Chapter 67: "A Second Entry into the Palace"

Zhang Shen, seeing Ma Chao hesitating and struggling to speak, assumed he wasn't truly willing to confess, so he prepared to take out his silver needle again. Unexpectedly, Ma Chao became visibly anxious the moment he saw the slender needle in Zhang Shen's hand, and hurriedly said, "It's because of these two girls."

"These two?" Zhang Shen turned to look at Ye Qiong and Wang Ying. In his mind, he thought—wasn't the whole incident stirred up because of Wang Ying? How did Ye Qiong get involved as well? Indeed, none of these young ladies are easy to deal with.

"Did Tong Wei tell you what these two girls have to do with it?" Zhang Shen asked.

"Tong Wei said he was planning to find an opportunity to invite the two girls to a bar, then take advantage of their drunkenness so that his buddies could have some fun..." Ma Chao was right in the middle of revealing the crucial details when Ye Qiong suddenly shouted, "Pervert!" at him.

"Come on, Sister Ye, can't you calm down for a bit? Let him finish, can't you?" Zhang Shen said, though he already had a rough idea of Tong Wei's intentions. What he didn't know was that Ma Chao had added Ye Qiong to the story on his own. Ma Chao knew enough about Ye Qiong to realize Tong Wei wouldn't dare harbor any improper thoughts about her.

The real reason Zhang Shen wanted Ma Chao to finish was not just out of curiosity for the story, but so these two girls, about to enter society, could see a more complex side of human nature—not just fool around all the time.

Ye Qiong retorted, "What's the point in listening? They're obviously thugs, not decent people."

Zhang Shen knew well enough these weren't good people, but he had no authority to sentence them. For now, it was best to hand them over to the police—after all, that's where they belonged.

"Almost forgot—did Tong Wei come with you?" Zhang Shen asked.

Ma Chao, no longer willing to hide anything, answered truthfully, "Tong Wei was just with us. If he hadn't come, how could we have met you, big brother?"

Compared to earlier, Ma Chao's words were as sweet as candy.

But such honeyed words couldn't possibly corrupt Zhang Shen's pure heart.

"So where is he?" Zhang Shen pressed.

"Hiding in the bushes behind us," Ma Chao replied.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shen cursed inwardly, "Not good!" He rushed to the bushes in a single stride, only to find them empty. Tong Wei had evidently seen his own gang knocked down one by one and seized the moment to slip away.

Looking at Ma Chao and the other blond-haired punks, Zhang Shen thought, Surely we can't spend the night here with them? That would be far too humiliating.

With that in mind, Zhang Shen quickly dialed the police: "This is Yuehu City Vocational Health College. We've just caught a few perverts here."

After hanging up, he used his silver needle on the three blond thugs. Seconds later, they opened their eyes one after another, looking as if their souls had left their bodies, utterly dazed.

The four formed a line, escorted by Zhang Shen, and walked toward the campus gate.

The security guard at the gate watched as Ma Chao—who had swaggered arrogantly before—now appeared as meek as a whipped dog. Taking advantage of the thugs' inattention, the guard gave Zhang Shen a thumbs-up, signaling his approval.

All this time, the thugs, relying on their connection with Tong Wei, frequently caused trouble at the school. Though the security guards were responsible for campus safety, some people just didn't follow the rules, which was a constant headache. Now Zhang Shen had finally given them some satisfaction.

A few minutes later, a police car rushed over.

Two officers saw Zhang Shen holding the blond punks, and two young women behind, instantly realizing the thugs had sneaked into the school to harass the girls, interrupted by a passerby—a classic "hero saves the damsel" scenario.

"Sir, are you the one who called?" one officer asked.

"Yes," Zhang Shen replied with a nod.

"Then these two ladies are the victims?" The officer pointed at Ye Qiong and Wang Ying.

Zhang Shen paused; the term "victims" felt awkward. They hadn't suffered any physical harm, but surely the psychological fear remained—especially since that scoundrel Tong Wei was still at large, an ongoing threat.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"In that case, let's go to the station," the officer said.

"Why again?" Zhang Shen blurted, as if he were a frequent offender. The use of "again" seemed sure to cause misunderstanding.

"Just to assist with the investigation," the officer explained, not particularly concerned. He assumed the "hero" had probably done this kind of thing before, out of a sense of justice.

"Alright," Zhang Shen agreed.

A few minutes later, Zhang Shen, Ye Qiong, Wang Ying, and the blond thugs were brought to the police station.

One officer led the troublemakers in for questioning. Another, noticing Zhang Shen's slight build, spoke with concern, "Young man, are you alright? Should I notify your school principal?"

Just as Zhang Shen was about to decline, inspiration struck. "Officer, I saw these thugs harassing the two girls, so I confronted them, but ended up getting beaten myself. Fortunately, I managed to outsmart them in the end."

Even Zhang Shen found his story hard to believe, and Ye Qiong and Wang Ying had already seen through his trick. Twenty minutes earlier, he'd used the same story to deceive Ma Chao, and now he was trying it again, hoping to gain the police's sympathy.

"So, by your account, I should call your school principal?" the officer asked.

He could see through Zhang Shen's lie. The real "victims" had already been questioned, and their dirty, disheveled appearance testified to their struggle. By contrast, Zhang Shen and the two girls looked fine, except perhaps a little shaken. Zhang Shen himself seemed completely unscathed.

But since there was a request, the officer was obliged to fulfill it. After all, it wasn't a big deal.

"Alright, I'll contact your school principal now," he said, preparing to make a call.

Zhang Shen quickly added, "I have the number right here—it's our principal's direct line. You can call him directly!"