170: Chapter 170 Newspaper Advertisement

Chen Ran casually tossed two copper coins, which landed in the wooden box in front of the newsboy, making a crisp sound.

The newsboy was a child of eleven or twelve, wearing a short, patched tunic.

He nimbly pulled a copy from a thick stack of newspapers and handed it over with both hands.

"Sir, your paper..."

The newsboy's voice cut off abruptly.

His gaze met Chen Ran's in mid-air.

His dark, round eyes widened instantly.

He looked at Chen Ran's face, then suddenly lowered his head, staring intensely at the portrait on the front page of the newspaper on top.

He looked up at Chen Ran again, then back down at the newspaper. He repeated this three times.

The newsboy's breathing became rapid, and his cheeks flushed bright red.

"You... you are..."

"Keep the change."

The newsboy spoke excitedly, gathered the coins, and ran off.

Chen Ran shook open the newspaper in his hand.

After just one glance, the corner of his eye couldn't help but twitch.

The front-page headline, in bold, enlarged black type, took up half the page and was extremely eye-catching.

"Has the Iceberg Female Constable of the Six Doors Found Her Match?"

This title truly inherited the essence of a clickbait department.

Below the headline was a portrait that took up a significant amount of space.

The drawing was slightly crude, but it captured the features perfectly.

The man in the drawing had a tall, upright figure, with one hand dominantly wrapped around the waist of a woman wearing a Flying Fish Robe.

The woman was slightly bowing her head, her face flushed, looking shy and coy.

Looking at the "coy" Lin Wan in the drawing, Chen Ran almost laughed out loud.

If Lin Wan were to see this drawing, she would probably grab her sword and level this newspaper office.

He continued reading the article.

Aside from a few key pieces of accurate information, the content added a lot of falsehoods to the facts.

But the author had excellent writing skills and flowery language, turning the conflict from a few days ago into a stirring romance novel.

If he hadn't been there himself, he might have believed this was the truth.

Things like "Lightning striking the earth, a single glance lasting ten thousand years."

Things like "A forbidden love that transcends status and class." It was written with such twists and turns, absolutely gripping.

"These newspaper writers are truly wasting their talents by not writing fiction."

Chen Ran folded the newspaper and tucked it into his sleeve.

The speed at which gossip spread in the capital was even more terrifying than the plague.

Things that happened just a few days ago had already spread through every street and alley by this morning.

The Lu family probably hadn't revealed Lu Yuzhou's disappearance yet.

Yet these newspaper writers, who loved a good show, had simply spun the story into a romantic affair between a talented scholar and a beautiful lady, fanning the flames.

However, this was also good. Everyone's attention was drawn to this scandalous affair.

Everyone was eagerly discussing the "infatuated prison warden" who had offended a noble family for the sake of a beauty.

Chen Ran brushed off his sleeves and strode toward the Six Doors.

Chen Ran stepped over the high threshold of the Six Doors courtyard.

This time, dozens of eyes stared straight at him, converging on him like searchlights.

The emotions in those eyes were extremely complex. There was shock, admiration, jealousy, and a hint of something indescribable—fanaticism and worship.

Chen Ran stopped and swept his gaze over the crowd.

"What, no duties today? Standing here like wooden stakes?"

Old Xu, one of the veteran Constables, was the first to rush up.

"Deputy Captain Chen, you're finally here!"

Old Xu was all smiles, his wrinkles bunching together.

Chen Ran looked up at the circle of people surrounding him.

"If you're being overly attentive for no reason, you're either up to no good or plotting something. Speak up, what kind of mischief are you all brewing?"

Old Xu rubbed his hands and chuckled.

"Deputy Captain Chen, how can you say that? Isn't it only right for us brothers to show you some respect?"

He looked left and right, lowered his voice, his tone betraying uncontrollable excitement.

"That... the newspaper this morning, is it true?"

Chen Ran paused, then gave a slight nod and an "hmm," without answering directly.

Seeing this, Old Xu gave a thumbs-up and shook it vigorously.

"Impressive, truly impressive! Brother, I admire you from the bottom of my heart!"

"Our Chief Lin is a famous Iceberg Beauty. Usually, she keeps such a cold face that if she even glances at us, we all shiver."

Thinking of Lin Wan's usual decisive and swift style, these Constables shuddered.

Someone else leaned in, full of curiosity, their eyes gleaming with gossip.

"Deputy Captain Chen, just give us the inside scoop."

"How exactly did you win over Chief Lin?"

"Is there some kind of Secret Manual? Teach us a trick or two. Even if we could learn just a fraction of your skills, we wouldn't have to worry about finding wives in the future."

Chen Ran walked, and the people around him followed.

Chen Ran arrived at his usual resting spot, took a sip of tea, and placed the cup on the table beside him.

Only then did he slowly speak: "A Secret Manual?"

"Yes, yes, yes, a Secret Manual!" Everyone nodded repeatedly, like chickens pecking at rice.

Chen Ran leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and folded his hands over his abdomen.

"Does being handsome count?"

The courtyard fell silent instantly.

The smile on Old Xu's face froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched twice.

Little Li stood with his mouth open, unable to speak for a long time, seemingly struggling to digest the sentence.

Chen Ran scanned them and raised an eyebrow.

"What, don't believe me?"

Old Xu coughed twice, reacted quickly, and gave another thumbs-up.

"Believe, of course I believe! Deputy Captain Chen's appearance is absolutely like Pan An reborn—handsome, dashing, and elegant!"

"Exactly, exactly! Chief Lin must have fallen for Deputy Captain Chen's handsome appearance! Heroes struggle to pass the beauty's test, and beauties struggle to pass the handsome man's test!"

Everyone turned on their sycophantic mode again, spouting compliments as if they were free.

Chen Ran was happy to be at leisure, leaning back in his chair, calmly enjoying this rare treatment of being "fawned over."

This status as a shield might as well be used.

At least within the Six Doors, bearing the title of "Lin Wan's male companion," his status was different from before.

Just then, BOOM!

A deafening roar came from the direction of the Outer City without any warning.

The sound was immense, as if a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens had exploded in their ears.

The entire Six Doors shook violently.

Roof tiles clattered down, smashing into the courtyard with crisp shattering sounds.

A few Constables who couldn't stand steady fell directly to the ground, letting out cries of alarm.

Chen Ran's feet were rooted to the ground as if they had taken root; his body didn't move an inch.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze like lightning, looking toward the direction the loud noise came from.

He saw a thick column of black smoke rising into the sky, like a black Dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, piercing straight into the clouds.

Immediately after, there were second and third consecutive explosions. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The violent shockwave even reached the Inner City, blowing the old locust tree in the Six Doors courtyard so hard it shook violently, leaves flying everywhere as if it were raining green.

"What's going on?"

"Could it be an earthquake?"

The Constables in the courtyard were in chaos, pointing in terror at the black smoke in the direction of the Outer City, not yet knowing what had happened.

Only Chen Ran narrowed his eyes, whispering in his heart:

"That direction is... the Martial Arts Tournament."