Through the wards (8)

"How exactly did Xiao Zhao die?"

Zhang Xing stepped forward and demanded sharply, disregarding protocol.

"A man did die, yes, but it truly was an accidental injury." The deputy gang leader surnamed Shen glanced at Zhang Xing, but cupped his hands only toward Feng Yong.

"Yesterday, Junior Officer Zhao came to deliver the invitation. Sun Wogua originally meant to entertain him properly, tease a few things out of him, then send him on his way. But Junior Officer Zhao refused to stay long. He only went into the side hall, reluctantly drank a cup, and insisted on leaving, which offended Sun Wogua. Some troublemakers noticed Sun Wogua was angry and suggested making an example of Junior Officer Zhao. They said they could hold him here overnight to give us more standing at today's meeting... Who would have thought Junior Officer Zhao would insist on leaving at all costs and actually start fighting? Those cultivators under Sun Wogua have always had their eyes on top of their heads. Once they started fighting, they didn't know their own strength and injured him! We don't know which internal organ they hurt. Nobody could tell anything was wrong at the time. Then, during the night, things suddenly turned bad. He only said his stomach hurt terribly, and then he was gone... Even Sun Wogua didn't know what to do when he found out this morning!"

Zhang Xing thought for a long while, but only one phrase came to mind: life and death were fickle. There was also a trace of self-reproach. If he had come along yesterday, or brought Feng Yong straight here to demand Xiao Zhao's release after probing with the Compass that evening, might things have ended differently?

Feng Yong also froze on the spot. Only after looking around at everyone for a long while did he speak again. "Where's the body?"

"In the garden out back..." Deputy Gang Leader Shen replied with his hands cupped, utterly respectful. "Sun Wogua originally meant to pack up the body and take it along to the meeting at noon, then sink it in the Luo River on the way, leaving neither a living man nor a corpse to be found. But Feng Zongqi arrived too quickly, with too many men, so just now he could only tell me to bury him in the back courtyard... It was precisely because we'd gotten into this mess that I was so frightened, and that was why I opened the gate for Old Wang."

Feng Yong waved his hands repeatedly. "No need to trouble a second man with the same task. I can't bear to look at him right now. Go and see to my brother properly. Use that fine coffin Sun Wogua had made for his mother last time, and deliver it straight to Xiao Zhao's home. He still has an elder brother and sister-in-law. Keep those two in hand, and make absolutely sure my brother gets a grand funeral!"

"Understood, understood, I understand!" Deputy Gang Leader Shen repeatedly cupped his hands and withdrew.

"General Ding... You heard that?" After the man had been gone for a while, and Feng Yong himself had stared blankly for a while, he suddenly turned toward the Jinwu Guard squad leader.

"What bloody general am I?" The squad leader surnamed Ding shook his head and laughed heartily, slippery as an eel.

Feng Yong regarded him coldly. "Shall I call Deputy Gang Leader Shen back, and have my brother taken out of his coffin while we're at it, so General Ding can hear it all again in person?"

Squad Leader Ding sheepishly dropped his smile. He actually cocked an ear to listen to his surroundings. When he heard the unmistakable sounds of his men making their fortunes, he finally answered seriously:

"I heard it! The Green Fish Gang's everyday crimes were bad enough, but they actually dared kill an officer and resist the law in broad daylight. They'd deserve it if every last one of them died! Whether it's at the Jing'an Directorate or the county office, or if the Northern Office comes asking through my superiors, I, Ding Quan, and this half squad of Jinwu Guard brothers can say it all again."

"Good! Those were exactly the words I wanted from General Ding!"

Feng Yong nodded, then looked back at his own subordinates standing in the hall. His tone was calm, his words chilling. "Having our Jinwu Guard brothers bear witness is enough, because that's for explaining things to our superiors. Besides, it wasn't one of their men who died... But we're different. One of our own died, after all, and we owe ourselves an accounting... Now, I'll personally kill Sun Wogua. As for you men, apart from Old Wang and those who charged in the front rank at the gate just now, everyone else will go and kill one man each. Those fighters arrested at the gate, Sun Wogua's trusted men-kill them one by one. If there aren't enough, keep killing through the Green Fish Gang in order of standing... Kill, and you're our brothers. Refuse, and strip off that uniform and get out... In order of rank. After me, the two junior banner officers go first!"

Several of the men, from the two junior banner officers down, turned deathly pale.

But Feng Yong paid them no heed. He drew his saber again and walked outside, trailing it behind him. The others wore varying expressions, but could only hurry after him.

Zhang Xing was new and fell behind. When he emerged from the hall and stopped, he happened to see Feng Yong dragging his saber toward Sun Wogua, who lay bound in the courtyard. After who knew how many punches, kicks, and blows from clubs, the man already looked like an actual squash. He looked up at Feng Yong's approach and seemed about to say something, though whether he meant to beg for mercy or utter threats was unclear.

But it no longer mattered. Feng Yong gave him no chance. Zhang Xing saw it clearly: this Chief Banner Officer was plainly a cultivator too. Reaching Sun Wogua, he suddenly circulated his qi. The hand holding his saber visibly took on a faint, earthy-yellow tint, and then the curved blade came down, striking straight at Sun Wogua's neck.

Whether Sun Wogua's neck was too tough or Feng Yong had lost his judgment after years of pampered living, that stroke only sliced halfway through his head. Blood splashed all over the ground. His exposed windpipe still pulsed, and his eyes stretched wide. Feng Zongqi had to pull back his saber, circulate his qi again, and deliver another stroke before he barely managed to sever the head.

With Sun Wogua dead, the bound subordinates, confidants, and fighters around him lost all courage. One man, whose hands had been loosely bound, even circulated his qi and tore free of his ropes, then rammed someone aside and tried to flee.

But at this point, how could he possibly escape?

Men were everywhere, clubs, sabers, and spears on every side. Forced to circulate his qi into his limbs, turning his hands green, he climbed along the wall like a gecko... Zhang Xing had originally stood motionless, one hand on his saber. But when he saw the man scrambling onto the wall before him, with an indescribable knot of pent-up feeling still inside him, he simply turned, snatched a steel crossbow from a Jinwu Guard watching nearby, and took a bolt. He stepped down with one foot, cocked the string, then raised the weapon and fired, pinning the man to the wall, howling ceaselessly.

All one could say was that his movements were frighteningly practiced.

Having struck with a single shot, he looked back at Feng Yong, who gestured with his mouth. Without further thought, Zhang Xing went forward and called several hangers-on over to drag the man down with staves and iron forks, then drove his saber into the man's heart.

Next, without any surprise, an invisible current surged straight through the hilt. Zhang Xing experimentally pulled out his saber, but that gentle stream of true qi continued pouring into him, finally settling between his chest and abdomen as before.

With everything in chaos around him, Zhang Xing had no time to sense this new true qi's nature. He only felt a faint swelling in his fifth Orthodox Meridian, which he had previously thought he had no hope of opening anytime soon. It seemed only a few more assaults would do it. Yet even that sensation was quickly pushed from his mind.

The reason was simple: when Zhang Xing turned, he discovered that wholesale slaughter had already begun behind him. The Green Fish Gang's core members were being pinned to the ground like chicks at market and butchered at will by the Street-Cleaning Tigers.

At that moment, Zhang Xing felt his thoughts tangle like hemp. He had no intention of stepping forward to finish anyone off for an easy gain, nor did he feel any pity or regret.

After all, these gang members were certainly no good in ordinary times. They were this city's utter darkness, bullying men, preying on women, forcing decent women into prostitution. Even when smuggling, they could not resist moonlighting as human traffickers, bringing abducted women and infants into the city.

What Zhang Xing truly could not accept was still Xiao Zhao's death.

In terms of their relationship, he and Xiao Zhao were merely temporary colleagues who even somewhat rubbed each other the wrong way. It was nothing like his relationship with Du Meng, whom he had known only briefly but trusted with his life. As for right and wrong, Sun Wogua had certainly caused the trouble. Accidental injury or not, he was ultimately responsible for a death. Even that slight self-reproach could hardly make Zhang Xing more responsible than Feng Yong, who had assigned the task... Yet, for some reason, Xiao Zhao's death kept stirring strange feelings in Zhang Xing, and for the moment he could only attribute them to everything happening too quickly and suddenly.

The Green Fish Gang used its connections with the palace's Northern Office to participate in smuggling on the Luo River. The tiniest trickle from the palace meant staggering profits, and Sun Wogua had been doing this business for four or five years. Thus, whatever doubts troubled Zhang Xing, nothing interfered with this carnival of wealth.

After the killings, no one, high or low, had any further scruples, and everyone filled their bowls to overflowing. By noon, when a sixth-rank black-sash officer from the Jing'an Directorate arrived and took control, they could still confiscate batches of fine Shu Brocade and great quantities of copper ingots from the residence.

And that was not all. This black-sash officer had sharp eyes indeed. He immediately noticed that the roof beams in the side courtyards on both sides were too thick, and actually ran continuously through them. After he had men demolish the structures, they extracted two exceptionally thick, sturdy lengths of fine golden-thread sandalwood.

Beyond that, there was inevitably wrangling among the various parties. Senior and middle-ranking officials from the different offices traded veiled barbs and signaled to one another, while functionaries from every department came and went, questioning those involved again and again.

But just as Feng Yong had said, this was, after all, officers arresting criminals, with black and white clearly distinguished... More importantly, it was the underworld that had killed a registered officer first. Argue until the heavens split, and the Street-Cleaning Tigers still had just cause to act and a reason for what they had done.

Even if their methods had been somewhat extreme, could they really be convicted of a crime?

After an entire busy day, by the time he returned to Xiūyè Ward's north gate, it had of course long since closed. Brother Liu set up the ladder with practiced ease and reached out to help Zhang Xing climb up.

Yet after taking the other man's hand and climbing onto the wall, Zhang Xing neither went straight down nor helped put away the ladder. Instead, he pulled the man down to sit with him atop the wall.

"What's this, Little Zhang?"

Brother Liu could only smile wryly.

"I have some questions weighing on me. You're my elder, Brother Liu, and I hope you can share some experience of life." Zhang Xing answered sincerely, then asked before the other man could demur, "You could tell I used to be a soldier, couldn't you?"

"Ah... yes." Ward Chief Liu sighed, standing on the ladder and leaning against the wall. "I could tell. What of it?"

"I escaped from Fallen Dragon Shoal. The Second Dongyi Campaign has suffered a great defeat at the front, an utter rout." Zhang Xing spoke earnestly. "I don't know whether any other columns made it back intact, but our Central Rampart Army was truly devastated. Of our fifty-man squad, I may be the only one left alive... In other words, I crawled out of a heap of corpses."

"That truly is..." Ward Chief Liu thought seriously for a moment, then nodded heavily. "Very well, I understand what you mean... And then? Why bring this up?"

"Having crawled out of a heap of corpses, I ought to take life and death lightly. I seem to do just that. When I recommended myself, I said I'd killed before, and even Feng Zongqi valued my ability to fight and kill. But for some reason, when I think carefully, I keep feeling I'm not that sort of man... Take today's raid on the Green Fish Gang. I could clearly reap enormous benefits just by killing, yet all I could think about was Xiao Zhao's death. I couldn't be bothered to kill anyone." Zhang Xing spoke seriously. "Brother Liu, does that make sense?"

"It does."

Ward Chief Liu immediately chuckled. "You simply haven't turned the corner in your thinking... Someone who crawls out of a heap of corpses takes life and death lightly in one sense, but values them deeply in another... What he takes lightly is his enemies' lives. When it's time to strike, he strikes, because the slightest hesitation could cost him and his brothers dearly. What he values is his own life, his brothers' lives, and even innocent lives... On the battlefield, isn't that simply being ruthless to the enemy and treating your comrades as brothers?"

Zhang Xing laughed despite himself. So it really was that simple. Events had indeed struck him in the face one after another until he lost his judgment-for instance, Du Meng's death had certainly convinced him of the need to strike first, but that applied to opponents. Yet how could the ease with which Du Meng himself had died not also make him cherish life more?

He had not begun slaughtering wantonly, hunting down cultivators to kill simply because killing increased his experience. In part, that was certainly because he was wary of possible backlash from this mechanism. But perhaps, in part, it was also because he cherished ordinary people's lives.

It was simply that he had always considered himself someone who had seen life and death, and had never thought in that direction.

Seeing him laugh, Ward Chief Liu knew he had worked things out and took the opportunity to free his hand. Smiling, he asked something else. "But why did you think to ask me about this? Shouldn't you have asked your Banner Chief Feng?"

Zhang Xing laughed again. "You're joking, Brother Liu... I noticed the calluses on your hands the very first day I came here. Don't tell me you weren't a front-rank soldier like me back in your day... Feng Zongqi doesn't have calluses like yours."

Ward Chief Liu paused, then shook his head with a wry smile, seemingly acknowledging it.

"Leave the ladder inside the wall. I'll go out again tonight to take care of something." With his thoughts cleared by the advice, Zhang Xing simply cast aside his tangled doubts and resolved to put his mind at ease. "Go and rest, Brother Liu."

Ward Chief Liu nodded and did as asked, then the two returned to their respective rooms.

Leaving Brother Liu aside, Zhang Xing entered his own side courtyard without changing clothes and sat cross-legged in meditation. Using the method he had previously "verified" with Qin Bao, he continued trying to open his meridian with the true qi he had collected that day. He worked until the twin moons hung high and all sound outside had ceased before stopping. Then he went into his room, fetched the Compass, and climbed straight out over the ladder.

It was early summer. The starlight was half veiled, and the two half-moons hung high, shining upon each other from afar.

There were rather more Jinwu Guards on the nearby main streets, perhaps because of what had happened that day. Zhang Xing spent a long time avoiding them before finding an opportunity. Then he returned to the crossroads between the four wards, held the Compass, and chanted, "Taishang Laojun, swiftly, swiftly, as the law commands."

Once the incantation was spoken, the Compass lived up to expectations. Its needle sprang up and wavered in several directions before gradually settling toward the northeast.

Zhang Xing was slightly taken aback... His intention at that moment was quite clear: he simply wanted to know the precise circumstances of Xiao Zhao's death, so he could set his mind at ease.

In that case, there would have been nothing wrong with the needle pointing toward Deputy Gang Leader Shen, the scene of the incident, Xiao Zhao's home where his body lay in state, or any Green Fish Gang member who had been present.

Even spinning in circles would have been fine.

But why did the needle point northeast?

What was there?

Whatever the case, the golden Compass was basically never wrong in its apparent logic. Holding it and carrying his questions with him, Zhang Xing headed north. Yet after traveling only half a ward, he suddenly stopped.

The reason was simple: Zhang Xing had realized he was on the road to Water Street in Jingshan Ward, the road to Feng Zongqi's tavern. He had only been in the Divine Capital for half a month, but had already traveled it many times.

At that thought, Zhang Xing hesitated. He took several deep breaths, working to adjust the thought in his mind. Three or four thoughts passed through his head before he finally found the most suitable new one. Only then did he raise the Compass and carefully repeat the incantation, word by word:

"Taishang Laojun, swiftly, swiftly, as the law commands!"

As the words left his mouth, the needle wavered slightly, then pointed firmly and steadily in its original direction, as though nothing had happened.

Yet in the night wind, Zhang Xing, who had verified certain abrupt suspicions, was already drenched in sweat.

Because this time, he had clearly and unmistakably renewed his intention. Before chanting again, he had revised his thoughts in sequence-had Xiao Zhao truly died by accident? If it was no accident, who was the true culprit responsible for Xiao Zhao's death? Could that person also be at the Water Street tavern?

So where, exactly, was the true culprit responsible for Xiao Zhao's death?

The Compass told him: still to the northeast, at the Water Street tavern.

It was abrupt, yet somehow seemed entirely reasonable... Because that way, everything fell into place.

PS: Thanks to reader Li kkkk and reader It's Yixuan for becoming alliance leaders, the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth for this book. The former is a longtime reader, while the latter is a new face-or is that an alternate account?