Chapter Forty-Eight: Upholding Duty and Law

Gui A County.

Shitou’s new home.

At that moment, Shitou was circling around Lu Kun, sizing him up from head to toe, clicking his tongue every so often.

Lu Kun: ???

What’s this about?

Are you spinning around in the magic of love?

Lu Kun pushed the eccentric fellow aside.

“What are you doing?” Shitou’s expression was genuine, a bit bewildered.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it. If not, get lost,” Lu Kun said impatiently.

“Hey, this is my house, pal!” Shitou retorted, lighting a cigarette.

Lu Kun thought for a moment and conceded, “Fair enough, then I’ll leave.”

Shitou: “......”

......

“I just wanted to see if you’re still the Kun I used to know. I never saw you as particularly capable before, and now, in such a short time, you’re buying property worth hundreds of thousands without batting an eye?”

Shitou felt a strange unfamiliarity toward Lu Kun, especially when he watched him negotiate—there was a certain aura that left him astonished.

“Hey, who do you think I am? Once in five hundred years you get a Marx, but only once in a thousand years do you get a Lu Kun. How could someone like you, with ordinary eyes, ever see through me!” Lu Kun blustered, trying to brush the topic aside.

“Pfft!” Shitou burst into laughter before Lu Kun finished.

“Cut the nonsense! I know every inch of you, down to the last detail—there’s nothing about you I haven’t seen through!”

“Damn!” Lu Kun kicked him squarely on the backside.

......

“Hey, tell me, what are you planning to do with your boys?” Lu Kun pondered a moment, hesitating before he spoke.

Truth be told, Lu Kun preferred not to meddle too much in Shitou’s affairs.

He had a firm line in his heart; while sometimes he envied the power Shitou wielded, he always suppressed any desire for it.

Normally, Lu Kun avoided private contact with the guys under Shitou’s command.

“Haven’t made up my mind yet,” Shitou exhaled a smoke ring and turned his head. “Got any suggestions?”

The cigarette case and lighter landed together as Shitou spoke, tossed toward Lu Kun.

Lu Kun caught them, took a cigarette from the case, stuck it between his lips, and lit up.

“Phew…” As a veteran smoker, Lu Kun blew a perfect Olympic five-ring smoke circle with practiced ease.

Through the haze, Lu Kun lifted his eyelids, paused a while, and said, “No real advice, but you need to keep your crew in line.”

He kept it brief, not wanting to ruin Shitou’s mood.

Shitou was getting a little carried away lately.

Lu Kun had heard the news: Shitou’s uncle had been promoted, straight to Deputy Chief of Gui A County’s Public Security Bureau.

Now, whenever Shitou walked around Gui A County, people were eager to show him kindness.

To sum up Shitou’s current state of mind: “So high! Feels like life has reached its peak, feels like I’ve hit the summit.”

Shitou, originally sitting on the floor, scooted closer to Lu Kun and asked, “What do you mean?”

As he spoke, he tried to drape an arm across Lu Kun’s other shoulder.

Lu Kun: ...Damn!

Does your uncle know how inflated you are right now?!

How is it that, out of nowhere, I’ve become your sidekick? I’m a millionaire now, for goodness’ sake!

Without hesitation, Lu Kun slapped Shitou’s hand away.

It was clear Shitou had the persistence of a mangy dog.

His cigarette, half-smoked, inexplicably went out, so he leaned right up to Lu Kun, lighting it from Lu Kun’s own.

“I’m telling you…” Lu Kun summoned his courage, hoping to persuade Shitou to keep his crew in check and not give anyone leverage that could make things difficult for his uncle, but was cut off.

“Hold on, finish later,” Shitou got up, muttering, “I need to pee.”

Lu Kun: “......”

......

Shitou had no habit of closing the door when using the bathroom; he stood at the threshold, casually unbuttoning and relieving himself.

Cigarette in one hand, holding himself with the other—his posture was utterly uninhibited...

The sound of urine echoed incessantly.

“All right, go on,” Shitou returned, plopping down beside Lu Kun.

Lu Kun: “......”

Lu Kun: “Where were we?”

“Start from the beginning,” Shitou flicked his ash, calm as ever.

Lu Kun: “......”

You blockhead!

If he weren’t sure he couldn’t take Shitou in a fight, he’d have smashed him with a chair ages ago.

So swollen with pride, there’s no end to it!

......

“Hey, I heard your uncle was promoted recently?” Lu Kun asked, playing dumb.

“Of course, straight to Deputy Chief,” Shitou crowed, his eyebrows dancing, legs crossed in delight.

“Heh…” Lu Kun smiled awkwardly.

Shitou, not catching the irony, patted Lu Kun’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll look out for you from now on!”

Lu Kun: “Heh!!”

You’ll look out for me? Really?

Besides, in your previous life, your uncle only lasted two years as Deputy Chief before being taken down. With you dragging him back this time, it’s anybody’s guess if he’ll even make it that long.

Lu Kun couldn’t fathom what Shitou was thinking now.

Still, the six ‘King Kongs’ under Shitou may have been oddballs, but they weren’t fools. The real worry was the gang of younger guys—two shots of liquor and their blood runs hot, ready to start fights or break the law.

Shitou was a good guy in many ways, but sometimes too righteous for his own good. He tended to blur the lines, sticking his neck out to protect those troublemakers.

“Looks like I’ll need to find a chance to pay Shitou’s uncle a visit,” Lu Kun thought as Shitou boasted in his ear about how amazing his uncle was. He weighed the situation carefully.

For Shitou’s uncle to rise from rural patrolman to Deputy Chief of the Public Security Bureau, he had to be no fool. The crisis hadn’t hit him yet; chances are, the sudden promotion had dazzled him.

Lu Kun patted Shitou’s shoulder three times, speaking gravely, “Shitou, we can’t live as we used to. We need proper jobs, live as law-abiding citizens—that’s the only way to go far. Nobody can rely on others for a lifetime.”

Leaving the house, Lu Kun felt a heaviness in his heart. He truly cared about Shitou; though they were not blood brothers, their bond was as close as kin. Watching him slip into decline, Lu Kun knew he had to lend a hand.

Inside, Shitou was left speechless, lost in thought.