Thankfully, Kong Cheng was quick to support him. Otherwise, the officer named Xiao Li would have collapsed right there on the ground.
Kong Cheng watched the scene with a sense of helplessness. This Xiao Li is a good person and loves working on cases, but sometimes he’s just too impulsive. Even I wouldn’t want to cross a man like Lin Kuang, so what chance did this rookie cop have?
Lin Kuang entered the villa’s living room, where Liu Shilin and Liu Shiyu, the two beautiful sisters, were waiting anxiously.
The moment they saw him return, they both rushed to his side. The Witch blurted out, "Lin Kuang, are you an idiot?! Why would you come back when you saw all these police? You should’ve run! Now that you’re caught, what are you going to do?"
The Witch spoke irritably, her tone laced with exasperation. She usually found Lin Kuang annoying, but she knew last night’s incident wasn’t his fault. Liu Shilin had already explained why they had been late to leave; Lin Kuang had delayed everything just so she could have more fun. If they had left earlier, this probably wouldn’t have happened. Besides, it was her idea to go to the bar in the first place. If she hadn’t insisted, none of it would have occurred. At this thought, the Witch was overwhelmed with guilt, feeling that she was the cause of it all.
Hearing her words and seeing her expression, Lin Kuang offered a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to blame yourself, either. Even if we hadn’t gone to the bar, the Eagle Sect would have found some other way to come after us."
"Lin Kuang, the villa has a back door. Why don’t you make a run for it?" Liu Shilin couldn’t help but say, her beautiful eyes filled with anxiety and concern. "The Eagle Sect is incredibly powerful in East Sea, and I’ve heard their leader is on very good terms with the chief of police. If they take you in, it’s a death sentence!"
"Right, right! You rogue, hurry up and go!" the Witch chimed in. "If you have to, flee the country. My sister and I will give you money. You can hide out abroad for a while until things cool down, then come back."
This was the best solution the two of them could come up with.
Seeing their worried faces, Lin Kuang felt a warmth spread through his chest. The feeling of being cared for was always so pleasant, and he cherished it.
"Alright, relax. I promise, I won’t be in any trouble," Lin Kuang said comfortingly. "I’ll be out by tomorrow at the latest. If things go quickly, I might even be out before evening." He truly wasn’t concerned about the so-called police station.
"Why are you so stubborn! I already told you, going with them is a death sentence! Why are you still going?!" The Witch’s doll-like face flushed red with anxiety. Seeing how obstinate Lin Kuang was, she stamped her foot in frustration.
"Relax. I promise you, I really will be fine. I’ll be back here by tomorrow morning at the latest," Lin Kuang said with a hint of helplessness.
"Fine! See if I care!" the Witch huffed, plopping down on the sofa and furiously punching a throw pillow.
Liu Shilin, however, just kept her gaze fixed on Lin Kuang’s eyes. Seeing their calmness, her own heart suddenly grew still.
"Alright," Liu Shilin said firmly. "Go with them. I’ll do everything I can on my end to get you out."
"Okay, thank you, Shilin," Lin Kuang said with a smile. "I’m going to go change. They’re still waiting for me outside." Liu Shilin nodded in response.
Two minutes later, Lin Kuang, now dressed in casual clothes, reappeared at the villa’s front gate.
Seeing him emerge, Kong Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Kuang had been inside for nearly ten minutes, and he had been worried he might have fled. Fortunately, he hadn’t, which eased Kong Cheng’s mind considerably.
"Let’s go," Lin Kuang said with a laugh, as if he were talking to his underlings, not police officers.
Kong Cheng didn’t seem to mind. He simply nodded, led Lin Kuang into the police car, and sat down beside him. Perhaps sensing that Lin Kuang was different, Kong Cheng didn’t handcuff him.
"Smoke?" Kong Cheng asked with a smile, pulling out a seven-yuan pack of white Hongta Mountain cigarettes.
"I don’t smoke much, but if you’re offering, I’ll have one," Lin Kuang replied with a smile, taking the ordinary-looking cigarette.
Hearing his words, Kong Cheng felt a strange sensation. It’s as if him accepting my cigarette is doing me a great honor. Shaking the thought from his head, he took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for Lin Kuang.
Lin Kuang took a slow drag. A long-forgotten sensation washed over him, and a moment later, a thick cloud of smoke billowed from his lips.
"This still tastes the best," Lin Kuang said, looking at Kong Cheng with a smile.
"Really? Not bad, right?" Kong Cheng said with a smile after taking a drag himself. "I’ve been smoking this brand for years. Never felt the need to switch."
"You’re a good person," Lin Kuang stated abruptly.
Kong Cheng was startled for a moment before giving a bitter smile. "A good person? Perhaps. Compared to most, I’ve just got a little more of a conscience left."
"That’s still better than having no conscience at all, isn’t it?" Lin Kuang said with a smile.
Kong Cheng paused again at his words before nodding. "Maybe you’re right."
They both fell silent then, quietly smoking. Once the cigarettes were finished, the car’s interior felt even more tranquil.
"Actually, last night..." Kong Cheng began, looking at the man beside him—who had to be at least a decade his junior—and asked with a rueful smile, "you had countless ways to kill Scarface. Plenty of methods to do it without anyone seeing. Why didn’t you?"
Staring quietly out the window, Lin Kuang replied with a question of his own. "Sometimes, it’s better to be impulsive. At least I’m free to do what I want. You’re not. That feeling of being constrained... it’s painful, isn’t it? Hopeless."
Kong Cheng froze again. He felt he’d been startled more in the last few minutes than in the entire past month. Hearing Lin Kuang’s words, however, he found he had no rebuttal.
He let out a heavy, bitter laugh. "You’re right. If I could have, I would have killed him then and there." A smile spread across his face, as if he had just understood something profound.
"That’s the way," Lin Kuang said, smiling at Kong Cheng’s realization.
"But the price for that could be your life!" Kong Cheng said, a note of helplessness in his voice as he looked at Lin Kuang’s smiling face.