Chapter 34

Neighbors were holding buckets, busy fighting the fire. But when Head Constable Feng came back, he showed no concern for his family, nor did he join in putting out the fire. Instead, he first grabbed a neighbor and forced him to confess, demanding to know if he’d set the fire.

Gu Jun pricked up his ears and heard such an interrogation. His brain was nearly knocked several meters away by the shock.

He secretly rolled his eyes.

The poor neighbor, who had carried water to put out the fire, not only received no thanks but was pinned against the wall and interrogated by Constable Feng. The neighbor's face turned pale, and he stammered, not knowing what to say.

Constable Feng glared with wide eyes; in that instant, they seemed like the bloodshot eyes of a bull.

The neighbor was so frightened he didn’t dare take a heavy breath.

Constable Feng threw him aside and grabbed another person nearby: "Was it you?"

The people with him—to be precise, his underlings—had all caught on by now and came forward one after another to dissuade him. @Unlimited Good Reads, all at Jinjiang Literature City

"Boss, let's not lower ourselves to these people's level. First, let's find your wife. If she didn't make it out, then..."

"Boss, you mustn't act on impulse. Once the fire in front of us is dealt with, we'll have plenty of time to track down the culprit."

"The yamen won't just ignore this matter..."

Amid the chaos, Gu Jun noticed a lean, dark-faced man standing in the left corner. His expression was extremely peculiar, seemingly carrying a hint of vengeful glee.

The man wasn't very alert. Gu Jun stared at him for a while before the man suddenly realized someone was watching him. He quickly lowered his head and retreated backward into the crowd.

Just as Gu Jun was about to pursue him, a hand gripped his shoulder. That familiar physical contact instantly reminded him of someone. He turned his head back; sure enough, it was the person he’d expected.

—Lin Yue.

Lin Yue, no one knew how long he had already been hiding in the shadows watching like him. Without waiting for him to speak, he said to Gu Jun: "Does the Feng residence catching fire have anything to do with us?"

Gu Jun's train of thought was led along by him. He answered subconsciously: "No, it doesn't."

Lin Yue said: "Then why are you still standing dumbly here? Let's go." Having said this, he turned around and left.

Gu Jun followed.

The two of them left the noisy circle and headed toward the worksite. Mainly, Lin Yue walked toward the worksite, and Gu Jun followed behind.

Before they reached the worksite, Gu Jun blocked the other's path and told Lin Yue about the matter of Constable Feng and his men secretly watching their residence.

Lin Yue raised his eyes and looked back toward the location of the Feng residence.

Gu Jun said: "I have a guess."

Lin Yue said with interest: "What guess? Let's hear it."

Gu Jun said: "I think Constable Feng and those people were sent by Magistrate Wang."

Lin Yue asked: "How do you figure that?"

Gu Jun said: "Magistrate Wang told you back then that I'm a man. I think he has a grudge against that man.

"So just one day later, Constable Feng and his group came to stir up trouble.

"I don't think Constable Feng and his people were secretly watching our home to help us guard it. I think they were waiting for us to go back, to do some bad things to us. But Constable Feng and his men always handle matters quite unreliably, hence I discovered them."

Hearing this, Lin Yue didn’t reply.

Gu Jun said: "This is all just my guess. Constable Feng and those people came to cause trouble, or maybe you offended Magistrate Wang somewhere, or Head Constable Feng personally, and they wanted to teach you a lesson. Think carefully about whether you offended them anywhere."

Gu Jun quite cunningly guided the other's thinking toward himself.

Lin Yue smiled: "I wouldn’t offend them. You..." Lin Yue sized Gu Jun up from head to toe; Gu Jun understood the other had seen through that little trick of his.

He turned his head away and said: "I wouldn’t offend them either."

Lin Yue nodded: "Then let's just say you haven't offended them."

Gu Jun asked: "What do you mean by that?"

"Could my words possibly have some other meaning? Tell me, I'm curious." Lin Yue said.

Gu Jun said: "You're actually here slandering me."

"Slander?" Lin Yue pinched Gu Jun's chin, "Say that one more time."

Gu Jun grabbed Lin Yue's hand, wanting to pull it away. The pinched spot didn’t hurt, but the other's arm was very strong. Even after tugging for a long time, he couldn't make it budge, much less pull it off. Gu Jun let go in frustration and muttered quietly: "Saying it once is as good as saying it a hundred times. You're always slandering..."

Before the words were fully out, Gu Jun's vision went blurry; his brain felt like it had been stirred with a stick, utterly chaotic.

Lin Yue pinched his chin while his other palm cupped his cheek, shaking his head around.

He barely managed to steady himself and grabbed Lin Yue’s wrists: "Stop it!"

Lin Yue asked: "Are you going to say it again or not?"

Gu Jun: "..."

Gu Jun: Despicable and shameless.

Gu Jun felt like he was riding a giant pendulum. He conceded defeat: "Not saying it anymore, not saying it."

Lin Yue: "One refuses to shed tears until one sees the coffin." He withdrew his "magic spell."

Gu Jun touched his own face; after that rubbing, his cheeks and chin felt a bit uncomfortable.

Lin Yue looked down and saw these spots had actually turned red. He furrowed his brow and said something in a low voice.

Gu Jun didn't hear what he said, but seeing the other displeased him. He endured it, and endured again, but couldn't help it in the end. Seizing the moment when the other was off guard, he turned and ran.

Lin Yue was stunned for a second. When he realized what happened, he pressed his palm to the back of his neck, not knowing whether to be angry or amused.

He stepped forward toward Gu Jun.

Gu Jun saw Lin Yue coming and immediately retreated backward.

But Lin Yue didn’t look at him and walked straight ahead.

Seeing this situation, Gu Jun observed the other from a distance.

The other made no unusual moves.

Gu Jun shifted his feet and slowly approached him.

Halfway there, he confirmed there was no trap ahead and set his mind at ease. He quickly stepped back to Lin Yue's side.

"Now..."

Lin Yue pressed down on his head, pushing it downward. "Hide, why aren't you hiding now?"

Gu Jun: "..." What, is there something wrong with you? Gu Jun bent down and ducked outward, wanting to escape the other's control. Unexpectedly, the other moved first, seizing his fate—his neck. In that moment, Gu Jun had already figured out where he wanted to be buried. He swallowed and said: "A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands."

Lin Yue: "A gentleman?" His thumb rested against Gu Jun's Adam's apple, gently stroking it. Indeed, it wasn't as prominent or sharp as an ordinary man's. No wonder his skin wasn't as tough and thick as an ordinary man's either. What kind of family could raise a young man like this? Positively lacking in any hint of masculine strength.

"Can you stop touching that?" Gu Jun's voice rang out.

Lin Yue lowered his gaze: "Is this the attitude for asking someone to do something?"

Gu Jun said weakly: "This humble one was wrong. You are a gentleman; don't lower yourself to a petty man's level." As he spoke, his body suddenly shook, and he burst out laughing, "It's really too ticklish!"

Lin Yue said: "I'll settle accounts with you tonight when we get back."

He let go, his gaze cold as he swept it over the people nearby who were looking. Blessed with good genes, he had eaten well since childhood, so he was built very tall. People around him didn’t dare cross his path and quickly averted their eyes, going about their own business.

Gu Jun both envied the other's strong and tall physique and was puzzled by why he said that. What did he mean by "settle accounts tonight"? He didn't like what he had said, so he acted against him. He retaliated, and now the other had retaliated back. You could say he still owed him one round of payback, or you could say they were even. So why did he still need to settle accounts with him? Completely unreasonable.

Gu Jun thought this in his heart, but he didn't say it aloud. After all, this wasn't the time to start a quarrel over such a boring matter, to breed discontent and attack each other.

Gu Jun wanted to be a magnanimous person. The evening's "settling of accounts" could be addressed in the evening; maybe it would be resolved before that time came.

Gu Jun asked about the main issue: "Now then, should we move house?"

The Feng family’s home had been burned down. If the culprit wasn't found, the suspicion would very likely fall on them. Under the premise that those people were already looking for trouble with them, they would be crazily targeted.

Gu Jun had no way to deal with the other party, let alone deal with the person standing behind them. For him, rather than a frontal confrontation, it was better to move to a different place to live.

Lin Yue asked: "Move where? How much money do you have?"

Gu Jun replied: "I don't know. Aren't you clearer than me on how much money there is at home?" He paused, "Do you have a way to solve the problem?"

He had no way, but Lin Yue might. The other party seemed to have a good relationship with the county yamen now.

Lin Yue said: "There might be a way to solve it."

"What do you mean 'might be a way to solve it'?"

Lin Yue said: "Something between having one and not having one."

Who wants to hear you explain the word "might"?

What Gu Jun wanted to hear was the way that might solve the problem.

Gu Jun looked at Lin Yue. Lin Yue showed no guilt whatsoever for failing to understand the meaning in his words.

Therefore, he was doing it deliberately.

This possible solution was related to his recent strange behavior toward himself, to Magistrate Wang sending gifts, to the local yamen runners delivering letters, and to the reason the local yamen was friendly toward him.

Therefore, he wouldn't directly answer his question.

Roundabout and circuitous: in the future, whenever facing a matter he found dissatisfactory, the other would handle it like this.

Gu Jun understood the reality of the situation and stopped pressing the question. The other hadn’t waited on the spot for him to catch on but continued forward.

Looking now, the other had already walked very, very far. Gu Jun estimated the distance and thought to himself: By the time I catch up, he’ll already be at the worksite.

In any case, he’d already gotten the strategy for dealing with the matter of Constable Feng, and it couldn't be changed. He didn’t chase after him. Standing where he was, he asked the other: "Did you eat lunch?"

Lin Yue: "I ate."

Having gotten the reply, Gu Jun then went back. With the Feng residence on fire, Constable Feng and his people couldn't attend to anything else.

Gu Jun quickly returned home. He went to the homeowner's place and took the vegetable basket back from that woman's hands. He picked out a fresh cabbage, pulled off a few leaves, washed them clean, and pressed them one by one on the chopping board, cutting them into slivers of even width, preparing to cook.

For one person, the simpler the better.

Gu Jun planned to make a vegetable and bean paste pancake.

Imitating the cook, he started to mix the flour. He had thought it was a very simple matter, but the flour was very disobedient. After seriously adjusting it for a long time, he turned it into a thin batter.

The batter was so thin he couldn't grab it. In the end, he had to mix the cabbage slivers into the batter and cook it into a bowl of bean flour and cabbage paste.

It looked unappetizing.

A dog doesn't mind its home is poor. At least it was a meal he made himself. Gu Jun ladled it out and ate it.

Besides the taste of cabbage, there was no other flavor.

He took another sip. Same as before.

Hmm... he had forgotten to add salt.

At least he hadn’t forgotten the oil.

After barely managing to finish lunch, Gu Jun went outside and looked around. As expected, Constable Feng and his people didn’t appear.

Gu Jun retreated back into the dwelling, heated his medicine with water and took it, then took out the ointment and spread it all over his knees, carefully massaging it in to help it absorb.

After doing all this, he took out a book and studied by the window.

Only when the sun set behind the mountains did he put down the book. He got up to cook dinner. After the ordeal at noon, his confidence in cooking had greatly increased.

Fail the first time, and you're bound to succeed the second.

Lin Yue still didn't know he was about to fall victim to Gu Jun's persecution. After work, he went straight to the Feng residence.

The fire at the Feng residence had already been put out. Things were bustling right now; many people from the yamen had come and were comforting Constable Feng.

It turned out Madam Feng was dead.

They found her in the ruins. She and the household servants had all been burned into charcoal-like things.

With red-rimmed eyes, Constable Feng gritted his teeth and implored everyone to find the culprit, to avenge Madam Feng and his house.

Everyone responded in agreement one after another.

Lin Yue stood not far away, looking at the bodies.

He had seen the people of the Feng household. With one glance, he could tell the number of bodies didn’t match. There were no children in the Feng family. Excluding Constable Feng, there should be five bodies here, but here there were only four.

Others also discovered this point and told Constable Feng that whoever was missing here, that missing person should be the murderer.

Constable Feng flatly rejected this: "The missing one is my concubine. Her father fell gravely ill; she went back to her maiden home early this morning to visit him."

Hearing this, Lin Yue asked around for the concubine's address and headed toward her home.

Arriving at her home, this Madam Jiang Third was inside, anxious and uneasy. Seeing Lin Yue, she became even more frightened: "Sir Lin..."

Lin Yue saw her expression and knew she was aware of the inside story of the fire.

He asked: "Between yesterday and this morning, did someone come looking for Constable Feng to handle a matter?"

Madam Jiang Third said: "Yes. The master was also very respectful toward the visitor; when the visitor left, he personally saw him out."

...

Coming out of the Jiang home, Lin Yue made another trip to the yamen. When he came out of the yamen, the sky was completely dark. Facing the evening breeze, he walked toward home.

.