Chapter Sixty-Eight: Sleeping Together?

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Sleeping Together?

Qin Wan’er was so furious her mind nearly exploded. Damn you, Xu Yun, you really never let me have a moment’s peace! What good is patience now? Assaulting a police officer isn’t a minor offense—if Qi Yishan insisted on this charge, then unless she begged Director Chen for help, she’d have no way to get Xu Yun out.

But to take such a trivial matter all the way to Director Chen, and all this happening on the turf of the Tuoshan District, with Xu Yun technically at fault for attacking the police... Sigh. Qin Wan’er’s thoughts were in a tangle; what was she supposed to do?

“Assaulting an officer?” Xu Yun was stunned, his face full of innocence. “I didn’t even touch you guys, did I? Aren’t you being unjust? Why don’t we check the surveillance footage?”

Seeing Xu Yun’s confident, unruffled demeanor, Qin Wan’er suddenly saw hope. So it was just these people making things up. She lowered her voice to Xu Yun, asking, “You really didn’t hit them, did you?”

Xu Yun grinned, leaning in to whisper, “Just one punch each.”

Ah! Qin Wan’er nearly fainted from rage on the spot. Even one punch is still a punch!

Clearly, Qi Yishan showed no reaction at the mention of checking the cameras. Instead, the eunuch-voiced officer, clutching his stomach as he walked out of the interrogation room, complained irritably, “Chief Qi... the... the cameras are broken...”

Qin Wan’er breathed another sigh of relief. She knew in her heart these guys must have switched off the cameras to rough up Xu Yun. Now, Qi Yishan was stuck with a bitter pill to swallow, unable to voice his grievances.

“Well, since the cameras are broken, there’s nothing to be done,” Qin Wan’er shrugged. “Chief Qi, are you sure the cameras are broken? Do you need me to help repair them? I happen to know a thing or two.”

“No need, thank you, Miss Qin, for your concern. My men can handle it themselves—how could we let a guest do such a trivial thing?” Qi Yishan’s face was noticeably sour. He shot his subordinate a fierce glare. “You said he hit you—do you have any injuries?”

The battered men suddenly saw hope, all clamoring, “Yes, yes, we do!”

Qin Wan’er’s heart sank again. This was bad. She knew how heavy Xu Yun’s punches could be—anyone who took a hit from him would definitely be bruised. Since Xu Yun had admitted to giving each person a punch, there was no doubt there would be evidence left behind.

The eunuch-voiced officer was the first to lift his shirt, expecting a large bruise from the pain in his belly. But to everyone’s astonishment, his pale skin showed not even a hint of redness, let alone a bruise.

The men were dumbfounded. That guy hit so hard it nearly made them vomit their dinner, yet not a single mark was left.

Qi Yishan’s face grew even more unsightly. These fools had completely disgraced him!

Qin Wan’er finally relaxed completely. Though she was puzzled, she kept her composure and said to Qi Yishan, “Chief Qi, it seems your men have falsely accused my informant. That’s not right. Didn’t Director Chen say, even if we’re from different districts, we’re still one family? Please don’t make things difficult for my informant.”

Qi Yishan forced a smile. “Miss Qin, how could I make things difficult for your informant? Since things are clear now, you’re free to go. We have a meeting tonight at the station—please forgive our lack of hospitality.”

“Thank you, Chief Qi,” Qin Wan’er replied with a slight smile.

Xu Yun, however, was blunt. “Where’s your cousin?”

“What?” Qi Yishan’s face darkened. “Friend, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“I’m asking, where is your cousin Jin Biao?” Xu Yun pressed, unwilling to back down.

A chill flashed across Qi Yishan’s face. “Friend, the Tuoshan District Police will handle their own matters. That’s none of your concern, is it?”

Xu Yun didn’t intend to give up. “But he made trouble in Wenhui District, and his men set fire to shops in Hongnan District. Are you aware of these things?”

Qi Yishan, annoyed by Xu Yun’s persistence, snapped, “That’s not my concern, nor do I care. But today Jin Biao got in trouble in my jurisdiction, so I’ll handle it. It’s not your place to interfere!”

Seeing Xu Yun about to speak again, Qin Wan’er stopped him. Xu Yun might not understand, but she knew the rules of the force: “Xu Yun, this is Chief Qi’s territory. Of course he’ll handle it.”

“Understood,” Xu Yun said with a slight smile, not arguing further.

The two left the station one after the other. The three cars of the South City Tigers were still waiting at the entrance. Seeing Qin Wan’er bring Xu Yun out, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief—they could go home at last.

Once they were gone, Qi Yishan erupted in anger. “Are you all useless? Couldn’t even interrogate one person, and you made up an assault charge! If you’re going to make something up, at least do it right! You could have injured yourselves a little! Not a single mark—how dare you accuse him of assaulting an officer?!”

The eunuch-voiced officer, still clutching his aching belly, protested, “Chief Qi, we were telling the truth. He really did hit us.”

“And where’s the injury?!” Qi Yishan, hearing him stick to his story, tore open the man’s shirt. “Let me see—!”

Halfway through, Qi Yishan’s voice stopped abruptly. On the man’s stomach was a fist-sized bruise! The others quickly lifted their shirts—moments ago their skin had been flawless, but now each had a bruise on their belly.

The men were stunned. What kind of sorcery was this?

Qi Yishan was at a loss as well. Weren’t there no injuries just now? How could they have appeared now? Was that guy a magician?

“Chief Qi, now we have evidence he assaulted an officer!” the eunuch-voiced officer said angrily, pointing at his stomach.

Qi Yishan glared at him. “Now you have evidence? What about earlier? I’ve already personally let them go, and now you want to bring them back and accuse him? Hmph! Couldn’t these injuries be self-inflicted? Couldn’t he accuse us instead? No video, no evidence—none of this means anything!”

“Yes, yes,” the eunuch-voiced officer quickly bowed his head.

“In the future, all interrogations must have the cameras running!” Qi Yishan was trembling with anger. “Give you power and you abuse it?! Hoist with your own petard—serves you right!”

…

After returning to Wenhui District, the group disbanded. Dan Hongning drove Xu Yun and Qin Wan’er back to the medicinal cuisine restaurant, while Kong Zhong took Qiangzi and Xiaofei back to the shantytown. Lü Feng said “see you” and left first—he was going to find that bastard Bubin and get some answers. He could never forgive someone who betrayed his brothers.

By the time Xu Yun and Qin Wan’er returned, it was already midnight.

“You’re back,” Qiu Yan greeted them, having waited up. “Those people have been taken away.”

Qin Wan’er nodded. “I called the station. No one slipped through the cracks, right?”

Xu Yun smiled. “You underestimate Qiu Yan. With her here, no one could possibly escape.”

Qiu Yan, as always, was cool and aloof. She did not continue the conversation, simply rising and heading for the stairs. “Sister Qingshuang and Guoguo are already asleep. You should rest early too.”

“Yes, you have a good rest as well,” Xu Yun nodded to her, then poured two glasses of water, handing one to Qin Wan’er. “Are you satisfied with how things turned out today?”

Qin Wan’er shot him a glare. “Of course not! I’ve heard about Jin Biao’s connection to Qi Yishan, but every profession has its rules. You can only make a cross-district arrest if the local station can’t catch the person. Since Jin Biao was caught in Tuoshan’s jurisdiction, if I demanded him, it would be a slap in their face. Even if this went to the municipal bureau, I’d still be in the wrong.”

Xu Yun was a bit dissatisfied, but not enough to make a fuss. “So today was all for nothing. As long as Jin Biao finds someone to take the fall for the bag, you evidence-obsessed officers won’t have a way to deal with him. Besides, he’s got a cousin to back him up.”

“I won’t let him off so easily,” Qin Wan’er clenched her delicate fist, her face full of righteousness. Then she seemed to recall something and asked, “Since you admit you hit them, how come there were no injuries?”

Xu Yun raised his hand, looking at his fist with a mysterious smile that Qin Wan’er couldn’t decipher. “I don’t know—maybe they’re thick-skinned and tough.”

Qin Wan’er eyed him suspiciously. “You think I’d believe that?”

“Believe it or not, as you wish,” Xu Yun yawned. “I’m tired—aren’t you?”

Qin Wan’er glanced at the clock. It was indeed late. She couldn’t help stretching her weary arms and twisting her supple waist, her chest even more pronounced as she did so. “Of course I’m tired. Who wouldn’t be? I’m exhausted—what kind of weekend is this, anyway? Eighteen hours without a break.”

“Want to sleep together? Heh heh.” Xu Yun squinted, sneaking a glance at her generous curves, his tone flippant and roguish.

“Do you want to die?” Qin Wan’er’s right eyebrow twitched, her face turning icy cold.

Xu Yun quickly made his escape. “Don’t overthink it—I meant the time!”

“I’ll kill you, Xu Yun!”

“Shh, keep it down, Guoguo is sleeping.”

“Bastard, don’t use Guoguo as a shield!”

…

Escaping from Qin Wan’er’s wrath, Xu Yun took a quick shower and then sat cross-legged on his bed. For the past few days, he’d felt subtle shifts in his state of mind. From past experience, this meant he was on the verge of a breakthrough—when that bottleneck loosened, the breakthrough would come.

Though this was a good omen, there was also a hidden peril. His master had told him: the ability to sense changes in one’s mindset ahead of time is a double-edged sword. It lets you prepare for a breakthrough, but it might also be a sign that you’ve reached your limit—unable to break through ever again.

Most importantly, his master had also said: when one is weighed down by inner demons, it often means the mind has reached its limits.

Exhaling deeply, Xu Yun wondered—if this meant he’d never break through, would he be forever stuck at the bottleneck of a first-class expert, never crossing into the ranks of the superlative?

“Damn, does that mean I’ll stay this pathetic for the rest of my life?” Xu Yun cursed quietly. If so, what would those who could never even break through the second-class bottleneck think?

After all, in this world, true superlative experts were incomparably rare, like stars in the night sky.