42 Life, Part Two

For Li Heng to have remained the temple master of Qinghe Temple for so many years, he could not possibly have lacked backing.

And for Qinghe Temple to have remained safe and sound in Huaxin County for all these years was enough to show Li Heng's capability.

So whether for the sake of his wife or his own future life, Zhang Xintai had to treat Li Heng with far greater importance.

"It's like this." Recalling Shao Quanhu's instructions, Li Heng suppressed a trace of unease and forced out a smile.

"I just received some bad news. I may need you to go take a look in person."

"Bad news?" Zhang Xintai froze. On such a joyous day, he was telling him this? "It concerns the Yang Family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have hurried over to notify you." Li Heng explained.

He did not know why Shao Quanhu wanted him to lure Zhang Xintai out, but no matter what, as long as he completed his task, the rest had nothing to do with him.

"Yanzi's family?" Zhang Xintai's expression immediately turned solemn.

"Just me?" he asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ah..." Li Heng had long prepared his words and nodded. "It's best if only you know. After all, something like that... if word gets out..."

He left it vague, immediately making Zhang Xintai think of something terrible. His expression grew even graver.

"Then please lead the way, Senior Brother."

At once, he cupped his fists, removed the bright red festive outer robe from his body and hung it in the inner room, then followed Li Heng out through the side door.

Elsewhere.

After Zhang Rongfang and the group helping out had bustled about all day, they finally had time to sit down, rest, and eat.

The flowing banquet had been laid out all day. Neighbors from all around came to eat, and even beggars who came to the door had to be given at least a little something.

It was all for the sake of auspicious festivity.

In just this one day, Master Zhang Xuan had no idea how much money he had scattered away.

In the courtyard of the new house, Zhang Rongfang sat around a brazier with a circle of people.

Each person held a huge pork bone covered in meat.

It was braised bone meat. They gnawed on it directly, washing it down with Mare Milk Wine warmed over the brazier.

Beside them, a Wooden Basin as large as a bathtub was piled high with seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Apples, bananas, pears, hawthorns, small cucumbers, and citrus fruits—red, green, and yellow, all of it looking highly appetizing.

Zhang Rongfang withdrew his gaze, but somehow felt that basin of things resembled something rather unpleasant.

With so many people around, he could not say anything. He could only refrain from taking any to eat.

He raised his cup of Mare Milk Wine, tipped back his head for a sip, then took a huge bite of braised pork.

It tasted who knew how much better than the vegetarian temple meals he ate at Qinghe Temple.

The faint sweet liquor flavor spilling from the Mare Milk Wine mingled with its milky fragrance, turning it into a remarkably refreshing cool drink.

The alcohol content was low too, so it could be drunk freely.

The braised meat was also made exceptionally well—soft, glutinous, and perfectly tender, with smoky fragrance rushing into the nose.

As Zhang Rongfang ate, he listened to the people beside him boast and banter.

The few men sitting beside him all ran transport businesses in the County Town. They were friends Zhang Xintai had made before.

Their information was far better than that of ordinary people.

As they chatted, they went from food and drink to women, then from women to one major recent piece of news after another.

Before long, they happened to bring up the Rice Gang being investigated.

"Say, just how serious is this matter of the Rice Gang hiding weapons? More than half the rice shops shut down all at once. My wife happened to need rice, and she couldn't find anywhere to buy it. It's too inconvenient."

One man complained.

"There are still two shops in the east of town. Go there. They're run by Xu Shangsheng. They used to belong to the Rice Gang, but later broke away and went independent. They weren't implicated this time," another said.

"But that still isn't enough. When will this be over?"

"Don't worry. At most a week, and the Rice Gang will be back to normal," one person said with a grin.

"How do you figure?"

"The charge of secretly storing weapons sounds terrifying, but the Rice Gang is rich and powerful. Find a couple of scapegoats to take the blame, and it'll be fine. The Shao Family doesn't have much of anything else, but they have plenty of money and food," the man explained.

"This looks serious, but anyone with a few connections knows where those crossbows came from. Didn't the County Office's County Inspector sell them himself?"

"True enough. Otherwise, with that little salary the County Inspector earns, how could he afford to spend every day drowning in wine and women?" Another nodded along.

"I have a brother who runs a carriage business. One of his carriages once picked someone up from the County Office at night. Where did they go? The Rice Gang's Four Seas Restaurant," one man said in a low voice.

"Tut, tut. See? Wasn't I right?"

"But now that this has been exposed, the Rice Gang will probably get carved up for a hefty sum. In a few days, rice oil will probably go up in price again."

"Exactly. Up, up, up. All they fucking know is raising prices."

The group's topic drifted again, turning to comparisons of rice, vegetable, and oil prices in different places.

Yet beside them, Zhang Rongfang felt waves rising in his heart.

In the historical novels from his Previous Life, secretly storing weapons was always described as a grave crime equivalent to conspiring in rebellion. Yet Huaxin County's corruption had actually reached such a level.

"Brother, does no one above do anything about the County Inspector selling weapons?" Zhang Rongfang could not help patting the shoulder of the man who had just revealed the news.

"Do something? The people above sell even more fiercely. What are they supposed to use to control it?" The man waved a hand. "Little Daoist, you're still young. You haven't seen enough of the world."

He sighed. "Our Great Ling swept across the four seas. So long as it was on land, no one could stand against Great Ling's iron cavalry. That's why no border armies are stationed at the borders, saving enormous military expenses.

"But precisely because the military is too strong, after foreign nations are wiped out, vast numbers of all sorts of Human Seeds are captured and brought back as slave artisans and laborers. That means there is more and more to eat and drink. Anyway, the ones suffering and working aren't us. They're all those Laborers."

"That's exactly it." Another man clapped his hands. "Sure, we may be divided into those Four Classes, but compared to Laborers, we have it far better. The more things Great Ling's armies bring back, the more our money can buy. Doesn't that mean more ways to enjoy ourselves?"

"And since we're inland, far from the sea, there's simply no one around who can threaten the Garrison. Keeping weapons around would only mean waiting for them to rot. That's why there are people everywhere secretly selling weapons for money.

"Rather than letting them gather dust and break down, it's better to quietly turn them into money. Besides, after a while, a new batch has to be issued anyway. The old ones all have to be destroyed.

"Our Great Ling doesn't have much of anything else, but it has plenty of Laborers and plenty of money!"

Zhang Rongfang had not expected that the men of this world could speak of national affairs with such seeming expertise.

"So that's how it is." He looked impressed. "You brothers really know a great deal."

"A toast to you all!"

He raised his cup and took a huge gulp of Mare Milk Wine.

The others laughed and echoed him, raising their cups to drink.

The atmosphere around the circle grew lively. They began discussing which place Great Ling would fight next, every one of them glowing with excitement as if the realm lay beneath their tongues.

But Zhang Rongfang, sitting beside them, began worrying about the Rice Gang.

If the Rice Gang is all right, will they continue with their previous plan?

He had originally thought everything was fine, and his mood had calmed considerably. Yet he had not expected to hear something like this now.

Sitting there, the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.

If the Rice Gang continued with its earlier attack plan, then Master and Senior Brother might still be in danger.

With so many people here, the Rice Gang would not act immediately. But once people dispersed later in the night, things would likely become very dangerous. The more Zhang Rongfang thought about it, the more restless he grew.

At once, he made up his mind and tipped back his head, draining the Mare Milk Wine in his cup in one swallow.

"Brothers, I'm feeling a little dizzy. I need to go rest first."

"Go on, go on. Little Daoist, your liquor tolerance is too poor. Drink more often in the future and you'll get good at it. Hahaha."

"Little Daoist, take more fruit back to your room, so you don't get hungry tonight."

"Thank you, thank you." Zhang Rongfang thanked them repeatedly.

Amid the crowd's voices, he immediately rushed toward the inner rooms.

There were guest rooms inside specially prepared for visitors to rest.

Likewise, Senior Brother Zhang Xintai should have been in the inner rooms as well.

Zhang Rongfang quickened his pace and hurried inward. He had to tell Senior Brother immediately about the possibility that the Rice Gang might launch a Sneak Attack.

But after making a round through the inner rooms, he found no trace of Senior Brother.

He casually stopped one of the people hired to help midway.

"You're looking for the groom? I just saw him leave with the temple master from your Qinghe Temple. I don't know what happened, but they looked like they were in quite a hurry."

"They left? At this hour? Where could they have gone?" Zhang Rongfang's Heart Shivered. Something felt wrong.

He immediately dashed out of the courtyard of the new house in a few strides and looked left and right outside the gate.

The street was empty, with hardly anyone in sight.

It's so late. The city gates must be shut, so they can't possibly leave the city. If I were the Rice Gang, the most likely thing would be to capture Senior Brother first and lock him up until dawn, when the city gates open.

No, that's not right. Given the Government Office's level of corruption, opening the city gates at night isn't impossible. If I were the Rice Gang, the most likely thing would definitely not be acting inside the city.

Standing before the main gate, Zhang Rongfang's thoughts surged and tumbled. If Senior Brother truly came to harm because of his involvement, then he...

"Rong Fang? What are you standing here for?" A familiar voice suddenly sounded from the side.

Zhang Rongfang spun around sharply and saw Zhang Xintai holding a small bundle, looking at him in confusion.

"Senior Brother!" Zhang Rongfang's heart suddenly loosened, and he hurried over.

...South of the City, Coming and Going Inn.

"Why did we suddenly change our minds? Weren't we supposed to capture Zhang Xintai first?" Chen He looked at Chen Zhihan ahead of him in confusion.

He, Lao Ding, and Chen Zhihan stood together at the rear entrance behind the inn.

"We just received word that Old Daoist Zhang Xuan is returning to the mountain tonight. We have to act while we have the chance. Otherwise, we won't get such a good opportunity to catch him alone later," Chen Zhihan said with a frown.

"This old man isn't even staying one more day for his own son's engagement?" Lao Ding asked, puzzled.

"Perhaps he's grown used to being solitary. At his son's engagement, quite a few of the people were paid to come and make up the numbers," Chen Zhihan said calmly.

He had already trained the Talisman Canon to Fifth Grade, while the other two had trained the Profound Sand Palm to Fourth Grade. With the three of them joining forces, even a Sixth Grade fighter at full strength would have only one ending—meeting their doom—so long as the Martial Arts they practiced were not too formidable.

What was more, Zhang Xuan was an old man, only Fifth Grade. He was simply not worth mentioning.

"Move." With a wave of his hand, he led the way toward the inn.

The other two followed close behind.

The three went up the stairs and quickly found Zhang Xuan's room. Light flickered within, and they could faintly hear the sounds of someone packing.

After exchanging glances, Lao Ding raised his right palm, gathered strength throughout his body, and aimed at the door.

Boom! He slammed the door open and charged inside.

The other two did not hesitate. They rushed into the room with him.

"Block the windows!" Chen Zhihan shouted, raising his eyes to look.

"..."

Inside the room, a group of burly Strong Men stared at him with seven or eight pairs of eyes all at once.

Powerful threats like needle pricks crazily stimulated every nerve in his body, making him shudder from head to toe in fright.

Old Daoist Zhang Xuan stood in the middle of the group, holding a half-packed bundle, staring blankly in their direction.

Taking advantage of his son's engagement, he had been secretly meeting with the other leaders of the nearby Underground Rebel Army to discuss their future plans.

There were seven people in total: two Fifth Grade, four Fourth Grade, and one Sixth Grade. Each was responsible for territory in one of the six nearby counties, and they had happened to gather for a temporary meeting.

Then they saw Chen Zhihan and the other two charging in.

The expressions in the eyes of the Righteous Army leaders slowly changed from astonishment to danger. No outsiders could ever be allowed to learn of their gathering. Lao Ding, Chen Zhihan, and Chen He's faces changed from red to dark, then gradually turned pale—deathly pale.

They seemed to have seen something truly extraordinary.