The next day!
"Sir, there's trouble," a commoner ran over as Chu Ning was practicing martial arts at the patrol and arrest office.
"Wang Daniu lost money at the Linglong gambling house in the county town, that beast had no money to gamble, so he borrowed twenty taels there and lost it all. People from the Linglong gambling house have come to his door, wanting to take away Wang Daniu's daughter to pay off his debts."
"Take me to see."
Chu Ning frowned, the common belief in this world was that the son would pay for his father's debts. If Wang Daniu really owed twenty taels that he couldn't pay back, then he, as a constable, really had no reason to stop them.
Of course, he could force a stop if he wanted to, as long as his fists were bigger than those from the gambling house.
By the time they reached Wang Daniu's doorstep, Chu Ning saw three ruffians lazily sitting with their legs crossed in Wang Daniu's yard.
Wang Daniu had long fled, and his wife had taken their daughter to her parents' house. These three ruffians didn't know where Wang Daniu's father-in-law lived, but they weren't in a hurry; the monk can run but the temple won't run, as long as they waited here, Wang Daniu and his family would have to show up sooner or later.
"What's all this crowding about? Disperse," Chu Ning first dispersed the commoners gathered at Wang Daniu's door before stepping through the gate and then closed the door behind him.
The three ruffians, seeing Chu Ning in uniform, were taken aback for a moment, their expressions growing somewhat tense.
"Wang Daniu owes us money, demanding repayment is right and proper, even the patrol and arrest office can't interfere," the leading ruffian declared, somewhat blustering but with an undertone of apprehension.
Chu Ning smiled, "Naturally, I'm not here about Wang Daniu's affairs. I've come to discuss something with the three of you."
"What is it?"
"Wang Daniu's daughter looks decent. I had a talk with that guy before, suggesting he let his daughter be my concubine, but he actually refused."
Upon hearing this, the lead ruffian understood Chu Ning's intention.
"Do you mean to force Wang Daniu to marry off his daughter to you as a concubine?" the lead ruffian pondered, "I, Li San, am not unreasonable. If you really want it that way, just give us fifteen taels of silver, after all, Wang Daniu really borrowed ten taels of silver from me, and the additional five taels can be considered interest."
"Can you make the decision on this, will the gambling house agree?"
"Sir, you may not know this, but we're not people from the Linglong gambling house, we just collaborate and place bets there. However, we have to pay the gambling house an entrance fee every month."
Chu Ning narrowed his eyes; he had originally thought of giving twenty taels to send these ruffians away, all the while using his interest in Wang Daniu's daughter as a pretext. What he didn't want was for these ruffians to later tempt Wang Daniu back to the gambling house.
He knew all too well the nature of those from the gambling dens. Once they had their eye on someone, they wouldn't stop until they had drained them dry, sold off wives and daughters included.
If he paid the money himself and expressed desire to have Wang Daniu's daughter as a concubine, and if the gambling house continued to entrap Wang Daniu, it would be equivalent to challenging him. As a constable, the gambling house would have to consider whether they wanted to stand against the patrol and arrest office.
Of course, Chu Ning would settle this matter personally, but the money would still ultimately fall on Wang Daniu's shoulders. He planned to sell the Wang Family's stall to other merchants in the town, which should fetch about the same price.
Considering that these three were merely the gambling house's lookouts and not members of the Three Bamboo Gang behind the Linglong gambling house, Chu Ning had a new idea.
"Brothers are straightforward. Come, I'll treat the three of you to a drink."
Chu Ning led Li San and his two companions away from Wang Daniu's house to the patrol and arrest office. He ordered a restaurant in town to deliver food and drinks, and they started to feast in the backyard.
Li San and his kind, being low-level hooligans, had never been treated by a constable before. Chu Ning poured a drink and they would eagerly down three in response, soon all three were heavily intoxicated.
Once they were drunk, in an attempt to show off their capabilities, they unreservedly spilled everything about their misdeeds.
"If you, Brother Chu, take a fancy to a girl from the town and don't wish to use force, just tell me. I'll lure her family's men to the gambling house, ensure they lose everything and amass a mountain of debt. Then, Brother Chu, you can take the IOU and force the girl to go with you. If you don't want to force her, my brothers and I can put on a show for you, create a heroic rescue, and she'll throw herself into your arms willingly."
"Oh, it seems that Brother Li is quite experienced in this business?"
"Haha, I might lack other skills, but I've done this job no less than twenty times. Some rich young men have taken a liking to a girl, but the girl wasn't willing, then they turned to me. I easily sealed the deal and they got the girl."
"Brother Li's talent is great."
...
...
After a bellyful of food and drink, Li San and his brothers, with the fifteen taels of silver given by Chu Ning, staggered out of the patrol and arrest office, ready to head back to the county town.
"What are you looking at? Brother Chu is kind, he paid back the money for Wang Daniu. Today I'm giving Brother Chu face; otherwise, I'd have certainly taken Wang Daniu's daughter with me."
Although a little drunk, Li San thought of Brother Chu's interest in Wang Daniu's daughter, and as a brother, it was natural for him to give a push.
Indeed, in Li San's mind, Chu Ning was now his brother.
The commoners outside the patrol and arrest office, scared off by Li San's fierce look, had no reason to provoke these thugs.
But at the same time, they also received the news they wanted.
Wang Daniu's problem had been resolved, and the money was given by Sir Chu.
Chu Ning really was the best constable they had ever seen.
Kind-hearted!
...
...
An hour later, the figures of three men had already disappeared from the town entrance and could no longer be seen.
A dark shadow clambered over the back wall of the arrest officer's compound.
"Brother Three, who would have thought that one day we could sit down and dine with a constable?"
"I've always said, follow Brother Three and we'll make it big someday. This is nothing, later on, we could even sit down to eat with the arrest officer."
"Brother Three, why is there hot air blowing?"
"My eyes are burning!"
"Who's there, which bastard is sneaking an attack!"
Moments later, the voices ceased abruptly.
Chu Ning, his face covered, looked down at the corpses of Li San and the other two men on the ground. When he acted, he left no survivors.
And based on what Li San himself had disclosed at the dinner table, Chu Ning had already sentenced them to death in his heart.
As for the disposal of the three bodies, Chu Ning had already made up his mind. He picked up Li San's body with one hand, and the other hand hoisted the other two gangsters' bodies. He cut through the nearby woods, then scaled back over the wall into the arrest officer's compound.
The compound had a boiler, which the previous constable, who had a taste for homebrewing, had installed. This made things convenient for Chu Ning, who tossed the bodies of Li San and the other two directly into the boiler and then ignited it.
To completely erase a person's existence, it was not enough to bury them or toss the corpse into the wilderness. Numerous films and TV dramas had taught Chu Ning that many a big shot had come undone when, years later, their hidden skeletons were dug up or discovered.
Only by reducing them to ashes and scattering those could a person be truly and thoroughly erased.
...
...
Li Yunshu was in a very bad mood recently. Do I, the Gang Leader, really need to be informed about the deaths of a few lowly stack pushers?
"Gang Leader, the money those stack pushers lent out was borrowed from our gaming house. Now that they've gone missing, the money can't be collected."
"Did those bastards have elders or children at home?"
"They had elders, but no children."
"Then go and ask their elders to repay the debt. Treat them just like they would treat those who borrowed money—that's obvious, isn't it? Do I need to teach you that?"
After lambasting the underling in charge of the gaming house until he might as well have been soaked in blood, Li Yunshu felt somewhat better. The Vice Gang Leader waited until Li Yunshu finished scolding before asking, "How did Li San and the others disappear?"
"Li San and his people set a trap for a gambler in Xiazhen Town, making him owe money. Then Li San took his men to collect the debts from Xiazhen Town. I sent people to inquire there, and it turns out the gambler had no money—it was the Xiazhen Town constable who paid up and even invited Li San and his men for a meal. After eating, they left Xiazhen Town and then disappeared."
"A constable donated money?" the Vice Gang Leader wondered.
"Li San and his crew specialized in entrapping good people and forcing them into prostitution, often in collaboration with privileged young masters. It's said that gambler has a daughter who is quite fair. Maybe this was the work of that constable seeking revenge on Li San and his men..."
Without the need for explicit detail, Li Yunshu and the Vice Gang Leader understood.
"Go handle it."
The Vice Gang Leader dismissed the gaming house underling and then looked at Li Yunshu. "Big brother, there's something really strange going on. The death of Liu Wei and the others a while back also had some connections with Xiazhen Town."
Li Yunshu asked, "What's going on?"
"I asked a few of the gang members close to Liu Wei. They said that a few days before Liu Wei got into trouble, he was mumbling about going to Xiazhen Town to plant our flag and establish a branch. Then, something happened to him."
"Could it just be a coincidence? Xiazhen Town is so poor, what faction would take an interest?"
Li Yunshu was skeptical, considering Xiazhen Town to be a broken small town that even smaller factions disdained. Would someone really kill Liu Wei over such a place?
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but Xiazhen Town has changed a bit from the way it was before."
"How so?"
"There are more merchants now."
...
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