Chapter 65: No Need for Our Family to Worry

Zhao Jin was annoyed by the noise. He flipped the spear in his hands and whipped it back hard across a man's shoulder. A shriek of pain rang out, and at last there was quiet.

The group had not walked far from the freight yard when they saw two young men and a woman heading their way. Everyone had seen these three many times before — they were the ones who came to pick up Mu Shulan.

Now that someone had suddenly set eyes on her, following along with her was no longer very safe. But Mr. Mu's side had plenty of hands and great influence, so they would surely be able to protect her fully.

What exactly Mu Shulan's family did, Zhao Jin still had not figured out even now. When he brought it up to ask his parents, they told him straight out not to go prying around. And with friends and companions, it was not quite convenient to ask such a question. As a result, after spending so much time together, he was still completely in the dark.

"You head back first. Remember to tell your father what happened today." Zhao Jin gave her this instruction. Mu Shulan nodded obediently and ran off toward the people who had come for her.

The moment the young girl left, Wang Zhaojing caught up to Zhao Jin and said in a low voice, "Cloud Mountain Temple has considerable influence. Sending them to the yamen probably won't do much good."

"In broad daylight, there isn't much we can do either. My father and Chen Sheng's father both hold posts inside. Once they're sent in, the elders will step forward and issue a warning," Zhao Jin answered in a deep voice.

Wang Zhaojing nodded and said with a smile, "Brother Zhao, you've thought this through thoroughly."

"Letting these two bird-men off easy!" Chen Sheng had overheard their conversation as well and cursed through gritted teeth.

Compared to most people his age, Wang Zhaojing thought things through far more thoroughly. What Zhao Jin could think of, he had thought of too.

These two men had tailed them the whole way, but they could always shamelessly claim they just happened to be going the same direction. And since they had kept their distance the entire time without ever making contact, there was no solid evidence to convict them. If they tried to use force, Cloud Mountain Temple's influence in Xuzhou was simply too great — there was no way to clash head-on. The only option was to send them to the yamen to teach them a lesson. The elders would also pass word along, and that would put the matter to rest.

Though it was hardly satisfying, this was the most they could do.

Common folk were all afraid of seeing officials and normally walked the long way around just to avoid the yamen. But for Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, and the others, it was a familiar place. Even the runners idling out front recognized them.

"Uncle Liu, these two were trying to abduct children. We caught them. Could I trouble Uncle Liu to put them in the lockup for now?"

The man addressed as Uncle Liu had three helpers with him. They had been chatting idly when Zhao Jin and the others arrived. After hearing Zhao Jin out, he had the three helpers take the men inside, then said with a laugh, "Xiao Jin, you've started catching people yourself now. Trying to steal your Uncle Liu's job?"

"I'll have my father treat Uncle Liu to drinks for this!" Zhao Jin answered with a grin. He turned and told the others to wait outside for a moment, then went into the yamen together with Chen Sheng.

The Liu-surnamed runner at the gate was an officially rostered constable who drew imperial pay, his standing roughly equal to Zhao Jin's father. Zhao Jin knew the man gave them this much face firstly out of regard for Zhao Zhentang, and secondly out of regard for Chen Sheng's father, Chen Wu. All things considered, Chen Sheng's part likely carried even more weight.

After all, Chen Sheng's father, Chen Wu, was the Chief Constable of Xuzhou, in charge of all the constables and runners. Counting the unrostered helpers, he had several hundred men under him.

The Department Magistrate's yamen covered a sizable area, but it was exceptionally dilapidated. Renovating a yamen was considered inauspicious, so successive officials had simply let it fall apart. Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng walked straight into the constables' office at the front.

The constables' office was quite large. Inside, a dozen or so constables were drinking tea and chatting, at ease and lively. When they saw Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng enter, they all greeted them with smiles. Zhao Jin and the other boy made their way inside, calling out "uncle" and "elder" at every step.

Zhao Zhentang sat off to one side with a bold, imposing air, two men gathered around him. Everyone here was an officially rostered runner drawing imperial pay. But Zhao Zhentang held the additional post of executioner, killing people day in and day out, and he conducted himself with a broad, brotherly loyalty. So his standing was a cut above the others, and everyone gathered around him with flattering talk. Of course, the highest standing still belonged to Chen Wu — seven or eight men clustered around him over there.

Seeing his son, Zhao Zhentang paused in surprise and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"…Someone was watching our house from early this morning. I caught them at noon today and got them to confess — they're hands from Cloud Mountain Trading. They were watching Little Lan, probably up to no good…" Zhao Jin gave a brief account, glancing over at Chen Sheng's side as he spoke. The same story was being told over there.

At the words "Cloud Mountain Trading," Zhao Zhentang's brows furrowed. He thought for a moment, then said, "If they send over a calling card, even His Honor the Department Magistrate has to give them face. Besides, you don't have any real evidence. There's no way to press charges."

After laying out the difficulties, Zhao Zhentang paused, then asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Zhao Jin's thinking was clear, and he was very resourceful in handling matters. Sometimes even adults did not think things through as thoroughly as he did. Moreover, before his death, Zhao Zhenxing had urged them to consult Zhao Jin more often. Zhao Zhentang knew his younger brother was a steady man who did not speak carelessly, so he took the initiative to ask his son's opinion.

"Father, pressing charges is impossible, but we can give these two errand-runners a beating. Cloud Mountain Trading will definitely send someone to bail them out. And when these two errand-runners go back, it'll let Cloud Mountain Trading know where the line is," Zhao Jin said very clearly.

Great as Cloud Mountain Trading's influence was, they would not necessarily tear faces with yamen runners over one little girl. A warning from this side, and presumably that side would know to back off.

Zhao Zhentang thought it over a moment longer, then suddenly laughed and said, "Truth is, our family doesn't even need to worry about this. Little Lan's family is not to be trifled with. Still, what ought to be done must be done. I'll go have a word with Chief Chen."

With that, Zhao Zhentang stood and walked over toward Chen Wu. After only a few words, Zhao Zhentang turned and came back. He said to Zhao Jin, "We'll do as you said. Now go home and practice your martial arts."

Zhao Jin knew his objective had been achieved, so he left together with Chen Sheng. On the way out of the yamen, Chen Sheng was still huffing with anger. "I told my father to throw them in jail and use heavy torture, but he wouldn't agree."

At supper time, Zhao Zhentang told Zhao Jin what had happened at the yamen that afternoon. The two men who had been keeping watch were given forty strokes of the heavy board outright, and only then was the matter reported to the Department Magistrate. Just as Zhao Jin had predicted, Cloud Mountain Trading soon sent someone to post bail and took the two hands away.

After this round of trouble, that side surely now knew that Mu Shulan was not so easy to touch and would restrain themselves considerably.

When He Cuihua heard that Mu Shulan had been targeted, she grew very anxious and worried. Zhao Zhentang, however, laughed and said, "You're worrying over nothing. Do you think Mu Shulan's father's side will just let this go? You'd do better worrying about those blind fools at Cloud Mountain Trading."

He Cuihua paused, then her face broke into a smile of sudden understanding. Zhao Jin seized the moment to ask, "Father, what exactly does Little Lan's family do?"

"Don't go prying into that, and don't get involved with her family either. If not for the fact that the girl Little Lan grew up right before our family's eyes, even with her you should keep contact to a minimum." Just like the previous times, Zhao Zhentang had no intention of answering.

"Listen to your father, he's right," He Cuihua said, for once backing Zhao Zhentang on such a matter. This only left Zhao Jin more baffled, but he was tactful enough not to ask again.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Jin faintly heard the sound of a distant commotion. But after a tiring day, and since it did not sound like it involved his own family, he simply went back to sleep.

The next morning, he went for his run as usual and headed out after breakfast to his second uncle's courtyard to practice martial arts. He had been practicing for less than half a shichen when someone began pounding on the gate outside. Zhao Jin went over with his spear in hand and opened the door. Outside stood Chen Sheng, his fair, plump face brimming with excitement. Putting on an air of mystery, he said to Zhao Jin, "Zhao Jin, Cloud Mountain Trading's compound was set on fire last night! They say half the goods in the storehouse burned, and the shopfront was burned beyond recognition. Lucky they caught it early — no one was burned to death."

Zhao Jin felt his heart thump. No wonder his father had spoken that way. It seemed Mu Shulan's family was truly no simple matter. Even against Cloud Mountain Temple's power, they dared to set fires in retaliation.

"Retribution! Serves them right! Let them set their sights on Little Lan. No wonder my father said they'd face retribution," Chen Sheng said with eager glee.

It seemed the adults all knew the Mu family's background; they simply did not want the younger generation to learn of it. This air of mystery only piqued Zhao Jin's interest further.

Chen Sheng stood in the courtyard with his long saber in hand, looking around appraisingly. His face full of envy, he said, "You actually have a quiet place to practice martial arts. My place has people coming and going all the time — it's total chaos. My grandpa always tells me to go practice alone somewhere else. He says practicing at home stirs up too much killing aura. He was the one who taught me in the first place, too."