In the alley, Tie Ci walked away angrily and swiftly, swearing that once she found out which lady was so uncivilized, she would definitely book her services and not let her urinate for three days and nights.
In the room, the beauty lazily leaned against brocade cushions, tying her skirt with one hand while complaining: “No one passes through that alley, and there are no high eaves opposite either. Isn’t it better than going to that latrine? Otherwise, tell me which latrine I should use?” She also cursed: “Lao’er really plucks feathers from passing geese—afraid people hide money in chamber pots, he won’t even let us use chamber pots, insisting on some latrine!”
She then instructed a short person: “Go down and clean up.”
The person at her feet, who had been beaten to a soft pulp, first showed shock upon hearing this, then thought of something and his face instantly turned ashen.
The beauty smiled and moved closer to him, saying in a melodious voice: “Still won’t talk? Seems your bones are indeed quite hard.” Suddenly she bent down and pulled—the man let out a piercing scream as blood splattered.
In the beauty’s palm was now a blood-stained fried duck bone.
The beauty weighed the duck bone and said in a relaxed tone: “Actually, even if you don’t talk, I can guess pretty closely. What requires both charcoal fire and ice? Mu Si is quite creative.”
The man clenched his jaw, sweat rolling down his cheeks from his forehead, his collar already mostly soaked.
The beauty stared at him, then suddenly reached out and grabbed his hair like a shrew fighting. The man didn’t scream but instinctively tilted his head back. With a slight tearing sound, a large clump of hair along with the hair binding was torn off—it was a wig.
Beneath the wig was revealed a smooth bald head with burn scars.
The tall person standing nearby took a breath: “A monk?”
The beauty shook her head while sighing: “Women’s fighting posture is still the most satisfying.” She leaned close to smell the man: “You’ve killed plenty, eaten plenty of meat—a fake monk.”
She casually threw the man to the ground, clapped her hands and stood up, saying: “Alright, no need to question you anymore. I know where the moles are hiding.”
The man still didn’t quite believe it, but when the beauty intentionally or unintentionally glanced toward a certain direction outside the window, his face instantly turned deathly pale.
The beauty yawned and walked back to the couch. The tall person silently approached.
In the quiet room came a soft hissing sound, and deep red candlelight splashed like blood across the silk gauze.
Slight dragging sounds arose as the tall person went out. The short person returned and clapped his hands: “All cleaned up.”
The beauty hummed in acknowledgment, seemingly lost in thought. The short person said: “Young Master, since you’ve already guessed, why not investigate them thoroughly tonight? Otherwise, once they discover someone is missing, they’ll flee quickly. Or what if they decide to fight to the death and strike at you first? Or what if…”
“Say one more word and this month’s wages get donated to Yuntan Temple.”
The short person shut up.
“At night they’ll definitely have many people and tight security. If we rashly enter, we might alert them before even finding the place. Tomorrow, however, is a good day—with so many outsiders, they’ll have to restrain themselves somewhat. And with many people, it’s easy to blend in.” The beauty said: “Let’s restore our energy first.”
“By the way, we just received news that the Crown Princess has left the imperial capital and gone to her training location. We just don’t know exactly where she’s training.”
The short person said happily: “Fortunately we received intelligence halfway saying there’s a secret base of the Second Prince here, and he’s doing something important. We changed course to come here instead of going to the capital. Otherwise we would have traveled all that way to the capital only to miss each other.”
The beauty propped up her knee, her arm lazily draped over it, her drooping fingertips like jade-carved flower petals.
“Since we’ve been driven out anyway, might as well do some work while we’re at it. When Heaven offers and you don’t take, you’ll suffer the consequences, right?”
The short person said worriedly: “I wonder if that decoy left in Ru Zhou can fool the Grand Minister?”
“If he wants to tell the King that the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander is fake, he’d first have to tell the King he knows who the real one is. If he wants to say who the real one is, he’d first have to explain why he knew but didn’t report it to the King.” The tall person entered at this moment, bringing a slight bloody breeze, his tone mocking: “Someone with selfish motives and plenty of secrets himself—how would he dare easily expose others’ secrets?”
Only then did the short person pat his chest and breathe a sigh of relief: “Thank goodness Young Master prepared early, secretly cultivating an Embroidered Uniform Guard commander double. The Grand Minister thought driving Young Master out of Ru Zhou while the commander wasn’t in position would prove Young Master was the commander. He didn’t know Young Master had this trick… but I’m afraid…”
“Enough with you—is there anything in this world you’re not afraid of? If a leaf fell from the sky you’d think the moon was falling!”
The short person shut up again.
But the tall person continued: “Since the Crown Princess has gone for training, in this vast sea of people, there’s no need to specifically search for her. By the time her year of training is complete, who knows what changes there might be on our end. You don’t need to keep this engagement in mind, Young Master.”
The beauty opened her eyes.
“Who says not to keep it in mind? That’s my wife—of course I have to keep her in mind. Keeping her in mind isn’t enough—I also need to put her on the altar table, on the spirit tablet, on the tombstone. That’s what I call keeping her at ease!”
…
Tie Ci stood before the back door of Cangsheng Tower and knocked on the door ring. Soon a monk came to answer.
Tie Ci apologized for the disturbance and explained her purpose. The monk pressed his palms together: “Thank you, Benefactor Mao. Opening Cangsheng Tower on March 15th every year is established custom, and we naturally have methods for dealing with crowd congestion. Please be assured.”
Tie Ci’s gaze swept over his hands, then looked at him and smiled: “The recent continuous rain, and this back mountain being quite cold and damp—I’m afraid the moisture might rot the wooden boards. While you master monks are busy chanting and have no time for maintenance, perhaps the Patrol Bureau could help inspect things.”
“The stairs in Cangsheng Tower are all painted with tung oil and wrapped in wrought iron—they don’t fear moisture disturbance. Please be assured.”
Tie Ci glanced at the high eaves of Cangsheng Tower where copper bells rang metallically in the wind, their clear sound carrying for miles.
She stepped back and smiled: “It seems the masters are quite unwilling to let me enter.”
The monk chanted a Buddha’s name before saying: “Benefactor speaks too seriously. It’s just that Cangsheng Tower has rules—except for March 15th every year, outsiders are not allowed to enter at other times. But we cannot take your good intentions lightly. Since this is the case, we monks will immediately send people to inspect the tower stairs.”
With that, he turned and quietly instructed several young monks behind him. Those few hurried into the tower.
With things at this point, Tie Ci naturally couldn’t insist on entering and waited outside the door. She looked up at the copper bells on the eaves and praised: “Jade ornaments ringing like phoenixes—pure Buddhist sounds.”
The monk smiled slightly.
“However, as far as I know, the number of copper bells on a tower requires precise calculation. Not only must they be arranged with proper density on the eaves, but the tower’s balance and eave weight must also be considered. Great Qian’s highest pagoda at Tianfang Temple has thirteen levels with seventy-two copper bells—when wind passes, the bell sounds can be heard for miles, truly a marvel. Now I see this Cangsheng Tower has only seven levels, yet the copper bells seem to exceed seventy-two in number. Aren’t you masters afraid that too many heavy bells might damage the eaves?”
The monk was startled, then smiled after a moment: “Benefactor has good knowledge. However, there are many forests around Cangsheng Tower with numerous birds and small animals, so we must prepare extra copper bells to drive away those creatures lest they damage the eaves and tower body. As for weight, don’t worry—those copper bells are quite thin and small in design. Together they don’t exceed the weight of seventy-two copper bells.”
Tie Ci knew tower bells served purposes beyond symmetrical beauty—they also transmitted wind direction, predicted weather, and drove away birds and beasts. After all, flying birds liked to nest on eaves and would bring grass seeds that could grow there. The latter might cause the entire tower to lean, which was no small matter.
She smiled and said no more. Through gaps in the wooden door, she could vaguely see a corner below Cangsheng Tower with a peach blossom grove where clusters of hydrangeas bloomed. Deep red and pale white remained richly colored even in the night, surrounded by emerald grass.
It was spring now, and while hydrangeas hadn’t yet bloomed elsewhere, the flowers and plants below this tower bloomed early. The luxuriant, bright flowers against the weathered, mottled ancient tower created a beauty both vicissitudinous and charming.
At this moment those young monks returned and spoke quietly with the monk. The monk seemed surprised and turned to Tie Ci with a smile: “Thanks to your reminder. We just inspected and indeed found some damaged stairs. If large crowds were to trample them, there might be trouble. In that case, the tower won’t open tomorrow. We’ll post notices outside explaining that the tower needs repairs and is temporarily closed.”
Tie Ci was stunned.
This development wasn’t quite right.
They were actually closing the tower in response?
What about the people expecting to burn incense and pray tomorrow? They wouldn’t care about unsafe stairs—they’d just think she was causing trouble and ruining everyone’s plans. When they made a fuss it would be another headache.
Before she could speak, the monk pressed his palms together in salute and closed the door.
Tie Ci had no choice but to leave.
Returning and thinking she had to work tomorrow, she went to sleep first. Her dreams were restless, constantly hearing the cold, clear tinkling of those copper bells. When she opened her eyes in the morning, dawn was just breaking, but there were already faint sounds of bustling voices reaching the county office.
Usually at this time the small city hadn’t awakened, but today was lively. Tie Ci sighed and got up to wash, gathering the early shift constables. Today there was a great market with crowds gathering—it was easiest for incidents to occur and couldn’t be taken lightly.
But she hadn’t even finished her simple breakfast when through the door and walls she heard chaotic footsteps outside, as if crowds in the street were running about in panic, mixed with shouts and screams.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She pushed away her bowl and hurried out, heading straight for where people were gathering.
Soon she stood on Juxian Street. This street led in all directions—behind and to the side were the county office and Deputy Li’s home, westward was the bustling Yuantan Temple, and back-to-back with Yuantan Temple stood Cangsheng Tower reaching toward heaven and earth, overlooking all beings amid rich sandalwood incense. Walking south for another quarter hour brought one to Zuihua Street, where Fuchun House’s eaves displayed red banners and apricot blossoms.
A place where dragons and snakes mixed, where sublime Buddhist chanting coexisted with worldly clamor. Even the smells were complex and indistinguishable.
Pushing through the crowd, Tie Ci’s eyes contracted.
A third victim had appeared.
In broad daylight.
…
Author’s Note:
Didn’t understand the first section where the beauty and guards were discussing? That’s right—you’re not supposed to understand it yet.
Simply put, Lao’er is stirring up trouble in Ziyang, and Xiao Shiba caught wind of it and came to reap benefits without effort.
Just read along for now—explanations will come later.
I’ll state upfront that this story is melodramatic pulp fiction, absolutely not rigorous. Please don’t fact-check it—just read for fun.