Chapter 534: A Restless Mood

After so long with Liu Yong acting so mild-mannered, his sudden ferocity completely stunned Ji Xiang, who for a moment couldn't utter a word.

"Zhao Character Camp is Big Brother's Zhao Character Camp — whether it thrives or fails is Big Brother's call. We have no right to run our mouths! Without Big Brother, we wouldn't even have today!" Liu Yong said, biting off every word, then fixed a death glare on Ji Xiang.

For no clear reason, Ji Xiang felt a chill, yet also a bit awkward. He said nothing, silently turning his head to look ahead. Only after a while did he mutter, "I was just thinking we could make Zhao Character Camp even better."

They traveled the rest of the way in silence until they reached a workshop where crimson light blazed against the sky and a constant clanging rang out. Everyone in Zhao Character Camp knew this was the Xu family ironworks, jointly managed by a Xu family steward and Shi Manqiang's father. All of Zhao Character Camp's armor and weapons were now repaired and forged here.

They halted the carts. The household servants hauled the Embroidered Uniform Guard agents straight down. After struggling the whole journey, several had collapsed in the carts, unable to move. Some, even more wretched, had lost control of their bowels — the stench spread everywhere, making everyone furrow their brows. Fortunately, their mouths were still gagged; otherwise they'd surely be howling themselves hoarse.

The ironworks had already cleared out a dedicated area. The smelting furnace blazed with searing heat, but only a single blacksmith stood watch there — a man Zhao Character Camp trusted, so certain matters didn't need to be hidden from him.

The dozen-plus agents were dumped on the ground, and all their luggage was brought over as well. The Internal Guard men went straight to searching. It didn't take much effort before the first waist token was dug out. The jianghu man in charge's expression flickered. The despairing Embroidered Uniform Guard agents naturally caught that detail, and for a moment they actually seemed rather invigorated.

Before, you didn't know we were Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now you know — you know we're official agents, and the most vicious kind at that. So why haven't you released us yet? A few of the quicker-minded ones were already calculating how to extort compensation.

But that jianghu man's expression merely flickered for an instant, nothing more. Then the Embroidered Uniform Guard credentials, appointment documents — everything proving their identity — was dug out and tossed aside. A dozen-plus waist tokens and documents piled together, along with the luggage and valuables the Embroidered Uniform Guard had brought. Several men stepped back. Liu Yong nodded, and another man came forward, bundled the tokens, documents, and proofs into a small cloth parcel, walked right up to the smelting furnace, and threw it straight in.

In that instant, the Embroidered Uniform Guard agents, who had been watching everything intently, nearly popped their eyes out of their skulls. Then every last shred of hope in each of them was utterly shattered. The other side didn't care in the slightest about their status. What came next was all too easy to imagine.

"Thirty strokes each. Don't beat them to death!" a young man's cold voice commanded.

When the agents heard this sentence, what many of them actually felt was relief. At least they weren't being thrown into the furnace to be smelted.

The heavy staves came whistling down with fierce momentum. Most had their mouths stuffed with rags, yet even so, the agents being beaten bit down until blood seeped from their teeth. Their lower bodies, naturally, were a mass of black and purple bruises — walking was out of the question now.

"Though your intentions were malicious, this is still a first offense, so we'll spare your lives this time. Come again, and we'll tie you up and throw you straight into this furnace to burn. Not even a scrap of bone will remain. Understood?" Ji Xiang stood before the crowd and spoke coldly.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard agents could only nod frantically in acknowledgment. Ji Xiang, however, walked up to a squad leader, drew his short blade, and with one stroke severed a finger, tossing it directly into the furnace. Everyone watched as the finger inside rapidly blackened and burned to ash.

"Bandage him up. Get a few carts and escort them out of Xuzhou!" Ji Xiang said irritably. The household servants all obeyed.

The agents were scared out of their wits, thinking: this man looks barely twenty — how can he possess such ruthless cruelty and methods? He drew his blade and drew blood without so much as blinking. They'd assumed he would now torture them cut by cut. Only upon hearing those words did their entire bodies relax.

Every one of them collapsed where they lay, as if every bone had been drained from their bodies. Ji Xiang swept his gaze over them with utter disgust, glanced at Liu Yong standing impassively off to the side, then turned and walked straight away.

The household servants hurriedly followed orders, loading the men onto the carts and giving the area around the furnace a quick cleaning before dispersing back to their respective camps.

Liu Yong had been standing there watching the whole time. Once everyone had left, the big man who had earlier burned the waist tokens walked over to the pile of the Embroidered Uniform Guard agents' luggage, casually pulled out another small cloth bundle, and respectfully handed it to Liu Yong. Liu Yong nodded, took the bundle, and left on his own.

Back at Zhao Character Camp's encampment, Liu Yong went directly to Zhao Jin's residence. He announced himself outside and, learning that Zhao Jin was busy in the study, walked straight over.

The study was separate from the inner residence and also served as a place for discussions and receiving guests. When Liu Yong entered the room, he saw Zhao Jin holding a hard pen, frowning in deep thought over a large account book, occasionally writing or marking something on it.

Everyone knew Zhao Jin had never attended school, yet the core members of Zhao Character Camp all knew he could read. It was just that reading aloud required someone to mark the phrasing, and his writing was full of wrong characters — though he could write a great many of them. Moreover, this thick "account book" was the most critical item Zhao Jin kept at hand. He always wrote in it himself and read it himself; not even his closest companions had ever touched it.

"Is the matter settled?" Seeing Liu Yong enter, Zhao Jin closed the account book and asked.

Liu Yong nodded and stepped forward. "Those agents have been scared out of their wits. They've seen how we handle things. Next time they send someone, they'll definitely think twice."

After saying this, Liu Yong placed the small cloth bundle in his hand onto Zhao Jin's desk. He untied it and spread the wrapping cloth open. Zhao Jin was taken aback — inside the bundle lay a dozen-plus waist tokens and Embroidered Uniform Guard credentials and appointment documents.

"Keeping these in our hands will be useful. Flash a token or a credential — who's going to know whether the bearer is the real person? Most people will be intimidated. Using these to enter cities in disguise will certainly be very convenient. I thought burning them would be a waste, so I found a man with some sleight of hand and had him swap the items right before their eyes. Now, aside from me and that trickster, everyone believes these were burned." Liu Yong explained.

Hearing this, Zhao Jin couldn't help but laugh. He nodded approvingly. "These will indeed be useful to us. Keep them in your custody. Don't let anyone else know."

Liu Yong smiled and nodded as well. Zhao Jin was silent for a moment, then said, "This time, those agents had both overt and covert operatives, and their methods were fairly methodical. If they hadn't been so flagrant, and if various pieces of intelligence hadn't leaked in advance, they might actually have managed to uncover something..."

Here Zhao Jin paused, then shook his head. "If they'd been even more meticulous, both the overt and covert teams would have been mere decoys. Someone could have come quietly, observed quietly — we'd never have known. By now, that person would already be on the return journey."

Liu Yong froze. He mulled it over, then sighed. "Big Brother is right. The real scout may very well have already gone back. Who knows what they saw here on our side?"

"No need to worry about that. What strength does Zhao Character Camp possess? Any observant person in Xuzhou knows perfectly well. As long as they put in the effort, they can definitely find out. But what use is finding out? Our assets are right here. If anyone wants to take them, they can come and try by force!" Zhao Jin spoke with considerable bravado.

At these words, Liu Yong, who had been rather worried, relaxed considerably and smiled along. The hour wasn't late, but it was time to take his leave. Before leaving, Liu Yong hesitated, then lowered his voice and said, "Big Brother, Daxiang is very agitated. It might be that what was said today stirred up his thoughts — he's extremely restless. Knowing Daxiang's temperament, even if you forbid him, he'll still stir up trouble on his own. Big Brother, perhaps you should speak with him directly."

Zhao Jin furrowed his brow. "He really doesn't give anyone peace of mind. I'll go scold him, but you must also keep a close watch. Daxiang is getting more and more rash. Sooner or later he's going to cause a disaster."

At this point, Liu Yong grew a bit nervous. He coughed twice and said, "Big Brother, Daxiang is only thinking of everyone's good. He also wants us to rise to the next level."

Zhao Jin sighed and said softly, "These past two years, we've advanced too fast. Two years ago, Daxiang was still figuring out how to take over his father's stall. Now he's a major power in the region — even the prefect and the county magistrate treat him with courtesy and deference. Advancing this fast, it's easy to start thinking our Zhao Character Camp is omnipotent. That's what makes him rash. So you must keep a close watch — we can't let our negligence ruin him!"

Liu Yong nodded. At this, Zhao Jin smiled at Liu Yong and said, "Xiaoyong, you're younger than all of them, yet more steady. Among the brothers, your temperament is quite similar to Dasheng and Zhaojing's. Truly rare."

"Big Brother, I'm impatient too. Sometimes I also think about grand plans. It's just that I know Zhao Character Camp is Big Brother's to decide. Whatever Big Brother says, that's what we do." Liu Yong spoke with utter sincerity.

Zhao Jin said nothing more. He simply clapped Liu Yong heavily on the shoulder.

By now, the twelfth month wasn't far off. Many households had already begun busying themselves with New Year preparations. The Zhao household, naturally, didn't need to worry about such things — there were people specifically assigned to handle all New Year matters.

Zhao Jin remained in the study a while longer, racking his brains for a long time before finally writing down a few lines in the account book. The pens he used were custom-made, composed of a wooden shaft and a brass nib, and the ink was specially prepared by someone — if he'd used regular brush ink, it would have clogged the pen completely.

After writing this, Zhao Jin sat blankly for a moment, then took the account book and returned to his living quarters. These notebooks, which recorded his "memories" and inspirations, were Zhao Jin's most precious treasures. He'd had an iron chest specially forged to store them, and the lock had been purchased from somewhere in Jiangnan. Every day, Zhao Jin personally locked it.

This newly built residence had been specially constructed with heated flues. Beneath several rooms ran brick-walled heating tunnels, and every day someone was assigned to burn coal for warmth, keeping the entire house as warm as spring. There was no smell of smoke or fire, nor any sense of dryness. The only drawback was the enormous daily consumption of coal — but Xuzhou produced coal, and the Zhao and Xu families hardly cared about such costs now. To keep a pregnant woman comfortable, the expense was worth it.

Seeing Zhao Jin return, the two old serving women and several maids in the room all hurriedly rose to pay their respects. Zhao Jin acknowledged them coolly. He noticed that a few of the maids had, uncharacteristically, put on makeup, and under the lamplight they looked quite charming and lovely.

Thanks to "Mu Ming, Qing Ruo Zai Kou, Tian Mi De Gan Zhe, Yuan Heng Li Zhen" — four friends — for your tips. Tian Mi De Gan Zhe, you are now a Sect Leader of this book. Thank you all. Asking for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, subscriptions, and tips.