked open. He was so frightened that he trembled and dropped the wine glass in his hand.

Gao Jin looked closely and saw that it was Lu Zhishen. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother, what are you doing in this brothel? Come and have some drinks."

"Brother, I've been looking everywhere for you..." Lu Zhishen's eyes lit up when he saw Gao Jin. He took a few steps to the table, picked up the wine jug, and poured it into his mouth. After finishing, he continued, "...Brother Lin Chong is in trouble!"

"What's going on?" Gao Jin exclaimed in shock. Could it be that Gao Qiu had taken another adopted son and was now harassing the Lin family's wife?

"I don't know either. The Lin family lady only said that Brother Lin Chong was imprisoned in Kaifeng Prefecture Prison, and I had no other way to contact him, so I had to come to find my brother."

"Alright, find a food box and have them pack some food and drinks. We'll take it together to visit Brother Lin Chong and find out what happened." Gao Jin then comforted Lu Zhishen, "With me here, what major incident could possibly occur in Dongjing City?"

Lu Zhishen tore off a goose leg, stuffed it into his mouth, and began to chew. "I understand. By the way, brother, Sister Liqing is also waiting for you outside the door."

Gao Jin nearly lost his balance and asked, "Has she been guarding outside the door the whole time?"

"No, not at all. I happened to run into her when I entered Suanzao Gate. She heard that I was looking for my brother, so she came along with me."

Gao Jin felt a little more at ease. He figured the Chen family girl must have been disappointed to hear he'd gone to a brothel. Well, that's fine...

Gao Jin then asked, "What about Madam Lin?" He suddenly remembered that Madam Lin was the catalyst for Lin Chong's misfortune, and he needed to keep an eye on her.

"After she sent me to find my brother, she left in a hurry. I suppose she went to ask Lin Chong's old friends for advice."

Gao Jin sensed something was wrong. What old friend of Lin Chong could possibly have more influence than him? Feeling uneasy, he stopped preparing the kitchen and shouted, "Someone, pack up all this food and wine for me!"

Gao Jin selected several dishes that looked intact, packed them into a food box, and then, carrying the food and drinks, walked out of the building with Lu Zhishen.

Upon reaching the gate of Fan Hua Ju, they indeed saw Chen Liqing. The woman was still wearing her blue veil, peering at Gao Jin who had just come out from a corner outside the gate.

[Chen Liqing's favorability rating: -10.]

Gao Jin felt a little bitter, but also carefree.

He bowed respectfully to Chen Liqing from afar, without saying a word, and then headed straight for the Kaifeng Prefecture government office with Lu Zhishen.

The woman under the green veil showed no expression, but after Gao Jin left, she took light steps and headed towards the Flourishing Flower Residence.

Now, the Kaifeng Prefecture government office was located in the heart of the capital city of Tokyo, with its vermilion gates and high walls, exuding an imposing aura.

Gao Jin walked straight in. The constables on both sides of the door tried to stop him, but the sharp-eyed head constable spotted Gao Jin's appearance and dismissed the constables.

Upon learning that Gao Jin was going to the prison to see Lin Chong, the head constable, a clever fellow, led the way, chatting and laughing.

Gao Jin felt uneasy, but kept a straight face and followed behind the squad leader. Lu Zhishen, on the other hand, looked around curiously.

The head constable led Gao Jin and his companion around the main hall of the government office, through an inconspicuous iron-gray door, and suddenly a completely different scene appeared.

There stood a towering, gray brick wall, over three zhang high, its top covered with thorn-like iron spikes. A single, heavy wooden door, covered in sheet metal and bearing large, bowl-sized copper nails, was visible, now stained a dark green with rust. A narrow side door provided passage for people to enter and exit.

Influenced by the scene, the foreman's laughter fell silent, and he silently led the way. After entering the narrow doorway, there was a passageway. The passageway was dark, and although there were oil lamps the size of soybeans on the walls, they could only illuminate the slippery ground.

A strange stench wafted out from inside. The smell of moldy straw mats, the stench of urine and feces, the metallic smell of blood... Gao Jin couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose, feeling nauseous.

The team leader in front seemed to be used to it, showing no abnormality and moving forward as usual.

They hadn't walked far when they came to a spacious area, much brighter than the passageway, where several jailers were shouting, drinking, and making merry. Their fire sticks lay askew, and the large bunches of keys hanging from their waists jingled with their movements.

Hearing the commotion, the jailers all looked over with hostility, but upon seeing Gao Jin's distinguished attire, their hostility instantly turned into flattery.

The head jailer hurriedly went to greet them and explained to the guards. Some guards, eager to curry favor, bowed and led Gao Jin further inside.

Further inside, on both sides were the prison cells. They were fenced with hardwood as thick as a bowl, and there were no beds inside, only a pile of moldy straw, in which lice and rats crawled.

Most of the prisoners inside were huddled up like shrimp, their faces ashen.

Gao Jin followed the jailer a short distance inside and saw his brother. Lin Chong was chained up, his eyes closed and barely breathing, his thin clothes covered in whip marks.

Lu Zhishen flew into a rage, grabbed the jailer's collar, and shouted, "Are you all blind?! How dare you treat Brother Lin Chong like this? Untie him right now!"

The jailer pleaded for mercy, but his eyes were fixed on Gao Jin. Gao Jin pursed his lips, his eyes filled with anger, and growled, "Untie him!"

The jailer quickly broke free from the monk's large hand and, trembling, tried several times to open the cell before finally succeeding.

Seeing the prison door open, Lu Zhishen shoved the jailer aside and rushed to Lin Chong's side. Noticing the iron chains on Lin Chong's body, he flew into another rage, yelling, "You scoundrel, quickly untie these chains for my brother!"

The jailer got up from the ground and ran to untie Lin Chong's chains. Gao Jin looked at Lin Chong's injuries, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.

After the jailer unchained Lin Chong, Gao Jin turned the jailer around, placed his hands on his shoulders, and glared at him like a man-eating worm, his tiger eyes filled with bloodlust. "You beat him?"

The jailer's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground. Ignoring the filth of the cell floor, he repeatedly kowtowed, begging for mercy and pleading, "Young Master Gao, we didn't do it! How dare we?!"

Gao Jin stepped onto the jailer's shoulder with one foot and asked, "You didn't beat him? My brother fell down on his own? Who in this Tokyo dares to touch my brother, Gao Jin's brother?!" With that, he stomped on the bastard, about to crush him into the ground.

Feeling the immense force on his shoulder, the jailer was terrified and quickly told everything he knew.

"We really didn't beat him! This prisoner was brought here by Cai Xiu, the young master of the Cai family, and he was already like this when he arrived..."

Upon hearing Cai Xiu's name, Gao Jin relaxed his strength, secretly cursing the man for being so persistent. He figured Cai Xiu was probably looking for trouble again; what a troublesome little man.

Let's take the brothers out to get their injuries treated first. We don't want to cause any more trouble in this environment. We'll deal with that bastard Cai Xiu later.

"Alright, I'll let you off the hook for now. I'll take my brother to get his injuries treated first." Gao Jin said, then ignored the jailer and went to pick up Lin Chong.

Unexpectedly, the jailer wrapped himself around Gao Jin's leg and grabbed him. Gao Jin was furious and about to kick the ungrateful wretch away when he heard the jailer sob and whimper.

"Young master, just kill me! If this prisoner gets lost, my family will be doomed! I'd rather die here..."

Gao Jin frowned. "What did my brother do wrong?"

"This prisoner attempted to assassinate the princess with a weapon, but fortunately, Cai Yanei led his armored soldiers to capture him... After the Mid-Autumn Festival, this prisoner will be transferred to the Imperial Prison."

"Hiss!" Gao Jin gasped. Cai Xiu was playing this big?

This person doesn't have good intentions!