You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 53 Saint’s Relic

"Did I overdo it?"

That thought popped into Le Yuxin’s mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

"Wasn’t this just a great example of public education? No matter if you’re a nobody or some bigwig’s son, if you break the law, you’ll get your ass handed to you all the same. Surely when Yin Yinyin picked a stooge to impersonate the Governor’s kin, he was thinking along those lines too."

"Beating people isn’t all the same—if Le Yuxin hit a regular guy versus a high official’s kid, the results were night and day." freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"If he beat up a regular guy, onlookers would just be scared of the Statistical Department’s power; but beating up a big shot’s brat, the common folks got to see these high-and-mighty meat-eaters eating dirt for once, and start thinking, ’Huh, so these so-called elites aren’t shit after all.’"

And pushes it even further—"So nobles and generals, are they really all that special?"

"That lined up perfectly with White Night’s goal of dragging rulers off their pedestals and dragging noble families into the mud."

Of course, this time, Le Yuxin only beat up a dummy disguised as a big shot, so the message wasn’t as strong. Still, that dummy really nailed the performance, playing the role of a high official’s rampaging kid to perfection. If Le Yuxin hadn’t known the plan ahead of time, he might’ve actually bought it too.

"Even after it was exposed that he was a fake, the impact lingered. Le Yuxin recalled hearing how, back when White-haired Girl toured, the audiences would get so into it they wanted to run up and smack the actors playing the landlord."

"Even knowing it’s theater, simple folks got swept up; so what about this real, down-and-dirty brawl?"

"Plus, that dummy’s furious screams added a nice touch, driving home the point how fragile the ruling class’s dignity really is and making the punishment of wrongdoers unforgettable for the crowd. A chef’s kiss, really."

Le Yuxin twisted his body a little, struck a bowing pose for everyone around to see more clearly, and when he figured the show had gone on long enough, got ready to wrap things up. He let go and said, "Chen Fu, go check their cargo."

According to the plan, Le Yuxin would check the goods, find nothing unusual, the dummy would shamelessly beg for mercy and apologize, and then Le Yuxin would just let them go.

After all, the sacrificial stooge had been thrashed hard enough. If Le Yuxin let them go, the Statistical Department probably wouldn’t pursue it, and as for the City Guard Department—they didn’t want to get dragged into any of this anyway.

"No, you can’t!" Ding Yiyu’s face twisted, and he scrambled to his feet.

Le Yuxin shot him a confused look, then suddenly got it.

"Gotta play out the whole act, huh?"

"Man, letting go of him so quickly—not very professional!"

So Le Yuxin kicked him back down and plopped right on his back, shouting, "Doesn’t matter who you are, you want into the city, you get checked! Chen Fu, go search the cargo, see if there’s any contraband!"

"No! You can’t! No!" Ding Yiyu thrashed like a maniac. "Fine, hit me all you want, but if you check that cargo, you’ll blow everything! The Governor won’t spare you!"

Le Yuxin said offhandedly, "Cargo inspection’s exactly what the Governor told me to do—hey, what are you squirming for, want a few more holes in your body?"

The burly man who was being held at gunpoint stared desperately at the Ding Family cargo being opened. He called out, "Captain! The cargo is seriously important! You can’t open it here! At any cost, please send it to the Governor’s mansion first!"

"What, and if you’ve stuffed a few barrels of shit in there and it blows up in the Governor’s house, am I supposed to lick it clean after? Get lost."

Le Yuxin shot back, but in his head a hint of doubt popped up: "Why are they so desperate about what’s in there? Weren’t the dummy’s wagons supposed to be empty?"

Could they actually be packing firearms in there too?

But there was no turning back now. Le Yuxin thought a second, then suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Ding Yiyu and the burly man instantly looked relieved. But then Le Yuxin added, "Two of you, hold down this faker posing as the Governor’s kin. Chen Fu, come with me to check out the wagon—we’ll be fine even if there’s something dangerous inside."

There was no way he’d check the cargo alone, but with Chen Fu in tow, everyone would buy it. For all of Chen Fu’s faults—his vanity, his cowardice—he at least knew how to follow orders. Even if there were guns inside, Le Yuxin figured he could cook up a cover story with Chen Fu.

"Hopefully it’s not a whole truckload of firearms... Or else I’m screwed..."

Le Yuxin and Chen Fu walked toward the Ding Family’s shrouded wagon at the back. Ding Yiyu was still screaming, but the guards seemed resigned and gave up resisting.

As Le Yuxin got close, he noticed something off: the black cloth looked like dyed, treated cowhide—rainproof, and the oiled hemp rope was tough as nails and hard to break.

They sliced the rope, grabbed a corner of the cover each, exchanged a look, and slowly lifted it.

And then, they saw—a coffin.

An ice coffin, made entirely of ice.

"Captain, this..."

With a loud swoosh, Le Yuxin flung the whole cloth away—hell, it wasn’t guns, so he wasn’t in any danger. What was there to be scared of?

So, there it was—a deep blue ice coffin in the middle of the rainy gate fortress, every eye riveted on it.

Star Engraving County was in the humid, sweltering southeast of Huiyao. You practically never saw ice. Chen Fu couldn’t help but touch the ice coffin, then yelped and jerked his hand away. "Damn, it’s hot!"

Bumpkin.

Le Yuxin snarked in his head, refocusing on the strange device inside the coffin.

The coffin’s shape was plain enough, but there wasn’t a body inside—just an object, golden, not-quite-a-sword and not-quite-a-staff. The whole thing glimmered with a wealthy golden light, double-bladed, but no hilt—just a skull set with three ruby eyes, and the cheeks had pointed tips, making it both eerie and grand.

Call it a sword, but it had no grip; call it a staff, but the skull wasn’t meant to be held. Honestly, it looked more like an anchor—since the whole thing was shaped like the letter ’V’.

"What the hell is that?" Le Yuxin muttered, baffled.

"Why would anyone haul around an ice coffin? And why hide that thing in it?"

"Most important—why the hell did the stooge bring that into the city—"

"Puta-puta-puta-puta—"

A shrill siren sliced through the rain. Le Yuxin looked up to see several armed pickup trucks roaring out of the city, tearing into the fortress. Out jumped squads of men in black-and-silver uniforms, making Le Yuxin’s eyebrow twitch hard.

If he had it right, these were the Governor’s personal guards—the unit Ding Yi relied on most!

"What are you doing—Fourth Young Master!" A wiry middle-aged man leaped from a truck, caught sight of Ding Yiyu pinned to the ground, and gaped.

"Uncle Bo!" Ding Yiyu was practically in tears. "Help me!"

"Let him go!" The middle-aged man—Uncle Bo—shouted. The guards instantly cocked their guns at the Statistical Department’s people, who scrambled to release their grip and step back.

Uncle Bo rushed over and helped Ding Yiyu up. Seeing the kid’s ruined clothes, battered body, and half-mangled face, his own expression darkened to pitch: "What happened? Who did this?"

"It was him, Qian Yuliu!" Ding Yiyu immediately pointed at Le Yuxin and shouted. "I already showed my Governor’s pass, but he kept making trouble, challenged me to a fight, and then sucker-punched me... And he opened the cargo!"

"What?!"

Uncle Bo turned and saw the ice coffin lying exposed in the rain, and his jaw dropped with a sharp inhale.

After a long moment, Uncle Bo slowly exhaled. "No use trying to fix this now... Fourth Young Master, what do you want to do?"

"I want him dead!" Ding Yiyu ground out through his teeth.

"Fine, how do you want him to die?" Uncle Bo said, almost lazily.

"I want every inch of his body ground to pulp, every bone smashed to bits, to die wishing he could pass out from the pain!"

"That’s going to be a bit tricky..."

Uncle Bo said blandly, "I’m not much of a detail guy—let me catch him first, and then you can take your sweet time, Fourth Young Master."

Ding Yiyu shot a condescending look, a mangled grin spreading across his torn face. "Even better!"

"Well, hell. Trouble now."

Le Yuxin scratched his head. "So you really are the Ding Family’s Fourth Young Master?"

"Getting cold feet now, you bastard?" Ding Yiyu sneered. "Don’t worry, I’ll show you what it means to be treated like an animal."

Le Yuxin laughed. "Guess you’re plenty familiar with being an animal, huh?"

"Regret?"

"Le Yuxin only regretted not killing him outright."

"Judging by his attitude, running checkpoints and killing people meant nothing to him. If he’d killed him earlier, it’d be doing everyone a favor."

"I know you’re having a blast planning my demise, but don’t forget, I’m Captain Qian Yuliu, First Special Action Squad, Statistical Department." Le Yuxin wiped blood from his hands. "If you want to take me, follow procedure and have the Governor order Director Lan Yan. And while we’re at it, inspecting the cargo was the Governor’s own order, so I’ve got the law on my side."

"Oh? Trying to talk big now, huh?" Ding Yiyu sneered. "Lan Yan’s just the Ding Family’s lapdog. Why would I report to a dog before killing you?"

Then Uncle Bo stepped forward and said coolly, "To the rest of the Statistical Department: if any of you move, the Governor’s Guards will shoot you down."

Uncle Bo looked at Le Yuxin. "Weren’t you just fighting Fourth Young Master one-on-one? I don’t bully people—let me do a one-on-one with you instead."

When Uncle Bo said "don’t bully people," his legs had already taken off from the ground.

When he said "one-on-one," he’d already crossed ten meters.

When "let’s duel" left his lips, he was right in Le Yuxin’s face, his fist the size of a soup pot hurtling at Le Yuxin’s head!

Le Yuxin barely managed to throw up his arms, but a shock hit his whole body, cutting straight to the bone. He couldn’t help but vomit blood, flying several meters away!

Le Yuxin’s mind went straight to one conclusion:

"This old man is absolutely a Peak of Perfection level Combat Technique Warrior!"

"I’m screwed... Actually, wait—maybe not. If I die as a substitute for him, do I get to freeload a top-tier Combat Technique?"

"Why waste it on Ding Yiyu’s pathetic Wuling Hongguang-level skills, when I could bag this classic Rolls-Royce’s? Score!"

Decision made, as soon as he landed Le Yuxin steeled himself and tried to gather energy for a counterattack.

But Uncle Bo was already on him, fists flying in a barrage of blinding gold-white explosions.

"Gutsy."

Uncle Bo gave a little praise.

Le Yuxin felt a shudder run through his whole body.

"So this is... what death feels like?"

"When he died to Qian Yuliu, Le Yuxin barely registered it at all. But now, running headfirst into a body-shredding storm of fists, real terror hit."

"Maybe, if ’death and substitution’ didn’t kick in after all..."

"It wouldn’t be the worst thing..."

Le Yuxin’s mind was swimming with a thousand thoughts when a flash of blue light swept right in front of him.

A thin crack split the ground. In the next instant, Uncle Bo shot back ten meters to Ding Yiyu’s side, face full of wariness as he stared toward the city gates.

Le Yuxin blinked uncertainly and looked at his hands. "I’m still alive?"

Just then, a gentle male voice drifted through the rain, echoing in everyone’s ears, "Manager Ding Bo, you’re representing the Governor—getting into a spat with the Statistical Department, what’s the point?"

Uncle Bo replied coldly, "Lan Yan, it’s your people who messed up our work!"

Lan Yan strode in through the gate with a squad of officers, a sword wreathed in blue light in his right hand—the same blue slash that’d saved Le Yuxin a moment before.

"Director."

"Director."

The agents offered quick greetings. Lan Yan smiled and nodded. He went over to Le Yuxin, who said, "Thank you for saving me, Director."

"The subordinate protects the superior, the superior looks after the subordinate—it’s only natural." Lan Yan clapped him on the shoulder. "Besides, this mission was on my orders. If there’s blame, it’s mine to bear."

"Director Lan..." The women officers like Ailili were all swooning, and even Chen Fu looked moved.

"Manager Ding Bo, you say we messed up your plans. Care to tell me how?" Lan Yan called out cheerfully.

Uncle Bo hesitated. Ding Yiyu blurted, "You opened the cargo!"

Lan Yan glanced toward the wagon, let out a soft "oh," and ran his hand gently over the ice coffin. Staring at the golden device inside, his face showed utter shock. With a touch of reverence, he said,

"Isn’t this one of Huiyao’s Extreme Divine Weapons, a Saint’s Relic?"