A Little Thief Climbed Over the Wall

Chapter 36: A Little Thief Climbed Over the Wall

At that moment, Luo Qianshan was consumed by rage. He let out a mighty shout. "Hey! You brazen little thief!"

The person climbing over the wall had been testing his way across slowly. Startled by the shout, he fell with a smack. A pained cry of "Ow!" followed, and for a long while he couldn't get back up.

"Brazen little thief, hurry up and submit to your punishment!" Luo Qianshan charged out, brandishing his steel saber like a hound that had spotted its prey.

He bent down, grabbed the thief sprawled on the ground, and pinned him there. But the thief was still full of bluster and actually accused him first. "You damned Luo Qianshan! If I've hurt myself falling, I'll never let you off. I'll haunt you for the rest of my life, and you'll never know a moment's peace! Even if I turn into a ghost, I won't let you go... Ow, that hurts like hell..."

What kind of little thief was this, daring to act so insolently even after being caught? The hand gripping the man's shoulder tightened abruptly.

"Why aren't you letting go? Let go, now! Get your damn claws off me... Ow... You're going to crush my shoulder!" At that anguished howl, Luo Qianshan finally recognized the other person's voice.

"Bo... Bofeng?" Luo Qianshan asked uncertainly.

"Of course it's me, your young master... Ow, you're still squeezing!" Zi Bofeng groaned. He must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving home today. First Liuguang had given him a fright that afternoon, and now, just when night had finally fallen, he'd taken a tumble.

A servant heard the commotion and came over with a lantern. He saw Zi Bofeng struggle to his feet, covered in dust, and sway until he managed to stand upright. Then Zi Bofeng snapped, "Couldn't you at least help me up? Ow, that hurts like hell..."

Luo Qianshan was speechless. Weren't you the one who told me not to touch you?

"Serves you right. There's a perfectly good gate, but you had to climb over the wall. Who else were you expecting to fall? If I'd been in a bad mood today, I'd have thrown a knife and pinned you to the wall!" Luo Qianshan snorted and folded his arms.

"And you're blaming me? Some damned person said nobody was allowed in through the gate. How else was I supposed to get in if I didn't climb over the wall?"

"Ahem." The Prefect stood beside the servant holding the lantern and cleared his throat. "I gave that order..."

"You..." Zi Bofeng pointed at the Prefect, but for a long moment he couldn't think of what to say. Then he spun around and kicked at Luo Qianshan. "You, Luo Qianshan! I'm not done with you!"

"You're being unreasonable!" Luo Qianshan was speechless. He'd known this guy was unreasonable, but today he'd taken it to a whole new level! People said that when a scholar met a soldier, reason couldn't get through—but now the scholar was the one being unreasonable. Couldn't he at least respect his character setting?

"Brother, are you all right...?" Little Stone was lying over the top of the wall, asking timidly, "How... how do I get down...?"

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

Little Stone hesitated, too afraid to jump.

Luo Qianshan shook his head helplessly. He stepped forward and spread his arms. Little Stone cried out as he jumped off the wall, landing safely in Luo Qianshan's arms.

After Luo Qianshan caught Little Stone, everyone looked at Zi Bofeng with disdain.

"You managed to fall just climbing over a wall. I give up," Luo Qianshan concluded.

Little Stone nodded vigorously in Luo Qianshan's arms.

"Little Stone, even you've betrayed me?" Zi Bofeng cried out in despair.

"Bofeng, you know how a scholar can't reason with a soldier. I'd advise you to stop arguing with Qianshan. You're the one who'll suffer," the Prefect said with a smile. Though troubled, he felt some of the knot in his heart loosen at the sight.

Young people, so full of life. It was wonderful.

Zi Bofeng straightened his clothes, stepped forward a few paces, and clasped his hands. "Prefect, did that immortal come for the Jade Tax?"

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

"My lord, wasn't the Jade Tax collected ten years ago?" Zi Bofeng asked.

"Isn't that the truth..." The Prefect was even more helpless.

"Then..." Zi Bofeng started to ask, but shook his head and fell silent. He wasn't a fool. Sometimes, one could reason things out; other times, there was no reasoning to be had.

"Prefect." After a moment's thought, Zi Bofeng clasped his hands again and said, "I'm not trying to make excuses, but I don't know about the other villages. I do know that Lower Yan Village can't possibly pay three pieces of jade per household. No, I should say that Lower Yan Village can't even come up with one piece of jade per household."

Zi Bofeng guessed that a few families might have secretly stashed some things away, but most were completely destitute and had long been living beyond their means.

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

Even if he hadn't known before, after Zi Bofeng's Debate at the Courthouse, he'd sent people to investigate thoroughly. The men he'd sent were all under Luo Qianshan's command. They were soldiers, with no ties to the local officials, so their reports were fairly reliable. The final result had left even the Prefect sighing.

"Then what do we do?" Zi Bofeng asked.

"What do we do?" The Prefect shook his head. "There's only one thing we can do for now."

Wait.

The immortal wasn't the Prefect's superior and couldn't take the official hat from his head. He was only one person, after all; it wasn't as if he could personally go out and collect the Jade Tax. Though the initiative was in his hands, the Prefect wasn't completely without room to maneuver. Every day he could stall bought him another day. Besides, it wasn't that he wanted to delay—the jade simply wasn't there. Even if he tried to collect it, he wouldn't get it.

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

Seeing that they'd grasped his meaning, the Prefect suddenly felt quite moved. Were these two really the most reliable right and left arms he had?

But then he saw how filthy and disheveled Zi Bofeng was from head to toe, and decided he wasn't quite so reliable after all.

"Tomorrow, I'll order all the Village Chiefs and Clan Elders to come to Mengcheng Prefecture for a meeting. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll have someone draft the notice, then send it at full speed to every village," the Prefect said.

Zi Bofeng gave him a thumbs-up.

Meetings were actually the least efficient way to get anything done. The Village Chiefs might be fairly easy to deal with, since they were all young scholars now. But if the Clan Elders came too, they'd probably shout the meeting hall upside down.

And that was without considering how long it would take to draft the notice first thing in the morning, then print and distribute it, and finally send people out with it. Though Mengcheng Prefecture was only a county seat, it covered a vast area, including plenty of villages deep in the mountains and forests. Delivering the notices one by one and waiting for everyone to arrive would take three to five days at best. If things went slowly, ten days or half a month wouldn't be unusual.

Then they'd have another meeting and argue in circles. As long as Mengcheng Prefecture provided food and kept it coming, there was nothing strange about those Clan Elders arguing for three months, or even half a year.

But no matter how long they delayed, that wouldn't solve the problem. They still had to come up with a solution.

Zi Bofeng understood that, and naturally, so did the Prefect.

Hopefully the Prefect could think of something.

Zi Bofeng thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out what to do. His influence extended only over his own little patch of land. He was at a complete loss when it came to an issue spanning all of Mengcheng.

Exhausted in body and mind, the Prefect asked Luo Qianshan to look after Zi Bofeng, then turned and went back to find his wife. Luo Qianshan said, "Make yourself at home," and was about to leave too, but Zi Bofeng grabbed him. "Where are you going?"

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

"Wait, I haven't even had dinner!"

"Then go eat."

"I don't have anywhere to stay tonight, either."

"Stay at an inn. Don't tell me you're broke." Luo Qianshan didn't even turn around.

"The Prefect told you to look after me!" Zi Bofeng grabbed hold of him.

"Take your hand off!" Luo Qianshan pressed a hand to the steel saber at his waist. Zi Bofeng hurriedly pulled his hand back and said timidly, "If you won't look after me, at least put Little Stone down..."

"...I must have owed you all in a past life!" Luo Qianshan grumbled, turning around with Little Stone in his arms.

Zi Bofeng hurried after him.

Needless to say, he had a place to stay that night.

Luo Qianshan, who'd made the mistake of befriending the wrong people, had no choice but to host Zi Bofeng, Little Stone, and Zi Jian. Then, at around five in the afternoon, Zhuzi and Zhuzi's Mother arrived too, brought over by Zi Jian.

Zhuzi was grinning from ear to ear. After setting his mother down, he let out a whoop and rushed straight for Zi Bofeng's room.

"Don't hit me in the face!" Zi Bofeng hurriedly covered his face, alarmed. They were in Meng City, after all. If he got punched in the face tonight, the Prefect would laugh himself silly tomorrow.

But Zhuzi rushed forward, scooped Zi Bofeng up in his arms, then picked up Little Stone, who had already fallen asleep, and planted a flurry of kisses on the boy's head.

"Haha! Haha! Bofeng, Little Stone, I can't thank you enough!" Zhuzi exclaimed, one in each arm, beside himself with joy. "My mother's cured! She's cured!"

Cured? Zi Bofeng stared blankly. Even in the modern world, asthma was a highly dangerous condition, let alone a chronic illness like this. How could she have recovered so quickly?

"I have to thank you both. Thanks to you, we found the Three-Clawed Eagle's egg. My mother got better as soon as she ate it!" Zhuzi burst out laughing.

Was it really that miraculous? Zi Bofeng gaped in astonishment. But then he remembered that this world was full of all kinds of strange and wondrous things, so he couldn't judge it by what he'd known before.

He went outside to check on Zhuzi's Mother in the cart. She was sitting up by herself now. She was still skin and bones, but a healthy flush had risen in her face. Zi Bofeng couldn't say for certain about anything else, but when he looked closely, he saw strands of spiritual energy flowing out of Zhuzi's Mother's body. Some drifted away, while the rest nourished her body. That was the miraculous effect of the Three-Clawed Eagle's egg. Perhaps it contained a great deal of spiritual energy, which had restored the vitality that had been completely drained from Zhuzi's Mother.

"The Three-Clawed Eagle's egg?" Luo Qianshan caught a few words from nearby and exclaimed in surprise. "Three-Clawed Eagles are incredibly powerful, and fiercely protective of their nests. Especially after they lay eggs, the male and female take turns guarding them and never leave for a moment. I wouldn't even dare say I could defeat one. And you two..."

He looked at Zi Bofeng and Little Stone, openly disdainful. These two—a scholar and a child—had somehow managed to find a Three-Clawed Eagle's egg? Something had to be wrong here.

Record of Raising Monsters