**The Strange Old Man**

"Brother Leopard, I know you're a man of honor, but forget it. I'll handle my own matters," Ethan Parker shook his head.

"What! You don't trust me, Old Leopard?" Bao Sanli growled.

"Not at all. I just don't want to involve you, Brother Leopard. Logan Carter's family is powerful. His father is the chairman of Xiongfeng Group. We can't fight him yet," Ethan Parker emphasized the word "yet." He knew this grudge would have to be settled sooner or later. Before, he wouldn't dare say that, but now he was no ordinary man. Xiongfeng Group? One day, he'd be much stronger.

"Yeah, I misunderstood you, brother. You're right. Xiongfeng Group is beyond our reach," Bao Sanli sighed. People like them often felt it was unfair. They got jailed for breaking the law, while the rich did worse things and remained free.

"Let's not talk about that. Brother Leopard, why are you in here?" Ethan Parker changed the subject.

"Me? What else? Fighting. I misjudged their identities. That day, my buddies and I were out drinking. I went to the bathroom, and another guy rushed in too. There was only one urinal, so we fought over it. I beat him up!" Bao Sanli said. "I thought that was it, but he came back with five others, armed with police batons. We still beat them, but then the cops came. Turned out, those six guys were from the Health Inspection Squad! We're small-time crooks, so guess who the cops sided with? We got locked up for assaulting officers and had to pay their medical bills."

Ethan Parker patted Bao Sanli's shoulder. "Even if they were officials, you were a bit at fault too. It's a draw; don't take it too hard."

"I know, but it's frustrating. Why do those guys get to rest in the hospital while we get jailed?" Bao Sanli fumed.

"Pfft!" Ethan Parker almost laughed. "Brother Leopard, you're funny. They're in the hospital; that's hardly a luxury!"

Bao Sanli chuckled. "Yeah, we hit them pretty hard. They'll be laid up for a while."

Ethan Parker quickly got to know everyone in the cell. The skinny guy was Bao Sanli's subordinate, Qi Wenrui. Another of his men, Zhai Lei, was in a different cell.

The robber, Li Da, was a repeat offender who'd lost count of his arrests. He was in for administrative detention and would be out soon. Bao Sanli said the old man in the cell was a lunatic, locked up for at least seven or eight years, according to some old-timers.

Seven or eight years? Ethan Parker was shocked. How could someone be in the police station for so long without a trial? Bao Sanli didn't know either, guessing it was a historical quirk.

Ethan Parker had already eaten dinner when he arrived, so after chatting with Bao Sanli, he went to his bed to sleep.

In the middle of the night, eerie wailing woke Ethan Parker.

"It's raining, it's sunny, don't forget your cotton coat when it's sunny—! It's snowing, it's sunny, don't forget your straw hat when it's sunny—!"

"Who's there!" Ethan Parker sat up, seeing everyone else awake too. Bao Sanli, noticing Ethan was awake, smiled wryly and pointed to the old man's bed. "The old man does this sometimes. One moment he's lucid, the next he's out of it, singing in the middle of the night. This isn't the first time."

"Nobody stops him?" Ethan Parker asked.

"At first, the guards did, but they saw he was mentally unstable and left him alone," Bao Sanli said. "Poor old man, never seen any relatives."

Ethan Parker sighed, lying back down. The old man eventually quieted down, and soon, the cell was filled with the sound of even breathing.

The next day, Ethan Parker kept an eye on the old man. When not having an episode, he acted like a normal person, eating and drinking with them, but silent.

"Hey, old man, you take so many buns, aren't you afraid of choking? We're running out!" A green-haired youth shoved the old man, making his buns fall to the ground.

"Hahaha!" The green-haired guy's friends laughed. They were street punks who enjoyed bullying the weak. They'd been caught robbing a fruit seller and given fifteen days of administrative detention.

The old man bent to pick up the buns, but a hand snatched them first. It was Ethan Parker!

Ethan Parker picked up the bun, rubbed it on his shoe, and stood up. The green-haired punks stared, puzzled, at Ethan's smile.

Ethan grabbed the green-haired guy's jaw, shoving the dirty bun into his mouth.

"Ugh—ah!" The punk struggled to close his mouth, but Ethan's grip was too strong, forcing the bun in.

"If you're worried about not having one, I'll give you mine!" Ethan said coldly, pressing the bun further down the punk's throat.

"Gag—cough—cough—" The green-haired punk choked, his face turning purple, matching his green hair like an eggplant in a garden.

"You bastard, you wanna die?" Another punk moved to attack, but was stopped by a whisper in his ear. He glanced at Ethan fearfully, helping the green-haired guy away.