Action followed thought. Just past noon, Wang Ping changed his clothes, donned a bamboo hat and a rain cape, and stuffed a long string of copper coins into his pocket. Relying on his memory, he walked out of Qian Village without delay, heading straight for the nearest county town, Longxing County.
He walked for about another hour.
Finally, a city came into view—its towering gates, the soldiers standing guard, and the bustling, lively market sprawling outside the walls.
This was the “grass market.”
Ninety-nine percent of the people gathered here hailed from the rural villages outside the county town. The “good citizens” residing within the city walls wouldn’t dream of approaching a place like this.
That being said, the grass market outside the city could be described as “small as a sparrow, yet fully equipped.” At the very least, daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt could all be bought here, and at cheaper prices too. The quality might be slightly inferior, but the current Wang Ping was in no position to be picky.
Before long, Wang Ping found the rice shop in the grass market based on his memory.
However, the very next second, he abruptly halted his steps.
At the entrance of the rice shop, a yamen runner dressed in black with a saber at his waist was smirking at the shop owner, his fingers tapping lightly on the shop’s counter.
“Old Chen, time to hand over this month’s protection money.”
The rice shop owner was a man past forty, his face deeply lined with wrinkles and his hair streaked with gray. He hunched his back and quickly brought out a string of copper coins upon hearing the demand.
“Rest assured, Master Liu, it’s all prepared for you.”
With that, the shop owner moved to untie the string to count out the exact amount for the protection fee.
But the next second, the burly yamen runner called “Master Liu” abruptly snatched the entire string of copper coins right out of Old Chen’s hands.
“Master Liu!? This…” Old Chen’s face tightened.
“Cut the crap!” The runner waved his hand impatiently. “I’ll take this much. Whatever’s extra will count toward next month’s fee, saves me time.”
With that, he glanced at the rice shop’s shelves, casually grabbed a bag of polished rice, and shoved it into his robes. Clearly having no intention of paying, he then swaggered off to the next shop. Wherever he went, the crowd lowered their heads and made way, none daring to meet his gaze.
He was the very picture of a neighborhood tyrant throwing his weight around.
As for Old Chen, he could only offer a bitter smile.
Behind him, a young man of about twenty who had witnessed the entire ordeal couldn’t help but grit his teeth and mutter, “That miser Liu is going too far…”
“Bastard, what nonsense are you spouting!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Old Chen, who had been relatively calm, turned pale with fright. He quickly spun around and slapped the young man hard, signaling him to shut his mouth.
Seeing the young man close his mouth but still maintain a resentful expression, Old Chen could only shake his head helplessly.
“You’re still young. Master Liu is already considered one of the better ones.”
“No matter what, we still have to make a living, and business must go on… It’s just a little grievance; bite your tongue and it will pass. I went through the exact same thing at your age.”
From a distance, Wang Ping watched the entire scene unfold with a calm expression.
He didn’t approach the rice shop until that “Master Liu” had finished shaking down the entire street and returned to the county town satisfied. “Uncle Chen, I’ll take half a bag of polished rice,” he said in a low voice.
Old Chen immediately turned around, pasting on an amiable business smile while calling the young man behind him to help. Measuring the rice and calculating the price were done in one smooth motion.
“That will be one hundred and thirty-three wen in total.”
“Uncle Chen, can you round down the loose change?” Wang Ping asked shamelessly.
“Little brother, I’m just running a small business…”
After some haggling, Wang Ping successfully saved himself one wen. A mosquito’s leg is still meat, after all. Only then did he hand over the money for the rice, satisfied.
Besides that, he still needed to buy a piece of refined iron to forge his blade.
Although he could still use leaves as substitutes for now, if he wanted to truly cross the threshold of the [Pale Moon Lotus Blade], he had to forge a throwing knife that truly belonged to him.
“A single penny can stump a hero, huh.”
If he hadn’t become a mole for the county yamen, playing both sides for profit, let alone precious refined iron, he wouldn’t even be able to afford the polished rice he just bought.
Leaving the rice shop, Wang Ping began to wander through the grass market, specifically heading toward the small street vendors to see if he could pick up a cheap bargain. Every little bit saved counted.
Along the way, Wang Ping overheard quite a bit of idle chatter from the pedestrians.
It was a mixed bag, ranging from their nephews’ marriages to trivial daily matters. However, the most frequent topic was news coming from within the county town.
“Have you all heard? An Extraordinary has arrived in the city!”
“I heard it’s a branch established by the [Wandering Spirit Perfected One]. The authorities even conscripted corvée labor for it. It’s massive, right in the Shenghua District on the east side of the city.”
“Does that mean they’re going to hire servants?”
“My second uncle works as a helper in the city, and he told me himself. The threshold of that branch is practically being trampled flat. Who knows how many people want to get in as servants.”
“Isn’t that the truth? The authorities officially posted a notice. As long as you can get into a branch opened by an Extraordinary as a servant, your entire family will be immediately exempt from all taxes. Who wouldn’t be tempted by that? It’s just us folks who have a bad lot in life and can only scrape by out here outside the city. Otherwise, even if we had to break our heads squeezing in, we’d definitely give it a try.”
“Sigh, tell me about it…”
Listening to the people’s discussions, a sliver of curiosity sparked within Wang Ping. Extraordinaries? Endorsed by the authorities? And just being a servant in their households granted tax exemptions?
He began to listen even more intently.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one out of the loop. By eavesdropping along the way, he managed to piece together most of the information and got a general idea of the Extraordinaries’ origins.
In short, these so-called Extraordinaries were a group of fangshi—alchemists and occultists—currently favored by the reigning Sage of the Great Shun Dynasty. Word had it this group of fangshi could refine the elixir of immortality, earning them the Sage’s profound regard. This was why the local yamen authorities were giving them the green light left and right, helping them build branches and recruit servants.
Most likely a bunch of frauds. Nothing new under the sun.
Having made his judgment, Wang Ping didn’t bother dwelling on it any further. After all, he was just listening for the spectacle. Only the noble lords inside the city would actually care about such things.
Thus, nearly another hour passed.
Finally, Wang Ping stopped in front of a blacksmith’s shop and picked out a piece of refined iron. Because it was rather small, the price was relatively cheaper.
Normally, such a small piece of refined iron would be difficult to use for forging weapons. However, since he intended to forge a throwing knife, it suited his needs perfectly.
Just then…
“Don’t turn around.”
A faint voice drifted into his ear, steady and powerful. It made Wang Ping’s hands, which had been playing with the refined iron, abruptly stall, but he quickly reined in his expression.
He’s here!
His handler for the exchange!
Wang Ping immediately looked at the blacksmith shop owner and asked in a low voice, “Boss, are you sure this iron is fully smelted? If it’s pig iron, I’m not buying it.”
The owner frowned at his words.
“Little brother, you must be joking. I run a blacksmith shop and I have somewhat of a reputation in this grass market. If you want wrought iron, why would I sell you pig iron?”
Wang Ping ignored him.
The conversation with the boss was just a random excuse. In essence, he was using it to communicate with his handler, who was hiding somewhere unseen.
Sure enough, the voice came again:
“What’s the situation?”
Wang Ping opened his mouth, shaping his lips while chatting with the blacksmith shop owner. Astoundingly, the shape of his mouth completely contradicted the words he spoke.
This was his method of communicating with his handler as a yamen spy. There was no need to pass suspicious little notes; he only needed to find a spot visible to the other party, strike up a conversation with a random person, and then lip-sync the intel he wanted to transmit.
“I’ve become Shou Chong’s disciple.”
“I am now the Branch Leader of the White Lotus Cult branch in the Qian Village area… but Shou Chong seems to have realized the county yamen has a mole within the cult.”
“If this continues, I risk being exposed.”
Wang Ping mouthed the words syllable by syllable, entirely detaching his lip movements from his actual speech. This was a trick he had spent several months learning back then.
Soon, the voice returned:
“Don’t worry. Right now, I am the only one in the entire county yamen who knows you are a mole, and your file is kept strictly confidential. There’s no way Shou Chong can catch you.”
Hearing this, Wang Ping felt no relief.
Instead, he felt somewhat exasperated. “Sir, we agreed I’d only do this for three years before closing the net. It’s been three years after three years, and I’m a Branch Leader now.”
“I know you’re anxious, but don’t be anxious just yet.”
The handler’s voice remained steady. “I also want to eradicate the White Lotus Cult as quickly as possible. But you must understand this is a major operation. If we make a move, we must succeed.”
“We cannot afford the price of failure.”
“Qian Village is the White Lotus Cult’s lair. That old dog Shou Chong has laid down many defenses there. If we charge in blindly, he’ll likely discover us and escape.”
“So if we want to pull the net closed, you either have to find a way to figure out the layout of all the sentry posts in Qian Village, or you must find a way to lure Shou Chong out of the village…”
“Easier said than done… Hmm?”
Just as Wang Ping was about to retort, he paused as his previous conversation with Shou Chong suddenly flashed through his mind. “Wait… maybe there really is a chance.”
He suddenly grew excited:
“Two days from now, Shou Chong might take a trip to He Village!”
“…What?”
The handler’s voice shifted at this. “Are you sure? Where did you get this information?”
“He told me himself,” Wang Ping tried to stay calm and continued, “I can’t rule out the possibility that he’s deliberately feeding me false information to test me, but it might also be true.”
“No, it should be true.”
The handler’s tone grew excited. “There really have been unusual movements from the White Lotus Cult over at He Village. Well done! Wang Ping, once this is over, you will officially be a man of the county yamen.”
“And your bounty won’t be short either.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The voice fell silent shortly after. Wang Ping didn’t bother wasting any more breath on the clearly fuming blacksmith shop owner and swiftly bought the refined iron.
He turned around and headed back to the village.
At this moment, his spirits were already soaring. His handler’s decision to close the net meant his days of walking a tightrope as a spy were finally coming to an end.
When the time came, he could take a massive bounty and live the life of a wealthy idler in the county town, waiting for old age to take him.
Even if the Imperial Court was shameless enough to pocket his bounty, he could just abscond with the White Lotus Cult’s assets, change his identity, and never worry about the rest of his life.
Just thinking about it made him a little giddy.
Wang Ping’s joyous mood lasted all the way back to Qian Village, only cooling down when he spotted the young Daoist Xie Shi at the village entrance.
“Senior Brother Xie?”
“Come with me. Master wants to see us,” Xie Shi said flatly. “I followed you to the grass market in Longxing County, Junior Brother. Master wants to have a word with you.”
Thump!
Wang Ping’s heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive. He gave a crisp nod and followed Xie Shi all the way to the Daoist temple’s backyard.
“Disciple greets Master.”
Upon seeing the old Daoist sitting by the shrine, Wang Ping didn’t say a word and immediately threw himself into a prostrate bow. This time, however, Shou Chong didn’t tell him to rise.
Instead, an aged, eerie voice drifted through the air:
“An expert took a liking to a young man, took him in as a disciple, and taught him martial arts. That young man was sharp and meticulous, just like you.”
“But it’s a pity, someone found out he was a ghost for the Imperial Court.”
The next second, a sliver of icy coldness bit into the center of Wang Ping’s brow. A slight stinging pain accompanied a trickle of liquid that rolled down, staining a small portion of his vision red.
“Why did you betray me?”
Wang Ping knew that the Lotus Blade was pressed directly against his glabella.
In that instant, Wang Ping’s mind raced. He had imagined this exact scenario in his midnight dreams countless times. He used to be terrified of it, but now that it was actually happening…
He actually felt calm.
Without hesitation, he raised his head, completely ignoring the blade cutting into his brow and the blood streaming down. His eyes brimmed with grievance. “Cult Master, you suspect me?”
He decided to make a gamble.
He gambled that his rendezvous with his handler in the grass market outside the city was hidden well enough, and that Shou Chong had no hard evidence and was merely trying to bait him. Therefore, he had to deny it to the death.
“Why shouldn’t I suspect you?”
“Only you and Xie Shi knew that I was planning to go to He Village.”
Shou Chong sneered coldly, then pulled out a slip of paper and tossed it in front of Wang Ping. A single line of text was written on it: 【There is an internal ghost, abort the operation!】
Revelation struck Wang Ping like lightning—the county yamen didn’t just have a mole in the White Lotus Cult; the White Lotus Cult also had a mole in the county yamen!
“See it now?”
Shou Chong nudged the blade forward slightly, his tone freezing. “I’m just a confused old fool. I didn’t even realize I had raised a ghost in my own house. How do you plan to explain this to me?”
“It really wasn’t me!” Wang Ping shook his head desperately.
“If it wasn’t you, was it me? Or perhaps it was him!” Shou Chong whipped his head around, fixing his gaze on Xie Shi.
“Huh?” Xie Shi froze. Originally planning to just watch the drama unfold, he immediately panicked and blurted out, “Absolutely not! Master, I am your disciple!”
“So what if you’re my disciple?”
Shou Chong remained unmoved. “Do disciples never betray their masters? I’ve had more than one disciple all these years; do you think none of them have ever betrayed me?”
“Besides, didn’t you go to Longxing County with Wang Ping today?”
“This… this was your arrangement, Master.”
“Or perhaps you anticipated it.”
The tension in the room skyrocketed to its peak.
But right at that moment…
BOOM!
A loud explosion shattered the tense atmosphere. It sounded like a door or wall being blown apart. Immediately after, a roar of voices erupted outside the temple.
“By Imperial Decree, suppress the rebels!”
“The White Lotus rebel scum commit treason and plague the villages! Their crimes are unforgivable!”
“Brothers, the County Magistrate has given the word! Kill one rebel and receive ten taels of silver! Whoever beheads the rebel leader will receive a bounty of five hundred taels of silver!”