Stockpiling for an Exiled General Through My Store's Back Door

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Why Not Try a Different Approach

Hua Buwan followed Ling Qianjun to the window, looking down at the person sprawled spread-eagle on the ground.

She merely glanced at him twice. Zhou Guodong’s arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, one of his front teeth had been knocked out, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Before she could get a closer look, Ling Qianjun stepped in front of her, using his wide sleeve to block her view. ”Don’t soil your eyes.”

The man down there was only wearing a pair of underpants. How could he let Hua Buwan look at that? Ling Qianjun knew that the world a thousand years in the future wasn’t as strictly modest—after all, Hua Buwan wore shorts too. That was the only reason he had brought her over to take a look, just to confirm he wasn’t lying.

Hua Buwan covered her lips and chuckled. Seeing Ling Qianjun’s stiff, proper demeanor, she nodded. ”Yeah, I won’t look.

”Still, we should hand this person over to the County Government. Let the government officers remember him, teach him a lesson, and make sure he gets the punishment he deserves. Even if he won’t be sentenced for long, he still needs to be locked up. We can’t let him off the hook so easily. We have to use legal means to defend our rights.

”Besides, you’ve already helped me teach him a lesson. It’s just... if we call the government officers here, him wearing nothing but a pair of boxers might be hard to explain.”

Hua Buwan rubbed her chin with one hand, conflicted and deep in thought.

A flash of inspiration hit Ling Qianjun. The corners of his lips quirked up as he raised an eyebrow. ”Perhaps a thief wearing only underpants is even more convincing.”

Hua Buwan immediately looked up at him, her eyes full of admiration. She gave him a thumbs-up, lavishly praising him, ”Brilliant! How is your brain so smart? I can’t believe you came up with such a devious excuse.”

While she was still worrying about people getting suspicious over Zhou Guodong not wearing clothes, Ling Qianjun casually pointed out that his lack of clothes was exactly the proof they needed to show he had malicious intentions.

She was truly enlightened!

”Hehe, but I still need to go out and pull that rope back up, otherwise... wait a minute. We didn’t tie that rope to him; he wanted to escape, so he tied it on himself!”

Hua Buwan’s mind made the connection. Her eyes sparkled like stars, suddenly feeling as though she had opened the door to a whole new world. So, a simple change of perspective could give many things an entirely different explanation.

”Mm.” Ling Qianjun couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle. He wondered if he was being a bad influence on her.

Once they finalized their story, Hua Buwan called the police. Tearfully, she explained the situation to the dispatcher on the other end of the line.

A veteran police officer and his newly recruited female apprentice arrived shortly after. Hua Buwan first went out of the supermarket and pointed to Zhou Guodong, who had fallen from the building while trying to escape. Then, she led them upstairs to see the ransacked first and second floors, handing over the knockout-drug cigarette as well.

When the officers entered the first floor, they also discovered that the supermarket’s cash register had been pried open, with the bag of money sitting right by the door. Seeing that Hua Buwan was a delicate, frail young woman living alone, they immediately understood what had happened.

They took the drug-laced cigarette and the bag of money as evidence; the cash would be returned to Hua Buwan once the forensics were complete. As for Zhou Guodong, he was hauled away in police custody.

Before leaving, the female officer advised Hua Buwan, ”Pay attention to your safety when living alone. You can install security cameras at the supermarket entrance, and always remember to deadbolt your room...”

Hua Buwan nodded profusely, watching as the veteran officer and his female apprentice departed.

Ling Qianjun waited for quite a while before opening the door from the other side and walking out. Confirming that Hua Buwan had resolved everything, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did Hua Buwan have the time to ask, ”Why are you here so late today? Was there a delay on your end? Were the government officers keeping a close eye on you, making it hard to get away?”

Ling Qianjun’s expression turned cold. ”We were attacked by assassins,” he said heavily.