79. Encountering a Thief

By the time it was past four, the sweltering heat had begun to cool, and the two finally left the shade of the trees, preparing to head back. Before long, they found themselves at a small plaza, beside which stood a dessert shop. An Jingru's eyes lit up with delight. "Let me treat you to some ice cream," she said.

Chen Fengyun followed her toward the dessert shop, where a queue of seven or eight people had already formed. An Jingru joined the line, Chen Fengyun standing to her left while her bag hung from her right shoulder. She opened her bag, pulled out her wallet, took some change, then returned the wallet to her bag—forgetting to zip it up. This did not go unnoticed by a scrawny young man passing by, whose eyes glimmered with sudden intent.

The scrawny youth glanced left and right, then nonchalantly joined the queue behind them as if he too were waiting for ice cream. Yet Chen Fengyun noticed the flicker in his gaze and quietly kept a watchful eye on him.

As expected, the young man looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then stealthily reached out his right hand, using his body to shield his movement as he slid it toward An Jingru's bag.

"Stop!"

Just as he managed to extract An Jingru’s wallet, a sharp shout rang in his ear. In the next instant, a large, iron-like hand seized his right wrist and lifted it high.

The one who had caught the thief was none other than Chen Fengyun. He had already noticed the thief’s suspicious behavior and had been quietly observing, only making his move when the theft was actually committed.

With Chen Fengyun’s shout, people nearby all turned to look, catching sight of the thief’s hand clutching a woman’s wallet. They instantly understood what had happened and began to murmur among themselves.

"Wow, someone actually caught a thief!"

"Incredible. This is the first time I’ve seen someone catch a pickpocket in the act."

"So despicable! I had my phone stolen here last time—maybe it was this guy!"

An Jingru also looked over. Suddenly, the wallet in the thief’s hand looked familiar, identical to her own. She glanced down at her bag in realization, then cried out in alarm, "Isn’t that my wallet? How did it end up in your hand?"

"You dropped it on the ground. I just picked it up for you," the thief stammered, panic-stricken as he realized he’d been caught with so many witnesses.

Click, click, click—

At that moment, Chen Fengyun raised his camera and snapped several photos of the thief holding the wallet. He then said, "You’re young and able-bodied—surely there are better ways to make a living than this?"

"Everything you just did was caught on that security camera over there, so there’s no use lying. Wait for the police to arrive and explain yourself to them." As he spoke, Chen Fengyun took the wallet from the thief’s hand and handed it back to An Jingru, signaling for her to call the police. Realizing they intended to report him, the thief grew desperate. He suddenly drew a spring-loaded knife from his pocket and lunged at Chen Fengyun.

Screams rang out from the girls in the crowd. At the very moment the knife was about to strike Chen Fengyun’s shoulder, he shifted his body with lightning speed, causing the blade to miss its mark. As the thief swung the knife sideways, Chen Fengyun seized his right hand and twisted it forcefully. A sickening crack echoed as the thief howled in pain—his wrist was broken.

At the same time, Chen Fengyun released the thief, then delivered a powerful kick to his abdomen, sending him flying two meters before crashing to the ground with another anguished cry, barely able to get up.

Just then, two more young men burst from the crowd—one with wild, tangled hair, the other sporting two skull tattoos on his arm. One charged at Chen Fengyun with a spring knife, while the other ran at An Jingru.

"Watch out—he has accomplices!" someone in the crowd screamed.

Chen Fengyun’s eyes narrowed. In a flash, he retreated to An Jingru’s side, blocking the advancing thief. The attacker swung a fist at Chen Fengyun’s face.

"Hmph! On your knees!" Chen Fengyun snorted coldly, then raised his leg and pressed it down like lightning onto the thief’s shoulder, forcing him down with a sudden force. The thief bellowed, but with a dull thud, he was forced to his knees on the hard pavement.

The skull-tattooed thief shrieked in agony. No matter how fierce he was, his knees were no match for concrete. As he was forced to kneel, the sound of bone fracturing was clearly heard.

The last thief cursed furiously, brandished his spring knife, and charged at Chen Fengyun, stabbing viciously at his chest, his face twisted with murderous rage.

Bang!

To Chen Fengyun, the man’s movements seemed almost in slow motion. Before the blade could reach him, Chen Fengyun lashed out with a swift kick to the attacker’s chest, sending him staggering backward seven or eight steps.

At this point, the scrawny thief had managed to climb to his feet. He rushed at Chen Fengyun again, flailing his knife wildly with no sense or aim, making him even more dangerous.

"Careful!" An Jingru called from behind, grabbing hold of Chen Fengyun’s hand.

"Get lost!" Chen Fengyun frowned. Though he could have activated the energy shield of the Golden Bell, doing so in front of so many people would have been far too conspicuous. Instead, he shouted at the scrawny thief, his voice infused with the power of his mind-calming scripture.

The thief suddenly let out a terrified scream, as if he’d heard something unspeakably horrifying. He stumbled back a few steps, the knife slipping from his grasp, then turned and fled through the crowd.

"Stop! Don’t let him get away!"

At that moment, two police officers arrived. One lunged at the thief still in the crowd, while the other chased after the one fleeing. Chen Fengyun kicked the kneeling thief over to the first officer.

Click—

The officer, quick and deft, had both thieves handcuffed in an instant. Turning around, Chen Fengyun realized it was a female officer he recognized—Zhong Lingling.

"It’s you, Chen Fengyun? You caught these thieves?" Zhong Lingling asked as she approached.

"Officer Zhong, it’s you. That’s right—I was waiting in line for ice cream with my friend when one of these thieves tried to steal her wallet. I caught him in the act. I have photos, and the security cameras should have caught everything too. I didn’t expect him to pull a knife and attack, and then his two accomplices emerged from the crowd. Those spring knives on the ground are their weapons. You really need to deal harshly with these people—they’re the ones ruining the city’s reputation."

Chen Fengyun gave a brief account of what had happened, and Zhong Lingling nodded—she trusted his words. Meanwhile, her partner returned, clearly empty-handed.

"Xiao Zhong, that guy may be scrawny, but he runs fast. I couldn’t catch him," the middle-aged officer said, panting.

"It’s fine. Let’s take these two back for questioning—they won’t be slipping away this time," Zhong Lingling said fiercely.