[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful":3,"chapter-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-109":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Even a Gentleman Must Be Careful",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2268729,4429,"Chapter 109: One Hundred Sixteen: Give the County Magistrate a Little Li Family Shock","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-109",109,"\u003Cp>One Hundred Sixteen: Give the County Magistrate a Little Li Family Shock\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m a failure; I barely notice whether the sunlight is brilliant or not, because I have no time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My parents couldn’t support me, my education was low, and I was alone in the city searching for a future.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I applied for many jobs but was never hired—perhaps no one liked someone who wasn’t good at speaking, avoided communication, and showed no sufficient ability.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To read the latest chapter, download the app for ad-free, free access to the newest content. The website no longer updates new chapters; the latest content has already been updated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I went three full days eating only two loaves of bread; hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I’d paid a month’s rent in advance, so I could still stay in that dark basement, avoiding the bitterly cold winter winds outside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Finally, I got a job: night watch at the hospital, guarding the morgue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The hospital nights were colder than I imagined; the corridor wall lamps weren’t lit, everything was dim, and I could only see my feet by the faint light leaking from the rooms.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The smell there was foul; corpses in body bags were occasionally brought in, and we helped carry them into the morgue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t a good job, but at least it let me buy bread, and my free nights could be used for studying—after all, few wanted to come to the morgue unless a corpse needed to be delivered or taken away for cremation. Still, I couldn’t afford books, and I saw no hope of saving money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I owe thanks to my predecessor—if he hadn’t quit suddenly, I might never have gotten even this job.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I dreamed of switching to day shifts; now I sleep when the sun rises and wake when night falls, leaving my body weak and my head occasionally throbbing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One day, a laborer brought in a new corpse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Others said it was my former colleague who had quit suddenly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was curious about him. After everyone left, I pulled out the drawer and quietly opened the body bag.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was an old man, his face bluish-white and covered in wrinkles, terrifying under the dim light.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He had little hair, most of it white; all his clothes had been removed, not even a scrap of fabric left on him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The website updates slowly; please download to read the latest chapters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw a strange mark on his chest—bluish-black, its exact shape I couldn’t describe, the light was just too dim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I reached out and touched the mark—it felt nothing special.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looking at my former colleague, I wondered: if I keep going like this, when I grow old, will I end up like him…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I told him: tomorrow I’ll accompany you to the crematorium and personally take your ashes to the nearest free cemetery, so those responsible won’t get lazy and dump you by some river or wasteland.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’ll cost me one morning’s sleep, but it’s fine—Sunday’s coming, I can make up for it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After saying that, I sealed the body bag and shoved it back into the drawer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The room’s light seemed even darker…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since that day, every time I sleep, I dream of thick fog.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I sense something’s about to happen—I sense something, whether human or not, will come for me soon. But no one believes me; they think the environment and job have made me mentally unstable, that I need to see a doctor…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A male customer sitting at the bar looked at the storyteller who had suddenly stopped:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed coat and light-yellow trousers, his hair flattened, a simple dark round hat beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked ordinary, like most in the tavern—black hair, pale blue eyes, neither ugly nor handsome, lacking any striking features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his eyes, the storyteller was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, tall and slender-limbed, with short black hair and pale blue eyes, his features sharp enough to catch the eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man stared at his empty glass and sighed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Download to read the latest chapters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I quit and returned to the countryside, to come here and brag to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, a mischievous smile spread across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male customer blinked in surprise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were just making all that up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laughter erupted around the bar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the laughter subsided, a thin middle-aged man looked at the embarrassed guest and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stranger, you actually believed Lumian’s story? He tells a different one every day—yesterday he was a poor fool whose fiancée broke off their engagement; today he’s a corpse watcher!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, he claims he spent thirty years east of the Sailunzuohe, thirty years west of it—only speaks nonsense!” added another regular.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were all farmers from the large village of Kerdou, wearing short jackets in black, gray, or brown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired young man called Lumian pushed himself up from the bar with both hands, smiling:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know, these aren’t my stories—they’re written by my sister. She loves writing, and she’s even a columnist for the ‘Novel Weekly.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the foreign guest, spread his hands, and grinned brightly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like she writes well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry for misleading you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man in the brown tweed coat, ordinary-looking, didn’t get angry—he stood up and smiled back:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An interesting story.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t it common sense to introduce yourself before asking someone else’s?” Lumian laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The foreign guest nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Ryan Cos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These two are my companions, Valente and Liya.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He meant the man and woman sitting beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his yellow hair dusted with powder, his eyes a shade darker than lake-blue, dressed in a white vest, blue fine wool coat, and black trousers—clearly dressed with care for the outing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked cold, barely glancing at the farmers and herders around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman appeared younger than the two men, her pale gray hair tied into a complex bun, covered by a white veil as a hat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes matched her hair, fixed on Lumian with unhidden amusement, treating the earlier incident as merely entertaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the tavern’s gas wall lamps, the woman named Liya revealed a pert nose and beautifully curved lips—undoubtedly a beauty in the countryside of Kerdou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wore a white, pleatless cashmere dress, a cream-colored small coat, and Ma Xier boots; silver bells were tied to both the veil and the boots, jingling as she entered the tavern, drawing stares from many men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their eyes, this was fashion only seen in big cities like Bigor or the capital, Teriel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lumian nodded to the three outsiders:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Lumian Li. You can just call me Lumian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li?” Liya blurted out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong with my surname?” Lumian asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan Cos explained for her:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That surname frightens me—I almost lost control of my voice just now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the farmers and herders confused, he added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyone who’s dealt with sailors or merchants knows this saying across the Five Seas:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Better to face pirate generals or kings than to meet a man named Frank Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His surname is also Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is he that terrifying?” Lumian asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know, but if such a legend exists, he must be formidable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dropped the subject and said to Lumian:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for the story—it deserves a drink. What would you like?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A ‘Green Fairy,’” Lumian said without hesitation, sitting back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan frowned slightly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Green Fairy’… absinthe?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I should warn you—absinthe is harmful to the body; it can cause madness and hallucinations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t realize Teriel’s trends had reached here,” Liya added with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lumian said “Oh”:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Teriel people like ‘Green Fairy’ too…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For us, life is hard enough—we don’t need to care about a little extra harm. This drink helps us relax mentally.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Ryan sat back, signaling the bartender. “One ‘Green Fairy,’ and one ‘Spicy Heart’ for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spicy Heart” was a famous fruit brandy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not give me a ‘Green Fairy’ too? I was the one who told you the truth—I can tell you everything about this kid!” the thin middle-aged man who first exposed Lumian’s daily lies shouted, “Stranger, I can tell you still doubt whether the story’s real!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pierre, you’d do anything just to get a free drink!” Lumian called back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Ryan could respond, Lumian added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why can’t I tell it myself? Then I could get another ‘Green Fairy.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because they don’t know whether to believe you,” Pierre grinned smugly. “Your sister’s favorite story for kids is ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’—a liar loses all credibility.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Lumian shrugged, watching the bartender slide a pale green drink before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan looked at him, asking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sure, as long as your wallet can cover the drinks,” Lumian said carelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then another ‘Green Fairy,’” Ryan nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pierre’s face lit up with a grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Generous outsider, this boy is the village's most mischievous troublemaker—you must keep your distance from him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Five years ago, his sister Auror brought him back to the village, and he hasn't left since. Think about it—he was only thirteen before that. How could he have worked as a corpse watcher in a hospital? The nearest hospital to us is Daliéri at the foot of the mountain; it takes a full afternoon to walk there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brought back to the village?\" Lyamin asked sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tilted her head slightly, producing a jingling sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pierre nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To read the latest chapter, please download—the app offers free, ad-free access to the newest content. The website no longer updates with new chapters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then he took his sister's surname 'Li,' and even his name 'Lumian' was given by Auror.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've forgotten what he was called before,\" Lumian said with a grin, sipping absinthe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He showed no shame or embarrassment at having his past so openly revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>",1644,"2026-06-19T21:28:25.445Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","11f80734ebac44294801428fc23382ae3111a2705017da0cfd2b3db07d734e26","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-110","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-108",864,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Feven-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-cover.jpg"]