Do You Deserve It?

The transfer of power was often accompanied by bloodshed and loss of life!

Su Mo was certain Luo Lie was behind this. His face darkened as he pondered whom he should kill to establish his authority.

The Five Peaks Gang?

Or Fast Squad Deputy Constable Luo Lie?

Or perhaps, kill them all!

The Five Peaks Gang was simple enough.

It was merely a gang formed by local ruffians. So what if they had numbers?

As long as the authorities got serious, they could take them down in minutes.

Constables, bowmen, and civilian militias added up to over a thousand men, not to mention the even larger number of menial workers. Did the Five Peaks Gang dare resist?

Not to mention the several thousand troops stationed outside the city!

Backing from the authorities? Immortal Dao sorcerers?

Just boasting!

Even if it were true, so what?

Even the Nine Dragon Fiend, reputed to be the greatest under heaven, could only hide his head and show his tail while plotting in secret!

Luo Lie, on the other hand, would be no easier to take down than Ma Big Wart, that Registrar. He would have to think of a proper way!

Su Mo was wondering whether he should seek his old uncle's advice.

Suddenly, a shout rang out.

Yao Shitou had already changed into a Regular Servant's uniform. Looking rather grim, he led several menial workers as they drove the crowd toward the steamed-bun shop.

He glanced at the Five Peaks Gang members lying on the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

Disdain and schadenfreude appeared in Yao Shitou's eyes.

At the same time, he cursed inwardly and felt a headache coming on!

It was those so-called heroes causing trouble again!

Of all the days to make trouble, they had chosen his very first day as a Regular Servant. How could Yao Shitou possibly be in a good mood?

In the eyes of the yamen runners, heroes were absolutely unstable elements.

Unfortunately, most heroes truly had a few tricks up their sleeves. They leaped high and traveled far, making them extremely difficult to deal with!

Judging by the scene, the troublemaker was clearly a genuine expert!

After cursing once, Yao Shitou brandished his saber and shouted angrily at the onlookers, "What are you looking at? Do you want to spend the night in jail?"

"Disperse at once!"

"You three, keep watch here!" He turned to a skinny youth and continued, "Go notify the Fast Squad yamen runners stationed at Eastern Market!"

For this sort of sudden incident, both the Strong Squad and the Fast Squad had the authority to handle it.

But Yao Shitou was exceedingly crafty.

He had just said he would keep Su Mo's secret, yet had immediately turned around and informed the county magistrate.

Knowing full well that the Five Peaks Gang was not to be trifled with, he naturally had no intention of seeking trouble and bringing disaster upon himself. He simply left the headache to the Fast Squad!

Before long, Luo Lie came striding over with a dark expression, accompanied by several constables and more than twenty menial workers!

At the sight of Luo Lie's arrival,

Su Mo's expression immediately darkened.

As expected, this bastard was behind it!

Luo Lie first glared fiercely at the Five Peaks Gang ruffians, then looked toward Yao Shitou. "What exactly happened?"

Yao Shitou hurriedly replied, "Isn't it because of the trouble these past two days?"

"It really has gone too far. Collecting protection fees is one thing, but they even smashed people's stalls and abducted their wives and daughters, leaving them no way to live. No wonder those heroes couldn't stand by and watch."

As he spoke, Yao Shitou gave a bitter laugh. "If this continues, it won't do. We've already been harshly scolded by the squad leader."

"They're your men, Captain Luo. You have to keep them in check!"

"If Eastern Market truly descends into chaos, I'm afraid you'll be punished by the officials too!"

Eastern and Western Markets were not merely the fat meat of the three squads of yamen runners; they were also fat meat for the authorities.

Every year, the authorities could collect more than three thousand taels of tax silver from the two markets!

One had to understand that in Great Wu, the two agricultural taxes on common people's fields amounted to roughly three sheng per mu, which was considered an extremely low tax rate.

For a household owning thirty mu of land,

they would have to pay two dan of grain a year, worth a little over one tael of silver.

Changping County had one hundred thousand households and hundreds of thousands of people. Most of its population consisted of hidden households, while much of its farmland was likewise hidden land or tax-exempt protected land.

The two taxes openly sent to the imperial court amounted to fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver a year!

The commercial taxes from just the two markets exceeded three thousand taels, more than five percent of the two taxes, and most of it did not even need to be handed over to the prefecture!

It was easy to imagine how highly the authorities valued the two markets!

Once something went wrong in either market, the County Yamen would be furious.

It would not just be Luo Lie—even Zhong Sanyuan would have to be moved elsewhere!

"Fuck his mother!"

Luo Lie cursed bitterly. "Those damned bastards know I've lost power. Why would they listen to me?"

"Don't think that just because they've found a new backer, I can no longer do anything to them!"

"Sooner or later, I'll make them understand how formidable I am!"

With that, he waved his hand viciously. "Take them all back to the yamen!"

After a pause, his gaze fell on the severely wounded shopkeeper and his daughter. He frowned. "Send these two to the infirmary. Don't let them die!"

Su Mo could not help freezing when he heard that.

It really was not Luo Lie's doing?

"Of course!"

"I got it wrong!"

"This old Subordinate Clerk Luo Lie knows that I'm an Imperial Guard agent. Would he really offend me to the death over such a little bit of money?"

At that thought, Su Mo furrowed his brows again. "Even if Luo Lie has given up Eastern Market, he is still one of the Fast Squad's two deputy constables!"

"Even at his lowest point, he is not someone a gang of street thugs can provoke!"

"A new backer?"

"What sort of backer could make Luo Lie so wary?"

Su Mo could not figure out the key point.

He was just preparing to find an opportunity to meet Luo Lie alone.

When a booming voice suddenly rang in his ears, "I never expected you to come too, Captain Luo!"

Su Mo looked toward the voice.

A fat, middle-aged man with a pale, beardless face was walking over, rolling two iron gallstones in his hand. He wore a smile that did not reach his eyes.

More than a dozen sturdy, fierce-looking men followed behind him. At a glance, none seemed like decent people!

The onlooking commoners all wore frightened expressions and hurriedly moved aside!

The middle-aged man glanced at the ruffians lying on the ground, then turned to Luo Lie.

"My men were ignorant and disturbed you. I hope you'll be magnanimous, Captain Luo."

"When Jia returns, I'll give them a thorough beating!"

After speaking, he cupped his hands toward Luo Lie. Then he waved, and the men who had followed him stepped forward to carry the injured away!

Luo Lie's expression darkened, and he suddenly said in a low voice, "Wait!"

He turned expressionlessly toward the middle-aged man. "Gang Leader Jia, when did this constable say you could take these criminals away?"

Jia Kangyi narrowed his eyes slightly, then smiled. "Captain Luo must have misunderstood."

"As Jia understands it, they ate the steamed buns here yesterday and suffered stomach trouble, so they came to reason with the shopkeeper."

"The shopkeeper refused to admit anything, dead or alive, and that was how the conflict began!"

"Jia believes Captain Luo should arrest the true perpetrator instead of taking away these victims!"

As he spoke, he gave someone beside him a look.

That person immediately took out two large ingots of silver and held them out to Luo Lie.

Luo Lie accepted the silver and weighed it in his hand. "Gang Leader Jia is quite generous!"

"This must be twenty taels of silver, right?"

The several constables who had come with him all stared greedily at the two large ingots in Luo Lie's hand!

Jia Kangyi smiled. "Brothers, capturing criminals and keeping the peace in the area is naturally hard work."

"Jia has brought a little tea money. It is nothing worth mentioning."

Luo Lie nodded. "In that case, this constable will thank Gang Leader Jia on behalf of his brothers!"

Then he slipped the silver into his pocket.

Jia Kangyi ordered his men to take away the injured ruffians.

Luo Lie's expression suddenly darkened, and he gave a cold snort. "Gang Leader Jia!"

"Tea money is tea money!"

"The case is the case!"

"These criminals are implicated in a serious assault case. Before the matter is thoroughly investigated, the rules require that they be taken back to the yamen and held in the lockup!"

"I hope Gang Leader Jia will do this constable the favor of not making things difficult for me!"

The moment he said this, Jia Kangyi's expression changed.

His gloomy gaze locked onto Luo Lie.

"Captain Luo, what do you mean by this?"

Luo Lie sneered and looked at Jia Kangyi with disdain. "What do I mean?"

"Does this constable need to explain himself to you?"

"You were nothing but a dog beneath my feet. You think climbing onto a backer's leg can change your status as a dog, and now you dare point fingers in front of this constable?"

Luo Lie's face instantly turned gloomy. His large hand pressed down on the hilt of his saber, and killing intent surfaced in his eyes. "Do you deserve it?"