Chapter 603: In Broad Daylight

Several dozen riders thundered through the streets of Qingjiangpu. From the colors of their uniforms, you could tell they were from the Cloud Mountain Carting Company. The common folk of Qingjiangpu had only vaguely heard of the Zhao Battalion, but the name Cloud Mountain Carting Company was known to everyone — they all knew it was a major enterprise of the Xuzhou men.

Everyone said the Xuzhou men were fierce and ruthless, and there was talk of how many had died, how many had been arrested. At first, the people of Qingjiangpu were very afraid. When they encountered the Cloud Mountain Carting Company, or even anyone with a Xuzhou accent, they kept their distance. But as time passed, they discovered this group of Xuzhou men was very disciplined, far better than the jianghu men who used to run wild in the streets. Even the local petty thieves and kidnappers of Qingjiangpu had vanished without a trace, and people's impressions gradually improved.

The common folk rarely saw the Zhao Battalion act so openly. Seeing this show of force, everyone was speculating about what had happened.

As for the local jianghu figures, seeing this terrified them even more. A few with guilty consciences even scrambled over walls to flee. Others rushed home to settle their affairs, shutting their doors and ceasing business in broad daylight, scattering like birds and beasts. Only after these several dozen riders swaggered past did they breathe easy and start asking around about what exactly had happened.

In other parts of the Great Ming, the best areas lay within city walls. Only a few places along the Grand Canal lay outside them, and Qingjiangpu was especially so. Its wealthy and bustling districts were all along the canal's two banks. Inside the walls of Shanyang County, though it was still the seat of Huai'an Prefecture, it was far inferior to what lay outside. There were no merchant shops there, let alone jianghu business.

Yet quite a few jianghu men lived within Shanyang's walls. The reason was that the city was safe. Jianghu men did things that broke the king's law, yet they needed the king's law's protection — absurd as that sounds. But once the city's four gates were shut, it was completely sealed off. Moreover, all the constables and runners were concentrated inside the city. If anyone committed a crime or vendetta killing inside the walls, the gates would close, the runners, constables, and even the garrison would mobilize, and no one could escape.

Precisely because of this, no matter how deep the hatred between people in Qingjiangpu, inside the city walls they could coexist in peace. That was the safety it provided. Niu Shengjie had previously thought the canal banks were lively and pleasurable, and living there was convenient in every way, but after Guan Tao persuaded him, he moved into the city.

The city gate was very quiet. The gate guards were listless. Seeing these several dozen riders approach, they hesitated, wanting to step forward and stop them to ask questions.

"Zhao Battalion business! Clear the way, quick!" the man leading the riders shouted. The soldiers hastily scrambled aside. These Xuzhou men could not be offended — even the garrison commander dared not touch them, let alone anyone else.

Watching the several dozen riders pass, dust billowing skyward, someone by the roadside muttered indignantly, "A fine place like our Qingjiangpu, ruined by these Xuzhou barbarians. Who knows what they'll turn it into in the future."

When Qingjiangpu's own runners, soldiers, jianghu figures, and local thugs and scoundrels ran rampant, no one made such laments. But once outsiders came — especially from barren, impoverished Xuzhou, which Qingjiangpu looked down on — many immediately found it intolerable, feeling indignant and bullied.

These several dozen riders were led by Tao Gui. Cheng Dahu and Qi Erkui were both in the group. Strictly speaking, Cheng Dahu and Qi Erkui's standing in the Zhao Battalion was no lower than Tao Gui's. In fact, Qi Erkui and Cheng Dahu were the ones in charge of this operation. But according to Zhao Battalion rules, whenever they moved openly, they had to be led by squad leaders and company commanders from the personal guard or the three regiments.

In this mounted column, someone rode beside Tao Gui. Anyone familiar with the area would immediately recognize him as a certain small-time salt peddler who had always done business in the Shanyang County seat. No one had seen him for several months. This salt peddler bustled about the city all day long and knew every road and household like the back of his hand.

Several dozen men and horses threading through the streets and alleys was a major event for Shanyang County. The county yamen and prefectural yamen soon got word, and then both sides, by tacit understanding, pretended not to know. As long as they didn't come for the yamens, who would bother with what they were doing?

Not long after, new word came: the several dozen riders had stopped in front of Niu Shengjie's residence...

The Zhao Battalion's several dozen riders halted before the Niu family's main gate. It was already noon, yet the Niu family gate was still tightly shut. The man familiar with the area said that everyone in the Niu household spent every day drinking, whoring, and gambling until very late and would only emerge around afternoon. At this hour, they almost certainly hadn't gotten up yet.

With a shout, a dozen or so riders wheeled around toward the Niu family's back gate. Another ten split into two squads, each watching one side. The rest dismounted. A big man stepped forward and pounded on the gate — bang, bang, loud and clear.

"Easy, easy! You break the gate, you can't afford to pay for it!" Before long, an impatient voice called out from inside.

Footsteps sounded. The gate opened from within. A bleary-eyed man stood before them. He hadn't yet grasped the situation. Seeing a crowd standing at the gate, he couldn't help but rub his eyes and ask, "You..."

The Zhao Battalion men let him get only two words out. The man who had pounded the gate kicked out, folding the Niu family gatekeeper into the shape of a shrimp. He curled up on the ground, unable to move.

"This... this is the Niu family..." Halfway through the sentence, another kick landed on his temple, and he passed out.

The men behind filed in. The Niu family residence wasn't large — only three courtyards deep. A few steps inside, they saw two dark-skinned, tall, bare-chested brawny men charge out. Both held pudao in their hands, shouting, "Who dares come... let's talk this over!"

Having a pudao inside the city was no small thing. But as soon as they charged out, they saw the other side actually drawing bows and nocking arrows. Their momentum instantly deflated by half, and they hurriedly tried to de-escalate. Yet with arrows on the strings, no one stopped. Twang, twang — the two men were struck in the thighs by arrows and fell to their knees with cries of pain.

"Second Master Niu, Third Master Niu are sea dragon heads. Which crew are you brothers from?" one of them said, kneeling and groaning in pain.

Before he finished, Qi Erkui had already stepped up. He raised the goose-quill saber in his hand and viciously slapped it across the man's face. He didn't use the blade, but a solid iron object like that smashing into the face knocked out several teeth on the spot. Blood sprayed from nose and mouth, and the man howled in pain. Qi Erkui smiled and said, "Sea dragon heads — what a terrifying title. Are you on land or at sea right now?"

After that one teasing remark, the blade was already pressed against the man's neck. They questioned him about the layout and defenses of the residence, and whether Niu Shengjie, Guan Tao, and the rest were all present. These two Niu family guards were normally vicious men, but seeing the other side's posture, they knew exactly what to do. The blade at their necks had already drawn blood. Refuse to talk or hold back, and their heads would most likely be moving house.

Because they lived inside the city, and because of their previous fierce reputation, the Niu family didn't have many guards. After all, they needed men at sea too, and who inside or outside the city would dare touch Niu Shengjie now? The Niu family's two sea masters naturally had nothing to worry about, so only a few men had been assigned here.

Once the questioning was clear, things became much simpler. The Zhao Battalion men charged in and searched room by room. The process was very easy. Not only did they meet no resistance, they didn't even encounter anyone who noticed them. Most people were either still hungover or simply didn't dare make a move. Bullying and real fighting were two different things. The Niu family crew might run wild and throw their weight around, but when it came to real combat, they cowered.

Everyone on the Niu side would say the same thing: these are relatives of the great sea dragon heads — aren't you afraid of retaliation for doing this? The Zhao Battalion's answer was also very simple: usually a fierce beating with the back of a blade, not stopping until the victim was rolling on the ground in agony.

However, it was precisely this approach — only beating, not killing — that gave the Niu household a bit of nerve. Scoundrels and ruffians often have a certain reckless, shameless skill. Rolling on the ground was their specialty. Some even feigned loyalty, shouting things like, "If you want to touch my young master, you'll have to step over my corpse!" The response was another brutal beating. But such beatings were only flesh wounds — they couldn't even break a bone, let alone threaten a life. This measured restraint increasingly failed to suppress the situation, and the clamor rose one after another. Still, the Zhao Battalion men who had come were plenty strong and their techniques weren't bad. They let the Niu family people make noise and thrash about. Once caught and pinned, they were tied up and hauled to the front courtyard, dumped there and ignored. They couldn't run or move anyway.

Niu Shengjie and Guan Tao were found in the bedroom. The two of them were sleeping together with three painted women. The room was thick with the stench of alcohol, rouge and powder, and rank bodily odors. Even these Zhao Battalion jianghu men, who normally cared about nothing, wrinkled their noses. Who knew how late they had caroused the night before. The two were yanked out of bed. The three painted women shrieked in terror. These two still hadn't woken up. Only when ropes were tied around them did they react. Guan Tao was somewhat dazed. Niu Shengjie, before his eyes were even open, was already struggling and cursing furiously.

"You dare touch me? Do you know who I am? Let your grandpa go, or I'll have your whole families exterminated!" Niu Shengjie's body was hollowed out by wine and lust — he had no strength — but his voice was piercingly shrill.

"Good heroes, whoever sent you to do this, you'd better think it over carefully. Our young master is the sole heir of the great sea masters, the great dragon heads of the ocean. If a single hair on him is harmed, who knows how many will die in Qingjiangpu. Do you know about the one who struck our young master? The man ranked eighth among Qingjiangpu's finest — his entire family was wiped out!" Compared to the hysterical, crazed Niu Shengjie, Guan Tao the failed scholar spoke far more clearly. He expounded at length on the Niu family's power and influence, all the while his eyes darted about, observing the situation before him. He was beginning to sense something was wrong.

Several men entered, several held the rear. Cheng Dahu followed behind, frowning as he looked around. He muttered, "This residence isn't big, but this bastard causes so much trouble — how come there are only two or three guards?"

As soon as he asked this, before any Zhao Battalion man could answer, Guan Tao hurriedly spoke up: "Sirs, you have sharp eyes. You heroes from Xuzhou don't know the situation in Qingjiangpu. The figure backing our young master is no ordinary jianghu hero. He's a big boss with hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of men under him. If he really attacked, even this city couldn't hold. With a figure like that, who would dare offend him? There's no need to station many guards — even the runners and soldiers don't dare touch us. Sirs, you've come from Xuzhou. We've never had dealings before. There may be some misunderstanding. In the future, if we interact more, we'll be on the same side. Our Second Master and Third Master both know about the Cloud Mountain Company's various businesses."

Thank you, everyone.