The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 74

Zhao Li had failed to bring Qin Lang and his wife back in one attempt.

But his attitude had plainly wavered.

Winning him over was only a matter of time.

Pleased with herself, Zhao Li said goodbye and left the Imperial Astronomical Bureau with the Hundred-Herb Pills Daoist Xuanxu had refined for her, accompanied by his endless muttering.

At midday, Shengjing was at its liveliest.

Zhao Li was handling a personal matter and had not worn her official uniform. This meant she could eat candied hawthorn openly without worrying that someone might impeach her for doing so in the Jingning Guard’s colors.

Taking advantage of the freedom, she led her horse through the streets and began to browse.

Shengjing’s great markets gathered goods and people from everywhere.

Each craft and commodity had its designated quarter.

The streets around Sanshan and Doumen Bridge housed the fruit merchants.

Dazhong Bridge and North Gate Bridge held great markets selling fish, meat, and vegetables.

Du Bridge was home to dealers in copper, iron, and leather.

There were shops for reed screens, shops for shoes…

Listening to vendors call out their wares, Zhao Li wandered through the prosperous streets and stared all around like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.

The mare Shen Yan had chosen for her followed obediently.

Zhao Li was lovely and young-faced. She looked innocently curious as she bought snacks along the way.

Naturally, there were blind fools who mistook her for a naive young girl.

A gang of idle Shengjing hoodlums who lived by gambling and refused honest work exchanged looks and closed in behind her.

Zhao Li stood at a roadside stall buying sugar-roasted chestnuts.

The auntie selling them found her so pleasing that she deliberately added a few extra.

She was smiling as she handed them over when she saw the men behind Zhao Li and abruptly changed expression.

Puzzled, Zhao Li turned and saw several sour-smelling louts surrounding her with leering smiles.

“Where are you off to have fun, little lady?”

Zhao Li had never imagined that she would one day be harassed by street thugs. She froze.

The men mistook her surprise for fear.

One of them immediately brightened. “Tell us. Your big brothers will take you somewhere fun.”

His narrow eyes roamed over her.

The clothes Zhao Li wore had all been provided by Shen Yan.

Their cleverness lay in the fact that anyone without a trained eye would never realize how expensive the understated garments were.

The thug assessed her and decided she came from a modest household with a little money, a sheltered newcomer to the capital who knew nothing of the world.

His restraint vanished. He reached for her as he spoke.

Zhao Li arched a brow and stepped back, pulling her mare between them.

“Oh? Are you giving your horse to your sweetheart here?”

The thug reached for the reins and signaled his companions.

They closed in, intending to drag Zhao Li somewhere secluded and do as they pleased.

She looked back.

The chestnut seller hesitated, then turned away and pretended not to see.

Street thugs like these brought endless trouble to anyone who crossed them.

Zhao Li sighed deeply.

She had gone out to enjoy herself and left her saber behind. Now she had to find a convenient weapon.

As she searched, a hand reached toward her.

“What are you looking for? Let your sweetheart look too.”

The filthy hand went straight for Zhao Li’s chest. The man was clearly practiced at this.

Zhao Li sneered.

She twisted aside, seized his wrist, yanked, and guided his momentum forward.

His entire body plunged into the iron wok beside them, which was filled with black roasting sand.

“Ah!”

A shrill scream echoed through the market.

The other men had never expected Zhao Li to fight back so suddenly.

By the time they recovered, their companion had already rolled twice through the burning-hot sand.

He gripped the scorching rim and tried to climb out, only for Zhao Li to press him back down with the wire scoop used for chestnuts.

“You bitch!”

A burly thug swung at her, his palm as large as a fan and whistling through the air.

Zhao Li ducked beneath it.

The thug in the wok finally crawled out screaming.

Smoke rose from his body, and iron sand had embedded itself in his skin.

He managed two steps before his legs failed and he collapsed.

His condition was intimidating enough to make the others hesitate.

Burns were extremely difficult to treat in this era. The thugs had not expected such ruthlessness from the petite girl before them.

Then, almost as one, they began advancing again.

At that moment, a patrol from the Five Cities Military Patrol Office noticed the disturbance and came running.

“What’s going on here?”

The leading constable had greasy lips and reeked of wine.

He had probably just enjoyed a merchant’s hospitality and filled his belly at the man’s expense.

As he approached, he launched into an ill-tempered tirade.

“Hu Da! You bastards causing trouble again?”

The men from the Five Cities Military Patrol Office were plainly familiar with these thugs.

At least the leading constable did not behave like a brainless minor villain in a story and automatically side with them.

He knew exactly how vile they were.

Crouching, he examined the wounded man’s burns.

Dense clusters of blisters had formed around every grain of iron sand embedded in his skin.

Across his entire face, each pore seemed to hold a black grain surrounded by several blisters.

It was a feast for anyone afraid of clustered holes.

The constable plainly could not appreciate it. After one glance, he jerked his head away and turned to Zhao Li.

“Little girl, you’ve got a vicious hand. This fellow is probably ruined.”

He stood. “Come on. You’ll have to come to the office with us.”

Zhao Li considered it, then nodded.

Resisting arrest now would be an act of supreme stupidity, and she was a law-abiding public servant. She would never do such a thing.

Flashing her badge in the middle of the street would certainly feel impressive, but someone would inevitably impeach her afterward.

Better to go with them, reveal her identity somewhere quieter, and pass the whole thing off as official business.

With Zhao Li cooperating, the harassers offered even less resistance.

One officer unhooked an iron chain from his belt, glanced at Zhao Li, then put it away.

The thugs, on the other hand, were tied together. A crude stretcher was made for the burned man.

Escorted by the constables, the group set off toward the Five Cities Military Patrol Office.

They left the crowded market and reached a somewhat quieter street.

Zhao Li slowed and was about to retrieve her badge when rapid footsteps sounded.

A Five Cities constable came running, one hand holding his hat and the other gripping his saber.

“Chief! Bad news—the chief’s in trouble!”

The moment he reached them, he received a kick.

“You’re the one in trouble! Can’t you speak properly?”

The constable clutched his waist and grimaced. “No, Chief, I don’t mean you’re in trouble. Something happened in Fengyi Ward!”

“An old man from a Liu household died.”

“Was he murdered?” the chief asked.

“No. He died of illness.”

The answer drew irritated looks from everyone.

Even Zhao Li stared at him. Was the man performing a comedy routine?

Unbothered by their strange gazes, the constable lowered his voice.

“Before Old Man Liu died, he said he wanted a fine coffin and a good grave. His sons couldn’t bear to spend the silver and bought him a cardboard coffin.”

“So when the funeral procession tried to leave, Old Man Liu refused to move. Yesterday, the bearers couldn’t lift the coffin. They meant to find someone capable to take a look, but today something happened.”

Fear appeared on the constable’s face.

“Last night, every household in that alley of Fengyi Ward heard the cough Old Man Liu had when he was alive.”