Chapter 31: Snakes and Mice in the Same Hole

General Xia Duo led his men out of the inn, and inside, the place was a ruin.

The floor was littered with food scraps and spilled liquor, emitting a foul stench.

Uneaten dishes lay scattered across the floor, reeking of decay.

Almost every table bore stains of food and alcohol, making it look nothing like an inn anymore.

Some walls were splattered with liquor, others cracked from blows, and carved decorations near the corners had fallen to the ground.

The railings upstairs were broken and tilted dangerously to one side.

The inn’s devastation gave the impression that it had just suffered a brutal raid.

The chaotic mess and heavy stench were like the aftermath of a full-scale disaster.

Outside the door, passersby remained unaware of what had happened; the innkeeper and the waiter stood pale-faced at the entrance, staring at each other in silence.

They knew restoring the place would fall entirely on their shoulders—this psychological burden weighed far heavier than the material losses.

Li Xuan’s own temple had been struck, the wound deep, a blood trail sliding past his eye, blurring his vision.

His nose had been twisted out of shape, but no bones were broken.

Several bruises had swelled on his knuckles.

He also had abrasions on his legs, but these were minor.

At this moment, Li Xuan ignored his own injuries, gritting his teeth to first examine Jiang Mingyu’s wounds.

Compared to Li Xuan, Jiang Mingyu’s injuries were far worse—his face swollen like a pig’s head, covered in bruises, blood streaming continuously from his nose and dripping to the floor.

His eyes were slightly swollen but still able to open; his lip wound still bled, and his lips had swollen noticeably.

Jiang Mingyu had never endured such suffering—he let out moans and sobs one after another.

Fortunately, all were superficial wounds; no bones, tendons, or internal organs were damaged.

After careful inspection, Li Xuan felt slightly relieved.

Though the injuries were severe, they were not fatal—if properly treated, they would heal.

The two men were in a pitiful state, especially Jiang Mingyu’s face, too gruesome to look at.

These soldiers had struck without restraint, as if determined to leave them crippled.

Beyond physical pain, Jiang Mingyu and Li Xuan now bore deeper wounds of humiliation and rage.

Tukesiluo, beside them, had taken far more punishment and showed no visible injuries.

He clasped his fists, knelt on one knee, and bowed to Jiang Mingyu: “Your servant failed in duty and caused you harm—please punish me!”

Jiang Mingyu waved his hand weakly: “It’s not your fault—I’m simply too weak in martial skill to end up like this.”

Tukesiluo looked up, stirred: “How can Your Excellency say that? My heavenly mandate is to protect you—how could I have failed so?”

At this, Tukesiluo could no longer hold back, his voice hoarse: “Your Excellency, I have betrayed you—and the Heavenly Will. I deserve to die!”

Jiang Mingyu looked at the inner guard, nearly broken with emotion—his heart swelled with both comfort and pity: “Tukesiluo, this is not your fault. You have done your duty faithfully. It is those villains… too cruel. This is not your fault.”

Li Xuan brought a chair, helped Jiang Mingyu sit, then returned to their room for his medicinal kit.

Tukesiluo glanced around the inn, then out the window—it was already night.

“We cannot stay here!” Tukesiluo said anxiously: “The ringleader just said ‘we’ll meet again’—I fear they’ll return!”

Jiang Mingyu nodded in agreement.

Then he said: “What if… we go to the county magistrate’s office? I’m an imperial envoy—the magistrate must bow to me. Then I’ll order him to punish these bandits!”

Li Xuan carefully applied ointment to Jiang Mingyu’s wounds, then wrapped each injury in clean bandages.

Though Jiang Mingyu’s facial injuries were horrifying, they were not life-threatening—daily changes of medicine and bandages would allow healing.

Tukesiluo assisted beside him, his eyes filled with sorrow and guilt.

After bandaging Jiang Mingyu, the three returned to their room to pack, intending to slip away under cover of night and report to authorities once safe.

But as soon as they stepped out of the inn, they were surrounded by a ring of militia clad in armor!

They held nearly a hundred torches, lighting the street before the inn as bright as day!

The light revealed their hostile expressions—they clearly meant to capture the three alive.

General Xia Duo had returned earlier to the militia camp, immediately rallied his troops, donned armor, armed himself with bows, crossbows, swords, spears, and shields, then returned to Ru Meng Xiao Ye and surrounded the entire district in three concentric layers.

General Xia Duo wore a red long-sleeved armored robe, wielding a five-foot saber, standing not far from the inn’s door, shouting: “You Beijing dogs—show me what you’ve got! I’ll face you myself!”

Tukesiluo saw the enemy’s formation, then glanced back at Jiang Mingyu and Li Xuan, both covered in wounds—he knew they were trapped tonight.

“We’re outnumbered… better to yield now than suffer worse,” Tukesiluo whispered: “Let’s surrender, Your Excellency—temporarily.”

“No way!” Jiang Mingyu cried in outrage: “With your skill, these scum are nothing to you!”

Tukesiluo nodded: “If we fought barehanded, even a hundred of them wouldn’t scare me—but…”

Jiang Mingyu: “But what?”

Tukesiluo pointed to the row of archers behind Xia Duo, defeated: “Those arrows—if you’re not armored and not hit in a vital spot, two might be survivable—but a third… I’m dead.”

With no choice, Jiang Mingyu and the others stepped out of the inn.

General Xia Duo laughed: “Aren’t these the three Beijing dogs who got their asses kicked earlier? What, too busy having fun to fight? Now you’re hiding inside?”

Jiang Mingyu said sternly: “General, hold on—we didn’t come here to provoke you. We were merely passing through, never expecting to be beaten like this. We only defended ourselves—you’re pressing too hard. Isn’t that unjust?”

General Xia Duo’s face darkened: “You Beijing dogs dare call me unjust? I’ll bury you alive!” He raised his saber and swung toward Jiang Mingyu.

Tukesiluo stepped in front of Jiang Mingyu and blocked the blade. Xia Duo’s face grew even more furious: “You ragtag Beijing fools dare defy me? I’ll cut off your arms and teach you some manners!”

Jiang Mingyu remained calm: “General, don’t lose your temper. We don’t seek conflict. If you insist on fighting, we’ll beg for mercy.”

With that, the three knelt and covered their heads in surrender.

Xia Duo had expected to duel Tukesiluo, land a few blows, and reclaim some face before his men.

He never imagined Jiang Mingyu and the others would kneel and surrender outright.

Their sudden kneeling left General Xia Duo utterly stunned.

His bewilderment and confusion showed clearly in his slightly pouting lips and increasingly menacing eyes.

According to the customs of the frontier, this wasn’t how things should go—he stood frozen before the line, dumbfounded, unsure what to do.

He had intended to teach Jiang Mingyu a brutal lesson, yet now the men knelt—was this a trick, or genuine surrender? He couldn’t tell.

Though Xia Duo was arrogant, he knew he was in the wrong—if they truly surrendered, he couldn’t harm them without cause.

But if it was a ruse, he’d lose all face.

His blade remained raised, ready for any sudden counterattack.

At that moment, one of his men stepped forward and suggested tying them up and delivering them to the county office for trial.

Xia Duo hadn’t expected such a simple solution to what he thought would be a thorny problem.

He could use the law to kill them without dirtying his own hands.

Besides, everyone in the magistrate’s office was his own man—he could manipulate their fate once they were in custody, gaining multiple advantages.

He ordered his men to bind Jiang Mingyu and his two companions tightly and take them straight to the county office.

Jiang Mingyu was dragged to the magistrate’s gate and saw the gong for grievances—he nearly laughed out loud.

He thought: I was just about to go to the magistrate to have these bandits punished—and now they’ve brought me here themselves, no need to ask for directions!

This sudden twist left Jiang Mingyu unsure whether to rejoice or despair.

General Xia Duo seized the drumstick and struck the gong several times. Soon after, the magistrate’s gate opened.

A yamen runner stepped out, saw Xia Duo and his hundred-man force, and stared in shock.

He asked: “General, what’s this about?”

The runner, bewildered by Xia Duo’s massive armed contingent, had no idea what drama was unfolding today.

The runner’s confused expression was comical—Jiang Mingyu wanted to laugh, but the absurdity of the scene made him want to cry instead.

“Forget it…” Xia Duo strode past the threshold and bellowed: “Bring out ‘Second Uncle’ for court!”

Jiang Mingyu’s heart dropped when he heard the bandit leader call out “Second Uncle”—his earlier relief vanished.

He thought: Oh no—this Shangmu County is a den of bandits and officials in cahoots!

Just moments ago he’d planned to report the bandits to the magistrate—now he realized the bandits ruled from within the government. The reversal left him reeling.

Jiang Mingyu felt utterly speechless—he’d fallen straight into another den of thieves. The absurdity made him both furious and hysterical, unsure what to do.

The man Xia Duo called “Second Uncle” was Liu Ershou, sworn brother to Xia Duo’s father; in his youth, he had served in the militia under Xia Duo’s father.

Shortly after Xia Duo’s father died, Liu Ershou left the militia and, protected by his old connections, spent years running smuggling operations under the guise of escorting goods.

While smuggling, Liu Ershou often had his men transport goods under cover of darkness; when they reached mountain roads, he’d leak word to the authorities to trigger a raid.

Once the authorities seized the carts and arrested the couriers, Liu Ershou’s men would ambush them, coordinating with corrupt officials to seize the cargo for themselves, amassing great wealth.

Once he built enough local power, he shifted to running gambling dens, brothels, and loan-sharking.

At the time, the two largest gambling dens in the region collapsed one after another—and Liu Ershou took them over.

Some suspected Liu Ershou had sabotaged them—how else could two major dens fail simultaneously?

But no one dared speak out, and no one could find concrete proof.

Liu Ershou proudly merged the two gambling dens into one, becoming the region’s undisputed gambling tycoon.

He exploited his gambling dens and brothels to extract massive profits, preying on the sons of wealthy families.

Wealthy young men who became addicted to gambling couldn’t stop—when their servants came to retrieve them, Liu Ershou demanded exorbitant ransoms, then doubled the price until the families were ruined.

Anyone who owed him high-interest loans was sent to collect by Xia Duo.

If debtors couldn’t pay, Xia Duo ordered them beaten until bedridden—or worse, hands and feet chopped off as warnings to others.

One fat shopkeeper who owed thirty taels had one hand and one foot cut off by Liu Ershou’s orders, left permanently maimed—and the thirty taels ended up in Liu Ershou’s pocket.

The courtesan Bai Zhiruo, whose father’s business failed, owed Liu Ershou three hundred taels in high-interest debt.

Seeing Bai Zhiruo’s beauty, Liu Ershou forced her into his brothel—every day wealthy young men came to spend, half the earnings going to Liu Ershou until the three hundred taels were repaid.

Bai Zhiruo, her body exposed day and night, grew physically and mentally exhausted, and eventually died of illness in the brothel.

Liu Ershou exploited human weaknesses and material desires, bought up local brothels, and lent money at exorbitant interest, reaping massive profits year after year.

Those wealthy youths who entered brothels and those who fell into debt either lost their families and lives, or had their hands and feet cut off, living in unbearable suffering; Liu Ershou’s cruel methods were horrifying, yet no one could do anything about it.

Three years ago, dissatisfied with his status, Liu Ershou sought an official post and spent a large sum to purchase the position of Assistant County Magistrate, equivalent to the deputy of the County Magistrate.

A year later, the healthy and vigorous County Magistrate of Shangmu died unexpectedly in office, and the position was temporarily assumed by the Assistant Magistrate.

The County Magistrate’s post should have been filled by an appointment from His Majesty, but upon hearing the news, Liu Ershou immediately sent messengers to the Regional Military Commissioner, bribed him with heavy gold, and demanded he conceal the County Magistrate’s death so that Liu could continue serving as acting magistrate, claiming that appointing a new magistrate now would disrupt local administration.

The Regional Military Commissioner, having accepted the bribe, quickly agreed to Liu Ershou’s request.

Liu Ershou, now in power, immediately ordered the suppression of all news, forbidding officials from revealing the County Magistrate’s death to the outside world.

At the same time, he donated money everywhere to win over officials and rally them under his command.

Those officials who attempted to report the truth soon met unnatural deaths, and no one knew the truth.

Thus, he seized the highest authority in the local government.

The people of this region suffered unbearably, yet had no recourse.

At this moment, Liu Ershou, dressed in casual attire, arrived at the courthouse with a servant holding an oil lamp, and saw three men kneeling before him, bound tightly.

Noting their attire was not local, he asked: “Who are you people down there? And who struck the gong?”

“I tied them up. I struck the gong!” Xia Duo replied without hesitation. “These three claim to be ‘old sea’ (outlaws) from beyond the passes. They injured and maimed several of my men. I originally planned to kill them on the spot, but after thought, I thought it better to bring them before you, Uncle Er, for formal interrogation.”

After hearing this, Liu Ershou had his answer. He immediately donned his green Assistant Magistrate’s robe and ascended the bench to interrogate.

Liu Ershou sat behind the magistrate’s desk, slammed the wooden gavel, and demanded: “Who are you? State your names!”

Jiang Mingyu, forced to kneel on the floor, looked up at Liu Ershou and replied sternly: “I am Jiang Mingyu, styled Xingqiu, a Fifth-Rank Imperial Envoy, dispatched by imperial decree to investigate this case!” Then Jiang, Tuke Sulu, and Li Xuanren each declared their identities in turn.

After all three announced their titles, everyone in the courtroom drew a sharp breath.

Even Liu Ershou, seated behind the desk, was stunned, nearly slipping off his chair!

“Why would the court send an Imperial Envoy to our backwater?” Xia Duo whispered nervously beside Liu Ershou. “If they’re truly envoys, why didn’t they first report to the county office? Why stay at an inn instead?”

Liu Ershou: “Then what do you think...”

Xia Duo, General: “Could they be frauds?”

Liu Ershou: “How so?”

Xia Duo, General: “Earlier... I questioned them at Rumen Xiaoye. They knew the underworld slang—they’re definitely outlaws!”

Liu Ershou then slammed the gavel again and asked: “Imperial Envoy, you speak without proof. How do you verify your claim?”

Jiang Mingyu replied: “In my luggage are my token and official documents. Your Excellency may retrieve them and see for yourself.”

The yamen runners took the luggage seized from the inn by the militia and presented it before Liu Ershou. Opening it, they found a golden token, an official document, and a golden diamond club.

Liu Ershou held the golden token before his eyes, squinting at the characters, muttering to himself: “Is this character ‘South’? Or ‘North’? What’s this one... looks like ‘Court’? The one after seems like ‘Court’?” His face showed utter bewilderment; his fingers gripping the token turned white—he had never imagined encountering such a textual dilemma.

Seeing this, Xia Duo hurried over to examine it too, equally baffled.

He pointed to the document and barely recognized the character "Long," but couldn't identify any of the following characters, nearly misreading "Long" itself.

After studying for a long time, these two could barely recognize a handful of characters; their anguish was plain to see.

Both Liu Ershou and Xia Duo had spent their lives in the underworld; their education was poor, and having long abandoned written documents, they now revealed their illiteracy before the token and document—this helplessness and embarrassment was almost comical.

Though they were experts at intimidating others, the moment faced with reading or writing, they became utterly flustered—the contrast was strikingly amusing.

“Quick... quickly send for ‘Master Wu.’” Liu Ershou ordered.

“B-but...” Xia Duo stammered. “Master Wu... was beaten by my men this afternoon. He’s still in bed, unable to move. He won’t be able to come.”

“What?!” Liu Ershou’s eyes widened in shock. “You beat him to the point of crippling him?!”

For the past two years, Liu Ershou had relied on an elderly scholar, a teacher, and a physician to read and write documents for him. But unluckily, the scholar had died early this year, and the physician “Sanmu” was currently practicing in a neighboring county; now, the only literate man left—Master Wu—had been crippled by Xia Duo’s men!

Liu Ershou sighed in frustration: “It was only a debt of twenty or thirty taels. Why beat him so badly?”

Liu Ershou now felt his head spinning; the golden token and document made his already sluggish mind even more confused.

The one who could resolve this crisis was dead, another was far away, and the only one he could rely on had been beaten into incapacity.

Now, he had no idea what the token and document actually said, nor what to do next—his head throbbed with despair.

Xia Duo, too, had no easy answer. “Nine out, thirteen back—compound interest. Now it’s reached two hundred and eighteen taels!”

Xia Duo felt as if he’d fallen into a muddy pit after a violent brawl; the current dilemma left him utterly overwhelmed.

He couldn’t understand how he’d ended up injuring Master Wu—his foolish act had only added to Liu Ershou’s troubles, and now he didn’t know how to explain himself.

They were usually masters of intimidation, but now the weight of this problem crushed them, leaving them gasping for air.

The two stared at each other, both utterly at a loss—this situation was absurd beyond words.