Gan Qing felt that one side of her shoulders was like a cooked crab shell that Officer Yu Yan had knocked off with a smack and she could almost hear the tearing of the flesh parting from the bones inside. She strained to put on a smile. "You're truly worthy of being a police officer. Your skills… cough… gain a thousand miles in a day."

"Don't touch her randomly, you're so handsy." Yu Lanchuan pulled Yu Yan away. "Are you injured? What happened?"

"It's… nothing. Long story." Gan Qing sucked in a breath of cold air. She couldn't really stand straight. "Ow… the groceries… help me carry them for a bit."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

She was in this state yet the bag of groceries she was carrying was completely untouched. Even the block of tofu didn't have a single broken corner.

Perhaps it was the "power of religious belief" that was protecting them.

"What happened to you? Did you bump into muggers on the way back?" Yu Yan quickly took the things she was carrying from her. Then, he recalled her brilliant performance when she single-handedly turned the tables on the reinforced team at the Travellers' Sect territory and peered into her shopping bag in bewilderment. "Would someone more powerful than you need to resort to mugging? Even if they do, they wouldn't mug you. What do you have that's worth robbing, groceries?"

Gan Qing said, "Ai, be careful! That bag has a hole in it, don't let the potatoes roll out... ah!"

Yu Lanchuan swiftly pressed the shoulder that she couldn't raise a few times, checking that her bones were still where they should be. "Stop that nonsense!"

When the brick smashed into her, Gan Qing hadn't really felt the pain because she had been in a state of heightened tension. It was only when she was back now that she felt that it was rather serious. Her right arm could not be raised.

Zhang Meizhen was not at home. Gan Qing grumbled with a bitter smile. "You two sirs are really not treating me as an unmarried young lady. If we were in ancient times…"

Yu Yan was actually feeling pretty awkward. Seeing that he was partly to blame for Gan Qing not being able to move half her body freely, he couldn't just leave her there. Thus, he coughed and said tentatively, "How about I… go up to the eighth floor and see if Zhou-jie is at home? Or-"

Yu Lanchuan interrupted him. "You're just a bean sprout without a chest or a butt, no one will want to look at you even back in the Jurassic period!"

"..." Gan Qing blinked. "Why do I feel that these words seem a little familiar?"

As she spoke, she licked the back of her teeth with an expression that was not very dignified, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly, she really did not have much reservations and took off her jacket and the wool sweater she was wearing inside. The two young men, regardless of whether they were soft-spoken or hard talking, cowered in unison and shifted their gazes to the corners of the building.

However, the sensual scene in their imaginations did not happen. Gan Qing was wearing a workout jersey inside that could be worn outside in summer. There was only a thin and delicate layer of flesh on her shoulder, wrapped securely around her bones. It had the strength to control the tip of a knife down to the millimeter but bearing the force of a brick was a little beyond its abilities. A bruise extended from her deltoid muscle to the area near her shoulder blade, the burst capillaries under her skin weaving together to form a spider's web that was horrifying to see.

Yu Lanchuan moved his own shoulder involuntarily, feeling that his shoulder was hurting in sympathy.

Yu Yan said uneasily, "I even smacked so hard just now, this hand of mine is really… You can't leave it like this. You need to go to the hospital and get an X-ray."

"That's not necessary." Gan Qing turned her head back to look and didn't think much of it. "The brick scraped it a bit. I think the bones are still fine."

"Where's the nearest hospital?" Yu Lanchuan ignored her and took his phone out to call a cab.

"That's really not necessary." Gan Qing pulled her down jacket back up and stood up unsteadily. She paused, then said, "Ai, fine. Actually, Uncle Meng told me to apply for social health insurance but I let it drag until now and still haven't applied… Going to the hospital is too expensive. It's my right arm anyway, it won't affect anything. I'll apply medicine myself and it'll be fine in a couple of days."

Yu Lanchuan could not stand it anymore and was practically spitting fire. "Since it's not of much use, why don't you cut it off and make soup with it?"

Gan Qing, "..."

"Anything that's useless, you'll insist on doing it; anything that's serious, you'll insist on putting it off. You even put off getting social health insurance!" Yu Lanchuan said angrily. "What medicine are you going to apply yourself? Go to the kitchen and knead white peppercorns and flour into a dough to make your own homemade ointment^[1]? It's the twenty-first century now but you're still trying to overthrow the Qing and return to the Ming dynasty!"

Yu Yan said hastily, "It's my fault, it was my hand that slipped. I'll pay the medical fees."

"You'll pay? Are you very rich?"

"...Master Lan, why are you like a cat whose territory was breached by someone?"

Gan Qing, the "territory," said, "Erm, I…"

"Don't speak." Yu Lanchuan turned to pick up the call from the driver he booked online.

The ride he booked very quickly arrived at the building. Gan Qing had originally planned to go home and cook, but somehow ended up being pushed into the car and dragged to the nearest hospital that specialised in orthopedics.

The roads were not congested and even the hospital was quieter than usual. Gan Qing rarely had the chance to receive medical treatment. She lifted her head to look at the building for outpatient service, a little at a loss. Yu Lanchuan threw out a "Wait here" and left her on a chair while he went to get a number himself for registration. The bitter smell of medicine drifted along the floor. The medical personnel walking by occasionally were fully focused on their jobs.

Yu Yan looked at Yu Lanchuan's back and suddenly said with a sigh, "Actually, Master Lan hates meddling in other people's business the most."

The right side of her body stiff, Gan Qing lifted her head to glance at him. "...The 'Lan' I know might not be the same one you know."

"Yeah, so what I'm saying is, he's really nice to you." Yu Yan sat down beside her and took out a small notebook. "Just now, I tried a few times to ask you what happened but he stopped me every time. Teacher Meng-Meng, why don't you make a statement?"

There was nothing that needed to be hidden so Gan Qing told him everything, briefly and succinctly.

"I finally understand what they mean by 'those who drown can swim,'" Yu Yan said with a deadpan face. "Pitch dark, obviously a trap—how could you dare to chase after them on your own?"

Gan Qing smiled, not at all upset. Her face was the perfect example of "Listening with an open mind, zero intentions of changing."

Yu Yan asked, "What about the knife and the bloodstains? Did you gather them?"

"Nope," Gan Qing said. "Let me put it this way. When Wei Xiao—that's my former shifu—went to No. 110 in the past, he had always avoided being seen by others. There are so many people in Beggars' Sect, even Sect Leader Yang's son has a feud with Wei Xiao. It's only normal that they don't like the sight of me. The last time at that Paradise place, I fought with the people from the Xu clan so I already guessed that something like this would happen. It's normal."

"Just because you have a rough idea of what's going on, there's no need to save the evidence? This is called 'intentionally causing injury'! How is it normal?" Yu Yan became serious. "Little Master Yu is right. It's the twenty-first century already, why are you guys still engaged in jianghu feuds?"

"Normal people have their fights and brawls, jianghu people have jianghu debts and enmity. If you want to handle all of that, do you police have enough hands?" Gan Qing let out a laugh. "Furthermore, do you think these people are good citizens who will piss their pants in terror just because they're in a detention center? These minions depend on the people keeping them. Even if they're caught, they won't give up their masters' names. The first time might be new to them; by the second time, they're used to it already. They'll be locked up for a while and when they're freed, they can still make a living. Comrade Officer, your uniform can scare people who are good but those who are really bad aren't at all scared of you guys."

Yu Yan had nothing to say to that.

"They can harass a person living a proper life until that person goes crazy." Gan Qing tucked the stray strands of her hair that had fallen forward back behind her ear with her uninjured hand. "Luckily, it's me."

It was fine if it was her. She was all alone in the world. If her mood was good, she could just walk away from it all; if her mood was bad, she could accompany them and go down fighting. She didn't have anything to her name, they could all sit down together and compare whose feet were more bare.

As long as a person was willing to abandon all hope and smash the jar that was already cracked, they could live without fear.

Gan Qing said, "But there might be people causing trouble for Sect Leader Yang these few days."

Yu Yan fell silent for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Yu Lanchuan was done registering and was walking towards them. He couldn't stop himself from asking, "Gan Qing, you might not like bags or jewelry, so what do you like? A person must have something they're aiming for in life, right? Aren't you afraid that you'll have nothing at all in your hands when you're old?"

Gan Qing thought for a while, then replied. "Some people are playing the 'accumulate items and run a business' kind of game while others have turned on the 'wandering adventurer' mode. They're just different lifestyles, how is one better than the other?"

Yu Yan said hesitatingly, "That's true…"

Then, he heard Gan Qing slowly twist the knife. "In any case, regardless of which mode it is, most people live in a state of confusion. They are either pointlessly busy or they don't know where they'll be staying tomorrow. Both states are equally miserable."

Yu Yan, "..."

Gan Qing was completely and thoroughly put through the wringer at the hospital. She took an X-ray and then had a consultation with a doctor, and after all the huge fuss, the conclusion given was the same as her own—her bones were fine, she just needed to go back and rest for a few days and not get into any more trouble.

The doctor prescribed her medicine for the bruise. Upon hearing that a brick had smashed into her, the doctor thought that the young lady had been standing near a construction site for no good reason and gave her a long lecture, telling her that "A person of noble character does not seek danger."

By the time they left the hospital, it was already very late. Gan Qing was fretting a little over what to make for dinner when she heard Yu Yan ask, "Where's Yu Lanchuan… Hey, Master Lan, where have you gone to now?"

Yu Lanchuan had done the registration and also collected the medicine. On average, he disappeared once every five minutes and then popped up again after a while. He was so busy that he did not speak even a single word, and could not spare even a second.

"The car is over there." As Yu Lanchuan spoke, he pushed a paper bag at Gan Qing. The delicious smell of baked bread wafted out of the bag. It was a sandwich set meal, still warm.

"'Tsk," Yu Yan made a face. "I thought you were going to treat us to a lavish meal, Rich Guy. Even senior high school students don't buy fast food when treating girls to a meal."

"What lavish meal, is she going to eat with her feet?" Yu Lanchuan shot Gan Qing a glance then turned to rant at Yu Yan. "Isn't it enough that I'm feeding you, why do you have so many complaints!"

Gan Qing's heart skipped a beat, softly. Her left hand was her dominant hand but this was because she forced herself to change after getting injured. She still used her right hand when using chopsticks and holding drinks. Her right hand was not as dispensable as she had said.

While she was spacing out, Yu Lanchuan quickly reached a hand out and took away the drink in her paper bag. He twisted the cap open it and stuffed it back into her hands like he was throwing a grenade, then walked away as though nothing had happened.

Gan Qing, "..."

She stood by the roadside and took a careful bite of the sandwich in the paper bag. Then, lightly, she drew in a breath of cold air. It was strange. Her injuries had been treated and she also had food to eat. But somehow, her injured shoulder was starting to hurt unbearably.

Yu Yan turned around from the front and said, "Eat when you're in the car! Don't swallow the wind along with the food. Ai, Teacher Meng-Meng, why are you like a child?"

Gan Qing made a vague noise in reply and dragged her half-paralysed body along.

A rundown Santana stopped at the zebra crossing to let her pass. Gan Qing nodded absent-mindedly at the car. She didn't look up. One human and one car brushed past each other in that brief encounter.

In the front passenger seat of the Santana, a young woman dug her fingernails into her seatbelt, anxious and restless. She took the chance while the car was not moving to ask the driver next to her in a cautious voice, "Why do I need to switch places?"

The driver said, "Isn't it your own fault? We told you not to go outside and don't let anyone see you but you didn't listen."

The girl stammered, "I saw that… the street was empty…"

"Vagrants are not people? Beggars are not people? I'll be honest with you, those beggars and vagrants can be bribed, all it takes is one meal and they can act as spies for those scumbags who give out high-interest loans."

The girl shivered. "Then have they… found me? You people promised to help me repay the money, have you done so? I… When can I go home?"

The driver wound the window down a crack and blew out a puff of smoke. Slowly, he started the car moving. He said in a cursory manner. "Soon."

The girl was anxious. "But the interest is charged every day. The longer it's put off, the more it'll be!"

"I know there's interest, you don't have to tell me. Do you think that you'll be fine once the money's repaid? The police and the people in the photos are all looking for you." The driver shot her a glance. "How can it be so easy? Bear with it a while longer."

T/N:

[1] The "white peppercorns and flour" homemade medicine that Yu Lanchuan rants about is 金疮药 jīn chuāng yào. According to Baidu, it's used mainly to treat cuts, effectiveness still under research, and is made from many ingredients including lard, pine resin, flour, musk, beeswax, and camphor.

Also, just want to note that Wang Jiake and Wang Jiusheng share the same surname but they're not related. Wang 王 is a common surname.