Chapter 434 Ge Quan x Fang Jinrong 3

Chapter 434 Ge Quan x Fang Jinrong (3)

Yong'an Town was a bustling small town. In the Yu Dynasty, "imperial power did not extend below the county level"—a traditional principle of imperial governance—and the county was the lowest tier of official administration, with all towns within its jurisdiction falling under county governance. Small towns like Springwater Town had no stationed officials, but Yong'an Town did have a patrol inspection office to maintain local order.

However, most town inspection posts were little more than window dressing, useful only for suppressing small vendors, extorting tolls from passing merchants, and lining their own pockets.

When the Green Gang's boat docked near the wharf, the inspection post personnel swarmed up in a frenzy like flies to a carcass.

"Well, well, if it isn't Deputy Chief Fan—I thought it was someone else."

The inspection post men recognized Fan Er, and the leading inspector's greedy look faded quite a bit as he greeted Fan Er.

The Green Gang often rubbed shoulders with the dregs of society and low-ranking officials, and had extensive connections. Fan Er mulled it over briefly and recalled who this man was.

"It's been a while, Inspector Wang. I might have to trouble you with a small matter this time." Fan Er clasped his fists in greeting, his words courteous enough.

Minor officials like Inspector Wang didn't want to offend martial artists like the Green Gang, who kept a foot in both camps. "Brother Fan, just say the word." Whether he'd actually deliver was another story.

"I have a cousin who came to Yangzhou looking for me, but recently she's gone missing. Inspector Wang has wide connections in Yong'an Town, so I came specifically to ask for your help in finding her." As Fan Er spoke, he smoothly pressed a small silver ingot into Inspector Wang's palm.

"Brother Fan is still so courteous." Inspector Wang accepted the silver, tucked it into his sleeve, and gave it a covert heft.

Up ahead, Fan Er negotiated with him, describing Ji Wunian's appearance and build, while behind them Fang Jinrong rose on his tiptoes and whispered to Ge Quan, "Will this actually find your friend?"

To hear him better, Ge Quan bent slightly toward Fang Jinrong, bringing them closer together—from Hong Ying's perspective, the scene looked both intimate and innocent.

"Better than nothing, I guess," Ge Quan said.

The hope of Inspector Wang actually finding the person was slim. He wouldn't go out of his way to do a deep dive for Fan Er over such a small favor and a bit of silver. It was all just politeness on both sides.

Yong'an Town was prosperous, and if Ji Wunian really wanted to disappear, he wouldn't be easy to find. But Ge Quan had other tricks up his sleeve.

"I'm running low on silver." After settling Fang Jinrong in an upper room at the inn, Ge Quan stood outside his door and muttered to himself.

He'd never really thought about making money all these years—when short on funds, he'd find odd jobs to do, with hauling corpses and fishing bodies out of the water as his main gigs. Plenty of people had offered him a fortune in gold to assassinate their enemies, but he'd never taken a single one of those jobs.

Old Ge was a total flake, dragging Ge Quan all over the map in his wanderings. But it wasn't just aimlessly messing with the kid—under such haphazard upbringing, Ge Quan had grown into not just an upright and clever man, but someone who had a remarkably clear-eyed view of life.

"Martial arts aren't for killing or bullying. Swords, spears, and halberds have no inherent good or evil—it's when the heart stirs that right and wrong take shape."

"Those who carry the world in their hearts, with righteousness and benevolence, standing tall and unyielding—they are saints among knights-errant, rare as hen's teeth in this world."

"Your master can't reach that level of selfless sacrifice. Call me a wandering rogue of a hero. As for you... you don't have a shred of wit, charm, or dashing flair. You live life on your own terms, and at a young age your martial arts have reached the pinnacle. You repay kindness and settle scores alike—I'd say you count as a lone knight who's seen through fame and fortune. Except for the lack of a woman, you're way better off than I was at your age."

Ge Quan never understood the joy his master kept muttering about—chasing women and young lads—until he met Fang Jinrong.

"I'm going out to take a job tonight. Will you wait for me at the inn?" Ge Quan asked Fang Jinrong, who opened the door with wet hair.

Fang Jinrong naturally handed his dirty clothes to Ge Quan, saying, "What fun is there in staying at the inn? I'm coming with you."

He didn't even bother asking Ge Quan if it was okay to bring him along—he just closed the door and went back inside to change.

Ge Quan seemed like he couldn't say no to anyone. He washed Fang Jinrong's dirty clothes and waited for him downstairs.

Fang Jinrong came trotting down, his still-damp long hair half-tied with a red ribbon, the rest cascading behind his back. He wore a black-gray outer robe that made him look more grown-up over white inner garments, his face still damp, with a fresh, rosy pink flush.

"Let's roll!" Fang Jinrong said, slightly out of breath.

"Eat first." The small town's inn also served as a tavern, with several wooden square tables in the main hall downstairs. Ge Quan had taken the corner table and already ordered food.

If it were just him, he'd have grabbed a few buns or steamed rolls on the way. But with Fang Jinrong, he'd taken care to order two meat dishes, one veggie, and a soup—and only left once the other had eaten his fill.

Fan Er and Hong Ying had gone out to gather information, while Ge Quan and Fang Jinrong strolled through the streets. But Ge Quan had a purpose—he deliberately headed for the areas where opera troupes were camped. Fang Jinrong assumed he wanted to watch a performance.

"Found it. As expected of a prosperous part of the country—even an ordinary town has one."

They had reached the edge of town near an earth god shrine, where itinerant performers (traveling opera troupes) lodged. There was an earthen stage in the open area, and the previous troupe had apparently left only a couple days ago—the steamed buns and fruit offerings in front of the shrine hadn't been swiped by street kids yet.

Ge Quan circled the shrine once, then used his short dagger to pry up a gray brick. Beneath it lay a long, cylindrical bamboo tube sealed with wax at both ends. Ge Quan broke the wax on one end and pulled out a rolled sheepskin parchment.

The bounty notices circulating in the martial world were varied and numerous. Besides those officially issued by the major sects and schools, there were many unofficial ones posted by martial artists themselves. Ge Quan had only been testing his luck when he came to search, but unexpectedly, he'd actually found one.

"What's this?" Fang Jinrong hopped in place, trying to see the sheepskin parchment in Ge Quan's hand.

Ge Quan bent slightly and unrolled the parchment for him to see. Every character was written neatly and properly, but put together, Fang Jinrong couldn't understand a single one.

"'Eight hundred taels of silver for picking a gourd'? What does 'picking a gourd' mean?" Fang Jinrong looked utterly confused.

Before Ge Quan could answer, he pointed at another line and asked, "And what's 'hauling a dead float'?"

Ge Quan didn't know how to explain these underworld cant terms to Fang Jinrong. He still remembered their first meeting hadn't been pleasant—Fang Jinrong was playful, but not particularly brave, and he didn't want to scare him.

"They're cant terms on the bounty notice. Complete the job and you get the reward silver." Ge Quan's finger traced down the lines of the parchment.

Fang Jinrong didn't press further. Instead he asked, "So is the eight-hundred-tael one the hardest?"

"Not necessarily." The parchment had only seven lines in total—a far cry from the densely packed entries on the official martial world bounty board. One of them was even clearly the Green Gang's notice for Ji Wunian.

Ge Quan finished reading quickly, his fingertip stopping on a rescue job worth only twenty taels. But it had a name and a location, not far away—right in town—and was the simplest and most convenient option.

He pricked his fingertip and pressed a bloody fingerprint onto it, then returned the parchment to its hiding place.

"That's it?" Fang Jinrong tugged at Ge Quan's sleeve. Since the sleeve was tight-fitting, there wasn't much fabric to grab, so his tugging gradually turned into gripping Ge Quan's firm, sinewy forearm.

Even though the clothing was thick, Ge Quan seemed to feel the soft warmth of Fang Jinrong's palm through it, and his heart stirred, losing focus for a moment.

It was dark now, and the area around the earth god shrine was desolate. He knew Fang Jinrong was scared.

"I need to look around a bit more, search for clues related to the bounty." Ge Quan lied without changing his expression.

Fang Jinrong hesitated. "Well... alright then." He gripped Ge Quan's arm even tighter, following him step by step.

Ge Quan led him around until all was silent before heading back toward the inn. The alleys were dark and empty of pedestrians, voices faded away, and the only sound in the stillness was the faint breathing of the person beside him.

Fang Jinrong had been afraid at first, but the steady arm beneath his palm didn't tremble in the slightest. Looking up, Ge Quan's handsome profile was sharply defined in the night, his jawline clean and crisp, even the strands of hair lifted by the night wind carrying an air of steadiness and reliability. Suddenly, he wasn't so scared anymore.

It had rained in the morning, yet the night sky revealed a few glittering stars. Fang Jinrong relaxed his posture, not bothering to watch where he was going, simply tilting his head back to gaze at the stars.

There was a shallow pit in the road. Ge Quan watched Fang Jinrong about to step into it and swiftly scooped him out of the way. Fang Jinrong hadn't even reacted, but Ge Quan had already quickly withdrawn his hands after setting him on flat ground.

"Forgive the intrusion."

Fang Jinrong was baffled. But since they'd reached the inn anyway, he shook Ge Quan off and ran upstairs by himself. The drowsy doorman let them in and shut the gate before going to sleep.

The job Ge Quan had accepted specified that the person to be rescued was at the Peng family's residence. Peng was a common surname in Yong'an Town, but there was only one wealthy and powerful landowner—Peng Xin'an of the town.

"I managed to pick up a few scraps of information." Fan Er appeared at Ge Quan and Fang Jinrong's dining table, while Hong Ying was catching up on sleep in her room.

A twenty-tael bounty was naturally less important than news of Ji Wunian. Ge Quan immediately leaned in and asked, "What is it?"

Fan Er wiped his stubbled face. "The rich man Peng's place in town."

He glanced at Fang Jinrong, who was shoveling food into his mouth, totally absorbed, and couldn't help himself—he made a grab for the sesame flatbread in the kid's hand. Predictably, Ge Quan smacked his hand with his chopsticks, and it stung.

Ignoring Fan Er's resentful glare, Ge Quan recalled that the bounty he'd taken also involved the Peng family. Talk about a coincidence.

"We'll head over to the Peng place tonight to find him," Ge Quan said.

Fan Er thought it unwise. "The Peng place isn't huge, but it's got a good hundred people in it. If Ji Wunian's really hiding in there, we can't exactly go room to room in the dead of night, can we?" We'd be at it for three days and still not finish.

"Then what do you suggest?" Ge Quan was all about wrapping this up fast.

Fan Er mulled it over. "I'll go ask Inspector Wang if he's got any ties with the Peng family. Better to come up with a reason to call on them in broad daylight."

Ge Quan wasn't the type to just sit around. While Fan Er went to sound out Inspector Wang, he took Fang Jinrong out again—this time to scope out the area around the Peng place.

The Peng place started as a three-courtyard compound and just kept growing. One day the Second Master's son got married, so they tacked on a little courtyard; the next, the head of the house took a concubine, and another one sprouted up. So the place was a mess—looked all lopsided and jumbled from above. But the townsfolk were green with envy, dreaming of being born into a rich landowner family like the Pengs.

"Are they having a funeral?" Fang Jinrong pointed at the two white lanterns hanging outside the Peng family's main gate.

Ge Quan grabbed a pack of Yunpian cake from a street vendor for Fang Jinrong and casually pumped the guy for info. He wasn't much of a talker, so he just repeated Fang Jinrong's question.

The vendor was a plain-spoken guy. The townsfolk had already chewed over this topic a thousand times, and he could tell right off these two weren't from around here. "Yeah, that's right—the old man's favorite grandson kicked the bucket. Just sixteen, a kid who hadn't even come of age."

Fang Jinrong wasn't hungry, but he peeled off a slice of the Yunpian cake and nibbled it, letting it melt on his tongue. "So young—did he die of illness?"

"You nailed it, young sir."

Seeing no customers coming for Yunpian cake at the moment, the vendor opened up and started gossiping. "This Peng kid was yanking maids' skirts at eight, kissing boys by ten, and by fourteen he already knew all about the birds and the bees. This time, word is he caught one of those diseases."

"What kind of disease?" Fang Jinrong leaned in with curiosity.

Ge Quan stepped in between them. "Nothing worth hearing—don't listen."

The vendor blinked: "..."

What did he say that wasn't good?

Ge Quan steered Fang Jinrong off that street and into a little alley by the Peng place's side gate. The willow branches hung soft and graceful, though the thin leaves were already starting to yellow and die.

Fang Jinrong finished off the Yunpian cake, dusted off his hands, and shoved the rest into Ge Quan's arms. Then he stood on his tiptoes, plucked a leaf that was half green, half yellow, and fiddled with it.

"I'm not some dumb kid who doesn't know anything," he said suddenly, his voice sounding a bit sulky.

Ge Quan had been watching him the whole time. He knew right away Fang Jinrong meant what just happened, so he hurried to explain, "I didn't mean—"

He only got three words out before he didn't know how to keep going. Fang Jinrong was still green when it came to that stuff, and Ge Quan was seven or eight years older than him. Bringing up stuff like love and desire over and over would just make it look like he was trying to lead the kid astray—and that was shameful.

Fang Jinrong shot him a look, saw the gloom in his eyes, and even though he didn't get it, his own chest suddenly felt tight.

He rubbed his chest hard, a little confused. Was he choking on that Yunpian cake from earlier?

—

That afternoon, they met back up with Fan Er and Hong Ying. What the couple had found out was pretty much the same as what they'd dug up.

The Pengs had definitely had a funeral recently, and word was another celebration was coming. Maybe because of the recent death, they were keeping the celebration hush-hush, and hardly anyone knew about it. Inspector Wang, being the town's only "official," knew way more than the average Joe. Fan Er had to fork over some silver to squeeze the inside scoop out of him.

The Pengs' funeral was for the young master, and so was the celebration.

In Yong'an Town, if an unmarried young man died young, he couldn't be buried alone. He had to take a "wife" to be buried with him, so his trip down the Yellow Springs Road wouldn't be cold and lonely.

Families with a bit of money would usually get a yin matchmaker to buy a female corpse—didn't matter how long it'd been dead, even just bones would work.

For the poorer ones, they'd track down the family of an unmarried girl or lad and buy a few old clothes for a dozen coppers, or grab a paper figure from a paper shop—just enough to make it official.

As the richest family in town, the Pengs sure as hell weren't going to settle for bones or old clothes.

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