025 A Huge Misunderstanding!

“This bus stop is at least five hundred meters from the scene of the arrest! Are you sure it took you less than a minute to get there?”

“Chief Zhou, Brother Yun and I went over it ten times, and it really only took fifty-eight seconds,” the young auxiliary officer reported. The older policeman beside him nodded as well, confirming there was nothing wrong with the footage.

Watching the figure in the video, striding swiftly and capturing the thief in one fell swoop, Zhou Qin’s expression revealed his astonishment.

He had thought the remark about “a comrade skilled in martial arts” was just a joke. He hadn’t paid much attention to it at first and had only casually chatted with the young officer about it when he got back to the station. But after seeing the video, Deputy Station Chief Zhou finally understood what it meant to be “skilled in martial arts.”

“Political Commissar Yao, what do you think…” Zhou Qin glanced at the military officer beside him, who stood upright, composed, and had been invited to attend.

“This is what we call military and civilian cooperation for public safety—a good thing, something that deserves to be publicized. Of course, the officers here also worked hard, especially investigating so carefully in this heat.” Commissar Yao smiled, his words diplomatic and flawless, though similar thoughts to Zhou Qin’s flickered through his mind.

He had thought his three soldiers on leave had joined forces to catch a thief in the city and had come specifically to find out the details, planning to report back and praise them. He hadn’t expected the main credit for catching the thief to go to an outsider.

Still, acts of bravery are always commendable, and it was pointless to quibble over who deserved more credit.

But seeing Chen Jue’s swift and powerful movements in the video, Commissar Yao couldn’t help but marvel: “There really are remarkable people among the common folk!”

Even more, at the end of the video, when Chen Jue apprehended the thief and his entire body seemed to emit a white mist, Commissar Yao recorded it on his phone, planning to ask a fighting instructor he knew about it later.

…

Commissar Yao stayed at the Southern City Police Station for less than an hour and left before lunch, taking his three soldiers who had finished giving their statements. They climbed into a military jeep and drove out of the station compound.

Inside the jeep, the three soldiers sat bolt upright, hardly daring to breathe as if they’d done something wrong.

“This time you three have really made a name for yourselves!”

“You’re the top three sprinters in the entire regiment, and you still couldn’t catch up to a civilian martial artist. When we get back, each of you will write a reflection!” Commissar Yao looked at their uneasy faces and couldn’t help but tease them with a laugh.

“Commissar! A reflection? Not a written self-criticism?” the one in the middle asked, a grin spreading across his face. The other two also grinned sheepishly.

“Bravely helping a citizen catch a thief—what’s there to criticize? If you enjoy writing self-criticisms so much, I’ll have your company commander assign you more!” Commissar Yao chuckled heartily.

“No, no! A reflection is enough, Commissar, please have mercy on us,” the three soldiers pleaded quickly.

“Glad you know what's good for you! Do your best when we get back. Next week, at the regiment’s training, you’ll receive a verbal commendation. Make sure each of you prepares a speech—don’t embarrass me on stage,” Commissar Yao instructed them with a smile.

“We’ll do as you say, Commissar! We’ll write the speeches well… But isn’t a verbal commendation a little too little? Can’t we get a merit citation or something?” one of them asked with a hopeful grin.

“Thinking of a merit citation for catching a thief?”

“You think merit citations are like groceries at the market? The officers at the police station catch dozens of thieves a month and hardly ever get even a third-class merit. You three are pushing your luck. Make it two thousand words for the reflection!” Commissar Yao said with a laugh.

“Two thousand words?”

“We just had two days off! That wouldn’t be enough to write it all out!”

“Commissar, please, eight hundred words would be enough!” The three pleaded, thoroughly at his mercy.

“All right, all right! Since you performed well this time and brought honor to the regiment, I’ll approve an extra day off. Make the reflection five hundred words, hand it to your company commander, and I’ll read them myself,” Commissar Yao said, waving his hand.

“An extra day off?”

“Thank you, Commissar! You’re the best!” The three soldiers were overjoyed, their words sweet as honey.

“By the way, tell me about that civilian martial artist. The video isn’t all that clear, but you saw him in person, so you must know exactly what happened.” Commissar Yao pulled out the video and asked.

“Commissar, you wouldn’t believe it! We really did meet a master this time!”

“He overtook us in the blink of an eye—over five hundred meters and he left us nearly fifty meters behind. And in the end, he even seemed to use qi energy, like something out of a movie…” The three began animatedly discussing Chen Jue, filling the jeep with their chatter.

…

The scene shifts to Chen Jue.

After giving his statement at the station and receiving personal thanks from the middle-aged woman, Chen Jue left and took a taxi to a pharmacy called Ye Tong Ren Hall in the north of An County.

The pharmacy was quite large, housed in a standalone antique building. Its interior was decorated in a classical style, brightly lit, resembling an ancient apothecary.

Inside, the atmosphere was bustling, with pharmacists preparing prescriptions and elderly traditional doctors seeing patients.

Chen Jue had passed by this place during his student days and the old house had left a deep impression on him.

“Sir, are you here to fill a prescription or see a doctor?” A young doctor in a white coat at the counter asked.

“I’m here to fill a prescription. Could you take a look at this formula and see if you can prepare it for me?” Chen Jue took out his phone and showed the Shaolin Great Strength Pill recipe he’d copied, getting straight to the point.

“Half a catty of tribulus, four taels of Chinese angelica, four taels of achyranthes, four taels of goji berries, four taels of fish gelatin…” The young doctor glanced at the prescription, muttering as he read, then suddenly looked up at Chen Jue with a rather curious and amused expression.

“This is Great Strength Pill, isn’t it? An ancient formula from the Tendon-Altering Classic!”

“You recognize this prescription?” Chen Jue’s interest was piqued.

“Of course! We study these famous old formulas when learning traditional Chinese medicine, but the Great Strength Pill is, well, for that kind of problem…” The young doctor lowered his voice and explained very discreetly.

After all, men sometimes have private matters they don’t wish to discuss!

Chen Jue’s mind instantly went blank, and he was so embarrassed he nearly wished he could sink into the floor.

So it turned out this miraculous pill also treated impotence!

Of course, the doctor had misunderstood, but there was no way to explain it was for martial arts training. All he could do was bite the bullet and ask the doctor to prepare a few doses to try.

“You definitely can’t take it home today. It’ll take at least three days—the pills need to be made, and that takes time. Leave me a delivery address, and I’ll have it sent express when it’s ready, or you can come pick it up yourself.” The young doctor chuckled, clearly realizing Chen Jue was a novice when it came to Chinese medicine.