Li Que headed to the back courtyard to find Li Kun, leaving the private space for Shen Zhuxi and Li Wu.
Picking up where the conversation about distributing porridge had left off, Shen Zhuxi continued: “Winter hasn’t even arrived yet, but already many people inside and outside the city can no longer afford food. The price of rice at the grain shops changes by the day. I asked an old woman who lives outside the city — the price of corn and coarse grains isn’t too steep yet. We could put up some money to purchase rough grains and vegetable roots, mix them in with finer rice, and cook it into porridge to give away. That way, the cost of boiling a hundred-some jin of mixed porridge could be kept to under a hundred taels of silver.”
“What are you worried about?” Li Wu cut straight to the point.
“I’m worried…” Shen Zhuxi hesitated for a moment, her gaze sweeping the surroundings to confirm no one was eavesdropping before she continued, “I’m worried about overshadowing others and making ourselves too conspicuous — drawing the hostility of the prefect and the wealthy merchants of Xiangzhou.”
“Well then, Shen Zhuxi —” Li Wu walked over and vigorously ruffled her head with his large hand. “There’s actually quite a bit of useful stuff in that head of yours!”
“I told you to stop ruffling my hair —” Shen Zhuxi cried out. “I’m talking serious business with you!”
“I’m listening.” Li Wu lowered his hand. “We can distribute the porridge — but not now.”
“Why not?”
“Distributing porridge now will only fill their stomachs. Distributing it two months from now could save their lives.” Li Wu said. “Between the kindness of a full meal and the kindness of saving a life — which carries more weight?”
Shen Zhuxi fell into thought.
Even though she wasn’t doing this to hold favors over anyone’s head, now truly wasn’t the right time to distribute porridge. Li Wu was right — waiting two more months would allow more people to survive.
“As for the concern you raised, there’s no rush right now. If you haven’t changed your mind, you’ll have the next few months to think of a way. ” Li Wu paused, then said with a meaningful air, “Who knows — by then we might not even have food for ourselves, let alone the wherewithal to worry about anyone else’s survival.”
Li Wu’s words immediately put Shen Zhuxi on edge: “How much food have we stored for ourselves?”
“In principle, enough for the four of us to eat and drink heartily until next spring. If we include the household staff and tighten our belts a bit, eating two meals a day, we could just scrape by until spring.”
Shen Zhuxi let out a breath of relief. That meant, at the very least, the four of them surviving until spring was no problem.
Tighten their belts it would be then — at worst she’d only eat one meal a day.
Li Wu bent down, picked a pomegranate from a bamboo basket, and tapped it lightly against the center of Shen Zhuxi’s forehead.
The cold, hard object against her face made Shen Zhuxi instinctively squeeze her eyes shut and wrinkle her brow.
“What are you doing!”
“Dolt bonking dolt.”
Li Wu let out a short laugh, took the pomegranate, and headed toward the back courtyard.
Shen Zhuxi rubbed her forehead where the odd sensation still lingered and huffed after him.
“You stop right there!”
“You tell me to stop and I’m just supposed to stop — who’s the dolt here, you or me?”
“The one calling other people dolts is the real dolt!”
“How childish. Come and catch me then. If you catch me, I’ll —”
“You’ll what?”
“Peel the pomegranate for you.”
……
One stroke of the sword, and the half-red, half-green pomegranate split cleanly in two on the wooden stump.
Two more strikes from Li Wu, and one pomegranate became four pieces. The red juice ran freely, seeping into the rings of the tree stump in thin streaks of crimson.
“What swordsmanship! The finest blade under heaven is no more than this!” Li Que was the first to break into applause.
“Finest blade my foot!” Li Wu cursed.
He shoved his pomegranate-stained sword back into its scabbard and dropped himself down onto a large stone the size of a millstone, grumbling, “Your sister-in-law demands the skin be split without breaking the fruit, and every single seed inside must come out perfectly intact. Is this eating pomegranate or torturing someone? I’ve been practicing for a whole month and still can’t meet her standard. Damn it… next time she pushes me too far, I’ll just make her gnaw on the rind!”
Li Kun picked up the pomegranate from the tree stump and started gnawing on it directly, rind and all. Between bites, he murmured:
“Picky pig… gnawing pomegranate seeds…”
Li Wu kicked at the tips of his feet.
“How many times have I told you not to call her Zhuzhu? Are you playing deaf on me?”
“Big Brother is Big Brother, Third Brother is Third Brother, and Zhuzhu is Zhuzhu — why can’t I call her Zhuzhu, I…” Li Kun spat out a mouthful of pomegranate rind, looking completely aggrieved.
“That’s my name for her.” Li Wu said irritably. “You call her Zhuzhu one more time and I’ll—”
Before Li Wu could finish, Li Que’s expression sharpened as he looked toward the end of the mountain path: “Big Brother, there really is a pig coming.”
Li Wu leapt down from the rock and called out to those around him, “Everyone, look alive — business has come knocking!”
In an instant, the previously quiet mountain path burst into activity. Men who had been sprawled across the road napping sprang to their feet; those who had slipped into the nearby brush to relieve themselves returned; groups who had been gathered in twos and threes playing finger-guessing games broke apart. Every single one of them reached for a weapon, and each wrapped a cloth over the lower half of their face.
As the hoofbeats of the approaching convoy grew louder, Li Wu gauged the distance and made a hand signal behind him.
Li Que nodded and led the others in leaping down the hillside all at once.
The convoy below broke into chaos at the sudden appearance of the armed men, cries of “Whoa!” mingling with panicked shouts in a rising clamor.
Li Wu was the last one, sliding unhurriedly down the slope and planting himself at the very front of the convoy.
“Good gentlemen, this is…” The convoy’s steward feigned composure and gave him a deep bow.
Li Que barked: “Who gave you the right to speak here? Tell whoever’s in charge to come out.”
The steward choked on his words. His gaze swept over the dozens of armed young men before him, and with no other choice, he turned and retreated into the convoy.
After a moment, a middle-aged man waddled out — a man with a fat head and large ears, his belly pushing out beneath his fine silk robes as if he were seven months along.
“Li Wu, this is already the fourth time this month you’ve robbed me. What exactly do you—” Old Master Zhang hadn’t even finished before a throwing knife flung by Li Que cut him off.
The knife embedded itself in the cart board behind Old Master Zhang — a sharp thunk, sinking three inches deep into the wood, swinging back and forth with a steady clatter. Old Master Zhang went white as a sheet, staring at the group opposite him in shock and terror.
“Master Zhang, loose talk can cost a man his life.” Li Wu said. “You haven’t even asked my name — how could you just call it out like that?”
Old Master Zhang forced a smile, though inwardly he was grinding his teeth: You, Li the Skinflint, I’d recognize you even burned to ashes! Did you really think wrapping an old rag around the bottom half of your face would make you unrecognizable? This isn’t the opera stage!
“Might I ask your honorable surname?” Old Master Zhang said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “How should I address you?”
“No name, no surname — just an unremarkable merchant, same as Master Zhang.”
Unremarkable? Old Master Zhang swallowed the urge to let loose a string of curses, kept his hollow smile in place, and asked:
“And might I ask what it is you’re selling?”
Li Wu drew the long sword he had just used to cut the pomegranate, and said:
“I recently came into possession of a peerless divine blade.”
Li Que carried on: “This blade is called the Pig-Slaying Sword. It is the work of the ancient master swordsmith Gan Jiang, passed down through the ages. Whoever holds this blade can command every bandit and outlaw under heaven — none would dare disobey! Should Master Zhang purchase this blade, he need never again fear encountering ruffians on his merchant routes. Whenever he meets bandits blocking the road, Master Zhang need only brandish the Pig-Slaying Sword, and who would not bow their head and kowtow, calling him a fellow of the trade?”
Old Master Zhang stared at the inferior sword in Li Wu’s hand — at best worth two taels of silver — and the smile on his face was barely holding together.
“…This area is peaceful and orderly. Where would any banditry come from?”
“Who can say for certain?” Li Wu replied. “If Master Zhang doesn’t buy this peerless divine blade, he just might run into some at the next crossroads.”
Old Master Zhang: “…”
Not “just might” — it’s a certainty, isn’t it?
The sheer shamelessness of those words, delivered with such brazen confidence, was beyond anything Old Master Zhang had ever encountered. He finally reached his limit.
Suppressing his fury, he said: “Let us speak plainly. You know who I am, and I know who you are. I simply want to ask — what on earth have I done to offend you? Targeting me like this for an entire month… Even a man shearing a sheep doesn’t shear it this way! I have connections with the prefect himself. Aren’t you afraid of Lord Fan’s displeasure?”
Li Wu said nothing. Instead, he let out a short, contemptuous laugh and began toying with the hilt of the sword in his hand.
“…What are you laughing at? Is what I said amusing to you?” Old Master Zhang’s face darkened. “I know who is behind you, which is precisely why I have yielded again and again — yet you press on at every turn. Are you trying to confront me before Lord Fan himself?!”
Li Wu still said nothing. He tilted his chin lazily toward Li Que, signaling him to speak.
Li Que said: “Master Zhang, you keep linking us to the Prefect of Xiangzhou in the same breath. Are you suggesting that this… trade of ours on the road is something Lord Fan has ordered us to conduct?”
Old Master Zhang stiffened. Only now did he understand why Li Wu had looked so contemptuous.
His earlier bravado collapsed at once. He steadied himself with effort and said: “…Of course not. Lord Fan is an official, and you are…” He swallowed the word “bandits” and substituted: “…merchants.”
“What I meant was simply… you’re conducting business in Xiangzhou’s territory, so you still ought to keep Lord Fan informed — you can’t just do as you please.”
“That’s a contradictory thing to say, Master Zhang. If you wanted the protection of the authorities, you should have taken the main road — the one with four clear routes. Why come down this remote mountain path?” Li Wu said.
Old Master Zhang nearly keeled over in rage!
If it weren’t for this cursed Li Wu constantly manufacturing excuses to hold up his goods on the official road and making things difficult for him at every turn, why would he drag himself over hills and through valleys to take this back path in the first place?
And even taking the back path, he still couldn’t shake Li the Skinflint!
“I can purchase this peerless divine blade.” Old Master Zhang swallowed his pride and said, biting back his anger. “But you must resolve my confusion today. Why has my merchant route been so plagued with misfortune this past month?”
“How decisive of you, Master Zhang!” Li Wu said. “What are you waiting for? Send this peerless divine blade over to Master Zhang at once.”
A subordinate took the long sword and stepped toward the convoy.
Everyone in the convoy tensed at once.
He walked up before Old Master Zhang and held out the sword.
“You still haven’t told me — how much does this blade cost?” Old Master Zhang looked toward Li Wu.
“No silver needed. A priceless treasure cannot be measured in silver.” Li Wu said. “This gentleman clearly has a predestined connection with me. Leave behind one cart of goods, and this peerless divine blade is yours.”
One cart of goods? The convoy members exchanged glances.
They were a grain shop convoy — in these lean times of poor harvests, every single grain of rice was as good as silver.
Could Old Master Zhang possibly not know this? But might makes right; he choked back the urge to spit blood, accepted that wretched piece of iron that wasn’t even worthy of being called scrap metal, and took it.
“…Give it to them!”
The master had spoken. The servants complied. The steward whispered to a few men, and one cart was uncoupled from the convoy.
“Now will you tell me why my merchant routes have been so ill-fated of late?” Old Master Zhang asked, his face a deep, stormy grey.
After having the cart’s contents inspected, Li Wu said in a careless tone:
“Since Master Zhang has been so obliging, I won’t beat around the bush. If you want to know the reason, go home and look into whether your fourth young lady has offended someone she shouldn’t have. We’re leaving —”
At Li Wu’s command, nearly thirty men fell in behind him and withdrew into the forest in an orderly fashion. Those at the rear of the column kept their crossbows trained on the convoy, keeping a vigilant eye on every move it made.
After Li Wu and his men disappeared into the woods, Old Master Zhang pulled the sword from its scabbard.
“This…” The steward went pale at the sight of the blade.
“Selling me a sword fresh from a killing… if that’s not a final warning, what is…”
Old Master Zhang slid the blade back into the scabbard, his face ashen.
“Someone come here!”
“At your service.”
“Ride back to the city at full gallop and lock up that troublemaking daughter of mine first! I will interrogate her myself — I want to know exactly what she has done!”