"Did a constable come later?"
Wu Shuangren asked.
Butcher Zhang's wife thought for a moment, then said, "I think I heard someone shouting outside, saying he was a constable... I don't know what happened after that..."
Wu Shuangren asked no more questions and thanked her.
About another hour passed before Butcher Zhang woke up.
The couple held each other and wept bitterly. After everything had settled down, Wu Shuangren asked Butcher Zhang about the previous day.
"...The one with the saber had me pinned under his foot. I couldn't get up. Then this constable rushed in and shouted for him to stop."
"The man stepping on me said they worked for Young Master Hong Fan. The constable changed his attitude then and offered them money, saying he'd treat them to girls at the Drunken Moon Tower. He wanted them to let us go..."
"...The constable was scared off and turned to leave. I was completely desperate by then, but I never expected... he actually rushed back in and started fighting the man who was stepping on me..."
Butcher Zhang looked at Hou Huai, who was lying nearby, his eyes red.
Wu Shuangren listened without expression, then said to Butcher Zhang, "Sorry for the trouble, but could you tell me in detail how that man beat him?"
Butcher Zhang hesitated, then said, "They moved so fast I couldn't see clearly... He was knocked down many times and spat up a lot of blood... In the end, the man broke all four of his limbs, and... and tore off one of his ears with his bare hands. He also said..."
"What did he say?"
"He said... Trash like you dares meddle in your granddaddy's business?"
"..."
Wu Shuangren stared blankly at Hou Huai, who lay nearby. Images of him being knocked down again and again, only to get back up each time, appeared in his mind.
"Thank you."
Wu Shuangren said this to Butcher Zhang at last, then stood up to leave the clinic.
"Shuangren!"
Xu Nanzhi called him back, her face full of worry.
Wu Shuangren turned and smiled. "Mother, I'm fine. I'll leave Uncle Hou in your care."
With that, he strode out of the clinic.
Outside the gates, the sunlight was blazing.
"Shuangren, you've come at just the right time."
At the constables' office, Liao Yu spotted Wu Shuangren approaching and immediately beckoned him over.
"Go to the trading house in the south of the city and get yourself a new outfit. Tomorrow's your big day, so you have to look the part!"
Liao Yu smiled. "Several of the bosses from the trading house will be going to Moxian Tower tomorrow. If you buy clothes today, they might not even charge you... What's wrong?"
As he spoke, he noticed that something was off about Wu Shuangren's expression.
"Uncle Liao, something happened to Hou Huai!"
Wu Shuangren said in a low voice.
"What happened to Hou Huai?"
Wu Shuangren gave him a rough account of the previous day's events.
Smack!
After hearing him out, Liao Yu slammed his palm down on the table. "Damn it, those two beasts!"
After cursing a few more times, he looked at Wu Shuangren. "What do you want to do?"
Wu Shuangren spoke word by word. "Uncle Liao, you once told me there was no law outside the city. What about inside the city? Is there law here?"
"..."
Liao Yu fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Shuangren, those two must be experts from the Mist Hidden Temple! Leaving aside whether we can deal with them, even if we report this to the authorities and bring it out into the open, Old Hou is badly injured and unconscious. He can't get up to testify against them, and Butcher Zhang's family will very likely be threatened or bought off and end up choosing not to press charges. I've seen far too many cases like this..."
No complaint from the people, no investigation by the officials: that was the judicial norm of the age.
Wu Shuangren looked at Liao Yu. "Those two must have been the ones who massacred Li Youcai's family too."
Liao Yu sighed. "But Li Youcai and his entire family are dead. It'll be hard to find ironclad evidence."
"..."
"Shuangren, even in the best possible outcome, the most we could do is make them pay compensation... There is law in the city, but the very people it protects most are the likes of Hong Fan."
"..."
"I know you're angry, but tomorrow you'll be a militia commander. Whatever happens, you shouldn't stir up trouble at a critical moment like this. Think of what happened to the Mo Family... Listen to me. Let's swallow it for now and settle accounts with them when we're strong enough!"
Liao Yu urged him earnestly.
Wu Shuangren still said nothing.
Liao Yu continued to plead with him for a long time.
"I understand, Uncle Liao."
Wu Shuangren stood up.
Liao Yu looked at him uneasily. "Where are you going?"
Wu Shuangren smiled. "To the trading house in the south of the city. Didn't you say tomorrow was my big day and I had to look the part?"
Liao Yu watched Wu Shuangren doubtfully. Once he had left, Liao Yu immediately summoned two unranked constables to follow him.
"Alas!"
In the end, Liao Yu heaved a heavy sigh and got up to find Wu Dongrong.
A grand residence with four courtyards stood in the east of the city.
It was a property the Mo Family had given to Hong Fan.
Hong Fan was lying beneath a large banyan tree in the main courtyard, with two maids beside him, one pounding his legs and the other massaging his shoulders.
"Young Master."
Clad in a gray robe, Si Congjian entered the courtyard, came to Hong Fan's side, and bent down to whisper a few words in his ear.
Hong Fan frowned slightly. "Did the man die?"
Si Congjian said, "No. He's lying in a clinic right now."
Hong Fan's brow relaxed. "As long as no one died."
Si Congjian hesitated, then reminded him, "I heard Wu Shuangren has been spending a lot of time with this man lately. They may be close."
Hong Fan turned his head to glance at him, somewhat impatient. "So what? I'm making him a militia commander tomorrow. What's the harm in one of his men suffering a little?"
Si Congjian hurriedly lowered his head. "You're right, Young Master."
Hong Fan waved a hand to dismiss Si Congjian, but after a moment's thought, he said, "Go get some money and give it to that constable's family as compensation."
Si Congjian cupped his fists. "A wise decision, Young Master."
He turned and left, while Hong Fan continued lying in his reclining chair, pondering his next moves in Bo County.
Neither of them took the matter to heart.
It was just a minor incident.
Dusk had deepened by the time Wu Shuangren returned to the clinic.
He had changed into an entirely new outfit-
He wore a black flat-topped headcloth and a blue-green round-collared robe, with a blue belt cinched around his lean waist and a pair of black six-piece boots on his feet.
He looked capable and full of heroic spirit.
When Xu Nanzhi saw his outfit, her eyes lit up and she praised how good he looked.
Wu Shuangren asked about Hou Huai's condition.
Xu Nanzhi said, "For now, all I can do is use needles and medicine to keep his last breath in him. Whether he wakes up depends on fate."
"..."
"Oh, right. Someone brought some money this afternoon, saying it was compensation for Hou Huai. Sister Jiang wouldn't accept it and cursed the man until he left. But he left the money at the clinic anyway."
Xu Nanzhi said.
Sister Jiang was Hou Huai's wife, Jiang Rong. She was keeping watch over Hou Huai with their child in a side room at the back of the clinic.
Wu Shuangren asked, "Where's the money?"
Xu Nanzhi fetched a money pouch and handed it to Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren took it. It was heavy.
He opened it and counted ten strings of cash inside.
"Since Aunt Jiang won't accept it, I'll find a chance to return it to them."
Wu Shuangren tied the pouch shut tightly and spoke calmly.
34 The beginning
"Mother, aren't you going home tonight?"
"Hou Huai's condition could worsen at any moment. I have to stay here and watch over him."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mother."
"Silly boy. I'm a physician. It's what I should do."
After chatting with Xu Nanzhi for a while, Wu Shuangren walked toward the side room at the back where Hou Huai was staying.
A light was on in the room, and figures could be seen through the window.
"Mother, when will Father get better?"
A little boy's voice came from the room.
"Your father... will get better very soon."
Jiang Rong's voice paused. She sounded faintly choked up, but held it back.
Wu Shuangren stood at the door for a while before gently pushing it open. A strong smell of medicine rushed into his nose.
"Aunt Jiang, I came to see Uncle Hou."
Wu Shuangren said softly.
Jiang Rong, who was holding her son, hurriedly stood up. "Constable Wu..."
"Aunt Jiang, just call me Shuangren."
"How could I do that?"
"Uncle Hou taught me a lot. I think of him as my teacher."
"...He mentioned you to me too."
Jiang Rong wiped her eyes.
Wu Shuangren walked over and sat down.
"An'an, say hello to Big Brother."
Jiang Rong prompted her son.
"Big Brother."
The little boy hid in his mother's arms, looking timidly at Wu Shuangren.
"What's your name?"
Wu Shuangren asked with a smile.