Seizing Wealth

Nine Stripes Ward.

North Street.

This is the northernmost area of Nine Stripes Ward. While it may not be as bustling as the streets in the center of Nine Stripes Ward, its proximity to the Inner City means it's also home to wealthy and influential families.

As night falls, walking along this wide North Street reveals tall walls and large courtyards on both sides. Some courtyards are brightly lit, creating a stark contrast with the pitch-black slums, as if they were two completely different worlds.

Here, the roads are smooth, and the bluestone courtyard walls are spotless.

Inside one of the large courtyards.

Several burly men, one of them carrying a burlap sack, which wriggles constantly, suggesting a live creature inside. He carries it effortlessly in one hand, making his way to the inner courtyard and knocking on the door.

The door opens, revealing a young master dressed in silk and satin, around twenty or thirty years old, who says indifferently:

"Brought her?"

"Yes."

The burly man grins, places the sack on the ground, and opens it.

What's revealed isn't some wild boar or other animal, but a terrified girl of about thirteen or fourteen. Her clothes are old and patched, clearly from a commoner's home. Her complexion is slightly yellow, and she's not particularly beautiful, but in these times, among commoner families, she's considered rare.

"Hmm, not bad, better looking than the last one."

Wei Lun forcibly lifts the girl's chin, examines her with a scrutinizing gaze, then releases her, nodding with what seems like satisfaction.

The burly men laugh and say, "We searched for quite a few days for this one. It's just that those mud-legged families can't raise anything good."

"Alright, I'll remember this as a merit."

Wei Lun chuckles and says, "After I'm done with her, she's yours. But be gentle, if you kill her like last time, and we can't sell her to East City for money, the silver will be deducted from your monthly pay!"

"Yes, yes, we'll be careful this time."

The burly men smile obsequiously, rubbing their hands together, their faces filled with anticipation.

The girl, with her hands and feet bound and a white cloth stuffed in her mouth, listens to the conversation between Wei Lun and the guards, and her terrified eyes gradually fill with despair.

Wei Lun reaches out, grabs the rope around the girl, and hauls her up, dragging her towards the house. The girl struggles desperately, her feet kicking against the ground, but she's no match for Wei Lun's strength and is quickly dragged inside.

Bang!

The door slams shut.

The guards outside walk away with smiles, chatting about lewd topics, waiting for their reward later.

However.

Inside the house, the scene unfolding is not the erotic fantasy the guards imagine.

Wei Lun drags the girl into the house, and as soon as he closes the door, just as he's about to say something, his words are cut short. A iron sword is suddenly held against his neck.

Instantly, he breaks out in a cold sweat, involuntarily releasing the girl, not even daring to raise his voice: "Sir... Sir, what do you want? If it's money, I'll give it to you right away..."

Wei Lun is terrified.

There are so many guards outside, yet in the short time it took him to open the door, a masked bandit appeared in the room and put a sword to his neck. How bad has the security in this outer city gotten!

"Bring it here."

Standing behind Wei Lun was a man draped in a black cloak and wearing a mask, who spoke in a cold tone.

"Yes, yes."

Wei Lun responded repeatedly, cautiously walking towards the inner room, opening a chest, and taking out thirty or so Gold Leaves, along with about one hundred taels of silver.

The black-cloaked man coldly said, "Is that all?"

Wei Lun said with a mournful face, "That's all there is, the old geezer only cared about enjoying himself, and didn't leave me a single coin when he died. This is what I saved by scrimping and saving. Other people go to the pleasure district every day, but I can't bear to go..."

"Oh."

The black-cloaked man nodded, and suddenly the iron sword in his hand loosened, directly piercing Wei Lun's throat, causing the words in his mouth to stop abruptly, and blood splattered instantly.

Wei Lun obviously didn't expect that he had already taken out all his money, yet this robber still wanted to kill him, and couldn't help but reveal a look of unwillingness, making a hoarse sound in his mouth, wanting to call for the guards outside, but he couldn't make a sound.

Thump!

His whole body fell to the ground, twisting and struggling a few times before gradually becoming still.

The girl who had been tied up next to him watched this scene in horror, and did not show any joy because of it. As far as she was concerned, both Wei Lun and the robber who was killing and robbing were terrifying villains.

"..."

The black-cloaked man didn't look at the girl next to him, only collecting the silver and Gold Leaves little by little, weighing them, and calculating them together, converting to about four or five hundred taels of silver.

Only after collecting all the silver did he glance at the girl next to him, but that was all. Then he ignored her, picked up the iron sword, opened the window on the side, and climbed out of the window.

Leaving the girl with her hands and feet tied, still slumped next to Wei Lun's corpse, breathing heavily.

About the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

A chaotic noise came from outside, as if they were fighting, but the duration was very short, probably only a dozen breaths, and everything returned to silence again, and no one could even shout.

The girl huddled there in horror and fear, staying next to Wei Lun's corpse for a whole night, until the next day dawned, the door was kicked open with a bang, and a team of Yamen Runners walked in.

"Oh, there's still someone alive!"

Liu Song revealed a hint of surprise.

Li Tie looked at the situation in the house, revealing a thoughtful expression, walked over and used his Yamen Saber to pick open the cloth in the girl's mouth.

At this time, the girl, who had spent the night trembling in horror and fear, looked at the group of Yamen Runners in front of her, and suddenly burst into tears, wailing loudly.

After a long while.

City Guard.

In Chen Mu's hall, Liu Song and Li Tie were quietly reporting the matter.

"...It's a daughter of the Zhao Family from Down River Street. Wei Lun had his servants tie her up at night, and when he was about to do something evil, she was attacked by bandits at night, and even a dozen or so guards were killed cleanly."

"Yamen Director also went there in person, examined the corpse and said that they were all sword wounds, but the swordsmanship didn't seem to be very good, but the strength was very amazing. It's not the same as the previous few incidents. It should be the same person. It is estimated that either it is a notorious bandit, or someone from the Inner City came to 'practice chivalry, punish evil and eliminate evil', let us stop here."

Liu Song and Li Tie carefully stated the matter.

Chen Mu listened with a calm expression, waved his hand at the two of them, and said, "Alright, I understand."

This matter had actually already been decided by Min Baoyi, and would not be investigated further. There was no need to tell him, but the most common task for Liu Song and Li Tie on a regular basis was to inform him of the big and small things that happened while he was not at the City Guard.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first. You just continue as usual."

Chen Mu stood up and walked outside.

Liu Song and Li Tie both saluted.

Soon.

Chen Mu returned home alone, went to his bedroom, and from the bottom of the box inside the bed, under a few floor tiles, took out a bundle. Inside the bundle were about sixty or seventy Gold Leaves, and two or three hundred taels of silver.

There was also a rough iron sword without a scabbard, stuck vertically into the ground.

"Finally getting rich, huh? Hmm, it's time to send some more silver to Yue Er; she needs expenses over there now."