Chapter 199: House Raid

Zhao Jin nodded casually. Zhou Xuezhi, surprised that Zhao Jin had agreed so readily, quickly turned and said, "Hurry, bring the children out."

A young woman and two little girls, all bound, instinctively tried to stand upon hearing this, but the moment they moved they remembered the watchful, predatory stares fixed on them from the side. Only when they saw that Zhao Jin and his companions paid them no mind did they struggle to their feet and stumble frantically outward.

Zhou Xuezhi alone was one thing, but the sight of his family momentarily granted a path to survival stirred the crowd at once. As Zhou's wife and daughters ran halfway, a middle-aged woman suddenly lunged up, attempting to ram them with her body. As she moved, she shrieked, "You fiends! When Maitreya descends, you will all suffer a great—"

*Thwip! * A sharp whistle sounded as an arrow shot into the woman's mouth and pierced through the back of her skull. She toppled backward. The restless crowd erupted in screams, then instantly fell silent.

Dong Bingfeng, his face utterly expressionless, drew another arrow and nocked it on his bow, sweeping a cold glare over the crowd. After the slaughter of the previous day, he felt not a shred of mercy or pity for the families of his enemies.

"Xiaoyong and I will go check every gate and doorway. You keep watch here. If anyone moves recklessly, just kill them!" Zhao Jin gave the order. These words were meant less as instructions for his companions and more to intimidate the captives. After he spoke, the people below all trembled and fell even more silent.

He Family Village was large, but the He family compound itself could not be called huge. Zhao Jin and Liu Yong circled the compound once. They had scaled the walls to enter, and their assault and killing had been so swift that none of the gates had yet been opened.

Ordinarily, for a place like the He family compound to remain tightly shut after sunrise would be glaringly abnormal and certain to arouse suspicion. But it was the first month of the year, past the seventh day, and everyone slept late and rose late. Moreover, given the He family's status in He Family Village, if they themselves made no sound, no one dared come meddling.

"That pack of scum yesterday had at least a hundred riders, coming and going through He Family Village, and no one reported it to the authorities. The land outside the city is truly lawless. Inside the city, if we want to eliminate someone, we still have to do it at night!" Liu Yong said bitterly as they walked halfway.

"I used to think it was safer inside the city. Now it seems Xuzhou City has bound our hands and feet, turning us deaf and blind. We need to move outside the city too," Zhao Jin remarked with feeling.

Liu Yong nodded and said, "Once we're back, we absolutely must take that Gao Family Village!"

Zhao Jin stopped in his tracks, looking at a small gate, and said, "Why bother with Gao Family Village? We'll settle right here in He Family Village."

Liu Yong was stunned for a moment, then nodded. Before he could speak, Zhao Jin asked, "Do you smell that?"

Focused on the inspection and their conversation, Liu Yong hadn't noticed. Only upon hearing this did he sniff the air a few times and say, "Distiller's grain!"

Because of the Fragrant Spirits Distillery, everyone was very familiar with this smell. And precisely because of that familiarity, they had subconsciously grown accustomed to it and sometimes failed to notice it.

"The reason He Weiyuan set that death trap was because of the distillery outside this wall. Our Fragrant Spirits Distillery stole his business. There's already a distillery here—wouldn't that be far more convenient than building a new one?" Zhao Jin said.

Liu Yong nodded and said quietly, "Big Brother thinks of everything."

Since before the new year, Zhao Jin and his companions had been fretting over a new site for the distillery. Now, at last, the problem was solved, yet no one's spirits were particularly high.

The two walked forward a few more steps. Liu Yong looked back and said, "Big Brother, with so many lives lost both inside and outside the city, shouldn't we wait outside the city first and let the storm blow over? You all stay here, and I'll go back into the city first to check things out. The distillery and the freight yard can't be left unattended."

"What's stopping us from going back? We are official officers who uncovered a major treasonous plot by cultist evildoers. For such a great deed, the authorities will reward us handsomely," Zhao Jin said.

Liu Yong had once been exceedingly reverent and fearful of the authorities, terrified even of the lowliest unofficial runner. But after spending so long with Zhao Jin and the others, he had come to understand many of the inner workings of officialdom. Hearing Zhao Jin's words, he nodded first, then after a moment's hesitation, asked worriedly, "Big Brother, will His Honor the Prefect really go along with our story? With so many lives lost..."

Zhao Jin was about to answer when he heard a commotion outside. Liu Yong immediately gripped his weapon. After all, there were only six of them controlling a vast compound with nearly a hundred captives. If anything went wrong, it would be another bloody battle.

"Big Brother, I'm here! Big Brother..." someone shouted from outside. Both Zhao Jin and Liu Yong recognized the voice—Shi Manqiang had arrived.

"Shitou's here!" Liu Yong blurted out. The moment he said it, tears actually streamed down his face. Zhao Jin's body swayed slightly as well. The ambush yesterday, the forced night march to raid He Family Village—though they had foreseen it and had some confidence, it had still been a desperate gamble. Only now was everything truly settled.

With the sudden release of tension, Zhao Jin even felt like lying on the ground and sleeping, hoping that when he woke, none of it would have happened. But that was merely a fleeting thought. He swayed once, then steadied his mind.

The spot where he and Liu Yong stood was not far from the main gate. The two hurried over and opened it. Outside, the noise had ceased. A hundred household guards stood in orderly ranks, and there stood Shi Manqiang, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Big Brother, I... I... why didn't I go with you..." Shi Manqiang rasped a few words before choking up.

Although Zhao Jin had instructed Dong Bingfeng yesterday not to speak of it when delivering the message, such a thing could not be kept secret. Whether from his own father's side or from Zhang Hubin's side, word was bound to spread.

At the mention of this, Zhao Jin felt a sting in his nose as well. He waved his hand and said, "This isn't the time for that. Shitou, take ten men inside to guard the captives..."

Zhao Jin began issuing orders. Shi Manqiang took household guards to guard the captives. Zhang Hubin led forty men to stand watch outside. Another thirty men, led by Liu Yong, would serve as a mobile force, securing key points within the compound. The remaining twenty men followed Zhao Jin back into the courtyard.

Zhang Hubin could not be called fiercely brave in yesterday's ambush, but he had been shrewd and resourceful enough, managing to hide and even kill an enemy archer. Combined with his earlier clever displays, he was certainly worthy of an important role.

Back in the courtyard, the first order of business was for the household guards to re-bind the captives. When people tied themselves up, there were always loopholes to exploit. The household guards had already learned that over a dozen of their brothers had been lost on the official road yesterday. Some were worried for themselves, but more were furious and grief-stricken. As they set to work, they inevitably vented their rage, and the courtyard was filled with wailing and crying.

Once the household guards arrived, Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, and the others could finally rest. Each found a spot to sit. Seeing the scene in the courtyard, a look of pity crossed Wang Zhaojing's face. After hesitating a moment, he stepped forward and said to Zhao Jin, "Big Brother, there's no need to treat the old, the weak, the women, and the children like this. Tell the guards to go easier."

Zhao Jin reached out and patted Wang Zhaojing on the shoulder, saying quietly, "Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself. They are getting what they deserve."

Wang Zhaojing paused, stunned. Since Zhao Jin had lowered his voice, it was not a reprimand but an explanation of principle. He pondered this for a moment, nodded, and went back.

Once these people were securely bound, Zhao Jin selected two servants who looked especially terrified and summoned Zhou Xuezhi and his wife to help search the hidden places of the He family mansion. A household like this was bound to have secret chambers and hidden passages.

Just as Zhao Jin expected, false walls, cellars, and tunnels were all uncovered. But no one was hiding inside. The reason was simple: Zhao Jin and his men had stormed in so suddenly that no one had had any time to react.

Moreover, in the He household, secret places like the cellars and false walls were known only to He Weiyuan alone. The family members and serving women had only a vague inkling and normally dared not go looking. Now, in a bid to atone for their crimes, they pointed out the general directions, and the household guards, searching meticulously, found them all.

No people were found, but the haul was considerable. Gold, silver, and copper coins were piled up in a jumbled heap, totaling roughly over thirteen thousand taels. According to Zhou Xuezhi's account, this silver was not merely He Weiyuan's private wealth; it also included favors to be paid out and incense offerings to be sent to the main altar in Shandong. Both sums were substantial—otherwise there would not have been so many copper coins of such good purity.

Apart from the ready cash, there were actually over a thousand bolts of silk in the storehouse. Though none of them knew much about silk quality, the patterns and luster suggested they were top-grade goods. Beside the silk were over a dozen chests and cases filled with various southern goods and several sacks of spices.

Against the wall stood a three-tiered wooden rack covered with straw-wrapped porcelain. The storehouse was merely a three-bay, single-story building, yet the contents within were a motley assortment worth several thousand taels of silver.

When explaining these items, Zhou Xuezhi hesitated briefly, but still held nothing back. It was all stolen goods. As a local strongman, He Weiyuan's line of work included harboring and fencing stolen property—a role known in the underworld as a "fence."

In any village or town with convenient transport links, local strongmen always had this sideline. Loot from bandits and robbers of every stripe would converge here. The local strongman, acting as a fence, would buy low and sell at a relatively higher price. The profits were exceedingly rich.

Though Xuzhou City was in decline, it bordered the Yellow River, was not far from the Grand Canal, and was moreover a hub of overland routes. Traveling merchants were many, and so were the bandits who robbed and murdered them.

After tallying the money, they retrieved an assortment of weapons from the cellar: twenty goose-quill sabers, thirty podao, sixty long spears, ten bows, over a thousand arrows, along with ten suits of padded cotton armor and five suits of mail. All of these had been extremely well preserved. What surprised Zhao Jin even more was that, aside from these, there were actually two fire lances—though the craftsmanship was rather crude, and even the barrels were not quite straight.

These weapons were also kept in excellent condition. According to Zhou Xuezhi, whenever the Yellow River flooded, He Weiyuan's first concern was his money and valuables, and his second was these weapons.

To everyone's surprise, while the money, stolen goods, and weapons were all very well preserved, the items related to the Smelling Incense Sect—the idols, scriptures, emblems, and talismans—were kept in a side courtyard and all looked very shabby. This state of neglect did not seem like an attempt at concealment at all; it was simply a lack of care.

"Old He... that old scoundrel joined the sect to gain support. How could he possibly take these matters to heart? It was merely a means to control the sect members in this area. He was a man who had studied and even held a degree, after all..." Zhou Xuezhi explained.