Chapter 15: Rejuvenation
"Last night, a ship smuggling people for the Japanese Mafia arrived in Los Angeles, so the Chinese Gang, who received news in advance, set up an ambush and wiped out all the Japanese Mafia receiving the goods at the port." Ling Xiao explained very simply, not mentioning anything he couldn't say.
"Human smuggling?" Beckett frowned. The Los Angeles Police Department hadn't received any intelligence or leads on such a matter, and it wasn't within its jurisdiction. To launch an investigation, they would have to cooperate with the FBI, which was too much trouble.
Moreover, Beckett knew that such matters couldn't be investigated internally by the Los Angeles Police Department, because no one knew how many corrupt police officers within the department had been bought off by gangs.
Shaking her head, Beckett changed the subject and asked, "What about those people who were rescued? Where did they go?"
"The Japanese were smuggling women from Southeast Asia this time. Do you really want to know their whereabouts?" Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow, looking at Beckett with a hint of amusement. She wasn't unaware of the hidden implications.
As expected, after Ling Xiao said that, Beckett frowned and didn't ask further. She knew that compared to the Japanese Mafia forcing these women into prostitution, the Chinese Gang, after rescuing them, would help those willing to return to Asia find a job to earn enough money for their journey home, and then smuggle them back to their own countries.
Of course, if there were truly desperate individuals, they would also directly drop them off outside the consulate and then wash their hands of the matter. However, very few chose to do so. The vast majority of people who came to America, apart from a few who were kidnapped, basically couldn't survive in their own countries and sought out snakeheads themselves, paying them to smuggle them into America. So, after arriving in America, no one was willing to go back.
Los Angeles, known as the 'City of Fallen Angels,' enjoys a great reputation worldwide. Besides being a coastal city, it is also very close to Mexico.
It is the city with the most illegal immigrants in America, and also the city with the most lenient management of illegal immigrants, because these illegal immigrants create immense economic benefits for the entire city. So, apart from some superficial efforts, the Los Angeles city government, which maintains 'freedom,' is not strict in checking illegal immigrants.
Of course, if you truly fall under official scrutiny, that's another matter entirely.
Beckett had no solution for such matters. Even if she found out the specific whereabouts of these women and reported it, the Los Angeles Police Department would not dispatch a large number of police officers to search for them one by one. Not to mention the heap of troublesome follow-ups after finding them, they couldn't deal with the Chinese Gang either, as the people weren't smuggled in by them. They would have to find trouble with the Japanese Mafia instead.
If this matter truly proceeded, apart from Beckett who reported the case, no one else in the Los Angeles Police Department would receive any credit. They might even have the Immigration Bureau and the FBI intervene, taking away most of the credit.
Beckett was a smart person. Such a case, unless caught red-handed at the port, the Los Angeles Police Department would not make a big fuss. And even if Beckett truly went to great lengths to clarify the whereabouts of all the women, which was inherently difficult, even if reported and successfully pursued, she would offend most of her colleagues. Such a thing was not worth the effort.
Beckett was a smart girl. She knew that getting this information was enough to appease her superiors, and there was no need to delve deeper.
Seeing Beckett's expression, Ling Xiao knew she had made her choice. Ling Xiao coughed, looked at Beckett, and said, "Katherine, haven't you been sleeping well lately? I see you've probably been staying up late every night."
"No choice, too many cases on hand." Beckett took a sip of iced coffee, frowning uncomfortably.
"That's not good for you." Ling Xiao stood up and walked behind Beckett, placing his hands on her shoulders. While massaging, he said, "Have you been feeling frequent bouts of anger and rough skin recently? This is due to endocrine imbalance. If you continue like this for a long time, be careful not to turn into a haggard old woman."
Hearing Ling Xiao say that, Beckett, who was somewhat comfortable from his massage, frowned. Even if she was a tomboy, she was still a woman, and the love of beauty was innate. So she said helplessly, "I came to you today precisely to get some medicine to go back and recuperate properly."
Ling Xiao shook his head while massaging, saying, "Medicine is toxic to some extent. Even the least toxic Chinese medicine, accumulated over years, is not a good thing. You should take some time to rest well, sleep soundly; it's better than anything else."
After a slight pause, Ling Xiao sighed and said in a deep voice, "How about this, I'll give you a free rejuvenation treatment. You rest well, and then have lunch here with me later. I'll make you a medicated meal to nourish you properly."
"Okay, thank you." Beckett looked up and said with a smile, "Then today I'll try that ten-thousand-dollar rejuvenation, haha!"
Ling Xiao shook his head, saying somewhat helplessly, "The ten-thousand-dollar price is for Hollywood celebrities. If you charge less, they won't even give you a proper look. This so-called rejuvenation, apart from some special techniques, is nothing else. Alright, take off your clothes."
"Take off my clothes?" Beckett looked at Ling Xiao with a look of shock, asking incredulously, "You're not going to do anything to me, are you?!"
"Alright, stop playing!" Ling Xiao looked at Beckett helplessly, saying with a wry smile, "My dear lady, you only need to take off down to your underwear."
Saying that, Ling Xiao shrugged and said, "Of course, it's best if you're willing to take everything off, after all, the effect is better that way, and it avoids missing some areas."
Hearing Ling Xiao joke like that, Kate Beckett said indifferently, "I don't mind, I'm just afraid your family member won't agree."
Ling Xiao shook his head and stopped paying attention to Beckett. He prepared the long bed in the corner, laying out four bath towels. Then, he took out a bottle of water from a nearby cabinet and placed it aside. These were all Tai Yin Clear Water imbued with the essence of Tai Yin from Ling Xiao's Cultivation, which was especially beneficial for women.
By the time Ling Xiao lit a specially made medicinal incense, stretched his muscles and bones, and looked back, Beckett had already undressed down to her underwear.
A hint of disappointment inevitably flashed in Ling Xiao's eyes, which made Beckett, who saw this scene, unable to help but laugh.
Ling Xiao washed his hands and said to Beckett, "Alright, lie down face down. Just pretend you're sleeping."
"Mhm!" Beckett was also a little curious, but she still lay down on the long bed as Ling Xiao instructed.
After washing his hands, Ling Xiao's expression became solemn. He walked to the side of the long bed, placed his hands on Beckett's smooth back, and slowly began to massage her.
Ling Xiao was, after all, a formal Cultivator, and his understanding of acupoints far surpassed others. Beckett felt increasingly comfortable under Ling Xiao's massage, as if she were floating in clouds and mist, and she slowly fell into a deep sleep.
After a set of massage techniques, seeing that Beckett had already fallen asleep, Ling Xiao then began the true rejuvenation treatment.
If it were just a massage, the effect wouldn't be so good or so obvious. Ling Xiao wouldn't have such a great reputation among Hollywood actresses. What truly worked were the different spiritual waters in his hands.
Ling Xiao threw an entire bottle of Tai Yin Clear Water into the air. With a surge of True Qi, he held the entire bottle of clear water suspended in mid-air with his True Qi, then shaped it into a rectangle, roughly the same size as the long bed below. Then, under Ling Xiao's control, it transformed into droplets of water that fell onto Beckett's body.
At the same time, Ling Xiao continuously patted, allowing all these droplets of spiritual water to penetrate into Beckett's body, starting the deep-level rejuvenation.
By the time all this was done, half an hour had passed. Ling Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a blanket to cover Beckett, and after putting things away, he retreated into the room alone.