Probationary Constables

Light snow still drifted from the sky, each white flake like dandelion seeds dancing across the heavens, adorning the ice-bound world clad in silver.

As if an overnight spring breeze had come, setting a thousand trees, ten thousand trees ablaze with pear blossoms—this should have been an exquisite sight.

Yet the bone-piercing winds that rose from time to time in winter mercilessly ruined it all.

The streets were bleak and deserted, steeped everywhere in an air of deathly silence.

Doors in every household were tightly shut, while mournful weeping occasionally drifted from the depths of alleyways by the roadside.

In a year of great disaster, who knew how many people would freeze or starve to death?

Chen Cheng headed for Riverside Street, where the Ruyi Ward branch of the City Guard Office was located. Along the way, he encountered several funeral processions clad in sackcloth and mourning headbands.

After leaving the slums and reaching the streets near the center of Ruyi Ward, the flow of people gradually increased.

"Fire God is merciful, delivering all living beings!"

"Worship the Fire God, and there will be no sickness or disaster!"

A group of devout Fire Worship Sect followers chanted as they slowly made their way down the main street. There were plenty of them—twenty or thirty people at least—taking up more than half the road.

"The Fire God's boundless grace saves those in suffering and hardship!"

At the front of the Fire Worship Sect procession, an old Daoist who looked every bit the immortal sage held a banner in his hand. From time to time, he pointed at passing pedestrians and preached to them, and people continually joined the group.

Chen Cheng kept walking and came face-to-face with the Fire Worship Sect procession.

The old Daoist pointed his banner at Chen Cheng, then said, "Worship the Fire God, and there will be no sickness or disaster!"

Chen Cheng hurriedly turned sideways and kept well away from him. Having lived two lives, how could he possibly believe in the Fire Worship Sect's nonsense?

The Fire Worship Sect had been spreading its teachings in Linji City for several years. They advocated worshipping the Fire God and praying for him to drive away the cold calamity. They had always recruited followers on a voluntary basis. Seeing that Chen Cheng ignored him, the old Daoist shook his head and turned to the next passerby.

"The City Guard Office is conducting business! Uninvolved persons are not to block the road—move aside at once!"

A shout rang out as Liao San strode over in a rush with several constables.

Most Fire Worship Sect followers were poor commoners. How would they dare block the path of government officers? At once, they scattered aside.

"You dare blaspheme the Fire God? Be careful, or the Fire God will rain punishment upon you!"

The old Daoist abruptly turned around and pointed the banner in his hand at Liao San and the constables, his words stern and righteous.

Liao San sneered and pointed at the old Daoist's nose as he began to curse. "You stinking Daoist, get the hell out of here. Keep yammering, and I'll tear down your Fire God temple."

The City Guard Office had cracked down on the Fire Worship Sect's preaching several times. But the sect's followers only worshipped the Fire God and did not violate Great Yu's laws, so the City Guard Office could do nothing to them.

In recent years, cold disasters had struck year after year, and many poor commoners had frozen to death. Public resentment was rising everywhere, and the authorities were already troubled over how to soothe the people's anger. With the Fire Worship Sect around, it could instead quell much of the resentment among the poor.

Thus, the City Guard Office turned a blind eye, and over time simply stopped bothering with them.

Not bothering with them was one thing. If members of the Fire Worship Sect dared violate the law, the City Guard Office would still act.

How could the old Daoist truly dare anger City Guard Office constables? Seeing that Liao San was unmoved by his act, he hurriedly stepped obediently aside, muttering under his breath.

"A sin, a sin! Merciful Fire God, do not be angered!"

Liao San seemed to be in a hurry and had not noticed Chen Cheng nearby. Just as he was about to lead his men onward, Chen Cheng hurriedly called out, "Brother San."

"Ah Cheng." The moment Liao San saw Chen Cheng, his face broke into a smile. He came over and warmly patted Chen Cheng on the shoulder. "Haven't seen you in a while. You're looking more and more spirited, kid!"

Chen Cheng smiled. "Brother San, it's nearly time to eat. Still busy?"

"Ah! Us street-patrolling constables have hard lives. There's been a lot to do lately, and we're short-handed, so naturally we work from dawn to dusk. At this rate, we might not even have time to eat today." Liao San sighed.

"People are iron, food is steel. No matter how busy you are, you need a full meal to have the strength to work, right?" Chen Cheng winked and lowered his voice. "Meeting by chance is better than arranging to meet. How about we find a place to sit and have a few drinks?"

Who among the City Guard Office's street-patrolling constables was not sharp as a tack? After giving it a moment's thought, Liao San understood that Chen Cheng had something to discuss with him. He immediately leaned close and quietly conferred with another saber-wearing constable.

City Guard Office street-patrolling constables were divided into official constables and probationary constables.

Official constables wore constable sabers at their waists and black uniforms, while probationary constables wore gray uniforms and were not qualified to carry sabers.

"You lot go eat first. Meet us on the next street in one shichen."

After finishing their discussion, Liao San gave the four gray-clad constables their instructions, then pulled Chen Cheng toward a tavern not far away.

"Ah Cheng, it's just the three of us. Something simple will do; there's no need to spend too much."

The three found a table in the tavern and sat down. Liao San spoke first.

"Brother Li isn't an outsider either."

"Right, right. We still have work to do later, so a quick bite will be enough." The other constable, Li Ze, smiled. Li Ze was in his thirties, with regular features and an honest-looking face.

"Alright, I'll listen to you two elder brothers." Chen Cheng smiled, called over the waiter, and carefully asked about the prices of the various wines and dishes. In the end, he ordered a roast chicken, a plate of sliced pig's head, a dish of fennel beans, two small vegetable dishes, and a pot of sorghum liquor.

Liao San raised his brows, looking displeased. "Ah Cheng, are you treating us brothers like outsiders now?"

Chen Cheng smiled. "What are you saying, Brother San? How could we brothers be outsiders? I just received my monthly pay, so I'm only having a few drinks with my two elder brothers."

Liao San burst out laughing and heavily patted Chen Cheng's shoulder. He then said to Li Ze, "Brother Li, I told you before—my brother Ah Cheng is a true friend!"

"Brother Ah Cheng is forthright!" Li Ze gave a thumbs-up, then smiled honestly. "But this old brother can't compare to you two. My whole family depends on this bit of salary to get by. I'm afraid I won't be able to return the favor for a meal even in the next month or two."

Liao San rolled his eyes at him and teased, "Brother Li, I heard Sister-in-law is a famous tigress. You're putting on this act because you're afraid she'll twist your ears off when you get home, aren't you?"

Li Ze choked on the remark and immediately turned red in the face. In a muffled voice, he said, "Liao San, don't talk nonsense. In the Li household, I call the shots! Another day, I'll treat. We'll invite Brother Ah Cheng for a grand drinking session—no one goes home until he's drunk!"

"No, no, no. You might not be afraid, but I am. What if Sister-in-law comes charging to my house to kill me?" Liao San said.

Before long, the wine and dishes arrived. The three ate and chatted, drinking for nearly a full shichen before they finally left the tavern, full of food and drink.

From Liao San and Li Ze, Chen Cheng learned that the Flying Eagle Gang and the Redwater Gang had clashed two days ago. The Redwater Gang had been driven from this area, though the Flying Eagle Gang had also lost quite a few men.

When gangs fought, they generally did not involve ordinary civilians, and the City Guard Office could not be bothered to intervene, letting them fight and kill one another as they pleased.

After the two sides' clash, corpses kept appearing in the streets and alleys near the next street, and there were quite a few of them. Most gang members were desperadoes with no one to collect their bodies, so the task of dealing with the corpses naturally fell upon the City Guard Office constables.

Liao San and the others had been busy these past few days transporting those corpses outside the city and tossing them onto Mass Grave Mound.

On his way home, Chen Cheng happened to be going the same way as Liao San. With his own eyes, he saw a group of constables using carts to transport corpses. Ma Liu's body was conspicuously among them, with no one bothering to claim it.