Chapter 113: A Golden Scale is No Pond Dweller, Anomaly in the Village

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: A Golden Scale is No Pond Dweller, Anomaly in the Village

It was impossible for Pei Shaoqing to fall off his horse.

Zhou Li knew this as well.

Everyone present knew this.

Yet no one found it unreasonable when Zhou Li stepped forward to help Pei Shaoqing. After his feet touched the ground, Pei Shaoqing straightened his clothes, cupped his fist, and said, "Many thanks, Hundred Households Commander Zhou."

"Not at all, not at all. The Baron of Pingyang is too kind," Zhou Li hurriedly returned the courtesy, saying with a smile, "I was shocked to hear from my subordinate that the Baron of Pingyang had graced us with his presence. I was just about to seek you out to pay my respects, but I didn’t expect to run into you here.

"Is there some guidance you have for our Hundred Households, now that you’ve come to Bazhou in person? I think it best we go inside, sit down, and discuss matters over tea."

"’Guidance’ is too strong a word. Lord Zhou and I are both Hundred Households Commanders; we should simply help each other," Pei Shaoqing said with a modest laugh. "Let’s save the tea for another time. I’ve come to escort the body of Sect Leader Gongsun Yi of the Iron Sword Sect’s beloved disciple back to his hometown. I’m also here to investigate his murderer."

"Sect Leader Gongsun’s disciple was murdered?" Zhou Li was first surprised, then deeply grieved. "Sect Leader Gongsun is a titan of our Bazhou Martial Arts Realm, a gentleman of impeccable character! Everyone knows of him.

"Any disciple he taught must have been a virtuous and talented young man. For someone to be so cruel as to make him suffer the pain of an elder burying the young... how utterly outrageous!"

Finally, he declared with a face full of fury, "Is that murderer in Bazhou? If there’s any way I can be of use, Baron of Pingyang, you need only ask!"

"The portrait," Pei Shaoqing said, turning his head.

A subordinate immediately produced a portrait and presented it.

Pei Shaoqing handed it to Zhou Li. "Hundred Households Commander Zhou, this woman is a local from your Bazhou. Please help me look for her in the coming days and see if you can find any clues."

"No problem," Zhou Li agreed at once, but his brow furrowed as he looked down at the portrait. "Hmm?"

"Lord Zhou, you know her?" Pei Shaoqing asked immediately.

Zhou Li looked up. "This woman looks a lot like Zhao Xia, the top courtesan from our Bazhou’s Baihua Pavilion. Her skills were excellent, but she disappeared about a year ago."

So Hundred Households Commander Zhou was a fellow connoisseur, just like Ye Yu.

"Did she disappear alone, or with a man?" Pei Shaoqing pressed immediately.

Zhou Li thought for a moment before answering, "The madam said a wandering hero from the Jianghu paid to take her traveling. But after that, she never appeared in Bazhou again."

What a coincidence. Pei Shaoqing was now certain that Ye Yu’s death was inextricably linked to this Cui’Er.

"Is there anything else I can help with, Lord Pei?" Zhou Li asked proactively.

"I’m not familiar with Bazhou, so arrange for someone to be my guide. I won’t trouble Hundred Households Commander Zhou with anything else." As Pei Shaoqing finished speaking, he pointed directly at Wang Peng and said, "This young man looks sharp."

Zhou Li looked at Wang Peng, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Wang Peng cupped his fist and bowed, remaining silent.

"The Baron of Pingyang certainly has a good eye. Wang Tiqi is one of my most trusted and favored men!" Zhou Li handed the portrait to a subordinate behind him, then smiled and patted Wang Peng’s shoulder. "Serve the Baron of Pingyang well these next few days."

"Your subordinate obeys! I will not bring shame to the Hundred Households or to you, my lord," Wang Peng said decisively.

"Thank you for parting with your beloved subordinate, Hundred Households Commander Zhou." Pei Shaoqing cupped his fists again, then glanced at the sky. "It’s getting late. I still have to visit the Iron Sword Sect today, so I’ll take my leave. I’ll come back to ask for that tea from you another day, Hundred Households Commander Zhou."

"The Baron of Pingyang is a busy man, so I won’t try to keep you. Take care," Zhou Li said with a serious expression.

"Don’t see me out." Pei Shaoqing nodded, handing Cui’Er’s deed of sale to Wang Peng. "Take me to this address."

With that, he vaulted onto his horse.

"As you command!" Wang Peng replied. He bowed to Zhou Li one more time, then quickly moved to the front to lead the way.

Pei Shaoqing squeezed his legs against his horse’s belly. "Giddyap!"

Zhou Li stood rooted to the spot, silently watching Pei Shaoqing’s departure. Only after a long while did he retract his gaze.

"My lord, the Baron of Pingyang is borrowing Wang Peng... this isn’t a loan he plans on never repaying, is it?" a Standard-Bearer asked, sidling up to him.

Zhou Li winced as if in pain. "I never expected him to return him. No matter what it is, the moment that lord sets his eyes on something, it belongs to him."

He hadn’t been lying earlier. Wang Peng truly was his trusted subordinate, his best workhorse—the kind who did the most work for the least amount of feed.

That’s why he was genuinely reluctant to throw a meat bun at a dog—it was a loss with no return.

But Pei Shaoqing had asked. Could he really refuse?

"But my lord, using him to build a connection with the Baron of Pingyang isn’t a total loss," the Standard-Bearer quickly consoled.

Zhou Li sighed. "At this point, that’s the only way to look at it. Go find a large residence, hire a few servants, and move Wang Peng’s mother in. Also, find a good horse. Consider it my parting gift to him.

"That kid is no small fry. He was wasted in my hands. Now that he’s with Pei Shaoqing, he’s bound to ride the winds and soar. His future is not to be underestimated."

A person’s destiny is truly an unpredictable thing.

He was self-aware. He knew he’d been stringing Wang Peng along with empty promises, taking all the credit for Wang’s achievements or selling them as favors to others. He had always suppressed him, preventing his promotion, although he did give him benefits as compensation.

But Wang Peng certainly didn’t hold much affection for him.

So he had to make amends, and quickly.

A last-ditch effort was better than no effort at all.

He had originally been counting on Wang Peng to solve the recent string of recurring disappearance cases. Now, it seemed he would have to assign someone else.

"I’ll see to it at once," the Standard-Bearer replied in a low voice.

Their conversation was overheard by the Jing’an Guard surnamed Chen, who had been sent away by Wang Peng. His feelings grew even more complicated, and he even began to resent Wang Peng. ’He deliberately sent me away to monopolize the chance to curry favor with the Baron of Pingyang!’

***

Half an hour later, Wang Peng led Pei Shaoqing to the address on Cui’Er’s deed of sale: a village called Tian Family Dam, located five li outside the east gate of Bazhou City.

Dusk was approaching. Smoke rose from the chimneys of every household. Farmers were still tilling the fields, and a group of children and two puppies were playing and tussling on the ridges between the paddies.

When they saw the newcomers arrive, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look, their gazes a mixture of emotions.

"The villagers here seem to be doing well."

Pei Shaoqing commented from atop his horse.

’Smoke from every home proved they could afford a proper evening meal. The people working in the fields weren’t sallow and emaciated. The children had the energy and spirit to play, and even the two dogs had glossy, healthy coats.’

The crops in the fields were also exceptionally lush.

"Probably because it’s so close to the city," Wang Peng answered, then shouted to an old man working in a field, "Old man! Has Tian Siwa’s daughter, Tian Erni, been back to the village recently?"

Tian Erni was Cui’Er’s real name.

"Answering the officer, Tian Erni never came back after Tian Siwa died," the old man shouted back.

Wang Peng said, "Take us to her house."

"I’ve still got work to do," the old man grumbled reluctantly, as if hoping for a little something in return.

Chen Zhongyi said with a cold expression, "Get over here and lead the way now. Dally any longer and I’ll take your head."

"Ah, Officer, calm your anger, calm your anger! I’m coming right now." The old man instantly became obedient. He dropped his hoe and ran over, bowing and scraping as he led the way.

After they entered the village, many villagers came out to stand at their doors and watch. They stared blankly at Pei Shaoqing and his men, not saying a word.

Arriving at a farmhouse at the edge of the village, the old man pointed to the main gate. "Officer, this is the place."

"Get lost," Chen Zhongyi said with a wave of his hand.

The old man hunched over and quickly turned to run away.

Wang Peng stepped forward to inspect the gate and turned back to Pei Shaoqing. "My lord, the lock is covered in dust."

"Something’s not right," Pei Shaoqing muttered to himself.

"What is it, my lord?" Chen Zhongyi asked.

"The Tian Family are all dead, and Tian Erni has never returned, yet their courtyard has been kept in such good condition," Pei Shaoqing said.

Having come from a poor background himself, Wang Peng instantly understood Pei Shaoqing’s meaning. "If a family has no sons, it’s common for their property to be seized by others. Since there’s no one left in the Tian Family, logically, their house should have been occupied long ago."

"Exactly." Pei Shaoqing nodded slowly.

Even in more civilized times, such things were not unheard of.

’Let alone in an era when the rule of law was weak. Were all the villagers here really so moral and upstanding?’

"Break down the door," he ordered at once.

"Wait, wait!" Just then, an old man leaning on a cane approached, followed by a large group of villagers.

Supported by two young men, he walked up to Pei Shaoqing, panting. "My lord, I am the Li Zheng of Tian Family Dam, and also the Tian clan elder. May I ask why you gentlemen intend to destroy my nephew’s home?"

"Break down the door," Pei Shaoqing repeated, ignoring him completely.

’Does he expect me to report to a mere Li Zheng?’

"My lord, how can you be so..." the Li Zheng began to say, agitated, but a loud CRASH from behind cut him off. Wang Peng had already kicked the gate open and was striding into the courtyard.

The Li Zheng swayed, his face turning deathly pale.

Soon, Wang Peng ran back out. He glanced at the Li Zheng, then said to Pei Shaoqing, "My lord, there are signs of someone living inside, and recently too."

Pei Shaoqing’s gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over the Li Zheng.

"Th-that’s impossible!" The Li Zheng’s eyes showed panic as he stammered, "How could someone be living there? There’s no one left in my nephew’s family!"

"That’s a question for you. You had best give me a satisfactory answer," Pei Shaoqing said, his eyes turning glacial.

The Li Zheng’s legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees on the spot, kowtowing repeatedly as he begged for mercy. "I don’t know, my lord! I really don’t know! This old man knows nothing!"

"You damn dog official!" a young man of about eighteen or nineteen next to the Li Zheng shouted, pointing at Pei Shaoqing. "My father is an old man! Are you trying to frame an innocent citizen?"

PSHFFT!

The next second, a flash of a blade, and a head hit the ground.

Hot blood splattered onto the Li Zheng and the young man in his twenties on his other side, leaving them both stunned.

The youth who had berated Pei Shaoqing collapsed, his severed neck spewing blood like an open faucet.

Chen Zhongyi sheathed his long saber, his tone devoid of emotion. "Insolence toward his lordship is punishable by death."

The villagers all stepped back in unison, staring at the Jing’an Guard in shock and terror, a low buzz of fear rising from the crowd.

"Ah! Ah! Third Son! My Third Son!" After a moment of shock, the Li Zheng scrambled forward like a madman, clutching the young man’s headless corpse and wailing.

"Third Brother!" The twenty-something young man did the same, and shot a venomous look at Pei Shaoqing.

Until Chen Zhongyi’s blade came to rest on his neck.

The cold touch made his eyes clear instantly. He shuddered and blurted out, "I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll say everything! Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me! I’ll tell you everything."

"Eldest, you can’t! What do you know that you could possibly say?" Hearing this, the Li Zheng scrambled to pull him back.

"I don’t want to die!" The eldest son shoved the Li Zheng away and kowtowed repeatedly to Pei Shaoqing, his voice choked with tears. "I’ll tell you everything!"

The gathered villagers had already begun to slowly disperse.