Chapter 293 — Ripples

"My lord!" He looked gravely at Ji Yong. "Word has just come from Cangzhou that in the past two days countless martial masters from every corner have been pouring in. There have already been several murders. The Cangzhou yamen and the brothers of the jianghu are both aware of the bounty offered by the Yingzhenguo Manor. The authorities have made no move yet, but three highly respected elders of the Cangzhou martial world have jointly issued heroes' letters, summoning masters from Shaolin, Wudang, and other sects to lend their weight in Cangzhou. They demand that all martial fellows refrain from any brawling in Cangzhou, lest there be bloodshed or deaths; but they also pledge that they themselves will uncover the identities of those bandits and post the names on the gates of Guanyin Temple, ten li outside the city. Whoever captures the true culprit shall have him, but no martial man of Cangzhou is to take part."

Ji Yong was taken aback. "And the martial circle of Cangzhou agreed to this? If so, they have forfeited any right to that bounty from the Yingzhenguo Manor!"

Xun Zhong looked at the boy.

The boy hurried on: "They had no choice but to agree—a round of internal strife had already been fought in Cangzhou, and the three elders came out on top, which is how they won the right to speak for the city. Right now a great many men are gathered at Guanyin Temple, questioning whether the information on the bandits the three elders have put out is even true... I fear Cangzhou has another storm of blood coming." With that, as though recalling scenes of carnage, he shrank back and hunched his neck.

Ji Yong, however, had not noticed. His gaze fixed and vacant, he murmured, "A fine trick of 'drawing the flood eastward'! No wonder the boy has enjoyed such favor since he was young..." A brilliant light flashed from the depths of his eyes. "No wonder Zhou Gongjin ever uttered the words, 'Since Heaven made Yu, why did it make Liang!'"

A fighting spirit gradually gathered in his brow, until his whole bearing slowly turned as sharp as the edge of a blade.

Xun Zhong's heart gave a jolt.

Another boy came to report: "Master, word has come out of the Shuntian Jing'an city garrison—they say His Majesty has granted the heir of the Duke of Ying three small banners of the Imperial Guards as a mark of favor."

"What?" Xun Zhong cried out. "Is this true?"

"As true as true can be." The boy's face was a mask of misery. "The men of the Six Doors are in an uproar—all of them have descended on the Vice Magistrate, demanding to know if they find the culprit, may they claim the bounty from the Yingzhenguo Manor? The Vice Magistrate is sweating himself into a frenzy, and of all things he does not know where Magistrate Huang has gone. The whole Shuntian Prefecture is in chaos!"

"It's over, it's over!" Xun Zhong said, beside himself. "The Earl of Donglin has barely taken office—there is no way he can rein in the men of the Five Wards garrison..." Here he caught himself and, clasping his hands, bowed to Ji Yong. "My lord, our escort agency has always moved between both the white and the black paths, and I fear the authorities and our brothers of the jianghu will force us to gather information—we too must lie low. No time to lose; I must go back and set things in order, and I beg your pardon, my lord. If you have any further need of me, simply send word to a boy called Little Six at the teahouse at the mouth of Yuqiao Alley. I must hurry back—any delay and things may take a turn."

He had learned what he needed to know.

Ji Yong waved his hand.

Xun Zhong bowed respectfully to Ji Yong, then hurried off to the escort agency with the two young boys.

Ji Yong, lost in thought, whiled away the afternoon alone in a teahouse.

Gu Yu was wildly excited when he heard the news.

He hurried at once to the Yizhi Hall.

Song Yan was speaking with Yan Che and the others.

Brandishing the deed bearing Dou Huaiying's seal, Gu Yu swept into the study.

Yan Che and the rest were all startled.

Gu Yu, looking for all the world like a man eager to see the world turned upside down, was already shouting, "Tianci, you're out to settle scores with those bastards in the capital—why didn't you tell me?" He handed the deed to Song Yan. "Well? Did I do all right?" He looked like a child waiting to be praised, so that Yan Che and the others could not bring themselves to be annoyed.

Song Yan did not disappoint him; he praised him a few words, then motioned for him to sit, and took up the thread of his earlier talk with Yan Che and the others: "...Since things are already this chaotic, a little more chaos can hardly matter—I'll set a time limit!" He pondered. "I recall His Majesty gave the Shuntian Jing'an city garrison two months... Let two months be the limit... If all the bandits are caught within two months, the bounty stands. If after two months any bandits remain at large, the reward is halved. What do you think?"

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To all you sisters and brothers reading this, I'll post the rough draft first and clean up the bugs in a bit.

o(n_n)o~

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