Finally meeting this mastermind who had placed them under house arrest, Yang Xingjian couldn’t help but look at him several more times.
He saw that this young Military Supervisor was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a black round-collar dark robe embroidered with subtle xiezhi patterns, leather arm guards on both wrists, and a three-chi horizontal sword with a shark-skin sheath hanging from his belt. He cut an impressive figure with hard features and a pair of eyes like cold lightning. Even while engaging in false smiles and pleasantries, he still gave off an extremely strong sense of oppression.
This military officer standing among a group of civil officials had a very distinctive temperament. Even as an enemy, Yang Xingjian couldn’t help but secretly admire this person’s extraordinary appearance.
He said coldly: “So it was this Special Envoy Bao Lang who forcibly ‘invited’ my daughter and me to be ‘guests’ at the county office. Truly young and not knowing the heights of heaven and earth.”
Bao Lang smiled and said: “Master Yang is too kind. The thief who stole the pearl and killed people has superior skills and is an extremely dangerous criminal. Keeping you and your daughter temporarily at the county office is an extraordinary measure for extraordinary times, but it also carries sincere intentions of protection.”
Yang Xingjian said coldly: “The Special Envoy bases his accusations that my escaped slave committed the crime solely on a flying knife message of dubious origin. This is rather too hasty.”
Bao Lang replied humbly: “Master Yang speaks correctly. Therefore, today I personally spent a day in the prison cells, extracting some clues from several people with underworld backgrounds…”
Hearing him mention this casually in passing, County Magistrate Wu Zhiyuan felt a chill run down his back. He had signed several death certificates for those who died under torture today, not daring to personally inspect the scene. Bao Lang’s methods were far more efficient than the jailers.
Bao Lang continued: “According to what I know, this blue-clothed slave is very likely a mysterious master thief from the underworld, nicknamed ‘Blue Shirt Guest.’ This person has extraordinary martial arts skills, moves mysteriously, and is most skilled at theft. To steal the precious pearl from the sealed Precious Pagoda, it could only be this person.”
Yang Xingjian refuted: “If this so-called Guest is indeed a famous master from the underworld, why would he willingly hide his identity and work as a menial servant? My carriages, horses, and belongings have all been completely plundered by bandits. What remains is just a donkey and a few strings of scattered coins – you all saw this. There’s really nothing to covet. Could he possibly steal my fish tally and appointment documents to become an official? The person I hired was just an ordinary vagrant. Since he has already fled, he has no connection whatsoever with my daughter and me. Don’t try to frame us.”
Bao Lang smiled and said: “Actually, before entering earlier, I couldn’t understand this matter either. Only after seeing Master Yang’s beloved daughter tonight with my own eyes did I solve the puzzle.” Everyone’s eyes looked at Bao Lang as he spoke word by word: “Kidnapping an ordinary woman to sell as a slave would only fetch a few dozen strings of cash, but Miss Yang with such beauty could not be obtained without a thousand gold pieces.”
Hearing him openly offend her, Yang Xingjian flew into a rage, slammed the table hard, pointed at Bao Lang and loudly rebuked: “Outrageous! You barbarian slave speak improperly – do you know that disaster comes from the mouth!”
Seeing him curse angrily, Bao Lang was unconcerned and said indifferently: “Master Yang speaks wisely. I indeed have some barbarian bloodline.”
“Liao” was a derogatory term used by people from the Tang Dynasty’s Central Plains for remote ethnic minorities – an extremely harsh insult. That Bao Lang would calmly accept it left Yang Xingjian stunned. He stood up wanting to protect his beloved daughter and leave, but saw that “Yang Fangxie” remained calm and composed, showing no signs of being insulted. When their eyes met, Yang Xingjian could only forcibly swallow this bitter anger, snorted coldly, and sat back down.
Bao Lang cupped his hands in apology and continued his aggressive assertions: “Offending Master Yang’s beloved daughter was truly not my intention. This person must have coveted Miss Yang’s beauty, thus lurking beside Master Yang waiting for an opportunity to act. Upon arriving in Xiagui County and discovering that the military governor’s precious pearl was even more priceless, he changed targets and fled. Afterwards, he colluded with tower guard Luo Chengye to steal the pearl, then killed him at home due to disputes over the stolen goods.”
Upon hearing “even more priceless precious pearl,” “Yang Fangxie” not only didn’t get angry but actually laughed lightly and asked: “May I ask the Special Envoy, what is special about this military governor’s precious pearl?”
Bao Lang thought that breaking through this layer of pretense might make this woman feel ashamed and embarrassed, or perhaps fearful and shaken. He didn’t expect such a reaction from her. He answered: “It is a giant pearl measuring one cun and two fen, capable of emitting fluorescent light at night – a rare treasure rarely seen in the world.”
“Yang Fangxie” smiled dismissively: “One cun and two fen doesn’t seem particularly giant. However, if it’s a pearl that can also emit light, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Common people all say this pearl was obtained by someone from Xuzhou who slayed a three-zhang white snake. I wonder how credible this rumor is?”
Bao Lang stared deeply at Yang Fangxie with probing eyes, while she also calmly stared back without showing the slightest fear. Bao Lang was secretly puzzled – men he stared at would usually avoid eye contact due to weakness or alarm, but this young woman not only wasn’t afraid, she actually dared to stare back. Such courage was quite rare.
He smiled slightly and answered with ringing force: “The rumor is correct. This precious pearl was indeed obtained by slaying a white snake, and the person from Xuzhou who slew the snake was none other than myself.”
Once these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked. Wu Zhiyuan and the others had naturally heard the legendary origin of that pearl, but all half-believed and half-doubted it, treating it as folk tales. They never imagined the legendary person was right before their eyes. Recalling Bao Lang’s superior martial arts when killing people – they couldn’t even see clearly his sword-drawing posture – he indeed had the ability to slay giant pythons. The officials looked at him with eyes filled with both fear and awe.
“Yang Fangxie” also seemed surprised, staring at Bao Lang and saying coldly: “The Special Envoy speaks of such extraordinary encounters with extremely arrogant tone. You must be comparing yourself to the legend of Emperor Gaozu of Han slaying the white snake? You are a subordinate of the military governor – with mountains high and waters far, have you forgotten this is the world of the Li Tang Dynasty?”
Hearing the princess ask this question, Yang Xingjian inwardly applauded, thinking this person was young, arrogant, and conceited, and indeed deserved a head-on blow to properly humble him by forcing him to admit whether he harbored treasonous ambitions like a wolf.
Bao Lang indeed dared not meet her sharp edge and immediately stood up, cupping his hands to explain: “Miss speaks too seriously. How would Bao Lang dare to be arrogant? This precious pearl is to be respectfully presented to the current Son of Heaven.”
Only then did “Yang Fangxie” sneer coldly and stop pursuing the matter.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Wu Zhiyuan quickly tried to find a topic and respectfully said: “Please could both of you describe in detail the appearance of this blue-clothed slave, so we can have an artist draw wanted posters. If he is indeed the pearl-stealing criminal, all the better. If not, helping Master Yang recover his escaped slave would also be a good deed.”
Yang Xingjian stroked his beard, shaking his head as he recalled: “That person was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a pair of thick sword-like eyebrows, a dark long face, quite tall in stature. There wasn’t anything else particularly special about him.”
Wu Zhiyuan’s awkward smile froze on his face. Yang Xingjian’s description was almost exactly Bao Lang himself. It seemed there was no need to hire an artist. The Yang father and daughter had suffered this grievance and were both angry – they clearly would absolutely not cooperate in the capture.
After this war of words, the Yang father and daughter gained a slight upper hand. Surprisingly, given Bao Lang’s temperament, he didn’t fly into a rage on the spot.
Yang Xingjian continued: “Even if this Blue Something Guest thief you speak of truly exists, since he has the ability to climb to the twenty-zhang high tower to steal the pearl, he has the capability to scale city walls. During your citywide manhunt, that master thief probably escaped long ago with the pearl and fled far away. What meaning is there in continuing to detain my daughter and me?”
Bao Lang categorically denied: “No, he absolutely has not escaped.”
Yang Xingjian sneered: “How can you be certain?”
Bao Lang clapped his hands, and two personal soldiers carried in a three-chi wide silver-plated copper tray from outside. This tray belonged to County Magistrate Wu Zhiyuan’s household. When they held the welcoming banquet for Bao Lang, they used this large tray to present the grand dish “Water-Refined Calf” – an entire calf – complete with a matching silver-plated copper cover for keeping food warm.
Therefore, when the soldiers brought in this tray, Wu Zhiyuan still thought it contained late-night snacks and was puzzled and uncertain, not knowing what this meant.
Bao Lang came to the tray and personally lifted the cover. Everyone looked closely and saw inside was a mass of pitch-black object, with some parts that seemed to resemble a person’s nose and eyes.
Wu Zhiyuan’s heart pounded wildly as he stammered: “May I ask the Special Envoy, what is this thing?”
Bao Lang spoke slowly, word by word: “Discovered today in Lotus Temple’s kitchen – it is Luo Chengye’s deep-fried human head.”
Everyone was shocked and horrified, knocking over tables and chairs with a crash as they all stood up and backed away. Before Yang Xingjian could shield his daughter, Bao Lang saw that the young woman’s delicate face finally showed an expression of terror, and he smiled coldly in triumph.
Both sides parted on bad terms. Yang Xingjian cursed angrily while protecting his daughter and leaving with sleeves fluttering.
But Bao Lang remained seated and didn’t leave. Wu Zhiyuan and the others didn’t dare leave either, and could only remain under the same roof with this head fried to charcoal black, filled with fear and nausea.
County Lieutenant Hao Jin, who usually handled security and arrests, had some knowledge and courage. He carefully asked: “May I ask the Special Envoy, this head has been fried… fried until the skin and flesh separated and the features are completely unrecognizable. Is it really Luo Chengye?”
Bao Lang said: “There were several strands of hair stuck in the pot lid’s gaps that fortunately didn’t soak in the hot oil. Luo Chengye’s curly hair like a poodle dog – probably not many people have that. Moreover, in the small county town of Xiagui, has a second headless corpse appeared?”
Hao Jin quickly said: “The Special Envoy is right. Lotus Temple has been sealed since the incident occurred, with no one allowed in or out. Yet this master thief comes and goes freely, and even deliberately… deliberately threw it in the oil pot to make it look like this. His hatred for Luo Chengye runs too deep.”
County Magistrate Wu Zhiyuan could bear it no longer and humbly begged to have the head removed. Bao Lang nodded, and the soldiers carried the copper tray away to deliver it to the coroner’s office for storage.
Bao Lang stared at his teacup in a daze for a while, pondering for a long time before finally asking: “What are your impressions of this Miss Yang?”
Wu Zhiyuan had been frightened all night and didn’t know how to evaluate her to satisfy his wishes. If he praised her, he feared angering Bao Lang; if he belittled her, it would seem like talking nonsense. He could only say: “She’s a sharp-tongued little girl.”
Bao Lang merely smiled at his superficial assessment and said slowly: “The way these father and daughter interact is truly unusual. According to the Three Bonds and Five Constants, father is the bond over children. In this world, there’s no principle of children being more noble than their father, yet Yang Xingjian seems somewhat in awe of his own daughter. This is too strange. Unless… unless the daughter’s husband has a status far more noble than the father’s.”
The Yang father and daughter had left long ago, yet where Yang Fangxie had passed, a trace of elusive subtle fragrance still lingered – only someone with extremely keen senses could detect it.
Bao Lang always felt this fragrance was somewhat familiar, but when he tried to smell it carefully, the scent would quietly slip away from his nose, impossible to grasp substantially. Coming from humble origins, he couldn’t distinguish between dragons and snakes. He sat thinking for a long time but found no trace, so he could only stand up and slowly pace outside.
The bright moon was like frost, cold and firm in the vast emptiness. Recalling the yellow-skirted young woman’s haughty air of superiority looking down on others, his heart actually felt an irrepressible restlessness and excitement.
He murmured softly in a voice like a whisper: “Yang Fangxie – she is either the Emperor’s woman or Prince Shao’s woman.”
Author’s Note:
According to the timeline, Wei Xun has actually only been missing for five or six days.