The small two-story building, constructed of gray bricks and wooden beams, bore the weathered look of years gone by. The shop owner, a thin middle-aged man with piercing eyes, scrutinized the three cloaked figures standing at his doorstep.
“Customers, would you like a few jin of dog meat?” the owner probed cautiously.
Song Tingfeng replied in a hoarse voice, “How much for the dog meat outside, and how much for the meat inside?”
Upon hearing this, the shop owner’s face broke into a smile. Seasoned customers, he thought.
“The meat outside is one qian of silver per jin. Inside, it’s three qian.”
For such a low-grade establishment to charge three qian of silver was truly outrageous. In truth, the price wasn’t much cheaper than in the capital. As industry veterans, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao shook their heads in disapproval.
Xu Qi An, however, didn’t find it particularly expensive. Since entering this line of work, he has always moved into the upper echelons of the industry. Even a simple tea gathering cost ten taels of silver. Three qian was mere pocket change… What’s that? Did he get it for free? Oh, never mind then.
The shop owner stood up and led the three inside. It was only then that Xu Qi An noticed the owner’s pronounced limp.
Once inside, the indescribable sounds became clearer, revealing the poor sound insulation as a cacophony of noises filled the air.
If Spring Brother were here, Xu Qi An mused, he’d surely say, “Listen to my command, 121, 121, in-out-in, in-out-in…”
The shop owner chuckled, “All the girls in the shop are occupied. Why don’t you gentlemen wait a bit? I’ll cut you a jin of cooked meat in the meantime.”
Despite nightfall having just begun, the shop’s girls were already busy. The black market dog meat business seemed quite profitable… Xu Qi An, however, had no intention of waiting, as he had other motives.
Xu Qi An kicked open the doors of the rooms one by one, startling the girls inside and eliciting a wave of angry shouts. Several men, not even fully dressed, rushed out to teach Xu Qi An a lesson.
Xu Qi An swiftly dealt with them, knocking down five or six before the others dared not approach. He then announced in a commanding voice:
“Room 15 has been reserved. Clear out immediately. Young Master Song will cover tonight’s expenses.”
Hearing this, the patrons’ anger subsided. Realizing they were outmatched and that their bills would be paid, they decided to cut their losses. After all, dog meat shops were plentiful in the black market.
By now, the shop owner had retreated to the chopping block where the meat cleaver lay. His hand rested on the handle as he narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice:
“You’re not here for meat, are you? Have you come to cause trouble?”
“Don’t be hasty, shopkeeper. I’ll explain shortly,” Xu Qi An said before gathering the naked and half-naked women into one room. He ordered, “Heads down and squat!”
The women of varying appearances complied in confusion.
“No one leaves this room without my permission,” Xu Qi An commanded, waiting for their fearful nods before closing the door and returning to the first floor.
The shop owner was still in a standoff with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.
Xu Qi An closed the shop door, then sat at the table and produced half of a jade pendant. In a solemn voice, he asked, “Shopkeeper, do you recognize this?”
The limping shop owner’s gaze fell upon the jade pendant. In the candlelight, its smooth texture was evident, cleanly cut in half by a sharp object.
Xu Qi An saw the shopkeeper’s pupils constrict.
“What is your relationship to Zhou Min?” the owner asked.
“You don’t need to know that. I’m only asking if you recognize this jade pendant,” Xu Qi An replied.
The shop owner nodded slightly. “Wait here.”
He limped into an eastern room on the first floor, where he resided due to his condition. The second-floor rooms were reserved for customers.
Xu Qi An signaled Zhu Guangxiao to follow the owner, preventing any potential tricks.
Soon, the shop owner returned with half a jade pendant and a ledger, which fit perfectly with the half Xu Qi An had produced.
“You’re here for the item, aren’t you?” The owner said, offering the ledger. “This is what Zhou Min left with me.”
“Don’t you want to ask anything?” Xu Qi An didn’t touch the ledger, instead staring at the owner.
“Would you tell me if I asked?”
“No, but you’re being too compliant.”
The shop owner sighed, “When Zhou Min entrusted me with this ledger, he instructed that the jade pendant was the token. Without the pendant, the item wasn’t to be given to anyone, not even himself.”
“Your identity doesn’t matter to me. I only recognize the pendant, not the person.”
Recognizing only the pendant, not the person… Because the Zhou Min coming to retrieve the evidence might not be Zhou Min… The old spy’s mind was meticulous. What a pity he died, Xu Qi An thought as he finally took the ledger. Upon careful examination, he found it to be an account book detailing the “unexplained” disappearances of military supplies from the Chief Commander’s Office. Each entry was meticulously recorded.
With this “evidence,” Governor Zhang could now apprehend and interrogate the second-rank Chief Commander, though it wasn’t enough for an immediate conviction.
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao exchanged glances, seeing joy in each other’s eyes. With the evidence in hand, their mission in Yunzhou was nearly complete.
“What’s your relationship with Zhou Min? He trusted you enough to give you the ledger,” Xu Qi An asked casually, sipping his tea.
“I was once a wandering knight. I got into trouble for meddling in affairs and offended a young master. His men beat me, which is how I lost the use of my leg. They were about to take me out of the city to bury me alive when Lord Zhou saved me. I owe him my life,” the shop owner said with a wistful smile.
“With a lame leg, being a wandering knight became a joke, so I settled in Baidi City… The day he entrusted me with this, I sensed he was in trouble. But there was little I could do. I couldn’t repay his life-saving kindness, but I could at least keep this safe.”
“Thank you,” Xu Qi An nodded, mentally adding: We’ll take care of the revenge.
The shop owner cut them a few jin of dog meat, refusing payment, but Xu Qi An insisted on leaving five taels of silver. It wasn’t for the meat but for Young Master Song’s tab.
Song Tingfeng kept looking back, lamenting, “Since we can’t go back now anyway, why not stay at the shop? I’ve already paid…”
“Yes, and there are beauties to serve us,” Xu Qi An gestured. “You can go back if you want, they’re still… available.”
Song Tingfeng thought to himself that Xu Ning’yan was quite crude in his speech. He should have said: “They’re waiting to be plucked like ripe fruit.”
Later that night, in a certain mansion…
Li Miaozheng sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating. Her long, lustrous black hair cascaded down, framing her wheat-colored oval face, which exuded a mix of beauty and vigor.
In the year since coming to Yunzhou, she had spent her time either training private troops or hunting bandits in the mountains, tanning her once fair complexion.
However, as a disciple of the Heavenly Sect, she cared little for appearances. Their philosophy was: “I have no emotions!”
If one could discard emotions, appearances mattered even less.
Finishing her meditation, she focused her senses for a long while, detecting no trace of Mei’s presence in the mansion.
Mei hasn’t returned yet?
For Mei, dealing with three mere constables should have been child’s play, especially since Xu Qi An was a dissolute wastrel drained by wine and women. There shouldn’t have been any problems.
Logically, she should have been able to bewitch them and extract information during the day. Why hasn’t she returned yet?
Could Mei have disobeyed her orders and become enamored with him?
Li Miaozheng quickly dismissed this thought. Mei had been by her side for years, and her greatest virtue was obedience. In life, she had been a respectable woman, and even after dying from illness, she harbored almost no resentment. She was still relatively kind-hearted and knew that Xu Qi An couldn’t withstand such exploitation. She wouldn’t have drained his vital essence.
Perhaps she’s just indulging in some fun… Li Miaozheng pulled back the quilt, crawled in, and drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Li Miaozheng finished her morning ablutions and breakfast. As the sun climbed high in the sky with still no sign of Mei returning to report, she finally realized something was amiss.
She immediately drew a simple Taiji Bagua formation in the courtyard, placing items associated with the netherworld – grave soil, corpse oil, cat’s eye – in specific positions.
She then took out a crumpled paper figurine and placed it on the Taiji fish, activating the formation with her spiritual energy.
In a realm invisible to mortals, the crumpled paper figurine frantically absorbed the yin energy from the surrounding items. In a moment, its hands and feet began to move.
Then, the paper figure stood up unsteadily. After a few seconds of stillness, it lay back down, reverting to an ordinary paper figurine.
Li Miaozheng’s expression immediately turned grave. This paper figurine, once possessed by Mei, still retained traces of her essence and should have led her to Mei’s location.
This outcome suggested three possibilities: First, Mei had met with an accident, and her soul scattered. Second, Mei had been sealed. Third, Mei had left Baidi City, beyond the figurine’s sensing range.
Whichever of these three possibilities it was, it meant Mei was in trouble.
“The one who ties the bell must untie it!” Li Miaozheng thought to herself.
At the courier station…
“Have you finished? Is this account book genuine?” Song Tingfeng asked, a loquat candy in his mouth, as Xu Qi An pored over the ledger.
Zhu Guangxiao sat cross-legged, practicing his breathing exercises.
“Do you even know what cross-checking accounts mean? Even when interrogating suspects, you need to confront them face-to-face,” Xu Qi An replied irritably.
“Then why are you reading it so intently?” Song Tingfeng yawned, not having slept well at the inn last night, still suffering from the aftereffects of yesterday’s illusion.
Song Tingfeng was now just waiting for Governor Zhang’s return to hand over the mission. Then he would go to the government office to seek help in finding his beloved Miss Su.
“At least I can go through it roughly to get a general idea,” Xu Qi An answered.
“I’m going to the latrine,” Song Tingfeng said, not wanting to argue further.
After Squinty Eyes left the room, Xu Qi An turned to the meditating Zhu Guangxiao: “Don’t you want to look for Miss Su?”
Zhu Guangxiao opened his eyes, and glanced at him, but remained silent.
“Haven’t made up your mind?” Xu Qi An smiled.
“Mm.”
Xu Qi An offered his unsolicited opinion: “What’s there to think about? You and Miss Su have consummated your relationship, while that unpleasant sister back home hasn’t even let you hold her hand, right? And she still shamelessly demands a hundred taels of silver from you. Has she gone mad with greed? That old man treats his daughter like… never mind, I won’t disparage her.”
“Have you seen my aunt? Isn’t she beautiful? One of the top beauties around. When my second uncle married her, the bride price was only twenty taels. What makes your fiancée think she’s worth so much?”
A hundred taels of silver would take an ordinary family five years of saving without eating or drinking, or ten years of normal saving.
Caught between his brother and his fiancée, Zhu Guangxiao chose to remain silent. But he couldn’t help recalling Miss Su’s passionate sighs and her alluring demeanor.
Just as Old Zhu was about to say something, Song Tingfeng’s voice called from downstairs: “Ning Yan, there’s a visitor…”