Chapter 201: Forced

Over a hundred river bandits, ambushed halfway and slaughtered clean by Zhao Jin and a few others — no matter how the news spread, it would shock and terrify anyone. So when Zhao Jin's household guards surrounded Li Shun's residence, people didn't even dare to gather and watch. Only the boldest dared to peer from a distance.

"Sirs, someone in the house has fallen gravely ill. I beg you, sirs, let this humble one go out and fetch a physician. Have mercy!" A man who looked like a steward was bobbing and bowing there, pleading incessantly.

"Get back inside! First someone tried to run, then they said they needed to buy food, then they sent a few women out to cry, and now they're claiming someone's sick!" Lei Cai sneered mockingly. As he spoke, the long staff in his hand came lashing straight down.

Lei Cai had joined Zhao Jin midway and hadn't undergone much training. It was Dong Bingfeng who had taught him the easiest staff techniques to master. This strike was actually measured, because the man dodged frantically and somehow managed to avoid it — only to trip over the threshold behind him and land flat on his backside, drawing howls of laughter.

The steward scrambled up and was about to shut the gate when he heard someone call out loudly, "Don't close it."

The voice wasn't loud, but Lei Cai recognized it instantly as Zhao Jin's. He reacted fast, thrusting his long staff hard toward the doorway. The steward, who had been about to close the gate, was jabbed and dropped straight to the ground.

Zhao Jin and his companions walked over. The household guards saluted in unison. Zhao Jin nodded, then said, "Good that it's open. Otherwise we'd have to smash it down."

"Leizi, no one is to come in." Zhao Jin said. Lei Cai nodded with a solemn expression.

Zhao Jin and his companions walked into the courtyard in silence. The servants and womenfolk inside were all trembling with fear and scurried out of the way. Some men dressed as household guards even knelt to the side and kowtowed, babbling, "It's none of this lowly one's doing, none of this lowly one's doing."

"Set a fire! Light the firewood shed! Once it's burning, people will come to put it out, and we can escape! Go, all of you, go!" Suddenly a hysterical voice rang out — it was Li Shun shouting.

Zhao Jin and the others did not pause their steps. They walked straight in, all the way to the inner courtyard where Li Shun lived. They could hear women wailing to heaven, maidservants running around like headless flies, and Li Shun howling about setting a fire. Yet even when they approached the inner courtyard, no flames had appeared.

They pushed open the door and entered. The crying inside the room stopped — then quickly subsided to a much lower volume. In the main hall, Li Shun, who had been shouting, also ceased his frenzy and stared blankly at the arrivals.

Li Shun, who normally paid great attention to his grooming, now had his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, and was wearing his inner robe all askew. He looked like a madman. But he was lucid enough — the moment he saw Zhao Jin, he began trembling and backing away, his face filled with terror and despair.

"Young Master Zhao… Master Jin… Master Jin…" Li Shun switched between several forms of address.

"Master Jin, Gao Family Village is yours, freely given. Cloud Mountain Temple still has many properties — this lowly one can make the decision to give them all to you, Master Jin… This lowly one can help with anything. Master Jin can take Cloud Mountain Temple… I still have three thousand taels… If you touch me, Cloud Mountain Temple won't let this rest…" Under Zhao Jin and the others' gaze, Li Shun was gradually overwhelmed by fear and began rambling incoherently.

"Drive out everyone who doesn't belong here!" Zhao Jin said. Liu Yong, Ji Xiang, and Shi Manqiang immediately headed toward the rooms on either side. Zhao Jin stepped forward twice and kicked viciously at Li Shun.

Li Shun couldn't dodge at all. He was kicked flat onto the floor, clutching his stomach and curling into a ball. At that moment, shrieks rang out from the side rooms, and women fled in panic.

Chen Sheng followed up, kicking Li Shun in the face. Blood immediately covered his face. Wang Zhaojing and Dong Bingfeng were also gritting their teeth, ready to step forward. Just then, Zhao Jin spoke: "Stop hitting him. Severe injuries won't look good."

Several of Li Shun's teeth had been kicked out. His mouth was full of blood, but right now he couldn't care about any of that. He lay there groaning and shouting, "Spare me, spare me! This lowly one was momentarily blinded! I'm willing to hand over all my family property. Spare me!"

Zhao Jin, however, walked toward the bedroom. When he came out, he was holding several feet of cloth — something like a bedsheet. Then he brought over a chair, stepped onto it, hung the cloth over a roof beam, and tied a knot.

Seeing this, everyone understood what Zhao Jin intended to do. Zhao Jin made a gesture. Chen Sheng stepped forward and grabbed Li Shun. Li Shun tried to struggle, but Chen Sheng punched him hard in the stomach, and his whole body went limp like a rag. Shi Manqiang came over to help. They hoisted the man onto the chair and fitted his head into the cloth noose.

With two men holding him down, Li Shun couldn't move at all. Perhaps realizing what fate awaited him, his voice turned shrill: "Such a vast fortune, monopolized by a few brats like you — who wouldn't covet it? Even if I didn't make a move, those old monks at Cloud Mountain Temple would have…"

"You killed my brother!" Zhao Jin said. He kicked the chair away. Li Shun's body plummeted downward. His shouting stopped abruptly. He hung stiff and straight from the roof beam.

Watching the corpse swaying from the beam, the room fell utterly silent.

"Vermin." Zhao Jin said through gritted teeth, then led everyone out.

"Leave thirty men here. Before the yamen people arrive, no one is allowed into this room. Round up everyone from the Li household into one courtyard. Lei Cai, go to the yamen and report the case. Say that Li Shun's collusion with the river bandits was exposed, and he hanged himself out of fear of punishment." Zhao Jin gave his orders.

Aside from Lei Cai, he hadn't assigned anyone to the other tasks, but Zhao Jin and his brothers had long since developed a tacit understanding. People stepped forward on their own to get busy.

"Xiaoyong, send someone to notify Chen Ergou and Butcher Li. Tell them to go to the freight yard right now and wait for me." Zhao Jin spoke again. Liu Yong went out quickly to make the arrangements.

Inside the courtyard, Li Shun's family didn't even dare to cry loudly. They knew perfectly well what Li Shun's "suicide" really meant, but no one dared to make a sound, afraid of getting implicated themselves.

Zhao Jin and his group strode out with their heads held high. The sky had already darkened, and even those watching from a distance had vanished.

Back at the freight yard, they saw Lu Da leading the household guards, standing watch beside the seized goods. They knew how valuable these items were and stood facing outward. As for the He family captives, they were still freezing in the cold wind.

"Move the goods inside. Put the people in the storehouse and lock them up. Give them some food and water. Bring Zhou Xuezhi to my courtyard. Settle his family separately, and treat them well." Zhao Jin gave a few brief orders. Upon their return, he and the household guards who had stayed behind immediately began bustling about.

In the standalone courtyard, the heated walls of the room had already been warmed. Inside, it was as warm as spring. Entering this room, everyone sat down in silence. To think that just a dozen or so days ago, they had all been here laughing and drinking together, getting dead drunk. Who could have imagined that they would be separated by death so soon?

Zhou Xuezhi was brought over by the household guards shortly after. The moment he entered the room, he hastily dropped to his knees. Zhou Xuezhi's complexion was much better than when he had arrived. At the very least, the special treatment given to his wife and daughter had put his mind considerably at ease.

"The Grand Master is truly a man of great strategic brilliance. These household guards already carry the stern, disciplined air of a mighty army!" Zhou Xuezhi first offered a flattering remark, but he genuinely believed it.

The He family's private soldiers, the river bandits from various places, the imperial army — Zhou Xuezhi had seen them all. He had once thought those counted as formidable. But compared to Zhao Jin's men, the difference was immediately clear. One side was a chaotic, undisciplined rabble; the other followed orders and prohibitions with strict discipline. Such a contrast naturally inspired this kind of admiration.

Zhao Jin did not respond to the comment. He sat in silence for a moment, then spoke: "He Weiyuan's entire household are devotees of the Incense-Smelling Sect, harboring seditious intent and plotting rebellion. Li Shun was also a secret believer, his whole family inducted into the sect. Do you understand?"

Hearing the name Li Shun, Zhou Xuezhi froze for a moment. Wang Zhaojing, standing to the side, saw through something and said with a cold laugh, "He Weiyuan really didn't consider you a trusted confidant."

The words stung. Zhou Xuezhi's face stiffened, but then he quickly realized that this statement was greatly to his advantage right now. He said awkwardly, "Old He was far too secretive. There were many matters this student was not deeply involved in."

"Just remember what I've told you. That's what you'll confess in court. Before that, you will identify all of He Weiyuan's trusted lieutenants and cell leaders in the city. Do you know them?" Zhao Jin continued.

Zhou Xuezhi nodded repeatedly and said, "This lowly one has been involved in quite a bit of the Incense-Smelling Sect's affairs. I know this, I know this."

The chests containing the roster and account books were brought in. The roster was taken out for Zhou Xuezhi to look through. Zhao Jin and his group went into the inner room.

"He Weiyuan never took this Incense-Smelling Sect seriously at all. Otherwise, Zhou Xuezhi wouldn't know much about the murder-for-hire wine business, yet he's deeply involved in the sect's affairs." Inside the inner room, everyone relaxed a little. Wang Zhaojing sat down and remarked.

Just then, someone called out from outside. Everyone recognized Lei Cai's voice. Although Lei Cai was close to Zhao Jin and the others, he knew his place and was always very measured in his conduct. In private spaces like this belonging to Zhao Jin and his inner circle, he would always announce himself and only enter after receiving permission.

After Liu Yong led him in, Lei Cai reported: "The yamen has already sent constables and a coroner over."

"You've worked hard all day too. Go and get some rest." Zhao Jin nodded. He noticed that Lei Cai seemed to want to say something but was hesitating. Zhao Jin's mood was low, but he did his best not to let his emotions affect important matters. He said, "Leizi, sit down first. If you have something to say, say it. We're family here — no need to hide anything."

"There's no place here for a junior like me to sit," Lei Cai demurred hastily. Liu Yong, seeing the look on Zhao Jin's face, stood up and pressed Lei Cai into a chair, adding, "If Big Brother tells you to sit, you sit. If he tells you to speak, you speak."

Lei Cai's face was full of gratitude. Cautiously, he said, "Big Brother, those people in the yamen are terribly troublesome. If we just let them go over there to take the case and examine the corpse, what if they come back with findings that are bad for us? This junior was thinking — perhaps we should ask a few of the elder brothers' seniors to step in and have a word."

Whether someone hanged themselves or was forced into it can be discerned from the physical evidence. Not to mention that Zhao Jin and his men had swaggered in beforehand and swaggered out after the man was dead — and they hadn't even coerced the Li household into changing their story. There were too many holes; it would be easy for someone to overturn the case.