"No matter if you're Black or White, even if you're the head of state, you must remember that one saying: 'What goes around, comes around.'" — Memoirs of Yang Yi

A chill snaked down Lin Fatty's spine as he recalled the patrol officer's eerie smirk from moments before. Oddly, a smile that wasn't his own suddenly stretched across his face—a grin that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who saw it.

Frowning, the middle-aged officer fixed his gaze on the strange expression and asked, "You're saying you're a good person? Right?"

"Heh, good people and bad people are all the same, as long as one's conscience is clear." Lin Fatty chuckled. Heaven knew what the officer meant by that question, and seeing as he was only interrogating him, Lin Fatty wondered if the other pickpockets had already bribed this officer.

"Then, am I a police officer of the people?" the patrol officer asked, his face fixed in a smile.

"Yes, you are a police officer of the people, and I am just a common citizen."

"Oh? Is that so?" The officer exchanged a glance with the four or five burly men standing behind him. A shadow of grimness instantly crossed his lips, and the men behind him broke into knowing smiles, relaxing their crossed arms.

Bang! A door was kicked open violently.

"Who's there?" Two men, about to carry out some nefarious act on the little girl huddled in the corner, terrified and curled into a ball, were startled by the sudden intrusion. They instinctively clapped a hand over a certain area and looked toward the doorway.

"What are you bastards asking?" Yang Yi swept the scene with a cold gaze. Seeing the little girl huddled in the corner, her face etched with fear, his hand was clenched into a fist so tight his knuckles were white, revealing the sheer force in his grip.

"The bastard is asking you..."

"Damn it!" The two large men quickly zipped up, letting out a gasp. It was obvious they realized their careless retort had earned them the insult of being called bastards. Their faces flushed with rage as they stared fixedly at the newcomers.

"No, I need to go and see. Young Master was injured a few days ago and hasn't fully recovered; he can't use his internal energy right now," Feng Shi suddenly said, recalling something.

"I'll go with you!" Xuan Yuanbing’s heart filled with concern upon hearing this.

Although she didn't fully understand the internal energy of a martial arts grandmaster, hearing Feng Shi explain that Yang Yi couldn't use his power because of his recent injury made her anxious. "I'm worried those people will provoke Yi and force him to use his internal energy—that would be troublesome."

"Good, let's go." Feng Shi’s delicate frame trembled as she heard this, and she immediately stepped into the next carriage.

"You two bastards." Yang Yi struggled to suppress the surging anger within him. Though he hadn't spent a great deal of time with the little girl, she had added considerable joy to his eighteen years, making her almost a friend—especially since she was from the same village, an actual compatriot.

Someone had apparently coined the phrase, "When fellow villagers meet, one pulls a gun on the other," but Yang Yi never paid much mind to such nonsense. Yet, seeing his fellow villager in trouble, how could he not be furious?

"Charge!" The two men exchanged a look, nodded their heads, and rushed towards Yang Yi.

"I originally thought you lot were just pickpockets, that you'd show some restraint, but I never imagined you'd sink lower than beasts. I, this Young Master, view you with the most lethally contemptuous glare possible among scoundrels." Yang Yi's lips curled into a murderous sneer, his eyes deepening with undisguised scorn.

Hearing these words, the two charging men were utterly enraged, lunging at Yang Yi with bared teeth and flailing arms.

"Hmph." Yang Yi let out a cold snort, effortlessly dodging their attacks. Relying on sheer physical strength, even though Yang Yi appeared frail, the inherent arrogance within him forbade him from losing to such brutes.

Thump! Thump!

He moved with lightning speed, delivering two swift kicks behind the two large men. They felt a sudden jab to their posteriors, causing them to pitch forward—if there hadn't been cow dung in front of them, they might have resembled men rushing to relieve themselves.

Smack! The two who had fallen spat out air and cried out to each other, "Mother of heaven..."

Yang Yi gave them a look of utter disdain, then turned to the little girl, who was shaking violently beside him, and said, "It's alright now, you're safe."

"They... they wanted to..."

"Heh, you're fine now, aren't you?"

"Thank you!" Stabilized by Yang Yi's calm and warm tone, the tremor of panic in the little girl's heart subsided considerably.

"Damn it!" The two thugs had gotten back on their feet and were now brandishing small knives—they looked like the kind used for peeling apples. They strode purposefully towards Yang Yi and the girl, thrusting the blades forward.

"Ah!" The little girl shrieked, covering her face with both hands in terror.

It was at that precise moment that two ghostly white figures appeared. One kick each from them sent the two men armed with apple knives flying effortlessly, crashing hard against the metal-plated wall.

"Young Master, are you alright?" Feng Shi asked Yang Yi anxiously.

"Uh, I'm fine, hehe!" Yang Yi didn't ask why the two women had followed; he understood perfectly well that he couldn't use his internal energy right now, hence their concern for him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Because the rooms and seats in the carriage were constructed of iron and wood, several strange impacts began to echo from the compartment next to Yang Yi's.

"It seems Fatty couldn't hold back either. This world truly is full of ghosts," Yang Yi said with a faint smile to Feng Shi. "You stay here and watch over her; Ice and I will go check on Fatty."

"Yes, Young Master," Feng Shi responded, helping the still-shaking little girl walk away.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yuanbing, hearing Yang Yi call her 'Bing'er,' stared at him with eyes as dazzling as ice flowers. "Who allowed you to call me Bing'er?"

"What? You don't like me calling you that?" Yang Yi countered.

"I!—" Xuan Yuanbing was momentarily speechless, unsure how to reply.

"Let's go!" Yang Yi gave her a meaningful look, a teasing smile playing on his lips, and walked toward the door.

"You're a police officer, so you say I'm a bad guy, and I am a bad guy. Well, now I can tell you: I am a hooligan. I say you are not a good person, so you are not fit to be a police officer." Lin Fatty stood arrogantly, one foot planted firmly on the face of one of the thugs, addressing the patrol officer who was standing by a table, his face a mask of terror.

"You... you..." The terrified officer hadn't expected Lin Fatty to be so capable; he had dispatched the five large men in just a few moves. Such skill was far beyond that of an ordinary man. But knowing this was useless now, he could only point at Lin Fatty, sputtering for a long moment. Suddenly, though, a thought gave him some backbone, and he pointed a finger at Lin Fatty. "This is a crime! You should know, murder demands a life in return."

Just as Lin Fatty was about to make a move upon hearing this, Yang Yi’s voice cut in.

"Fatty."

"Uh, Brother Yi!" Lin Fatty dropped the hand gesture he was about to make—it looked like he was reaching for a throwing knife—and turned to look at Yang Yi, kicking the man under his foot until he passed out.

Yang Yi glanced around, a wry smile touching his lips as he shook his head. "How are things?"

"How else? This fellow and these pickpockets are a nest of vermin, all rats together." Lin Fatty looked upon the middle-aged man in the police uniform with utter contempt.

"En, don't escalate things too much. After all, that guy is a cop," Yang Yi said, waving his hand. He gave the middle-aged officer a look layered with an unreadable smile.

However, the officer seemed not to have grasped the meaning of Yang Yi's words at all. His face suddenly lit up, as if he had heard something truly useful at that moment. "Hmph, at least one of you unruly citizens is sensible enough to know I'm a police officer."

"Oh really?" Lin Fatty let out a cold chuckle upon hearing this. "Give you an inch, and you try to take a mile?"

"Wh-what are you trying to do?" the middle-aged officer asked as Lin Fatty slowly walked toward him.

"Brother Yi, you just said not to make a big fuss, but you didn't say I couldn't beat this bastard, did you?" Lin Fatty said with a sly grin as he approached.

"No, I didn't," Yang Yi replied with a wicked smile. "Fatty, you'd better get some proof. When the train stops, you might not be named one of the Top Ten Outstanding Youths, but you can certainly play the role of Lei Feng."

"Tsk, tsk, I get it now." Lin Fatty’s grin grew more sinister.

"Hah—what goes around, comes around," Yang Yi muttered, suddenly recalling the phrase, before he, too, walked out of the compartment.

The train continued its slow journey as night fell, casting a sleepy haze over the passengers. The little girl, who had followed Feng Shi out, was now nodding off next to her companion, her head intermittently bobbing up and then slumping down.

Upon returning to his seat, Yang Yi felt a strange tremor in his heart. She really hasn't changed, he thought. Perhaps girls from the countryside are simply more pure, unlike the dazzlingly dressed women in the city who know too many schemes.

"Young Master..."

"Shhh, just let her sleep for a while. After what happened, she must be exhausted." Yang Yi whispered.

"En."

"Yi, do you know her?" Xuan Yuanbing asked in a low voice.

"Heh heh." Yang Yi smiled faintly, glancing at her, then at Feng Shi. He knew they were both puzzled; their actions, along with Lin Fatty's, had made their intervention to help the girl too obvious, leading to their confusion.

"She's a fellow villager, of sorts. Her home isn't far from where I live. We haven't seen each other in two years, and she didn't recognize us—she really has changed beyond recognition!"

"Your fellow villager?" Xuan Yuanbing was even more bewildered; she knew very little about Yang Yi's past.

"Yes, a fellow villager, and furthermore..."

"Fatty!" Yang Yi exclaimed as Lin Fatty returned, continuing the sentence he had started. What annoyed Yang Yi most was that the man seemed ready to reveal that particular incident.