Chapter 74: Bloodshed (1)

Chapter 74: Bloodshed (1)

Qin Xingyue swallowed the fire rising in his throat and said hoarsely, "...My lord, Assistant Magistrate, the men have been brought back."

Le Wuya grunted in acknowledgment and came down the steps.

The two captured men were badly wounded and couldn't move, but their wounds had been hastily bandaged with clean cloth strips, so they weren't about to die anytime soon.

Le Wuya inspected each of them in turn, then took their hands to closely examine the yellowed calluses on their fingertips and the multiple knife scars on their arms. He nodded with satisfaction: "Did they have anything on them?"

The local soldiers immediately brought forward two flat bundles wrapped in cloth.

Though too filthy to make out what they originally were, a quick squeeze showed they'd been cut from a woman's silk dress.

Inside was a makeup case containing two gold ingots and a solid gold necklace—too conspicuous to unload easily.

There were also two merchant identity documents, with names suggesting they were brothers, one aged twenty-two and the other twenty-five.

Le Wuya ordered: "Bring a lamp."

The moment he gave the order, a runner hurried over with a lamp, lighting up the two men's grimy faces.

The younger one appeared to be in his early thirties, while the severely wounded one looked nearly forty.

The identities didn't line up.

Le Wuya smiled and nodded: "...Fine. Get a doctor. Don't let them die."

He then reached out and pressed Qin Xingyue's shoulder: "They're your responsibility. If he dies, I'll be having a word with you."

Qin Xingyue: "I..."

He'd been lazy and rotten for over a decade; even if he wanted to claw his way out now, it wouldn't be easy.

He still just wanted to go home and lie down.

But the magistrate wasn't about to ask his opinion—he just dumped the task on him.

...As if he could still be trusted.

As if he were back in the days when he was spry and whole, not broken.

While Qin Xingyue was spacing out, Le Wuya leaned in, grabbed his collar, and sniffed: "You drink?"

Qin Xingyue suddenly felt so ashamed he couldn't look up, and mumbled: "...Yes."

"Quit." Le Wuya ordered directly. "The world's got enough lazy bums; it doesn't need another one."

The fire in Qin Xingyue's heart, dead for so long, suddenly flared up, burning hot in his chest.

Almost by instinct, his spine, hunched for over a decade, snapped straight: "Yes!"

Le Wuya looked at him and broke into a grin.

Le Wuya, a ghost back from the dead, had once again found his old subordinate in a remote border town—another lost soul.

Clearly, the heavens hadn't been too hard on him.

This put him in a great mood, and even when Prefect Lyu urgently summoned him in the middle of the night, he hummed little songs as he went.

Zhi Jie pulled out his flute, put it to his lips, and played along with his tune.

With the flute joining in, Le Wuya got even more cheerful, glancing back often.

Zhi Jie and Wen Ren were both on tall horses, which made his little yellow mount look even more like a goofy donkey.

But he was in a good mood today, so he dropped his usual petty attitude and asked them cheerfully: "Why'd you two insist on coming out with me this late?"

The two didn't answer—they just laughed together first.

—Le Wuya was wagging his head and swishing his tail, clearly loving their company, but still too stubborn to admit it.

He'd always loved the hustle and bustle, not the quiet.

So that's what they gave him.

Wen Ren said outright: "There are bandits around. How could I feel safe letting you ride alone?"

Zhi Jie was more poetic about it.

He pointed at the sky. "To look at the stars."

Le Wuya laughed at them like a fool for a bit before realizing how undignified he must look in front of his students and juniors. He turned away, behaved for a moment, then couldn't help softly humming another tune.

To Wen Ren, Le Wuya's joy was the best view—impossible to look away from.

But there was another gaze beside his, just as intense, burning hot enough to be annoying.

Wen Ren glanced over and saw the man beside him staring intently at Brother Gu's back.

His eyes reflected only that one person.

Wen Ren's heart gave a sudden lurch.

—This man's stars weren't in the sky; they were here on earth.

Wen Ren, slow on the uptake, finally caught on. He immediately dropped his eyes and didn't dare look again.

Back when Wen Ren was still just Wen Ren, he'd been a late bloomer, out of place among the merchant sons of his generation who loved wine and women. He threw himself into his studies, thinking only of bringing honor to his family.

Once he became an official, he threw himself into his duties, with no time at all to think about marriage.

Men... how could a man be with a man...

His mind a mess, Wen Ren rode the whole way in silence.

By the time the moon had climbed into the western sky, he'd already been wondering how high an official rank he'd need to marry a man as his legal wife without getting impeached.

Zhi Jie, riding beside him, had also gone quiet for some reason.

Suddenly, he tilted to the right, as if he couldn't hold himself up anymore.

Afraid he might fall off his horse, Wen Ren, being the good-hearted sort, immediately reached out to steady him.

Le Wuya, used to staying up late, was wide awake and deep in thought at this hour. Hearing the ruckus behind him, he turned around: "What's wrong?"

Zhi Jie lifted his head groggily, nodded his thanks to Wen Ren, and said: "I'm tired."

Le Wuya: "..."

He was speechless.

He'd actually forgotten this kid kept a strict schedule—early to bed, early to rise, and tired right on time.

Say what you will, the kid was built to live a long life.

He lit into Zhi Jie: "If you insist on tagging along and end up falling off the horse and breaking something, who am I supposed to take it up with?"

Zhi Jie squinted, giving a sleepy smile. "S...sorry."

Normally he was polished and sharp, but when exhausted, he'd go like this—eyes unfocused, words clipped, and sometimes slipping back into his old stutter.

Le Wuya scanned the long, empty highway.

No town ahead, no inn behind—nowhere to put him up.

Le Wuya sighed, swung off his horse, handed the little yellow mare to Wenren Yue to hold, then walked over to Zhi Jie's mount and patted its neck. "Scoot back, Your Grace."

Zhi Jie obediently shuffled back to make room.

Wenren Yue's throat tightened at the sight. "I..."

He swallowed the sourness and managed to say, evenly, "Master, let me."

Le Wuya waved him off—his senior disciple, his responsibility. Why put anyone else out?

Zhi Jie must've been truly out of it, because the moment Le Wuya settled in, he slumped right into his shoulder.

He was tall, but tucked against Le Wuya, he fit like a glove.

Even half-asleep, Zhi Jie was fussy. "Not...proper."

Le Wuya said, "In Nanting County, I make the rules."

They'd left Nanting ages ago, but with Zhi Jie too foggy to notice, Le Wuya could say whatever he wanted.

Zhi Jie murmured, "Not...proper..."

Le Wuya nudged him with his shoulder and murmured, just for the two of them: "Careful what you say, Your Grace."

Zhi Jie, obedient as ever, shut his mouth and said nothing.

Le Wuya slowed the horse, one hand on the reins, the other guiding Zhi Jie's arms to lock around his waist.

He heard a soft murmur by his ear: "I'm twenty-three."

Le Wuya smiled, pressing his lips together.

Teasing Xiaoliu and teasing Xiaoqi each had their own kind of fun.

He said, deliberately casual: "...Oh, a big boy now, ready to marry. Want me to find you a pretty wife, teacher?"

Zhi Jie's arms tightened. "No."

Le Wuya hissed, "Hey, hey! Easy, easy!"

Zhi Jie went soft. "Want...teacher."

Le Wuya blinked. "What?"

He corrected himself. "Want stars."

Le Wuya, ever the generous one: "Which one? I'll pluck it right out of the sky for you!"

But Zhi Jie didn't seem satisfied. He insisted, "I'm twenty-three."

His head lolled to one side with the horse's gait.

Le Wuya shifted his shoulder to catch him. "Alright, alright, our Xiaoliu's all grown up now—not so easy to sweet-talk."

Zhi Jie: "...Easy to sweet-talk."

It was rare to see Xiaoliu drop the act and show this kind of soft, clingy side. Le Wuya's heart nearly melted, and his voice went light: "Fine, fine—easy to sweet-talk. Our Sixth Prince can be as spoiled as he wants today. I won't breathe a word to anyone."

Zhi Jie clearly didn't buy it. He said a name: "Ming Xiangzhao."

"Oh, him." Le Wuya said. "He's not an outsider."

Zhi Jie: "...He is."

Le Wuya sighed, helpless, and poked him between the eyebrows as a scolding.

Held back by the slow little yellow mare, Wenren Yue lagged far behind the two.

He watched the two of them, all cozy and whispering, and a sour haze crept over his heart and eyes.

The dread he'd felt at the Ranqiu Pass inn crept back like vines, coiling around his chest, squeezing the air out of him.

...

By the time they neared the prefectural seat, dawn was breaking.

After a night of riding, the reins had left two red welts across Wenren Yue's palms.

As Le Wuya dismounted, rolling his stiff shoulder and glancing around, he spotted it right away.

He took Wenren Yue's hand to look, then casually opened his pouch and handed him some spending money. "Pharmacy'll open soon—go get some ointment. These hands are meant for ruling the realm and acing the imperial exams, so don't go wrecking them on me."

Zhi Jie, who'd slept against Le Wuya's shoulder for half the night, was much sharper now. "Magistrate Wenren, I'll come with you."

Le Wuya grinned and leaned into his face. "Not sleepy anymore?"

Zhi Jie's cheeks went faintly pink, and he stayed quiet.

"Your Grace, find a spot to wait for me." Le Wuya glanced toward the prefect's office. "They called us in such a hurry—probably about the bandits in Xingtai County. You'd better stay out of sight for now. I'll go scope things out first, then we'll figure out the rest."

...

Ever since Le Wuya had ignored his warning and turned it back around on him, Prefect Lyu, after much thought, decided to set the thorn in his side aside for now.

Prefect Lyu wanted a jester—someone to entertain him and line his pockets.

At their first meeting, judging by his years in office, Le Wuya had seemed to have real potential in that department.

But after six months of watching, he had to admit: he couldn't read this guy.

Sometimes smooth, sometimes dense, sometimes hamming it up, sometimes dead certain—like an actor on stage, you could never tell what part he was playing.

Prefect Lyu couldn't figure him out, so he simply stopped trying.

Besides, this urgent assembly wasn't convened solely for Le Wuya's sake.

As the attendees filed in one by one, Prefect Lyu cleared his throat, preparing to deliver a grand speech.

But the effort was quite futile.

The moment he spoke, his voice still came out as a weak, bleating goat's call: "Gentlemen, these past days, you've all been on edge, haven't you?"

"Indeed, with murderous bandits running amok in our territory, who wouldn't be afraid?"

"If we're afraid, the common folk are even more so."

"However, from this day forward, you can stop worrying."

"Wenfu!" Prefect Lyu called upon Shao Hongzhen, the magistrate of Xingta County, in a familiar tone, "Come, tell us about it."

Shao Hongzhen, seated at the head, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and cut straight to the point: "Of the culprits who plundered wealthy households and committed massacres, twelve in total, along with fourteen accomplices, twenty were killed, and six have been arrested and brought to justice."

Prefect Lyu wore a satisfied expression, lifting the lid of his teacup and said leisurely, "Tell everyone, how did this case unfold, and how did you handle it?"

"Yes." Shao Hongzhen remained as composed as ever, steady and unflappable, "I, your subordinate, questioned the prisoners all night, sent local troops into the mountains to scout around, and caught a lone, wounded bandit."

"According to the confession of the bandit brought to court, they had originally been entrenched in Xiaojiatuo Mountain, southeast of Xingta, making their living by robbing traveling merchants and committing murder for plunder, keeping travelers' goods, clothes, and ID papers for themselves. Recently, running short of food in the mountains, they hatched a nasty plan, splitting into small groups disguised as traveling merchants, carrying identity documents, claiming they'd missed curfew and couldn't get in before the gates shut, and lodged in two groups at the homes of the wealthy Yin Jun and Hang Yichun."

"At the Yin household, they slipped up and blew their cover, and resorted to violence."

"Seven of the Yin family—four men, three women—were butchered, leaving only one hired laborer alive, who was also gravely wounded and died of his wounds yesterday."

"As for the Hang household, they slipped drugs into the food and drink, and though the family lost their valuables, they luckily got away with just losing their belongings."

"After committing the crimes, they grabbed their gold and valuables, fled back into the mountains, and planned to lie low for half a year, waiting until the dust settled before converting their loot into silver."

"Going on the captured bandit's confession, I led the local soldiers to surround the mountain stronghold, catching them completely off guard."

"That is how the matter unfolded."

He recounted everything in an orderly fashion, which had Prefect Lyu nodding in approval, praising him repeatedly: "Good, good! Wenfu, your hard work in solving this case is commendable—achieving such results in just a few days is no small feat!"

"I have achieved nothing remarkable." Shao Hongzhen's face was stern, "If I had truly accomplished something, the common folk would not have died in vain. Any loss of life among the people is on me."

Prefect Lyu consoled him, saying, "Such is the situation in the county; what can be done? Whoever sits in the magistrate's seat of Xingta would surely have a headache!"

The officials nodded in succession, some sincerely, some hypocritically, endlessly praising Magistrate Shao's devotion to the people and acknowledging the difficulty of his office.

Only the magistrates of the three neighboring counties, once again overshadowed by him, wore less than pleased expressions.

Le Wuya said nothing, merely watching Shao Hongzhen with a faint smile.

Interesting.

As Magistrate Shao had said, the bandits involved in the Xingta massacre case were either dead or in custody, all accounted for, none having slipped through the net.

So who's the one who pawned the stolen goods at Tianjin Pawnshop and is now sitting in Nanting County's jail?