Chapter 296

"That's right! It's you I'm talking about! Put down your weapons immediately and cooperate with our orders, or we will take all necessary measures!"

The leader of the demon suppressors confirmed Lin Li's statement while continuing to urge him on.

"But I'm the one who called the police."

Lin Li put away his baton, retracting it into a short little piece, which was quite cute even in its small size, and placed it back inside his clothing, then gave the demon suppressor an innocent-looking explanation.

Darn it, I'm a great law-abiding citizen.

Demon suppressor: "?"

"What? You're the one who called the police?" The demon suppressor tilted his head slightly, giving Lin Li a sideways glance, somewhat incredulous as he sought confirmation.

"Yes, the call just now ended in 9749—does that match?"

Lin Li felt a pang of nostalgia for Yang Liang; if it were him, he'd surely understand what I mean.

But there was really no need to have him come all the way out in the middle of the night for this shift, so Lin Li contacted the main desk of 110 instead.

I'll keep this bad news from Yang Liang—let him have a good weekend.

"So… you mean you're the victim of a robbery?"

Seeing that Lin Li truly had no intention of fleeing, the demon suppressor had already put away his stun gun, though his face remained full of disbelief.

He slowly and doubtfully pointed at Lin Li, then pointed at the four guys on the ground, his voice wavering:

"These four… are the ones who came to rob you?"

"Of course! Isn't it obvious at a glance? How could I possibly rob four people by myself?" Lin Li spread his hands.

Demon suppressor: "?"

How the hell could you tell that at a glance!!

Yan Aosong really wanted to roar at Lin Li's face.

These four guys—some injured, some wailing, clothes disheveled—were even looking at him with hopeful eyes.

As if they were even more eager for our demon suppression bureau to arrive than you are!

How the hell does this look? It seems more like they're the victims!

"Get up—no sleeping here."

Lin Li stepped forward and kicked the yellow-haired guy a few times, each with just the right force—not too light, not too heavy—dazing him without hurting his brain.

To be honest, Lin Li didn't know whether these guys were just a bit useless, or if he himself had truly become a half-cultivator with real ability.

At the start, he hadn't really moved much, just using the "Formless Sword" and "Duck Blood Bottle," and already had these four in utter disarray.

Then, when he himself went up afterward, he barely expended any effort before knocking all four flat.

Aside from the two magical treasures, he didn't use any other abilities.

Even the most basic 【Energy Accumulation】 went unused—let alone anything else—making it far easier than he'd expected.

Perhaps, as for these magical treasures, with his own growth, their utilization efficiency keeps increasing; using them against ordinary people has already become a dimensional strike.

Sigh… maybe this is what it's like to be lonely at the top.

Originally, Lin Li had never gotten the chance to use the one-second-six-staff technique he and Xiao Jiang had painstakingly learned.

As a loyal disciple, Lin Li had memorized the mnemonic:

Elbow strike opens the airway, baton finds the heartbeat, law enforcement with warmth, whip staff with force, lift leg with precision, lift hand with height, swing fist with angle, staff by staff with attitude, conduct with grace, thought with depth.

One strike to the mouth, no surrender allowed; two strikes to the leg, no escape; three strikes to the brain, prevent thought; the remaining strikes, all aimed at small birds.

Too bad.

Yan Aosong: "..."

Now, as Lin Li stepped forward to kick these four guys in the waist, Yan Aosong felt even more convinced that Lin Li was the real bully.

Inverted Heaven and Earth.

Yan Aosong had a slight headache, but still tried to be as polite as possible, nodding and pointing to his car for Lin Li:

"No matter what, get in the car first—whether you're victim or perpetrator, you all have to come back with me to give a statement."

"No problem."

Lin Li had already used all the tricks to torment demon suppressors on Yang Liang—he'd experienced what needed experiencing, so feeling no regret, he was extremely cooperative this time, following orders as he walked over.

But when Yan Aosong approached the four yellow-haired guys, the leader suddenly came rolling and crawling toward him, voice choked with tears as he said:

"Officer! You gotta stand up for us! This guy's totally shouting 'catch the thief' while being the thief himself—he beat us! That's bad enough! And now he wants to smear us with filth too!"

"This guy's absolutely a lunatic! We few were just passing by, saw him squatting alone, thought he wasn't feeling well, so we went over and asked if he was okay—then he suddenly whipped out his baton and started beating people!

After beating us, he started calling the police to frame us! This is all his doing—think about it, if he were a normal person, how could he possibly walk out the door carrying a stick?!!"

Lin Li, already about to get in the car, heard this description and turned back, his expression showing a hint of a bitter smile.

And the three lackeys of the yellow-haired guy, after a moment of stupor, immediately lit up and nodded repeatedly:

"Officer Big Brother, exactly like that—this guy absolutely has a severe violent tendency, randomly attacking people, then after beating them, trying to frame them! I even slashed him with a knife here!!"

"Yeah, yeah—look at us, do we look like we have even a bit of what a robber should look like!"

"He picked this spot because there's no surveillance and no passersby—he's been waiting here on purpose to beat people! You've got to catch the right guy!"

The four of them spoke in perfect unison, like a rapid-fire cannon, their words immediately filling Yan Aosong's ears.

Yan Aosong heard them and furrowed his brow.

It's impossible to fully believe them—after all, judging by appearance and behavior, these four are clearly street ruffians, regulars at the demon suppression bureau.

It'd be completely normal if they'd actually committed robbery.

But handling a case absolutely can't rely on appearances—this situation, with no surveillance or eyewitnesses, though small, does indeed allow for the possibility that Lin Li is a violent pervert, deliberately pretending to be a victim here, picking a random target to vent on, then reporting the police afterward.

"Come back with me—we'll check it out, then we'll know. Separate these four people, two by two."

So Yan Aosong gestured to his subordinates.

To interrogate these four separately and see if their stories match—that's all we need to do. To prevent collusion, we now need to separate them during transport.

Huang Mao realized this too and hurriedly glanced back at his underlings, signaling them with his eyes, trying to convey a message.

"A solid plan."

Lin Li's sudden voice startled Yan Aosong.

He twisted his head to look — this damn kid had somehow already arrived at his side, and even Yan Aosong, a Demon-Suppressing Envoy of many years, hadn't detected a thing.

Lin Li was smiling at Huang Mao right now.

This guy really knows how to sling mud, but honestly, it was his optimal play in this situation.

If it succeeded, he'd avoid prison.

"You think without cameras and witnesses, you can spin the story however you want?" Too bad, Lin Li had come prepared.

"But sorry, this road actually does have surveillance."

Lin Li reached into his pocket, pulled out an action camera, and showed it to Yan Aosong and Huang Mao, smiling:

"Take a look at this. Sorry, I brought a law-enforcement recorder too — different brand, same effect. Uncle, mine's DJI; what brand is yours?

Although mine was tucked inside my clothes so a lot of footage isn't complete, the audio and everything else was recorded crystal clear — that's enough to reconstruct the truth."

Yan Aosong, Huang Mao: "?"

At this moment, every Demon-Suppressing Envoy and thug on scene turned their gaze to Lin Li.

Why the hell does a robbery victim have a law-enforcement recorder on him?

Six-six-six, even salt isn't salty anymore.

Huang Mao was even more heated.

Who plays like this! So shameless!

Huang Mao, reacting belatedly, was overcome with rage; he pointed at Lin Li, his whole body trembling.

After a moment, his emotions erupted — Huang Mao roared:

"Entrapment! This is entrapment! This was all set up by you! We completely fell for your scheme! You vicious bastard! It's all your conspiracy! See the truth! You must see the truth, comrade!"

From a certain angle, everything he said was right.

"Why... do you normally carry this thing?" Dodging Huang Mao who tried to cling to his leg, Yan Aosong couldn't help but ask.

"I have depression. People said I'd be perfect as a top 100 lifestyle UP main. Today I just planned to film a daily vlog." Lin Li explained.

Yan Aosong: "..."

Your mom.

Don't believe it.

But regardless of whether Yan Aosong believed it or not, the moment this camera was produced, the verdict of who was right and who was wrong had already been clearly laid out.

Combined with the camera's contents, Huang Mao's gang confessed to the robbery under Yan Aosong's interrogation, admitting everything without reservation.

They just kept claiming they were framed by a villain, that the villain was too sinister and cunning, that the robbery wasn't premeditated, wasn't their true intention, and so on.

Too bad it was useless.

Robbery isn't something you get fifteen days in detention for.

Although it was attempted, and both the Demon-Suppressing Bureau and the victim took effective countermeasures — a lighter sentence was certain; though not three to five years, they'd still do half a year to a year.

As for the villain, he'd already arrived at the Demon-Suppressing Bureau entrance with Yan Aosong.

Lin Li's face carried a smile.

【Continue the effort... Punish evil cultivators who attempt to commit crimes, at least eight cases (1/8)】

This time, although it wasn't like last time where the mission completed the moment he got in the police car, the prompt popped up for Lin Li roughly halfway through the interrogation.

Lin Li believed the key node causing this situation should be the specific time when the Demon-Suppressing Envoys confirmed that the target he stopped and punished was indisputably an evil cultivator.

This timing didn't matter much; what mattered was that the number could go from 0 to 1, meaning Lin Li's idea was correct.

Entrapment enforcement is still enforcement.

Then this mission became clear all at once.

— Continue entering the game with his own body, win by half a move against heaven.

Also counts as paying respects to the Joyous Union Sect, commemorating Xiao Jing and Fei Fei.

"For the follow-up, if there's anything needing you to testify or send me the materials, I'll contact you again?" Yan Aosong patted Lin Li's shoulder and said.

Through their conversation just now, Yan Aosong and Lin Li had already exchanged names and added each other on WeChat for future contact.

"Okay, Uncle Yan." Lin Li nodded.

"Right, Xiao Lin, having self-defense awareness is correct, and carrying a telescopic baton isn't illegal either, but since you carry these weapons, you must pay attention to the degree of your defense."

Yan Aosong said with concern:

"That thug had one point right — if something major happens and you had weapons prepared in advance, legally you might be deemed to have premeditation, and that's not something you can shake off, or it'll turn into a messy dispute.

Because simply carrying a weapon makes it very easy to be judged as excessive self-defense.

As for why Uncle is telling you this, it's not to make you stop carrying weapons for self-defense from now on — having self-defense awareness is absolutely correct — but to watch the force of your counterattack. If the opponent admits defeat, stop hitting.

Nothing happened this time, but next time if you don't hold back and beat someone crippled or disabled, you might have to pay compensation — isn't that a whole heap of trouble?"

Yan Aosong's expression was kindly.

Hearing this, Lin Li pinched his chin and slowly nodded, brows tightly furrowed.

Yan Aosong was entirely well-intentioned in giving this reminder.

After all, it's the truth.

When facing danger, killing the attacker with the dagger from your own pocket versus smashing him to death with a roadside stone — the former is absolutely far more likely to be ruled excessive self-defense than the latter.

As long as it's a weapon, this tendency exists.

"Uncle Yan."

Lin Li's eyes suddenly lit up, and having come up with a brilliant idea, he looked toward Yan Aosong, eager to share.

"Huh? What's up?" Yan Aosong looked toward Lin Li.

"What if I carry a fake bull for self-defense?" Lin Li said.

"What thing?" Yan Aosong didn't hear clearly.

"A fake zhe about twenty to thirty centimeters long—I feel its power should be similar to a retractable baton."

Lin Li extended his hand, gripping the air, and demonstrated the staff technique in front of Yan Aosong.

Yan Aosong: "(；o_o)?"

"What the hell is this?!"

Yan Aosong asked again, his voice loud.

—His ears had actually heard it clearly, but his brain insisted his ears hadn't heard it, demanding he listen again.

"Just that fake thing, this one." Lin Li was very patient, reaching out to poke the air.

"Don't point randomly!!" When Lin Li repeated it three times, Yan Aosong finally confirmed he hadn't misheard.

Yan Aosong stared at Lin Li, his expression extremely complex: "You..."

"Uncle, look, if I carry this thing with me, first, its definition isn't a weapon, so if someone asks, I'll say I'm using it myself, thus there's no intentional carrying of a weapon;

second, as long as it's hard—actually soft works too—it's quite combat-effective, can strike people and cause psychological harm, enough to deter anyone who wants to harm me."

Lin Li felt he was practically a genius, perfectly solving the Arnold-style contradiction of needing a weapon but not being allowed to have one.

His head felt hollow.

"Wait, wait, let me catch my breath."

However, regarding Lin Li's statement and logic, Yan Aosong chose to rest against the wall for a moment.

Lin Li's encounter with robbers tonight was terrible, but Yan Aosong wasn't doing so well either—tonight he encountered a strong criminal—his brain was strong-armed.

"The, the theory is, like this." After a long while, Yan Aosong stammered, "But, but I think Lin Li, you'd better still carry this baton, just pay attention to the force—it's quite good..."

"No no no, what you said is correct—I'll go back and switch my self-defense weapon, I should follow your advice! Thank you, Uncle Yan, your idea and suggestion are fantastic!"

But Lin Li could no longer listen, he sincerely thanked Yan Aosong.

"No!" Yan Aosong reacted instantly, eyes wide:

"Don't spout nonsense, I didn't teach you to do this—it's all your own idea. If someone asks, you can't say Uncle told you to carry it like this, absolutely not!"

If anything happens, never betray your master.

"Uncle, drinking water without forgetting the well-digger—there's no such principle." But how could Lin Li do this?

Everyone said, Lin Li is a disciple of the Young General, so he must value gratitude.

Yan Aosong: "..."

But what you've done, kid, isn't digging a well—it's abandoning your well and fleeing your hometown. If the villagers knew I made you carry that well away, they'd surely curse me to death.

"Really unnecessary, really unnecessary." Yan Aosong insisted.

"Alright." Lin Li expressed some regret.

Yan Aosong exhaled deeply—great, he'd narrowly avoided disaster.

He now only hopes no blind-eyed person will try to rob Lin Li again. From the mouths of Huang Mao and others, he learned this kid's combat power is top-notch, described as exceptionally fierce and terrifying, even said to know sorcery.

There's definitely exaggeration, but it proves Lin Li is indeed not weak.

After all, one beating four, with one of the four still holding a knife—complete victory, no way he could be weak.

And now, Yan Aosong dares not imagine: Lin Li, possessing such strength, holding a thirty-centimeter dragon in his hand to whip people—what terrifying power would that unleash?

Just thinking about it makes—this is damn pornographic.

His mind is full of mosaics.

Therefore.

"From now on, don't walk alone on Old Friend Road and similar places late at night, and don't flash your wealth—it's dangerous.

Besides, your home is in Ruiyun—how did you get here so late? Come on, I'll take you back first."

Yan Aosong was worried Lin Li might come up with another heaven-defying idea under his inspiration—for his own good and for the robbers' good, after advising him, he indicated he could send Lin Li back.

"Okay, Uncle, but no need to send me home—take me back to Old Friend Road instead." Lin Li nodded and shook his head.

"Huh? Why go back there?" Yan Aosong was puzzled.

"Because tonight still has plenty of time—I want to keep fishing."

"Because I came by bike, my bicycle is still there—I can't just leave it there." Lin Li also had a reasonable reason.

"Oh oh, okay, then I'll take you back there first." Yan Aosong realized.

With Yan Aosong's help, Lin Li returned to Xiling Ge Tan.

"Is the bike big? If not, put it in the trunk, then get in the car and I'll take you home." Before Lin Li got out of the car, Yan Aosong politely asked.

"It's quite big, can't fold, but thanks anyway for your kindness." Lin Li spoke the truth.

"Alright, then hurry home—don't linger here, it's unsafe."

"Okay, Uncle Yan."

"Then I'm leaving."

"Uncle Yan, bye-bye~"

Yan Aosong nodded, drove off, and from the rearview mirror saw Lin Li still watching him leave, still waving.

Setting aside the fake bull idea, this kid is still quite polite and well-behaved.

However.

If this case proceeds without further incident, this kid's living district will have almost nothing to do with mine, so we'll probably never meet again.

But life, it's always like this.

A hurried meeting, a hurried parting — everyone is just a passerby in the other's life.

Young friend Lin Li, take care.

……

Take care my ass.

Life — you never know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.

November 2nd, 11:23 PM.

— Thirty-seven minutes after Yan Aosong and Lin Li parted ways.

Whether in the abstract sense or the concrete sense, Yan Aosong's tomorrow had still not arrived.

But.

Old Friend Road.

Yan Aosong, having turned back, twitched at the corner of his mouth, gnashing his teeth —

"Lin... Li... what a... fucking... coincidence... we... meet... again."

—

Start of the month, asking for monthly votes.

(End of chapter)