Go Pick the Locks

In an alley in the north of the capital, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen was running quickly. He stopped in front of a courtyard house, panting heavily, hands on his hips and clutching his stomach, calling out, "Master, Master!"

The door creaked open, and a young man in his early twenties appeared in the doorway, yawning and cursing, "Are you trying to wake me up? Disturbing my sleep so early in the morning!"

The boy glanced at the sun already hanging high in the treetops, wisely refraining from arguing. As he followed the young man inside, he said, "Master, something interesting has happened in the capital. Several iron cabinets have been placed in front of the Court of Judicial Review. They say the cabinets are extremely sturdy and cannot be opened without a key. Whoever can open the iron cabinets will receive a reward of five hundred taels of silver."

Seeing that the young man wanted to wash his face, he immediately stepped forward, scooped water, handed him a cloth, and asked, "Master, would you like to try?"

The young man wiped his face, then threw the cloth directly at his apprentice's face. "Are you stupid? The Court of Judicial Review sent someone to pick the lock, isn't that obviously catching a thief? You want me to walk right into a trap? What are you up to?"

"No, Master, many people have tried, but the authorities haven't arrested anyone. I saw that the Datou from the front street went too. It seems he didn't succeed and returned empty-handed. They didn't dare say anything for fear of being laughed at by you."

"Boss..." Five more people entered through the open door and walked right in. "Boss, in front of the Court of Judicial Review..."

The group chattered on, telling their story and urging, "Boss, you're so good at picking locks, this shouldn't be a problem for you. Why don't you give it a try? It's five hundred taels of silver!"

This young man, Lü Yi, was a notorious gang leader in the north of the city. He was known for his petty thefts and especially for his lock-picking skills, which impressed everyone. This not only led to him being elected as the gang leader, but he also took on a very clever apprentice named Zhou Guizi.

Seeing that Lü Yi remained silent, Zhou Guizi worried that if he said he wouldn't go, people would laugh at him for being a coward.

He spoke up to defend his master, "Are you even speaking human language? That's the Court of Judicial Review! Setting up a few iron cabinets there and offering such a high reward—it must be a trap, an attempt to wipe out everyone in the capital who makes a living in this line of work. What are you really up to by persuading my master to go?"

"No, no, we didn't mean anything by it. We just saw that Datou from the front street went there too, but he couldn't open the lock and came back looking dejected. So we wanted Boss to try it out too, to let Datou know who's more capable."

Datou was the leader of another gang. He and Lü Yi had been fighting since they were children, and neither of them would give in to the other. After they each became the boss, the two gangs even had a group fight over territory.

"Has anyone tried it?" Lü Yi asked.

"Because the bounty was so high, almost everyone tried. I heard there were constables, locksmiths, blacksmiths, butchers, wandering knights... and even more ordinary people wanted to try their luck."

"Those iron cabinets have been there since Wushi yesterday, and at least seventy or eighty people have tried to open them, but no one has been able to. It seems that the Court of Judicial Review doesn't care and just lets everyone try. There's only one yamen runner guarding each cabinet to maintain order and prevent anyone from smashing it with a sledgehammer."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yi was somewhat tempted.

People skilled at lock picking might get itchy fingers when faced with this situation, wanting to test if they are better than everyone else.

"Okay, let's give it a try," he said.

A group of people cheered and chattered, offering suggestions to Lü Yi. They helped him find some tools and then escorted him to the Lü Yi Court of Judicial Review.

In order not to block the Court of Judicial Review and affect its operations, the iron cabinet was not placed at the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review, but on an open space a dozen feet away to the left of the Court of Judicial Review gate.

When Lü Yi arrived, he saw that the place was surrounded by people, with everyone on the outside craning their necks to look inside. It was quite a lively scene.

At one point, it seemed the lock-picker gave up, and everyone sighed in disappointment. Then, a gap appeared in the human wall, and a few people crawled out. But the human wall closed up again in an instant. Everyone craned their necks to look inside, and clearly, someone else was trying to pick the lock.

Lü Yi had dozens of thugs under his command. Some of them had to do legitimate work to make a living, and those who were still out fooling around at this hour were mostly people who still had food to eat at home.

Just then, one of his men spotted them in the crowd and excitedly waved to Lü Yi: "Boss, over here. This guy's been gone for a while, he should have given up by now. Hurry up and come over, you might be able to pick him up soon."

Lü Yi and his group hurried over.

Standing on the outside, they couldn't see anything, and squeezing in would be difficult. Normally, a few thugs would have rammed into people to clear a path for Lü Yi, and then casually steal a few money pouches. But this was the entrance to the Court of Judicial Review, and the yamen runners were watching, so they didn't dare cause trouble.

Fortunately, the thieves were all agile. They darted around and, amidst curses, quickly made their way to the innermost part of the hideout.

Lü Yi stopped and saw an old man in his fifties, thin and small, with a pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, and a goatee. He exuded a sleazy and "I'm not a good person" aura. He was squatting there, fiddling with a wire in what looked like a keyhole on an iron cabinet. His face was very unpleasant, and he was cursing under his breath.

"Alright, half an incense stick's time is up, time to change people." A voice rang out.

Only then did Lü Yi notice a man in yamen runner's clothes standing to his side, with an incense burner at his feet.

The onlookers let out loud sighs of regret.

Someone called out, "Old man, that's enough! Didn't you hear the constable say it's time? Hurry up and get someone else here."

As he spoke, the man eagerly stepped forward, and the others quickly squeezed in, clearly all wanting to unlock the door.

Seeing that the old man with the goatee was still reluctant to leave, the bailiff held out his stern baton and nudged him, saying, "Are you leaving or not? If you don't, I'll arrest you and send you to the yamen."

The old man with the goatee was startled and quickly got up to make way. However, he didn't leave but returned to the crowd, his eyes still fixed on the iron cabinet.

"Stop grabbing! Stop grabbing!" The constable used his stern rod to stop several people who were trying to unlock the lock, then pointed at one of them and said, "You, you try. Everyone else, get out of the way."

The person who was pointed at looked delighted, while the others dejectedly stepped aside.

This metal cabinet was placed here yesterday, so everyone who came was somewhat prepared.

Then the man pulled a wire from his sleeve and started fiddling with it in the keyhole.

Lü Yi observed his movements from there, and occasionally glanced at the iron cabinet.

The iron cabinet was painted a deep crimson red, and apart from the keyhole, the whole thing seemed to be a single piece. Moreover, based on Lü Yi's experience, the iron used in this cabinet should be high-quality iron, which was very heavy and sturdy. There were no gaps in the door, so the hinges were obviously excellent; tools couldn't reach in, and there was no way to pry it open by trying to pry it open.

So the only way to open this cabinet is through the keyhole.