A Little Thief Climbs the Wall

Chapter 36: A Petty Thief Climbs the Wall

At that moment, Luo Qianshan's fury ignited, and he let out a thunderous shout: "Halt! You bold little thief!"

The person climbing over the wall had been testing the waters cautiously, but startled by the roar, he plummeted with a loud thwack. A pained cry of "Ouch!" followed, and he remained sprawled on the ground, unable to rise for quite some time.

"Bold little thief, surrender at once!" Luo Qianshan brandished his steel saber and charged out like a hound that had finally cornered its prey.

He leaned down to grab the thief, pinning him to the ground. To his surprise, the thief, despite being pinned, remained aggressive and launched a preemptive strike: "You god-forsaken Luo Qianshan! If I've broken any bones, I'm not letting this go. I'll haunt you for the rest of your life, I'll never let you have a moment's peace, and even as a ghost, I won't let you off... Ouch, it hurts so much..."

What kind of bold thief was this? To be so arrogant even after being caught? He tightened his grip on the man's shoulders.

"Let go! Hurry up and let go, take your dog paws off me... Ouch... my shoulder is about to be crushed!" Hearing this howl, Luo Qianshan finally recognized the voice.

"Bo... Bofeng?" Luo Qianshan hesitated.

"It is your master, me... Ouch, you're still squeezing!" Zi Bofeng grumbled. He must not have checked the almanac before leaving today; not only had he been spooked by Liuguang in the afternoon, but now, finally reaching the evening, he had taken a tumble.

A servant heard the commotion and brought a lantern over, revealing Zi Bofeng struggling to his feet, covered in dust and grime. He stood unsteadily, still fuming: "Couldn't you have helped me up? Ouch, it hurts like hell..."

Luo Qianshan was speechless. Wasn't it you who told me not to touch you?

"You deserve it. There's a perfectly good gate you didn't use, but you had to climb the wall. If I hadn't been in a good mood today, I would've thrown my blade and pinned you to the wall!" Luo Qianshan huffed, crossing his arms.

"You're blaming me? I don't know which god-forsaken person said no one was allowed through the gate. How else was I supposed to get in?"

"Ahem." The Prefect stood beside the servant holding the lantern, cleared his throat, and said, "That was my order..."

"You..." Zi Bofeng pointed at the Prefect, speechless for a long moment, before suddenly turning and kicking out: "You, Luo Qianshan, I'm not done with you!"

"You're being unreasonable!" Luo Qianshan was at a loss. He had known this guy was unreasonable, but today, the level of absurdity had escalated! They always said when a scholar meets a soldier, reason is hard to come by, but now the scholar was the one being unreasonable—could you please respect your own character archetype?

"Brother, are you okay..." Little Stone asked weakly from atop the wall. "How... how do I get down..."

Zi Bofeng turned and held out his arms. "Come, jump down, I'll catch you."

Little Stone hesitated, afraid to jump.

Luo Qianshan shook his head in silence, stepped forward, and opened his arms. Little Stone let out a cry, jumped from the wall, and landed securely in Luo Qianshan's embrace.

As he caught Little Stone, the group looked at Zi Bofeng with disdain.

"You managed to fall just by climbing a wall. I'm impressed," Luo Qianshan concluded.

Little Stone nodded vigorously in Luo Qianshan's arms.

"Little Stone, have even you turned against me?" Zi Bofeng felt a sense of inexplicable grief.

"Bofeng, when a scholar meets a soldier, reason is hard to come by. I advise you not to argue with Qianshan; you'll only be the one suffering," the Prefect said with a smile. Though his heart was heavy, seeing this scene made the knot in his chest loosen a little.

Young people, full of vitality—it was truly a good thing.

Zi Bofeng straightened his clothes, took a few steps forward, and cupped his hands in a salute. "My Lord Prefect, is that immortal here for the Jade Tax?"

Hearing Zi Bofeng's question, the Prefect sighed softly and nodded.

"My Lord, wasn't this Jade Tax already collected ten years ago?" Zi Bofeng asked.

"Who's to say otherwise..." The Prefect felt even more helpless.

"Then..." Zi Bofeng wanted to ask more, but shook his head and remained silent. Zi Bofeng was no fool; there were times when one could reason, and times when there was no reason to be found.

"My Lord Prefect." After a moment of thought, Zi Bofeng bowed again. "It is not that I, Zi Bofeng, wish to quibble. I don't know about other villages, but the current Lower Yan Village cannot possibly pay three pieces of jade per household. No, I should say that the current Lower Yan Village cannot even produce one piece of jade per household."

Zi Bofeng estimated that some families might have hidden a few things, but the vast majority were destitute, having long since spent more than they earned.

The Prefect sighed. "How could I not know that?"

If he hadn't known before, he had certainly sent people to investigate thoroughly after Zi Bofeng's Debate at the Courthouse. Those sent were soldiers under Luo Qianshan's command—men with military status who had no ties to local officials. The information they brought back was accurate, and the final result made even the Prefect sigh.

"So what do we do now?" Zi Bofeng asked.

"What do we do?" The Prefect shook his head. "There is only one strategy left."

Stall.

The immortal was not his superior; he couldn't take the Prefect's official hat. He was only one man, and he couldn't collect the Jade Tax personally. Although the initiative was in the immortal's hands, the Prefect was not entirely without options. He could stall for one day at a time. Besides, it wasn't just that he wanted to stall; there simply wasn't that much jade. Even if he wanted to collect it, he couldn't.

The Prefect didn't say the word aloud, but Zi Bofeng and Luo Qianshan both understood perfectly. They exchanged a glance and nodded at each other.

Seeing that both men understood his intent, the Prefect felt a sudden sense of emotion. Were these two truly his most reliable right-hand men?

However, seeing Zi Bofeng's disheveled and filthy appearance, he immediately felt he wasn't so reliable after all.

"Tomorrow, I will issue an order for all village heads and clan elders to come to Mengcheng Prefecture for a meeting. First thing tomorrow morning, I will have the documents drafted and sent by fast horse to every village," the Prefect said.

Zi Bofeng gave the Prefect a thumbs-up.

In truth, meetings were the least efficient way to do things. The village heads might be easier to handle, as they were mostly young scholars now. But if the clan elders came, they would likely turn the meeting hall upside down.

Not to mention, drafting the documents tomorrow morning, then printing, distributing, and sending them—though Mengcheng Prefecture was only a county, its jurisdiction was vast, with many villages deep in the mountains. Delivering them one by one and waiting for them to arrive would take three to five days at best, and ten days or half a month at worst.

Then, once the meeting started and the bickering began, as long as the Prefecture provided food and drink, it wouldn't be strange for those elders to argue for three to six months.

But stalling was no way to solve the problem; they eventually needed a solution.

Zi Bofeng understood this, and naturally, the Prefect did too.

He hoped the Prefect would find a way.

Zi Bofeng pondered for a long time but could not think of what to do. His influence was limited to his own small patch of land; for something involving the entire Meng City, he was truly at a loss.

The Prefect, physically and mentally exhausted, asked Luo Qianshan to look after Zi Bofeng before turning to head back to his wife. Luo Qianshan muttered a "suit yourself" and prepared to leave as well, but Zi Bofeng grabbed him, asking, "Where are you going?"

"Back to sleep. I'm tired too," Luo Qianshan said.

"Wait, I haven't had dinner yet," Zi Bofeng hurriedly said.

"Then go eat."

"I don't have a place to stay tonight either."

"Go to an inn. Don't tell me you don't have money," Luo Qianshan said without looking back.

"The Prefect told you to host me!" Zi Bofeng grabbed Luo Qianshan.

"Take your hand off!" Luo Qianshan pressed a hand to the steel blade at his waist. Zi Bofeng hurriedly pulled his hand back, saying weakly, "If you won't look after me, at least leave Little Stone behind..."

"...I must have owed you people in a past life!" Luo Qianshan said bitterly, picking up Little Stone and turning to walk away.

Zi Bofeng hurriedly followed.

Needless to say, he had a place to stay for the night.

Luo Qianshan, having made the mistake of befriending such people, was forced to host Zi Bofeng, Little Stone, and Zi Jian. By the hour of the Rooster, Zhuzi and Zhuzi's Mother had also arrived, brought over by Zi Jian.

Zhuzi's mouth was stretched wide in a grin; the moment he set his mother down, he let out a howl and lunged straight for Zi Bofeng's room.

"Don't hit the face!" Zi Bofeng cried out in alarm, shielding his face. This was Meng City, after all; if he got his face beaten tonight, the Prefect would surely laugh him to death tomorrow.

Who would have thought that Zhuzi would simply lunge forward, scoop Zi Bofeng up in a hug, and then pick up the already sleeping Little Stone, planting fierce kisses all over Little Stone's head.

"Haha, haha! Bofeng, Little Stone, I am so grateful to you!" Zhuzi held one in each arm, unable to contain his joy. "My mother's illness is cured! It's cured!"

Cured? Zi Bofeng was stunned. Even in the modern world, asthma was a high-risk condition, let alone one that had persisted for so long. How could it be better so quickly?

"It's all thanks to you, thanks to the Three-Clawed Eagle egg you found! My mother ate it and got better!" Zhuzi laughed heartily.

Such miraculous effects? Zi Bofeng was dumbfounded. But then, considering this world was filled with all sorts of wonders, he realized he couldn't judge things by his past experiences.

He went out to the carriage to check on Zhuzi's Mother. She was already sitting up on her own. She was still thin as a rail, but a healthy flush had returned to her face. Zi Bofeng didn't dare claim much else, but as he stared closely, he saw wisps of spiritual energy radiating from her body. Some dissipated into the air, while some nourished her frame. This was the miraculous effect of the Three-Clawed Eagle egg; perhaps the vast amount of spiritual energy contained within it had revitalized her completely withered vitality.

"A Three-Clawed Eagle egg?" Luo Qianshan, having overheard a word or two from the side, was suddenly astonished. "Three-Clawed Eagles are incredibly formidable and fiercely protective of their nests. Especially after laying eggs, the male and female take turns guarding them, never leaving for even a step. Even I wouldn't dare say I could handle one. You two..."

He looked at Zi Bofeng and Little Stone, his disdain evident. A scholar and a child—how could they possibly have found a Three-Clawed Eagle egg? There had to be some mistake.

Record of Raising Monsters