Chapter 187: Chapter 118: Beginning to Close the Net

"It’s alright. You were just trying to be kind and help someone," the old man said, rubbing his chin with a simple, honest smile.

"Thank you for your understanding, old sir," said the man with the black-spotted face. He suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah, I forgot to bring a cloth sack. I’ll go back and get it."

With that, he put on an anxious expression and turned to leave. But he had barely taken two steps before someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, lifting him up like a little chick.

"Who’s there?" the black-spotted man cried out in alarm. He flailed his arms and legs, trying desperately to break free, but it was no use.

The one who had acted was none other than Chen Cheng. Just moments ago, when the black-spotted man had helped the old man up, he had stealthily lifted the Money Bag from the old man’s robes.

The scoundrel’s movements were very subtle, but how could they possibly escape Chen Cheng’s discerning eyes?

"I’ve caught a thief!" Chen Cheng bellowed.

"That’s the Iron Hand Chief Constable!" someone in the crowd finally recognized Chen Cheng.

Everyone was stunned.

The thin old man looked surprised. "My Lord, this young man was so helpful. He doesn’t look like a bad person. How could he be a thief?"

Chen Cheng glanced at him. "Check your robes. Is your Money Bag still there?"

The old man quickly felt inside his robes. They were empty. Where was his Money Bag?

His expression changed drastically, and he cried out, "Where’s my Money Bag?"

With a powerful flick of his wrist, Chen Cheng slammed the black-spotted man face-first onto the ground. The man was knocked senseless and fainted on the spot.

To knock a man unconscious by slamming him down like a little chick... such Power Dao made everyone gasp in shock.

Chen Cheng gave a light tug, flipping the black-spotted man over. A quick pat-down of his robes produced three coarse cloth sacks.

"Take a close look. Is your Money Bag among these?"

The old man stepped forward to inspect them carefully. He pointed at one of the sacks and said, "My Lord, that one should be my Money Bag."

"Take it, then!" Chen Cheng shoved the bag into his hands.

After checking it, the old man let out a huge sigh of relief. "This really is my Money Bag! When I left home, I put in..."

Chen Cheng waved his hand, cutting him off. "Don’t flash your wealth. I believe this is your Money Bag."

"Yes, yes!" The old man nodded repeatedly. He looked at the black-spotted man on the ground and his anger flared. "That... that dog really did steal my Money Bag!"

Realizing that if this Lord Chief Constable hadn’t intervened, he would likely have gone hungry, the old man hastily kowtowed to Chen Cheng again and again.

"Thank you, My Lord! Thank you, My Lord!"

"All of you, just be more careful in the future," Chen Cheng said calmly. He picked up the unconscious man and strode away.

「 」

Inside the main hall of the Lishui Sub-Department’s Government Office Hall, a large crowd of commoners had gathered. They were agitated and complaining to the Chief Constable, Ji Jingbei.

"Lord Ji, my family scraped together some silver for the winter, and it was stolen the moment I stepped out the door! How are we supposed to live?"

"The streets are crawling with thieves now! I just made one trip to the market, and my Money Bag vanished for no reason. Is there no law and order left?"

"My Lord, you must seek justice for us!"

"Can you send more Lord Officers to patrol the streets and deter these criminals?"

"Sigh, these are chaotic times. We common folk really can’t go on like this!"

「 」

Ji Jingbei sat on the high dais, his expression stern.

At his side, Yang Xingyao raised a hand to quiet the crowd. "Everyone, rest assured," he announced loudly. "The Chief Constable is aware of the situation and will certainly uphold justice for you all."

After his leave of absence ended, Yang Xingyao had also chosen to leave Chen Cheng’s squad. However, instead of joining another Chief Constable’s unit, he now served directly under the Chief Constable, Ji Jingbei.

Regarding matters at Qingshui Pier, although Chen Cheng had gotten the night shift under control, he was neglecting the day shift. It had descended into utter chaos, and public resentment was beginning to boil over.

From Ji Jingbei and Yang Xingyao’s perspective, this was proceeding even more smoothly than they had anticipated.

Some of these citizens had come of their own accord, but the majority had been secretly incited by men sent by Yang Xingyao. It didn’t matter, though. After all, without exception, they were all legitimate victims of theft.

When the time came, not even Shen Qingshuang, the Chief of the South City Guard, would be able to protect Chen Cheng.

With so many people from his jurisdiction causing a commotion at the City Guard Department, even if Chen Cheng managed to keep his position as Chief Constable, he could forget about remaining at the Lishui Sub-Department.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Ji Jingbei slowly began to speak. "Please, everyone, calm down. I have already sent someone to summon Chief Constable Chen. He will certainly provide an explanation.

"If Chief Constable Chen has truly been derelict in his duties, I will report it to my superiors and have another Chief Constable assigned to oversee the Qingshui Pier area, restoring peace for you all."

Hearing this, the citizens broke into another round of discussion.

"My Lord, Constable Yang was very good before!" someone called out.

Someone immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes! When Constable Yang was on duty at Qingshui Pier, he caught many thieves. It was so peaceful back then."

"Constable Yang also got the Tiger and Leopard Gang and the Celestial Dog Gang to reduce the example money! He’s a good man who works for the people’s benefit!"

「 」

Just then, Li Sheng hurried over and reported to Ji Jingbei in a low voice, relaying the exact words Chen Cheng had instructed him to say. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

After listening, Ji Jingbei’s face fell. He said angrily, "Hmph! Is Chief Constable Chen planning to defy his superior?

"Send a few more men. Tell Chen Cheng to return to the City Guard Department at once, or I will charge him with the crime of defying a superior!"

"Yes, I will arrange for men to find Chief Constable Chen right away," Yang Xingyao replied. He immediately called over five constables and sent them to find Chen Cheng.

Li Sheng, secretly anxious, went along with them.

Ji Jingbei thought for a moment, then added, "Go and summon all the Chief Constables. Let everyone see how I deal with Chen Cheng for disobeying a superior’s orders!"

"Yes!" Yang Xingyao responded and hurried off to find the constables from each squad, telling them to summon all the Chief Constables of the Lishui Sub-Department.

Before long, all eleven Chief Constables had arrived. Seeing the grand scene Ji Jingbei had arranged, they all understood perfectly that he was about to make an example of Chen Cheng.

The group of Chief Constables stood before Ji Jingbei, all with relaxed expressions, clearly waiting for the show to begin.

Recently, Chen Cheng had been running drills and giving his constables pay raises, which had unsettled the men in the other squads. This made things difficult for these other Chief Constables. They couldn’t be expected to follow Chen Cheng’s example, could they?

After waiting for nearly a full hour, the constables sent to find Chen Cheng still hadn’t returned. Ji Jingbei’s expression grew uglier by the minute.

He suddenly shot to his feet and roared, "What a fine Chen Cheng you are! I send for you, and an hour isn’t enough time for you to show up?

"Very well, I’ll come find you myself!"

With that, he strode from his seat, preparing to personally lead a group to find Chen Cheng.

Just then, someone shouted, "Mr. Chen is back!"

"Hmph! Too late!" Ji Jingbei snorted. He took the lead, heading for the inner hall’s entrance, ready to give Chen Cheng a thorough scolding in the Government Office Hall.

The other Chief Constables hurried to follow him.

As they exited the inner hall and entered the main hall, everyone was suddenly stunned, their eyes widening in disbelief.

Chen Cheng could be seen leading a group of constables, leisurely walking through the main gate of the City Guard Department.

In his hand, Chen Cheng held a thick hemp rope. Tied to the rope were a dozen or so people in various attire. All of them were unconscious, and some were bruised and swollen, clearly having suffered serious injuries.

Just like that, Chen Cheng dragged them all through the main gate of the City Guard Department.

And his constables, walking alongside him, watched Chen Cheng with faces full of awe.

Behind the constables followed a massive crowd of people, several hundred strong, packing the entrance of the Lishui Sub-Department so tightly that no one could get through.

"Chief Constable Chen, what is the meaning of this?"

Ji Jingbei strode forward and bellowed angrily.

Chen Cheng glanced at him and said leisurely, "Lord Ji ordered this subordinate to catch thieves, so naturally, this subordinate went to catch thieves.

"There are twelve thieves here in total. All of them were caught red-handed by this subordinate while in the act of stealing, with many citizens as witnesses."

Ji Jingbei was suddenly speechless, his face alternating between pale and livid. Forcing down his anger, he demanded, "You were arresting thieves, so why did you string them all together and drag them back? This is completely improper!"