Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 70 Mid-Autumn Festival Chapter

With Lin Fan's hands tied, Jinlian had no choice but to feed him mooncakes.

Lin Fan didn't refuse; he was already very hungry, and these mooncakes were truly delicious. They were sweet, soft, and melted in his mouth. Compared to them, what he ate yesterday was practically pig swill.

As for poisoning, there's no need to worry at all. I'm tied up right now, and if the other party wants to kill me, they can just pull out a dagger and stab me twice, and that'll be the end of it.

Even without a dagger, they could strangle each other with their sleeves.

It's Mid-Autumn Festival now.

Lin Fan's mind first conjured up images of his family in the real world. He wondered how they were doing, and how heartbroken his parents must be without him. His eyes welled up with tears.

Then I thought of Lin Shuixiu, who was also a great mother.

Is the Mid-Autumn Festival a time for family reunions? Not bad. Lin Fan couldn't help but smirk.

Seeing his expression, which made him want to both cry and laugh, Jinlian was at a loss. It seemed that she had mentioned the Mid-Autumn Festival, which had stirred up the young Taoist priest's melancholy.

The atmosphere became a little awkward. Jinlian fed him snacks and water, but the two of them didn't talk, which made it particularly awkward, and Lin Fan couldn't swallow his food.

He casually asked, "How's things at home lately?"

"Everything is normal, and my family is very good to my son and me."

Lin Fan, as if remembering something, reminded him, "Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I always feel that your family members might be different on the surface and on the inside."

Jinlian paused in feeding the snacks, then smiled slightly, like a gentle spring breeze. "Thank you for your concern, young Taoist priest. I have actually noticed this matter as well."

Lin Fan thought about his own family matters, took a bite of pastry from Jinlian's delicate hand, and said, "Good, it's best if the family can be harmonious. I'm also trying my best to make my family more harmonious, and I've made some preparations for this. It's better to take the initiative in these kinds of things."

Jinlian was momentarily dazed, then nodded without saying anything more.

After feeding her a box of pastries, Jinlian gathered her skirts, bowed, and left.

Logically, this was supposed to be the last time she saw the young Taoist priest, but Jinlian suddenly felt that this person was not meant to die, so she didn't say any final farewells.

Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, no one else will come now.

After eating a bit more, my numb body regained sensation, and the unhealed wounds all over my body started to ache faintly.

Lin Fan felt it was surreal that he was still alive, but now that things had come to this, he couldn't give up.

Squeak.

"Officer Chen did stay put for a whole day."

There were many matters to be dealt with in the cases involving the Feng and Ma families, and Clerk Jia was busy until after midnight before returning to his residence.

Lin Fan gritted his teeth and glared at the man in front of him, angrily saying, "You surnamed Jia, what do you mean? I helped you solve the case as promised, what are you doing now!"

Clerk Jia patted Lin Fan on the shoulder. "Child, I did want to let you go at first, but you did too well. The number of people involved in this case is simply shocking. If I catch the mastermind, what a great achievement that would be. But think about it, if we want to pin all these crimes on one person, who do you think is the most suitable?"

Lin Fan looked shocked and belatedly realized something, then suddenly came to his senses, his mouth gaping open for a moment before he suddenly shouted fiercely, "I think you're the most suitable!"

"Don't swear, it's uncivilized. Me? I am quite suitable, but I can't just offer myself up, can I?" Clerk Jia said, with the happy expression of a child who has received a toy, pressing on Lin Fan's shoulder. "Little Fan, help your uncle one more time. It's not just me who will be remembered in history, you can be infamous for eternity too."

As he spoke, Clerk Jia produced another confession, but it wasn't just one; it was a whole stack of them.

"Oh, more for the same price, huh? Do you think I'll sign that?"

Clerk Jia didn't understand the first half of the sentence and frowned. "I know you don't care about your own life or death, but I know you have a mother in Bailin Village. As long as you sign, I guarantee she will be well-fed and clothed for the rest of her life."

"Oh, right, what I promised you before still stands. I'll provide you with the best wine and meat before you set off."

As if to demonstrate his trustworthiness, Clerk Jia clapped his hands, and two yamen runners came in, bringing three dishes and a pot of wine.

After the yamen runners left, Clerk Jia continued, "If you don't like those vulgar women in brothels, I can also ask Madam Wu to come and keep you company. Don't be surprised, doing this is not difficult for me at all."

Lin Fan laughed twice. "Every word you say disgusts me. How about it? Let go of one of my hands, otherwise how am I supposed to sign this?"

Clerk Jia was naturally delighted. He could have forced Lin Fan to sign the document, but for the sake of verification by others after it was submitted, it would have been better if Lin Fan could sign it himself.

With one hand freed, Lin Fan didn't touch the inkpad but instead picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Registrar Jia said unhappily, "Didn't you say you wanted to sign the document?"

Lin Fan slowly swallowed a piece of pork belly. "What? This isn't for me? You're going back on your word, aren't you? I need to be full so I have the strength to sign."

What kind of strength does it take to sign a document? Chief Clerk Jia muttered to himself, not bothering to argue with Lin Fan. He was just a dying man; let him bark all he wanted.

Clerk Jia sat down opposite Lin Fan, watching him eat, as kind as an elder.

"Xiao Fan, actually I quite like you. I wish my Lin'er had half of your intelligence and resourcefulness."

Lin Fan ate slowly, ignoring him.

Clerk Jia, growing impatient, urged, "Are you done yet? Once you've signed it, you can eat slowly."

Lin Fan took another bite and stopped him, saying, "Wait, after I die, can you go back to see my mother? It doesn't matter if you lie to her, it's what you're best at anyway, just tell her a nice story."

Just as Clerk Jia was about to say something, his expression suddenly froze. He poured himself a cup of wine, took a sip, and said with a trembling voice, "You know?"

Lin Fan ate his food calmly, as if talking about someone else, "I knew it the moment I saw you; your appearance alone was obvious enough."

Clerk Jia's shoulders trembled, and he was speechless.

Lin Fan continued, "That's why I knew from the beginning that you wouldn't let me live. If it were anyone else, you might have given the Wu family face and saved me. But I'm a stain on your past, and you'll definitely find a way to get rid of me."

Finally, Clerk Jia composed himself and forced a smile. "Ah, fate, fate. If only you were Lin'er. Xiao Fan, what good is your intelligence and resourcefulness? Lin'er is the prefect's grandson, while you are just a village woman's son."

Lin Fan took another bite of food. "You're a treacherous, heartless beast, worse than a pig or a dog."

Clerk Jia wasn't angry. "Xiao Fan, it's okay if you scold me. I was prepared for that."

Lin Fan put down his chopsticks. "Then aren't you afraid that I'll go to the higher-ups alive and expose all of this?"

Clerk Jia stood up, patted Lin Fan on the shoulder, and said, "Little Fan, I told you before that no matter how smart you are, it's useless. You can't just guess some things with your brain."

The registrar, Jia, thought to himself: You are no longer Lin Fan, nor Chen Wu; you are Liu Feng. Once you sign this document, the higher-ups will have their own ways of verifying its authenticity. If I forced you to sign, it will naturally be discovered; if you signed voluntarily, you can't lie about it. The higher-ups only care about the truth of the charge; your identity will be beyond question. As for any other lies you make, no one will care. You see, every murderer lies, and the prefecture can't verify them all. If the confession is genuine and your identity is real, the prefecture won't bother with anything else. Actually, saying that the interrogating officer was his own father isn't even that far-fetched. There are even those who claim to be princes.

However, Clerk Jia did not explain these things to Lin Fan. Instead, he said, "Go ahead and say whatever you want. Of course, no one will believe you. But you must not say that I forced you to sign the document."

Lin Fan smiled and said, "Then I'll just say it anyway."

Instead of answering, Clerk Jia gave a mysterious smile.

Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat. Could he be saying this on purpose to get me to recant my testimony?

No, he probably guessed I would guess that, so he said that on purpose. He hopes I will confess.

No, that's not right. This old fox might have anticipated that I would do the opposite, so he said that on purpose to try and get me to recant my testimony.

Lin Fan thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure out whether he should recant his testimony if the time really came.

Fortunately, this is something we don't actually need to consider.