Zhang Mazi

Cold winds howled through Gong and Drum Lane.

Inside the main hall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yang Ge added more oil to the lamp on his desk.

The leaping flame once again illuminated the many files scattered across it.

"Factual record of the Everlasting Peace Grain Company's Road Pavilion branch."

"Detailed account of the Abundant Prosperity Rice Company's Road Pavilion branch."

"Preliminary investigation of the Rich Harvest Grain Company's Road Pavilion branch."

"Details on the military commandant of Luting County"...

After scanning these files one final time, Yang Ge stood, took off his cloak, and opened the wooden chest beside him. He swept all the files inside, locked it, reapplied the seal, and stamped it with his Banner Commander's seal.

Once he had tidied the desk, he sat back in the Grand Master's Chair and draped his cloak over himself again. "Someone come here. Summon Gu Tong!"

The guard on duty outside took the order and left.

Before long, Junior Banner Officer Gu Tong pushed the door open, bringing a rush of cold air with him. "Banner Commander."

Yang Ge looked up at him and spoke unhurriedly. "With Fang Ke back in the capital to report on his duties, you've been running things here. I just reviewed the recent routine reports. You've done fairly well."

Gu Tong dared not show his delight. He cupped his fist and bowed. "It was all thanks to your guidance, Banner Commander!"

Yang Ge waved a hand. "Now I'll put you to the test. Do you still remember the duties of our Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Gu Tong answered without hesitation. "To shoulder our sovereign's burdens, guard his person, conduct inspections and arrests, and oversee the imperial prison!"

Yang Ge abruptly raised his voice. "Louder! I can't hear you!"

Gu Tong straightened and answered loudly. "Reporting to the Banner Commander! The Embroidered Uniform Guard was founded to shoulder our sovereign's burdens! Our principal duties are to guard his person, conduct inspections and arrests, and oversee the imperial prison!"

Yang Ge's expression softened slightly, and he nodded. "I hope you don't merely remember those words, but understand them as well. Know what you should and shouldn't do, whom you should and shouldn't help... We are His Majesty's personal troops, not watchdogs for certain powerful nobles!"

Gu Tong's heart tightened at those words, and he hurriedly cupped his fist in assent.

Yang Ge waved him away. "You may go. Put your heart into your work. I have high hopes for you!"

Gu Tong bowed and withdrew.

Yang Ge sat quietly for a long while before finally rising, retrieving a cloth bundle from a dark corner, and pushing the door open to leave.

"Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack."

"The fifth watch..."

The feeble call drifted over from afar.

In a sheltered spot among staggered roof beams, Yang Ge, who had slept fully dressed with his saber in his arms, opened his eyes at the sound.

He rose and, by the bright moonlight, felt inside his robe for a half mask and fastened it over his face. Then he took out a cloth cap and put it on.

Once dressed, he checked his bearings and sprang into the air. Light and nimble, he raced over the uneven tiled rooftops as though treading level ground. The jade-white moon hung at the far end of the city, and every leap seemed aimed at carrying him onto it...

Before long, Yang Ge arrived beside a warehouse with towering courtyard walls.

He pulled his cloth cap toward the back of his head, bringing a Nine of Coins mask around to cover his half mask. Then he vaulted over the wall and leaped into the warehouse courtyard. Though his movements had been light throughout, he landed with the heavy thud of a falling weight.

"Woof, woof, woof..."

"Woof, woof, woof..."

Several dogs began barking at once.

Unconcerned, Yang Ge stood against the wall with the Willow-Leaf Saber in his arms, extending his senses and quietly taking in the changes around him.

Whoosh!

"What sneaking scoundrel dares dig up earth over the god of calamity's head!"

The whistle through the air and the furious shout arrived together.

Thump.

Yang Ge tilted his head, and a javelin brushed past his hair and buried itself in the courtyard wall, its wooden shaft trembling incessantly.

He focused his gaze ahead and saw more than a dozen burly men in blue charging out with torches held high.

With a quick sweep of his eyes, Yang Ge fixed his attention on their leader... The man was around forty, dressed in a fitted black outfit with narrow sleeves, with an exquisitely decorated Dragon Spring Sword hanging at his waist. His breathing was deep and steady as he walked, his footing exceptionally firm.

Once the burly men in blue got a clear look at Yang Ge's outfit, amusement crept onto their faces despite themselves.

Their leader glanced at the javelin beside Yang Ge. The gravity in his eyes suppressed his amusement, and he stepped forward solemnly, cupping his fist. "May I ask which road you travel, friend Nine of Coins?"

Yang Ge spoke with a thick Ba-Shu accent. "Just stepped out of my thatched hut. Haven't got a road."

The leader asked, "Then what brings you to our Everlasting Peace Grain Company?"

Yang Ge replied, "I saw injustice on the road. I'm here to kill the rich and aid the poor!"

Hearing that, the leader knew he really was a greenhorn. Suppressing a smile, he cupped his fist. "Kill the rich and wealth remains; aid the poor and poverty stays. Why don't I offer you a little traveling money instead? We can warm some wine, discuss the heroes of the world, and become friends. What do you say?"

Yang Ge said, "Before I left home, my master warned me: never leave a good deed undone because it is small, and never commit an evil deed because it is small... Did you throw this javelin?"

The leader frowned and lowered his hands. "I did!"

Yang Ge said, "I received your javelin. How about you receive a stroke of my saber?"

The leader hesitated for several breaths, then rested one hand on the sword hilt at his waist. "How could I refuse?"

Yang Ge stared at him without a word.

The leader slowly tensed his body.

Shing...

The Willow-Leaf Saber abruptly left its sheath, its blade becoming a streak of snow that flashed past.

The burly leader likewise drew his sword sharply and thrust out a ray of sword light.

Boom.

Yang Ge did not move an inch. He slowly returned his saber to its sheath.

The leader's sword fell to the ground, the web between his thumb and forefinger torn open. He slid backward several feet before regaining his footing. When he raised his head again, his face was filled with horror... Such powerful inner qi! Such formidable saber technique!

Silence fell over the courtyard. The men in blue surrounding Yang Ge quietly retreated several steps... The torchlight trembled all the more.

The leader drew a deep breath, stepped forward to retrieve his sword, and held it in a swordsman's salute. "Thank you for showing mercy, brother. With your martial prowess, anything in our Everlasting Peace branch is yours for the taking. Why conceal your face?"

Yang Ge said, "Why not look at it another way? What if I'm hiding my face not to protect myself, but to protect you?"

The leader froze. Recovering, he bowed with a bitter smile. "Your sense of honor is admirable, brother. I am Ling Guan, Long Wind of Jiangzuo... I humbly accept your lesson!"

Yang Ge stared at him for several breaths, then suddenly asked, "How much is your life worth?"

Ling Guan's heart tightened. His extensive experience in the martial world told him that his next answer would determine the fate of his old life...

After a long, cautious deliberation, he ventured, "Three hundred... three hundred taels?"

Yang Ge gripped his saber with all five fingers. "You might want to think again."

Ling Guan immediately changed his answer. "Five hundred taels!"

Yang Ge loosened his grip. "I've long heard that your Everlasting Peace pawnshops operate throughout Jiangzuo, and that your rule of paying out nine and demanding thirteen in return is famous throughout the land. So here's a mathematics question: for a pledge valued at five hundred taels, redeemed after three months, how much interest must be paid at maturity?"

Ling Guan's eyes abruptly widened, and he snapped, "Brother, you're going too far!"

Yang Ge said, "I'm twenty-three this year. All my life, I've hated evil as my mortal enemy, and I've repaid even the slightest glare."

Ling Guan instantly became accommodating. "In answer to your question, sir, on a pledge of five hundred taels, besides the five-hundred-tael principal, an additional two hundred twenty-two taels and two hundred twenty-two copper coins must be repaid in interest."

Yang Ge nodded. "Very good. Next mathematics question. At the current Upper Capital price of twenty-eight copper coins per dou of millet, how many jin of millet can those two hundred twenty-two taels and two hundred twenty-two copper coins buy?"

Ling Guan calculated in his head for a long time before answering, his forehead covered in sweat. "Approximately one hundred fourteen thousand two hundred sixty-six jin and four liang of millet!"

Yang Ge gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive. I couldn't even work that out... Since you're being so straightforward, I'll be generous too. I'll waive those four liang and call it one hundred fourteen thousand two hundred sixty-six jin of millet!"

The corners of Ling Guan's mouth twitched as he cupped his fist. "Th-thank you for your generosity, brother!"

Yang Ge said, "Final question. If I collect those one hundred fourteen thousand two hundred sixty-six jin of millet over three months, coming once every three days, how much do I take each time?"

Ling Guan answered immediately. "Three thousand eight hundred eight jin, eight liang, and six qian!"

Yang Ge praised him with a smile. "Congratulations! You've even learned to jump in with the answer!"

Ling Guan: ...

Yang Ge lowered his saber and said softly, "Now that we've settled the accounts, go fetch the grain. I'll wait here!"

Hearing this, Ling Guan felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He hurriedly turned and glared at his dumbfounded subordinates, shouting, "What are you standing around for? Get moving!"

The men in blue snapped out of their daze, hastily turned, and rushed toward the warehouse inside.

Ling Guan breathed a sigh of relief, then studied Yang Ge from head to toe with both wariness and curiosity.

To be fair, more than three thousand eight hundred jin of millet sounded like a large amount.

But it really wasn't worth much money.

The price of grain?

Naturally, grain prices were for outsiders. As an internal steward of the Everlasting Peace Grain Company, Ling Guan could obtain grain at a wholesale price lower than the capital's market price.

Even if all one hundred fourteen thousand jin or so were taken at once, it would hardly be a crippling blow to Ling Guan.

At the very least, it certainly mattered less than his old life!

So if this little bit of grain could send away the exceedingly skilled, exceedingly young martial-world greenhorn before him...

Ling Guan couldn't ask for more!

Yang Ge let him look. Only when the men in blue worked together to push five flatbed carts out of the warehouse did he speak again. "For the next three months, I'll come here for grain once every three days. You'll soon find out what this grain is used for!"

"If you or the Wang Family resent this, use whatever means you please!"

"Spears in the open or arrows in the dark, poison or knockout smoke, or even reporting me to the authorities and having a wanted notice issued... Anything goes!"

"You're also welcome to tamper with the grain you give me, or make trouble while I'm using it!"

"But I must ask you to remember one thing: you only get one chance!"

"After that one chance..."

"So long as I survive, whether it's you, Long Wind of Jiangzuo, the Wang Family behind Everlasting Peace, or the important figures backing you..."

"You will never know another peaceful day!"

After hearing this speech, Ling Guan's facial muscles stiffened again. Then he waved a hand. "Rest assured, brother. This is a gentleman's agreement between the two of us. It has nothing to do with Everlasting Peace or the Wang Family. They have no reason to interfere!"

Yang Ge shook his head with a soft laugh. "I really didn't come here for you... Be sure to pass my words on to the Wang Family exactly as I said them. Whatever tricks they have, I'll take them on!"

Ling Guan smiled bitterly. "Brother, why insist on this? Isn't achieving your goal enough? Why go out of your way to provoke powerful enemies? Though Road Pavilion is the gateway to the Upper Capital, it hardly counts as a vital location among the Divine Land's fifteen circuits. I've never belittled myself, but I'm merely the steward of Road Pavilion."

Yang Ge shook his head. "Exactly. It's because you're neither wicked enough nor strong enough that you don't qualify!"

Ling Guan had no answer. He could only let out a long sigh. "Ah, youth..."

Yang Ge cupped his fist. "Thank you for tonight!"

Ling Guan waved a hand. "I know how despicable I am. I don't deserve your thanks, brother. But with the world as it is, what can these three thousand eight hundred eight jin, eight liang, and six qian of millet really accomplish?"

Yang Ge said, "I'll do as much as I can. If it isn't enough, I'll go collect more from Abundant Prosperity and Rich Harvest!"

Ling Guan's eyes abruptly widened. Suddenly, he understood why this young man would come here for grain once every three days.

So the other two days were reserved for the Li Family and the Zhao Family!

For a moment, his heart filled with shock, admiration, and a touch of delight at their impending misfortune.

Naturally, Yang Ge knew nothing of Ling Guan's thoughts. He directed the cart-pushing men in blue toward the exit.

Just as Yang Ge was about to step through the courtyard gate, Ling Guan suddenly called out, "May I ask your honored name, Brother Nine of Coins?"

Yang Ge stopped and answered with mischievous relish, "My humble name is Zhang Mazi!"

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