The county yamen's rear hall, the warm chamber.
The warm chamber was indeed warm, the charcoal fire burning fiercely.
This was the forbidden ground of Zhou Dexing, County Magistrate of Black Stone County. Other than his trusted advisor and concubines, not even half a fly could enter on ordinary days.
At this moment, Zhou Dexing sprawled on a cushioned couch.
Two maidservants knelt on the floor, carefully kneading his bloated thighs.
He held a bowl of ginseng soup in his hand.
The soup was premium ginseng soup, and the bowl was an exquisite jade bowl.
Yet Zhou Dexing could not drink it.
Not only could he not drink it, he wanted to kill someone.
"You mean that scholar surnamed Ji not only healed Wang Meng's leg, but even took that brute to seal Zhao Hei Hu's shop?"
Advisor Qian bent at the waist like a rat that had become a spirit, his eyes gleaming shrewdly.
"Reporting to you, my lord, it is absolutely true."
"The Ghost Market is spreading word that Ji Ye is a master who hides his true depths. He saw at a glance that Zhao Hei Hu had gone wrong in his cultivation, and even offered to 'expel his poison.'"
"A master?"
Zhou Dexing sneered and slammed the bowl heavily onto the table. "Where would Black Stone County find so many masters? I say he is a fraud! It would be one thing if that brute Wang Meng got himself fooled, but if he provokes Zhao Hei Hu and trouble erupts later, this official will have to wipe his ass!"
Though he was the highest authority in the county, he still feared Zhao Hei Hu, the local tyrant, by three parts. After all, the Black Tiger Gang paid no small sum in annual tribute, and if it truly came to blows, the yamen's few dozen constables would not even be enough to fill their teeth.
"Then what does my lord intend..." Advisor Qian probed.
"Bring him here." A vicious glint flashed through Zhou Dexing's eyes. "If he truly has ability, that will be a blessing for the yamen. But if he is a charlatan swindling people with tricks... hmph, this official's prison happens to be short a man to fill it."
A quarter hour later.
Ji Ye followed a yamen runner into the warm chamber.
Ji Ye walked in.
He wore a green robe.
The fabric was coarse and washed nearly white, yet on him, it carried the upright bearing of a sharp sword leaving its sheath.
A smile rested on his face.
It was a faint smile, impossible to read for depth, joy, or anger.
This was a Hongmen Banquet.
Zhou Dexing was no longer sprawled out. He sat ramrod straight.
There was no sound behind the screen, but there was killing intent.
It was the sound of blades leaving their sheaths.
"This commoner Ji Ye greets the County Magistrate."
Ji Ye cupped his hands, his movements so precise that not a single flaw could be found.
"Mr. Ji, what impressive authority you have."
Zhou Dexing spoke with barbed sarcasm, smiling without warmth.
"My chief constable has somehow become your household servant. Such a major matter as sealing a shop, and even this official knew nothing of it?"
Bang!
He suddenly slapped the table and barked, "Do you know your crime?!"
That furious roar, coupled with the faint sound of drawn blades behind the screen, was enough to frighten the courage out of any ordinary citizen.
But Ji Ye did not even blink.
He neither knelt to beg forgiveness nor offered an excuse. Instead, he raised his head and looked straight into Zhou Dexing's eyes.
"This commoner is innocent. On the contrary, I have rendered a service."
"A service?" Zhou Dexing laughed in extreme anger. "You overstepped your authority and trespassed into private property. What service could you possibly have rendered?"
"The service of saving lives."
Ji Ye stepped forward, his voice calm yet powerful.
"Has my lord not noticed that the sky over Black Stone County is about to collapse?"
"What wild alarmism!" Advisor Qian rebuked from the side. "Black Stone County currently enjoys favorable winds and timely rains. Where is this collapsing sky?"
Ji Ye did not spare Advisor Qian even a glance. His eyes remained locked on Zhou Dexing.
"Favorable winds and timely rains?"
Ji Ye chuckled softly.
"Zhao Hei Hu commands five hundred men, secretly stores armor, monopolizes medicinal materials, and secretly corresponds with the Barbarians."
"He has made himself king in the south of the city. Once your yamen's orders leave this street, my lord, they become nothing but scrap paper."
Zhou Dexing's face darkened.
This was the festering sore he bore, and now someone had ripped it open, skin and flesh alike.
"And that is not even the worst of it."
Ji Ye continued, not speaking quickly, yet every word pierced the heart.
"The northern border is unstable now, and the Barbarians are pressing against it."
"Once the Barbarians attack, does my lord think Zhao Hei Hu will help you defend the city, or take your head in exchange for a position as a commander of a thousand?"
Zhou Dexing's hand trembled.
He was greedy for wealth and lustful for women, but he was not stupid. He had seen Zhao Hei Hu's ambitions all along. He had merely turned a blind eye because of the tribute silver and because he truly could not afford to provoke him.
"What would you have me do?" Zhou Dexing's voice softened somewhat, though he remained wary. "Zhao Hei Hu's power is great. With the few men in this official's hands, I cannot touch him."
"You cannot move him because my lord sees himself as an official and sees him as a commoner."
Ji Ye stepped closer, lowering his voice, yet making it even more penetrating.
"But in chaotic times, there is only one boundary between officials and commoners."
"Whoever has the sharper blade is the official."
Zhou Dexing fell silent.
He was struggling.
He feared Zhao Hei Hu, but he feared death even more.
"Zhao Hei Hu's power was great before." Ji Ye continued to raise the stakes. "Now Barbarian scouts have been appearing outside the city again and again. Does my lord think the medicinal materials and weapons Zhao Hei Hu has stockpiled are truly meant for sale?"
"You mean..." Zhou Dexing's face went pale.
"They are a Pledge of Allegiance."
Ji Ye cast out his heaviest bargaining chip. "Zhao Hei Hu wants to become the local emperor of Black Stone County, and you, my lord, are the first grand gift he intends to offer the Barbarians."
Crack!
The teacup in Zhou Dexing's hand shattered beneath his grip.
Colluding with the enemy and betraying the country meant execution of nine generations.
Being sold out by his own subordinate meant dying without a whole corpse.
Both paths led to death.
"How dare he! How could he dare?!" Zhou Dexing roared in fury and panic, the fat on his face quivering wildly, though it was hard to tell whether from rage or fear.
"What would a desperado not dare?"
Ji Ye remained calm. "At present, the only course is to strike first and gain the upper hand."
"How do we strike?" Zhou Dexing grew anxious. "Those few dozen constables in the yamen are not even enough to fill their teeth! Must this official go to the prefectural city for reinforcements? By the time they come and return, the daylilies will have gone cold!"
"There is no need to request reinforcements, nor is there any need to fight head-on."
A cold curve lifted at the corner of Ji Ye's lips.
Cold and sharp.
"This commoner has a plan to drive the tiger to devour the wolf."
"Zhao Hei Hu wants to collude with the Barbarians, so we will give him a hand."
"Let them... bite each other like dogs."
Zhou Dexing froze, then his eyes flickered.
He was an old hand in officialdom. A single hint was enough.
"Kill with a borrowed knife?"
"Precisely."
Ji Ye extended one hand. "This commoner needs only one thing from my lord."
"What?"
"Legitimacy."
Ji Ye looked straight at Zhou Dexing. "This commoner needs an identity that allows me to act as circumstances demand and mobilize the yamen's resources. This matter is dirty, and my lord cannot touch it. This commoner is willing to become this blade and carve out this malignant tumor for my lord."
Zhou Dexing fell silent.
He was weighing the matter.
Giving Ji Ye authority meant taking a risk. But the boy was right: this matter was dirty, and someone had to take the blame. If it succeeded, County Magistrate Zhou would be the one who had strategized from behind the curtains and eliminated traitors. If it failed, then Ji Ye, a temporary hire, had acted on his own initiative, and it would have nothing to do with him.
It was a business deal with guaranteed profit and no loss.
"Everyone behind the screen, withdraw."
Zhou Dexing suddenly spoke, his voice weary yet resolute.
A series of soft footsteps came from behind the screen and gradually faded away. The ambushed swordsmen and axemen had withdrawn.
Ji Ye had won his gamble.
Zhou Dexing untied a command token from his waist. It was the token bearing the character "Command," representing the County Magistrate's personal presence.
He rubbed the token, somewhat reluctant to part with it, but ultimately tossed it to Ji Ye.
"Ji Ye, this official will trust you once."
Zhou Dexing stared at Ji Ye with cold eyes. "This token can mobilize the yamen runners of all three shifts and open the armory. But remember: if you botch this matter, or let the flames reach this official..."
"Rest assured, my lord."
Ji Ye caught the token. It was icy cold in his hand.
"This commoner is merely a scholar. To stay alive, I must still rely on my lord's official might. These flames will burn only Zhao Hei Hu."
"Go."
Zhou Dexing waved a hand as though shooing away a fly. "This official is tired. For the next few days, this official will claim illness and recuperate in the rear yamen. Do not trouble me with outside matters."
He was washing his hands clean of it all.
"This commoner takes his leave."
Ji Ye cupped his hands in salute, then turned and departed.
When he left the warm chamber, the wind and snow outside were still fierce.
The biting cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, lashed against his face and stung painfully.
Ji Ye tucked the command token into his robes. The respectful expression on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an unfathomable indifference.
He did not need Zhou Dexing's trust, nor did he need his appreciation.
He needed only this token, this outer skin called "the government."
With that skin, he could openly mobilize resources, lay traps, and bury Zhao Hei Hu and the Barbarians together.
As for dividing the spoils afterward?
Ji Ye touched the token in his robes and sneered.
Once this play was over, all that would remain for Zhou Dexing would be a mess beyond repair and an empty city on the verge of being swallowed by war.
A black shadow emerged from the darkness by the wall.
It was Wang Meng.
He wore black night clothes, carrying the scent of blood and cold air with him.
"Sir."
Wang Meng lowered his voice, unable to suppress the excitement in his tone.
"It is done."
"The Black Tiger Gang's token and that batch of 'fake medicine' have all been thrown into White Wolf Valley. We happened to encounter a squad of Barbarian scouts. We killed three and let one escape."
"The one who escaped saw Zhao Hei Hu's unique concealed weapon with his own eyes."
Ji Ye stopped walking and nodded in satisfaction.
"Well done."
"Sir, that barbarian ran quickly. The news will probably reach the Barbarian tribe by dawn tomorrow." Wang Meng sounded somewhat worried. "If the Barbarians truly attack..."
"That is exactly why we need them to come."
Ji Ye raised his head.
The northern night sky was black as ink, as though it concealed a gigantic beast waiting to devour its prey.
"If they do not come, how will this play be performed?"
"Have the brothers sharpen their blades."
Ji Ye tossed the County Magistrate's command token to Wang Meng.
"Starting tomorrow, Black Stone County will no longer bear the surname Zhou, nor the surname Zhao."
"It will bear the surname Ji."
"We are going to receive guests."
Wang Meng caught the token, and his hand trembled.
He looked at the young figure standing amid the wind and snow.
That was no longer a down-and-out scholar.
He was a chess player using heaven and earth as his board and all living beings as his pieces.
The first piece had already fallen.
"Yes!"
Wang Meng cupped his fists, turned, and vanished into the darkness.
Ji Ye stood amid the wind and snow.
The medicinal power of the Crimson Blood Ginseng spread through his body, heat surging within him.
He stood like a sword, immovable as a mountain.
"Zhao Hei Hu, Hulei."
"Your stage has been set."
"Don't disappoint me."
Before you continue