Inside the county yamen, red lanterns hung high. Under the lead of the three inspectors, the yamen runners and patrol guards had not removed their armor, but split into three teams and kept circling the county office on patrol.
Who knew which little genius had come up with such a marvelous idea.
Since County Lieutenant Su would not let them search for the lost valuables, they would fall back to defend the yamen and wait for the monsters to come back and kill again.
The three inspectors knew perfectly well that this excuse could not stand.
If monsters really came back, their lot would not even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth—the meat would be too tough.
Still, they tirelessly walked round and round the yamen walls, and that counted as patrolling.
In the end, the inspectors were doing this to help Magistrate Jiang salvage a shred of dignity.
Yet they could not oppose their superior too openly.
Especially whenever they passed County Lieutenant Su's residence, they had to straighten their armor and shout a few patrol calls, as though that could recover a little of the face Magistrate Jiang had lost.
Su Che understood perfectly well.
Once one entered official service, it was like carrying a mountain on one's back, every rule and restriction pressing down hard upon everyone.
It was like Song Jiang's line in The Water Margin: "Just like a fierce tiger lying upon a barren hill, concealing claws and fangs, enduring in silence."
No matter how many ravines and valleys filled your heart, once you entered official service, the word endure stood above all else.
That was true for the three inspectors, the yamen runners, and patrol guards behind them.
It was true for Su Che as well.
When he returned to his room, he found three people inside.
The first was naturally Miss Qingqiu, bound in a most humiliating fashion. A rag was stuffed in her mouth, a towel covered her eyes, and she sat there obediently.
The second was the young page, who had hidden himself entirely beneath the bed, his legs trembling as he refused to come out.
The last was Zhang San, the yamen runner. His waist saber had been removed and placed on the table, strips of cloth were stuffed into both ears, and several slashes had been cut into his black silk official robe. The cloth in his ears had evidently been cut from that robe.
Su Che inspected the scene. The rope Yellow Heaven Sect had sent remained firmly tied around Qingqiu, its arrangement rather distinctive.
No problem there.
The spiritual sword in the Sword Case showed no change in its aura. At the very least, it did not seem stained with blood, nor was its killing intent heavy. No problem there either.
So where was the problem?
Su Che recalled that Records of the Hidden Within recorded how fox demons excelled at beguiling people's minds. Sometimes, a mere lift of the hand or turn of the body could lead someone astray.
From the looks of it, Qingqiu had worked over both the young page and Zhang San.
And she had worked them over badly.
Su Che removed the cloth from Zhang San's ears.
"What happened?"
"This humble one pays respects to County Lieutenant."
"No need for courtesy. Tell me what happened."
"Ever since you left, sir, this humble one has been guarding the Qi Household's sister-in-law here."
Zhang San carefully weighed his words.
"At first, nothing changed. But later, for some reason, a demon wind suddenly blew in. It was terrifying—the doors and windows all creaked and rattled together. Following your orders, sir, this humble one kept watch over her here."
"What exactly did I order you to do?"
Su Che sat on a round stool and listened as Zhang San recounted what had happened.
Zhang San and the young page had originally been waiting outside the door. Then they had directly seen Su Che emerge from the room.
He had only said that he had received some urgent news and needed to handle it at once, while the monster inside was to be strictly guarded by Zhang San and the young page.
After saying that, Su Che had hurried out of the yamen.
Zhang San and the young page had entered the room to watch Qingqiu. Then, a demon wind had suddenly blown in from nowhere, throwing the entire county yamen into chaos.
Following Su Che's orders, Zhang San had honestly kept his eyes on Qingqiu and ignored what was happening outside.
The trouble had started with the young page. The monster had cursed him a few times, and he could not hold back his anger, intending to slap the Qi Household woman a few times.
How could Zhang San let him do that? Setting aside the fact that this monster was someone Su Che had specifically ordered them to guard closely, she was also occupying the body of the Qi Household's daughter-in-law.
Even if he truly beat her badly, it would not hurt the monster. While Zhang San was trying to persuade him otherwise, the young page had inexplicably seemed to lose his soul, crawling beneath the bed and not daring to breathe loudly.
Seeing that, how could Zhang San dare slack off? He first found a rag beneath the bed and stuffed it into Qingqiu's mouth, then found one of Su Che's towels and blindfolded the monster.
If there had been a black dog in the yamen, Zhang San would have drenched this monster in dog's blood from head to toe.
Finally, he tore his own clothes to plug his ears. Only then had the standoff lasted until now.
Su Che looked at the young page still beneath the bed, trembling like chaff in a sieve, and sighed. This counted as teaching him a lesson, lest he someday die somewhere without even knowing why.
"Enough. Drag him out, find a place, and buy him a bowl of stewed-meat noodles. Have the owner warm a jug of wine for him. I'll have a private chat with this one."
Su Che took a tael of silver from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
"Sir, a bowl of stewed-meat noodles does not cost nearly that much..."
Zhang San said uncertainly.
"Then order two bowls, and add a bowl of stewed pork knuckle. Put more leafy vegetables in my noodles. Once you finish eating, bring those two bowls of noodles back to me later. Keep the rest of the money for now; use it for whatever expenses come up later."
Runner Zhang tucked the silver from the table into his robes, then dragged the young page out from beneath the bed like a dead dog.
"Alright. Let's talk."
Su Che removed all the restraints from Miss Qingqiu, even taking back the rope sent by Yellow Heaven Sect.
"Whew. Those old mongrels of Yellow Heaven Sect—I say, where did you learn such a way of tying people up?" The Qi Household's sister-in-law stretched lazily and comfortably.
"The elder sisters of Jiankang's Jade Pavilion taught me hand over hand."
Su Che looked at the little fox before him. "Have you ever seen a great dragon carrying candlelight in its jaws, swimming through an endless curtain of night?"
"I have. I've also seen a masked person staring blankly at a group of statues."
The Qi Household's sister-in-law loosened up her body and frowned at Su Che.
"What's your codename?"
"I am..."
"Don't tell me. Let me guess."
The little fox happily looked Su Che up and down.
"Looking at you, it must be something like Ba Serpent or Feng Boar."
Her words suddenly reminded Su Che of a problem with how the Mount Zhong Association named its members.
According to Records of the Hidden Within, Lord Dongwang was the god of Eastern Yi Wood, among the most exalted ranks of all the gods of heaven and earth.
Plain Maiden and Gushe, though not exalted deities, still counted among the immortals.
As for Yuqiang and Wu Zhiqi, they stood somewhere between demon beasts and savage gods.
But this Qingqiu...
She seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary demon beast, and the kind available in great quantities with enough to fill one's belly.
"You care so much about this sort of thing. Looks like you haven't cultivated for long—at most, you're just a little demon."
"You guessed quite accurately. My codename is Feng Boar."
Su Che answered without the slightest Dao and Virtue.