Chapter 322

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Outside the courtyard wall, the two lookouts were so bored they might as well chew grass.

It was originally a back alley behind, and for some reason, not a single dog was seen along the way, no barking dogs, no cats in sight, no mice spotted, and no birds at midnight—very quiet, only hearing insects hiding somewhere chirping "qu qu qu qu" without stopping.

One leaned against the wall, the other simply sat on the ground, complaining in low voices now and then.

"Why am I always the one keeping watch—I never get any of the good things!"

"I just heard them talking on the wall—saying there's a string of money! Don't know how much! If we were inside, we could grab at least two handfuls, right??"

"I say, there's no need to keep any watch at all! Pour in the oil, light the fire, and run straight away—by the time our butts haven't even warmed the seat here, they'll be digging it out over there; better to call us in to collect some money!"

"Hmph, when does good fortune fall to us?"

"Right! You just don't want to share the money? Saying they're most trustworthy, most reliable, most righteous, all the good words heaped on Laozi's head, actually they old City West lot just look down on people from other places—for years now, good things always go to those few, praising me as trustworthy, righteous, how come every time I get the least money?? Laozi has always been the kind to stick a knife between two ribs for brothers, if something really happens..."

Just as this person's "thing" syllable fell, in an instant, firelight burst forth in the courtyard.

He was startled, and hurriedly said: "How did it catch fire?! Not a single person has come out yet!"

The other also held the wall, scrambled up from the ground, looked up at the wall top, and said anxiously: "So many people, and we only have two—what if we can't hold them or can't run away in time!"

Almost as he asked, the courtyard suddenly rang with "clang clang clang clang" and "bang bang bang bang" gong sounds, followed by many people shouting "catch the thief," "arson," and so on.

No lamps were lit outside the courtyard, but at this moment, firelight flared one after another inside; though they didn't know what was happening inside, by that light alone, the outside was enough to see things.

The two subconsciously glanced at each other.

Nearby, they could already hear doors opening and people moving in several neighboring houses; looking up, the wall top was empty of a single person, silent as a ghost, not even a head poking out.

No one spoke; the two lookouts were silent for only a breath between them, then tacitly bolted out of the alley, their brains long forgetting what righteousness, responsibility, or sticking a knife between two ribs meant, only hating their parents hadn't given them two more legs.

Being young people, they naturally ran very fast, but after running only a few dozen steps, at a place two zhang ahead, "whoosh," two torches suddenly lit up—several burly men stood there, bare-chested holding torches, already approaching.

The two were frightened and turned to run back; looking back, the rear was already brightly lit with lanterns—it was three or four sturdy young men holding hoes and carrying poles; seeing the situation, they immediately formed a roadblock, not forgetting to shout: "Thieves are here! Quick, report to the officials!! Father! Mother!! Quick, go report to the officials!!"

One side had hoes and mallets, more people; the other side had escort guards with clubs, sturdier men; the two were still hesitating where to break through, without turning their heads, they felt pain in their shoulders, arms, and backs, then were grabbed fiercely while crying "ow ow," locked by the shoulders and braced at the waist from behind, hands bound behind their backs, and pressed to the ground.

The lookouts were captured with hands bound; inside the woodshed was another scene.

The leader banged on the big gate twice; seeing it was wrong, he immediately turned his head.

Outside, who knew how many people there were, extremely noisy, and brightly lit with lamps; by that light, they could vaguely see the furnishings inside the house.

The house wasn't large; inside, firewood was stacked neatly, though there was a large quantity, almost all had been split into small pieces.

This person rushed to the edge of the woodpile in a few steps, rummaged through it a few times, then tried grabbing a few pieces out—not a single whole piece could be used to pry the door.

"Axe! Who just took the axe!" he hissed urgently.

These words seemed to be a reminder; immediately, someone with knives and axes started feeling around on their body.

—Everyone felt empty.

It was because just now, to hide the string of coins, everyone had loosened their trouser belts to make it easier to wrap the money, and also disliked the weight of knives and axes, so they had casually thrown them on the ground.

Several people hurriedly searched on the ground.

"Eh? Where's my axe?"

"Where did my knife go??"

"Who just took my knife??"

The borrowed light could only show a rough outline; after feeling around on the ground a few times, someone shouted: "Light the fire! Light the fire!"

Soon, the torches were lit.

The ground was empty, only scattered copper coins carelessly dropped during the scramble; not to mention knives or axes, not even a stick with a pointed end could be found.

Seeing this, the leader, though not knowing where the problem was, could only curse a few "dog bastards," then fiercely shoved the door a few times, and turned to shout: "Ram the door!"

This person was indeed the one in charge; his words carried some weight; the crowd in the woodshed immediately followed him to the door and rammed it with their shoulders.

Just as they rammed, everyone felt something was wrong.

—Damn, it's so hard!

Originally a small door, three people standing already made it crowded, no room for another to add force; the door was also especially stable, especially heavy—the door Song Miao and Cheng Erniang had specially chosen, newly replaced; the craftsman was also a regular customer of the food shop, often buying glutinous rice, steamed wheat, and coming every now and then for mung bean cakes.

This time Song Miao said she wanted to renovate; this person came in a hurry, first making the doors and windows in various places of the back courtyard.

He wanted to make a good showing so he could get the job for the front hall tables and chairs; the materials and workmanship were very solid; he was calculating to earn more money for himself, to buy roasted pork in the future—earned from Song Ji, spent at Song Ji, roughly speaking, equal to eating meat for free!

Such a door carrying the expectation of roasted pork flavor—how hard and how heavy it was, only those ramming it with their shoulders would know.

After charging once, they not only couldn't budge the wooden door an inch, but because they were close, they heard someone outside calling in a low voice: "Patrol soldiers are coming! Quick! Patrol soldiers are coming right away!"

If they were really caught by the patrol soldiers, breaking into a civilian home was already a serious crime, and with the intention of arson besides, how could they escape?

Seeing things were wrong, someone, desperate and grasping at straws, came up with a "smart" idea in the emergency: "Burn the window! Burn the window! We have fire starters; why not burn that window!"

Surprisingly, someone echoed: "Right! Right! Boss, use the torch to light that window! It's made of wood; it will rot as soon as it burns; we can break out through the window from behind—by then they'll be busy putting out the fire and probably won't have hands to spare to chase us!"

While speaking, someone, panicking beyond measure, held up the torch in hand, intending to go to the window at the back.

The door locked, the window sealed, a room full of firewood, and still wanting to set fire inside...

Afraid that before the window burned through, they themselves would be burned into charcoal!

The leader almost fainted in one breath.

Seeing that already some smart person, in a flurry, couldn't wait a moment, held up the torch and went toward the window; this person, anxious, quickly stepped forward, about to reach out and grab to stop him, when he heard a "clang" from behind; turning back, he saw the big gate wide open, and a person outside the gate calling: "Guan Cha are here; people inside, raise your hands and come out!"

He also roared: "Whoever dares not to obey, don't blame me for my knives and swords being eyeless—come out!"

As this person shouted, several people holding torches and lanterns entered the gate; indeed, everyone held knives in hand, the blades already sharpened, looking very sharp at a glance.

Who doesn't cherish their life?

The leader didn't hesitate at all, immediately dropping the torch in his hand and shouting first: "Sir! Sir!! Don't draw your blade! Don't draw your blade, I'm coming out!"

He raised both hands, and as soon as he stepped out, he saw the courtyard gate wide open, with many people already inside, and more pouring in from outside without end.

Since the leader was so obedient, the rest naturally followed suit, each dropping whatever they held and coming out; moreover, four or five more had been brought in from the front at some unknown time, and two sentries were pressed in from outside the courtyard, totaling twelve or thirteen people.

In the courtyard, aside from the official soldiers and escort guards, the most numerous were the nearby neighbors.

"Why are there so many thieves!"

"Wasn't it arson? The fire hasn't caught, right??"

"Those several barrels—did you see them?! They're all tung oil!"

"No way?? Such big barrels, so many barrels, surely they aren't all full??"

"I just looked, every barrel is brimful!"

Hearing this, everyone took turns crowding over to look, and at first sight, they were all terrified, chills running down their backs.

"Crazy! So much tung oil! Behind Song Ji is the firewood shed!"

"Once Song Ji catches fire, our back courtyard is connected, neighbors and neighbors—where can we hide! I fear this whole street will be burned to the ground!"

"It hasn't rained these past few days, the ground is dry, the houses are dry, once the fire catches, who can escape—just fear that before people wake up, the fire will block them inside the houses!"

"Which ancestor didn't accumulate merit! This street has over a hundred people, one fire down, not only will several generations of foundation be burned clean, but the whole family's lives will be staked here!!"

A group was pointing and discussing, when one suddenly shouted: "Isn't that the carter Song Ji hired before??"

Then he shouted toward the back: "Song Xiaoniangzi? Is that the surnamed Xu master?"

Song Miao was holding an oil lamp in one hand, speaking with a Chai Guan, and upon hearing the question, she immediately turned her head.

In the crowd, someone was already very enthusiastic, without being told, he raised the lamp in his hand and brought it close to Xu Shifu's face: "Is it him??"

Xu Shifu was filled with extreme regret; when he heard his own name just now, his heart almost jumped out of his throat, and he hurriedly shrank and lowered his head—but at this moment, candlelight was all around his face front, back, left, and right, how could he block it?

He hurriedly covered his face with his hand.

But as soon as his hand rose, with a soft "puff" sound, his crotch and legs turned cool, for his outer trousers and underpants both slid down, exposing half of his two buttocks behind and his bare old legs.

Clearly at such a tense moment, the courtyard immediately burst into laughter.

Xu Shifu was anxious, ashamed, and panicked; he hurriedly squatted down, wanting to tie his trouser waist, but couldn't find his belt; wanting to cover his face, he had nothing to hide with—truly face and buttocks could not both be saved—it turned out that earlier when he was in the woodshed, seeing basket after basket of coin strings, excited to the point of white light flashing in his brain, he only cared about grabbing more like the others, and had already untied his trouser belt, preparing to wrap the coin strings well, then use a cloth strip to bind them.

Who knew, before he had time to tie them, he was caught.

Being pointed at by a group here, he simply wished he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl in; that was bad enough, but hearing someone say "encounter pardon but not pardon," "arson," "night intrusion," his soul truly scattered.

He no longer cared about being recognized, and hurriedly shouted: "Me! I know nothing at all! I was brought here by them!"

He also said: "These thieves said if I didn't come, they would 'make me look good'! They also used my family to threaten me; to save my family's lives, I had no choice but to be brought here; in truth, I really had no ill intent at all—Sir! I am not committing a crime, I was forced! Song Xiaoniangzi! Song Xiaoniangzi! You know me best! Last time I was beaten, how dare I do anything again!!"

Just as he finished speaking, the leader looked at the tung oil in the corner, then at the many knives and axes on the ground—clearly brought by his own group, but at some unknown time, they had been stolen away.

The crime could not be escaped, but he could not admit to the big one!

His eyes rolled, and he opened his mouth shouting: "Sir! Sir! I know nothing at all—we originally only committed petty theft, because he said he needed help, paid money to hire us, shouting for us to help move things—who knew inside was tung oil!"

"He said he used to work at this Song Ji, very familiar with the layout inside, because he fell out with the owner here and the others, he resigned, and now wants to give the food shop a lesson!"

"Sir, how would I know it was tung oil; I first thought it was something to paint doors and floors with—excrement and urine; if I knew it was tung oil, even if you lent me ten guts, I wouldn't dare take it!"

As soon as the leader spoke, the few beside him immediately shouted: "Exactly! We were all hired by this Xu Shifu! He is the instigator!"

Xu Shifu never expected so many mouths to speak at once, and then all at once pass gas, but he was only one person, facing over ten on the opposite side; let alone arguing, even in volume he couldn't win, nearly smoking with anxiety, so he could only helplessly shout without stopping: "It's not me! I didn't instigate!! I only took their money to give directions—how would I know they wanted to intrude at night and commit arson! Sir! Song Xiaoniangzi!! You must do justice for me!!"

Seeing both sides biting like dogs here, no one in the courtyard paid attention; the neighbors on left and right were all busy with lingering fear, feeling fortunate they had precautions and hadn't let the intruders succeed.

As for who instigated and who was an accomplice, they had no time to care for the moment, nor need to care—entering homes at night and arson are serious crimes; caught now, sent to the yamen, not one will escape; later they can wait to inquire about news.

Thus in the middle of the night, the patrol soldiers escorted a group of thieves out one by one.

And Song Miao, together with Cheng Erniang and others, thanked the neighbors one by one, then saw people out without further mention.

After the idle people had all dispersed, a few Zhuque Gate patrol soldiers remained, all acquaintances; the night was too deep, so they didn't urge Song Miao, the victim, to go to the yamen, only saying: "In the middle of the night, such a thing! Song Stall Owner, be very careful!"

Someone else said: "Hurry and rest, Song Stall Owner; can we still make buns in the morning???"

He hesitated again and again, but in the end didn't say the latter sentence—"I ordered Suan Pa Cai Man Tou and mutton buns yesterday, and exchanged 'Song Ji paper' for that broken flaky bun; won't it be because of these scoundrels causing trouble that we end up with no breakfast to eat???"