The eloquent Chief Adjutant Zhou

Nothing good could come of sneaking into someone else's home and stealing a child without a word.

Meng Shuangjiang was already overcome with shock and anxiety, and after being drenched by the rain, his head was muddled. Though his face turned pale, he felt as if he had been set alight inside, and he tried to rush forward and demand answers.

But the moment he moved, Chu Tianshu seized him by the shoulder. His feet almost lifted off the ground as his body suddenly moved backward.

Behind him, Zhong Jinqiu raised one hand and pressed it against his back, steadying him.

Tap!!

Chu Tianshu pulled Meng Shuangjiang behind him with one hand and stepped forward, planting his foot in the water pooled just inside the threshold.

"The wind and rain are miserable outside, Brother Zhou. What brings you here at a time like this?"

"I was bored out of my mind and wanted to find you and enjoy the rainy scenery, Brother Chu. I never expected to hear that the Meng Clan's child had gone missing."

Adjutant Zhou's stone-like expression suddenly came to life, and he heaved a long sigh.

"Alas, I never imagined... he actually did it again... this really is..."

Surprise appeared on Chu Tianshu's face. "I thought Old Master Xu found Xiaobao adorable and invited him over as a guest. But judging by your expression, Brother Zhou, could there be more to it?"

Shopkeeper Ma chuckled as well. "Adjutant Zhou, why don't you make yourself a little clearer?"

Adjutant Zhou looked troubled. Then he gritted his teeth, as though he had made a momentous decision.

"Very well! Family scandals should not be aired in public, but the old master really has gone too far."

"The old master is only our commander's adoptive father," Adjutant Zhou said. "His original surname was not Xu, of course, but Chen. Most people called him Chen Jingong."

"When the commander and I were constables in the capital, he was a eunuch in the city with considerable influence. He helped the two of us advance, so the commander acknowledged him as his adoptive father and served him with genuine filial devotion."

"After the emperor abdicated, we brought the old master to Yi Province to enjoy his later years. Who would have thought he would take up an evil art and eat children to prolong his life..."

When Meng Shuangjiang heard this, a hiccup escaped his throat and his eyes rolled back. He nearly passed out.

Zhong Jinqiu quickly sent a burst of force through his palm, helping him catch his breath.

"Don't panic, don't panic."

"Evil arts of this sort depend on the proper date and hour," Adjutant Zhou said. "It will be a few days at least before he starts eating, I expect."

He heaved a great sigh.

"The commander and I have repeatedly urged him to stop, and the old master seemed to have furled his banners and silenced his drums. Who would have thought he was still doing this in secret? If the commander knew, he would surely put righteousness before family..."

Chu Tianshu lifted an eyelid. "Good, then."

"But the commander is truly filial. He can't bring himself to do it!"

Tears filled Adjutant Zhou's tiger-like eyes as he continued, "The old master has shown us kindness, after all. Even I cannot bear to do it myself. My heart is truly tormented."

Chu Tianshu pressed his lips together, then smiled.

"What you mean, Brother Zhou, is that although you cannot bear to do it yourselves, if some passing heroes and righteous warriors were to get rid of this old eunuch, you would go along with it and say he died a natural death. Is that right?"

Zhong Jinqiu gave a soft snort. "What a coincidence. The old eunuch comes to this town, and there happen to be several martial artists here, all with some connection to the Meng Clan. No other family's child goes missing, only the Meng Clan's..."

Adjutant Zhou declared solemnly, "Perhaps heaven truly does collect its due in the end, and it was fate that put the old master in your hands."

Chu Tianshu said gently, "Since heaven has arranged things so nicely, those heroes and righteous warriors must also have obtained a batch of fine firearms from the roving bandits when they wiped them out, right?"

Adjutant Zhou's gaze sharpened. After a brief hesitation, he laughed. "You're joking, Brother. What good guns could roving bandits have? Even heaven can't make things up out of thin air."

Shopkeeper Ma spoke up. "The roving bandits had no good guns, and the old eunuch shouldn't have many elite soldiers under him either. Adjutant Zhou, isn't it time you and your men returned to the city?"

This time Adjutant Zhou was agreeable. "I had the same thought. I'll ask Eunuch Chen for leave today and make a trip back to the city."

Shopkeeper Ma nodded. "Once we're sure you are all far enough away, heroes will naturally appear. But that reminds me, what capable fighters does this eunuch have at his side? Does the evil art he cultivates have a name?"

"Yes."

Adjutant Zhou nodded. "The evil art he cultivates is called the Five Rampancies..."

The large yellow-paper umbrella remained open outside the restaurant for half an hour. From beginning to end, it never came through the door.

The rain did not stop either.

They watched the figure turn around and the umbrella recede into the distance.

Chu Tianshu's smile remained unchanged as he pressed his knuckles until they cracked. "The three of us together should be enough to cut him down, right? Then the old eunuch could die suddenly, and Commander Xu could die of illness. That has a pleasant ring to it."

Zhong Jinqiu shook his head. "If he's determined to run, it's hard to say. And that man Xu is even harder to deal with."

Chu Tianshu glanced at the token.

All right. Killing the old eunuch's group definitely still wouldn't be enough to fill the fate bar.

Cutting them all down one after another would indeed be too reckless, and the chance of success wouldn't be high enough. Better to be patient.

As it happens, leaving a few days between them would give us time to plan. When that man Xu really is attacked, it will also be harder to tell which of his enemies did it.

Beside them, Shopkeeper Ma took out a small locust-wood bottle and a glossy purple paper crane.

With rain falling outside, ordinary paper cranes and sparrows could not be used. But precisely because of the rain, yang Qi was weak, making the sparrow spirit harder to detect.

Shopkeeper Ma chanted a spell and pressed the paper crane into his palm. When he opened his hand again, it was gone.

Only a wisp of smoke drifted quietly out the door, watching Adjutant Zhou's movements from afar.

Heavy rain veiled the distance, and moisture filled the air. As the smoke drifted through it, no one could see it.

"Two old foxes and a wolf cub. It's really no easy feat to gather three figures like that in a town this size..."

Adjutant Zhou mulled it over as he walked. "Good thing, good thing it was me. I can handle them."

Commander Xu's residence stood in the southwest corner of town, and it did not take him long to walk back.

Its vermilion gates bore bronze beast heads gripping door rings. Five steps led up to the entrance, with a stone lion crouching on either side.

From inside came the sound of a dan-role performer warming up her voice.

Two guards were on duty beneath the gate's eaves, sheltering from the rain. When they saw Adjutant Zhou approaching, they immediately opened the gates.

Adjutant Zhou entered and went around the spirit screen. In the courtyard, he saw a large blue-and-white ceramic lotus-leaf vat collecting rainwater.

Liu Siniang paced along the corridor, her face free of makeup and looking rather fresh and pretty. Her fingers curved like orchid petals as she practiced her singing.

"Adjutant Zhou, you're back?"

Liu Siniang turned to look at him. "Adoptive Father was just saying he wanted you. Everything else is ready, but there's one thing that still hasn't been delivered. You must see to it."

Adjutant Zhou smiled. "I came back to bring that up. Don't be careless on your end either. When the auspicious day and hour arrive, what you'll be singing won't be the usual Five Manifestations Opera, but the Five Communications Opera. There must not be a single mistake to ruin the old master's great undertaking."

Since ancient times, opera had served to invite the gods to be entertained and to give thanks to them.

Thus, for major events in villages and towns, festivals in cities, shop openings, and the like, experienced people liked to hire opera performers for an auspicious start and the gods' protection.

But opera was divided into righteous and evil. Righteous opera was founded on encouraging virtue and revered Great Emperor Wuxian, Huaguang, as its patriarch. Only through benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and faithfulness, with good rewarded by good, could wealth flow in from all directions.

Evil opera, on the other hand, worshipped the Five Tong Gods. It made no distinction between good and evil, caring only whether the Five Tong could be pleased. Evil arts involving human sacrifice and blood sacrifice were often mixed in.

It was too difficult to make Great Emperor Wuxian manifest, but worshipping only the Five Tong could easily bring harm in return, because of their unpredictable tempers.

Thus, Dharma Lineages gradually arose that combined the "Five Manifestations" and the "Five Tong," forcing connections between them and mixing in unorthodox spells.

In the end, they came to be known collectively as the "Five Rampancies Dharma."

The other members of the opera troupe were gathered in the front hall, leafing through scripts.

The drummer in charge of all the musicians had a bald head and a thick beard. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, surrounded by a large crowd.

"Old Xu, Old Zhou, you're busy men, but we've been trained by Adoptive Father in the capital since we were children. We were one of the troupes prepared to sing for the old Buddha and prolong her life."

"Whether it's the Five Manifestations or the Five Tong, we've spent our whole lives practicing it," the drummer said. "How could we make a mistake?"

Adjutant Zhou said gravely, "Those who are good at swimming drown in the water. Your carelessness is hardly reassuring. Remember, put all your thoughts into the performance. If anything goes wrong and the old master's efforts come to nothing at the final step, the commander and I will never let you off!"

The drummer snorted coldly and ignored him.

Troupe Leader Chen, however, came out and led Adjutant Zhou through the rear courtyard, where an opera stage had been set up, toward the back hall.

As soon as Adjutant Zhou reached the doorway, he took two or three quick steps, dropped to one knee, and cupped his hands with a smile. "My respects to the old master."

There were no kerosene lamps in the back hall. Dozens of red candles burned on the pillars and tables, lighting it up brightly enough.

Old Eunuch Chen sat in the seat of honor. He was six chi tall and wore a brocade robe, but was as gaunt as a dead tree. His hair was not braided at the back; a small tuft of white hair hung loose.

His face in particular was covered in a fine web of blue veins, densest around his eye sockets, making the whites of his eyes look cloudy and his pupils blue-black.

Anyone who met his eyes felt an inexplicable flutter of panic.

"Get up, get up. We see each other every day. Why bother with ceremony?"

The old eunuch's voice was dry and hoarse as he laughed. "Of all my children, you're the most particular about manners. Not like your commander, always barging in without a care. If he remembers, he pays his respects; if he doesn't, he leaves it at that. Sometimes he even snatches my soup and drinks it."

Adjutant Zhou rose. "That's because the commander truly regards you as his own father!"

"I understand that in my heart."

The old eunuch sighed. "I've seen enough of life's winds and rains. It's for the sake of my children that I want to stay a few more years and do a few more things for your commander."

"Siniang's Five Communications Opera has been rehearsed for a long time. Those boys with exactly the right birth dates were gathered long ago and have been brought over one after another these past few days."

The old eunuch pointed a slender finger at the screen beside him.

"Even this jade coffin has been fully nurtured. With the corpse Qi of a few dozen vicious roving bandits added to it, the last piece is in place."

The green jade coffin behind the screen could be dimly seen, resting on four long benches.

A divine statue of Great Emperor Wuxian, Huaguang, had also been placed atop the jade coffin.

On the day they first arrived in town, while the grand opera was being performed in the west of town, they had secretly sent people to bury the jade coffin where the roving bandits had died.

After seven full days, they dug it up again.

The two grand opera performances for the townspeople had also strengthened the statue's righteous Qi. Placed atop the jade coffin, the two kept each other in check.

On the day of the actual ritual, the Five Communications Opera would begin, the Huaguang statue holding the coffin down would shatter, and the corpse Qi would be unleashed, all the purer for it.

But the coffin was for the old eunuch to lie in. They still needed a small golden cauldron to sacrifice the children in blood.

Adjutant Zhou understood at once. "The commander has long been collecting gold everywhere, and he also hired tomb robbers to dig up graves and take the gold objects inside to be melted down and recast. It should be finished in the next day or two. I'll return to the city tomorrow to check."

The old eunuch lowered his finger, and a servant beside him presented fragrant tea, bringing it to his lips.

After taking a sip, he spat out a tea leaf and said, "Sorry to have troubled you."

"Gold made into a cauldron is still gold after it's been used once. There's no loss."

Adjutant Zhou smiled. "But if you succeed in prolonging your life, old master, it means we'll still have a great expert at our side. In the commander's words, that's getting a huge bargain."

The old eunuch smiled and nodded.

Adjutant Zhou withdrew and returned to his own quarters.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly got up and quietly pushed open his door.

Outside, the rain had stopped and all was silent. The two guards on duty at his door were his trusted subordinates.

"Has the Meng Clan's child been slipped in?"

A guard nodded. "We fed him a drug, changed his clothes, and put him in one of the iron cages holding the children. He won't be noticed."

The other guard said softly, "Adjutant, why go to all this trouble? You even had to kidnap a child yourself and then have us slip him in. The child is only bait anyway. We could have kidnapped him, killed him, and thrown him away, and that would have been that."

"Hmph! The people at the restaurant know magic. They can probably tell whether the child is alive or dead. Doing that would only make branches grow out of the knot."

Adjutant Zhou gave a low reprimand and glanced in the direction of the back hall.

A bunch of children in exchange for an expert really was a good bargain, but Commander Xu no longer wanted a father who wasn't his own.

Besides, when he became the old thing's adoptive son, did the old thing really think no one knew about the evil art he secretly set in place?

Tomorrow, the commander won't be acting personally, and he'll be a city and a town away. Let's see what you can do about it.

The trusted subordinate had more to say. "If those three at the restaurant win and none of them die..."

Before he could finish, Adjutant Zhou narrowed his eyes. "You rascal, you're too wicked."