“Brother Zhuzi, why are they hunting you? What happened, exactly?”
Ning Chen asked it.
Wu Tiezhu’s face had been all simple, honest smiles a moment before. It changed all at once. His fists clenched and a savage light came into his eyes.
Then all at once he went down on his knees to Ning Chen.
“Little Chen, I know you’re a great man now. I’m begging you. For the sake of what we used to be to each other, I’m begging you ā kill every one of those animals.”
Ning Chen got him up in a hurry.
“Brother Zhuzi, I’m not going to sit by and do nothing about this… But you have to tell me first. What happened?”
Wu Tiezhu’s eyes went red all at once. “A month ago. I was going to be married to Chuntao…”
“Sister Chuntao?”
Ning Chen knew Chuntao too. She had always been good to him.
Wu Tiezhu nodded. “On account of the wedding I thought I’d go up the mountain with Pa and shoot some game… And we came on a crowd of men digging into the mountainside.”
Ning Chen’s brows lifted a little. “Digging?”
“That’s right. Digging into the mountain… Looking for some treasure or other, I suppose. Pa and I didn’t think anything of it, we just went on hunting. But then that crowd saw us, and they came after Pa and me to kill us.”
“Pa and I were scared out of our wits. Lucky for us we went up that mountain all the time and knew the ground, and we shook them off.”
“We thought that was the end of it. But on the very day your Sister Chuntao and I were married, a crowd of hill bandits came out of nowhere. They burned and killed and looted. Pa was killed protecting me. Ma died too. Chuntao… those animals raped Chuntao and then they killed her.”
“I was no use. I’m good for nothing. I wanted to save them and they knocked me out cold… When I came to I was in the fire. They’d set the house burning. Iā I was no use. I was no use…”
Wu Tiezhu was slapping himself across the face in his agony.
Ning Chen caught his hands and held them. “Brother Zhuzi. Steady.”
“Little Chen, I want revenge. I want to kill them. Kill every one of them…”
Wu Tiezhu’s eyes were red and his voice had gone hoarse.
Ning Chen’s eyes were cold. His fists were clenched and the knuckles had gone white.
Uncle Wu was dead?
Sister Chuntao was dead too?
He had come back this time meaning to repay them… and instead they were gone where he could not follow.
“Brother Zhuzi, you rest easy… I’ll settle this score for you!”
Ning Chen clapped him on the shoulder.
When Wu Tiezhu had steadied a little, Ning Chen asked, “Brother Zhuzi, didn’t you go to the authorities?”
“I did… All they’d say was that they’d send men to put the bandits down, and it was always big thunder and no rain. And there were men after me the whole time. I ran the whole way to Lingzhou, and thank heaven I fell in with Lord Jiang, or I’d have been dead long ago.”
Ning Chen got up and put fist to palm. “Lord Jiang. My thanks.”
Jiang Zhengyang shook his head. “General Ning must not say so. This lowly official is Governor of Lingzhou and all he could do was hide a man… It shames me.”
He had been hollowed out. He was Governor of Lingzhou and he did not have one scrap of real power, and he could not get so much as a memorial as far as the capital.
Ning Chen’s eyes were cold. “So these men really aren’t ordinary hill bandits.”
“Has Lord Jiang sent anyone to find out what it is they’re digging for?”
Jiang Zhengyang shook his head. “This lowly official is ashamed… I sent men into Yang’an County twice to find out. The first man I sent was run down by a horse for no reason anybody could give, and he is still in his bed.”
“The second man I sent met robbers on the road and came close to losing his life.”
Ning Chen narrowed his eyes. “Would Lord Jiang be willing to come to Yang’an County with me?”
“This lowly official will go with the general.”
“Good. We leave tonight and ride straight through.”
Ning Chen took Jiang Zhengyang and Wu Tiezhu back to the One Laugh House.
The officials of Lingzhou were red-faced with drink, a cup in one hand and a beautiful singing girl in the other arm, passing the cups back and forth, as happy as men could be.
Only Zhang Yuancang sat off to one side rubbing his neck, his face serious, and there was no telling what he was thinking.
He had been knocked out cold when he went out to look for Ning Chen.
And the thing was, Ning Chen was gone now, and Jiang Zhengyang had vanished too.
It had put him on edge, and he had already sent men out to look.
Every so often he glanced over at Pan Yucheng and the others. So long as those men were here, Ning Chen would certainly come back.
He had guessed right. Ning Chen came back, and he had a troop of soldiers with him.
The soldiers spread out fast and had every man in the room surrounded.
More precisely, the whole One Laugh House was taken. The front doors were sealed, and the manager, the cooks and the serving boys were all in the hands of Ning Chen’s men.
At the sight of that show of force the warm noise of the room cooled at once, and in a breath it was dead silent.
The officials with the drink red in their faces were shocked half sober.
Zhang Yuancang’s face changed. He came over in a hurry. “General Ning, what does this mean?”
Ning Chen gave a slight smile. “My lords need not be alarmed. Word has just reached me that a band of bandits has come into the city… And what they are after is my lords themselves.”
“So I must trouble my lords to stay here. My men are protecting you and you may set your minds at rest… Once I have cleared the bandits out, my lords may go home.”
Everyone understood him. They were prisoners.
Zhang Yuancang said, his face dark, “General Ning, I am the Prefect of Lingzhou. With bandits making trouble, how can I hide myself away and leave the common people to look after themselves?”
Ning Chen said, smiling, “My lords are all civil officials. Swinging blades and handling spears is better left to those of us who do it for a living… My lords need not stand on ceremony with me!”
Zhang Yuancang looked at Ning Chen. A moment ago the man was carrying on with a girl on each arm… and he turns on you the second he feels like it? Is he a dog, to change his face that fast?
His eyes happened to fall on Wu Tiezhu, standing beside Jiang Zhengyang. He stared at him a while, and all at once his eyes narrowed to points.
“General Ning has gone to great pains for us and we are more grateful than we can say… But might we send our people home with word that we are safe, so our families don’t worry?”
Ning Chen said, smiling, “Lord Zhang may set his mind at rest. I have already sent men to inform my lords’ households.”
With that he gave the man no further chance to speak, and looked over at Pan Yucheng. “Old Pan. Come with me a moment.”
Pan Yucheng went aside with Ning Chen.
“What are you up to?”
Ning Chen dropped his voice. “I’ll explain later. This place is yours now… Until I’m back, not one fly gets out of here.”
“Watch these men close through all of it ā eating, drinking, pissing, shitting. They are not to get near anybody outside. Not one of them.”
Ning Chen unbuckled the imperial sword and handed it over. “Take this. If they make trouble, kill a chicken to frighten the monkeys.”
Pan Yucheng shook his head. “Rest easy. A gold coat of the Inspectorate still puts a scare into people.”
Ning Chen smiled, called Feng Qizheng and Chen Chong along, and left the One Laugh House.
Outside, they mounted and rode straight for Yang’an County.
It was past the middle of the night by the time Ning Chen reached Yang’an County.
Qi Yuanzhong had already taken the county office with his men.
Ning Chen did not see the magistrate of Yang’an County. He only told Qi Yuanzhong to keep the county office surrounded, to let men in and nobody out, and that not one fly was to get out of there.
Then he left the county office and went to join up with Yuan Long.
Once he had joined Yuan Long, Ning Chen wasted no time. He led the army straight for Changshou Village.
The army reached Changshou Village in the first gray light.
“Brother Zhuzi, do you still remember the place where they were digging?”
Wu Tiezhu nodded.
“Good. Lead the way.”
“Yuan Long. Pass the word. Nobody makes a sound. Move fast.”
(End of Chapter 143)