Dazed

"Brother Chen, please look after us from now on."

The two Head Runners who had come with Min Baoyi waited until Min Baoyi turned and left before smiling at Chen Mu and speaking up. Their tones did not dare carry the slightest arrogance.

Though both were older than Chen Mu, they addressed him as "Brother Chen." They had not even dared call him that in front of Min Baoyi. After all, Min Baoyi had Chen Mu call him "big brother"; they were not qualified to call the Runner Office master a brother.

"You're too polite."

Chen Mu cupped his hands toward the two Head Runners.

Naturally, he knew both of them. One was surnamed Wang, the other Zhong. Since neither oversaw him, they had not crossed paths much in the past. When they occasionally met, he had needed to lower his head and salute them. Yet now, not only were they taking the initiative to curry favor with him, they were even lowering their stance.

"Brother Chen, if you have matters to attend to, go on back first. I'll handle things here."

Head runner Wang said to Chen Mu with a beaming smile.

Chen Mu did not stand on ceremony. He cupped his hands and walked straight through his own front door.

The moment he left.

Head runner Wang turned to Wang Zhao and the others. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by icy coldness. Raising his hand, he slapped Wang Zhao across the face. "Blind fool! You're even from the same clan as me—was Brother Chen someone you lot could afford to provoke? Get the hell up!"

Wang Zhao and the others were deathly pale, trembling all over, but they did not dare disobey. Staggering to their feet, they followed head runner Wang away.

At this moment,

The entire street, which had seemed frozen solid, gradually thawed. Behind those tightly shut doors, pairs of eyes peered through the cracks, shifting to meet one another's gaze, their eyes still filled with shock.

As neighbors on the same street, they naturally all knew Chen Mu. But their impression of him had only ever been that of a penniless, lowly Runner. Who could have known that thunder would explode from flat ground today? What kind of show was this?

Though they did not know how Chen Mu had come to know such a lofty figure as Min Baoyi, everyone understood in their hearts that Chen Mu would be completely different from now on.

In the distance.

Several Red Gold Gang members who had rushed over upon hearing the news watched the entire farce unfold. They exchanged looks, then turned around in unspoken agreement and hurried away.

They needed to report this to the Incense Master and the Gang Leader as quickly as possible. Someone who had suddenly risen to prominence and could have Min Baoyi call him brother was absolutely no ordinary person. This was no small matter.

"Old Chen's boy is about to soar into the blue."

At the mouth of the alley, a withered, skinny old man sat with a dry tobacco pipe clenched between his teeth. Seeing Chen Mu's doorway fall quiet again, he exhaled a cloud of smoke and sighed. Then he stood, lightly tapping his pipe against the wooden board as he walked and hummed:

"Year after year, the flowers are alike... Year after year, the people are different..."

His figure gradually disappeared into the alley.

At the entrance of another alley.

Half of Zhang Hai's bloated body was hidden behind a mud wall. At this moment, he seemed plastered to it, frozen there without moving, his tiny eyes full of blankness.

His heart was even more lost and muddled.

He had arrived early and watched everything from beginning to end. He had come to see Chen Mu make a fool of himself, but with Min Baoyi's appearance, events had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

He had already been astonished that the dignified Min Baoyi, the Runner Office master, would appear in a place like this. Then his eyes had nearly popped out and fallen to the ground, while his jaw almost shattered from hitting the floor.

What had he just seen?

Min Baoyi... calling Chen Mu brother!

What kind of existence was Min Baoyi? The Runner Office master of the South District's Nine Stripes Ward, lofty and untouchable, as different from common poor folk as clouds and mud. Even those gentry gentlemen who lived on the inner streets of Nine Stripes Ward had to be polite and proper when meeting Min Baoyi.

It was impossible to understand.

Not even in a dream could such a thing happen.

This scene had shaken Zhang Hai's heart until he was lost in clouds and mist, unable to tell where he was. He could neither hear nor see anything that followed; it was as if cotton had been stuffed into his ears and white paint smeared across his eyes.

He stood there with that vacant expression for who knew how long, until his legs had gone numb. Only after stumbling did he finally come back to his senses. But even after vigorously shaking his head, his mind still felt like a pot of paste, lost and helpless.

Entering the house.

The first people Chen Mu saw were Wang Ni, who had been badly frightened and looked as though she might cry, and Chen Yue, who seemed to have been carefully listening to the commotion outside, blinking as she looked at him.

"Brother?"

Chen Yue called out.

Although she and Wang Ni had hidden in the corner of the house and could not see what was happening outside, they could hear the voices. What she heard had left her dazed, because even she was somewhat confused about how Chen Mu knew someone like Min Baoyi.

The Runner Office master of the Nine Stripes Ward Guard Office... she knew who that was. He governed patrols and public security for the tens of thousands of households in all Nine Stripes Ward. Chen Mu had even told her that in these chaotic times, a Runner Office master was practically the local emperor of a region.

Though Chen Mu had spoken to her over the past few days about "moving" and "better days are coming," he had said things like that before, so she had not felt it too strongly.

But...

After what had happened today, she finally sensed, through her childish confusion, that things were different.

The City Guard's Runner Office master had come in person and even called Chen Mu brother.

What had once seemed only like a longing, a hope, a ray of light supporting them as they moved forward, had suddenly come within arm's reach. It seemed that if she simply stretched out her hand, she could touch it. It had come so abruptly that even her little head felt dizzy.

Chen Mu walked over to Chen Yue. Smiling, he reached out and tapped the tip of her delicate nose. Then, somewhat moved, he looked around at the bare mud walls and the faded, rotting tables and stools, at the patched and mended quilts.

He had more than ten years of memories here.

As well as three years of living here.

Eating old rice, gnawing coarse-flour steamed buns and corn cakes... In winter, they had not even had enough thick quilts. He and Chen Yue had needed to squeeze together, holding her close on the same bed to keep warm as they slept.

They could not afford new clothes or padded jackets. Because the world was unstable, he could only keep Chen Yue shut indoors and forbid her from going out.

In everything, he had been cautious and timid, not daring to offend anyone or get entangled in any trouble. He kept his head down, acted carefully, worked diligently, day after day, year after year. At last, beginning some days ago, he had gained silver, strength, and confidence.

And today, everything would finally be completely transformed.

Chen Mu stepped forward and gathered Chen Yue into his arms, giving her a tight squeeze. Then he let out a soft breath, patted her head, and said, "I'm going to the City Guard for a while. Then tomorrow... we're moving."

"...All right."

Chen Yue tilted her head up and nodded twice, hard and heavily, in Chen Mu's arms.

In her adorable big eyes flickered a light called hope and joy.

The past two days had been a whirlwind of ups and downs. From the fright of the night to today's commotion, it truly had been a plunge from great heights to deep valleys. Yet she had always believed in Chen Mu, in every word her brother said. No matter how frightened or panicked she was, she had endured it and forced herself to endure.

At last.

The dawn had come for days like these.

After soothing Chen Yue and Wang Ni, Chen Mu did not delay long. He hid away the silver, tucked the Gold Jade Mo Pi Fa close against his body, and set off for the City Guard.

The door bolt was broken.

But Chen Mu did not care. Now, even leaving the door merely ajar was more "secure" than the old bolt had been.

Wang Zhao and the others had long since vanished from outside the door, and the two Head Runners were gone as well. Only scattered figures remained in the distant alley, gathered in twos and threes, talking about something.

When they saw the door here open and Chen Mu emerge, those people immediately fell silent.

As Chen Mu approached, people all along the way stepped aside. Whether nearby neighbors or a few idle hooligans, all carefully made way for him. Whenever they saw Chen Mu's gaze fall upon them, they immediately put on a smile.

Chen Mu ignored them and walked straight through the alley, quickly disappearing into the distance, leaving behind only gazes filled with reverence and envy.