Chuqiu County's government offices faced south from the north. From without to within, they consisted in order of the screen wall, the main gate, the ceremonial gate, and the Admonition Stone Archway.
Beyond the Admonition Stone Archway lay the six offices where the county assistant magistrate, registrar, clerk of records, and others worked.
Further inside, amid deep and secluded courtyards, stood the main hall of the county magistrate. As for such filthy places as the prison, it lay at the southwestern corner between the ceremonial gate and the main gate.
County Magistrate Murong Bai was currently drinking tea and chatting with Zhang Lishi in the Inner Hall.
"...In short, Chu Hill's peace does not rest solely upon the county office. It also depends on righteous and loyal men such as Chief Escort Zhang lending their full support."
"Our county's trade routes remain unimpeded, and the Flying Tiger Escort Agency deserves its share of the credit."
Murong Bai expertly added salt, cream, pepper, and ginger to the tea broth. A strange fragrance slowly spread through the room.
"Fine tea."
Zhang Lishi offered his praise, but his gaze was not on the tea. It was on the man before him.
Murong Bai looked forty-five or forty-six, refined in appearance, with a long beard drifting elegantly. He wore a silk gauze headwrap and a crimson robe patterned with shadowy paired geese. A golden turtle was even pinned to the gold belt at his waist.
Zhang Lishi could not help recalling an old matter.
During Emperor Xuanzong's reign, when he performed Zen at Mount Tai, officials below the rank of the Three Excellencies customarily advanced by one grade.
At the time, the official in charge of the ritual altar was named Zhang Yue. In order to promote his son-in-law Zheng Jian, he actually elevated him from Subordinate Ninth Rank to Fifth Rank.
According to this dynasty's official dress code, officials of Third Rank and above wore purple, Fourth Rank officials wore crimson, Fifth Rank officials light crimson, Sixth Rank officials dark green, Seventh Rank officials light green, Eighth Rank officials dark blue, and Ninth Rank officials light blue.
In other words, that man had instantly changed from a blue robe to a red robe. Coupled with his youthful appearance, he became exceptionally conspicuous within the Zen procession.
Emperor Xuanzong found it strange when he saw him and asked about it. Someone then jokingly said:
"This was the strength of Mount Tai—the father-in-law."
Zheng Jian's promotion had been absurd, but at least he had a father-in-law supporting him. Murong Bai's family might be a prominent local clan, but at the end of the day, he was merely a Seventh Rank county magistrate. He had rendered no great service, yet the court had bestowed a crimson robe upon him. Worse still, he had even imitated the golden fish pouch and made himself a golden turtle.
This was blatant overstepping.
The wolfish ambition is laid bare for all to see.
Thinking again of the natural disasters and human calamities of recent years, of rebel armies, insurgents, and refugees covering the land, and demons ravaging the countryside, Zhang Lishi could not help feeling uneasy.
Yet outwardly, he remained impassive, merely exchanging empty pleasantries with Murong Bai.
Such matters were naturally dull, yet they were an indispensable part of maintaining order in the city. Even if it was only a show, it still sent a message to the outside world.
"...By the way, Brother Murong, I heard the county office searched the entire city for Ming Cult demons yesterday. What was the result?"
Murong Bai smiled faintly.
"They were only small fry. They were all imprisoned yesterday, so Brother Zhang need not trouble himself."
"So that was it. Still, my escort agency also possesses a righteous heart. If there is a next time..."
"I will certainly inform Brother Zhang beforehand."
The two laughed heartily, rose, and left the Inner Hall, heading toward the ceremonial gate.
"I heard Brother Zhang's fourth daughter came along as well. Why have I not seen her?"
"Alas, Que'er has been mischievous since childhood. The moment one looks away, she vanishes. I only hope she has not disturbed official business."
"How could she?" Murong Bai smiled, then suddenly asked, "My son is the same age as your daughter. If they could be joined in marriage..."
"She is still young. Let us discuss it another day."
"I meant your Third Lady, Zhang Yuelu."
"Hahahahahaha, my mistake, my mistake."
Zhang Lishi's eyes narrowed. His face still beamed with laughter, but inwardly he thought that Murong Bai was said to have wives and concubines in droves, with dozens of children. Even his two legitimate sons had already married.
He himself had no sons, but he had five daughters. Setting aside the eldest and second daughters, who had already married, his remaining three were all treasures of his heart. He was unwilling to let them suffer any grievance.
How could a tigress be wed to a dog's son?
"I heard that when the County Governor first took office ten years ago, there was an amusing incident."
Seeing him change the subject, Murong Bai did not pursue the matter of a Marriage Alliance. He merely slowed his pace before the ceremonial gate's threshold.
"Oh? What amusing incident?"
"There was a local delinquent named Zhao Xiaoyi, who often gathered crowds for brawls and was a frequent guest of the prison."
"To avoid the rod, that man hired someone to tattoo an image of the Vaisravana Heavenly King across his back. Whenever he was to receive spine rods, the yamen runners saw the god or Buddha tattooed there and did not dare strike."
"Over time, he actually became a local tyrant."
"Yet after the County Governor assumed office, he directly ordered Zhao Xiaoyi seized and brought to the yamen. He had the runners beat his back with three-inch-thick ribbed bamboo rods until it was a bloody mess of flesh, not even a trace of the Heavenly King remaining. The villagers all clapped and cheered."
"That did indeed happen. Why has Chief Escort Zhang suddenly mentioned it?"
Murong Bai looked puzzled, but in the next instant, following the other man's gaze, he understood at once.
Outside the ceremonial gate, a bare-backed man covered in tattoos was fighting a young man with a leopard's head and ringed eyes. Beside them, four or five yamen runners lay on the ground, groaning in pain.
As though he could not see Murong Bai's dark expression, Zhang Lishi exclaimed in surprise, "That seems to be one of my escort agency's men. Why is he causing such a disturbance at the county office? But that move—that Tiger Pounce..."
"Magnificent pounce!"
Half a quarter-hour earlier.
"Stop!"
Hearing the voice behind them, the Gao family couple immediately shrank back. Sister-in-law Gao in particular thought of the damp, freezing prison and fearfully clutched her husband's arm.
Li Cunxiao frowned and shielded his brother and sister-in-law behind him, staring coldly at Zhao Xiaoyi.
"What else is it?"
Zhao Xiaoyi pinched the broken silver between his fingers and tapped it against the table again and again.
"You are short five fen of silver."
Five fen of silver?
Li Cunxiao was both angered and speechless. For a moment, he could not tell whether the man treasured money as dearly as life or was deliberately making trouble.
Silver was customarily weighed in taels, qian, and fen. Five fen of silver probably amounted to no more than a grain-of-rice-sized bit of silver.
Li Cunxiao silently added this grudge to his ledger. Expressionless, he took out one tael of silver from his purse.
"This tael is for treating everyone to drinks."
The jailers beside them all revealed delighted expressions, but when Zhao Xiaoyi saw Li Cunxiao's bulging purse, the greed in his eyes could no longer be restrained. Relying on his numbers, he intended to make the other man swallow this insult in silence.
"That is not how it is calculated." Zhao Xiaoyi's smile was neither yin nor yang.
"We agreed on fifty taels, yet you are short five fen. That is breaking faith with others."
"Even merchants doing business have deposits and written contracts. How could one tael possibly suffice as compensation?"
"Ten taels." He stared greedily at Li Cunxiao's purse. From the shape and size of the cloth bag alone, he could estimate how much silver it held.
"Looking at the dust and travel-weariness on your face, you must have just returned from an escort mission and collected your reward silver, right?"
"You can afford ten taels. Give me the money, and I will release them immediately."
The more Zhao Xiaoyi spoke, the more excited he became. Turning his body, he actually blocked the prison entrance.
That was right. The other man was merely an escort master who ran escort missions. He knew that those young masters from the inner city simply paid money to train at escort agencies; they did not have to brave wind and rain on the road.
Looking at the mud and blades of grass on Li Cunxiao's boots, he could practically conclude that the man was simply an ordinary nobody without money or influence.
So what if he belonged to the Flying Tiger Escort Agency? His uncle was still the county commandant!
Otherwise, Murong Bai would have killed him long ago to establish his authority, rather than merely giving him a round of spine rods.
Li Cunxiao's eyes narrowed at once.
His cheekbones were high and his eye sockets deep. His large eyes held more black than white, and when he narrowed them, he resembled a hunting leopard, exuding a dangerous aura. The watching jailers were so frightened by his ferocious appearance that they all took a step back.
"You want money? Fine."
Li Cunxiao advanced step by step, like a tiger baring its fangs and opening its bloody maw.
"Take off my forehead band, and the money is all yours."
Zhao Xiaoyi subconsciously lowered his head and saw the streak of vermilion forehead band beneath the other man's headwrap. The embroidered Winged Tiger seemed to have come alive, even its eyes glaring at him.
Take off the forehead band? Would that not be slapping the Flying Tiger Escort Agency across the face?
In that moment of hesitation, Li Cunxiao rammed straight toward him, brows raised in fury and beard and hair bristling.
"Take it off!"
"You do not dare?"
"You do not dare!"
He said it three times in a row. Each sentence came out like a fist smashing forward. Li Cunxiao took one step forward, and Zhao Xiaoyi took one step back. By the time the latter recovered himself, shame and fury had crawled over his cheeks like blood, while Li Cunxiao had already brought the Gao family couple outside the prison.
Gao Cheng clenched his fists tightly. The way he looked at Li Cunxiao now held a measure of worshipful awe: this was what a true man ought to be.
Sister-in-law Gao did not think so much, but she too felt as if something had propped up her spine. She let out the pent-up anger in her chest with one long breath.
Having someone stand up for her felt this satisfying?
The observing yamen runners had long since gone blank with shock. They thought they had no idea where this fierce man had come from; he was simply a killing star descended from heaven. Each one watched his nose, and his nose watched his heart, turning away rather than meeting Zhao Xiaoyi's eyes, which were about to spit fire.
Near the ceremonial gate was where yamen personnel came and went. With so many people and so many eyes, Boss Zhao could only swallow this anger for now.
After all, if things blew up, the county commandant's face would not look good.
"Eh, is that not Wood Fork's elder brother?"
Que'er strode in with an eight-character gait, followed by a middle-aged man with a square face, entering through the main gate.
She had heard that her father was coming to the county office on business and had insisted on coming along. Yet after arriving, she found it boring and had Escort Leader Shi take her out shopping instead.
After estimating that the time was about right, she returned.
But when she saw Li Cunxiao, she could not recall his name at once. Her eyes rolled, mischief rising in her heart, and she called out:
"Nezha! Nezha!"
Li Cunxiao turned and saw Que'er. He was not angered by her rudeness, because it had been her rude demand back then that allowed his younger brother to enter the Zhang residence.
If one took the benefits, one had to bear the drawbacks.
"But a child could not possibly be here at the county office on business. Could the Chief Escort be here too?"
While he was pondering this, Zhao Xiaoyi in the distance also heard Que'er's shout.
He had once been a delinquent on the streets and had trained in martial arts with some diligence. Yet after Murong Bai gave him a beating, he realized that fists and feet were no match for power and influence. He then begged his uncle, who was the county commandant, to find him a job as a yamen runner.
So many years had passed. His skills at eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and oppressing the good had improved, but his martial skills had mostly been lost. He had been stuck at the realm of manipulating Blood Essence for years without advancing.
Otherwise, he would not have been frightened into retreating again and again by Li Cunxiao just now.
He was probably no match in a fight, but he had plenty of ways to disgust people.
The moment he heard the two words "Nezha," all the Buddhist opera scripts he had read in the past surged into his mind. Zhao Xiaoyi immediately revealed a strange grin and stripped off his upper garment in one motion.
His chest, abdomen, and back were covered in tattoos. In the center of his chest was Northern Vaishravana, holding a pagoda and a treasure mouse. The Heavenly King's countenance was solemn and dignified, but Zhao Xiaoyi's face held only quivering slabs of flesh, his smile brimming with mocking delight.
"Nezha, my son, quickly heed your father king's command!"
"You insulted my dead father. You are courting death!"
Thunder cracked, like a tiger's roar erupting from level ground. Before the sound even faded, Li Cunxiao had already shot forward in one bound. His face turned purplish red, thick dark veins bulged, and his entire body swelled as Blood Essence surged through him. He resembled a Blood Tiger, raising a foul wind!
"Stop him!"
Zhao Xiaoyi's heart jolted. Knowing his provocation had succeeded, he immediately retreated. Several Bad People familiar with him, already prepared, rushed forward at once.
"Attacking yamen officers—are you trying to rebel?!"
Li Cunxiao did not waste a word. His fists turned into claws as if preparing to pounce, but once the first two men guarded their centerline, he suddenly raised his right foot and kicked twice in rapid succession like lightning.
Tiger Stomp Claw!
"Aah!" ×2
The two yamen runners screamed and fell to the ground, the front ends of their cloth shoes faintly soaked in blood.
This Stomp Claw move was also called a scraping kick. Its motion was small and its launch swift. With that strike, Li Cunxiao directly flipped up both men's big toenails.
The so-called ten fingers connect to the heart; the nails were already places where blood vessels densely gathered. Under such agony, standing firmly was difficult enough. How could they possibly fight?
Li Cunxiao did not pause. Like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, he took advantage of their delayed reactions and threw two more punches, striking the jaws of the charging yamen runners in succession.
Their eyes rolled white, and they dropped headfirst into sleep. Had Li Cunxiao not hooked one with his foot and lightly kicked him aside, his head would likely have blossomed open on the spot.
Seeing him rise like a hare and fall like a falcon, dispatching three men in a flash, the runners who had originally been itching to try all stopped in their tracks. Zhao Xiaoyi nearly could not hold back a curse, but he had no time for that.
Bang!
Bang!
Two dull sounds of flesh striking flesh rang out one after another. Zhao Xiaoyi's muscles had also bulged, causing the tattooed Heavenly King upon his body to stretch open.
Two pairs of thick, vein-knotted arms tangled together. Below the waist, Zhao Xiaoyi's right leg firmly intercepted Li Cunxiao's scraping kick.
"Stepping on toes? Only children fighting use that move!"
As Zhao Xiaoyi spoke, he suddenly let out a roar. The abruptly raised volume even startled Que'er behind Escort Leader Shi.
At the same time, his right hand suddenly stabbed toward Li Cunxiao's eyes, while his left leg shot straight toward his crotch!
Though startled, Li Cunxiao did not panic. He twisted his footing and turned sideways. His taut back and right leg resembled a hard-drawn bow. Zhao Xiaoyi's hand struck empty air, while his kick landed against Li Cunxiao's side, as though pulling that bowstring open.
With a low growl, stark white teeth gleamed beneath Li Cunxiao's savage blood-red face.
"Open!"
A stomping step, a twist of the hips, and a driving shoulder came in one seamless motion, like a fierce tiger swishing its tail. A vast force like a great hammer sent Zhao Xiaoyi staggering, his centerline thrown wide open. Li Cunxiao did not hesitate. Turning sideways, he whipped out a leg and swept his tail!
"Aahhhhhh!"
The shrill scream was mixed with the sound of egg yolk bursting. Zhao Xiaoyi's entire body convulsed uncontrollably, tears and snot erupting at once beyond his control. Yet before the ripping agony in his groin had even passed, Li Cunxiao's eyes sharpened, and another kick struck his knee—
Crack.
"Ugh, aahhhhhhh!"
The sound of breaking bone was swallowed by the scream. The yamen runners beside them were dumbstruck, while Que'er shrank like a quail, her mind filled with Li Cunxiao's face, fierce as a Blood Tiger.
Escort Leader Shi, who was protecting her, remained expressionless, doing nothing but keep the little girl firmly behind him.
After breaking one of Zhao Xiaoyi's legs, Li Cunxiao was still dissatisfied. He knew the world was now in the uneasy interval before chaos fully broke loose. If he killed yamen personnel in broad daylight, even Chief Escort Zhang Lishi would find it difficult to protect him.
But to prevent Zhao Xiaoyi from taking revenge later, he needed to at least break both legs, so the man could go nowhere. When the time was right afterward, he could take the dog's life.
Li Cunxiao acted as soon as the thought came. His right foot immediately rose, but at that moment, an enraged shout suddenly rang out from afar:
"Who dares cause trouble at the yamen? Stop!"
Stop your grandmother!
Hearing this, Li Cunxiao's foot moved even faster. With a sharp crack, Zhao Xiaoyi's right leg twisted backward at the joint.
"Aahhh! Uncle, save me!"
"You dare!"
The newcomer's fury surged even higher. Li Cunxiao could faintly feel a palm wind brush his face, the intense killing intent so solid it seemed to crush the air around them.
But in the next instant, all the pressure vanished.
Because a tall figure had appeared before Li Cunxiao.
With his powerful body and broad back, he looked like a giant tiger crouching there, just as he had when they first met at East Arrival Restaurant.
"Chief Escort." Li Cunxiao gave a deep bow, his respectful manner a stark contrast to his earlier arrogance.
"I told you to stop just now. Why did you remain unmoved?"
Zhang Lishi's words sounded like a rebuke, but his eyes were brimming with delighted laughter.
Excellent Tiger Fist!
Excellent, Nezha!
Before you continue