Chapter 82: Blind Mountain

"That really was far. I'm dead tired."

On the winding, twisting mountain path, Lake Sun Pavilion's thief-catcher Dongmen Bao had exhausted his strength from walking so fast. Now he sat panting on a patch of grass, wiping the sweat from his head and cursing, "They said it was less than ten li — liars!"

Courier Ji Ying, who never got along with him, seized the chance to mock him: "Ah Bao, I told you to slow down. Blind Mountain may not be high, and the distance only ten li, but the hills stretch on and on, up and down slopes — it's exhausting. I've only been here once, but I nearly walked myself to death!"

Dongmen Bao was so angry he yelped. He pulled open his lapel to reveal the leather armor underneath, and pointed at Heifu, who was slowly walking up from behind. "If Heifu hadn't told me to wear my armor inside, I'd have crossed several hills by now and be at Blind Mountain knocking on the gate!"

"I told you to wear it, so wear it. No more nonsense."

Heifu turned and pulled the informant 'Ju' up a step, then looked at the rolling black hills in the distance, his expression gradually growing grave.

Because from here on, he truly had no certainty what would happen — he had even prepared for armed conflict.

On the map, these hills were called 'Maple Catalpa Ridge' — the highest point in Anlu County, and also its most remote and impoverished place. Because on moonless nights, when you were among these hills, you truly could not see your hand in front of your face; walking through them, a person seemed to go blind. That was why it was also called 'Blind Mountain'.

Among the Lake Sun Pavilion group, only courier Ji Ying had been to Blind Mountain Hamlet once before, to deliver documents about spring plowing to the Assistant Clerk of Agriculture, so Ji Ying became the guide. And aside from Heifu, Dongmen Bao, the Pavilion's strongest fighter, naturally had to come along.

In addition, Li Xian, who had some wits and could handle things on his own, and Xiao Tao, who excelled at shooting light arrows, were both brought by Heifu. All of Lake Sun Pavilion's main fighting strength had been mobilized, which showed how seriously Heifu took this case.

Blind Mountain Hamlet's remoteness was notorious. Following Ji Ying's advice, Heifu and the others had set out yesterday afternoon and reached the fork where the Tu Road met the mountain path before nightfall.

The Tu Road was called an official road, but in reality it was just a pitted, bumpy yellow-dirt track barely wide enough for two carts to pass. And the mountain path was even worse — it could only fit two people walking side by side, and further on, only enough room for one person to set foot.

They squeezed through the night in a field-watcher's hut, set out at first light the next morning, and now it was past breakfast time, yet Blind Mountain Hamlet was still nowhere in sight — nothing around them but hill after hill.

During a rest stop along the way, Heifu did not idle in small talk with the Pavilion soldiers. Besides teaching Li Xian how to use the small bronze whistle he had asked his brother-in-law to make the month before, he called over the anxious father 'Ju' and talked with him about some matters concerning his daughter.

Only by understanding the details about the victim could a constable better plan his next steps.

"For the Pavilion Chief to know, my daughter's childhood name was Yuanyuan..."

Ju was ordinarily a middle-aged man whose brow was always furrowed; only when mentioning his daughter did the wrinkles smooth out and a trace of a smile appear.

"She was spoiled by me and my old wife from childhood, and knew nothing of the world's dangers..."

"That day two years ago, also in late spring, my old wife sprained her foot, but the household silkworms still had to be fed. Yuanyuan volunteered to pick mulberry leaves in her place — the mulberry patch was right beside the hamlet. I didn't think much of it then, so I let her go, and kept praising her for being so thoughtful. But my little girl went and never came back... Ah, it's all my fault, all my fault."

At this, Ju covered his face with both hands. From that day on, he and his wife had lived in nightmare and agony. Losing a daughter was more painful than losing one's own hands or feet; their hearts were utterly hollow. The worst part was not knowing whether she was alive or dead, not knowing if at this very moment she was being abused, not knowing if she was hungry or full, cold or warm.

"I had originally arranged a marriage for Yuanyuan, to a rank-and-file soldier next door. His family wasn't wealthy, but the two had grown up together since childhood. If Yuanyuan had married over, her days would surely have been comfortable. Who could have guessed..."

From the rambling details Ju provided, Heifu could confirm that this was indeed a father who deeply loved his daughter.

His daughter had been only fourteen when she was abducted; now she would be of age, a young woman of sixteen. If she truly was in Blind Mountain Hamlet, what might have happened to her over these two years — both Ju and Heifu knew in their hearts.

Ju was the only person who could identify the abducted and trafficked victims; they had to bring him. But the more Ju talked, the more agitated he became, and he could also turn into a weak link that exposed Heifu's purpose too early.

"When we get to Blind Mountain Hamlet, I won't state our purpose directly, to avoid obstruction from the hamlet officials that would make the investigation harder. You will pretend to be a Pavilion soldier accompanying me on an inspection tour. Don't say a single word, don't let your expression look too grim, and whatever I tell you to do, you do it!"

Heifu warned Ju not to give anything away. Even as they spoke, they crossed another small hill, and a tiny hamlet nestled in a mountain hollow finally appeared before their eyes...

"This is Blind Mountain Hamlet."

Ji Ying let out a breath of relief, pointed at the dark, low wall ahead, and at the same time warned Heifu, "The people of this hamlet are extremely wary of outsiders. Heifu, we must be careful!"

Heifu nodded, called Xiao Tao over, and spoke a few words into his ear. Xiao Tao understood, and with his bow on his back, slipped into the pine woods outside the hamlet, lay motionless in a gully, and even scattered some emerald-green pine needles over himself.

This could be considered the escape route he had left for himself.

Heifu, meanwhile, led Dongmen Bao, Li Xian, Ji Ying, and Ju — a party of five — swaggering openly toward the hamlet.

The sudden arrival of five men, armed with weapons, made the little village tense and uneasy; after all, five men could well be counted as a bandit gang.

The hamlet gate was immediately shut. When Heifu and the others reached the gate, a man with a mallet-shaped topknot stuck his head out and shouted loudly, "Who comes?"

Heifu handed the bronze whistle in his hand to Li Xian and told him to put it away, then drew a breath and declared with full-throated authority, "I am Heifu, Chief of Lake Sun Pavilion! Here on a routine inspection of Blind Mountain Hamlet!"

"So it is the Pavilion Chief who has come. We have truly been remiss."

The hamlet chief of Blind Mountain Hamlet was a man in his thirties called 'Feng', who sported a long beard and had a certain slick cunning in his eyes. The Field Clerk was a dull, taciturn man of about forty, who looked far more simple and honest than the hamlet chief.

Hearing that the new Pavilion Chief had come on a routine inspection, both were greatly startled and ran out from their homes together to welcome him at the gate.

Heifu noticed that the turnout accompanying them seemed rather large. Of the twenty-some households in this hamlet, nearly every family had sent one or two people; thirty or forty of them crowded at the gate, standing on tiptoe to look at the outsiders, their eyes full of curiosity.

"The Pavilion Chief is the first to come inspect Blind Mountain Hamlet in nearly five years."

The hamlet chief respectfully ushered Heifu inside the hamlet gate, while the Field Clerk rubbed his hands together and smiled obsequiously.

It seemed this hamlet had turned out in such force to welcome him not because of Heifu's reputation in recent months, but because of his office.

Blind Mountain Hamlet was too remote; successive Pavilion Chiefs had never bothered to come in person, and information was cut off. So they most likely knew nothing of Heifu's heroic deeds, and were perhaps even utterly unaware that the Pavilion Chief had changed — once, or even several times.

Yet this hamlet still had contact with the outside world and was still a grassroots unit under Qin governance; it still had to render labor service and pay taxes to the township. So toward authority, they still maintained a heart of awe and deference.

Even more deference than those who knew of Heifu's righteous acts and merits.

To hamlet residents who might not leave their homes more than a few times in their entire lives, a Pavilion Chief was already a very, very grand official.

Thus surrounded by the crowd, Heifu walked into this mysterious hamlet. Inside, he saw mostly grass-roofed dwellings with walls plastered with dung and mud. The hamlet residents who had run out to see the excitement mostly wore tattered clothes and rope sandals; the summer sun gleamed on the sweat of dark-skinned farmers just back from the fields. Some women were so inadequately clothed that they could only poke their filthy heads out from inside their houses to gaze at the 'grand official' called the Pavilion Chief.

Seen this way, Blind Mountain Hamlet truly deserved its reputation as the poorest place under Lake Sun Pavilion's jurisdiction. Living conditions were far worse than in Heifu's own home, Sunset Hamlet; most of the people here had a famished, undernourished look.

By contrast, the hamlet chief and the Field Clerk, in cloth robes and headscarves, at least looked somewhat presentable. The hamlet chief's house was likewise of rammed-earth and tile, quite imposingly grand.

"Since the Pavilion Chief has disregarded the long journey to come inspect Blind Mountain Hamlet, would you like us to accompany you on a walk around the hamlet?"

Blind Mountain Hamlet's chief, 'Feng', asked cautiously. If Heifu agreed, he would secretly instruct others to make preparations.

Show this Pavilion Chief what he ought to see; as for what he ought not to see, hide it all away!

"No rush, no rush."

Heifu, however, deliberately put on the manner of a mediocre, indolent bureaucrat. He stretched and said, "I'm weary from the journey as well. I'd like to sit for a while first and have a word with the hamlet officials. As for the inspection, letting my few Pavilion soldiers handle it will do."

With that, he invited himself in and walked through the hamlet chief's door. Looking at the furnishings inside, he smiled and said, "Chief Feng, surely it's no trouble if this Pavilion Chief comes in and begs a bowl of hot broth?"

The hamlet chief and the Field Clerk exchanged a glance, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief — a lax Pavilion Chief on an inspection tour was exactly what they had hoped for. So the two of them also smiled obsequiously and went inside. The hamlet chief even loudly called out to his household slaves to slaughter a chicken and quickly prepare a meal to serve!

Heifu had Dongmen Bao follow him inside, but loudly instructed Li Xian, Ji Ying, and Ju, who were still outside, "I'm also under orders from the township — every hamlet must be inspected. It's really nothing; Anlu County is at peace! Just go through the motions casually, no need to look too closely. Go and come back quickly. We'll dine together with the hamlet chief and Field Clerk — the hamlet chief says he's slaughtering a chicken to entertain us today!"

With that, the hamlet chief and Field Clerk felt even more reassured. What they did not notice was that Heifu had already secretly shot Li Xian a meaningful glance.

Ju, who was dressed as a Pavilion soldier off to the side, grew frantic when he heard this. Pavilion Chief Heifu had arrived at the place, yet instead of investigating the case or searching for anyone, he had planted himself down demanding food and drink — what was he trying to do?

He was just about to speak up and remind him when, unexpectedly, Li Xian, who had already grasped Heifu's intent, tugged him from behind, kept Ju outside, and whispered softly in his ear:

"The village chief plans to delay the ward officer here. Just follow me — we'll go find your daughter together!"

(End of chapter)