Deep darkness enveloped Poyang County town. Its residents had always gone to bed early, and by now the streets had shed their daytime bustle, leaving them empty, cold, and quiet. Yellow leaves on the roadside branches seemed unable to endure the desolation of this autumn night and spiraled down in the breeze. The occasional barking of dogs in the distance only made Poyang City seem all the more silent.
The cold moon shone soundlessly, and the night lay hazy.
Yet, like a cow chewing peonies, someone was utterly spoiling the scene, remaining oblivious to the romantic melancholy of the autumn streets. At a corner of West Grove Street, two furtive figures lurked beneath the cover of darkness, nervously waiting for their victim to walk into their trap.
These two petty rogues were none other than Xing Yan and Ju Ying. Having just performed their little "Capture and Release of Cao" on Poyang Lake, they had hurried to the road Magistrate Lü had to take home before even removing their stage makeup, ready to repeat the trick. The lovesick bandit aboard the black-canopied boat had been Zhang Xingyan speaking in a gruff voice, while the "worthy younger brother" he mentioned had been young Ju Ying, reluctantly making a guest appearance.
Having just dealt with Chen Kui, who was fierce on the outside but hollow within, they ought to have found this round familiar sailing. But their stage had now shifted to the town streets, where they had to watch out for nearby residents and passersby, unlike deserted Poyang Lake, where they could act freely. Thus, they were even more nervous than before.
"Why hasn't that old Lü come yet? Surely he isn't planning to spend the whole night at the Water Lake Literary Society?"
Seeing Ju Ying beginning to shiver in the autumn wind, Xing Yan grew secretly anxious. At this rate, we'll have someone falling ill before we even catch our man. Still, their luck should not be that bad. According to the information he had gathered, however unwilling old Lü might be, he would never dare stay out all night. Xing Yan kept reassuring himself while having Ju Ying shelter from the wind around the corner.
Just as these two champions of justice were beginning to fret over their wait, the other leading actor in this drama finally appeared, to everyone's eager anticipation. Lü Chonghuang, Magistrate Lü of Poyang County, came swaying down the street with slow, measured steps.
Xing Yan hurriedly signaled to Ju Ying, and together they vanished into the darkness.
What befell Magistrate Lü next was much the same as what had happened to his devoted subordinate, with only a few differences in detail. A wad of distinctly unpalatable rags was stuffed into his mouth, leaving him unable to shout, and he was meekly bundled off to a secluded spot.
Old Lü did have one thing to be grateful for: the bandit doing most of the work clearly understood that he still lacked fine control over his strength. Looking at the magistrate's frame, as frail as the autumn trees beside the street, Xing Yan thought that although he could now "lift the heavy as though it were light," he had not yet reached the state of "lifting the light as though it were heavy." He feared that one punch would send Magistrate Lü straight to his death.
Thus, the old magistrate's chronically unexercised physique luckily spared him a beating. A few bumps and knocks, however, were unavoidable.
What these two rash youngsters did not know was that a young personal attendant had been following not far behind old Lü. Both Xing Yan and Ju Ying were nervous, and the moonlight was dim. They had focused solely on their target and failed to notice his servant. The young attendant, too, had been caught so completely off guard that he did not react at once.
Just as the attendant recovered enough to cry out, he crumpled limply to the ground. Hovering where the back of his head had been was a fist as large as a vinegar bowl!
The youngsters, convinced their plan had succeeded, remained wholly unaware that disaster had nearly descended upon them!
All this happened as swiftly as the revolving images of a lantern. Anyone who happened to glimpse it might have thought a shadow-puppet show had just been performed there.
What followed was much like the earlier scene on Poyang Lake. Old Magistrate Lü, accustomed only to delivering lectures to others, had no choice but to endure a sermon he would remember for the rest of his life. Gone was the familiar flattery, replaced by lawless mockery and threats.
This time, Xing Yan and Ju Ying adjusted their story, portraying themselves as bandits who had taken to the hills on Great Solitary Mountain. Xing Yan's romance with the girl who sold medicine also transformed from a love-at-first-sight tale full of holes into a childhood attachment sealed by a betrothal before birth. After all, old Lü was no coarse fool like Chen Kui; the slightest carelessness might let him spot a flaw.
The speech, delivered with equal eloquence and feeling, finally ended with Magistrate Lü drenched in cold sweat. Concluding with a terrifying threat, the two uninvited guests left him behind and strode away.
Only after a long struggle did Magistrate Lü manage to free himself from the cheap hemp sack Xing Yan had bought after a lengthy bout of haggling. The chill night breeze swept down the autumn street and over the clammy sweat on his body. Combined with the unprecedented terror and torment he had just endured, it left him feeling wretched in both body and mind.
After taking a moment to steady himself, he staggered off to find his attendant. Once he had roused the young man, they supported each other and tottered toward the Lü Residence. The attendant, still shaken, did not know what had happened to his master. But one look at the magistrate's distraught expression told the clever young man that he ought to remain silent.
The road through the night stretched on, without a word between them.
Though he seemed calm on the surface, Magistrate Lü, who had heard a whole speech more than his attendant, was inwardly swept by towering waves. For the first time in his life, he realized that the county ruler he had thought so invincible was just as frail and helpless when confronted by roadside thugs. As he reflected on his past deeds, it was as though a cudgel had struck him over the head, and cold sweat began streaming down!
Only now did understanding suddenly dawn on him. People respected and feared him because of his official position and the law-even though he himself often treated that law lightly. Once violent men chose to scorn it as he did, he was no different beneath their hands from the lowly commoners he so often bullied and left at others' mercy. His former unchecked success had also frequently depended on his wife, the prefect's younger sister, cleaning up his messes. Otherwise, long before any bandits laid hands on him, the powerful men of officialdom would already have knocked him flat.
After this fright, the old magistrate's mind became extraordinarily clear. The wife he so often respected from a safe distance, the woman who had shared his life from the beginning, was the one who truly loved and protected him. At that thought, Lü Chonghuang quickened his pace toward the home where someone was waiting for his return.
As soon as he entered, Madam Lü cried out at the sight of her husband's bedraggled state. Forgetting to scold him for returning late, she hurriedly asked what had happened. Magistrate Lü did not answer. He gathered her into his arms and called shakily, "My wife!" Only then did he notice the white already scattered through her hair, and a hundred emotions welled up within him. Truly:
How often one must sigh: snow dyes those cloudlike tresses, frost pales that apricot face, and rosy youth departs, never to return.
The father-tree grows old, the mother-lily fades; one fears only the rain's torment and the wind's cruel battering.
Yet may we suffer neither harm nor hurt, and together, what sorrow or trouble need we fear...
That night, many people lay sleepless.
After committing their two unlawful deeds, Xing Yan and Ju Ying ran all the way back to the inn and slipped into the guest room, certain that neither gods nor ghosts had noticed. Once inside, they were every bit as shaken as Head Constable Chen and Magistrate Lü, whom they had frightened. Only after a long while, when they had settled down, did they realize that their legs were trembling uncontrollably. They could not tell whether it was nerves, lingering fear, excitement, or simply cramps brought on by the night's exertions.
"We're back!"
"Yes, we're back!"
Both their voices trembled, but each saw joy in the other's eyes. Whatever tomorrow brought, they had done everything they could-and returned safe and sound!
In the eyes of mature, prudent adults, Xing Yan's plan to abduct officials and threaten them into releasing prisoners was decidedly ill-considered, with any number of dangerous and improper aspects. Such adults would never have dared act so rashly. They would have weighed it over and over, letting the days slip away rather than behaving so recklessly.
But precisely because Xing Yan, a boy of the streets, did not know how high heaven was or how deep the earth ran, and young Ju Ying had even less idea what fear meant, she found his plan both seamless and amusing. Since it would also let them teach villains a lesson, she eagerly followed his lead. As the saying went, "Newborn calves do not fear tigers." These two reckless youngsters acted the moment they decided to, and in a few brisk strokes actually accomplished the whole thing in a single night.
Though the night's smooth sailing owed much to Xing Yan's reasonably thorough plan, and perhaps also to an expert who happened to be strolling past and secretly lent a hand, one could not help admiring their luck and courage. Often, the so-called wise, who foresaw difficulties most clearly, were also the most likely to fear both head and tail and never dare begin, leaving them forever without accomplishment. By contrast, reckless fellows ignorant of the hardships ahead were fearless in their ignorance. They plunged straight in, and whatever obstacles or setbacks arose along the way, they sometimes ended up getting the job done.
Enough digression. Despite everything they had just done, Xing Yan and Ju Ying felt no urge to sleep. Ju Ying did not return to her own room, but stayed with Xing Yan as they chattered in lowered voices, reviewing their recent exploits. The more the two youngsters talked, the more excited they became, and the less they could sleep.
Xing Yan teased Ju Ying for sounding too much like a baby when she played a bandit, and blamed her for changing "throw them in to feed the turtles" to "throw them in to feed the lake god" on the spot, making a muddle of the line. Ju Ying, in turn, mocked Xing Yan for overacting as the lovesick bandit, asking whether such heartfelt passion meant he really longed for a wife. Embarrassed, Xing Yan loudly protested his innocence and insisted that everything he had said had come from drinkers at the Rice Fragrance House...
These two youngsters, who had never tasted sorrow, carried on until the rooster heralded dawn before finally retiring to their respective rooms.
The next day, the sun was already high before Xing Yan got up, dressed, and washed. He then went to see whether Ju Ying was awake, and happened to meet her family's coachman in the corridor. The coachman wished him good morning, then mentioned, seemingly in passing, that the father and daughter arrested while selling medicine on Watching Lake Street yesterday had already been released.
Joy immediately lit Xing Yan's face at the news. Unable to contain himself, he waited for Ju Ying to get up, then hurriedly told her the good tidings. She, too, was delighted. It seemed last night's two performances of "Capture and Release of Cao" had worked; all their running about and toil had not been wasted!
Let us pass over the two youngsters "dusting off their caps in mutual celebration" and return to Magistrate Lü Chonghuang. He had hurried to the county office early that morning and was pacing around his study, racking his brains for a pretext to order Chen Kui to release the prisoners. Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives: just then, Head Constable Chen Kui announced himself outside the door.
"That fellow has come remarkably early today!"
Since he had been looking for him anyway, Magistrate Lü hurried back to his nanmu chair, sat up with proper dignity, and summoned him inside.
By then, Magistrate Lü had made up his mind. In the past, whenever Head Constable Chen arrested a reasonably attractive woman, he behaved like a cat catching the scent of fish and would never let her go. This time, however, Lü had to force him to release her, no matter what, for the two bandits' terrifying words still echoed in his ears. If the head constable refused to see sense, he would simply have to use his superior rank. Still, it would be best not to fall out with him; after all, Chen Kui knew every one of his past misdeeds.
One glance at Chen Kui as he entered gave Magistrate Lü an idea. He lifted his teacup, sipped to moisten his throat, then coughed and launched into his specialty-metaphysical discourse. Words poured forth as he laid extensive groundwork for his eventual hint that Chen Kui should release the prisoners.
Unfortunately, these alluring glances were being wasted on a blind man. Little did he know that Chen Kui's heart was being raked by ten thousand claws, and his anxiety burned like fire!
He had rushed over first thing to ask his master's permission to release the prisoners, only to be treated as a fellow member of the Water Lake Literary Society. A torrent of yin and yang, being and nonbeing, left Head Constable Chen utterly dizzy. As he kept murmuring his agreement, he suddenly recalled the two treacherous bandits' ruthless methods last night, especially their warning to release the captives before noon. His hair stood on end. No longer caring that he might spoil Magistrate Lü's pleasure in his own eloquence, he seized an opening and interjected:
"Magistrate Lü, I have an urgent matter to report!"
"Oh? What is it?"
Having his carefully constructed, lengthy preamble interrupted genuinely displeased Magistrate Lü. Still, this was no time to lose his temper, so he did his best to look agreeable and told Chen Kui to explain at his leisure.
"Magistrate Lü, do you think we might release the father and daughter I arrested yesterday at noon?"
"Pfft!"
Magistrate Lü sprayed out a mouthful of tea!
Seeing his master's strange expression, Chen Kui grew flustered. He hurriedly delivered the explanation he had spent a sleepless night preparing, using his most sincere and humble tone to demonstrate that the father and daughter's arrest had truly been a mistake. First, he offered a heartfelt condemnation of his own dereliction of duty. Finally, to make amends for his error, he volunteered to have their release money deducted from his pay as punishment for his negligence.
Magistrate Lü fought down the urge to hug Head Constable Chen and kiss him. In a measured tone befitting a county magistrate, he commended his subordinate's courage in admitting his mistake and expressed the hope that he would correct it as quickly as possible by releasing the father and daughter at once. Moreover, given Head Constable Chen's consistent diligence, Magistrate Lü, who had always handled matters fairly, certainly would not deduct his pay over such a trifling error.
Head Constable Chen, who had fully expected this to be difficult, had never imagined Magistrate Lü would prove so agreeable today. He had grimly resolved to sacrifice his own money to snatch food from the jaws of this money-loving old official. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the magistrate had readily approved the release with scarcely any persuasion. He truly could not fathom how Magistrate Lü, who normally "carved meat from an egret's legs and scraped oil from a mosquito's belly," could possess such an upright and noble side.
Have I misunderstood him all this time? Whatever the case, escaping danger last night and having everything go smoothly today must mean the Bodhisattva heard my sincere prayers and is protecting me, turning calamity into good fortune. Once this is settled, I must hurry to Lao Ye Temple to fulfill my vow and deliver that great pig's head I promised last night!
While Head Constable Chen indulged these wandering thoughts, Magistrate Lü Chonghuang was also secretly thanking his luck. Somehow, though he had never noticed it before, the longer he looked at the head constable's battered, swollen face today, the more endearing it seemed.
Hmm? Battered and swollen?! Only now did the distracted old magistrate notice that his subordinate's face was mottled blue and purple, like a newly opened dye shop. He hurriedly asked his loyal subordinate what had happened.
"Ah, these little injuries... Last night, I was emptying my foot-washing water. I didn't notice how dark it was or how slippery the ground had become, and I fell and knocked my face..."
"Oh, then you must watch your footing in future, Head Constable Chen."
"Thank you for your concern, sir. I certainly will!"
"Eh? Sir, your face..."
Only then did the head constable also notice several bloody scratches on Magistrate Lü's face.
"Well... Last night, the kitten in your mistress's arms was mewing so annoyingly that I tried to grab it and throw it outside. Instead, the little beast scratched me!"
"Oh! Then you must be more careful too, sir."
Each harboring his own guilty secret, neither noticed the flaws in the other's words.
"Sir, if there's nothing else, I shall take my leave and release the father and daughter!"
Head Constable Chen feared that a long night would breed more troublesome dreams, and had no wish to linger.
"Release them as quickly as possible!!!"
Before you continue