Chapter 281: Disaster Arrives (III)

Qin Xingyue quickly returned: "Sir, those three are merchants from Dansui County. For jacking up prices after the disaster, the County Magistrate sentenced them to five days in the cangue."

"Is that so?" Le Wuya snapped open his folding fan, shielding himself from the blazing sun overhead. "I thought so—they didn't look like ordinary folk."

Beneath the shadow of the fan, his gaze swept over the three prisoners one by one.

Though their faces were haggard, eyes sunken from suffering, and their undergarments so filthy they had lost all original color, you could tell at a glance they were made of good stuff.

If Le Wuya wasn't mistaken, one guy's underclothes were satin and still caught the light.

Having been with Le Wuya this long, Qin Xingyue had picked up a thing or two: "Sir, shall we investigate further?"

Le Wuya turned his horse and slowly made his way toward the county gate: "Naturally."

Though it was broad daylight, the main street of Dansui County was unusually empty. A thick smell of medicine, mixed with the summer heat, hit them.

Le Wuya sniffed the air, identifying two herbs: atractylodes and rhubarb.

— A standard epidemic prevention prescription.

Armed soldiers with masked faces patrolled the streets, shooing folks back inside like chickens the moment they saw them, their attitude rough: "Get back inside! You got a death wish?! Stay home and behave!"

A commoner carrying a chamber pot, about to dump it out, smiled ingratiatingly: "Sir, our rice jar's scraped clean and the veggie bin's empty. Mind if I go grab some food and drink?"

The soldier in charge shot his brows up and bellowed like a bull: "Always got some damn excuse! What did the county magistrate tell you the other day? You got donkey shit in your ears? Didn't he say these next few days are critical, told you to stock up on rice and veggies ahead of time! In this heat, once bodies start rotting, who knows if a plague'll break out!"

The guy just stood there, stunned by the tongue-lashing.

Once he'd gotten it off his chest, the soldier looked him up and down and eased up a bit: "Only one of you goes out! Wrap your face in a cloth, and if you dare take it off..."

He mimed drawing his blade.

The guy bowed over and over, tied a dark cloth over his face, and snuck out like a thief.

Watching all this, the three of them kept their cool.

This soldier threw his weight around more than most, and his mouth was definitely filthy.

But in times like this, that kind of rough authority was exactly what kept order.

After dealing with the guy, the soldier spotted these three strangers strolling down the street and charged right over: "You three! What're you doing?! Let's see your travel permits!"

Qin Xingyue: "..."

He couldn't stand anyone glaring at Lord Wenren—it made his fists itch.

Just as Qin Xingyue was about to roll up his sleeves, Le Wuya gave him a gentle wave of his fan.

Qin Xingyue immediately dropped the tough act, pulled out three travel permits, and handed them over.

After checking them, the soldier said, surprised: "From the capital? What're you doing here?"

Le Wuya: "Visiting family. Got kin nearby."

"Well, you picked a hell of a time!" The soldier tossed the permits back, eyeing Le Wuya. "Where are you headed?"

Le Wuya didn't look like an official—more like some young master—so the soldier never even thought twice.

Le Wuya took back his permit and said: "Geliangping."

Geliangping, Lijiatuan, and Sunjiatuan—those were the three villages hit by the disaster.

The soldier: "..."

Le Wuya put on a humble, clueless act, his accent shifting: "I've been rushing down the road without stopping to ask, so I got no idea what's happened. Could you, sir, fill me in? What the hell's been going on around here?"

For a second, the soldier didn't know where to put his hands, one thought running through his head:

I oughta be shot.

He stammered: "Th-th-that is... things've been rough around here lately—there's been an outbreak... an outbreak of plague! Don't go anywhere, stay in the city, don't wander off! Go half a block up, take a turn, and there's a place giving out free medicine broth! That Geliangping you mentioned's got sickness going around—nothing too bad—but you'd best not go making it worse!"

After rattling off that whole warning, he scurried off with his five soldiers like a bunch of scared rabbits.

Watching him hightail it, Le Wuya turned back and said: "Don't know about the officials, but that soldier's solid."

Wang Cheng had been watching Le Wuya for a while, quickly looking away when Le Wuya's eyes landed on him.

Le Wuya: "What do you think?"

Wang Cheng, sharp on administrative matters, replied: "The disaster was reported promptly here, sent by six-hundred-li express, with a copy to the Provincial Surveillance Commission. They've opened the granaries for relief, brewed epidemic-prevention broth, strictly controlled civilian movement, and even vacated the county school to house disaster victims. Rewards and punishments are clear, order's well kept—he's a real capable official."

Qin Xingyue chimed in with a laugh: "Sixth Master speaks truly. This was handled efficiently. At this rate, we'll likely be back in the capital within ten days."

Le Wuya asked: "What's the name of the local county magistrate?"

Wang Cheng answered without hesitation: "Surname Zhou, Zhou Wenchang, courtesy name Yunxing. Thirty-four years old. His evaluations have been excellent every year."

Le Wuya nodded: "Indeed, he's good."

He paused: "Those three on display before the county gate..."

Wang Cheng clasped his hands: "I'll go investigate at once."

With that, he pulled his own permit from the stack of three, smoothly tucking it into his sleeve: "There's a Niu's Inn on East Street in Dansui—the name's plain, but it's the cleanest lodging in town, well-kept against pests and vermin. Shall we rendezvous there?"

Qin Xingyue: "...How do you know that?"

Wang Cheng said: "I found out in the neighboring county yesterday. Young Master, I'm off."

Watching Wang Cheng leave, Qin Xingyue seemed somewhat distracted.

Le Wuya tapped his head with his fan: "What are you daydreaming about?"

Qin Xingyue rubbed his forehead sheepishly: "Sir, Wang Cheng is really good."

Le Wuya saw right through his little insecurity: "What, afraid the information Wang Cheng brings back won't match yours, and he'll show you up?"

Qin Xingyue was about to blurt out "How did you know?" when Le Wuya draped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a brief embrace, and said simply: "You're different."

Those four words instantly made Qin Xingyue's heart bloom with joy.

Limping on his leg—which was no longer particularly lame—he trotted happily after Le Wuya as they left.

Once their figures disappeared down the street, from the second floor of a teahouse by the roadside, a tall, elegantly dressed scholar stepped forward.

He gazed quietly in the direction Le Wuya had gone: "So that's the Surveillance Commissioner Wenren?"

The man beside him took the teacup from his hand: "Mr. Zhou, that's right."

The man showed a hint of regret: "A real beauty. Shame to die here."

...

Meanwhile, Zhong Piaoping, acting alone, headed straight for the three disaster-stricken villages as instructed by Le Wuya.

He couldn't have timed it better.

As he reached Geliangping, two people came rushing out, one in front, one in back, carrying a makeshift stretcher thrown together from fresh-cut branches and rough white cloth.

Zhong Piaoping called out from a distance: "Hey, is the road ahead still open—"

"Go around, go around!" The man leading the stretcher, his face covered in mud, said urgently, "The road ahead is buried! We dug our guts out just to pull one guy out alive! No telling if it'll cave again—if you wanna live, go around!"

When he saw the horse, the man's eyes lit up. He gestured to the person at the back of the stretcher, stopped, and said: "Didn't they say there were no horses? Here's one right here!"

He grabbed Zhong Piaoping's wrist: "Brother, come here! This horse is being commandeered by the Dansui County office!"

Zhong Piaoping: "?"

Well, that was unexpected.

He instinctively gripped the reins tightly: "Sir, sir, this is my only ride—you can't do me like this!"

The man clicked his tongue impatiently and pulled out a grimy ledger from his chest: "Ask anybody—our county magistrate's the best! A requisition's a requisition—we won't stiff you! I'll write you a ticket—take it back with you. The road ahead is destroyed, and look at the sky—you'll have to turn back anyway! Ten *li* and you'll be back in Dansui town. Head straight to the county office, show this ticket, and you'll get your horse back—plus half a string of coins for your trouble!"

Zhong Piaoping fished for info, keeping his face neutral: "No, no, no! Why you gotta use my horse? This guy's hurt bad—why not just set up camp somewhere and patch him up? Why haul him all the way back to town?"

"Why you gotta run your mouth so much!" The man's legs were caked in mud up to his calves; he stamped his foot, sending mud flying, and snapped, "Look at this god-awful mud—what kinda medicine could we have here?! Leave him here and he's dead!"

Zhong Piaoping shook his head firmly: "No way! I'm coming along! I can't leave my horse! What if you don't honor this ticket—I'm left with nothing!"

The man scratched his head in frustration, dislodging chunks of dried mud: "Fine, fine, A Shun! Find a cart to haul him! I gotta get back to digging folks out!"

A young county clerk named A Shun hesitated, then nodded.

They rigged up a cart in no time.

The horse pulled the cart, bouncing along the rutted road.

Zhong Piaoping sat slumped on the cart next to the mud-caked injured man, his fingers tracing the calloused right hand of the wounded man.

Maybe to break the awkward silence, A Shun started chatting: "Guest, where are you from?"

Zhong Piaoping answered truthfully: "Nanting."

"Oh, that's a long ways off."

"Yes."

"What did you do in Nanting?"

"Fur trade."

"No wonder—that's a fine horse you got there. Your family's clearly loaded."

Zhong Piaoping set the man's hand down and looked up, only to see the cart had veered off into a wild stretch of land by the road.

Ahead was a dense thicket of mugwort.

He asked softly: "Why aren't we on the main road?"

"I'm from around here," A Shun said. "There's a shortcut. I know it—just follow me."

Zhong Piaoping's voice dropped even lower: "Oh."

He lowered his head, still studying the man's palm, his voice as light as a whisper: "Truth is, I never did business in Nanting. I'm no good at making money—only at spending it."

A Shun in front lowered his head, his right hand drawing a cowhide dagger from his chest: "So what'd you do before, young man?"

"There's a coal mine in Nanting," Zhong Piaoping said. "That year I got in trouble and got sent to work in the mine's kitchen. I saw plenty of miners..."

A Shun sensed something was off, lunged up, and raised his dagger—

Zhong Piaoping pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and let out a sharp whistle.

The horse, getting the signal, bolted straight into the mugwort thicket!

A Shun lost his balance, pitched forward, and his eyes stung like hell.

A wall of grass slammed into him, blocking his sight completely!

He gritted his teeth, swung blindly, but his wrist got grabbed—a quick twist and chop, and the dagger clattered to the ground, caught cleanly by another hand.

"That's not how you kill a man." Zhong Piaoping's tone remained soft and gentle. "Also, you don't have enough muscle."

With that, he shoved A Shun's shoulder down, flipped the blade, and drove it deep into the hollow of A Shun's shoulder!

A Shun let out a wild scream of agony. In his shock and pain, he somehow crawled forward two steps and grabbed the mud-caked injured man by the throat!

Zhong Piaoping never figured the guy would still be trying to silence the witness at this point.

Amid the rustling grass, Zhong Piaoping slashed at his hand, aiming for the thumb, but with his view blocked, he only caught the back of his hand.

Blood went flying!

A Shun's face went white, his features twisted. Through the gushing blood, he clung to the man like a leech, squeezing for all he was worth—

Crack.

The injured man's throat got crushed.

That calloused hand went limp, hanging over the side of the cart.

It happened so fast Zhong Piaoping didn't see it coming—in a blink, everything spiraled out of control.

The mugwort rustled, and the horse slowly came to a stop.

"Murder..." A Shun tumbled off the cart, crawling through the blood, calling out weakly, "Murder—"

Then he turned back, flashing a hideous grin at Zhong Piaoping: "Murder!!!"