Deng Qing first felt out a token, then several other odds and ends. On closer inspection, they all bore various markings. Afraid they might bring trouble down on his head, he did not dare keep them.
After searching the body, he came away with only a little over one tael in silver scraps. He could not help feeling disappointed.
With that done, he returned to the sacks and sat down. He slowly evened out his breathing and began practicing the Violet Palace Method.
More than two hours later, Fan Sheng returned with Li Cheng and the other two. Their bloodstains had yet to dry, and weariness showed on every face.
They spotted One-Eyed Dragon's corpse at once, and Deng Qing quickly explained what had happened.
Fan Sheng stepped forward and yanked the filthy cloth from the corpse's face. His eyes widened like copper bells. "Mountain-Crossing Wind!"
Li Cheng and the other two snapped their gazes toward Fan Sheng.
Fan Sheng cried, "He's one of the Donghuang Cult's key leaders who slipped into the city this time.
"He's at the Skin Refining Second Layer, with more than a dozen lives on his hands. The County Yamen posted a reward for him long ago."
Fan Sheng whipped around to face Deng Qing. "You killed him? How is that possible?"
Deng Qing said, "I was lucky. He brought Firestone with him. I suppose he couldn't take North Warehouse, so he meant to destroy its supplies instead.
"I had no choice but to fight to stop him. I saw he was badly wounded, so I didn't dare meet him head-on. I kept him tied up in a running fight until he lost too much blood and died here."
Deng Qing had prepared this account in advance. He considered its logic airtight.
Still, Deng Qing was shocked. He had not expected Mountain-Crossing Wind to be at the Skin Refining Second Layer.
Looks like I still underestimated the power of Tiger-Subduing Fist at Grand Mastery, he thought.
Fan Sheng moved closer to examine Mountain-Crossing Wind's wounds, then nodded. "Luck favors you, too. We spent half the day chasing him down, but you sat here in the warehouse and credit fell straight from the sky."
Deng Qing asked, "What good is that credit?"
Fan Sheng said, "A great deal. Celebration Hall will recognize it, and so will the County Yamen. They might even report it to the prefecture and the province."
At those words, the expressions of Li Cheng, Wang Wei, and Zhou Tie all changed. Eagerness lit their eyes.
An idea stirred in Deng Qing's mind. "Senior Brother Fan, you've looked after me ever since I joined. I can't claim all this credit for myself. You must have a share.
"Besides, the county, the prefecture, and the province are all far beyond my reach. If I want to turn this credit into something useful, do you know a way?"
Deng Qing knew perfectly well that if the credit remained his alone, it might be like digging up a bronze artifact: he would hand it over to the state and receive nothing but a silk pennant in return.
Judging by the others' reactions, though, the credit could do them a great deal of good.
Sure enough, Fan Sheng, Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, and Wang Wei all looked at Deng Qing differently after he said that.
Holding down his excitement, Fan Sheng said, "I expect Mountain-Crossing Wind will be flayed and stuffed with straw as a warning to others.
"The credit for killing him can easily be divided into smaller shares.
"Junior Brother Deng, if you trust me, I'll divide it like this.
"Shameless as it is, I'll claim credit for planning the operation. Junior Brother Li, Junior Brother Zhou, and Junior Brother Wang will claim credit for joining forces to kill Mountain-Crossing Wind.
"Junior Brother Deng, you'll claim credit for guarding North Warehouse and discovering the enemy's trail.
"If we report it that way, everyone gets their due.
"Of course, none of us can take advantage of Junior Brother Deng for nothing.
"Junior Brother Li, Junior Brother Zhou, Junior Brother Wang—what do you think?"
The three men's faces were already flushed with excitement. They had joined the effort precisely to earn credit their families could put to use afterward.
They had fought alongside Fan Sheng earlier, but the people they had routed were only Displaced People. They had also been part of a larger force, leaving little credit to claim.
A share of the credit for Mountain-Crossing Wind would be another matter entirely.
Li Cheng said, "I'll give Senior Brother Deng twenty taels in thanks."
Zhou Tie said, "I'll give fifteen."
Wang Wei said, "I'll give fifteen too."
Fan Sheng's weathered face reddened. He groaned inwardly: the three wealthy men had raised the price, and he could hardly offer less.
Deng Qing cupped his fists. "Thank you for your kindness, senior brothers. Senior Brother Fan especially—I've relied on your care ever since I joined.
"Senior Brother Fan deserves a share of this credit. There's no need to give me silver on top of that."
Fan Sheng was secretly delighted. The more he looked at Deng Qing, the more he liked him. He cupped his fists. "I'm ashamed to accept your generosity, junior brother.
"My family isn't wealthy, but I can still afford ten taels. Then it's settled!"
Several days after the North Warehouse assignment ended, Li Cheng reserved a table at the Abundant Blessing Restaurant and invited Deng Qing, Zhou Tie, Wang Wei, Fan Sheng, and the others to dinner.
The fighting had only just ended, and its traces were everywhere: fire-blackened walls and piles of broken timber and shattered tiles.
Yet red lanterns already hung again outside the Abundant Blessing Restaurant. Steam billowed through the dining hall, and the smell of wine and meat carried from far down the street.
Before Deng Qing even stepped inside, he felt a pang of emotion.
Even in troubled times, those at the top were always the least affected.
Ordinary people were still clearing the wreckage of their homes and burying the dead, while lavish feasts had already begun here.
When Li Cheng saw Deng Qing enter the private room, he immediately rose to greet him.
After what had happened at North Warehouse, the men had grown much closer.
Before long, Zhou Tie and Wang Wei arrived too. As the group chatted warmly, Fan Sheng walked in.
The moment he entered, every eye turned to him.
Today, Fan Sheng was not wearing his old white robe. He wore black instead.
Li Cheng was the first to react. He stood with a smile. "Senior Brother Fan, have you passed Initiation?"
Deng Qing and the other two offered their congratulations as well. They all knew a black robe marked an Initiate Disciple in Celebration Hall.
Fan Sheng waved a hand and smiled. "I have Junior Brother Deng to thank for it..."
He went on to explain that he had only reached the Skin Tempering Third Layer, just enough to meet Celebration Hall's usual threshold for an Initiate Disciple.
But because he had earned credit for planning the killing of Mountain-Crossing Wind, the County Yamen had commended him, and his master, Li Dashan, had made an exception to grant him Initiation.
After explaining, Fan Sheng solemnly cupped his fists to Deng Qing and thanked him once more.
Deng Qing caught Fan Sheng's hands. "It was your good fortune, senior brother. I only gave the boat a push with the current..."
Deng Qing had saved enough money in a year to join Celebration Hall despite his harsh circumstances. Hard work was part of it, but his grasp of how to deal with people had arguably mattered most.
Sure enough, the more modest he was and the less credit he claimed, the better Fan Sheng and the others thought of him.
Once the food and wine had all been served, they began sharing their recent news.
Li Cheng's family had used the credit from North Warehouse to secure him a place in the Martial Arts Examination.
Deng Qing had made a point of asking what the Martial Arts Examination involved. It required a recommendation from a particular sort of powerful figure, in the form of a letter that was extremely hard to obtain.
It clearly had little to do with ordinary people, so he had stopped paying attention to it.
Zhou Tie said he had secured an official post at the yamen as the head of a small squad.
Wang Wei said he would remain at Celebration Hall for now. There was a chance at a clerical post in the province, but he still had to wait a while.
In the end, the conversation kept coming back to everyone thanking Deng Qing.
Deng Qing knew that a great favor could turn into a grudge. He said only that he had been a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, and that they had all enjoyed a tremendous stroke of luck.
His response made the mood even livelier.
Of course, Deng Qing had gained something from the battle too.