Chapter 102: Warning Signs

"Squad Leader, this is the home of Guo Fengyou, the Auxiliary of the Fast Squad."

This was a small alley off City Wall Street by the East Gate. Though it bordered the bustling Dongzuo Gate Street, the dwellings here were still mostly thatched huts. The alley was packed with neighbors; seeing Pang Yu arrive, they were all pointing and murmuring.

The sound of weeping came from within the thatched hut. Pang Yu stepped inside. An old woman in her fifties was sobbing quietly, attended by two Runners in Constable Uniforms. A glance around the room's furnishings confirmed it was indeed very humble, clearly reflecting their financial state.

The injured Guo Fengyou, however, showed no sign of listlessness. He was reclining sideways on the bed, eating a steamed bun fed to him by a bailiff. Seeing Pang Yu, he hurriedly tried to stand, but the movement made him grimace and freeze in place.

Pang Yu raised a hand to stop him. "Stay lying down and rest. I came to see you, not to add to your troubles."

The two bailiffs said to the old woman, "Auntie Guo, don't cry. This is our Squad Leader, come to see you."

The old woman dropped to her knees at once. Clinging to Pang Yu's hand, she wept, "My lot is a bitter one. If anything should happen to him, how am I to live out my remaining days?"

Pang Yu hastily helped the old woman up. "Auntie, don't speak such unlucky words. Brother Guo is blessed with great fortune and will surely pull through this trial. In serving as an Auxiliary of the Fast Squad, he hunts criminals and arrests murderers — there are always moments of danger. Even if the unthinkable were to happen, the Tongcheng Fast Squad will provide for you in your old age. I, Pang, will not let a man of courage's heart grow cold."

The several bailiffs in the room all looked at Pang Yu. In these times, bailiffs had no such security. If one were killed apprehending a suspect, no one would provide a safety net for his family. That was why, during Civil Unrest, the Constables all fled clean away — a rational response of seeking profit and avoiding harm. Now Pang Yu had given them a promise. Though he was only a Squad Leader and could not yet represent official credit, it was still far more security than they had before.

The old woman was somewhat reassured, but went on weeping. "In years past I bore four children, all short-lived. Only this youngest one remains. The hardship of raising them — his father was a Gengfu, and raising these children, day and night, fell on me alone. This youngest never learned any good as a child; he only loved following his father to beat the night watch. When he grew a little older, he was always brawling with others, never showing any promise, looked down on by all the neighbors. Last year his eldest brother died. He had just barely begun to gain some sense, following you officials as an Auxiliary. I thought it was proper work — how was I to know it could cost him his life?"

"What Brother Guo does is proper work." Pang Yu turned his head to look at Guo Fengyou. "He catches murderers. This Squad Leader saw it with his own eyes — Brother Guo fears no peril and has a meticulous mind. Who knows how many innocent common folk he has saved? The people of Tongcheng should be thanking him. When you go out from now on, hold your head high and chest out — no one will dare look down on you."

The old woman listened and wiped her tears. "The Doctor who came earlier said the cost of the decoctions and medicines would likely be considerable."

Guo Fengyou said angrily from the bed, "Mother, why are you telling the Squad Leader this?"

Pang Yu waved a hand at him, then took out a small pouch and presented it with both hands to the old woman. "Be sure to hire the best bone-setting Doctor. Brother Guo was wounded in the line of duty. Whatever the cost of the medicines, I, Pang, will cover it — I will absolutely not let you, Auntie, spend a single coin. During his recovery, his wages and food stipend will be issued as usual. This is a small personal token from this Squad Leader. Please accept it, Auntie."

The old woman did not refuse. She quickly tucked it into her bosom, even opening it for a brief glance, and seemed much relieved.

Pang Yu addressed the two bailiffs. "You two will stay here and look after Brother Guo. If Auntie has any difficulties, you are to help handle them. For any silver spent on medicines and wound dressings, keep a record and draw it from the Fast Squad. Also remember — any cloth used to bandage wounds must be boiled in water to disinfect it, and dried in the sun before use."

Guo Fengyou suddenly raised his head slightly. "If I survive this, from this day on I will stake my life for the Squad Leader."

Pang Yu nodded and consoled him. "Brother Guo, rest easy and recover."

Emerging from the house, Pang Yu said to Pang Ding, who was following him, "Note this down for me. Whether Zhuang Squad or Fast Squad, arrange for one Team Leader with two men to come visit every day."

Xu Lengzi scratched his head beside him. "The Zhuang Squad leaders don't even know this Auxiliary Guo. What's the point of sending them to visit?"

Pang Yu ignored Xu Lengzi. He clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the alley entrance. "We're going to inspect the Inns."

Pang Ding pointed at Xu Lengzi and said quietly, "If you understood, you'd be the Squad Leader."

……

"This month's register!"

In the main hall of the Comprehending the Subtle Inn at Dongzuo Gate, the Shopkeeper looked up to see Pang Yu standing before the Bench with several Constables. He hurriedly bowed and scraped, then rummaged inside the Bench for a moment and handed a register to Pang Yu.

This was the third inn Pang Yu had inspected today, all along the direction from County Front Street toward Dongzuo Gate. Pang Yu took it and flipped it open. Today was already the seventeenth of the first month, yet only about twenty people were recorded in it.

"Why are there only this many?"

"For your discerning judgment, sir — most of this establishment's guests are traveling Hangshang. During the New Year period, they all return to their respective homes. After the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month, very few people have stayed. Generally, it is not until the end of the first month that guests increase again."

"Nothing concealed?"

"How would this humble one dare defy the gentlemen of the Fast Squad?"

Pang Yu grunted in acknowledgment and examined the records closely, line by line.

Ming dynasty regulations for the innkeeping trade required recording the names, number of persons, and times of lodging guests in a monthly register. In Tongcheng, these were supposed to be submitted to the Military Office for inspection, but in practice, this had not been strictly enforced for many years. Ever since Guang Shiheng's last visit, Pang Yu had taken note of his mention of Spies, and the Fast Squad had begun demanding that all inns resume enforcement. Since this had only just begun, most inns were largely going through the motions.

"Have there been any guests with northern accents lodging recently?"

The Shopkeeper paused a moment, then said, "In the records, there are two — a pair of wandering Daoist priests."

"What regional accent?"

"This humble one has never traveled elsewhere and cannot tell what accent it is. But it is roughly from the north. These wandering priests travel everywhere; their original accents have changed considerably, making it very difficult to discern their native place."

Pang Yu stopped and pointed to the third-to-last entry. "This person — no luggage, no trade goods, lodging alone. The county yamen has long had explicit regulations forbidding the lodging of such persons. Why did you knowingly violate this?"

"This… this small shop runs on thin margins. During the first month, guests are scarce. If we refused them, we would operate at a loss."

Pang Yu shot him a glare, but he also knew that Tongcheng sat astride a major thoroughfare, with countless traveling merchants and laborers passing through. Expecting these innkeepers to turn away money was administratively impossible to achieve.

"Call out those two wandering priests and this single traveler. I want to question them."

"Those several people all checked out and left yesterday."

The Shopkeeper hurriedly stepped out from behind the counter, apologized to Pang Yu, and pointed to the back of the register. "This humble one noted all their departures."

Having said this, the Shopkeeper added, "Not just these three. Word has spread through the city of successive murders. Perhaps the guests staying here grew afraid — they all left yesterday."

Pang Yu frowned. The murder case had occurred the night before last, and yesterday morning there had been that beggar killing someone and forcing the gate, prompting the bailiffs to conduct a city-wide search. These three leaving Tongcheng yesterday to avoid trouble was entirely reasonable. Pang Yu currently had no spare manpower to pursue them, so he could only return the register to the Shopkeeper.

"The city has seen much trouble lately. If there are any suspicious persons, come inform the yamen at once."

"This humble one understands."

After leaving the inn, Pang Yu looked up at the sky. Today, unusually, the sun had come out, a patch of bright sunlight overhead. People came and went on the street, their steps seeming somewhat quicker than usual. Not far ahead, a Squad of the Zhuang Squad ran past, and the surrounding common folk hastily parted to make way.

The Zhuang Squad was currently conducting a zone-by-zone lockdown and search. Starting from Xiangyang Gate yesterday, they had yet to find any trace of that beggar. Today the search had reached the County Front Street area. If nothing was found, tomorrow it would advance to Qingfeng Market and Caojia Alley.

After Yang Erming convened the Village Elders and gentry for a meeting, every ward and village was screening strangers. Under this level of mobilization, that beggar should logically be unable to escape — yet from yesterday to today, there had not been the slightest clue, which made Pang Yu far less confident.

"Young Master, where do we go now?"

Pang Yu reflected for a moment, then said, "Take the men and continue inspecting the Inns…"

Just as he said this, He Xianya came hurrying from the direction of the West Gate, clutching two dark, grimy objects in his arms, his expression somewhat alarmed. Pang Yu knew it was likely bad news. He stopped speaking and waited for He Xianya to reach him.

He Xianya halted and handed the two objects over. "Second Brother, a commoner in Yangzi Alley reported to the Village Elder that he saw two people throwing something into the Tong Stream. He said they looked like swords. I immediately sent men into the water to retrieve them."

Pang Yu took them, led a few men away from the doorway to stand against the wall, and had them form a screen around him before opening the black cloth wrapping. Inside were two Waist Sabers. The scabbard of the top one even bore copper decorative patterns.

Pang Yu drew the top blade halfway out. The blade was snow-bright, with a wide double Blood Trough groove running nearly to the guard. The hilt wrap material was unlike any Pang Yu had seen before.

Pang Yu studied it for a moment, then said, "This sword is better than ours."

He Xianya quickly said, "On the way, your subordinate stopped at Zhang Ji Blacksmith Shop. He examined it and said the edge is pure Steel. Though it also uses the flat-forging method, the blade is slightly longer than those used by Hangshang, with a greater curvature, and the tip tapers to nearly no shoulder. Most notably, there is an inscription on it."

Pang Yu turned the blade over. Near the guard was engraved a line of small characters: "Tianqi First Year Xuan-Da…"

He drew the other one. Its inscription marked it as belonging to the Shanxi Garrison.

"Border Army swords." Pang Yu thrust the blade back into its scabbard. "These aren't used by traveling merchants, and certainly not weapons some beggar could get his hands on."

Everyone stared at him blankly. Pang Yu turned to Pang Ding. "Go notify the Zhuang Squad to pull back and return to the barracks. According to the contingency plan, immediately begin transporting bricks and stones, fire oil, fire balls, firearms, and lanterns up to the city wall. Build grass-depot sheds along the wall and erect the wooden frames for the hanging curtains."

"But the Zhuang Squad is scattered all over the city — how can we possibly find them all…"

Pang Yu cut him off with unquestionable authority. "Then you'll run to do it."

Pang Ding dared not say another word and indeed ran off at a sprint.

He Xianya had also guessed what it was. His throat somewhat dry, he asked, "Then… then what about the county yamen? We have no confirmed intelligence. His Honor may not agree to such a large-scale mobilization."

"His Honor only objects to disturbing the populace. But the Zhuang Squad can begin preparations in advance."

"Then what does our Fast Squad do?"

"The Fast Squad continues tracking down enemy agents inside the city. Since two men threw away their swords, there is more than just that one beggar within the walls. Moreover, the official and civilian searches in the city have already put them under pressure — they don't even dare keep their swords. That shows it's working. I'm going to see His Honor immediately and request he intensify the effort. The Fast Squad will have to push hard and catch these people as quickly as possible." Pang Yu paused, then added to He Xianya, "Send a few men to Zilai Street to prepare tung oil."

"Understood," He Xianya said tensely. "I wonder which direction they'll come from?"

"Most likely still Qianshan, but who can say for sure." Pang Yu turned to look at County Front Street bathed in sunlight. "We'll focus on tightening our defenses. The rest depends on what intelligence Jiang Fan's mounted scouts can uncover."

……

The eighteenth day of the first month. South Five-Mile Post, Hefei County, Luzhou Prefecture City. Though spring had already begun, the fields were still a vast, unbroken expanse of white snow. Only on the official road had the accumulated snow been trampled and melted away, revealing the black stone slabs beneath.

Jiang Fan, sitting astride his horse on the official road, wore a look of puzzlement. Clusters of commoners in twos and threes were traveling south along the road. As far as the eye could see, not a single person was heading north.

After the murder case on the morning of the sixteenth, following Pang Yu's instructions, he had sent most of the mounted scouts toward the Qianshan direction. The number heading north was somewhat insufficient, so he himself took two mounted scouts to reconnoiter toward Luzhou Prefecture. The plan was to go all the way to Yingzhou on the Henan border. Today they had passed through Lujiang County but had not yet reached Hefei County.

The three men urged their horses onward, continuing slowly north. A commoner coming toward them shouted, "Sirs, don't go north any further — the Roving Bandits are coming."

At the words "Roving Bandits," Jiang Fan swung off his horse in one motion and blocked the commoner. "Who told you the Roving Bandits are coming?"

The commoner did not stop, skirting around Jiang Fan as he walked. "They broke through Fengyang Prefecture and are heading straight for Luzhou next."

Jiang Fan pursued him, asking, "Have any of you seen the Roving Bandits with your own eyes?"

Another commoner passing by answered, "You sirs must all be from the south, not to have even heard of this. The Roving Bandits slaughtered Fengyang on the fifteenth of the first month. For a hundred li around, no news gets through. If we'd seen them, we'd already be dead."

The first man glanced back hurriedly. "Sirs, you'd best not go to Luzhou Prefecture. Hefei County sealed its gates today. The townsfolk have formed some kind of Yang Troops to guard every gate. Anyone without a Hefei accent can't get into the city. You'd be going for nothing."

Just as they were speaking, a startled cry rang out behind them. A crowd of people on the official road had begun brawling with one another, seemingly fighting over something. The commoners who had been talking took one look and hurriedly quickened their pace southward.

Jiang Fan halted. The two mounted scouts came up beside him, panic-stricken. "Squad Leader, the Roving Bandits are coming — they're all mounted. We need to flee south, now! It'll be too late if we delay."

"Flee, my foot! A few commoners say the Roving Bandits are coming, and that's it? When we get back and Pang Squad Leader asks us how many Roving Bandits there are, which chief is leading them — how am I supposed to answer him?" Jiang Fan said irritably. "We need confirmed intelligence, no matter what."

The two mounted scouts' teeth were chattering. They kept twisting their heads to look north, as if the Roving Bandits might appear on the distant official road at any moment.

Jiang Fan took several rough breaths, sized the two men up, and pointed at one. "You're coming with me. We're continuing on to Luzhou Prefecture. We turn back only when we have reliable word."

Then he pointed at the other. "You go back to Tongcheng immediately. Report everything we've learned so far to Pang Squad Leader. And don't you dare go babbling nonsense — you say only what you heard commoners say on the road. After reporting, head south to Qianjiang to find the others. Tell them to get back to Tongcheng at once. If there's no time, then flee toward Anqing Prefecture City — flee toward the places along the river."

The second man acted as though he had been granted a great reprieve. Afraid Jiang Fan might change his mind, he hastily acknowledged the order, wheeled his horse around, lashed it fiercely with his whip, and galloped off at full speed toward Tongcheng.