Chapter 38: Commendation

Late at night.

Xiaoshan District People's Hospital.

When Lin Qing reached the door of the ward where Teng Feiyu was, he found Director Kou, who was slightly overweight, standing at the door, talking to a middle-aged man with a square face and thick eyebrows.

"Lin Qing?" Kou Guoyong looked at Lin Qing, sized him up, and said, "I heard you encountered an assassin from the Dark Star Society. Are you okay?"

Lin Qing shook his head and asked, "How is Teng Feiyu?"

"Mainly excessive blood loss. He just finished a blood transfusion and is much better now."

After Kou Guoyong finished speaking, he immediately introduced the square-faced middle-aged man, saying, "Director Chu, this is Lin Qing, the leader of Group Seven of our branch bureau."

He then said to Lin Qing, "This is Teng Feiyu's father, Director Chu of our Lin'an City Gongan Bureau."

Lin Qing had seen photos of Director Chu of the Municipal Gongan Bureau, so he naturally recognized him immediately.

"Group Leader Lin."

Director Chu looked at Lin Qing and said softly, "I know everything about the matter. Thank you for saving Feiyu. Just now, he told me that if it hadn't been for you, he would have certainly died at that time."

Speaking of this, he took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "Great kindness needs no thanks. If you need my help in the future, just speak up."

"He is my team member; saving him is what I should do."

Lin Qing did not decline, but said, "However, I do have something I would like to discuss with Director Chu."

"Add me as a contact." Director Chu took out his phone. "Say whatever you need for any matter."

After adding the contact, Lin Qing pointed at the ward and asked, "May I go in and talk to Teng Feiyu alone?"

Director Chu nodded. "Good. He has regained quite a bit of consciousness."

Lin Qing immediately walked into the ward.

Inside the ward, Teng Feiyu was sitting silently on the hospital bed, his face pale, with thick bandages wrapped around his shoulder, while an IV drip was attached to his other hand.

"Group Leader..."

Teng Feiyu looked at Lin Qing and instinctively tried to sit up, but this triggered the wound on his shoulder, causing him to frown involuntarily.

"Just lie there properly."

Lin Qing walked over and sat beside the hospital bed, asking, "How does it feel to be alive?"

Teng Feiyu fell silent for a moment, then said sincerely, "Thank you."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly and said, "Perhaps some things are indeed more important than life, but a person's life is, after all, only one, so you should cherish it properly."

Teng Feiyu fell silent again for a while before saying in a low voice, "I'm sorry... I know I caused trouble for you, Group Leader, and the others."

"It seems you are indeed conscious now."

Lin Qing nodded and added, "It's nothing. In terms of the result, you survived a great disaster, Zhao Jiayi is fine, and I gained quite a few benefits; I should be the one thanking you."

"But..."

Teng Feiyu lowered his head slightly. "If I hadn't acted out of so-called sense of justice, I wouldn't have led you into such a dangerous situation..."

"You were wrong." Lin Qing shook his head. "But having a sense of justice is not wrong; what was wrong was your method."

Teng Feiyu was slightly stunned.

"Acting rashly is not advisable." Lin Qing said, "Only by living do you have the chance to realize your ambitions; isn't that the simplest truth?"

"... I understand." Teng Feiyu took a deep breath.

"Good that you understand. Consider this time a lesson learned."

Lin Qing glanced toward the door and asked, "Has your father asked you why the assassin targeted you?"

"No."

Teng Feiyu shook his head. "But he knows now that I was investigating the underground boxing ring of the Wuying Society, so he must have guessed."

"During your investigation of the Wuying Society these past few days, did you reveal to anyone that you are the Director's son?" Lin Qing asked.

"No, how could I say that?" Teng Feiyu hesitated for a moment, then said, "However, it is not impossible that someone guessed after making inquiries."

Lin Qing hummed in acknowledgment.

After all, coming from a Gongan family, it was impossible not to have this kind of awareness.

"However, Group Leader..."

Teng Feiyu couldn't help but say in a low voice, "Don't you think it's too coincidental? I only took the investigation results to Captain Xiao to apply for a search today, and tonight assassins came to silence me. This..."

Lin Qing smiled.

"Didn't you say that Captain Xiao was just transferred from another district, is young and promising, and is not worth doing such dirty work, so there was no need to suspect him?"

Teng Feiyu fell silent.

Clearly, he could no longer use that reason to convince himself.

"However, he is indeed worth suspecting."

Lin Qing nodded. "What you said before was also correct. Logically speaking, the possibility of him being an informant for the Wuying Society in his situation is very small, but it is hard to say; many things are originally beyond logic."

"Group Leader, then what should we do?" Teng Feiyu asked in a low voice.

"Nothing." Lin Qing said calmly, "Without a single piece of evidence, no matter how much you suspect, it is just slander, inviting trouble for yourself."

If it were the past, Teng Feiyu would have refuted, but now he also understood the words Lin Qing said.

After all, it was just suspicion. "Just wait."

Lin Qing said, "Next time you see Xiao Pei, tell him that you need to recover properly, take a long leave, cannot go on patrol duty, and do not want to worry about other matters anymore."

Teng Feiyu fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

Lin Qing couldn't help but look at Teng Feiyu; it seemed this young man had matured quite a bit.

For some things, if they cannot be solved, one can only endure or stay away.

And the only thing one can do oneself is to continue improving, and then wait for an opportunity.

He was also waiting.

Wait until six third-class merits are in hand, wait until his strength is powerful enough.

As long as he has enough strength, as long as he confirms it is Xiao Peidong, there's no need for evidence.

When one person kills another, evidence isn't required.

"Feiyu."

At that moment, the hospital room door opened, and Director Chu's voice came from outside: "Captain Xiao from your branch has come to visit you."

Teng Feiyu's gaze shifted slightly, and immediately afterward he saw Lin Qing give him a faint shake of the head.

He drew in a deep breath, his expression returning to normal, as if he knew nothing, as if nothing had happened.

"Little Teng."

He saw Xiao Peidong, still in his patrol officer uniform, stride quickly in from outside the door, his brow slightly furrowed, his face showing concern as he said:

"How are you? I was on a mission just now, and after receiving the news, I couldn't get here right away, so I asked Director Kou to come see you first."

"Captain Xiao." Teng Feiyu forced himself to stay calm and answered.

Lin Qing stood up and said calmly, "Captain Xiao is here too."

"Team Leader Lin, you did excellently this time."

Xiao Peidong patted Lin Qing's arm with evident satisfaction, exclaiming, "If it weren't for your unexpectedly brilliant performance, I really wouldn't know how to face your sister and Director Chu this time."

He suddenly said solemnly, "On behalf of the branch, I express my gratitude to you. This time we will definitely mobilize the entire branch to hold a commendation ceremony just for you!"

"Mutual help, it's what we should do." Lin Qing said, "Lucky my marksmanship is good, this time it was luck too, otherwise it really would've been trouble."

"You've worked hard."

Xiao Peidong sighed, then went on, "However, this time you were attacked by assassins from the Dark Star Society. I guess they were hired by the Kite Red Society, probably because Little Teng's investigation into the Kite Red Society made them wary."

His gaze swept over the two of them as he said in a low voice, "Since the Kite Red Society hired assassins to silence you, that means what Little Teng found out may be true — otherwise they wouldn't be in such a rush to silence him."

"What does Captain Xiao mean?"

Lin Qing looked at Xiao Peidong.

On the surface, at least, he couldn't tell whether this Captain Xiao was putting on an act.

"It must be thoroughly investigated!"

Xiao Peidong's face was icy. "If the assassins really were hired by the Kite Red Society, our branch must win you justice. I've decided to apply for a second-level search warrant. After the commendation ceremony, I'll personally lead a team to thoroughly investigate the Qingtai Hotel and the Red Oak Boxing Gym you mentioned!"

He said coldly, "If we really find the Kite Red Society's underground fighting ring, we'll join forces with the public security to act and uproot them completely!"

Lin Qing was stunned.

Watching Xiao Peidong's decisive attitude — hating evil as if it were a personal enemy, acting with thunderous efficiency — for a moment he couldn't tell: could it be that he had truly wronged a good man?

But then he recalled how, at Xiao Peidong's oath-of-office ceremony, the moment Xiao Peidong discovered he was an outstanding talent, his attitude immediately did a complete one-eighty — clearly a shameless man with deep schemes.

A little acting like this now hardly seemed worth trusting.

As for personally leading the search?

If Xiao Peidong really were the Kite Red Society's informant, only by personally leading the team could he better cover things up!

……

Two days later.

That is, on January 21st.

Inside the Xiaoshan District Patrol Branch, a commendation ceremony of no small scale was held. Not only did patrol teams from every group attend, but every section and office participated as well.

Xiao Peidong could be said to have given Lin Qing full face, praising him to the skies.

That attitude made Lin Qing feel that if in the future he truly confirmed it was Xiao Peidong, when the time came to act, he would probably soften.

Not giving him a clean end would be inexcusable.

After the ceremony ended, his five third-class merits came through, along with four hundred thousand in bounty money and fifty thousand from the bureau's commendation reward.

His rank was also promoted to First-Class Patrol Officer.

And after Lin Qing helped Zhao Jiayi apply through internal channels at the patrol bureau to purchase the high-energy slow-release fluid, she transferred the money, along with her own third-class merit, to him right away.

"Six third-class merits — just enough to learn two combat arts."

Lin Qing looked at the merit change record just confirmed on his phone screen, and couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation.

"I'll go learn them today. Still two days short of paying off the debt for the combat art 'Agility' — once I get the basics down, I can draw it in advance."

(End of this chapter)