"Something's happened."
"I really couldn't hold myself back."
Lin Fan deeply regretted it. He had promised to proceed cautiously at the beginning, yet he lost control and killed the other party on the spot.
It was obvious enough—there was no way the forces behind these people would let him go.
Lin Fan shook his head, mildly troubled, and walked toward the dungeon.
If those forces truly came after him, he'd have no choice but to keep killing—after all, the thrill of dropping loot was still quite addictive.
The dungeon.
Wang Baoliu and the others weren't there; it was a shift change, and other constables had taken over.
"Boss."
"Boss."
The constables guarding Doctor Sun rose and greeted Lin Fan with respectful deference.
Although they hadn't been working together for long,
to them, the Boss was decent—a person worthy of admiration and respect.
"Hmm. Has he still not said anything?" Lin Fan asked.
"Boss, his mouth is tough as nails. He keeps yelling that it's all a setup." A constable replied.
Doctor Sun, strapped to a chair, looked even worse off than he had last night. His eyelids drooped, exhaustion consumed him, combined with chills and relentless sneezing. He felt as though death was looming.
Sun Tao glanced at Lin Fan from the corner of his eye, speaking weakly, "I'm innocent. You'll never get me to confess under duress."
Even though the dried well had already been discovered, Sun Tao clung stubbornly to his claim of innocence. This made one thing clear—he still held onto some hope, likely in the forces backing him.
"All of you, get out for now," Lin Fan ordered.
"Yes, Boss." The constables in the dungeon didn't ask any questions. Soon, only Lin Fan and Doctor Sun were left inside.
Doctor Sun glared at Lin Fan with hatred in his eyes but still insisted, "I truly am innocent. I really don't know what happened."
Lin Fan walked up to Doctor Sun, unfastened the heavy iron lock binding his arms, and said, "You are indeed innocent."
Doctor Sun snapped his head upward, staring wide-eyed at Lin Fan, as if he couldn't believe those words.
A trap.
If brute force doesn't work, now he's resorting to gentler tactics?
Sun Tao would never trust Lin Fan so easily; instead, he became even more guarded.
"My lord, you finally understand my innocence!" Sun Tao cried, and if his legs hadn't been shackled, he would've dropped to his knees right then and there.
Lin Fan didn't release Sun Tao's leg chains. Instead, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "I said you're innocent because I think you're innocent. That doesn't mean you actually are."
"On my way here, I met someone—you want to guess who it was?"
Sun Tao lowered his gaze, his eyes flickering as though considering who it could be. He then raised his head and responded, "My lord, I've been imprisoned here the whole time. How could I possibly know who you met?"
"I just beg you to clear my name. I'll repay your kindness by working like a beast of burden."
A masterful performance.
He portrayed a commoner's helplessness with absolute perfection.
Even his facial expressions seemed to convey pain and resentment—a plea for justice against a corrupt official forcing a confession from an innocent man.
Truly textbook-level acting.
"Enough with the show. The person I met was Lu Nian. He asked me to let you go. Do you know him?" Lin Fan asked.
When Sun Tao heard the name "Lu Nian," he suddenly fell silent. He didn't shout anymore—not because there was anything amiss, but because he wasn't sure of the ultimate outcome.
"I don't know him," Sun Tao replied.
"That's odd. He doesn't know you either, yet he offered a thousand silver taels just to set you free. Since you don't know him, it doesn't matter." Lin Fan pulled out a silver note from his robe. "Look at this—rich people are truly generous. This much money would take a constable a lifetime to earn."
Sun Tao stared at the silver note in Lin Fan's hand, breathing a little heavier.
It wasn't greed for the thousand taels—it was the sense that Lin Fan's words might actually be true.
A thousand taels was no small sum. Even for a constable, earning that much in a lifetime was nearly impossible.
As Lin Fan turned to leave, Sun Tao hurriedly called out, "I know him—I do know him!"
Lin Fan turned back, smiling, "You should've just said that. Why bother playing coy? Letting you go isn't a problem, but you'll have to tell me how many traps there are in that dried well."
At the mention of the dried well, Sun Tao's guard went up again.
"My lord, if you're letting me go, then investigating the dried well isn't necessary anymore," Sun Tao said.
Lin Fan shook his head. "Are you dreaming? Lord Wang and the others already know about the dried well. You think not investigating is even an option? Letting you go already comes with risks. I could argue you had no idea the well was problematic, but you must tell me how many traps are in there—and how to navigate through them."
"If you let me go first, I can sneak inside and hide the key items. Otherwise, with Lord Wang's abilities, it may take some time, but he'll definitely dismantle all the traps in the dried well. When that happens, I won't be able to help you."
Sun Tao lowered his head, his expression complex, as his mind raced through potential scenarios.
"Hurry up. If you keep stalling, it'll truly be too late," Lin Fan urged.
"I..." Sun Tao hesitated, deeply conflicted.
Lin Fan crouched down and unlocked the chains around Sun Tao's legs, grabbing him by the shoulder and leaning in to say, "Speak up, and you can leave."
Then Lin Fan tossed a cloth to Sun Tao.
"What's there to hesitate about?"
"Taking money to eliminate disasters—this is my principle and code of conduct."
Lin Fan stared at Sun Tao, his gaze perfectly conveying one message:
Do you trust me?
If you trust me, spill it, and I'll let you out immediately.
Sun Tao bowed his head, wrapping the cloth around himself, his expression shifting unpredictably. He truly wanted to leave.
"In the second layer of the dried well, pull out the brick with a groove. The key is hidden in the wooden duck floating in my bath bucket."
"What matters most inside is a ledger. As long as you hide that ledger, you'll be compensated with even more silver taels."
Faced with the choice,
Sun Tao decided to trust Lin Fan. After all, since Lu Nian had paid him silver taels, he naturally had to deliver on his end of the deal. Otherwise, if news of him taking bribes without acting leaked, the real trouble would begin.
Looking at Sun Tao's shifty eyes, Lin Fan mulled over the situation—did telling him everything mean Sun Tao thought he'd accepted Lu Nian's bribe and was now "one of their own"? That he was just another impure constable who had been corrupted?
Ridiculous!
Lin Fan often pondered two scenarios he'd seen in TV dramas:
One, when someone captured by the enemy refuses to return and spy for them—even dying to avoid it. Surely pretending to agree would work, wouldn't it?
Two, situations like the one he'd just encountered.
Bribery.
Clearly, this was a "free money handout" scenario—of course one should accept it, then eliminate the other side. Double the gain!
"You're sure this is all true?" Lin Fan asked.
"It's true," Sun Tao confirmed.
"Alright, then go." Lin Fan waved his hand. "I keep my word. If I say you can leave the dungeon, you can leave."
"Lord Lin, rest assured, there'll be countless opportunities for collaboration in the future. Wealth and glory will be yours," Sun Tao said, clasping his hands together. Then he briskly headed out of the dungeon.
Lin Fan watched the label hovering above Sun Tao's head, sinking into deep thought.
Sun Tao: Trash-tier scum.
Possible loot: Three years of cultivation, Five Poison Palm (third-class), Beginner's Medicine, cloth.
A pitiful and insignificant existence.
Sun Tao's strides grew faster—his nervousness replaced by excitement. Freedom was finally within reach.
Though physically weak, his determination to leave fueled him.
He glanced back.
Lin Fan stood there motionless.
Sun Tao cast a friendly smile, perhaps signaling mutual goodwill and future collaboration with Lin Fan.
At that moment,
Sun Tao stepped out of the dungeon, sunlight glaring down. Raising his hand to shield his eyes, the long-missed warmth of daylight brought a smile to his lips.
"The prisoner has escaped! Kill him!"
Immediately,
Sun Tao froze at the sound. Shocked, he turned back.
Only to see Lin Fan charging at him fiercely, blade in hand.
In the blink of an eye,
Lin Fan closed the gap, swinging his blade down.
Sun Tao felt the world around him suddenly go silent, his mind reduced to a single thought:
"You treacherous bastard..."
But for Lin Fan, his decision was final—he truly couldn't hold himself back. However meager, at least this was worth three years.
And, of course, he upheld his word:
If he promised you'd leave the dungeon, he'd ensure you got past the doors before making his move.
An immutable principle.