The Shopkeeper

Creak—

The door opened, and Chen Wu's eyes snapped open. He sat up abruptly and saw Wang Zhenyi come in carrying a food box.

"You're awake! Get up and eat."

Chen Wu finally relaxed. He got up and sat at the table, about to thank her, when he noticed that besides the food box, Wang Zhenyi had also brought a newspaper.

Another familiar face—the Jincheng Industry Promotion Gazette.

But after a cursory glance, Chen Wu couldn't find an update for Legend of Dayu'er on the front page.

"This newspaper..."

"Your wanted notice is out!" Wang Zhenyi opened the food box, took out a bun, and stuffed it into her mouth. "It's right on the front page. See for yourself."

Chen Wu picked up the newspaper and took a closer look. His wanted notice was the front-page headline, while Legend of Dayu'er had been pushed to the second page. That showed just how much the authorities cared about him.

Only... staring at the abstract portrait in the newspaper, Chen Wu began to doubt himself.

"Is this picture supposed to be me?"

"It is!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Hahahaha—" Wang Zhenyi couldn't help laughing, and the filling spilled out of the bun in her hand.

Chen Wu couldn't help feeling awkward.

Seeing the filling about to fall onto the table, Wang Zhenyi hurriedly caught it and stuffed it into her mouth. Laughing, she said, "Jincheng Prefecture is just too remote. There are no skilled portrait painters, nor anyone proficient in Western-style portraiture. This is pretty good, considering."

"If you want a wanted notice with a likeness, you'll have to go to Yue Province, Songjiang, or the Capital City."

"Then what use is this wanted notice?"

"A wanted notice isn't necessarily meant to catch the person. It's meant to make people think the authorities are hunting them. In official circles, appearances matter far more than action." Wang Zhenyi said, "Usually, the authorities start with a person's family and friends, encouraging them to turn the person in and asking around for information. At the very least, they rely on local underworld figures and busybodies to pass along leads. They only issue a wanted notice like this as a last resort, hoping to get lucky."

Chen Wu understood at once. In an age without all kinds of high-tech surveillance, the authorities could only find and arrest suspects through their social connections. The more connections someone had, the easier they were to find. Someone like Chen Wu, with no connections whatsoever, was the authorities' biggest headache.

As long as Old Ma, Monk Zhongcheng, and Wang Zhenyi didn't report him to the authorities, Zhang Iron Ruler could rack his brains all he wanted and still never find him—unless he ran into him face-to-face.

No, he had to add Old Jin, too. Old Jin could find him with his Sound Transmission Soul-Searching Technique. The greatest anomaly in this world was martial arts, after all.

At that thought, Chen Wu suddenly remembered some books he'd read before and asked, "Do the yamen keep fortune-tellers on staff? Are they... any good?"

In books he'd read before transmigrating, he'd seen that ancient yamen sometimes kept official fortune-tellers. When all else failed, they would even have them divine where a criminal was hiding. This world already had something as miraculous as martial arts, so there was no guarantee that these fortune-tellers didn't have some special tricks.

Wang Zhenyi looked bewildered at first, then suddenly understood.

"You mean during the Former Ming, right? The yamen did have people like that back then. But after Emperor Taizong secured the realm, he looked into the matter carefully, decided they were completely useless, and abolished all such posts."

Oh? A predecessor who'd transmigrated had already confirmed it. Then there was nothing to worry about.

"You seem to know quite a bit about the yamen."

"My grandfather was Zhe Fu, once the prefect of Jiaying Prefecture. Of course I know a thing or two about how the yamen work."

"So you come from an official family. My apologies."

Wang Zhenyi shot Chen Wu a glance. "You're from the Yongjiu School. There's no need to put on airs. Who doesn't know what your school thinks of the authorities?"

So this "Leaderless Dragons" idea of the Yongjiu School was common knowledge!

As she spoke, Wang Zhenyi grew serious. "The idea of leaderless dragons is sound in principle. It's just that the Yongjiu School has gone astray. Simply assassinating high officials and wealthy merchants won't shake the Web that spans the realm."

No, I was just making conversation. Why was she taking this so seriously? I hadn't even figured out what "Leaderless Dragons" meant yet.

"From the way you speak, you seem to know the Yongjiu School very well."

"That's because you make the news so often. It's impossible not to know."

"Haha." Chen Wu had no reply, so he could only give a dry laugh and pick up a bun.

"Iron Ruler Silver Fox" Zhang Zhihe was eating buns, too. Holding a paper-wrapped bun filled with carrots and mutton, he watched the lobby of the West Wind Inn as he ate.

These past two days, Chief Constable Zhang had been in a complete flurry.

First, Wu Chengyi had suddenly escaped from prison, sending Chief Constable Zhang into a towering rage. Before he could even catch Wu Chengyi, another bolt from the blue struck: in broad daylight, Qiao Weisheng had been assassinated, and news of his death came the next day.

With two major blunders in a row just as he was about to transfer to the Capital City, Zhang Iron Ruler couldn't help wondering if he was having a run of bad luck. He'd gone early that morning to White Pagoda Temple to burn incense and pray for the Buddha's protection, then come in person to keep an eye on the West Wind Inn.

An informant assigned to watch the West Wind Inn had reported that someone in night clothes had climbed over the wall and out of the inn in the middle of the night, then climbed back in. It was clearly suspicious. But the West Wind Inn was thriving, with people coming and going constantly, and the informant couldn't tell who had gone in or out.

This was the only lead they had. If Chen Wu never showed himself again, Zhang Iron Ruler could only give up.

The thought of Chen Wu being a master who'd cultivated the Concentrated Spirit Realm made Zhang Iron Ruler's head ache even more. Even if they found him, capturing someone like that would take careful planning.

Why was he so unlucky?

Just as Zhang Iron Ruler sighed to himself, an unexpected figure appeared: Shui Ziyi, the retired lieutenant general whose reputation in Jincheng Prefecture had been steadily rising.

General Shui wore a woolen cloak and walked straight-backed into the West Wind Inn, then took a seat at an empty table in the lobby.

When Shopkeeper Ma saw him, he hurried over to welcome him, serving a pot of tea and four plates of refreshments and attending to him with the kind of nimbleness one might show one's own father.

Shopkeeper Ma certainly knew how to do business, Zhang Iron Ruler thought, nodding to himself.

But something was strange!

The West Wind Inn did good business, but it catered to ordinary customers. A man as distinguished as General Shui wouldn't usually come here for a bit of leisure.

Though he was puzzled, Iron Ruler Silver Fox didn't think General Shui would have anything to do with the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower's assassins. He assumed General Shui had grown tired of River-Viewing Tower's expensive refreshments and refined drum performances, and wanted a change of pace.

Someone in the inn seemed to recognize General Shui. They started whispering among themselves and looking his way. A few bolder ones stood up to salute him and come over to pay their respects.

General Shui didn't have his attendants stop them. He welcomed people from all walks of life, smiling and exchanging a few words with each. He seemed to have come to the West Wind Inn simply to relax.

What a down-to-earth act!

Zhang Iron Ruler still had his doubts, but after looking the situation over from every angle, he couldn't spot anything amiss. Even so, he called over the informant watching with him and gave him an order.

With Zhang Iron Ruler's many years of experience, any suspicious detail deserved a closer look. If it turned out to be a promising lead, he'd have struck gold.

The guests who'd come over to chat caused no trouble. They exchanged a few auspicious words and left without disturbing the general's tea. Just then, a blind man came in from outside, hoping to sing a tune for the general and earn a little money.

These blind performers accompanied themselves on the three-stringed lute. Their songs were mostly for ordinary folk to pass the time, and people called them "Blind Strings." The name didn't sound very nice, so they used homophones instead. In Liang Province, they were called "Xiaoxian"; in Hehuang, they were called "Xiaxian." The name was popular in Jincheng Prefecture, too.

General Shui was in a good mood, so he told the blind man to sing. The man tuned his three-stringed lute, then sang the general a song called Rebellion of the Steamed Bun Crumbs.

"The night grows long, and dreams abound,

Sleep brings strange sights,

I dreamed up a story,

One that'd make you laugh,

I dreamed the steamed bun crumbs rose up in revolt..."

The tune was rough, but the tale was amusing. One group of flour-based foods successfully rebelled and established a court of steamed bun crumbs. Another group of flour-based foods, having suffered injustice, then rebelled against the new dynasty, and the cycle went on and on. The song named more than forty kinds of local noodles and pastries in one breath, making General Shui smile in appreciation.

"From the same grain, a thousand shapes,

Some high, some low, none quite the same.

Glad at heart,

That's the tale of the steamed bun crumbs' rebellion, a laugh from start to end."

The tune reached its final notes before anyone knew it. After the blind man finished singing, he bowed to the general. General Shui had enjoyed the performance, so he casually rewarded him with a silver coin. The blind man took it, thanked him profusely, and withdrew.

After listening, the general seemed satisfied. He stood up, gave Shopkeeper Ma, who'd been waiting on him attentively, a silver dollar, and indicated that he could keep the change. Then he strolled out of the West Wind Inn.

As soon as he returned to his carriage, the general opened his right hand. A slip of paper lay in his palm. When the blind man had taken the silver coin, he'd secretly slipped it into the general's hand.

A line of small writing was on the paper: "Tomorrow, at the hour of the Monkey, private room A at River-Viewing Tower."

"Tomorrow, at the hour of the Monkey, private room A at River-Viewing Tower?"

Chen Wu opened the letter Monk Zhongcheng had brought. Inside, besides a false beard for his disguise, was the slip of paper bearing the message. Chen Wu understood: this was the time and place Old Ma had arranged to meet the general.

"There are informants at the inn. Don't come back. If anything comes up, contact me through the waterwheel."

Creak—

As Chen Wu was lost in thought, Wang Zhenyi pushed open the door again. He hurriedly put away the letter and the Taoist robe Old Ma had sent with it.

"Oh? What are you hiding?" Wang Zhenyi teased.

Chen Wu was about to explain, but Wang Zhenyi cut him off again. "Never mind. Eat first."

As she spoke, she set the food box on the table and took out the chicken soup and steamed buns.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Chen Wu didn't reach for the food. He said it first.

Wang Zhenyi looked at Chen Wu, the hand holding her bun slowing at once. "So soon?"

"Thank you for looking after me these past few days."

Wang Zhenyi looked into Chen Wu's eyes, then suddenly turned away and bit into her bun.

"Go if you want. What are you thanking me for?"

During that meal, the usually lively Wang Zhenyi didn't say a word. After silently finishing her food, she picked up the food box and started for the door.

"Miss Wang!"

For some reason, when he saw Wang Zhenyi about to leave, Chen Wu suddenly called out. But when she turned around, he momentarily forgot what he'd meant to say.

The three-body problem... The thought suddenly surfaced in Chen Wu's mind, and he blurted out, "The three-body problem has no general solution."

"Pfft—" Wang Zhenyi laughed. "How did you know?"

Chen Wu collected himself and smiled. "I just know."

I'm a transmigrator, after all!

No matter how you prove it, just tell me—is the conclusion right or not?

"All right, all right. Get some rest!" Wang Zhenyi shook her head and left with the food box.