Chapter 87 - 83: Temple Fair (2)

The earth yields the five grains, which in turn nourish the people. It is for this reason that people worship the God of the Land.

The God of the Land’s divine rank isn’t high, and his temples are often crudely built—even shabby—but they are extremely popular, with a constant stream of worshipers coming to offer incense.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song stepped through the temple gate. Before them, enshrined in the main hall, were two endearingly simple clay statues: the God of the Land and his wife, the Goddess of the Land. They looked just like any ordinary elderly couple from the countryside.

A couplet flanked the divine niche. The first line read, "The Old Man is exceedingly fair," and the second, "The Old Woman has a boundless heart."

The horizontal banner above read: Protected by Earth, Blessed by Heaven.

Statues of the Buddha and Daoist patriarchs also stood on either side of the great hall, where a few monks and Daoist priests were busy soliciting donations for incense.

Zhao Lin wasn’t surprised. This world also had Buddhism and Daoism, but their influence was far weaker than in his past life. The common people mostly treated them as a source of spiritual solace or psychological comfort.

Interestingly, both religions claimed that their power was manifest only to believers.

But the common folk had the opposite mindset: if it works, they’ll believe; if it doesn’t, they won’t. Or, to put it another way, ’Don’t ask me if I believe; ask yourself if you’re actually effective.’

Zhao Lin observed the monks and Daoist priests. They were completely unremarkable, no different from ordinary people. ’In the end, this is a world of martial arts,’ he thought, ’not a place for immortal cultivation.’

When the two of them came out of the temple, they were met with a sea of people. The scene was bustling with excitement.

There were opera singers, performers with vibrantly painted faces, stilt-walkers, martial artists demonstrating their forms, fortune-tellers, candy sculptors, paper cutters, batik dyers, and engravers... It was a dizzying array of sights.

The two of them wandered and watched, arriving near a tea stall as noon approached.

In front of the stall was a square table where a man who looked like a storyteller, folding fan in hand, was speaking with great flair:

"The clear blue sky cannot be deceived! Heroes are born with bold spirits! It may not be a profitable trade, but there’s certainly no shortage of people here today."

With that, he smacked his gavel on the table with a loud CRACK.

"Everyone, listen closely! Next up is the tale of the Qinghe County serial rape and murder case: Constable Zhao’s battle of wits against the villainous Wen Gensheng..."

Liang Song looked over with a grin. "Brother Zhao, he’s talking about you."

Zhao Lin couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t expected to become a celebrity.

The two of them stopped to listen for a while, but their expressions gradually grew strange.

They had no idea where the storyteller got his material, but he’d turned an already convoluted case into a wild, sensational tale, adding plenty of his own wild embellishments.

In the storyteller’s version, Zhao Lin was a demigod descended to the mortal realm, while Wen Gensheng was a demon lord sent from the heavens.

Zhao Lin’s life hung by a thread several times, yet he always managed a daring escape. In the end, he summoned his divine might and used his ultimate secret Magic to capture Wen Gensheng.

The story was absurd, but the crowd was eating it up. Applause and cheers rose one after another.

"Constable Zhao is really incredible! If not for him, who knows how many more innocent women would have met a terrible end."

"That’s right. I heard his family is from Baitou Mountain, which makes him practically one of us."

"You guys don’t even know the half of it! Constable Zhao is from my village. I used to hold him so he could pee when he was just a little tyke..."

Zhao Lin froze and glanced at the speaker—a coarse-looking man with a red kerchief tied around his head. He didn’t recognize him at all.

He shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly caught a hushed whisper.

"Chief Shi, I hear this Constable Zhao has parents and older brothers. Do you know where his family lives?"

The voice was quiet and distant, but Zhao Lin had developed a habit of scanning his surroundings with his enhanced hearing every few seconds. No sound within a nearly hundred-meter radius could escape him.

’Something is wrong with that question.’

’I’m famous now, so it’s normal for people to be curious about me. But why ask about my family?’

Zhao Lin followed the sound with his gaze. Below the stage stood a man in black, speaking with someone dressed as a bailiff.

He immediately moved to a less crowded spot. With a vibration in his throat, he sent a focused beam of ultrasound toward the two men.

He heard the bailiff say, "Long San, why are you asking about that?"

The man in black chuckled. "Chief Shi, you must know that our Tiger Head Gang is in the East District, which falls right under Constable Zhao’s jurisdiction."

"Our Gang Leader wants to get on Constable Zhao’s good side, so he sent me to make some inquiries."

The bailiff grunted, "Oh, is that it? To be honest, I don’t know where Constable Zhao lives. He sleeps at the yamen every night. I wouldn’t have even known he had a family if you hadn’t mentioned it."

"No matter, I was just asking."

The man in black said no more. He watched the performance for a little while longer before quietly slipping away.

Zhao Lin stared after the man’s retreating figure, his brow furrowed.

’The man’s story seemed plausible, but it didn’t hold up under scrutiny.’

’I patrol the East District all the time. If the Tiger Head Gang wanted to get on my good side, it wouldn’t be hard for them to simply invite me over.’

’But asking about my family—and knowing from the start that I have parents and older brothers—that’s definitely a problem!’

"What is it?"

Zhao Lin had suddenly fallen into a daze. Sensing something was wrong, Liang Song asked with concern.

"Wait here for me. I have to take care of something."

With that, Zhao Lin hurried after him.

The man in black acted nonchalantly, pausing to watch a performance here, grabbing a bite to eat there. At every stop, he would pause and scan his surroundings.

But thanks to his echolocation, Zhao Lin knew exactly where the man was without even needing to look, which made tailing him effortless.

After tailing him for two hours, Zhao Lin was certain that the man in black—or rather, the Tiger Head Gang—meant him harm.

During that time, the man in black had spoken with three other people: a merchant from the East District, a female broker from the East District, and one of Zhao Lin’s own constables.

And without exception, the topic of conversation was his family!

To claim there was nothing wrong with this would be utterly absurd.

’What is the Tiger Head Gang trying to do?’

Zhao Lin was now the Chief Constable of the East District. With nearly thirty constables under his command, he knew the inner workings of every gang in his jurisdiction like the back of his hand.

He’d long heard that the Tiger Head Gang’s leader had ties to the bandits outside the city. It was only a rumor, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

’The bandits again!’

’It seems the bandits can’t get to me directly, so now they’re resorting to dirty tricks.’

’My family’s location is a secret, but no secret can be kept forever. If someone digs hard enough, they’ll find anything.’

If his family fell into the bandits’ hands... Zhao Lin recalled what they had done to Chief Zhou Pao and Zhu Dachun. A chill ran down his spine.

’It never ends, does it?’

Zhao Lin gritted his teeth. He pushed his hearing to its absolute limit, moving through the crowd and fighting back the disorienting dizziness as he scanned every conversation around him.

And it didn’t take long for him to discover something. It wasn’t just the man in black asking about his family. Two other people were doing the exact same thing.

One was from the Tiger Head Gang, and the other was from the Water Dragon Gang.

’The Water Dragon Gang too?’

’The Water Dragon Gang isn’t in the East District; they’re in the North, and they’re even more powerful than the Tiger Head Gang.’

’With two gangs working together, finding out a piece of information wouldn’t be difficult at all.’

’Tiger Head Gang and Water Dragon Gang, is it?’

Zhao Lin thought grimly, ’Since you’re so willing to be the bandits’ lackeys, don’t blame me for what comes next!’

The temple fair was still lively, but he no longer had any heart to watch...