The next morning, all four of us went back to the captain’s office. We were bewildered, since we hadn’t done anything, so we all drew the same conclusion: There was another mission.

When we arrived at the office, Captain Su asked us a question: “Have you heard of the Unit Rankings?”

“I haven’t.” I replied coolly, “What is it?”

The other three looked at me in annoyance. What, was I that ignorant? I didn’t have time to screw around, not to mention gather information!

Sighing, Captain Su explained, “Each one of the three Imperial Law Factions, basically us, the Military, and the Police, have units as the smallest unit of personnel.”

I nodded, but my eyes caught sight of Captain Su’s well-endowed breasts, and I felt my attention being sucked away by the twin peaks.

“There are a total of 300 active units currently, and they are ranked from number 1 through 300. You’re currently ranked at 300, since this unit was newly created.” Captain Su elaborated, “Each time a unit completes a mission, their ranking increases based on points that are called ‘merits’. You currently have 0, while the top unit has about 300,000 merits.”

Fuck, what did they do for a living? Do they not have a life, and just do missions?

I nodded again, and asked, “What does that have to do with us?”

“You’ve completed a case previously, and it was quite serious, but since the criminal cannot be interrogated, your points will be dropped. Hence, you now have 1 merit point. Work hard, since 299th place has 184 points.” Captain Su said, shaking her head.

“What about the murder case?” I asked, curious.

“That was not a formal assignment, so it doesn’t count.” Captain Su replied.

“What benefits does having a higher rank grant?” I asked. The other three also seemed to be curious.

“A higher salary, and also a better bonus. But that’s only after you get a few ranks.” Captain Su waved her hand dismissively, and said, “I’ve gotten you a good assignment this time, don’t fuck it up.”

I feel like she was talking about me.

“Especially you, Wuxing Wuming.”

She was definitely talking about me.

“OK!” All four of us said. Captain Su smiled, and threw a piece of paper over with some details. It seemed that there was an illegal gambling den in the middle of the city, so we were to close it, while arresting all of the offenders.

“This’s so tedious!” I complained.

“Do you believe that I will fire you if you reject this?” Captain Su glared at me. She definitely could. After all, she was my superior, and had the backing of the Su family. The Su family was one of the great families that held great authority, which also included the Sun family, Song family, and Qin family. Well, the Qin family is obvious since that’s the emperor’s family.

“OK, fine, fine. We’ll do it.” I replied, before bringing the other three into unit meeting room.

“This mission is to close down a gambling den, while also arresting the big boss of the gambling den. Basically, it’s a pain, since we can’t just barge in like last time.”

The other three nodded their heads. I wasn’t sure if they were nodding to my words or just out of courtesy, but I frankly didn’t care.

“OK, then let’s get a plan. And Luo Qingshan, don’t fuck up like last time. You’re the only one that didn’t do as you were supposed to in the last mission.”

“B-but was I supposed to just act like a robber, and steal his things?”

“Yes, you were. Wait, where is the evidence?” I asked, curious. Tang Yue answered.

“We passed it to Captain Su.”

“Fuck, I was going to—nevermind.” I looked away as Luo Qingshan glared at me. Yes, I wanted to sell it for profit, why are you looking at me like a serial rapist?

“Anyways, here’s the plan……”

. . .

The next day, as I walked around the city, I used by internal energy to listen to the area around me. The important thing when investigating something is to have enough intel. After all, having information is like cheating without cheating.

I filtered out the talking of commoners, the shouting of hawkers, and the scolding of women who caught their husbands going to brothels. There was absolute silence as I made sure to block out miscellaneous sounds completely.

I heard a peculiar conversation about 6 li[1] away.

“Women measure life by the flow of tears.”

“Men measure life by the number of beers. How many kegs did you bring this month?”

“About 1,000,000.”

“Great. Then let’s go in to drink.”

I smiled. It seems that I have found the gambling den’s password. I went back to the manor, and called for a meeting.

“I’ve learnt of the password for the gambling den. It should be ‘Women measure life by the flow of tears.’, and if you said it in the right place, someone will tell you that men measure life by the number of beers. Then, they will ask how much money you have. Just tell them about 100,000 or something, borrow a few from Captain if you need to. We’ll go out to infiltrate the location at weizheng[2], put on some disguise by then.”

“Isn’t this just encouraging the gambling?” Luo Qingshan asked.

“Do you have a better way?”

“……No.”

“Then shut up. Anyways, you should dress up as a man instead. Wear a corset or something.” I replied, gesturing towards her chest, which made her glare at me. What? I’m just giving advice. It isn’t even that large, compared to shimei’s or Captain Su’s.

I dismissed the unit, and went back to the Captain’s office. Knocking on the door, I waited for her response. But I waited for liang ke without any answer. I had the urge to simply barge in and request for funds and makeup for the disguise, but stopped myself with the thought of her ruler of death.

“What are you doing?” Captain Su’s voice came from behind me.

“Waiting for your response.” I replied reflexively before realising that I was an idiot. Turning around, I saw a Captain Su that was dressed in casual clothes, which gave her a different charm from when she was wearing her work clothes. She held a packet of fried dough fritters, and was chewing on one as she looked at me.

“Sorry, Captain. I was hoping to receive a few hundred thousand silver taels to get into the gambling den.” I apologised, giving a stiff bow.

“……Come in.” She pushed the door open with a shoulder and set the dough fritters onto the table. She then looked around the office, and opened a drawer. Within were about bags, and she threw one over to me.

“This should be 200 gold ingots. Exchange it at the gambling den.” Captain Su replied calmly, “You probably also need makeup for a disguise, right? There should be some in the drawer in your unit’s office.”

“Thanks.” I said, walking out of the office and going to the unit office room. Opening a drawer, I realised that there was, indeed, enough makeup to use. I took out a mirror from behind somewhere, and started putting on a disguise. Using foundation to change my face’s skin colour was just a simple beginning. As a self-proclaimed expert in disguise, I also used different products to decrease the wrinkles around my forehead and to make my face look more naïve.

By the time I was done, I looked like a 20-year-old man that had just begun to work. Tucking my hair into my collar, I picked up a black wig, and put it on. While the colour of the hair looks the same, the difference is in the curl of the hair. It was just a little bit curly at the tips, making it look a lot fuller. It was enough to make me look drastically different, since the hair is one of the main things that can help with changing a person’s face shape. Tying the hair to make it look tidier, I looked up to see an astonished Luo Qingshan looking at me.

“Who are you? Outsiders are not allowed in this place.”

“It’s me, Wuming. Have you never seen someone put on a disguise?” I asked, to which she shook her head.

“No, of course not. If I did, would it still be called a disguise?” She asked, making a great point.

“Well, now you have.”

“How could you apply it so fast? Not even a cup of tea’s time[3] has passed!”

“Well, I learnt quite a few useful skills in the past.” I replied, waving my hand dismissively, as I stood up. I looked like a completely different person, like a young man with a hint of naivety and determination, like someone who didn’t know about the cruelty of this world.

“Do you need me to help?” I asked.

“Please. I don’t really know how to make myself look like a man.” Luo Qingshan replied. I sighed as I passed a corset to her.

“Put this on, and tighten it until your chest is barely visible.” I walked out of the room, and waited. After a few fen[4], Luo Qingshan called for me to enter. Her voice was much quieter, probably because of her lungs being compressed by the corset. Walking into the room, I nearly laughed. She had tightened it to the point where I wondered if she had shattered her skeleton.

“Hehe, you don’t need to do it up so tight. Just until there is a small bulge at the chest area. It’s not like men have no chest at all.” I replied, leaving the room again. After a few ke once again, she called for me to enter again. This time, the corset was done up just enough.

“OK, then. Please sit on the chair.” I gestured towards the chair that I had used to put on my disguise. I put on foundation, and added a colour gradient onto her nose to make it look flatter than it actually was, and tied her hair behind her head. By the time I was done, she looked like a scholar.

“OK, done. Think up of a fake name and identity, and then just do something randomly. It doesn’t matter as long as the identity is from some other place.”

“OK.” Luo Qingshan replied. She was touching her face in shock as she wondered if the person in the mirror was really her.

I went to check on the other two. Entering the room, they both looked thuggish yet handsome. Their faces made them look like experienced mercenaries.

“Who are you? Outsiders are not allowed in this place.” They both asked the two of us. I nearly laughed as I remembered that that was the exact same wording that Luo Qingshan used to ask me.

“Hehe, guess!” Luo Qingshan smiled, for some reason in a good mood. Her voice was deepened a little with Internal Qi to make her sound gender neutral.

“That—are you sister Luo?” Tong Xun asked, “Oho, that face is definitely my type!”

He stared at her face, most likely creeping her out. I held in my laughter as I told him, “Tong Xun, you’ll follow me, while Tang Yue will follow her.”

“Oh.” Tong Xun looked disappointed as he walked to my side.

“We should make up a fake identity. I’ll be a young master from another prefecture, and you’ll be a mercenary bodyguard that I hired.” I explained, “Qingshan, you’ll be an official in some other province, and Tang Yue will be your family slave. Think up a fake name by yourself, and remember that you two should have the same surname.”

“OK.” Luo Qingshan nodded her head, and suggested, “Wang Badan, and Wang Erdan.”

I kept in my laughter as I told her to pick a better name.

“Hmm? Wang Badan is a good name! Surnamed Wang, the eighth son. Then Wang Erdan, it means Second Slave!”

I couldn’t keep in my laughter, and began to laugh my ass off, to the confusion of Luo Qingshan. She was too innocent, for fuck’s sake!

“Hehe, Wang Badan means bastard, and Wang Erdan means idiot!” Tang Yue explained. He looked like he was holding in his laughter, while also being annoyed at his terrible name.

Luo Qingshan turned red as she finally understood.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” she asked me. I’m innocent! I wasn’t the one that came up with the name!

“I didn’t know that you were that innocent.” I replied, “Anyways, I’ll be…… Dugu Qiubai, and Tong Xun’ll be Hua Wuque.”

“Fuck, isn’t that the character from some novel?” Tong Xun complained.

“Well, whatever.” I replied, “It’s weizheng, so we’ll leave now. You two should go at around weizheng erke[5].”

Tong Xun and I left the manor, and went to a main street. Standing in front of a beef stew stall, I announced, “Women measure life by the flow of tears.”

A man a few stalls down came up to me, and replied, “Men measure life by the number of beers. How many kegs do you have with you?”

“An equivalent of 200,000 kegs.”

“And who may the gentleman behind you be?”

“He’s my bodyguard.”

“Then shall we enter to have some drinks?” The man gestured for me to follow him. He brought us to an unsuspecting alley. In a clichéd turn of events, the man pushed in a brick, resulting in a wall partition sliding open. Tong Xun looked surprised, but I reminded him not to act with voice transmission.

[What an awesome place!] Tong Xun looked around at the room that opened up behind the wall partition.

[By awesome, do you mean clichéd?] I stated as I stepped in. It looked like what you’d imagine a dungeon would look like. Dark, grimy, extremely secretive, and had dim lights that lit the area.

We walked down the road, into a large, open room. Within the room were about fifty people who were playing mahjong.

“Haha, you bastard, I finally won back the fifty gold that you swindled!”

“You fucker—Damn it!”

……

“Shitshitshit, I’m going to lose!”

“Hahaha, you’re no match for……eh!? What kind of……You tricked me!”

“Hihihi, of course! Give me the sixty silvers!”

The sounds of gambling echoed throughout the room as the two of us walked in. I heard someone call out to me.

“You! Newcomer! Are you willing to have a bet?!” A man asked, a greedy look in his eyes.

“Of course. Let’s take 20 gold?” I sat down on a mahjong table that had one vacancy.

“Hmm……let’s go all in.”

“Great. The more, the merrier.” I replied, throwing the bag onto the table. “2000 gold!”

The entire place went silent as other gamblers watched my table. Their greedy eyes locked onto the bag that was filled with 2000 golds, but they restrained themselves. After all, I had held it, but was still able to walk like normal, making it obvious that I was not a layman.

“Hahaha, boy, you’re quite daring! I must say, what’s your name?”

“Hehe, my name is Dugu Qiubai!”

“Hmph, arrogant! Let’s see if you can.” A lady that sat to my right commented.

“Boys must be impulsive, but being too much so will cause problems. Let this be a lesson to you!” The man opposite me scoffed.

Everyone else stared at the four of us play a mahjong game.

As I played, the others stared in shock, probably thinking, ‘how could this person’s luck be this bad?’ I received a cheap and slow hand, which made it basically pointless to do anything.

It was lucky that I had the best bad luck ever, and managed to barely pull through, since others also had terrible walls. In fact, everyone pulled either a slow or a cheap hand, which resulted in their fucking up. As a bored person on Taishan, I had extensive knowledge of mahjong, and barely managed to pull through.

“Hehe, you see? I’m always alone and asking for defeat!” I grinned as I picked up all of the money that was placed on the betting table. Most of the people had lost interest, since the game just so happened to progress slowly and uneventfully, making the only unique point the fact that there was 2000 gold riding on this one game.

“Y-you bastard. You must’ve rigged the game!”

“Son of a bitch, I don’t admit defeat!”

“Fucking hell, I can’t believe I lost to a newbie!”

What newbie? I had played mahjong with my sect mates for long periods of time back in the day. Picking up my winnings, I stood up to purchase some alcohol from a bar at the centre of the chamber.

[Unit leader, what should we do?] Tong Xun alerted me.

[I don’t fucking know!? Maybe we should linger until Qingshan comes.] I proposed a somewhat logical plan.

“My boss wishes to see you.” The bartender said indifferently as I bought some rice wine.

“What for?” I asked, ready to strike.

“To play a game of mahjong.” The bartender replied, handing over a bottle. He stared at me, as if asking for a response.

I nodded, and the bartender opened a door to let me in. “Hua Wuque! Come with me!” I called out to Tong Xun, but the bartender sneered at me.

“Heh, you cannot bring others in with you.” The guards that were standing around the area unsheathed their blades slightly to drive the point home.

“Oh. Hua Wuque, stay here until I come back.” I replied, waving my arm as I entered the room behind the door. Tong Xun was probably looking at me with worry, since he doesn’t know the extent of my strength.

Behind the door was what you would call an emperor’s room. With paper windows and exotic furnishings, expensive paintings and beautiful fire lighting, it made me breathe in a sigh of appreciation for how beautiful it looked.

“My good friend, how are you?” A fat man asked, biting down on a pork shank, “Sit, sit!”

I sat down on a seat opposite him. There were two other men who stood motionlessly at the side of the table, making me feel uncomfortable.

“Good afternoon. What did you ask me to come down for?” I asked stoically, “Surely it wasn’t simply to play a simple game of mahjong?”

“You think to much, brother Dugu, or should I say, brother Wuxing.” The man grinned, throwing a bone into a trash can. I stood up immediately, and was stopped by the two men. You know how the cliché goes.

“What do you want?” I proceeded as per the normal flow.

“I want to play a game.” The fat man across from me said, “We’ll all start with 2000 gold ingots like you, and we gamble until someone has 8000 golds. If you cannot defeat me, then you, and your three comrades, shall perish.

“If you lose to my guards, then I shall let you go.

“But if you win, then I shall let you go, and even turn myself in! I’d be satisfied, since I have received all that I wanted!”

“Oh.” I replied simply, sitting back down. This was a psycho, but so what? If I won, I would get free contribution points, but if I didn’t, the other three would die either way. Either way, I would not die. “Then, let’s start.”

The other two men sat down on the other two sides of the table, as they placed a mahjong set atop it. As we mixed up the pieces, I asked the fat man, “Why do you say that you’d have received all you wanted?”

“Hmm……that’s honestly difficult to say. I just feel that this game will be a good one.” The fat man grinned, exposing his canines that still had pieces of meat stuck to it, “Honestly speaking, my luck had always been good, so I haven’t lost a single mahjong game from the first time I’ve played.”

“Hehe, let me sing a song to have some fun. There’s no reason that a game that determines my death should be this boring! Even if I die, I want to do so in a good way!” I said, grinning.

“Linlinliu, changxuliu,

“Gaojiaoqi, there’s always datouliu.

“Ersangeng, gualaochen[6], loses to my wood.

“Waiting in the casino day and night,

“Business makes me swim on both sides.

“I lost money, but didn’t receive it,

“Fewer food, skimping on meals, immersed in sprouts,

“Afraid of tuning my head……” I sang a song that I heard my master sing. It was about a gambler that gambled his money away, and couldn’t borrow money, who was hence drowning in his sorrows and regrets.

“……Worry watches, others are rottenly innocent, the old don’t open their eyes,

“It worries me as I knew it was ugly,

“I’m doing my jobs in the streets.” I ended my song, which garnered an applause from the fat man. We had been playing the game for three rounds, and one of the bodyguards had already folded.

“Hahaha, good song, good song! Might I query its name?” The fat man asked, grinning with a sorrowful look in his eye.

“It’s called ‘A gambler’s woes.’” I replied, “Might this have touched on a sore point?”

“Oh, no, not really. Let me tell you the story of the start of my gambling career.

“My father had been a compulsive gambler, who loved to gamble but didn’t have the luck to be one. One winter night, he stole all of our money, and ran away. That winter was freezing cold, and without the money to purchase food, water, and firewood, my sisters and brothers all perished one by one.

“Eventually, there were only two people left in the family—me, and my mother. Then, winter ended, and we thought that that was the end of it, but the real hell had only started.

“The loan sharks came, like wolves looking to eat up an injured lion. To pay the debt, my mother pawned everything that we owned, but the assets had a limit. My bastard of a father had borrowed 1000 gold ingots, and the interest skyrocketed. Oh, that was a great play.” The fat man commented as I win this round. We had already gone through this for 18 rounds, and the other bodyguard had already folded. The only one left was the two of us, which made the game quite dull to be honest.

“After selling our belongings, my mother had become a courtesan to earn enough money to pay back the interest. She was quite beautiful, but after a few years, she had become dull and bland. The noblemen threw her aside, so she had to become a normal prostitute. The loan sharks threatened her day and night, which, added with the constant pleasing of men, made her age a great deal.

“Eventually, she had been sent to the military camps as a sex worker.” The fat man had a bitter smile on his face as he broke down his wall, “You know what happens there.”

Yes, I did. Sex workers at military camps were the most pitiful, since soldiers tend to have lots of lust, yet have extremely great stamina. Not many women could handle such a job for long periods of time.

“After she was sent there, she passed away from illness. Chlamydia, to be exact. And then, the loan sharks beat me up, and forced me into gambling. If I won, I would live. If not, I would be tortured, and sent to gamble again.

“But they did not expect me to be a lucky star, helping them earn thousands and even tens of thousands of golds! After mere weeks, I paid back the debt, but they didn’t set me free.

“‘Work for us,’ they said, and I didn’t have a choice. I helped them earn hundreds of thousands of gold ingots, while I received a 10 percent cut. Eventually, I earned enough money to buy my freedom, and was nearly assassinated by them.

“After they failed, I nurtured my own gambling den, and created my own gang. Eventually, I managed to eliminate the loan sharks that killed my mother. As for the boss,” The fat man clapped his hands, and the bodyguard pulled open a paper window, showing a room that had a body within. The body was still alive, and had no legs nor arms. There were obvious torture marks on his torso, and his chest was so badly mutilated that it was like a snake had eaten its way through its body. I realised something. If every paper window led to a similar room…… There were about 50 paper windows around the room, which sent chills down my spine, but I ignored it. It might be a horrifying scene and thought, but if I lost too, it would be a bigger problem.

“Then shall we go all in for a final round? I want to go eat dinner.” I asked, completely ignoring the fifty people behind the windows.

“Oho? No reaction? Hahaha, they finally sent someone useful! Hehe, you know what happened to the previous people that came? They saw that scene, and became impulsive, trying to win at any interval! Too bad that their carelessness led them to their demise.” The fat man clapped his hands, and the two men opened more paper windows, showing more people in similar conditions. A third of them wore police uniforms, half of them wore military police uniforms, and there was only one with military uniforms. The last ten-or-so wore other clothes.

“Hehe, so what? It isn’t like I’m obligated to care about them. They’ll be useless in the future anyways.” I replied indifferently, breaking down my wall. “I win.”

The fat man looked shocked as he stared at the hand that I revealed. It was a Thirteen Orphans hand, which more or less meant that I won.

“Haha……hahaha! Hahaha!” The fat man laughed as he broke his wall down to reveal a Sacred Lamp of Nine Lotus hand, “My intuition was right! That was a marvellous game of gambling! Hahaha!”

“Well, then please.” I pulled out a pair of handcuffs. At that moment, the door to the room was broken down. Three figures stepped into the room, knocking down the two bodyguards that were waiting on the fat man.

“Brother Wuxing, we’ve come to save……eh?” Tong Xun was announcing until he saw me cuffing the fat man.

“What the fuck was going on?” Tang Yue tilted his head as he registered the scene. There was a fat man, laughing his ass off while calling out ‘marvellous!’ and ‘great game!’ while someone handcuffs him, with his pants sagging from a huge bag of gold ingots.

“Ahh!” There was a scream as me, Tang Yue, Tong Xun, and the fat man stared at each other awkwardly. Turning around, we saw Luo Qingshan staring at the mutilated bodies of the soldiers.

“What is this?” Tang Yue questioned.

“They are probably the people who came to close down this gambling den. This must be why the points given for this mission is so high, despite not being too difficult.” I replied, pulling the fat man up, and failing, “Fuck, Tong Xun, come help carry this bastard to the manor.”

“Wait, then how did you manage to catch him?” Luo Qingshan questioned suspiciously. No doubt she was suspecting that there was something else in play.

“I just won him in a mahjong game. With my experience, there’s no way that I would’ve lost.” I bragged, “I won every single round, until all three of the others lost 2000 gold.”

“Bullshit, you won 20 out of 43 rounds!” The fat man shouted, apparently pissed.

“And you lost all of you money.” I retorted, ignoring the disgusted looks thrown at me. What? It’s not like I’m shameless or something, I was just expressing my ability to brag.

The other three shook their head as they asked, “What do we do with these fifty?”

They were obviously disgusted and disturbed by the way that these comrades were subjected to torture, and probably furious as well. I replied curtly, “Put them out of their misery. Use your internal Qi to disable their hearts.”

“What?!” Tong Xun shouted, “That’s so heartless! We should try and heal them at—”

“You can’t. Their arms have already been severed, so there is no way to re-attach it, and they are useless to us anyways. Just put them out of their misery.”

“How are you so calm?” Asked a shocked Tang Yue. He himself looked shaken up, like someone had dumped his head in a bucket of iced water.

“Why wouldn’t I be? This is the torture method of the Ancient Cang dynasty in the West. Look at their arms and legs, there are horse bite marks. Horses’ teeth are not sharp, so they gnaw on the flesh and bone of the victims. They could feel every sensation as the horse chewed on the flesh and crushed their bone.

“To stop them from calling for help, they cut off their tongues with a red-hot knife to cauterise the would immediately. Then, they used a sharp blade of some kind to mutilate the torso. The tortured is kept conscious this whole time, so they probably want to be put out of their misery.” I explained the entire process from a book that I had found in my shifu’s office.

The other three were shocked, as was the fat man. “You know about the Cang Dynasty?” The fat man questioned, suspicious.

“Not that much. I just know the torture methods of different countries. In empire to the west, they covered the peoples’ faces with cloth, and then poured water in through a funnel to give them the impression that they were drowning.

“In the island to the east, they would tie some prisoners over some sharpened bamboo shoots, and let them grow into the skin, impaling them—”

“Stop, stop! I don’t want to hear this.” Luo Qingshan shouted, covering her ears. I realised that I had gone on a monologue, and stopped myself.

“Anyways, let’s end their suffering before going back.” I said, gesturing for Tang Yue and Tong Xun to kill them. With a reluctant expression, the two did as I told them to, making sure to ensure that they are dead before moving on.

Luo Qingshan still stood there, shocked as the other two killed them one by one. “W-what’s going on? I-I thought……”

“Don’t think. This is how life is. You’ve disappointed me again, even when I didn’t expect much.” I replied, sighing. Luo Qingshan wasn’t suitable for such an occupation. She put on a strong front, but she was just a naïve and innocent girl that had delusions about how the world works. To put it simply, she was a greenhouse flower.

Dragging the fat man out of the room, I asked Luo Qingshan, “If you can’t put the prisoners out of their misery, then could you close down the gambling den?”

Luo Qingshan nodded, and called for all of the gamblers to leave immediately. I wanted to cough up blood for how stupid this scene was.

“I meant arrest them all, not chase them away.” I shook my head as I escorted the man back to the manor.

. . .

“Hmm? Is the boss of the Black Table Association getting arrested?” Someone asked in the noisy market.

“Maybe that new Unit Leader has a gay fetish for fat men.” Someone replied, making my raise my eyebrow.

“Fucking hell, who said that? I’m not gay!” I realised my mistake, and corrected myself, “And I don’t have a fetish for fat people!”

But the damage was already done. “He didn’t deny liking fat people!”

“He might’ve said it after, but still, he had to correct himself. So he probably likes fat people.”

“I guess that he’s gay. Maybe I still have a chance, even if I’m not fat?”

Ignore, ignore, ignore…… Luckily, I still had my disguise on, or I wouldn’t be able to go to brothels in the future. After painstakingly ignoring the crowd, the two of us finally reached the manor. After throwing the fat man into a cell, I gave a report to Captain Su.

[1] 1 li—500 metres

[2] From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

[3] Cup of tea’s time—around 3 to 5 minutes. Not to be confused with ‘the time it takes to brew a cup of tea’—30 seconds to 2 minutes.

[4] Fen—about 15 seconds.

[5] About 2:30 p.m.

[6] These are all mahjong hands.