Chapter 557: The Bailiffs Have Come

No one expected that Old Softie would shake his head forcefully and say in a trembling voice, "Not tragic at all — they deserved it. Dagang, when those bastards burned our place down, they barged in killing, looting, and violating women. So many of our neighbors suffered. Watching that one just now felt damn satisfying!"

The other three all nodded emphatically. Wang Dagang froze, stood there stunned for a long moment, then slammed the wooden club in his hand hard against the ground and said sullenly, "I'm just too soft-hearted!"

At this moment, the area around Cloud Mountain Cart Company rather lived up to the saying "things reverse when they reach the extreme." By day, firecrackers roared and gongs and drums filled the air; in the afternoon, the theater troupe performed noisily, and the thugs wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves. Yet once night fell, it was as silent as a graveyard — in truth, it had already been that way since dusk.

People watched the unsavory characters come to stir up trouble, listened to the ghostly wailing and wolfish howling, and some even saw the ones with broken hands and feet being carried away, the bearers cursing through gritted teeth.

The fringe districts of Qingjiangpu were lawless places to begin with. Broad daylight was tolerable, but at night, the city foxes and shrine rats all came out; murder and robbery were nothing rare. The best way to protect yourself was to hide at home with the door shut, pretending to hear nothing and see nothing. Seeing the scene that day, the experienced nearby residents all knew trouble was coming and hid themselves away at home first.

Though this stretch of ground was quiet, no one dared simply sleep through it. Women smeared black ash on their faces, men kept weapons in hand — if a big fight broke out, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't take advantage of the chaos to loot. They had to be ready to cope.

Two large lanterns hung before the main gate of Cloud Mountain Cart Company, illuminating the area in front brilliantly, but the rest of the sprawling compound lay in pitch-black darkness.

By all reasoning, after such a ruckus during the day, the cart company ought to have posted extra men at the gate. Yet only two men were stationed there, and they weren't even on edge — just sitting there chatting and laughing, paying no mind to what went on outside. Even the main gate was left half-open, and what lay within was so dark no one could tell.

Under the lamplight at night, these were the ones you could see. Everywhere else was black and unseen, so you couldn't tell that along the low wall, at regular intervals, two men sat together, chatting idly as well. If you could get close enough to listen, you'd discover they weren't speaking Han Chinese — or else their accents were very strange.

"... How did you get here..."

"... Ten years ago, the white disaster struck. It snowed heavily for several nights straight. When I woke in the morning, everyone in the tent had frozen to death. My mother had draped her felt blanket over me. I grabbed a mare that hadn't died and walked out... And you..."

"... The Noyan took a liking to my elder sister. My sister had long been promised to someone else. My father and elder brother refused, and then they were all killed. My sister pierced her own throat with an arrow. I hid in the sheep pen and crawled out..."

The two sat there talking in low voices, recounting tragedies of destroyed families and dead kin, yet their tones were utterly indifferent, as if they were speaking of someone else's affairs.

"... Everything here is fine, but it's a different kind of cold — makes you suffer terribly..."

"Someone's there!"

Just as they were idly chatting, they heard someone outside unable to hold back a sound. The two on the wall reacted identically: in unison they drew their bows and nocked arrows, aiming toward where the sound had come from.

A spark of fire in that direction suddenly went out, and hurried footsteps retreated into the distance. In some places there were startled cries, in others none — yet the sound of footsteps rose up everywhere.

Though the night was deep, Wang Dagang had not fallen asleep. Hearing the commotion outside, he grabbed his weapon and rushed out. He had just reached the door when someone behind him called him to a halt: "It's pitch-black, and the other side knows this turf like the back of their hand — you won't catch them. If you go out, you might well run into trouble."

Wang Dagang stopped at once. After thinking it over, he said, "Master Jin, the Big Cart Gang has been ruthless and brutal for so many years they're used to it — they'll use any method. My guess is they came tonight to set fires. Tomorrow they'll surely have other tricks."

"What tricks could they have? Only two: either they bring bailiffs, or they come fight themselves. Apart from that, no other moves." Zhao Jin said with a smile. Compared to the tense Wang Dagang, his expression was very relaxed.

At his side, Ji Xiang drew his blade halfway out, then rammed it back into the scabbard with a hard shove. Yawning, he said, "If I'd known it was like this, I'd have come out long ago. I thought the outside world was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den — turns out it's just this simple."

"That's because you've already fought your way through the dragon's pool and tiger's den. Here in South Zhili, how many people do you think can fight life-and-death battles the way they do in Xuzhou?" Liu Yong asked with a laugh from the side.

Zhao Jin didn't let them continue their idle chatter. He simply gave the order: "Daxiang, go take a walk around outside. No matter what the opponent is like, we can't afford to be careless."

Ji Xiang nodded to accept the order and strode out the door with his blade. Watching his departing back, Liu Yong said with a smile, "Big Brother, Daxiang's drive is so much stronger than when he was back home. And honestly, with the situation in Qingjiangpu, your little brother also thinks coming out early was a good thing."

Wang Dagang stood to one side holding his weapon. Six others stood just like him — four young household guards with ramrod-straight backs and two middle-aged men with a more casual air. Compared to those six expressionless figures, Wang Dagang's face showed considerable worry. He knew full well how many men the Big Cart Gang could mobilize, and he could vaguely guess at the backers behind the gang — they would be very hard to deal with. Weren't these young masters being a little too relaxed?

Hearing Liu Yong's words, Zhao Jin merely shook his head. After a moment he said, "There's an idiom: 'Store deep, release slow.' And another phrase: 'Train hard in inner skill.' You all feel we came out too late; I feel it's too early. You think this time is easy, but you haven't considered that the ease is precisely because of the life-and-death battles we fought in Xuzhou."

Liu Yong listened with solemn attention, nodding repeatedly. When Zhao Jin finished, Liu Yong spoke again: "Big Brother makes good sense. But ever since your little brother arrived in Qingjiangpu, the feeling has been very strange. I feel some fear, some panic — I've never seen such a prosperous place. Can a prosperous place like this really have anything to do with us? Yet I also feel very relaxed. Back in Xuzhou, we had to exhaust our minds and strength, but here, we really don't need to expend much effort..."

Here Liu Yong fell silent. Zhao Jin smiled. Riding fast horses without rest, it took only about three days to travel from Xuzhou to Qingjiangpu — even faster in winter. Such a short distance, yet Xuzhou was barren and desolate while Qingjiangpu was flourishing and prosperous. As for population, all of Xuzhou had no more than two or three hundred thousand people, while Qingjiangpu alone had over six hundred thousand. And that was counting Xuzhou's entire prefecture — one city, four counties, urban and rural all included — whereas Qingjiangpu was merely an unwalled city along both banks of the canal.

Coming from a poor and remote backwater to a bustling metropolis, from a small place to a big place — the shock in one's heart was imaginable. Such feelings were only natural. As for feeling relaxed, with the contrast in strength, that feeling was bound to arise.

But Liu Yong hadn't finished what he wanted to say. He had the look of someone who wanted to speak but held back. Zhao Jin noticed it too and teased, "Better to finish what you're saying."

"Big Brother, your little brother is still a bit afraid."

"Afraid of what? Qingjiangpu may be big..." Zhao Jin began to explain with a smile.

Liu Yong shook his head and instinctively lowered his voice. "In the past, your little brother knew the Zhao Character Camp was strong, but I didn't know to what degree. I thought that fighting life-and-death battles in Xuzhou and gaining the upper hand made us strong in Xuzhou. But Xuzhou is such a small place — in the grand scheme of the whole world, it counts for nothing, and we count for nothing too. So we had to be careful, had to be cautious. But... but once we came out, your little brother discovered that the Zhao Character Camp is still strong — strong to this degree. That frightens me."

Zhao Jin fell silent as well. Only after a quiet moment did he speak: "This is why I didn't let you all go out. Go out too early, and your mindset goes wrong."

Their voices were lowered here, and Wang Dagang couldn't make out what they were saying. He just grew anxious. Young masters, this place is a dragon's pool and a tiger's den — don't treat it so lightly.

That night passed in utter quiet. After daybreak, quite a few carters from the nearby Big Cart Gang came by to take a look. Seeing the place safe and sound, they all showed surprise on their faces, but none dared say anything — they simply dispersed.

As for Cloud Mountain Trading Company, everything there was routine and proper. A few men swept and sprinkled water before the gate, and someone rode out on horseback. From a distance, you could see people inside repairing large carts. Only then did anyone notice that these large carts were somewhat different from ordinary ones — the side panels were all especially high, making them look like compartments for carrying people, or, to put it less kindly, like big wooden crates.

After the sun came out, a table was carried out from the cart company and placed right beside the main gate. Someone cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted a few times — nothing more than that whoever was willing to join this cart company could do so now, just by registering a name. There was work right away, and wages would be paid on the spot.

The terms were truly generous, yet not a single person stood before the gate. As members of the Big Cart Gang, who didn't know what moves their gang would make next? Going up to that door was asking for trouble.

As for independent carters, not a single one was to be seen. The big fight before the new year had already driven everyone away. Those who knew the news had long since come over to join this side. As for the rest, they were too busy ducking and hiding to even think of coming to sign up.

When the sun rose higher, the streets in the neighborhood grew considerably livelier. Yet everyone, intentionally or not, steered clear of this area. Everyone knew the matter wasn't over — and the sight of a squad of bailiffs bearing down with menacing momentum only confirmed their thoughts.

Where before they had kept far away, now they gathered around instead. From ancient times to the present, the habit of watching a spectacle is in people's bones.

The two lead bailiffs wore square hats and black robes, with a red border along the hem. Those following behind wore both blue robes and black robes, but none wore square hats. The weapons in their hands were a motley assortment — waist sabers, iron rulers, plus chains and wooden clubs. Every face was grim and cold as they strode straight toward this place.

Behind the cart-driver recruitment table sat a man. Though it was morning, he looked utterly listless. Only when he saw these bailiffs approaching did he raise his head — and even then, his squinting eyes didn't open.

He might have been spiritless, but the bailiffs were fierce indeed. Just as they were about to reach him, two men rushed out from behind the lead bailiff, cursing furiously: "Killing a man in broad daylight, and you still have the nerve to sit here? The hell do you know nothing of the king's law?"

Cursing as they went, they kicked the table over. The table toppled backward — clearly intended to knock the person behind it to the ground along with it.

Thank you everyone. There will be a single chapter afterward — very important.