Street Parade

Longxing County, Grass Market outside the city.

Compared to before, the Grass Market now looked far more desolate. The effects of the autumn tax had gradually become apparent, and more and more people could no longer afford to do business.

Follow the Taiwan novel app, Taiwan Novel Network, ⓣⓦⓚⓐⓝ.ⓒⓞⓜ, super reliable.

How had life become like this?

Yet in stark contrast to the desolation outside the city, the city itself was bustling with voices. Many townsfolk had poured into the streets, curiously looking toward the main road through the city.

The main road ran through the county seat and led straight to the county yamen. At this moment, dozens of constables stood arrayed around it, clearing the streets and driving people away. But the more extravagantly they made a show of it, the more curious the townspeople became. Only when they saw a prison cart slowly emerge from the county yamen did they understand what was happening.

"So it's a street parade."

"Strange. There hasn't been any major case in the city lately, has there? Where did this criminal come from, to warrant such a grand spectacle as parading him through the streets in a prison cart?"

The people murmured among themselves.

But someone soon recognized the disheveled prisoner in the cart. "This criminal looks familiar... isn't he Lord Liu from Vermilion Phoenix Tower?"

The instant those words were spoken, the previously clamorous crowd abruptly fell silent. Only after a moment did someone cautiously say in a low voice, "Vermilion Phoenix Tower... Is that Lord Liu Ye? I heard that the unrest a few months ago was caused by him joining forces with some great hero. So many constables died."

The crowd grew ever denser.

Naturally, they all recognized Liu Ye. He was a local, an old hand at the county yamen, and the hidden owner behind Vermilion Phoenix Tower.

For a time, the place was abuzz with uproar.

Those who did not know the details asked around. "Why was Lord Liu arrested? Even if he committed some crime, there's no need to parade him through the streets in a prison cart, is there?"

"You haven't been in the city lately, have you?"

Someone lowered his voice. "Didn't you see that more than half of those damned blackskins at the county yamen are gone? They all died in that unrest a few months ago."

"I was in a shop nearby at the time. I saw it with my own eyes—it was bloody beyond words. Corpses were being flung out like they were worthless. They say it was the work of a passing hero. He heard about the autumn tax and, seeing injustice on the road, drew his blade to help. Even the county magistrate was beaten into serious injury."

"The autumn tax?"

The person asking around looked puzzled. "What does that have to do with us? They're only squeezing the Blackheads outside the city. Those mud-legged peasants don't even count as people."

"That's true enough."

"But thanks to that hero killing so many constables, the county yamen had no choice but to recruit among us decent citizens. My cousin became a constable just two days ago."

"If that hero hadn't stirred up such a mess, how would we have gotten rich?"

"So that's how it is!"

The inquirer finally understood. "Then he truly was a great hero. Though he may have failed to distinguish black from white, at heart he still did a good deed."

Inside the prison cart, Liu Ye slowly raised his head.

"..."

Days without food or water had left him in dreadful condition. If not for the foundation of External Arts Perfection, he would likely have long since breathed his last.

The many pains left behind by torture still relentlessly tormented his body. Yet unexpectedly, his heart was calm, with only a trace of regret.

"What a pity. Little Wang's good intentions were wasted."

Having fallen to such a fate, he could only blame himself for not choosing to flee far away back then. Instead, he had clung to his hometown and native soil, deciding to return to Changle Commandery to take up office.

Thinking back on it now, he had still harbored some anger at the time. He believed County Magistrate Xu Bingzheng's use of evil arts to control his subordinates meant Xu had committed evil first. His return to Changle Commandery had also been driven by a desire to report him to the commandery office and seek justice. Alas, his thinking had been far too naïve.

"Officials shield officials, officials shield officials..."

While the Transcendent who had recommended him for a post at the commandery office—Madam Su's close sister—had been around, nothing had happened. The moment she left, the commandery office turned on him.

Or rather, it was the force behind Xu Bingzheng.

And how could an old constable like him, who had barely ever left Longxing County in his entire life, possibly contend with people who had schemed and plotted in the commandery office for decades?

This outcome was also his own fault.

At that thought, Liu Ye gave a self-mocking smile, yet he could not help releasing a breath of relief. At least during the time since his arrest, he had not implicated anyone else.

For the reason Xu Bingzheng had gone to such lengths to seize him from Changle Commandery and bring him back was that he wanted to know why a Transcendent had suddenly intervened in Longxing County's affairs, even directly assigning the [Black Armor Battalion] to garrison outside the county seat—and who the mastermind behind it all was.

"Yet I know nothing."

Liu Ye exhaled a breath tinged with the stench of blood. This was the one thing he felt he had done right: he had deliberately blinded his own eyes and stopped his own ears.

That Transcendent's identity and origins? He did not know.

That Transcendent's reason for intervening? He did not know.

Who the mastermind behind the scenes was? He did not know.

Because he did not know, no matter how much torture he endured, he could not answer a single word—if he had known, he might truly have obediently confessed.

Fortunately, he knew nothing.

The prison cart continued onward. Escorted by county yamen constables, it finally reached the Grass Market outside the city, drawing the attention of the Blackheads gathered there.

"It's Lord Liu... How could it be him?"

"How could it not be him? This Liu the Skinner collected tributes at the Grass Market for so many years, preying on the countryside. It's only natural that he's been arrested now."

"Cut it out. Lord Liu took tributes, sure, but at least he actually got things done. After Lord Liu left, the newcomer at the county yamen was even worse, and he didn't do anything either..."

"Speaking of which, why was he arrested?"

"I heard from people who went into the city to do business that it had something to do with the hero who charged into the city a few months ago. The former chief constable was killed by that hero too."

The discussions grew increasingly clamorous and chaotic.

"The former chief constable? I know him. He came to our village to collect taxes... that damned bastard!"

"And the Former Village—does anyone remember it?"

"Of course I remember. It was right near my home. Everyone was slaughtered. The smell of blood still hasn't faded, and even the soil is red... If you ask me, that hero killed well!"

The prison cart slowly approached.

For a moment, the Blackheads who had just been filled with righteous indignation had their mouths covered by the onlookers around them. They were dragged farther away while being warned in low voices.

"Shh. Do you want to die?"

"What great hero? He was clearly a White Lotus Sect rebel. The county yamen posted official notices about it. Who dares call him a hero? Do you still want your shop in the Grass Market?"

At last, the prison cart formally entered the Grass Market.

The two county yamen constables guarding the cart looked disdainfully around them, their expressions cold. Wherever their gazes swept, all the Blackheads instinctively fell silent.

There was less and less discussion, while the silence grew louder and louder.

Until the first clever person spoke. "Actually, if you think about it carefully, calling Lord Liu... ptooey, calling this Liu traitor a rebel along with that man from the other day isn't wrong."

At last, discussion arose once more, but the wind had abruptly shifted.

"Since the autumn tax, which household hasn't had no oil for stir-frying, no rice for cooking, and no salt at home? Life was already hard enough, and we were barely keeping ourselves going through the Grass Market."

"Then Liu the traitor threw the county seat into chaos, and even business at the Grass Market worsened along with it."

"My family still hasn't secured rice for tomorrow."

Naturally, there were still discordant notes amid the gradually unified voices. "What does any of that have to do with them? When all's said and done, isn't it still that damned autumn tax..."

But as the prison cart drew nearer, facing the county yamen constables glaring like tigers eyeing prey, those discordant voices were gradually buried within the sea of people.

At some unknown point, people began throwing things at the prison cart. An atmosphere of shared hatred slowly gathered among the crowd. They lacked the courage to resist the county yamen constables, but they dared vent their emotions on Liu Ye inside the cart... after all, Liu Ye had been a constable before.

Throwing things at him was the same.

For a time, only curses remained. Everyone eagerly wished to see a constable killed, singing his praises for it all the while.

At this sight, the two constables atop the prison cart also revealed satisfied expressions.

Both came from "respectable household" families within the city. Since childhood, they had never lacked rice or meat, and they had diligently trained in martial arts. That was how they had become constables after the county yamen began recruiting.

They had come out this time with a task to accomplish.

"These Blackheads have been dying in rather high numbers lately, and they're showing signs of gathering toward the county seat. To prevent unrest, we still need to smooth things over."

"Brother Lin, shall you do it?"

The speaking constable smiled. "I heard that you personally requested this task of pacifying the Blackheads from the county magistrate. You must have prepared for it for quite some time, I presume?"

"Brother Liu, you jest."

Lin Wenhai shook his head. "It hardly counts as preparation. First, we simply parade the prison cart through the streets and let these Blackheads vent the emotions they've bottled up for so long."

"Then we distribute grain for disaster relief."

"Oh? Distribute grain?" Liu Fuguan looked surprised. "Feed these Blackheads?"

"How could that be?"

Lin Wenhai shook his head. "Food is for people to eat. Wouldn't feeding it to these Blackheads be a base waste? Just distribute some bran and chaff."

A while later, seeing that the prison cart had nearly reached the end of the Grass Market, Lin Wenhai finally ended the idle conversation. He strode before the crowd, circulated his blood and qi, and announced the news of the "disaster relief." Just as he expected, cheers from the Blackheads immediately erupted throughout the Grass Market outside the city.

"Good. The overall situation is settled."

Lin Wenhai nodded. He knew that after this maneuver, the Blackheads' hearts would be settled, and the situation in the county seat would gradually stabilize.

Of course, these Blackheads would still die in the end.

The only difference was whether they all died at once, or died off batch by batch each day until they were slowly wiped out. From his perspective, the latter was naturally less troublesome and required less effort.

After all, the former might cause some unrest, while the latter was much more stable.

They had solved the problem by spending only some bran and chaff fit for livestock. When he returned to claim credit, the county magistrate would surely regard him more highly.

"Oh, right. These Blackheads have suffered disaster, and as time passes, there will be more and more of them outside the city. The human training posts at home have just about run out lately. It doesn't feel satisfying to strike them, and they can't cultivate a martial artist's bloodthirst. Why not send people outside the city to buy a few strong-bodied ones? It could count as charity."

As he thought, Lin Wenhai became somewhat distracted.

Only when a thread of icy cold suddenly touched his neck did he come back to himself. Raising his head to look skyward, he saw that at some unknown point, dark clouds had already blanketed the heavens.

It seemed it was about to rain.

Lin Wenhai suddenly felt a little cold. The common people around him seemed to feel the same, and the previously roaring clamor fell silent for the second time.

The prison cart continued onward.

Previously, wherever the prison cart went, the crowd would part to make way. Yet this time, a figure moved against the flow of people and stood before the cart.

"Who goes there?"

Lin Wenhai frowned at the sight. Instinctively, he reached for the hilt of his saber and looked toward the handsome young man emerging from the crowd, yet he did not immediately shout for violence.

The reason was simple—although this man wore ordinary clothes, he carried himself with imposing bearing and had a tall, strong frame. He had definitely trained in martial arts. Moreover, his face was not gaunt with hunger, so he was clearly not one of the Blackheads. In that case, he was most likely a wandering martial hero passing through. Since he possessed martial skill, there was no need to become enemies with him over a condemned prisoner.

He should first ask about the man's origins and identity.

With that thought, Lin Wenhai spoke again, cupping his hands. "Young hero, may I ask which school claims such a talented disciple? We are carrying out official business..."

Lin Wenhai believed his wording was entirely appropriate.

Yet what made his expression darken was that the other party had no intention of answering him. Instead, he looked past him and fixed his gaze on Liu Ye inside the prison cart.

At the same time, Liu Ye froze. Then his entire body began trembling with excitement, for the young man before him was so familiar, as if he had stepped straight out of Liu Ye's memories. For a moment, Liu Ye thought it was the lantern of memories flashing before death, until he opened and closed his eyes several times and confirmed that this was no illusion.

But in the next instant, he began shaking his head wildly, blood in his hoarse voice.

"Go! Hurry and go!"

He did not know how the other man had survived that certain-death predicament that day. But since he had survived with such difficulty, how could he come here to throw away his life for nothing?

Yet after shouting, Liu Ye regretted it.

He wanted to change his words and ask the young man to save him so they could escape together, but reason told him that there was no way they could flee far while dragging along a burden like him.

They would only die together.

Rather than that, it was better for him to die alone.

After all, he had brought this fate upon himself, and the young man had already saved him once.

At that thought, Liu Ye could not help clenching his teeth. He simply lowered his head, avoiding the young man's gaze. He did not dare look again, afraid his resolve would waver.

"Drip, drip."

At some unknown point, a hazy fine rain had begun to fall from the sky.

The rain struck the ground, making the chill in the air pierce ever deeper into the bone. Then, in the next instant, the young man finally spoke his first words since walking out of the crowd.

"Uncle Liu, rest easy. There's no need to hide."

Such a simple sentence made Liu Ye lift his head blankly, as though he had returned to that rainy night several months ago, one that had left a deep impression on him.

At the time, he had been pursuing White Lotus Sect bandits when he learned that the young man had also been caught up in that chaotic battle on the rainy night. He had assumed the young man was surely dead. Yet when he arrived at the scene, all he saw was a bandit's corpse cleaved in two, and the young man standing in the curtain of rain, smiling lightly at him.

That was what he had said then too.

What had the next sentence been?

At this moment, the image in his memories overlapped with reality. Liu Ye's eyes flew wide open, yet all he could see was the frost-white gleam reflected from a blade's edge.

"Tonight's rain is heavy. Perfect for washing my blade."