C94: Setting the Mountain Afire
“Elder Brother Wang, who is this?” Yang Liuzi briefly sized up Liu Yi out of curiosity.
“This is Liu Yi. He’s new to our group, one year older than you. You may call him Elder Brother Liu,” Wang Dashan introduced Liu Yi to Yang Liuzi.
“Nice to meet you, Elder Brother Liu. My name is Yang Liuzi. You may call me Liuzi for short if you like,” Yang Liuzi greeted Liu Yi heartily.
“Nice to meet you, too, Brother Liuzi.”
“Ha ha. There’s no need to be so courteous, Elder Brother Liu. Just call me Liuzi.”
“Okay, Liuzi.”
Maybe because Yang Liuzi found Liu Yi an interesting man, he started chatting with Liu Yi.
Wang Dashan shook his head. “Young Master and Supervisor Zhou are talking business in there. You’re disturbing them.”
Yang Liuzi hurriedly lowered his voice in embarrassment. “Sorry. I’ve always been talking this way on the farm these days and I’ve already made a habit of it.”
“As far as I can tell, there has been nobody disciplining you for quite some time and you guys have forgotten how to behave.”
“Elder Brother Wang, please don’t wrong me. I’ve been giving them strict training on a daily basis.”
Ling Zhang and Supervisor Zhou finished talking and walked outside with the intention to walk around the estate and take a look.
“What’s that!”
“Is there a fire?”
“That’s the Lee Mountain…”
Ling Zhang and Supervisor Zhou paused and looked in the direction of the Lee Mountain at the same time. They saw that the mountain was shrouded in billows of thick smoke. They couldn’t see any flames, but judging by the thickness of the smoke, the fire must be really big!
What’s going on? Did the Prefecture Guard set the mountain aflame on purpose? Such a big fire is not going to burn out any time soon, Ling Zhang thought.
Ling Zhang, Supervisor Zhou, Wang Dashan and Liu Yi went to the top of the hill behind the herb farm. Watching from the hilltop, they managed to find out what was happening on the Lee Mountain. The whole mountaintop was in a sea of flames, and there seemed to be distant screeches of despair coming from that direction…
“That’s the top of the Lee Mountain. I’ve been there once before the mountain was occupied by bandits. There was a natural chasm there. On one side of the mountaintop was a cliff, and on another side of it was a precipice separating the mountaintop and the mountainside. If those bandits retreat to the mountaintop and make a position of it, it won’t be easy for Zhang Chong’s army to take their position, but from the vantage point of the present, Zhang Chong has directly set a fire to the mountaintop,” observed Supervisor Zhou.
Liu Yi said, “If Zhang Chong besiege those bandits, they might not necessarily refuse to surrender. As far as I can tell, it was because he wanted to kill each and every one of them that he set the mountain-top on fire.”
Anguished screams of despair could be heard from such a long distance. They could only imagine how horrifying the scene of the fire was on that mountain. Though those people were bandits, picturing them being burnt alive still chilled them to the bone.
Ling Zhang had been silent all along. He just stared in the direction of the Lee Mountain with a frown. Zhang Chong’s deed was not only an act of extreme cruelty but also a dire warning—which one of other bandit gangs would dare to defy him after seeing how these bandits ended up on the mountain-top? After this battle, even if Zhang Chong wanted those bandits to pay him 100,000 taels of silver, they would resort to any means to get the money, not to mention 10,000 taels.
“Supervisor Zhou, please tell all our herb farmers to stay in the estate during the next few days. They may come out after all soldiers of the Prefecture Guard return to the encampment. Remember, under no circumstances should they leave the farm. I’m afraid we won’t be receiving any orders for herbs from any of those drug stores in the city any time soon. Collect ripe herbs and store them up. There’s no hurry to sell them. Try not to go into the city unless you have to, lest you encounter any soldiers of the Prefecture Guard.”
“Okay.”
“Elder Brother Wang, Elder Brother Liu, let’s go back to the city.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Ling Zhang did not utter a word on their way back to the estate. Others also had heavy hearts and kept hearing those screeches.
“The fire is on the top of the Lee Mountain. From the vantage point of the present, it won’t spread to our farm, but you should still stay alert and keep a close eye on the fire before it burns out.”
All people in the estate responded in obedience, “Rest assured, Young Master. We’ll take care of ourselves.”
“I’m going back to the city. You may take an extra day off. Stay in the estate during the next two days. Don’t go out of the farm unless you have to. Just wait for this to be over.”
“We’ll follow your orders, Young Master.”
“Elder Brother Yang, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to guard this farm for another few days.”
Hearing Ling Zhang address him as “Elder Brother Yang”, Yang Liuzi was rather embarrassed. “Young Master, please just call me Liuzi. As your subordinate, I really don’t think I’m worthy of that form of address.”
Ling Zhang smiled, “Okay, Liuzi.”
“Rest assured, Young Master. My brothers and I will keep this farm safe.”
Ling Zhang nodded, said his farewells and left the farm to double back, followed by Wang Dashan and Liu Yi.
As they passed by the Prefecture Guard, Ling Zhang looked in the direction of it, wondering whether Yuwen Tong was still in there. Zhang Chong should be returning with his men soon. If by any chance Yuwen Tong was still in the encampment and somehow spotted by Zhang Chong’s men, he would be in danger.
But at this time, Yuwen Tong was not in the Prefecture Encampment but on the Grand Mang Mountain.
Zhang Chong had been hiding his armaments in the den of bandits on the Grand Mang Mountain. Yuwen Tong stalked his men for a whole night and finally managed to find out approximately where the armaments had been hidden in that den of bandits.
“Marshal, all your previous conjectures turned out to be true. It is indeed this place that Zhang Chong has been hiding armaments.”
“This place is not only on their route to the capital city but also the best cover for them,” explained Yuwen Tong. The moment he knew the existence of this batch of armaments of Zhang Chong, he asked himself where would he hide the armaments if he were Zhang Chong, and he believed that, after some careful thinking, the Grand Mang Mountain was undoubtedly the best choice. If Zhang Chong led his men onto the mountain in the name of cracking down on bandits, took those armaments and headed straight for the capital city, they would reach the destination before anybody else knew it.
“He’s such an old fox,” said Yao Yi. “Then what should we do? There are too many armaments here. We won’t be able to take them away even if we find them.”
“We’re not taking any of them.”
“We’re not?”
Yuwen Tong was just about to explain when suddenly, as if having just observed something, he leaped onto the highest position nearby and looked into the distance.
He saw the billows of thick smoke on the Lee Mountain.
“It’s Zhang Chong. That bastard set fire to the mountain.” Yao Yi followed Yuwen Tong and couldn’t help but curse as he saw the smoke. “With this fire, his victory is secured. He may withdraw his men by the end of the day.”
“It’s okay. We’ve already known almost everything we need to know about the encampment. Currently, this place is the key. Go and gather all our men here. I have a task for them.”
“Yes.”
…
Ling Zhang, Wang Dashan and Liu Yi went back to the city and returned the horses to the livery stable. On the way, they heard a lot of residents talking about the fire on the Lee Mountain.
“I heard that those bandits screamed in despair before death, that even their bones were burnt to ashes.”
Ling Zhang was speechless. It has barely been a couple of hours since the fire started. The Lee Mountain is besieged circle upon circle. From whom could this guy possibly have heard this? It’s confusing that there are actually people who believe him. But seen from another aspect, this is also an indication that the fire is really big. People could actually see it from Tangyang.
“Young Master, finally you came back. Second Master has been worrying about you. Please go home.”
Ling Zhang and the other two had just walked out of the livery stable when they saw a servant of Ling family, who immediately ran up on the sight of them with a mixture of delight and amazement on his face before asking Ling Zhang to go home in an anxious tone of voice.
It must be the gate guard who told Uncle… Ling Zhang thought.
“I see. I’ll go back right now.”
“Young Master, did you encounter any bandits?”
“I didn’t.”
The servant gave a gasp of relief. “I’m glad to hear that. Second Master has been keeping your trip to the herb farm a secret from Old Master all along, but since you were absent from the lunch table, and you were not in your dwelling either, Old Master became skeptical. Then Second Master told him that you had gone out to have lunch with Lord Yuwen. He bade me to tell you to stick to this story and be careful not to give the game away after going back.”
Ling Zhang fell speechless with embarrassment. How will Grandfather think when he sees that Yuwen Tong isn’t with me when I get back? There were so many other excuses that were far better choices yet Uncle chose this one saying I went out with Yuwen Tong. I hope Yuwen Tong hasn’t returned before me, thought Ling Zhang.
As they turned into the street where Ling family was, Ling Zhang suddenly felt that something was not right, as if he was being watched. He jerked his head around to take a look but didn’t see anybody.
“What’s the matter, Young Master?” Wang Dashan and Liu Yi were also alerted immediately, looking around.
Seeing that there was nobody else around, Ling Zhang was suspicious. Since his senses had become far keener than before, he was eighty-percent sure that someone had been watching him from somewhere just now.
“I was watched a moment ago.”
Wang Dashan and Liu Yi quickly split up and searched around but didn’t find anything suspicious.
“Either Young Master made a misjudgment, or that sneaky stalker left really quick.”
Ling Zhang gave a slight frown. He would rather it was just a hallucination. Otherwise he would be in lingering concern for a long time.
“Never mind. Let’s go back.”
No matter who that person was, he or she would show the cloven foot sooner or later.
They sped up and quickly returned to Ling family so that the stalker would no longer be able to spy on Ling Zhang.
After Ling Zhang entered the mansion of Ling family, a man walked out of a nook and stared at the front gate of the mansion for a while. A faintly scornful look flashed across his eyes, and with that he turned around and disappeared into the shadows.
Unsurprisingly, Ling Zhang had just arrived home when he caught sight of Ling Xingzhong in the ante-room, but Yuwen Tong was not in view, which gave Ling Zhang a faint sense of relief.
“Grandfather, are you by any chance specially waiting here for your beloved grandson to come back?” Ling Zhang walked up to him, smile on face.
“You tell me. Taking such a precipitous trip without telling anybody was madness. Did it ever cross your mind that your family would be worried about you?” Ling Xingzhong stared at him with a severe look.
Oh, no. Did he find out? Ling Zhang wondered in concern.
“I just went for a walk with Yu… him.” Heedless of the occasion, Ling Zhang nearly blurted out Yuwen Tong’s name out of force of habit. Fortunately, he saw the servant standing outside and changed the form of address in time.
Ling Xingzhong sized him up with piercing eyes for a while. Ling Zhang was worriedly wondering whether his grandfather had seen through the fabricated story of him and his uncle when Ling Xingzhong said, “It’s time you grow up. The identity of Lord Yuwen should be kept a secret. Don’t you ever take Lord Yuwen outside again.”
“I get it.”
“Where’s Lord Yuwen?”
“He said that he had to go somewhere to handle something. I don’t know where he went either.”
Ling Zhang was telling the truth. Even he had no clue where Yuwen Tong currently was.
Ling Zhang had no idea whether his grandfather believed him or not, but Ling Xingzhong didn’t ask for any further details, which relieved Ling Zhang.
In the afternoon on that day, Yuwen Tong finally came back, returning directly to the Green Bamboo Mansion.
Ling Zhang had been paying attention to the Green Bamboo Mansion for signs of activity all along. After Yuwen Tong’s return, he immediately went up there.
“So how’s it going? You didn’t get spotted, did you?” Seeing that Ling Zhang hastily walked up to him and expressed concern for his safety immediately after his return, Yuwen Tong instantly brightened up and felt that the weariness in the wake of a day and a night’s journey dissolved completely. “Have you been waiting for me all along?”
C96: Testing the Trap and Kill Formation
“There was such a big fire on the Lee Mountain. Zhang Chong’s army will soon return to the encampment. I worried that you might not be able to get out of there in time,” replied Ling Zhang frankly.
Yuwen Tong gave a smile. “I was on the Grand Mang Mountain.”
Ling Zhang had a vague idea what it was that Yuwen Tong took advantage of the opportunity going to the Prefecture Encampment to investigate the night before, but he had never expected that Yuwen Tong would travel all the way from the Prefecture Encampment to the Grand Mang Mountain.
“Are those armaments hidden on the Grand Mang Mountain?”
“Yeah. They’re well concealed. It took me a long time to find them.”
“Well, how do you plan to get them out of the mountain?”
“I can’t touch those armaments and I won’t bother to think about how to move them either.”
“You can’t touch them? What do you mean?”
“It has to be the Emperor who finds out about the existence of those armaments. After the account book is forged, all Zhang Chong’s purchases of ore is recorded. There will be some other proofs as well. Anyway, currently, the Emperor is keeping a weather eye on me. He will surely find out even if I take only one weapon from that place, which is why not only I should not transfer those armaments, I have to make sure that nobody else moves them before any of the Emperor's men take over.”
This is so tricky. Even Yuwen Tong has to be so cautious about it. That Emperor in the capital city thousands of miles away is really a… Ling Zhang thought.
“Yao Yi didn’t come back. Is he still there staking that place out?”
“Yeah. I told him to look for something while at it. If things go smoothly, this matter of ours in Tanyang will soon be over. By the way, I promised you I’d help you test the Trap and Kill Formation. Let’s go there and see it done while I have the time.”
Seeing that he was walking outside, Ling Zhang asked in surprise, “You want to do it now? But you have just returned and barely had any rest.”
Yuwen Tong paused, turned around to look at him and heaved a sigh. “If you keep caring about me so much, I might misunderstand it.”
It took Ling Zhang a moment to understand the undertone contained in Yuwen Tong’s words. “What are you talking about? You’ve helped me so much. Isn’t it a natural thing that I care about you?”
“I know,” said Yuwen Tong resignedly. “Let’s move.”
Just like this? Watching Yuwen Tong walking away, Ling Zhang felt that Yuwen Tong’s reaction was somewhat incredible. He had already steeled himself for Yuwen Tong’s teasing him.
“Hurry up,” Yuwen Tong in front urged him.
Ling Zhang had no choice but to quickly follow him.
After entering the guards’ yard, Ling Zhang told Wang Dashan to gather all security guards with the intention to test the Trap and Kill Formation for power.
“Wait. You are doing this yourself?”
“I’m of far greater use than they are.”
Who talks about himself like this? Besides, I’m just worried that he might tire himself out. He can totally have one of his men handle this trifle for me, thought Ling Zhang.
However, Yuwen Tong seemed to have made up his mind to do this himself. After Wang Dashan gathered all guards together, Yuwen Tong said, “Come on. I won’t use my lightness skills. Perform your formation and see if you can trap me.”
All security guards were fully aware that this honored guest was not the average man, that he had a group of bodyguards with excellent kung fu skills, but none of them had ever seen Yuwen Tong himself use his martial arts, so they exchanged glances with each other in uncertainty after hearing Yuwen Tong’s words.
On the one hand, they felt that Yuwen Tong was arrogant, but on the other, they were concerned that they might hurt the honored guest.
“Hey. Stop dithering. Just bring it on.”
Seeing that Yuwen Tong was determined to test the formation himself, and that his security guards were taking the opponent lightly, Ling Zhang reminded them.
“Brothers, today let’s show Young Master the fruit of your several days’ training. Don’t disappoint Young Master,” said Wang Dashan.
Inspired, all security guards responded in unison, “Yes!”
Ling Zhang was speechless.
I’m bound to be humiliated today, he thought.
Ling Zhang had selected the Trap and Kill Formation of Twelve from a variety of formations that his mother had left him. It was designed mainly for multiple soldiers to trap and kill enemies. The power of the Trap and Kill Formation of Twelve increased as the proficiency of each unit of the formation improved. If every unit of the formation was a kung fu expert as powerful as Yuwen Tong, then there was probably nobody that this formation could not trap. However, currently, it was twelve common security guards that were performing this formation.
Standing amid the formation, Yuwen Tong could distinctly feel the ingeniousness of it. Though the kung fu skills of these security guards were merely average, their teamwork was impressive. After encircling him, they had managed to react to his every strike. In his eyes, the reflexes of these security guards were mediocre, but he believed that they were more than enough to trap the average kung fu expert.
Wang Dashan and the others were also in shock. Ever since they started practicing this formation, they had been well aware of its power. At least in their sight, there was no way anyone who got trapped by this formation could break through it. However, in face of Yuwen Tong, they could tell that there was a manifest strength gap between them and Yuwen Tong.
They had to make strenuous efforts every time they fought back, but Yuwen Tong seemed to be casual and at leisure when he attacked.
“Good. You’re the quickest.”
Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at Liu Yi, a faintly thoughtful look in his eyes.
The expression on the face of Liu Yi fell slightly unnatural and with that he rapidly launched a counterstrike. “Thank you. I’m just a little more proficient than they are.”
Yuwen Tong gave a smile and then concentrated his attacks on Liu Yi, regarding him as a breakthrough point.
Gradually, a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on the forehead of Liu Yi. Beside him was Wang Dashan. Among all the twelve guards, these two had the best kung fu skills, and the teamwork between them was also the strongest. Though the two of them joined hands, after Yuwen Tong quickened his blows, they still began to feel that their strength fell short of their will. Both of them were under great pressure.
At first, the directions from which Yuwen Tong attacked them were common, but gradually, his blows started to come at them from unexpected angles. Every one of his attacks was unpredictable and very hard to guard against.
Slowly, Wang Dashan was caught short, and Liu Yi also seemed to be running out of strength.
Yuwen Tong squinted his eyes and made a couple of moves in quick succession. His attack speed had exceeded the speed at which those guards fought back or parried, so it was natural that he broke out of the encirclement.
The defeat of one man meant the breach of the integrity of the Trap and Kill Formation. Soon, all others were defeated as well.
It had been merely the duration of a burning joss stick (roughly 5 minutes) since Yuwen Tong entered the formation.
It was so quick. And the opponent still had plenty of strength to spare.
All twelve people, except for Wang Dashan and Liu Yi, went limp and lay down on the ground with exhaustion. This fight with Yuwen Tong turned out to be more tiring than a full day’s training.
“We lost, Young Master.” Even Wang Dashan couldn’t help admit defeat in depression.
“I warned you not to underestimate your opponent,” said Ling Zhang, a sullen look on his face.
Nobody dared to utter a word. At the beginning, they had indeed taken the opponent lightly, but afterwards, even though they had realized this mistake, they were still unable to save the day, because the opponent was too powerful.
“This is one of the most ingenious Trap and Kill Formation that I have ever seen. Even if one man is down, the other eleven can still keep the formation operating, but just now, after one of you was defeated, the others panicked, which was why you barely lasted five minutes before all of you went down,” Yuwen Tong said as he looked at those twelve guards, a calm look on his face.
“We… We lost merely because of a momentary lapse of alarm. This is only the first array of the formation. We will definitely be able to trap you after we master all three arrays,” one of the guards was unconvinced.
“Judging from your current skills, you still have a long way to go. Next time I’ll have one of my bodyguards to spar with you. Only after you are good enough to trap him will you be deemed qualified to challenge me again. I won’t waste my time on a bunch of good-for-nothings,” observed Yuwen Tong in a cold tone of voice. With that, he turned around and left.
Ling Zhang knew he was deliberately trying to provoke the emulation of these security guards, but hearing Yuwen Tong’s tone of voice, even he couldn’t help but feel great pressure.
All twelve guards remained silent, their faces sullen. Clearly, they were unconvinced, but Yuwen Tong’s words were beyond contradiction. The ambience on the drill field instantly fell oppressive.
After Yuwen Tong left, Ling Zhang asked, “You’re going to give up just like this?”
The twelve guards kept silent for a while. Qiu Bing was the first to stand up. “No. I won’t give up!”
“Me neither!” Zhou Xiang stood up in the wake of him and declared aloud, “Young Master, please teach us the next two arrays. We’ll surely be able to trap him after we master them.”
“That’s true, Young Master. Please teach us.” All others agreed with Zhou Xiang.
“This is how you express your unwillingness to give up?” Ling Zhang knitted his brows, staring at them with a sullen look on his face. “You haven’t even mastered the first array yet, but you want to start learning the second and the third? Let me tell you something. It was not because you haven’t learned all three arrays that you were defeated today. Not to mention three arrays, even if you manage to memorize all twelve arrays, you still don’t stand a chance of trapping him. Do some careful thinking and figure out why you failed. Your failure doesn’t trouble me, because Lord Yuwen is a very powerful man. I’m fully aware of this, and I’ve also anticipated the result of your fight with him, but if you can’t see your weaknesses and what you should do to overcome them, I’ll be very disappointed.
“Today you don’t have to train. Go and have some rest. Think about this after you calm down. I’ll come here tomorrow morning and I want to hear your opinions.”
All twelve men remained silent with heavy hearts. After Ling Zhang left, Zhou Xiang, who blushed scarlet, gave the giant rock on the side of the drill field a good hard kick and cursed.
“Zhou Xiang.” Wang Dashan walked up to him. “Calm down.”
“I’m just unconvinced. Do you believe it? That we can’t trap that Lord Yuwen even if we manage to master three arrays? Young Master thinks so highly of him, as if we are really just a bunch of good-for-nothings compared with that Lord Yuwen.”
“Why do you think Young Master went to so much trouble to teach us this formation if he really perceives us as a bunch of good-for-nothings?”
Zhou Xiang swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue.
“I think you still remember how Young Master taught us rudimentary knowledge of formations in the guards’ yard on a daily basis over the past few days. At that time we didn’t know anything about formations and our skills were far poorer. Did Young Master give up on us at that time?”
Zhou Xiang’s mouth tightened.
“To be honest, Lord Yuwen is indeed very powerful, but he is only a guest of Ling family. What Young Master wants is for us, security guards of Ling family, to toughen ourselves and be more competent so that he can rely on us. He puts so much effort into training us because he expects us to become a sharp blade in his hand. If you give up at this point, Young Master will really be disappointed.”
Zhou Xiang gradually collected himself. “I didn’t say I gave up.”
“Then cool down.”
Seeing that he had already settled down, Wang Dashan said aloud to everybody, “I think all of you heard Young Master distinctly when he said that this formation consisted of twelve arrays, didn’t you?”
On hearing this, all other men, who had been depressed and unreconciled, pulled themselves together, “Yes. I heard that.”
“I thought that this formation had only three arrays. There are actually twelve?”
“Goodness me! It took us such a long time to get to where we are in the learning of merely one array. Can you imagine how long it will take us to master all twelve?”
“Calm down!” yelled Wang Dashan. “I just want to ask you one question—do you want to continue learning or not? If any one of you who doesn’t want to learn any more, just tell me. I’ll report to Young Master and he’ll grant you the permission to leave. But once you leave, your place will be taken by someone else immediately. Don’t forget that we have another twelve brothers in the herb farm. They can substitute you at any time! If they do, they’ll become stronger and stronger, while you will become a coward who doesn’t have the courage to challenge yourself!”
C96: The Arrival of the News on Jia Yuanling’s Death
Wang Dashan’s words sent all others present into deep thought. Yeah. While we’re complaining here, there are some people eager to get a chance to practice this formation. Once we give up, there are plenty of people who can substitute us!
That would be so shameful!
They were all self-respecting men and none of them was willing to be regarded as a coward.
They found the motivation they needed, and the subdued mood on the drill field finally dissolved. Liu Yi, who was not good at doing this kind of things, secretly gave a gasp of relief as Wang Dashan winked at him.
Ling Zhang, who had been standing in shadows observing them, also sighed with relief.
Yuwen Tong said to him on the side, “That Wang Dashan is pretty good.”
“Fortunately, Elder Brother Wang understood what I meant.”
“If he’s in an army, he won’t be a mere soldier.”
Ling Zhang turned his head aside and looked at him. “You have thousands of troops at your command. Surely you wouldn’t poach any security guards of my family, would you?”
Yuwen Tong cracked a smile. “Relax. I wouldn’t. Actually, it is that Liu Yi who interests me somewhat.”
“Elder Brother Liu? Why him?”
“This guy seems to be concealing something.”
“Concealing something?”
“His kung fu should be better than what he displayed.”
Ling Zhang’s brows furrowed. “So you think he has some ulterior motive?”
“He does, but his loyalty should be no problem. He doesn’t seem like a spy or anything like that.”
On hearing this, Ling Zhang was slightly relieved, “I did some research into his background. He’s clean.”
“There’s no hurry. If he is really up to anything, sooner or later he’ll betray himself. I’m telling you this because I want you to keep a weather eye on him.”
Ling Zhang nodded, “I understand.”
The two began to head back. After they returned to the Green Bamboo Mansion, Yuwen Tong asked Ling Zhang, “Did you find anything about that buyer?”
“It was the butler of Jia family who bought Wu Er’niu.”
Ling Zhang gave a sketchy account of what happened in the morning.
“Since the buyer was the butler of Jia family, the mastermind must be Jia Yin. He is Jia Yin’s henchman. Few people saw you enter the city that day, but still, someone spread the news.”
Yuwen Tong nodded. It was unsurprising that Jia Yin made an attempt to find out whether someone had been offering covert assistance to Ling family after he was knocked out and then ditched in a tavern that day. He could just throw dust in their eyes and muddle through.
Considering that Yuwen Tong had just returned and no doubt could use some sleep, Ling Zhang believed that it would be inconsiderate of him if he stayed longer, so he left after saying this.
To prevent Wu Er’niu from divulging any secrets, Ling Zhang locked him up in a woodshed, planning to fire him after this matter was properly handled. By no means should a man like him be allowed to stay in Ling family. Given that what he did on that day counted as atonement for his crime to some extent, Ling Zhang showed mercy on him.
After Ling Zhang left, Yuwen Tong summoned one of his subordinates, “Go and contact Little Liu. Find out how much more time he needs to finish forging the account book.”
“Yes.”
Zhang Liu soon made a reply. The director of Jia family stayed in the Pear Blossom Garden for several consecutive days, so he had made rapid progress in forging the account book. He needed only one more night to finish the job.
After receiving this definite answer, Yuwen Tong soon made a lot of further arrangements. Most guards in the Green Bamboo Mansion were dispatched somewhere. Only two men stayed guarding the mansion.
…
In Jia family.
On being informed that it was Fu Caiwei’s relatives who knocked him out that day, and that those men had already left Tanyang on that very night, Jia Yin angrily smashed his tea bowl to pieces. “They might’ve fled, but Ling family will never get away with it!”
“Ma…Master! A misfortune arose!” Suddenly, a servant ran into the hall yelling, face full of panic.
“What is it that makes you so flustered?” the butler of Jia family hurriedly reprimanded.
“Master, news came in from the Prefecture Yamen saying that… saying that something happened to Young Master when he was being escorted to the destination!” The servant slumped to his knees.
Jia Yin sprang to his feet, his movement so abrupt that it gave him a twinge of dizziness and a brief stagger. “Wha…What did you say?!”
“Something happened to Young Master when he was being escorted to the destination. Lord Tao sent someone here to deliver his request for your presence.”
Jia Yin’s face went ghastly white and with that he immediately hurtled out of the hall.
When Jia Yin arrived at the Prefecture Yamen, he directly ran up to Tao Feng, heedless of due formality. “Lord Tao, what happened to my son?”
Tao Feng looked at him, shaking and sighing, grief visible on his face.
As Jia Yin saw this, his head began to spin and he nearly passed out. “Your Lordship!”
Tao Feng handed Jia Yin an official document marked with “urgent” and said, “Read it yourself.”
Jia Yin snatched the document and started reading it in haste. Eventually, when he finished, he stood transfixed on the spot, his face ashen, his lips dark purple.
“Master? Master!” The butler of Jia family was taken aback.
Jia Yin abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood and with that he closed his eyes and blacked out.
Shocked, the butler was at a loss what to do, “Master… Thi…This… ”
“Lord Tao, please help my Master!”
Both resigned and anxious, Tao Feng said, “Alas. How come he spat blood? Someone come here! Quickly! Send for a physician!”
The butler of Jia family gave a gasp of relief, a terribly ominous premonition in his mind. “Lord Tao, exactly what happened to my Young Master?”
“He suffered from an unaccustomed climate and died.”
“What?!” The butler couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He died of an unaccustomed climate? How come!
“A post-mortem examination has already been performed there. It was because that hard kick Zhang Chong gave him had seriously wounded his heart and lungs that a mere unaccustomed climate took his life.”
The butler’s face darkened. All of a sudden, he burst into wail. “Young Master… How come you died this way!”
Tao Feng was taken aback by this abrupt reaction of his. Seeing that he was wailing so hard but there were barely any tears on his face, Tao Feng felt very uneasy.
Soon, a physician arrived. After feeling the pulse of Jia Yin, he told them that the sudden stab of grief caused a rise in Jia Yin’s blood pressure, which exceeded the tolerance of his heart and resulted in his shock, that the mouthful of blood he had spat out abated the severity of the condition somewhat, that he would recover after ingesting some tonics.
Before long, Fang shi also hurried over from Jia family. After being told what had happened, she thudded to the ground on the spot and burst into wail.
“My son! My son!”
When the news reached Jia Zhong, Jia Yin had already come around. He was sitting in a chair, breathing feebly.
“How come Ling’er died? I’m absolutely sure those yamen runners had been decently paid before they departed. How did this happen!”
Tao Feng still handed the official document to him.
The color of Jia Zhong’s face restlessly alternated between dark and pale after he read the document.
“It’s all Zhang Chong’s fault. Instead of saving my son, he gave my son a kick on the chest which eventually led to his death!” Fang shi wailed and cursed while pointing in the direction of the doorway of the yamen.
Gasping weakly, Jia Yin also had a mixture of extreme grief and rage on his face.
Jia Zhong made another attempt to defend himself. “Before he left the city, I had had a physician treat him and he was much better.”
Tao Feng cut in, “One cannot recover from heart and lung injuries in merely a few days.”
Jia Zhong’s face went sullen as he heard this.
“Lord Tao, is my nephew’s body still in that town?”
“Yes. Four Yamen runners are guarding him, waiting for you to gather him into a coffin.”
“I suppose Lord Tao wouldn’t mind if I take a post-mortem examiner and a physician there, would you?” Jia Zhong stared at Tao Feng.
Tao Feng gave his consent willingly. “Of course not. After all, Prefecture Yamen is responsible for this to some extent. I can have some men escort you there if you want.”
Jia Zhong failed to detect anything in Tao Feng’s reaction, his heart sinking deeper.
Was it really because that kick of Zhang Chong’s hurt my nephew’s heart and lungs that he died? he wondered.
“Elder brother, sister-in-law, would you like to go there with me?” Jia Zhong asked Jia Yin and Fang shi.
Jia Yin tottered to his feet, intending to express his willingness to go with Jia Zhong. However, seeing the state of his elder brother, Jia Zhong was too concerned for him to let him join the journey.
“Elder brother, you’ve just spat out blood. Maybe it’s best if you just stay at home to recover. Sister-in-law, please take good care of my elder brother. I’ll see that this matter is properly handled.”
On hearing this, Fang shi burst into tears again.
S
hortly after, Jia Zhong took some men and left Tanyang. Jia Yin and Fang shi returned home.
News of Jia Yuanling’s death soon rippled through the whole Tanyang.
Ling Zhang had just finished dinner with his family and Yuwen Tong and all of them were sitting in the side hall when a servant came in and reported this to them.
He flicked a quick glance at Ling Zhaowen, who then unnoticeably nodded at him.
Ling Zhang slightly lowered his eyes, concealing the cold look in them.
“Jia Yuanling’s death will intensify the contradictions between your family and Jia family. Make sure you’re well-prepared when that happens,” Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang after they walked out of the side hall.
“I know,” replied Ling Zhang. He had anticipated this some time ago.
However, what Ling Zhang failed to anticipate was that the next day, Jia Yin stormed towards the Prefecture Encampment.
“What happened?” Confused, Ling Zhang went to Ling Zhaowen.
“An official document was delivered here. The post-mortem examiner Jia Zhong took there examined the body and concluded that the root cause of Jia Yuanling’s death was the heart and lung injuries resulted from that kick Zhang Chong had given him,” Ling Zhaowen explained.
The puzzlement of Ling Zhang deepened as he heard this. “But… Wasn’t it our people who…”
Ling Zhaowen raised his hand and stopped Ling Zhang from continuing. Then he observed, “His internal injuries were so severe that even the slightest amount of unclean food could have taken his life. That escorted journey had been quite an ordeal for him. There’s no way that those yamen runners could have rendered him adequate care. There are numerous precedents for tortured prisoners losing their lives during escorted journeys, and the case of Jia Yuanling has just become one of them.”
Ling Zhang instantly understood. His uncle had once told him that many prisoners would die during escorted journeys due to tough travel conditions.
In other words, there was no need whatsoever for them to go to any trouble in order to have Jia Yuanling killed. As long as those yamen runners failed to take good care of him, either an unaccustomed climate or a mere cold would be more than enough to have Jia Yuanling meet the end of his life. And under no circumstances would yamen runners sensitively tend to prisoners on an escorted journey. In fact, a prisoner should feel lucky if yamen runners gave him or her a bowl of rice.
Ling Zhang still remembered what kind of food he was offered when he was in jail in his last life. Rice? No. All he got was spoiled, rotten food, which was even worse than pig feed.
Clean water? Also unavailable. The very thought of what he had once drunk disgusted Ling Zhang.
“Now, apart from us, Zhang Chong has also become a mortal enemy of Jia family. It’s just that Jia Yin and Fang shi might make impulsive moves, but Jia Zhong won’t, because he’s more rational than them. But unfortunate for them, Jia Zhong is not in the city for the moment. As long as someone adds a tiny little bit of fuel to the flames of Jia Yin’s rage, he will no doubt go to the encampment to settle the score with Zhang Chong,” Ling Zhaowen continued.
Ling Zhang was secretly startled. Is Uncle saying that he planted someone in Jia family who incited Jia Yin to go to the Prefecture Encampment to settle a score with Zhang Chong?
“Jia family planted moles in my house. It seems only fair that I planted some of my men in his house in return.”