Midnight.
In the clearing where the carriages had been parked during the day.
Lin Hai stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, a servant carrying a lantern beside him.
With Lin Jiu on his back, Lin Yuan emerged from the darkness alongside Master Wu.
The lantern light swayed.
The servant glanced up, and the instant he saw Lin Yuan's face clearly, his entire body jolted.
He quickly lowered his head and shrank behind Lin Hai.
"You're certainly punctual, Young Master Song."
Lin Hai stroked his goatee.
"Follow me."
The five of them skirted the crowds and headed somewhere secluded.
At the foot of the northern city wall, all was silent save for the whimpering night wind.
Lin Yuan suddenly stopped.
He pressed a hand to the saber hilt at his waist.
"Steward Lin, what's the meaning of this?"
Master Wu clutched his medicine chest, ready to run at any moment.
Lin Hai offered no explanation.
He took a few steps forward and parted the thick weeds, revealing a hole.
A dog hole?
Lin Yuan froze for a moment.
A dog hole it is, then. As long as we can sneak into the city.
Lin Hai turned around and rubbed his fingers together at Lin Yuan.
"Young Master Song, about this?"
"You'll get it once we're inside."
Lin Yuan was no fool.
Lin Hai looked somewhat disappointed, but said nothing more.
They filed through the dog hole.
Before he could even steady himself, Lin Yuan's body went taut.
Beneath the eaves thirty feet ahead stood a ramrod-straight figure in armor.
The man had a hand on his saber, his back to them.
Lin Hai's face creased all over as he trotted up.
"Lieutenant Liu, sorry to trouble you so late at night!"
Nodding and bowing, he handed over a banknote.
By the moonlight, Lin Yuan saw its denomination: one hundred taels.
Lieutenant Liu tucked the banknote into his robes.
"No one came through the north gate tonight. I saw nothing."
Lieutenant Liu gradually vanished at the end of the alley.
Lin Hai straightened, the fawning smile instantly disappearing from his face as he turned to Lin Yuan.
"Young Master Song, just as you wished."
Lin Yuan nodded, took out a thousand-tael banknote, and handed it over.
Everything had settled without incident.
"Farewell."
The three turned into an alley and disappeared.
On the only route to the Lin residence on South Street.
In an alley somewhere.
Lieutenant Liu leaned against the wall, rubbing the hundred-tael banknote he had just received.
Behind him, ten city guards carrying standard-issue long sabers crouched in the shadows.
A young soldier swallowed.
"Boss, are we really doing this job?"
Another, older soldier beside him looked hesitant.
"Yeah, boss. The Lin family isn't easy to mess with. I heard they're related to the county commandant by marriage. If word gets out..."
Smack! Smack!
Lieutenant Liu backhanded each of them across the face and spat viciously.
"Look at you spineless bastards! Is that shit you've got stuffed in your crotches?"
The two soldiers held their faces and shrank back, not daring to make a sound.
Lieutenant Liu lowered his voice, a ruthless edge creeping into it.
"As long as we do a clean job, who the fuck will know it was us?"
"Besides, with things so chaotic out there, isn't it perfectly normal for a person or two to die?"
He looked down at the banknote, his heart burning.
If this fellow Lin was willing to spend a hundred taels greasing palms, he must have gotten even more!
As a lowly lieutenant at the north gate, his entire annual salary came to only twenty taels of silver.
Refuse what Heaven offers, and suffer the consequences!
Lieutenant Liu swept his gaze over his men and instructed them in a low voice.
"Stay fucking sharp! Pull this off, and you'll all get your share. At least this much each!"
He held up his right hand and waved five fingers before their eyes.
Fifty taels?
The ragtag band of impoverished soldiers instantly began breathing harder, their eyes reddening and veins bulging on the backs of their hands.
"Right!"
Suddenly remembering something, Lieutenant Liu turned to his trusted subordinate beside him.
"I told you to have Ergou keep an eye on those three fat sheep who came into the city. Any word back?"
His trusted subordinate shook his head.
"Boss, it hasn't been that long. Those three probably haven't even found somewhere to stay yet."
Lieutenant Liu thought that made sense.
He was about to add a few more instructions when footsteps approached from beyond the alley entrance.
He sharply pressed his hand downward.
The ten soldiers instantly flattened themselves against the wall and held their breath.
Outside the alley.
With the thousand-tael banknote safely tucked against his body, Lin Hai walked ahead in excellent spirits.
As he walked, his steps slowed, and he spoke with seeming casualness.
"Li San, how long have you been at the Lin residence?"
Following behind, Li San hastily bowed, his tone utterly respectful.
"Steward, this lowly one is an orphan. It was only through the madam's kindness that I had food to eat. I've been at the residence for eleven years now."
Lin Hai paused and chuckled.
"Oh? I hadn't noticed before. So you're one of the madam's people."
Li San smiled along, but cold sweat had already soaked his back.
Yet Lin Hai's next words plunged him straight into an icy abyss.
"But did you think bringing up the madam would keep you alive tonight?"
Lin Hai slowly turned around, his expression especially chilling.
Clatter.
The lantern fell from Li San's hand.
He stumbled several steps backward in terror and landed on his backside on the flagstones.
"Spare me, Steward! I didn't see anything tonight!"
He did not even dare consider running.
Everyone in the Lin residence knew that only martial artists at body tempering major accomplishment could become stewards.
Lin Hai shook his head and advanced step by step.
"Blame those sharp eyes of yours. That was a full thousand-tael banknote. I don't believe you could sleep at night."
A thousand taels!
In the darkness, Lieutenant Liu and the ten soldiers instantly began breathing heavily at the figure.
One soldier trembled all over with excitement.
"Boss? Aren't we making our move?"
Lieutenant Liu shot him a sidelong glance. Is it your silver? What the hell are you so excited about?
"What's the rush? Let's watch a little longer."
In the alley.
Li San desperately knocked his head against the ground, pleading bitterly.
"I swear to Heaven, if I breathe a single word of this, may lightning strike me down and give me a miserable death!"
Lin Hai looked down at him from above.
"In this world, only the dead can keep secrets."
With that, Lin Hai abruptly thrust out his right hand, clamped it around Li San's neck, and lifted him off the ground.
His feet dangling, Li San struggled desperately.
Lin Hai spoke softly.
"Take deep breaths. Feeling dizzy is normal."
"I... have..."
His grip abruptly tightened.
Li San's eyes bulged, his entire face turning the color of pig liver as both hands clawed desperately at Lin Hai's wrist.
At the final moment, Li San used almost all his strength to force out his last two words.
"A... secret!"
A secret?
Lin Hai paused, considered it, then released his grip.
Li San dropped onto his backside, clutching his neck with both hands and desperately gulping air.
"Speak! What secret do you have?"
Lin Hai was curious. Could it have something to do with the madam?
His heart stirred.
Over his years in the Lin residence, he had heard a few stray remarks slip out when the other stewards were drunk.
The madam seemed particularly fond of calligraphy and painting.
It was said that she often appreciated and discussed them with others.
Forgetting food and sleep.
All through the night until dawn.
Yet Li San's next words made Lin Hai's heart give a sudden jolt.