After arriving at the Lishui Sub-Department, Chen Cheng had always followed the rules and been exceedingly humble. Today, however, he was acting completely out of character, becoming so forceful.

Ji Jingbei felt his authority had been challenged and flew into a rage. His thick brows furrowed fiercely, making him look like an enraged tiger. He glared at Chen Cheng and roared:

"Chief Chen, is this how you speak to a superior?"

Chen Cheng remained composed, calmly asking, "Chief Constable, I fail to see what was improper about my words." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

By addressing him so formally as Chief Constable, Chen Cheng made his stance clear. Ji Jingbei wanted to put him in his place, to crush him under the weight of his authority, but it wasn’t going to happen.

"Good! Good! Good!" Ji Jingbei was fuming. He said the word three times, his voice turning bone-chillingly cold. "Chief Chen, do you really think you can talk back to your superior just because you have Steward Shen backing you?

If that’s what you truly believe, you are sorely mistaken. Here in the Lishui Sub-Department, we do everything by the City Guard Department’s rules.

The annual assessment is just around the corner. You’d best watch yourself!"

"If the Chief Constable has no further business, I’m busy with a case!" Chen Cheng said in a low voice, having no time to argue.

Ji Jingbei snorted and waved his hand. "Good that you understand, Chief Chen. You may go. You’d best catch the culprit. Otherwise, I will handle the matter impartially and hold you accountable for dereliction of duty."

Chen Cheng gave him a long, hard look before striding away.

Long after Chen Cheng had left, Ji Jingbei was still seething. He plopped down into the main seat of the Government Office Hall and drained his teacup in one gulp.

’So that’s the real Chen Cheng. All this time, I saw his impressive Martial Arts Power at such a young age and couldn’t help but hold him in high regard.

But I never thought he’d be so ungrateful. How despicable!

Hmph! Does he really think he can be so arrogant just because he has the backing of the Shen Family? What a joke! This is Linji City. So what if they’re the Inner City Shen Family? Are they more powerful than the Jiang Family, who control the City Lord’s Mansion?’

Not long after Chen Cheng left, Yang Xingyao arrived at Ji Jingbei’s Government Office Hall. He carefully closed the door behind him and said with a smug look, "Uncle, I just saw Chen Cheng storm out with his men.

With three cases popping up at Qingshui Pier all at once, that Iron Hand Chief Constable is going to have his hands full."

Ji Jingbei, still fuming, shot up from his chair. He glared at Yang Xingyao and snapped, "Who told you three cases? There’s only one, and it’s a family extermination!"

Yang Xingyao seemed surprised, a look of confusion on his face. "Only one case? A family extermination? Li Hu clearly said he would arrange for three burglaries to happen at once. How did it turn into a family extermination?"

"Hmph! The City Guard Department only received one report: the case of Gentry Zhang’s entire family being massacred."

Ji Jingbei snorted and then chided, "Didn’t I tell you to handle it more carefully? To avoid any deaths if possible?

And what do you do? You cause this huge scene right from the start! Lishui District is my territory, after all. With a family extermination on our hands, if the South City District City Guard Headquarters holds me accountable, what’s going to happen to me as Chief Constable?"

Yang Xingyao thought for a moment and said with an appeasing smile, "Since the Tiger and Leopard Gang said they’d make a move, they must have committed three acts.

Perhaps the other two were just simple burglaries, and the victims didn’t report them.

In any case, one family extermination is enough to give Chen Cheng a major headache.

As for the Tiger and Leopard Gang, I followed your instructions and was careful not to be too obvious with my hints. That way, we won’t leave behind any leverage that could be used against us later.

The fact that their men committed a family extermination this time must mean they were discovered during the burglary and had no choice but to silence the witnesses.

And you don’t need to worry about the South City District City Guard Headquarters. It’s just one family extermination. Worst case, we find a scapegoat to take the fall later. There are plenty of other Thief Gangs around Qingshui Pier. Once we’ve pushed Chen Cheng out, I’ll personally lead the arrests."

Ji Jingbei fell silent, pondering. The image of Chen Cheng’s calm and composed demeanor flashed in his mind. "You can think of finding a scapegoat," he said suddenly, "but don’t you think Chen Cheng can, too?"

"Well..." Yang Xingyao was at a loss for words, but then an idea seemed to strike him. He adopted a confident posture and said, "I demanded that the Tiger and Leopard Gang reduce their example money by twenty percent this time, which means a significant loss of income for them.

Knowing them, they’ll likely commit a string of burglaries to make up for the loss in example money. Otherwise, they’ll have no way to answer to the power backing them."

Ji Jingbei nodded slightly, clearly pleased with his nephew’s cunning. "The fact that you thought of that proves my efforts in grooming you haven’t been in vain.

However, we can’t be too ruthless. No matter what, we must maintain control of the situation.

Otherwise, a few more family exterminations, and I’m afraid my career as the Chief Constable of Lishui District will be finished."

"Yes," Yang Xingyao nodded and replied. "I’ll arrange for someone to keep passing messages to the Tiger and Leopard Gang, telling them to tone it down. Rest assured, the channel is very discreet and won’t leave any clues. Even if the Tiger and Leopard Gang guesses the message came from me, they won’t find any proof."

"Good. That’s for the best." Ji Jingbei nodded slightly. Seeing Yang Xingyao hesitate, he asked, "If you have something to say, say it. Don’t hide anything from me."

Yang Xingyao said cautiously, "Uncle, I had someone investigate... The power behind the Tiger and Leopard Gang appears to be the Zhou Family.

I heard that back when Chen Cheng was at the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, he used the assessment as an opportunity to personally kill a talented disciple groomed by the Zhou Family. Official Zhou Xu from the South City District City Guard Headquarters was there at the time.

Now that the Tiger and Leopard Gang knows we’re targeting Chen Cheng, I’m afraid they’ll report it to the Zhou Family. The Zhou Family will very likely seize this chance to make a move against him."