Snow drifted through the sky as Qian Bochou led his horse down the street.
After ransacking the Xia residence, he had discussed with Lord Vice-Prefect of the Nanzhou Prefectural Office how to provide for the families of the seven constables who had died.
Those seven constables had served under Qian Bochou for many years, so naturally he wanted to secure more compensation from the prefectural office for them.
Under Great Zhou law, each constable killed in the line of duty received thirty taels of silver. If he had a son, the boy could inherit his position as a constable.
Lord Vice-Prefect's suggestion was to give each household ten taels, though they would report a larger amount to their superiors, claiming each household had received fifty.
Qian Bochou had no way to argue. Lord Vice-Prefect was his direct superior.
Seven bags were strapped to the horse, stuffed with gold, silver, and jewelry.
They held his share of the spoils: he had taken half the chest and divided it into seven portions.
Soon, he arrived at a dilapidated little house. A blind old woman sat by the door.
She held a cane, reaching forward as she felt her way. "Xu'er, Xu'er, is that you coming home?"
"Aunt Qin, it's me." Qian Bochou's hearty voice rang out. He laughed. "That boy Liu Xu caught the eye of an important person in the capital. He's gone there to serve."
"The assignment came up suddenly, so he had to leave for the capital right away. He asked me to bring you some money, and said he'd come back for you later so you can enjoy a good life in the capital."
"Constable Qian?" Aunt Qin's face lit up with delight. "Is that true?"
"It is." Qian Bochou said, taking a bag of gold and silver from the horse and placing it in Aunt Qin's hands.
Aunt Qin took the bag and weighed it in her hands. Then she froze, asking in disbelief, "Constable Qian, how much silver is this?"
"Must be about a hundred taels." Qian Bochou said, "It's all a gift from that important person in the capital."
Clatter.
The gold and silver spilled from the bag onto the ground. Aunt Qin had already guessed what had happened. She groped with both hands, found her cane, then rose unsteadily to her feet. "Constable Qian, did something happen to my Xu'er?"
Qian Bochou's expression darkened, but he forced a smile and laughed. "How could it? That boy..."
"I may be blind, but I'm not blind in my heart." Aunt Qin trembled slightly. "You can't even get a decent assignment out of our Great Zhou government without paying them. Why would they give someone a good job and then reward him with money?"
"Did something happen to Xu'er?"
"Constable Qian, don't lie to me."
Qian Bochou knew Aunt Qin's husband had died years ago. She had spent her days mending clothes, scraping together a few coins on her own to raise Liu Xu.
He had been afraid she couldn't bear the blow, which was why he hadn't dared tell her.
Since she had put it that plainly, all he could do was grit his teeth and nod. "Aunt Qin, don't worry. From now on, every constable in the prefectural office is your son."
"They'll all look after you in your old age."
Aunt Qin grabbed Qian Bochou's hand. "How did my son die?"
Qian Bochou told her the truth. "He died at the hands of Demons and Monsters."
Aunt Qin's expression went blank. Stumbling, she slowly made her way back toward the dilapidated house behind her, paying no heed to the gold and silver on the ground.
Qian Bochou sighed, picked up the money, and carried it inside.
Aunt Qin sat dazed in front of the wardrobe, taking out the clothes Liu Xu had worn in his life, one piece at a time.
She had kept every garment, from the clothes he'd worn as a newborn to the rough cotton shirt he'd worn as a young man, and the uniform he wore now.
Aunt Qin stroked the clothes as if she were touching Liu Xu, murmuring to herself:
"That boy was so slow. He didn't call me 'Mother' until he was three, and before he could learn to call his father 'Father,' his father died."
"He was sickly from childhood. I spent so much on medicine."
"So I asked someone to teach him a few fists and kicks, hoping he'd grow stronger."
"I never thought he'd become a constable. He said that way, no one would dare look down on us, a widowed mother and her orphaned son."
Listening to the old woman's muttering, Qian Bochou felt a knot in his chest.
He sighed and quietly placed the money by the bed before leaving.
He still had to go through this six more times.
He went from house to house. Some families, on hearing the news, wept as though the sky had fallen, beating their chests and stamping their feet.
Some went further, cursing Qian Bochou, demanding to know why it was their son, husband, or brother who had died.
Why hadn't it been someone else?
Why did their loved one have to die?
Why hadn't Qian Bochou been the one to die?
Qian Bochou could only remain silent.
At last, he reached the final household: Constable Sun's.
The man had only one wife. Qian Bochou pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in, but to his surprise, he heard a commotion inside the house.
He pushed open the door and saw Constable Sun's wife frantically getting dressed alongside a naked man.
When she saw it was Qian Bochou, the woman hurriedly said, "Chief, Chief, please don't tell my husband about this. I..."
Qian Bochou had seen too much joy and sorrow that day. He simply said, "Constable Sun is dead. I came to inform you."
"Huh?" The woman's cry held three parts shock and seven parts delight.
"Dead? Good, good that he's dead," her lover blurted out without thinking.
Qian Bochou, who had been about to leave, fixed a sharp gaze on the man. "What did you say?"
The man realized he'd said the wrong thing and quickly changed his tune. "I meant..."
"Get dressed and come with me to the office," Qian Bochou said coldly. "You're under arrest."
The lover hurriedly pulled a silver ingot from his clothes and shoved it at Qian Bochou. "Constable Qian, just a little something for you."
When Qian Bochou didn't react, he produced another ingot. "I'll add a little more. Just turn a blind eye..."
Qian Bochou, who had been holding his emotions in all day, finally erupted.
He seized the lover by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall, roaring hoarsely, "Do you think I'm the kind of man who only cares about money?"
"Answer me! Am I?"
The lover struggled to breathe, forcing out a reply. "E-everyone says you are."
Whoosh.
Qian Bochou drew his saber and pressed it against the lover's throat. "You colluded with bandits outside the city. Under Great Zhou law, that's a capital offense."
The lover's face changed dramatically. "I'm the pawnbroker on the next street! You can't slander me like this."
"Still denying it? Once you're in our prefectural jail, you'll confess to any crime!"
In the Jiang Family courtyard, Jiang Yun had been busy for nearly an hour.
First, he found a large quantity of cinnabar and mixed it with Chicken Blood, glutinous rice, and other things to make a vatful of murky black liquid.
Then he sprinkled it all around the courtyard.
Next, he reinforced the doors and windows, drawing all kinds of talismans across them.
It was a shame his Magic Power was so weak. Otherwise, he could set up a formation, and the whole courtyard would be as impregnable as a fortress.
Jiang Qiaoqiao helped out, handing Jiang Yun whatever tools he needed.
Some Chicken Blood had splashed onto her cheek, but she didn't even notice.
"Big brother, what are you busy doing?"
"You spent thirty copper coins on all that Chicken Blood just to splash it on the ground?"
"It's so nourishing. You could drink it."
"And you've drawn all these strange characters and dirtied the windows."
Jiang Yun kept working as he laughed. "What do you know? This is the latest calligraphy style. Go stick those two willow branches in the backyard."
Jiang Qiaoqiao pouted. She didn't understand, but she listened to Jiang Yun, and trotted off to the backyard carrying the two willow branches.
Jiang Yun glanced over the front and back courtyards. He had already set up quite a few traps. It should be enough.
Then he also rigged up a long iron rod and fixed it to the roof.
It looked just like a lightning rod.
The courtyard looked ordinary enough, but in truth it was armed to the teeth, with things to deal with evil beings everywhere.
If any evil beings came knocking, he'd make sure they never left.
Jiang Yun couldn't help regretting that his Magic Power was too weak. Otherwise, he could have laid down the mountain-protecting formation from the Daoist Temple in his previous life...
Just then, a clear voice sounded from outside the courtyard.
"Jiang Yun..."
Jiang Yun turned around and saw Xu Suwen.
He was about to greet her, but when he saw Xu Suwen about to step into the courtyard, he hurriedly shouted a warning. "Don't come in! Be careful!"
But it was already too late. Xu Suwen's foot had stepped into the courtyard.
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