Su Xiao gave his speech on his ideals in a delighted tone, and repeatedly emphasised the importance of his father as well as his definition of justice: “My father taught me to lead an honest life and uphold justice. As a result of my upbringing, I decided to uphold justice with my broadsword skills, and promote our Su family’s sword style.”
I bet he didn't notice that Shen Yiren was starting to get irritated.
She asked for his goals when joining Liu Shan Men yet he’s been rambling on-and-on about completely irrelevant stuff. Any superior would get irritated by this.
SFX: Cough
SFX: Cough
SFX: Cough
I coughed a few times to send him a hint, but instead, he looked at me with curiosity and asked: “Brother Ming, are you sick?”
Why? Do you have medication or something?!
Man, this kid’s IQ… You know what? Just buy yourself a hammer.
Whether I’m sick or not is of no importance. The last thing I want to see is one of us getting fired on the first day…
We didn’t get many new recruits in the first place, so if we’re one man down, then that means I’ll be stuck doing everything with the block of wood better known as Tang Ye.
I tried to save the situation by throwing him a highly intellectual line to help him get on topic: “Brother Xiao Han, you joined Liu Shan Men to make a name for yourself as you had such aspirations since you were young, right?”
“Huh? Liu Shan Men? I just came to try out…” I gave him a death-stare, and he flinched. He saw Shen Yiren’s expression and quickly added: “I actually want to be a good constable too, hehe.”
I now know first-hand what it means to have a goose-like teammate.*
"……"
Shen Yiren was evidently pissed. She silently looked at me, and I think she was trying to say: “Make sure to teach him how he should behave in future.”
I silently gave her a nod to say: "I'll try my best…"
Ha! Thanks to the ordeal, I managed to win favour with Shen Yiren…
Tang Ye then started speaking before he was asked: “I didn’t join Liu Shan Men to be a constable. My only goal is to kill a particular person.”
Oh, fuck me! Dude! Are you trying to play bad-ass?!
Shen Yiren unexpectedly didn’t look surprised. She just sorrowfully sighed and said: “Looks like my guess was right.”
Tang Ye nodded and said: “That is correct. I joined Liu Shan Men so that I could access the records of all the cases Liu Shan Men investigated in the past. I want to find out the truth behind the Mei Xiang Li murder case.”
Mei Xiang Li murder case?
I dug around in my memories for information related to the case. I easily recalled reading it in an issue of the ‘Black and White Reflection’. Looks like there's some truth to the saying "the more you read, the more you know."
An infamous incident took place on New Year’s Eve nine years ago, on a harmonious day where families enjoyed their reunions in a small village in the Northern Seas. Three-hundred and thirteen people died overnight in the small village. There were rumours claiming that they were poisoned, murdered out of vengeance, while others claimed there was an epidemic breakout. In a subscriber exclusive section of the ‘Black and White Reflection’, the author gave a very thought-provoking theory claiming that a mass homicide was carried for unknown reasons.
It’s rumoured that among the victims were a number of martial artists from over ten different sects. It’s strange because what reason would they have to be at some small village on New Year’s Eve in the Northern Seas? Based on this question, the writer for the ‘Black and White Reflection’ hypothesised that it had to do with vengeance. But the truth is still enshrouded in mystery.
The village the incident took place at is called Mei Xiang Li.
Tang Ye continued on faintly, but I could sense his anger and hatred: “My father was among the victims. I don’t like to tell lies. Vice-captain, if you feel I’m not suitable, I can leave right away.” If you’re going to quit then you need to show you're insistent on quitting, so take off your hat.
Aww Yeah, now I get to wear his uniform. I'd take his hat with a big smile.
Instead, Shen Yiren gave him a welcoming smile and said: “What are you saying, what’s our job at Liu Sha Men? Our job is to investigate cases and reveal the truth to help the innocent and punish the evil-doers. Why would I expel you over that? Yan Ling, don’t overthink it, just stay with us at Liu Shan Men.” Her smile was so beautiful it was like a pear-tree blooming in the night, a smile so beautiful it’d illuminate the moon. It was a captivating and elegant smile. Tang Ye who was trying to take his hat off froze in place.
Damn! Now that’s what I call smooth-talking!
I guarantee this dense guy standing next to me would take on any tough opponent with a straight face, and would probably even take on a hammer with his bare fists. But a gentle lady like that will soften up any man. This lass is more violent than a grunt when she gets worked up. I never expected her to have such a gentle side.
Our boss here sure knows how to handle her subordinates. We’ve hardly said much to each other and yet she already has a good grasp on how to deal with us. Su Xiao needs to be treated strictly and Tang Ye needs to be encouraged. As for me… It’s called money, kekekeke.
Shen Yiren continued: “It won’t be easy to access the reports though. Most of Liu Shan Men’s top secret documents are stored in the palace. Without the emperor’s permission, you won’t be able to enter the large file storage room.”
Tang Ye seemed to be aware of the fact, and just silently nodded.
Secret documents are in the palace, huh…?
Hang on.
I suddenly remembered a story my shifu told me.
That year when Yan Shisan was in charge, he got so ticked off with Ximen Chuideng running amok in the pugilistic world that he challenged him to a duel at the Forbidden City on the 15th July, which my shifu was the witness for. However, it was actually a setup by Yan Shisan who had more than two-hundred elite archers on standby just waiting for Ximen Chuideng to rock up.
And thus, on a night with a full-moon atop the Forbidden City, Shisan laid in wait to spring on Ximen as soon as he came.
Kekeke… Okay, I’ve digressed again.
Anyway, the two of them did battle at the Forbidden City and when it was unclear who the winner would be, the elite archers went berserk with their firing, enraging my shifu in the process (because they almost shot him…). In the end, he teamed up with Ximen Chuideng and they were invincible. The more they fought, the more excited they got. They even set fire to the imperial palace! And if my memory does me justice, the first place they burnt was… Yeah… The documents storage room…
I looked at Tang Ye with pity and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
I still didn’t feel like that was enough, so I took out three silver ingots from my bag and handed them to him. I then gave him a firm handshake and said: “Give it your best.”
Tang Ye looked at me weirdly before changing his expression to look like he just got mugged and said: “Thanks…”
Glossary
*Those kind of players who ignore pings, casually watch you die instead of helping, grief and basically waste a player slot.