The group took lodgings at an ordinary inn in Xiagui County called the Sun Family Inn. As the young mistress of the household, Bao Zhu naturally occupied the upper room, while Wei Xun, as her accompanying servant, booked an ordinary room next door.

Shisan Lang still felt extremely uncomfortable with the extravagant behavior of three people taking two rooms. He first suggested letting Bao Zhu sleep on the bed while he and his senior brother slept on the floor, but Bao Zhu firmly refused.

He then proposed that the two of them go lodge at Lotus Temple, leaving only one room for Bao Zhu. After all, the temple only charged a symbolic fee of a dozen or so coins for food and lodging, making it the best choice for impoverished scholars, small-time traveling merchants, and other travelers short on funds.

After hearing this, Bao Zhu flew into a rage. “If you two abandon me alone at the inn, then what’s the point of hiring bodyguards?”

Cowed by her shouting, Shisan Lang said timidly, “This is the city after all, not the wilderness… I’ve already registered at Lotus Temple, and according to monastery custom, I can stay and eat for free within three days. Spending extra money would really be a waste.”

Bao Zhu waved her hand magnanimously and said, “Since I’ve hired you, how could I skimp on a child’s food and drink?” She thought to herself that she only had two people under her command – if she started withholding provisions, even a micro-mutiny would be utterly ridiculous.

Wei Xun, who was usually quite stingy, surprisingly supported her and said to Shisan Lang, “At least one of us two needs to stay by her side.”

Shisan Lang was startled: “Could there really be kidnappers?”

Wei Xun shook his head, pondered for a moment, then instructed, “You go out and scout around. See if the local boss is still Ma San, find out who’s in charge, and see what connections we can make to get through.”

Bao Zhu was completely confused and asked, “What nonsense are you talking about? Is this more ‘mynah pepper’ talk?”

Shisan Lang answered, “‘Mynah pepper’ is written on walls, but what we speak is ‘spring classics’ – these are underworld cant terms. Senior brother wants me to go out and find out if the local boss is still the same as before…”

At this point, Shisan Lang suddenly saw Wei Xun glaring at him with sharp eyes and quickly shut his mouth.

Bao Zhu urged, “Keep talking!”

Shisan Lang said carefully, “The underworld saying goes ‘Better give up a gold ingot than teach a single spring phrase’ – it’s better if you don’t understand these cant terms.”

Bao Zhu said angrily, “Are you saying I’m too poor to afford learning underworld slang?”

Wei Xun said slowly, “It’s not that we’re unwilling to teach, but half-knowledge would be dangerous for you. It’s like holding a lamp and curiously peering into a dark river – you might glimpse scattered fragments, but all the monsters living in that dark river can see you clearly in the light.”

His tone was serious and his description vividly terrifying. Bao Zhu felt somewhat intimidated, and also wondered why this man had been acting so strangely these past few days. Previously, whenever she encountered something she didn’t understand in the marketplace, he would always explain kindly. Why was he so cold today?

Bao Zhu snorted coldly and scolded, “How impressive! I don’t even want to hear this gibberish anyway!” She pouted and sulked, retreating behind the screen to nurse her anger.

Wei Xun gave Shisan Lang some more instructions and sent him off to handle them. Shisan Lang got up and walked to the door, calling out loudly, “When I come back, I’ll bring steamed buns for you two to eat. Is there anything else you want me to bring?”

Bao Zhu could naturally understand this and quickly shouted, “Don’t buy all vegetarian ones – bring some with mutton filling!”

Shisan Lang’s face immediately fell: “Asking a novice monk to buy meat buns – Jiu Niang really knows how to make things difficult for people.”

Bao Zhu said impatiently, “No one’s forcing you to eat them! If I keep eating nothing but vegetarian meals and cold tea, I won’t have the strength to draw my bow.”

Shisan Lang agreed, then asked Wei Xun, “What would senior brother like me to bring?”

Wei Xun thought for a moment, then moved close and whispered something to him.

“Ah!…” Shisan Lang seemed somewhat surprised and stared at Wei Xun for a while, but didn’t ask questions. He immediately took the money and went out.

Bao Zhu was quite puzzled by the master and disciple’s words and actions, but couldn’t bring herself to ask. She thought left and right without getting anywhere, even secretly worrying: were they deliberately speaking in cant to plan selling her off?

Two hours later, Shisan Lang returned with some news and hot steamed buns, saying that Ma San had been eliminated by the local boss last year, and now the one in charge was his brother-in-law Liu Mao.

Shisan Lang said, “The boss of this county is a reformed thief. The underworld both hates and fears him, and no one wants to provoke him. I couldn’t make any connections either.”

Wei Xun’s expression was dark and uncertain. He stood up and said, “You’re not experienced enough – I’d better go make the connections myself.” Then he gave Shisan Lang a meaningful look: “Stay alert and don’t leave her side.”

Shisan Lang nodded in agreement. Wei Xun didn’t use the front door but hurriedly climbed out through the back window.

Bao Zhu asked, “Don’t you think your senior brother has been acting a bit strange these past two days?”

“Maybe it’s the bad weather and he’s not used to the local conditions,” Shisan Lang said with meaningless words, then attentively asked, “Won’t Jiu Niang have another steamed bun? This is from a famous local eatery – I waited in line for a long time. When I said I wanted mutton-filled ones, they laughed at me for quite a while.”

Wei Xun didn’t return all night and was gone for a full day. By the next day, many guests staying at the inn gathered in the main hall, all discussing how, regardless of whether they had proper travel documents, none of them could pass through Tongguan – the entire Xiagui County had been sealed off.

Except for messengers carrying urgent military affairs, everyone else – whether visiting relatives, working and trading, or heading to the capital for examinations – was completely forbidden to enter or exit. Once the city gates closed, dozens of armored soldiers patrolled back and forth on the city walls, everyone on high alert as if a great army was about to besiege the city.

Shisan Lang went down to inquire and returned to the room looking uneasy. “How strange – I haven’t heard of any rebels these past two years. Besides, this is Xiagui – the capital is to the west and Tongguan fortress is to the east. Even if there were rebels, they wouldn’t suddenly reach here.”

Bao Zhu said worriedly, “If it’s not external threats, could it be internal troubles?”

Shisan Lang slapped his palm with his fist: “If that’s the case, it does seem like they’re hunting court fugitives.”

Hearing this, Bao Zhu’s heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly had ominous thoughts. But thinking again, she felt she was being overly suspicious. She was neither a fugitive nor a rebel – why should she feel panicked? She decided to abandon concerns about showing her face and sat in the main hall with Shisan Lang to gather information.

Some guests guessed they were catching foreign spies, others guessed there was an epidemic spreading in the city – no one had any real answers.

A merchant transporting fresh fruits looked worried: “Bad luck – I’m afraid this trip will leave me stuck with my goods.”

Another person said, “Losing money is one thing, but don’t get involved in some major case – that would be family-destroying trouble!”

They had been gathering until after the hour of the rooster, and everyone was preparing to return to their rooms to rest when the innkeeper’s local relative suddenly came to visit. He said that residents living near the county office had heard many prisoners being brought into the jail, all crying out their innocence. Others said these suspects had all been arrested from Lotus Temple.

This news exploded like hot oil in a pan, and everyone lost all desire to sleep.

“Oh my, the screaming was truly horrible! It simply wasn’t human sounds – who knows if they were pulling tendons or flaying skin. In this hot weather, we didn’t dare open doors or windows, covering our ears and shivering. And from the sound, it wasn’t just one or two people – there must have been many.”

The man’s vivid description immediately threw the travelers into panic. A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar straightened his black cap and said solemnly, “I am a civil official candidate going to Chang’an for appointment. Though only ninth rank, I’m still considered a government man. I imagine among those delayed in Xiagui County there are also nobles with connections at court. Even if they can’t open the city gates for passage, they surely can’t keep everyone in the dark. I’ll go to the county office right now to inquire.”

Seeing someone with official status willing to investigate, the innkeeper and all the travelers looked upon him with increased respect. Some offered him tea, others were willing to lend horses, and they escorted him out in a crowd.

Bao Zhu listened from the side, and after the man left, she leaned close to Shisan Lang’s ear to mock: “What a show-off – such a tiny official putting on airs.”

Shisan Lang whispered back, “Haven’t you heard the saying ‘A county magistrate can destroy a family, a governor can exterminate a clan’? No matter how low the rank, it’s still more precious than common status.”

Bao Zhu pursed her lips in great disdain. She thought of how during grand court banquets in the palace, the princes and dukes in the front rows could still be seen clearly, but officials of third rank and below in the back all knelt with heads down. Yet once outside Chang’an city, the value of official position inflated greatly, and any random nobody dared to put on airs.

The county seat wasn’t large, and in less than half an hour, this ninth-rank candidate official returned with his nose put out of joint and quietly snuck back to his room to sleep. But he had gotten one thing right – those with solid connections in the city could find out inside information.

These bits of gossip leaked from the mouths of their trusted retainers and were passed along by servants to the streets. The news seemed to grow legs – before dawn broke, more than half the city knew: the rare treasure that Wuwei Military Commissioner Cui Keyong had respectfully presented to the current Son of Heaven, while being enshrined on the top level of Lotus Temple’s Precious Pagoda, had been stolen in broad daylight before众目睽睽.

Not only that, but Luo Chengye, the Xiagui County Sheriff responsible for guarding this treasure, had been killed by the thieves in his own home, his corpse disemboweled with intestines spilling out, dying in an extremely miserable state.