From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

Pei Lie was completely stunned.

He originally intended to bully Zhu Hong, the newcomer, but dared not make a big fuss. He would only obediently admit defeat under the guise of the way he was given, and then naturally admit his mistake, and the matter would be over.

Who would have thought that the other party would launch a surprise attack?

A sharp counterattack.

Attacking and killing the constable.

If the charges are proven true, it would be tantamount to treason, a dead end that would destroy both body and soul.

Ma Pan, Feng Qiyi, and the others turned deathly pale, completely stunned. Ma Pan was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering, "We didn't, we didn't know he was a constable..."

When Pei Lie came to his senses, his face was also ashen, and his chest felt so tight it felt like it was about to explode.

This "general" has put him in a dilemma.

抓？

Are they really going to arrest Wang Zhenshan's men as "initiating armed conflict"?

I'm afraid that evil spirit will be able to block his door with a knife tomorrow and tear him to pieces.

辩？

There's no way to argue it anymore.

If we continue arguing, we'll lose everyone's favor.

If things remain at this stalemate, and news leaks out, and Zhu Hongsi's accomplices arrive... the scene is unimaginable.

"……good."

After a long pause, Pei Lie squeezed out those two words through gritted teeth, as if he had bitten into a piece of ice, so cold it made his teeth ache.

This feud is now truly sealed.

His eyes were filled with gloom: "A newly appointed constable? A newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, truly an eye-opener for me, Pei." With that, he abruptly flicked his sleeve, creating a gust of wind, and turned to leave. Reaching the doorway, he suddenly stopped, not turning back, but leaving behind a chillingly cold sentence amidst the mess on the ground:

"Young man, the road ahead is long, don't be too sharp."

"The rules in this government are sharper than swords in the martial world. If you make me unhappy today, I'll make you regret it tomorrow."

Before he could finish speaking, he had already disappeared outside the door.

"Master Pei?"

Ma Pan panicked completely. "Master Pei, you can't leave!"

Seeing his patron about to abandon him, he rushed forward and grabbed the hem of Pei Lie's rapidly departing clothes, tears streaming down his face: "Master Pei, that boy is talking nonsense, you can't believe him, you have to stand up for us..."

"Get out of here!"

Pei Lie, who had been holding back his anger all night with nowhere to vent it, was pulled by this fool and immediately found the floodgate to release it. He slapped him across the face with his hand, which was full of rage.

Snapped--

Ma Pan was so hit that he spun around on the spot, feeling dizzy, and had to hold onto a nearby pillar to keep from falling.

"How could Ma Shuan have given birth to such an idiot like you?"

Before Ma Pan could recover, Pei Lie pressed forward and berated him, "You even dared to ambush and kill the yamen runners? Do you really think Ma Shuan can cover for you?" He spat, his face full of disgust, "I don't have time to clean up this mess. You have to clean up your own shit."

Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and led the group of silent yamen runners away in a hurry.

I can't afford to lose face like this again.

……

Seeing Pei Lie leave.

The onlookers who had been hiding in various places began to peek out one after another.

"Didn't Mama Sai say she was going to catch that petty thief posing as a constable?" Someone covered their mouth with a fan, their voice barely audible.

"What, you've become a true Buddha?"

"Who knows? But," someone next to him curled his lip, glancing at the horse tray lying limp on the ground, and whispered, "this show is much more exciting than before. Even someone like Pei Xiaojia has suffered a setback."

"Hehe, that's true."

"After this incident, some people will probably be restless day and night..."

"..."

Zhu Hong ignored the whispers around him.

He gently shoved the iron sword at his waist back into its sheath with a "click," ignoring the horse pan slumped in the corner, and walked straight to Li Hang, whose face was ashen. He pulled over the unscathed wooden chair and sat down calmly.

"alright."

Zhu Hong spoke calmly, tapping the chair surface lightly with his fingertips: "Now that everyone's gone, it's a good time for us to settle this unresolved score."

"Lord Zhu... Lord Zhu."

Li Hang, having spent over a decade navigating the streets, knew he had met his end and no longer dared to feign weakness. He simply bowed and said, "I, Li, have learned my lesson today and am utterly convinced." He glanced at the corpse on the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. "These servants were blind and ignorant, daring to offend you, sir. They deserved it. Furthermore..."

He paused, then lowered his head even further, almost touching his fist:

"Your Excellency was frightened today, which has taken a toll on your spirit."

Charity hall...

I am offering one hundred taels of silver as an apology; I earnestly hope for your forgiveness.

One hundred taels?

Zhu Hong raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced at Li Hang indifferently, and remained calm.

This price is truly a tempting prize. A constable's monthly allowance is only five taels of silver, so this hundred taels is equivalent to twenty months' salary, almost two years' worth of living expenses. If converted into pure gold, it would be at least six taels, enough to exchange for a good amount of top-quality medicinal herbs for strengthening the body and bones in the medicine shop.

"There are quite a few, but," he said, tapping his knees lightly with his fingertips, unhurriedly:

"Are you capable of making this decision?"

Li Hang's expression changed several times before finally settling into a dark, bitter look.

The root of today's trouble can be traced back to the arrogance of that scoundrel Ma Pan. If he hadn't been so domineering and then fanned the flames in front of Manager Ma, things would never have gotten this out of control. But who can blame him when he has a father who is the deputy manager? If we really want to pin it on him, it can only be attributed to Li Hang.

But this hundred taels of silver...

Even if I emptied all the savings I had accumulated over the years, I still wouldn't be able to scrape together half of it.

The only way to withdraw funds is from the public treasury.

But can public funds be withdrawn at will?

Every transaction has an account, a source, and a destination. What's done today must be repaid sooner or later.

"But do we even have a choice?"

Li Hang took a deep breath, suppressing the myriad emotions in his heart, and said in a hoarse voice, "This money... I can make the decision."

"Yeah?"

Zhu Hong tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, the rhythm gradually increasing before suddenly stopping.

A hint of satisfaction flashed across his eyes, then disappeared, leaving only an unreadable calm when he looked up again: "A hundred taels of silver is secondary." His tone was casual, as if he were chatting about trivial matters: "You have disturbed the official duties of the government, causing me to be startled and my official uniform to be soiled."

He paused for a moment:

"This matter—is of utmost importance."

Ma Pan huddled in the corner, listening to the words "heart and mind trembled with fear," nearly vomiting blood, his heart filled with grief and indignation.

Startled?

Oh, our ancestors!

You weren't even blinking when you were chopping vegetables, and now you're still holding a knife and talking to the kid:

"Oh dear, I'm a scaredy-cat..." Huh?!

Pooh--

He cursed inwardly, thinking how absurd the world was.

"What does Lord Zhu mean...?"

Li Hang asked in a hoarse voice.

Zhu Hong didn't reply, but slowly rose, his gaze sweeping over the mess in the room, finally pausing briefly on the several stiff corpses before saying, "Death is the greatest tragedy." Then, he suddenly turned to the outer room and called out:

"The race is on!"

As Sai's mother was huddled in the corridor, she heard the call and her body went limp, almost sliding down the railing.

My heart is pounding like a pestle:

"The main culprits are all here, so why single me out?"

Could it be...

He has taken a fancy to me.

Her eyes darted around, and that professional flirtatiousness that seeped into her bones surfaced: "Oh...oh! Coming, coming, what are your orders, sir?" Before she finished speaking, she had already swayed her waist and moved in.

Zhu Hong's gaze remained fixed on the corpse with its throat split open, but his voice drifted over lightly: "Looking for a needlework set."

He paused briefly, then added the next half sentence:

"Thick needle, long thread."