Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Speculation, Infiltrating the County Magistrate’s Office
Cheng Zongyang returned to his residence, his expression grave.
On the entire walk back, he had been mulling over the recent words exchanged between the two sides.
He parsed several possibilities from Li Xiaofei’s words. After connecting them with what he’d heard from Li Lu, Chen Kaishan, and others—analyzing and speculating—he arrived at a very likely conclusion.
He now had a vague understanding of why Zheng Yan had left Jade Peak County.
Chaos. Martial Artists.
It was obvious: several families and gangs were about to go to war!
People like Zheng Yan must have known about it long ago, which was why they left early to avoid getting caught in the middle.
’The four noble families—Zhao, King, Ma, and Fan—plus Chang Younian from the Governnt Office, versus the two noble families of An and Miao plus four gangs!’
’The Zhao Family was promoted from a gang, so Li Xiaofei’s disdain for them suggests their foundation isn’t deep. The Celestial Eagle Gang should be enough to take them on.’
’As the head of the county, why would Chang Younian collude with those four noble families to seize grain being shipped from the Commandery City?
And why would he help the four families of Zhao, King, Ma, and Fan against the An and Miao Families and the four gangs?
What interests are at stake? Enough to make the County Magistrate let the County Town fall into chaos, ignoring the lives of the countless commoners outside the walls?’
’Once this kind of chaos erupts, it can’t be a good thing for him as the County Magistrate, can it?’
Cheng Zongyang felt that he was getting in over his head; the politics of the County Town were far deeper than he’d imagined. This was no place for a minor figure like him, soone who had just reached the Ninth Grade.
But he still had so ti before his planned eting with his uncle, so all he could do was wait.
Just then, Mrs. Chen of the Cheng Family erged from the inner room.
"Yang’Er, if we leave, what are we going to do about Brother Li?
The plague has already started to appear in the city. The Governnt Office is conducting strict inspections, but a thing like this can’t be suppressed.
As a governnt official, Brother Li is constantly on patrol. He’s bound to get sick sooner or later. I promised him that if he or his family fell ill, I would do my best to treat them. I can’t make any guarantees, but I can at least try.
But if we leave and sothing happens to them... I don’t think I could live with myself. He’s helped us so much, after all.
Your uncle took precautions and prepared a few doses of dicine. It should help alleviate the symptoms of the plague. I took three doses with , and I left the remaining two in our family’s dical hall."
Cheng Zongyang thought for a mont. "Don’t worry, Aunt. I’ll take care of it. You should get so rest. We still have to get you out of the city tomorrow morning, and I’m hoping it goes smoothly."
Hearing this, Mrs. Chen of the Cheng Family said no more. Her face full of worry, she went back into the room and slowly closed the door.
In the main hall, Cheng Zongyang stared at the flickering fla of the oil lamp, his eyes darting back and forth.
He had taken care of everything he needed to. All that was left was to get his uncle out.
As for Li Lu, he had to admit the man had helped him and his uncle’s family a great deal. It was a debt he would rember. But he wouldn’t risk staying in the County Town for him.
He could, however, let him know about the two doses of dicine.
He didn’t linger. Returning to his room, he entered the Wilderness World, put on his exploration suit, and prepared to hunt creatures in the dark to earn Points.
With the exploration suit, his new status as a Martial Artist, and the Basic Saber Technique, he wouldn’t even worry about encountering another wolf-leopard.
Ti flowed by. The deep night was as silent as an undisturbed sea. Faint moonlight and twinkling stars cast a peaceful glow over the County Town. For a mont, it felt as if this tranquility was all that was left in the world.
Within the walls, save for the crying of a few infants and the occasional chirp of a cricket, there were few other sounds.
Most residents were already lost in slumber, perhaps finding in their dreams the peace and stability they longed for: healthy families, abundant children, full granaries, and coffers overflowing with wealth...
Just then, a shadowy figure erged from a residence, dressed in black from head to toe with a black cloth masking his face.
He stuck to the shadows and vanished into an alley.
About a quarter of an hour later, Cheng Zongyang was hiding in a corner at the northeastern edge of the County Magistrate’s Office. A bamboo ladder, about two ters long, lay at his feet.
He had crafted it overnight in the Wilderness World for the sole purpose of scaling the wall.
He could have easily scaled the two-ter-high wall with a running start, but that risked making a sound.
On a night this quiet, even the slightest noise would echo loudly.
He had made the ladder to the exact height of the courtyard wall.
Seeing no patrolling governnt officials, Cheng Zongyang grabbed the bamboo ladder, rushed to the base of the wall, placed it down silently, and scrambled up. Peeking over the top, he saw nothing but darkness inside.
Without hesitating, he swung himself over to sit on top of the wall. He pulled the ladder up, placed it on the other side, and slid down. After laying the ladder flat, he concealed himself amongst so bushes.
Judging by the night watchman’s calls, it was still about half an hour to forty-five minutes before the 3 a.m. watch. He was early.
The minutes ticked by.
A patrol of governnt officials passed, heading toward the front courtyard. As they left, the faint sound of a single person’s footsteps followed. The person was briefly questioned by a governnt official before being allowed to continue toward the latrine.
In the faint moonlight, he saw his uncle. Cheng Guangshan looked slightly nervous as he walked toward the latrine.
He glanced around before entering the latrine. After the governnt official departed, he lingered for a mont at the doorway.
Seeing his chance, Cheng Zongyang let out a low hiss.
Startled, Cheng Guangshan reacted instantly. He hurried out and looked toward a corner of the courtyard.
There, a dark figure moved among the bushes, beckoning to him.
A flash of joy crossed Cheng Guangshan’s face. He glanced around, hurried over, and crouched by the bushes, asking nervously,
"What’s the plan?"
Cheng Guangshan was clearly prepared; he didn’t waste ti on pointless questions.
Cheng Zongyang took out what looked like a bean and handed it to his uncle. "Uncle," he whispered,
"eat this. It’ll make you fall asleep for a while. I’ll handle the rest."
Cheng Guangshan froze. "Can’t we just leave together? Why do I need to be asleep?"
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "It will make things easier later. It’s the only way I can get both you and Aunt out of the County Town."
Hearing this, Cheng Guangshan didn’t hesitate. He took the small, pill-like object and swallowed it.
Less than five seconds later, his head slumped to one side and he collapsed. Cheng Zongyang lunged forward and caught him.
’Is the effect really that powerful?’
But since it had worked, he quickly pulled his uncle into the Wilderness World.
He placed his uncle on a wooden bed there, then exited, reappearing in the County Magistrate’s Office.
Seeing that the coast was clear, he used the ladder to make his escape. Once on the ground, he quickly left the area and ran toward Li Lu’s ho.
One person could move much faster than two.
He didn’t et with Li Lu, simply tossing a letter into his ho.
Whether Li Lu believed the letter or not was up to him.
Back at his residence, Cheng Zongyang breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t bring his uncle out. When his aunt asked, he simply told her that he had bribed a governnt official to have his uncle sent to the woods outside the city. He didn’t care if the excuse had holes in it.
Outside the city walls, as the sky began to lighten, the refugees who had been clamoring all night grew not quieter, but more restless and chaotic.
In a corner near the West Gate, a scar-faced man listened to his underlings’ reports, a savage grin spreading across his face.
"...They all said they’ll stick to the plan! Pretty much every crew boss out here knows about the plague. They don’t want to die, so you can bet they’ll risk everything to get into the city and find dicine."
"HEH HEH HEH... HAHAHAHA! Good! Why should those bastards get to sleep soundly in the city! They want us to die of the plague? If I’m going to die, I’m taking a rich man down with !"
At each of the four city gates, the leaders of various groups stared up at the silhouettes on the walls, their faces twisted with madness and cruelty.
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