Urban Martial Saint

After waiting for more than ten minutes in the downtown area, Ye Qing finally received a call from the deputy minister sent by Liu Changping.

This deputy minister, named Chen Jia’an, was only thirty-five years old, and was one of the subordinates Liu Changping valued highly for his strong problem-solving capabilities.

Thirty-five years old, an age considered rare among ministerial officials. To occupy such a high position at such a young age, his prospects could only be described as limitless.

Of course, there were other reasons for his prominent position. It was said that Chen Jia’an was parachuted down from the Capital, coming from a powerful family there, which made his promotion extraordinarily fast. Such a person, assertive and capable in his work and with a solid background, would find it difficult to climb the ranks slowly!

Upon receiving the call, Ye Qing immediately drove to meet Chen Jia’an. Ye Qing had not met Chen Jia’an before and only knew of his youth and capability; this was their first meeting.

”You must be Ye Qing of the Ye brothers!” Seeing Ye Qing, Chen Jia’an was the first to extend his hand, smiling, ”Director Liu and Commander Zhou have mentioned you several times, saying you are righteous, kind-hearted, and clear about love and hate. If you were in the army, you’d definitely make a fine recruit. Most of our family has a military background; I myself am half a soldier, and I especially like making friends with military people. So, after hearing Director Liu mention you a few times, I too wanted to meet you, and I didn’t expect to actually get the chance!”

Ye Qing smiled and said, ”Vice Minister Chen is kidding, Director Liu and Commander Zhou are just joking about me!”

”That’s absolutely not the case!” Chen Jia’an shook his head and smiled, ”I am quite familiar with Director Liu’s and Commander Zhou’s personalities. If you weren’t someone they took a liking to, they wouldn’t bother mentioning you at all. Their praise of you means you really are a good person. Also, you don’t have to call me Vice Minister Chen; I’m just a few years older than you, so you can call me Chen. It’s easier that way!”

As Liu Changping said, Chen Jia’an was young but his actions and words were very steady, and he was very approachable. He didn’t carry the arrogance often seen in offspring of officials. Every word he said came from the heart, without a trace of pretense or fakery, which was quite comforting to hear.

”Chen!” Ye Qing smiled and said.

”That’s it!” Chen Jia’an patted Ye Qing on the shoulder with a smile, ”Right, Director Liu only told me to come to Tianhui City to handle a case, to arrest a gang calling themselves the Beggar King. I am not clear about the specifics, Brother Ye, could you explain the situation? What should we do first?”

”This matter may be a bit troublesome…” Slowly, Ye Qing recounted the situation in Tianhui City to Chen Jia’an, and in particular, he repeated how he had reported the Beggar King to the police only for the Beggar King to receive the message immediately. This was to imply that there were people in Tianhui City’s police department colluding with the Beggar King. Chen Jia’an’s mission to Tianhui City wasn’t just to arrest the Beggar King and his gang. If those troublemakers within the police system weren’t arrested too, surely there would be a second and third Beggar King in the future.

After listening, Chen Jia’an pondered briefly and said, ”I didn’t expect the police system here in Tianhui City to be so corrupted. Seems like it’s just as Director Liu said, people with a little power are likely to become corrupt. These troublemakers are more detestable than the Beggar King himself. To enforce the law is to break it; these people are the ones who truly deserve to be arrested!”

Chen Jia’an’s words provided some reassurance to Ye Qing, as it was clear that Chen Jia’an was similar to Liu Changping. Although amiable in appearance, he was strict in work matters and couldn’t tolerate sand in his eyes. Upon encountering corrupt elements, he would definitely eradicate them and showed no mercy. Only people like him should be in high places to serve as a model, to lead by example for those below.

”By the way, these things should be able to lend you a hand!” Ye Qing handed over a file bag to Chen Jia’an.

”What’s this?” Chen Jia’an asked curiously.

Ye Qing replied, ”It’s the location of all the Beggar King’s strongholds in Tianhui City as well as evidence of their criminal activities.”

”Really?” Chen Jia’an was immediately overjoyed, he took out the materials from the file bag to look over, and his expression turned even more excited, ”With these, this case will be handled much more smoothly. Hmph, this time, not only will I uproot the Beggar King and his gang, but I will also dig out those corrupt officials and give Tianhui City a clear sky!”

Having said that, Chen Jia’an handed the file bag directly to an aide and instructed, ”Arrange for the personnel to disperse and start the arrest operation immediately. Anyone involved with this matter, anyone related to the Beggar King, capture them all, without letting a single one go!”

”Yes!” The aide stood at attention and replied, taking the file bag to coordinate the arrest operation with the police officers from the province.

Chen Jia’an looked at Ye Qing and suggested with a smile, ”Brother Ye, let’s take a trip downtown!”

”Where are we going?” Ye Qing asked, somewhat surprised.

”To the Tianhui City Police Department, of course!” Chen Jia’an smiled, ”I want to go report a crime in person and see for myself how the Tianhui City Police Department operates.”

”Great!” Ye Qing immediately agreed, eager to see how Chen Jia’an would handle the situation.

Chen Jia’an’s team was discussing the plan of action on the side while Ye Qing drove Chen Jia’an straight into the city.

Tonight, the downtown of Tianhui City was noticeably busier than before, the streets were full of petty thugs and police officers, which was not usual. Especially the police officers, who were almost invisible at night, yet this evening the streets were swarming with them. It seemed Ye Qing’s attack on the Beggar King’s warehouse had caused a big stir, and now the Beggar King and the police officers just wanted to immediately catch Ye Qing to prevent the incident from leaking.

Chen Jia’an knew what Ye Qing had done, so seeing the police officers on the street, a cold sneer flashed across his face. These officers, who barely made an effort while supposed to be protecting the public, were now wholeheartedly mobilized to protect a member involved in gang and drug activities. This truly was the most lamentable scenario!

Ye Qing drove straight to the Tianhui City Police Station, where inside and out, many officers were busy at work. Ye Qing and Chen Jia’an walked in, and surprisingly, no one stopped them—it looked like these people were truly swamped.

Ye Qing and Chen Jia’an entered the office building, where a group of police officers was bustling about, completely unlike their usual demeanor. Chen Jia’an approached the reporting room, where several people were also busy; it seemed they were discussing the phone call Ye Qing had made to report the crime, trying to trace the call’s origin.

Seeing this, Chen Jia’an furrowed his brows. Although he had learned from Ye Qing that the police in Tianhui City were colluding with the Beggar King, he had not expected the collusion to be to this extent. So many busy officers appeared to be working for the Beggar King, which was truly shocking!

Taking a deep breath, Chen Jia’an approached one of the officers and said, ”Hello, I’m here to make a report!”

The officer completely ignored Chen Jia’an, busy on the phone reporting the situation to someone on the other end, paying no attention to Chen Jia’an.

”Hello, I’m here to report a crime!” Chen Jia’an turned to another person, but this officer also ignored him, casually chatting with a few nearby officers as if he hadn’t heard Chen Jia’an speak at all.

Frowning, Chen Jia’an raised his voice and said, ”Hello, I’m here to make a report!”

Chen Jia’an’s loud voice finally caught the attention of a few officers, who looked at him annoyedly. One of them glared and said, ”If you want to report something, just report it. What are you shouting about? This is a police station, not a place for you to throw your weight around!”

”I’m not throwing my weight around!” said Chen Jia’an.

”If you’re not, then why the shouting?” the officer spat out disdainfully. ”What kind of manners!”

Chen Jia’an could not believe he was encountering such a situation when trying to report a crime, and Vice Minister Chen was quite angered. He tried his best to suppress his rage and said, ”I apologize, I was in the wrong just now. But can I make my report now?”

”Just say it, then!” the officer said. ”All this talk about making a report, making a report—why the hell are you so long-winded? If you don’t tell me what it is, how am I supposed to know what you want to report?”

Chen Jia’an was even more annoyed and couldn’t help saying, ”Comrade, could you please speak more politely?”

Hearing this, the officer laughed, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Chen Jia’an sideways, saying, ”What counts as polite to you? Are you saying I should kneel and kowtow to you as you walk in the door?”

Chen Jia’an was left speechless by the retort and didn’t want to dwell on the matter, so he said firmly, ”I want to report someone!”

Impatiently, the officer said, ”Who the hell are you reporting? Just spit it out!”

”The Beggar King!” Chen Jia’an said slowly.

At that moment, the officers in the room all turned to look at him, halting their actions and conversations.

”You’re... you’re reporting the Beggar King?” The officer who had been speaking to Chen Jia’an suddenly widened his eyes and quickly asked, ”What are you reporting him for?”

Chen Jia’an said, ”For drug manufacturing and trafficking, human trafficking, imprisoning and killing innocent children!”

Hearing this, the officers quickly exchanged glances and all looked at Chen Jia’an.

”How did you come to know all this?” asked the officer sternly.

”I saw it with my own eyes!” said Chen Jia’an.

The officers exchanged another look and gave each other knowing glances. Two of them had already quietly moved behind Chen Jia’an, looking ready to hold him there.

Ye Qing moved a bit forward to stand beside Chen Jia’an, staying alert to the surrounding people to prevent Chen from being ambushed.

The officer scoffed, ”So, it seems that it was you who made that emergency call!”

”That’s right!” said Chen Jia’an in a heavy tone. ”Moreover, I’d like to ask why, after such a long time since I called the police, there has been no investigation at the Beggar King’s farm? Just what is going on with your police work?”