Chapter 016: The Tough Guy

Du Fan smiled as he watched Major Simon drink tea sip by sip, casually offering praise—words like how brave and fearless Major Simon was. This made Major Simon feel increasingly embarrassed.
Meanwhile, as he drank tea, Major Simon noticed Du Fan’s gaze becoming increasingly strange. He suddenly thought of another possibility: Could this young master Du Fan be interested in him? He had heard that many nobles in the capital favored men of the same sex. If this young master also had such interests, then…
At this thought, Major Simon felt his bottom ache and could barely sit still. After much deliberation, he decided that if this young master Du Fan really was interested in him, he would go all in—just close his eyes and apply a little butter…
After watching Major Simon finish the last sip of tea, Du Fan smiled again and said, “It seems Major Simon is quite satisfied with my tea, isn’t that right?”
How could Major Simon dare say no? He quickly nodded, “Satisfied! Very satisfied!”
Du Fan said with a smile, “Since you’re satisfied, drink more… Someone, bring more water for Major Simon.”
Someone immediately brought over another large pot of water. Du Fan didn’t say much, just kept urging Major Simon to drink more. By the end, Major Simon felt his stomach swell, and the tea had long lost its flavor, but he dared not complain.
Seeing him nearly pass out from drinking, Du Fan waved his hand to signal the servant to stop.
Major Simon could no longer drink. Seeing Du Fan finally stop them, he almost bent down to kiss Du Fan’s feet. But for future benefits, he had to act tough. After thinking for a moment, he realized he had no other way to act tough except by persisting on one matter. He raised his head, meeting Du Fan’s smiling gaze. Though his heart felt a bit cold, he forced a smile and said, “Enough, young master Du Fan. I’ve had enough tea, but we still haven’t dealt with the matter we’re here for. Since I know you’re here, I’d like to ask you to do me a favor and give me justice.”

Du Fan smiled and said, “Great! Major Simon is truly heroic, and I admire him greatly. If that bastard Carol has done anything to upset you, just tell me. I’ll definitely help you get revenge. Although I’m just the third young master of our family, I’m not without the means to take a captain’s head.”

Simon was delighted to hear this. He glared at Carol, thinking, “You little scoundrel, aren’t you going to die this time?”

Carol forced a bitter smile. How could this young master Du Fan get involved with him? What was going on here? But he didn’t dare refuse to cooperate either. He channeled his combat energy, his face instantly turning pale, with sweat droplets streaming down from his forehead. His terrified, pale expression looked quite convincing.

Simon was even happier seeing Carol’s reaction. After thinking for a moment, he said solemnly, “Young master Du Fan, I’m here only for my brothers. I just want to ask Captain Carol why he killed half of my men and captured the other half. If he can’t give me a satisfactory answer, this matter will never be settled like this!”

“Is there really such a thing?” Du Fan was astonished. He slammed the table hard. “People from our Northern Legion have never had the right to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Defense Forces. How could you do such a thing, Carol? If you don’t give me an explanation, I swear your head will roll immediately!”

Carol showed a bitter smile and said, “Well… Young master Du Fan… you really do need to hear my explanation…”

“What’s there to explain?” Du Fan slammed the table again, using his combat energy this time, smashing the table to pieces. “If you explain, how could I possibly know the truth??!”

After saying that, he smiled kindly at Major Simon and said, “Major Simon, could you tell me what happened? I want to understand what really took place.”

Simon nodded and said, “Of course. Here’s what happened: Our Imperial Defense Forces discovered a few barbarian spies disguised as merchants who had infiltrated the city. My brothers lured them to the city corner to eliminate them all at once. But unexpectedly, Lieutenant Carol arrived with a group of men and rescued those people, killing and capturing my brothers in the process. Young master Du Fan, isn’t this unjust?”

At that moment, Simon suddenly sensed something was amiss. Yet with great wealth just ahead, that slight doubt was instantly dismissed. He sat there, holding his teacup, pretending to drink it, presenting the image of a mature and composed hero.

Upon hearing Major Simon’s words, Du Fan sneered, turned to look at Carol, and asked, “Lieutenant Carol, is what General Simon said true?”

Carol smiled bitterly. “Well… maybe half of it is true…”

“What do you mean half is true? If it’s true, why aren’t you releasing them?”

“Young Master Du Fan, I dare not release them!”

“Why not? You even dare to disobey my orders. Are you tired of living?”

“No, Young Master Du Fan.” Carol shook his head slightly before adding, “If I’m not mistaken… I only captured a group of people today—the ones who offended you today.”

Du Fan said, “Oh,” and continued, “So it’s the group that mistook me for a merchant and lured me to the city corner to kill me and rob me, right? You mean all of them are Major Simon’s men?”

Carol replied, “Well… that’s probably the case…”

“I see…” Du Fan turned to look at Major Simon, then sighed suddenly. “Major Simon, if it’s that group… you’ve misunderstood Captain Carol. Half of those people were killed by me… and I ordered the rest to be sent to the city lord’s residence. If I had known their leader was such a person, I wouldn’t have been so harsh. I’m truly sorry, Major Simon.”

Major Simon’s face turned pale. He trembled slightly, and his teacup clattered to the ground.

Du Fan glanced at him concerningly and said in surprise, “Major Simon, are you sick? Why are you shaking all of a sudden? If so, let me take a look. Don’t be fooled by my appearance—I’m also a White Cloak Priest of the Holy Church. I know a bit about healing magic and other sacred spells. It may not cure everyone, but it certainly won’t kill them!”

Ignoring the shattered porcelain on the ground, Major Simon knelt down abruptly and kowtowed repeatedly. “Young Master Du Fan, it was my subordinates who were reckless and offended you. Please do whatever you want to them—kill them or punish them. They deserve it! They truly deserve it!”

Du Fan was startled and waited for Simon to express his surprise. “This… Major General Simon, what are you doing? As a hero like you, you should be kneeling before the Supreme God of Light. I, Du Fan, can’t bear such an act from you… Please get up quickly. As for your subordinates, I’ll just order them to be released. After all, I’m not seriously injured—what’s there I can’t handle?”
Although Du Fan’s tone sounded sincere, Simon was no longer daydreaming. He could sense the murderous intent hidden behind Du Fan’s calm voice. He remained kneeling on the ground, unable to utter a word.
Du Fan pretended to ask a few more questions, but Simon had learned his lesson this time and didn’t fall for it. Feeling bored, he sat back down, took a few sips of hot tea, then suddenly sneered and said, “Alright… Simon… Since you’ve enjoyed playing with me so much, I won’t take your life. But lift your head and answer properly. Otherwise, I don’t know what consequences will follow.”
Simon hurriedly raised his head, his face covered in tears and snot.
Du Fan glanced at him and said, “Weren’t you extremely arrogant when you first came in? Why are you like this now?”
Simon apologized, “Well… it’s because I was shortsighted, truly shortsighted…”
Du Fan snorted and said, “Enough, stop talking nonsense. I actually want to ask you—under normal circumstances, if you hadn’t figured out what conflict had occurred with the Northern Legion, you wouldn’t have rushed here to settle accounts with Carol, right? What kind of stimulant did you take this time to become so excited?”
Simon’s expression changed, and after a moment, he sighed and said, “Well… Young Master Du Fan… It’s just that a few of the captured people are my distant nephews, so I was worried for a moment… just…”
Du Fan shook his head at him and said, “Forget it. If you won’t talk, then it’s fine. I’ll leave Carol to you. As long as you get the information out, even if he dies, it doesn’t matter. No matter what happens, I’ll take responsibility. Is he just some minor major? I don’t believe anyone would come after me over him.”
Carol nodded and said, “Yes!”
Then he made a gesture: “Someone! Take him away and subject him to severe torture!”
Simon’s face turned pale again, showing a struggle on his face. After a moment, he said, “Young Master Du Fan, Young Master Du Fan… I’ll talk… I’ll tell you everything…”