Longxing County, the grass market outside the city walls.
Compared to before, the grass market now appeared significantly more desolate. The impact of the autumn tax was gradually becoming apparent, and an increasing number of people could no longer afford to do business.
How had life come to this?
However, in stark contrast to the desolation outside the city, the inside was currently bustling with noise. Many commoners had taken to the streets, looking curiously toward the main avenue of the city.
The main avenue connected the inside and outside of the county town, leading directly to the county office. At this moment, dozens of constables lined the street, clearing the area and driving people away. Yet, the more they made a big show of it, the more curious the townspeople grew. It wasn’t until they saw a prison cart slowly rolling out from the county office that they understood what was happening.
“So they’re parading a prisoner through the streets.”
“Strange, there haven’t been any major cases in the city recently, right? Where did this prisoner come from to warrant such a grand spectacle like a street parade?”
The commoners discussed animatedly amongst themselves.
But soon, someone recognized the unkempt, filthy prisoner inside the cart: “This prisoner looks familiar. Isn’t that Lord Liu from the Danfeng Brothel?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the previously clamorous crowd fell abruptly silent. It was only after a moment that someone carefully whispered, “Danfeng Brothel… Is it Lord Liu Ye? I heard that the unrest a few months ago was caused by him teaming up with a great hero. A lot of constables died.”
More and more people gathered.
Naturally, they all recognized Liu Ye. After all, he was a local, a veteran of the county office, and the behind-the-scenes boss of the Danfeng Brothel.
For a time, the scene was abuzz with noise.
Some who were unaware of the inside story were asking around: “Why was Lord Liu arrested? Even if he committed a crime, surely it doesn’t warrant being paraded in a prison cart?”
“You haven’t been in the city recently, have you?”
Someone lowered their voice: “Didn’t you notice that the damn black robes from the county office have lost more than half their numbers? They all died in that unrest a few months ago.”
“I was in the shop right next door at the time. I saw it with my own eyes. It was incredibly bloody—corpses were just being tossed out like they were worthless. Rumor has it a passing hero did it. He heard about the autumn tax, saw the injustice, and drew his blade to help. Even His Honor the Magistrate was severely beaten.”
“Autumn tax?”
The person asking for information looked confused: “What does that have to do with us? They’re just extorting the black-headed commoners outside the city, and those mud-legged peasants hardly count as human anyway.”
“That’s true.”
“But thanks to that hero killing so many constables, the county office had to recruit new blood from good citizens like us. My cousin just became a constable two days ago.”
“If that hero hadn’t made such a fuss, how would we have struck it rich?”
“I see!”
The person asking finally understood. “Then he truly was a hero. Although there’s a suspicion of blurring the lines between right and wrong, he fundamentally did a good deed.”
Inside the prison cart, Liu Ye slowly raised his head.
“…”
Going days without food or water had reduced him to an abysmal state. Had it not been for his foundation in reaching the perfection of external martial arts, he likely would have passed away long ago.
The lingering agony from the severe torture continued to torment his body. Yet, surprisingly, his heart was very calm; he felt only a trace of regret.
What a pity. Little Wang’s good intentions were wasted.
Ending up in this situation, he could only blame himself for not choosing to flee far away back then. Instead, he clung to his hometown and decided to return to Changle Commandery to take office.
Recalling it now, he had still harbored some anger in his heart back then. He felt that County Magistrate Xu Bingzheng using demonic arts to control his subordinates was the first act of evil. By returning to Changle Commandery, he had actually intended to report it to the Commandery Prefecture and seek justice. Unfortunately, his thoughts were far too naive.
“Officials protect their own, officials protect their own…”
When the Extraordinary who recommended him for the position at the Commandery Prefecture—Madam Su’s sworn sister—was present, nothing happened. But the moment she left, the Commandery Prefecture made their move.
Or rather, the faction behind Xu Bingzheng did.
As an old constable who had hardly ever left Longxing County his entire life, how could he possibly outmaneuver a group of people who had been scheming against each other in the Commandery Prefecture for decades?
This outcome was entirely his own doing.
At this thought, while Liu Ye mocked himself, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, during the time he had been captured, he hadn’t implicated anyone else.
Because the reason Xu Bingzheng had gone to such great lengths to drag him back from Changle Commandery was to find out why an Extraordinary had suddenly intervened in the affairs of Longxing County, even going so far as deploying the 【Black Armor Battalion】 to garrison outside the county town. And more importantly, who the mastermind behind all of this was.
But I don’t know anything.
Liu Ye exhaled a breath tinged with the scent of blood. This was the one thing he felt he had done right: he had proactively chosen to remain deaf and blind.
The identity and background of that Extraordinary? He didn’t know.
The reason that Extraordinary intervened? He didn’t know.
Who the mastermind behind the scenes was? He didn’t know.
Because he didn’t know, no matter how much torture he endured, he couldn’t answer a single word—if he had known, he might have actually obediently confessed.
Thank goodness he knew absolutely nothing.
The prison cart continued moving. Escorted by the county office constables, it finally arrived at the grass market outside the city, drawing the attention of the black-headed commoners entrenched there.
“It’s Lord Liu… Why is it him?”
“Why couldn’t it be him? This miser Liu has been extorting ‘filial piety’ payments in the grass market for so many years, preying on the locals. It’s only natural he’s been arrested.”
“Give it a rest. Although Lord Liu took ‘filial piety’ payments, at least he actually did his job. After Lord Liu left, the new guy from the county office is even worse, and he doesn’t even do anything…”
“Speaking of which, why was he arrested?”
“I heard from people doing business in the city that it seems to be related to the great hero who fought his way into the city a few months ago. The former head constable was also killed by that hero.”
The discussions grew increasingly noisy and chaotic.
“The former head constable? I know him, he came to our village to collect taxes… That goddamn bastard!”
“And what about Qian Village, anyone remember that?”
“Of course I remember, it’s right near my house. They were completely slaughtered. The stench of blood hasn’t dissipated even now, and the dirt is still red… If you ask me, that hero killed well!”
The prison cart slowly approached.
In a flash, the black-headed commoners who were just filled with righteous indignation had their mouths covered by onlookers around them. They were dragged away while being warned in low voices:
“Hush, do you have a death wish?”
“What great hero? He’s clearly a White Lotus Cult rebel. The county office even posted an official document about it. Who dares call him a hero? Do you still want your shop in the grass market?”
Finally, the prison cart officially entered the grass market.
The two county office constables guarding the cart looked around haughtily, their expressions icy. Wherever their gaze swept, the black-headed commoners unconsciously quieted down.
The discussions grew fewer, and the silence grew louder.
Until the first clever person spoke up: “Actually, if you think about it carefully, calling Lord Liu… bah, calling this thief Liu and the man from a few days ago rebels isn’t entirely wrong.”
Finally, discussions resumed, but the direction of the wind had abruptly shifted:
“Since the autumn tax, whose family isn’t cooking vegetables without oil, boiling rice without grains, and lacking salt? Life was already difficult, entirely relying on the grass market to scrape by.”
“But because the thief Liu caused chaos in the county town, the business in the grass market suffered as well.”
“My family doesn’t even know where our rice for tomorrow is coming from.”
Of course, amidst the increasingly unified voices, a few discordant notes remained: “What does this have to do with them? When it comes down to it, isn’t it still because of that damned autumn tax…”
However, as the prison cart drew closer and they faced the fiercely glaring county office constables, these discordant voices were gradually buried within the sea of people.
At some point, some people began throwing objects at the prison cart. A kind of shared enmity gradually coalesced among the crowd. Although they lacked the courage to rebel against the county office constables, they dared to vent their emotions on Liu Ye inside the prison cart… After all, Liu Ye used to be a constable too.
Throwing things at him was the same thing.
For a time, the scene was filled only with curses and insults. Everyone gleefully delighted in the prospect of a constable being killed and sang praises for it.
Seeing this scene, the two constables on the prison cart also revealed satisfied expressions.
Both of them hailed from wealthy “good citizen” families in the city. Never lacking for millet or meat, and practicing martial arts diligently, they were able to become constables after the county office recruited new blood.
They also had a mission on this outing.
“These black-headed commoners have been dying a bit too frequently lately, and there’s a trend of them gathering towards the county town. To prevent unrest, we still need to pacify them.”
“Brother Lin, will you do the honors?”
The constable who spoke smiled: “I heard that you actively requested this mission to pacify the black-headed commoners from His Honor the Magistrate. You must have prepared for a long time?”
“Brother Liu jests.”
Lin Wenhai shook his head: “It can hardly be called preparation. It’s nothing more than using the prison cart street parade to let these black-headed commoners vent their accumulated pent-up emotions.”
“And then we’ll distribute grain for disaster relief.”
“Oh? Distribute grain?” Liu Fuguan looked surprised. “Feed these black-headed commoners?”
“How is that possible.”
Lin Wenhai shook his head: “Rice is for people to eat. Giving it to these black-headed commoners would be a despicable waste. We’ll just toss out some bran and chaff.”
After another moment, seeing that the prison cart was nearing the end of the grass market, Lin Wenhai ended the idle chat. He strode to the front of the crowd, circulated his vitality, and announced the news of the “disaster relief.” Just as he expected, cheers from the black-headed commoners instantly erupted in the grass market outside the city.
Very good, the overall situation is settled.
Lin Wenhai nodded, knowing that with this maneuver, the hearts of the black-headed commoners would be settled, and the situation in the county town would stabilize.
Of course, these black-headed commoners would still die eventually.
The only difference was whether they all died at once or slowly died off batch by batch every day. From his perspective, the latter naturally saved the most worry and effort.
After all, the former would cause some disturbances, while the latter was much more peaceful.
Having solved the problem at the mere cost of some bran meant for livestock, His Honor the Magistrate would surely view him in a better light when he returned to report his merits.
Oh right, as time passes, these disaster-stricken black-headed commoners outside the city will increase in number. It just so happens that the human practice dummies my family uses for martial arts are basically all used up. It’s no fun hitting them, and it doesn’t hone a martial artist’s bloodlust. I should send someone out of the city to buy a few sturdy ones, consider it doing charity.
As he thought about it, Lin Wenhai became somewhat distracted.
It wasn’t until a sudden trace of biting cold on his neck that he snapped out of it. He looked up at the sky, only to find that dense dark clouds had gathered without him realizing.
It looked like it was going to rain.
Lin Wenhai suddenly felt a bit cold. The surrounding commoners seemed to feel the same way, as the previously boiling crowd fell silent for the second time.
The prison cart continued forward.
Previously, wherever the prison cart passed, the crowd would part to make way. This time, however, a figure stood against the flow of the crowd, blocking the front of the prison cart.
“Who goes there?”
Seeing this, Lin Wenhai frowned, subconsciously reaching for the hilt of his blade. He looked at the handsome young man who had stepped out of the crowd, but didn’t immediately shout for his death.
The reason was simple—although this person was dressed in casual clothes, he carried an imposing aura and a tall stature. He had definitely practiced martial arts. Moreover, his face wasn’t sallow from malnutrition, meaning he clearly wasn’t a black-headed commoner. Since that was the case, he was eighty percent likely a passing wandering martial artist. Possessing martial arts, there was no need to make an enemy out of him over a condemned prisoner.
He would ask for his background and identity first.
With that in mind, Lin Wenhai spoke again, cupping his hands: “Young hero, may I ask which sect’s outstanding talent you are? We are currently carrying out official duties…”
Lin Wenhai prided himself on his reasonable phrasing.
However, his expression turned somewhat ugly as the other party showed no intention of answering him. Instead, the young man looked right past him, fixing his gaze on Liu Ye inside the prison cart.
At the same time, Liu Ye was stunned. Then, his entire body began to tremble with excitement. The young man before him was so familiar, as if he had stepped straight out of his memories. For a moment, he thought it was a flashback before death, and it wasn’t until he blinked several times that he confirmed this wasn’t an hallucination.
But the next second, he frantically shook his head, his hoarse voice laced with blood:
“Go! Leave quickly!”
He didn’t know how the young man had survived that absolutely fatal situation back then. But since he had managed to survive with such difficulty, how could he throw his life away in vain again?
But right after shouting, Liu Ye regretted it.
He wanted to change his words and tell the young man to rescue him quickly so they could flee together. But reason told him that dragging a burden like himself along, they wouldn’t get far.
They would only end up dying together.
Rather than that, it was better if he died alone.
After all, ending up in this state was his own doing, and the young man had already saved his life once before.
At this thought, Liu Ye couldn’t help but grit his teeth. He simply lowered his head, avoiding the young man’s gaze. He didn’t dare look again, afraid it would shake his resolve.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
At some point, a hazy drizzle had begun to fall from the sky.
The raindrops smashed against the ground, making the chill in the air increasingly bone-piercing. And in the next second, the young man finally spoke his first words since stepping out of the crowd:
“Rest assured, Lord Liu, you don’t need to hide.”
A simple sentence, yet it made Liu Ye look up in bewilderment. It felt as if he had returned to several months ago—that rainy night that had left such a profound impression on him.
At the time, he was pursuing White Lotus Cult thieves and learned that the young man had also been dragged into the chaotic battle in the rain. He had assumed the young man was a goner, but when he rushed to the scene, he only saw the divided corpse of the thief and the young man standing in the curtain of rain, smiling faintly at him.
That was exactly what he had said back then too.
What was his next sentence again?
At this moment, the scene from his memory overlapped with reality. Liu Ye’s eyes widened, and all that filled his vision was the frosty white reflection of a blade.
“The rain is heavy tonight, perfect for washing a blade.”