Chapter 2: Vicious Runner

At the first quarter of the noon hour on the second day of the seventh month in the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, in Tongcheng County, Anqing Prefecture, Nanzhili, under the Ming Dynasty, on the county seat's most bustling East-West Main Street, peddlers, laborers, small farmers, traveling merchants, monks, and Daoists roamed about; along the street, food stalls, shops, inns, and tea houses bustled with patrons coming and going. Though the seventh-month weather was still somewhat stifling, it remained quite lively.

A dead rat was suspended in the air by its tail, held between two long, fair fingers; as the owner of those fingers walked, the dead rat swung back and forth behind that person's rear.

This person was seen wearing a blue robe, a melon-skin cap on his head, and square-toed shoes on his feet; a folding fan was tucked into the left side of his waistband. His face, about seventeen or eighteen, was full-fleshed and jade-complexioned, with long, slender eyebrows reaching his temples and slightly upturned eye corners. Coupled with a medium-tall build, he was every inch a handsome youth, the type who would always win women's favor, though the roguish, dissolute look on his face might displease some women.

Beside this youth also followed a servant-looking attendant, about fifteen or sixteen, with quite a few adolescent pimples on his face.

The youth walked along carrying the rat behind his back like this; those who saw him to the left and right all cast sidelong glances as they passed. The youth ignored the crowd's disgusted looks entirely, looking left and right on his own, his eyes roguishly sizing up the young women passing on the street.

"That fool from the Pang family is out again; wonder who's going to suffer this time."

"Old Shopkeeper Pang must have done some terrible sin, to beget such a son. Never mind that his brain is addled, he does everything except good deeds."

"Who says otherwise? Relying on being a runner, he's harmed quite a few people. Last time... ah, look, hurry and look!"

Sure enough, the Pang family youth quickened his pace. Outside a paper shop ahead stood a woman in a white dress with a long skirt, her back view quite slender and graceful, tidying something up.

The Pang family youth crept up behind the young woman, swung his right hand, and the ghastly-furred dead rat flew out, tracing a dark, graceful parabola through the air before smacking onto the woman's rear with a splat.

"Ah!" Having her sensitive spot ambushed, the woman's rear instinctively thrust forward, and with a shriek she spun around and retreated two steps.

"A rat!" the youth shouted loudly.

The woman fixed her eyes on the ground and saw it was indeed a rat. Naturally, women feared such creatures, and she was instantly so frightened that her lovely face lost all color.

The Pang family youth seized the chance to rush forward, stomping wildly on the dead rat with one foot while spreading both hands as if to shield the woman, yet his hands groped closer and closer, brushing and rubbing against the woman's body. In her panic, she completely failed to notice a groping hand had found its way onto her.

The rat on the ground was trampled flat by the youth; perhaps because it had not been dead long, some dark blood was squeezed out, smeared across the street's bluestone slabs along with the stomping.

Hearing the commotion over here, a circle of people immediately gathered around to see what the fun was about. By now the woman had retreated several steps and, having somewhat recovered from her fright, saw how righteously brave this youth was and prepared to open her mouth to thank him.

Seeing the woman had backed away, the youth could hardly continue chasing her to grope, so he had no choice but to turn around and say to the woman with polished courtesy, "Miss, do not be afraid. This rat possessed strange strength; I chased it for half a street. Fortunately, I did not let it harm you... Hey, hey, what are you doing!"

From the paper shop behind the woman rushed out a big man, brandishing a carrying pole and striking at the Pang family youth's head and face, shouting as he struck, "You damn Green-Skin, I saw everything from inside! You clearly threw the rat! How dare you take liberties with my daughter! I'll beat you to death!" His speech, however, was not the local Tongcheng dialect.

"You dare get rough with me? I'm from the Runner Squad, you know! Ah, spare me... You dog, just you wait! Stop hitting me!" The Pang family youth cursed and begged for mercy in the same breath.

At this sight, the onlookers scattered far back with a roar, retreating well beyond the pole's range before stopping again. Now that the excitement had escalated, they naturally could not miss it. The Pang family youth was usually quite detested, and seeing a villain get beaten, many commoners even cheered and applauded.

The big man was burly and brawny. Now, hearing the crowd's cheers, he grew even more vigorous; the carrying pole swung with a whistling wind and considerable force. The youth's servant cursed and shouted nearby but dared not approach. The youth parried with hands and feet, taking several blows in succession, grimacing in pain as he turned to flee. Just as he turned, a "thwack" sounded—the pole struck him squarely on the crown of his head. Amid the onlookers' screams, the youth's body stiffened, paused for a moment, then with a thud he toppled straight forward, face-down onto the ground, motionless for a time. The crowd erupted in even louder screams.

The big man stared blankly at the youth collapsed on the ground, momentarily at a loss, standing frozen in the open space amid the crowd.

The servant immediately threw himself onto the youth, laboriously turning him over. Blood was flowing from the youth's crown and nose. The servant called out twice, weeping, but the youth showed not the slightest response.

The onlookers pressed closer to see. The servant, fingers trembling, placed them beneath the youth's nostrils. After pausing a moment, he shrieked, "The young master is dead! He's been beaten to death!"

With a clatter, the carrying pole fell from the big man's hand to the ground, and he collapsed onto his rear. The woman from before was just walking over and, hearing this, also stood frozen on the spot. An old man nearby reached out to check for breath and also cried out in alarm, "He's really stopped breathing. What is to be done?"

Seeing that someone had died, the onlookers were truly thrown into chaos. Tongcheng belonged to Anqing Prefecture in Nanzhili, bordered the Yangtze River to the south and connected to Huguang to the west; both agriculture and commerce were quite prosperous. It had been peaceful for many years, and a murder case in broad daylight was extremely rare. No one knew any emergency aid either, and for a moment, no one had any idea what to do.

"Aiya, someone's dead! Shopkeeper Zhou, you... ah, even though that Pang boy is a Riffraff Green-Skin, you shouldn't have beaten him to death."

"Quickly, report to the authorities!"

"Whose family is this man? Find someone to inform his family! What do you all say about this? Anyone who knows him, go, hurry and go!"

Someone said, "He's a runner from the county yamen, you know!"

"Ah! A man from the county yamen..." Shopkeeper Zhou was dumbfounded now, stammering, "This, I didn't mean to... You all were shouting to hit him, how was I to know?"

The woman who had been struck on the rear by the rat earlier had recovered her wits. Now she instead walked over and said softly, "Father, don't be afraid. This matter arose because of your daughter; in any case, he was in the wrong first. If it comes to paying with a life, your daughter will go."

Shopkeeper Zhou said dully, "You didn't strike him, so you can't pay with your life either. It's over, it's over! We finally managed to live a peaceful life here!" Shopkeeper Zhou let out a long wail, sat down beside the youth's corpse, and together with the youth's servant, wept loudly in the middle of the street.

The weeping only stirred more panic. The crowd was chattering, at a complete loss. After a chaotic while, the Pang family youth on the ground suddenly arched his waist and sat straight up.

Everyone around had believed the Pang family youth was dead. Now, what was this if not a corpse rising? Amid screams, the crowd scattered with a roar; even Shopkeeper Zhou and the servant jumped up and ran far away. The street was thrown into utter turmoil, with a great heap of vendor stalls and baskets toppled over.

The Pang family youth grimaced as he felt his head, which was splitting with pain. Opening his eyes, he looked around in confusion. A scene straight out of ancient times—farther down the street, some people still seemed to be watching him in great fear.

The Pang family youth muttered under his breath, "What is this place? That elevator really threw me damn far."

Then, ignoring his headache, he suddenly stood up and roared at the people on the street, "Who! Who the hell dragged me off to Hengdian?"