“Go eat dog shit! Who said I was in cahoots with a thieving scoundrel like you?!” Hua Yitang flew into a rage and hurled the fan in his hand straight at Yun Zhong Yue — who, of course, sidestepped it with effortless ease.

Hua Yitang grew even more furious. He yanked off one of his boots and flung it. “If you know what’s good for you, hand over what you’ve stolen at once, or else —”

“Or else Qingmen will make sure you cannot take a single step in the Tang Kingdom!” Jin Ruo bellowed.

“What a monstrous injustice~~” Yun Zhong Yue’s tone carried an insufferable, singsong lilt. “First of all, that ugly, heavy Yue Kiln vase is nowhere near good enough to catch my eye. Second, I don’t share the same refined — cough — elegant taste as the Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master” — Hua Yitang hurled his second boot — “so that Lingwan Mirror gauze robe would be completely useless to me—”

“Shing —” Lin Sui’an drew Qian Jing.

Yun Zhong Yue jolted with a start and waved his hands frantically. “No, no, no — heaven and earth are my witnesses, it wasn’t me! I truly came only to watch the spectacle. I swear it on my life — oh, more spectators have arrived —”

A commotion erupted outside the gate. Magistrate Song charged in at the head of a squad of constables, shouting urgently, “I heard the Hua residence has also lost something — could it be Yun Zhong Yue again?!”

Magistrate Song’s interruption drew everyone’s attention. In the blink of an eye, Yun Zhong Yue seemed to dissolve into the moonlight like a wisp of cloud, and vanished.

Naturally, Magistrate Song had not seen Yun Zhong Yue. All he saw was the Hua household in a state of high alert, and he beat his chest in distress. “Good heavens, didn’t I say so? It’s not the thief stealing that’s the worry, it’s the thief who has his eye on you — who would have thought that even the renowned Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master would fall into his trap! Whatever shall we do?!”

Hua Yitang’s face twitched. In an instant, he switched to a flawless, practiced smile, fished a plum-blossom folding fan from his sleeve, and snapped it open with a flourish. “Magistrate Song need not worry. Everything is well within my control.”

Magistrate Song started. “What does Fourth Young Master Hua mean by that?”

“Tonight’s affair was all part of my plan.” Hua Yitang strolled along at a leisurely pace, his little fan clapping rhythmically. “During the day, after hearing Magistrate Song recount this thief’s methods, I deduced that the thief is not only extremely cunning, but very likely has an accomplice. If there is an accomplice, capturing the thief alone would not pull out the problem by its roots — it would only leave trouble behind. The best approach is to lure the snake from its den and strike at the source. Therefore, I laid a triple trap.”

Magistrate Song was dumbfounded. “Tri — tri — triple… trap?”

Hua Yitang nodded. “The first layer: I deliberately let slip that the Yue Kiln porcelain was worth a fortune, precisely to use it as bait.”

“The second layer: after nightfall, I spread a net throughout the residence. On the surface, it was to guard against thieves — but in truth, it was to put the thief at ease. The tighter the Hua residence’s defenses appear, the more confident the thief becomes. He would assume that I am helpless and can only defend passively, and would therefore feel bold enough to come and steal.”

“The third layer: within that very net, I deliberately left one opening — so the thief could make a clean escape. We could then follow him all the way back to his lair and catch him red-handed, stolen goods and all. Roots and branches, eliminated in one fell swoop.”

Magistrate Song slapped his thigh. “What a scheme! Worthy of the Hua Family’s Fourth Young Master!”

Hua Yitang smiled. “A trifling trick, hardly worth mentioning.”

Mu Xia, Yita, the Four Saints, and the many guards of the Hua residence all gazed at him with undisguised admiration. Even Jin Ruo was a little dazed. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly came to an apparent realization. “Ah, so that’s it! Hua fellow already figured out early on that tonight’s thief wasn’t Yun Zhong Yue, and had already set the trap — inviting the thief into the snare! Even his behavior just now was part of the scheme — figures, a scheming wastrel through and through. That’s going too far, deceiving even your own people!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Jin Ruo, her disciple, was perfectly fine in every other respect — it was just that his brain wasn’t quite sharp enough. Hua Yitang had talked a load of nonsense, and Jin Ruo actually believed him.

This fellow Hua Yitang was clearly saving face through sheer bluster — never mind anything else; just look at what was beneath his robe — his shoes were gone, leaving only his socked feet. With every step he took, his toes curled against the ground in awkward embarrassment, practically digging themselves a two-room apartment. Fortunately, his robes were wide and floor-length, so hardly anyone had noticed.

Lin Sui’an could practically hear what was going through Hua Yitang’s mind right now:

Money can be cut off, blood can flow — but Hua the Fourth’s dignity cannot be lost!

Magistrate Song looked at Hua Yitang with stars in his eyes. “May I ask, Fourth Young Master, what should we do next?”

Hua Yitang smiled with self-satisfaction. “Where is Jin Ruo?!”

Jin Ruo: “Huh?”

“Magistrate Song, this here is the renowned Young Sect Master of Qingmen, Jin Ruo — his ability to read traces and track quarry is unrivaled under heaven. No one’s footprints can hide from his eyes!” Hua Yitang introduced him warmly.

Magistrate Song was overjoyed. “To think such a remarkable person exists in this world — truly an eye-opener for this humble Song!”

Jin Ruo grinned so wide his smile nearly reached his ears. “Shifu, did you hear that? The Hua fellow called me Young Sect Master for the first time!”

Lin Sui’an: “As your master, I share in the honor.”

Hua Yitang made a gesture of invitation. “I’ll trouble Young Sect Master Jin — please —”

Jin Ruo straightened his collar, strode boldly into the storeroom with great swagger, and produced a measuring rope he always carried, scanning the ground inch by inch for footprints.

Magistrate Song and the constables were intensely curious. They all crowded outside the storeroom, craning their necks to watch, occasionally bursting into exclamations of admiration.

Hua Yitang let out a long breath of relief and quickly flicked a glance at Mu Xia. Mu Xia caught his meaning at once and called for an attendant to bring a fresh pair of short boots. Hua Yitang limped to a shadowed corner, pulled them on in three swift moves, and Mu Xia walked a circle around him with a horsehair brush, sweeping away the dust clinging to the hem of his robe, then replaced his sachet ball — and just like that, the fragrant, radiant top wastrel of Yangdu was restored.

Lin Sui’an cut him a sideways look: Go on, keep performing.

Hua Yitang coughed twice and pretended not to see Lin Sui’an’s contempt. He ambled to the outer edge of the crowd, stood with his chest out and his head high, fanning himself with a look of perfect composure and absolute confidence.

Jin Ruo did not disappoint. In no time at all, he had found a clue. “Found it!” He came striding out of the storeroom. “There is one set of fresh footprints in the storeroom that does not belong to anyone in the Hua household. The toe and heel impressions are clear and crisp, which means this person does not know lightness skills.” He paused. “It really isn’t Yun Zhong Yue.”

Lin Sui’an: As expected.

Magistrate Song: “What? It’s not Yun Zhong Yue?! Then — then — who is it?”

Jin Ruo: “Foot length: four cun and three fen and two li. Stride length: one chi and eight. From this, the person’s height is estimated between five chi three and six chi one. Body weight does not exceed one hundred jin.”

Hua Yitang: “In other words, this person is short and very thin.”

Lin Sui’an: “Is it possible to trace the escape route?”

“I remember at the time, the shadow went toward the rear courtyard.” Jin Ruo signaled for everyone to step aside, crouched down, and holding a fire-starter torch, moved forward step by step in search.

Because of Yun Zhong Yue’s earlier disruption, the footprints in the courtyard were a bit jumbled. This time Jin Ruo spent considerably more time, but at last found the thief’s trail beneath the long corridor of the rear garden. Following the footprints through the back garden, past the rockery clusters, over the ornamental carp pond, around the rear kitchen, he traced them all the way to the firewood shed.

In the weeds behind the firewood shed, there was a well. The grass around the well’s edge had been trampled flat. Jin Ruo circled it once, felt along the rim, and said, “The thief jumped into the well.”

Everyone was startled. Jin Ruo leaned over and peered in, then picked up a stone and dropped it. The sound of tap, tap, tap came back — but no splash of water.

“It’s a dry well. Not deep.” Jin Ruo flipped himself over the edge and dropped down. The light of the torch abruptly disappeared into the mouth of the well.

Magistrate Song cried out in alarm. Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang quickly gathered around.

“Anything down there?” Lin Sui’an called.

Jin Ruo’s voice floated up from below. “The soil is very damp. This well probably hasn’t been dry for long… ow, why is there a heap of mud down here —”

“Mu Xia!” Hua Yitang called.

Mu Xia stepped forward. “In reply to Fourth Young Master — this well originally had water, but for some unknown reason, over the past half year the water grew more and more brackish until it dried up entirely.”

“Ah!” A sudden cry came from Jin Ruo below.

Lin Sui’an: “What happened?!”

Suddenly, a coil of thick hemp rope was flung up from the well. Magistrate Song shouted, “Quick, help pull —”

Before he could finish, Lin Sui’an had already caught the rope single-handedly, looped it around her arm, and with one powerful heave, Jin Ruo shot up out of the well, spun in the air, and landed on the side of the well. His shins and arms were caked with mud.

Magistrate Song stood there, jaw dropped: This young woman has extraordinary strength!

Jin Ruo’s face was streaked black and white like a calico cat, but his expression was wildly excited. “Shifu, there is a tomb-robbing tunnel in the wall of the well — freshly dug.”

A tomb-robbing tunnel?

Lin Sui’an’s eyes went wide: Good lord — the genre has shifted.

Jin Ruo: “I examined the excavation marks inside the tunnel carefully — no mistake about it. It was dug by a grave-robber of the Yinsi type, using a grave-robbing technique. No wonder this thief appeared and disappeared like a ghost — he’s not an aerial thief at all. He’s an underground one.”

Hua Yitang let out a cold laugh. “Go eat dog shit! A mere underground rat dared to dig a tunnel right into my, Hua the Fourth’s, territory. He’s truly looking for death!”

Lin Sui’an: “Is it possible to trace the tunnel to its exit?”

“That would be difficult,” Jin Ruo shook his head. “The tunnel opening is very narrow — only someone with a very slight, slender frame could squeeze through. Or someone who… knows bone-shrinking techniques —”

At these words, Jin Ruo’s gaze drifted involuntarily around the group. Lin Sui’an guessed what Jin Ruo was thinking — in a situation like this, perhaps they could ask Yun Zhong Yue for help —

Hua Yitang let out a heavy snort through his nose. “Can you determine the direction of the tunnel?”

Jin Ruo raised his hand and pointed to the northeast. “This way.”

“Excellent!” Hua Yitang raised his fan and pitched his voice high. “Men — dig it all up!”

Magistrate Song: “Hold — hold on?!”

The all-capable steward Mu Xia once again demonstrated his flawless crisis management ability. In less than a quarter of an hour, all fifty-eight guards of the Hua Family’s Two Hundred and Fifty Manor were fully assembled, each armed with an iron spade. At a single command, spades flew and dirt sailed, and in moments they had dug three chi into the ground — the dry well was obliterated in no time.

Jin Ruo tracked everything closely throughout, periodically leaping into the pit to check the direction of the tunnel and adjust the digging route. The Hua household guards dug with roaring enthusiasm. Magistrate Song watched with his mouth hanging open, and the constables, infected by the spirited energy of the work, joined in and started digging alongside.

From the firewood shed they dug through to the stable, then from the stable through to the pickled vegetable cellar. Beyond the pickled vegetable cellar was the outer wall of the Hua residence — but Hua Yitang naturally refused to stop. One flick of the little fan, and the excavation army demolished the wall and dug right out into the street.

Magistrate Song broke into a cold sweat. The whole ward technically belonged to the Hua Family, and the shops on all sides were part of the Hua estate — but they couldn’t just keep digging like this. He was about to stop them when Yita came over bearing two packets of gold leaf, and said, “Fourth Young Master says — on behalf of Yicheng — he’ll repair the road — it’s on him.”

Magistrate Song snatched the gold leaf and stuffed it into his breast pocket, then waved his arms and cheered the workers on. “Brothers — dig!”

Half a block was hollowed out. At the end of the lane stood the ward wall, and at its foot was another dry well. Jin Ruo signaled everyone to stop, walked a circle around the dry well, then suddenly looked up sharply. He scrambled over the wall on hands and feet, crouched down on the other side, felt the dried mud left on the ground, smiled, stood up, and pointed ahead. “The thief went that way!”

Lin Sui’an vaulted up onto the ward wall and looked out in the direction of Jin Ruo’s finger by the light of the moon. At the far end was a three-courtyard residential compound — completely dark inside, with only two lanterns burning at the front gate.

On the placard above: two characters. Tian Residence.

Side Story

Inside the bedroom, Fangke rolled over in his sleep, pulled the blanket over his head, and muttered: “So noisy.”

This case was light-hearted — nobody dies — everyone relax a little, heh.