“Thanks to you.”
Lin Wan leaned against Lu Zheng, saying, “That man was really planning to kill the child at night.”
“What kind of grudge could be so big?” Lu Zheng frowned, asking, “To the point of wanting to kill someone?”
Lin Wan gave a cold laugh, replying, “The suspect’s dog scared the child, and the child’s father kicked the dog.”
“What the hell?” Lu Zheng couldn’t help but gasp, exclaiming, “For a dog, he wanted to commit murder? Am I mad, or is this world too bizarre?”
Lin Wan chuckled, saying, “He’s even feeling wronged, claiming his dog is depressed and hasn’t eaten for three days.”
Lu Zheng took another deep breath, remarking, “Unbelievable! How many years will this guy get?”
“Kidnapping and attempted murder, over ten years,” Lin Wan said calmly.
“Deserved!” Lu Zheng curled his lip, slightly regretting not roughing the guy up more at the time, thinking to himself that he should have added some extra punishment. “This family is so unlucky to have such a neighbour.”
Lin Wan nodded, agreeing, “No kidding, but the suspect’s family has already put their house up for sale, probably planning to move.”
Lu Zheng scoffed, saying, “They know a murderer’s reputation isn’t exactly pleasant, huh.”
Then he shook his head, adding, “But no one cares about a dog scaring people.”
Lin Wan remained silent.
“This shows that the law is just the baseline for morality, not covering every moral aspect,” Lu Zheng said, putting his arm around Lin Wan. “For instance, if scaring someone with a dog was directly illegal, none of this would have happened.”
Lin Wan smiled, responding, “That would be too broad a target.”
Lu Zheng shrugged, saying, “There are probably plenty of people like that in society. I’m fine, but don’t tell me you haven’t dealt with unreasonable lowlifes?”
Lin Wan sighed helplessly, admitting, “Of course I have. Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts, and it’s definitely different from what’s online or in books.”
“Exactly,” Lu Zheng paused, frowned, and suddenly asked, “Why are we even talking about this?”
Lin Wan laughed, teasing, “You brought it up. I didn’t expect you to be a bit of a hothead.”
“Thanks a lot, at least you didn’t call me a know-it-all.”
“Why would I insult you?”
Lu Zheng shook his head, sighing, “So many good words have been ruined.”
“Alright, it’s getting late. I need to get up and head to work,” Lin Wan said.
Lin Wan got up, the velvet quilt sliding off, revealing her smooth skin.
Lu Zheng grabbed her hand, saying, “You came back at midnight last night, and now you’re off early in the morning. Even a workhorse wouldn’t be pushed this hard.”
Lin Wan tapped his forehead, replying, “Be grateful I came back at all. Captain Liang and Liu Leng are sleeping at the station.”
“Tch, no humanity!” Lu Zheng remarked.
Lin Wan gave him a look, then pulled her hand free and went to the bathroom.
Though Lin Wan hadn’t cultivated martial arts vitality, staying up all night was no issue for her. Lu Zheng, even more so, had no problem.
Seeing Lin Wan get up, Lu Zheng also got up to tidy the bed and organise her clothes.
Just as he finished, Lin Wan came out after washing up.
Seeing her clothes neatly arranged, Lin Wan smiled softly and began dressing.
Soon, a vibrant female police officer was ready again.
“Let’s go grab breakfast together. The steamed buns at the place downstairs are pretty good,” Lu Zheng suggested.
They ate breakfast together, and Lu Zheng hailed a taxi for Lin Wan, watching her leave. Noticing it was still early, he travelled back to ancient times, practised a set of fists and a sequence of blade techniques, stretching his muscles.
“Young master!” Li Bo came running over.
“What’s up?” Lu Zheng sheathed his blade, exhaling a breath that shot out like a sword, lingering three feet away.
“Young master, this is this month’s income from Sweet Pastry Shop,” Li Bo handed over a stack of banknotes. “Also, with the festival approaching, should we start preparing?”
Lu Zheng: (°ー°〃)
Keeping his composure, he asked calmly, “Right, how long until it arrives?”
“About twenty days,” Li Bo nodded. “We buy food as needed, so no special prep there, but for spring couplets, sweets, and firecrackers, should you buy them, or shall I?”
“You handle it,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Don’t skimp, prepare well.”
“Got it!” Li Bo agreed. “I’ll take two strings of coins from Sweet Pastry Shop’s next income then?”
Lu Zheng approved, saying, “Fine.”
Watching Li Bo leave, Lu Zheng left the house to wander the streets.
Lately, he had either been training at home or working at Benevolent Heart Hall, neglecting to stroll and gather common knowledge.
And so, he got schooled again.
Determined, Lu Zheng spent a morning at Leping Tower, tipping the storyteller one string of coins to recount all the legends of the Great Jing Dynasty’s festivals.
Leping Tower was the former Qingsheng Tower, renamed after being sold, though the business remained the same.
Listening all morning, Lu Zheng found the Great Jing Dynasty’s festivals quite similar to China’s, with slight differences.
For example, the New Year and the Upper, Middle, and Lower Yuan festivals had the same names, but the dates varied slightly.
There were also similar festivals, like the Qiqiao Festival resembling Qixi, the Caiqing Festival like Qingming, the Gengchu Festival like Dragon Head Raising, and the Qingfeng Festival like Double Ninth.
The Great Jing Dynasty also had unique festivals, like the City God Parade on the fifth of the fifth month, absent in China.
China had festivals absent here, like Army Day or National Day.
By the end of the morning, Lu Zheng ensured he wouldn’t be clueless about Great Jing’s festivals again.
Other listeners enjoyed revisiting folk festival tales, and the storyteller earned triple his usual income.
Everyone was happy.
Lu Zheng thought, “Good thing the festivals here don’t overlap with modern ones, or I’d be stretched thin, having to tell Li Bo and Qingyan I’m off somewhere.”
He couldn’t just disappear during the modern New Year; his mum would kill him.
But…
“I could prepare some snacks and preserves here,” Lu Zheng mused.
Liu Qingquan was easy to please. A lollipop, beef jerky, or preserved plum would make her beam with joy.
“It’s the New Year, gotta get the kids something good, like chocolates and toffees,” he decided.
Acting on the thought, Lu Zheng returned to the modern world, heading to a nearby Carrefour supermarket to shop.
Besides Xu Fu Ji chocolates and toffees, he bought a few bottles of liquor, some nuts, peanuts, melon seeds, fruit candies, and White Rabbit milk candies to give to cheerful kids on the street.
“Tch, others bring AKs, grenades, or Katyushas from modern to ancient times. I bring Wuliangye, Xu Fu Ji, and White Rabbit. Why’s my style so peculiar?”
