Scar-face wasn’t particularly concerned. He had seen monstrosities before. The reason his right hand was missing three fingers had to do with his fondness for looking at beautiful women. Climbing up to peek through the windows of beautiful women’s carriages when he had nothing better to do was an extremely poor choice, because those beautiful women, out of shyness or other reasons, would suddenly slam the windows shut.

The windows of the Yun Family’s oil-painted carriages were especially untouchable. A fierce, sharp-tongued little girl would slam the sandalwood window shut violently, and when the window closed, the hard wood would slice off three fingers as easily as a knife.

Even after getting injured, there was no way to retaliate. Two burly household guards would immediately rush over, drag you to a corner, and beat you severely. Thinking about these matters, Scar-face felt his stomach beginning to ache again.

That impossibly beautiful young lady had only glanced at him once, and Scar-face felt that dying for her wouldn’t really be such a big deal. Offending this beauty—that was what was truly terrifying.

He had already surrendered and begged for mercy, yet those two burly men’s fists still fell on his stomach like raindrops. He began vomiting up the flatbread he had eaten at noon, then started vomiting the potatoes he had eaten in the morning, followed by bile, and finally blood. Scar-face had already thought he would be beaten to death today, but unexpectedly, those two household guards stopped.

At times like this, there was no point talking about courage or backbone. Those two household guards’ fists were hard, and getting hit hurt. No matter what they ordered, Scar-face just needed to nod in agreement. Only an idiot would try to save face or act tough at a time like this, especially when Scar-face accidentally saw the handkerchief embroidered with cloud patterns in the little girl’s hand—he agreed even faster.

Ever since he agreed, they paid him no more attention. Scar-face himself thought the matter was over. How could people from a marquis’s household possibly have use for him? Even thinking about it seemed ridiculous, so he pushed the matter to the back of his mind, until yesterday when those two household guards came looking for him. Only then did he remember he still had a promise to keep.

Meeting once meant getting one beating. If it weren’t for his body being unwell, how could Li Yifu have successfully ambushed him with a brick? He was the real master of using bricks. Thinking of that young lady, then looking at Li Yifu, Scar-face said with a meaningful expression:

“No problem. If you want the leader’s position, just say so. I’ll hand it over with both hands. Just don’t play dirty tricks. I, Scar-face, have no grand ambitions. I just want to keep myself and my brothers fed with full bellies. If you have great aspirations, go ahead and pursue them. We’ll run around for you. As long as you can give us a full meal while accomplishing your grand ambitions, I, Scar-face, swear I will never betray you.”

Being this leader was too painful. Scar-face desperately wished Li Yifu would take over and rescue him from this abyss of suffering.

Li Yifu laughed scornfully and said: “With this rabble under your command? Who was it just now that heard there was silver to be earned and quickly abandoned you to work for me? I wouldn’t even want such worthless dogs.”

Scar-face chuckled and clapped his hands. Seven or eight men appeared from outside the door, outside the windows, and even from the roof beams. The fellow who had unhesitatingly betrayed his leader earlier sat grinning on the windowsill and said to Li Yifu: “We didn’t go. We just wanted to hear what else you and the boss had to say. Maybe there would be even greater benefits.”

“So I’m definitely going to be the leader, is that it?” Li Yifu sat back in his seat, squinting at Scar-face.

“No matter how hard my brothers and I work, we’ve only managed to do exactly what you said—petty theft and minor crimes, bullying prostitutes, extorting small vendors. Every day we’re busy from dawn to dusk, and we can still barely fill our stomachs.”

“I heard that before Liu Bang had Xiao He and Zhang Liang helping him, he was a wastrel just like us. Now heaven has dropped a military advisor on us. We’d be idiots to let this opportunity pass. Once you academy students graduate, those noble households and wealthy merchants will hire you for heavy wages. Those people are all shrewd—if they’re willing to pay such high wages, it means you’re worth that price.”

“We don’t have money, but I, Scar-face, can see that you have trouble—big trouble. If we don’t use this opportunity to ask you to help us plan and strategize, we’ll never have another chance in this lifetime to sit and talk with you like this.”

“I said before, you’re a roc with great ambitions, and this place is a muddy pond that can’t keep you. Even if I knelt down and kowtowed, I couldn’t keep you. But things are fair. We’ll help you settle your trouble, and you help us become prosperous. How about it? Those prostitutes are also our neighbors. Squeezing that little money from their flesh trade makes us ashamed too. We’re just waiting for you to display your grand plans here, so we common folk can see what methods the academy has that make scholars throughout the land flock to it.”

“Go bring Old Cui back. I have some questions to ask him.” Li Yifu no longer stood on ceremony and directly gave orders to Scar-face.

“Pock-face, you should have already brought the person back. Drag him in so the teacher can question him.” Scar-face was beaming with joy. Since Li Yifu was no longer refusing, it meant the deal was successful.

The fellow whose head was covered with pockmarks immediately dragged a burlap sack in from the yard. After untying the sack, he grabbed the bottom and gave it a shake. Old Cui rolled out from inside, with black cloth strips tied over his eyes and a walnut threaded with string stuffed in his mouth. He could only make muffled sounds.

“When we brothers pretended to be constables and went to find this fellow, he was counting silver coins. The brothers didn’t hold back—we brought both the man and the silver coins over. After you finish questioning him, sir, we’ll chop him up and sink him in the lotus pond at Jade Spring Temple. It’ll immediately become an unsolved case.”

Li Yifu looked at Pock-face helplessly and said: “Do you know that as long as there are bones, the academy people can reconstruct his entire body? Have you heard of techniques like steaming bones and extracting blood? Do you know that the perverts at the academy can deduce the general cause and outcome of events from just the slightest trace?”

“Killing and hiding a body also requires extremely high skill. Chongwen Ward isn’t that big or that small. Those who can scale walls and enter rooms at night, apart from the constables, are probably just you lot, right? I dare say that within two days, the bailiffs from Chang’an County will come looking for you. How dare you come up with such a stupid idea? How have you survived until now? Now you go outside. I’ll question Old Cui about some matters. If he can satisfy me, we’ll send him back, treating it as if he had a nightmare. If he can’t satisfy me, I have plenty of ways to make him disappear from this world without leaving the slightest trace.”

As soon as Scar-face and the others left, Li Yifu removed the walnut gag. Old Cui immediately said loudly: “It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault! Young Master Pang ordered me not to sell pigs and sheep to you. I didn’t dare refuse.”

This one sentence was enough. Just as Li Yifu had said, as long as there were traces, he could naturally reconstruct the general outline of events. Pang Yuhai? Of course it was Pang Yuhai. Who else could it be?

Old Cui was sent back home, and his silver coins were returned as well. Li Yifu only wanted to confirm his thoughts; he had no intention of killing anyone. Besides, killing Old Cui now carried too high a risk. Killing someone must always be planned carefully before acting. Proceeding hastily would only bring greater hidden dangers. Resolving the current crisis was far more important than killing anyone.

The benefits of having more manpower immediately became apparent. When Li Yifu helped Scar-face and his men establish standards for protection fees from the small businesses on the streets, Scar-face returned to his lair with several large carts of pigs and sheep that had already been cleaned and butchered.

For these pigs and sheep, Li Yifu specifically asked Scar-face to knock on the pawnshop door and pawned one of his jade discs to the shop. One hundred forty silver coins. He had signed a contract guaranteeing that within one month he would return with two hundred silver coins to redeem the pawn. What he was actually pawning was his reputation as an academy student, not the jade disc. As long as he was an academy student, even if he brought a stone, that thin shopkeeper would immediately agree.

“During this period, you should try something new. Don’t always enter people’s shops with a black face. Many people are willing to give you this money not because they’re afraid of you, but because they’re afraid of trouble.”

“Face is something that needs to be given mutually. Don’t go in when a shop has customers. If you have business on hand, you can also introduce it to them. Go in with a smiling face, don’t take petty advantages. As long as you, Scar-face, can establish your credibility in Chongwen Ward, you’ll discover that money will start following behind you. What you need to do now is these things.”

“What? I’m telling you, soliciting customers for prostitutes is also something you must do. Even though they’re in the flesh trade, it’s still a business. Who in business doesn’t want customers crowding their door?”

“Previously, only the East and West Markets had commerce. Now all the wards are beginning to have businesses. This is your opportunity. Seize it and try to become a wealthy man.”

Li Yifu hastily explained the important points to Scar-face, then hurriedly headed out of the city with five large carts. If he could move faster, he could still make it in time to supply meat to the kitchen, and he could also catch half a day’s classes. As for missing half a day’s classes, Li Yifu believed he truly should receive punishment and should indeed learn his lesson.

When the carriages passed Swallow’s Arrival Tower, he glanced at that lifeless tall building. At this hour, those singing girls and their patrons were sleeping—it was the quietest moment of the entire day for this building.

He dry-heaved twice, then withdrew his gaze. Perhaps it would be better if this building collapsed, Li Yifu muttered quietly to himself. Thinking about how he had treated this place as a gentle haven over the past few months, almost forgetting those bold words—”I could replace him”—this building would definitely collapse in the future. Li Yifu clenched his fist and told himself.

The convoy left Chang’an City without the slightest hesitation and headed straight for Yushan. One night was too short; he didn’t have time to make more preparations. Returning to the academy would certainly not be peaceful—this was already an absolutely certain matter.

When passing the Yun Family estate, he happened to see Teacher Wu Mei’s carriage leaving the Yun Family compound. Before he could greet her, Wu Mei’s breathtakingly beautiful face appeared at the carriage window. Looking at the pork tied securely with ropes, she smiled slightly, and the coachman quickly drove the carriage ahead, leaving first.