Chapter 77 - Undercurrents (1/2)

“Officers, two officers, something bad happened!”

In a courier station in a small town in the south-west, before daybreak, a staff member yelled, “The prisoner died!”

“What!”

People went out of their rooms, hurried to the canopy of the courier station and immediately saw Jia Yuanling who had died in the prison wagon.

“What happened? Wasn’t he fine yesterday?”

“You think he was fine? After leaving Tanyang, he’d been suffering from the climate all along, vomiting and having loose bowels constantly. I told you we should get him some medical treatment lest he die and bring us trouble. Now what do we do!”

“Suffering from the climate? Jia Yuanling was a young man. How was it possible that he died so easily of an unaccustomed climate?”

“Hey! What are you talking about, Old Four? Jia Yuanling was tortured in the yamen first, and then Zhang Chong gave him a hard kick and wounded his heart and lungs. He’d never recovered from the injury and had been having a bad cough all along.”

The yamen staff member whose nickname was Old Four also had a deeply concerned look on his face. “No matter what, we have to find someone to perform an autopsy. Otherwise there will be consequences we’ll have to face after returning.”

“That’s true. Jia Yuanling’s death itself might be insignificant, but the Jia family surely won’t let this go. We’d better have someone perform an autopsy.”

“An autopsy it is. I don’t want to be held responsible for this either. But first things first, everybody has to pay their share of the fee.”

“Money is the only thing you can think about.”

A crowd of residents gathered around the doorway of the courier station. Some people felt that this might bring them bad luck, so they left. Others were still looking on.

The post-mortem examiner of the town was soon invited to the station. After examining Jia Yuanling’s body, he said, “This man’s heart and lungs had been seriously injured. He went on a long tiring journey without recovering from the injury first, and he also had a weak const.i.tution, which was why he died of a mere unaccustomed climate.”

The four staff members of yamen exchanged glances. One of them said, “I told you by no means had he died of an unaccustomed climate. In the final a.n.a.lysis, it was that kick Zhang Chong gave him that was the fundamental cause.”

“That’s true. Accepting this task was such a stupid decision. How are we supposed to report this after going back?”

“We tell them the truth.”

“I suppose that’s the only thing we can do.”

“Should we bury him or just…. ” The four people kept silent for a while. The staff member whose nickname was Old Four said, “Let’s put him in the mortuary temple first and then have someone in the courier station send a letter back to Tanyang as soon as possible. Then we wait for our lord’s response.”

“O–Okay, then. Let’s do it your way.”

“What an ominous matter.”

The rest of the lookers-on also cleared off. Soon the body in the prison wagon was sent to the mortuary temple in the town.

Among the crowds clearing off, someone flicked a look in the direction of the prison wagon with a frown and then secretly followed.

…

When Ling Zhang woke up the next day, he felt his body was filled with warmth, as if he had inexhaustible strength. His spirits were also much better than before.

As he recalled the anguish he suffered the night before, his heart still fluttered with fear.

He remembered that he had eventually pa.s.sed out, but he had no idea what had happened in the wake of that.

“Xia Feng.”

On hearing Ling Zhang calling his name, Xia Feng immediately walked inside and said, “You woke up, childe.”

“What happened after I fainted last night?”

“It was Lord Yu who carried you out of the room. He also helped you change your clothes. In the latter half of the night, you suddenly went into convulsions in misery. It was also Lord Yu who hurried here and gave you a ma.s.sage. He stayed tending you until you fell into deep sleep after a certain amount of time.”

Xia Feng told Ling Zhang what happened the night before. His wariness of Yuwen Tong had been greatly dissolved after what Yuwen Tong did the night before, and his tone of voice was more natural.

Ling Zhang’s eyelids twitched as he heard the story. Yuwen Tong helped him get changed?

“It is said that the oil lamp was on all night in the Green Bamboo Mansion.”

With a mixed expression on his face, Ling Zhang wondered whether Yuwen Tong had stayed up all night in case he needed help.

“I see.”

He raised his hand, clenched his fist and threw a punch at the air with great force, which generated a gust of wind he could distinctly feel. Not only was he able to punch in a much more relaxed manner, but also his body was easier to control.

Surprisingly, Yuwen Tong’s method was so effective.

After thinking for a while, Ling Zhang didn’t directly go to his dwelling in the Guards’ yard but took a detour to the Green Bamboo Mansion next door.

“Did your marshal wake up?” On entering the Green Bamboo Mansion, instead of going deeper inside, Ling Zhang stopped and asked the guard on duty.

The guard was just about to answer when Yao Yi walked out and said, “Childe Ling, our marshal has woken up. Would you like to come inside?”

“He didn’t sleep last night?”

On the sight of Ling Zhang’s expression, Yao Yi realized it had already come to Ling Zhang’s knowledge that the marshal stayed up all night the night before, so he answered, “He didn’t. The night before last, Marshal was writing something and didn’t sleep until very late. And last night he stayed up all night. I tried to persuade him to get some sleep but he wouldn’t listen.”

The night before last night? It was the stack of paper full of formation diagrams and words that Yuwen Tong had given him. Having barely had any sleep for two days in a row, even Yuwen Tong must have been tired.

Ling Zhang briefly tightened his lips and said, “I’ll go and check on him.”

“This way please, childe.” Yao Yi turned aside making way for Ling Zhang.

After watching Ling Zhang entering the room, Yao Yi gave a smile.

Standing beside him, the guard on duty said in an undertone, “Captain, our marshal’s internal energy is excellent. Even if he doesn’t sleep for seven days and seven nights in a row, he’ll still be fine. Did you just say that on purpose?”

Yao Yi gave him a dirty look and said, “Don’t be so talky.”

The guard flinched, gave a giggle and with that the serious look reappeared on his face, leaving no trace of the fact that he was gossiping just a moment ago.

Ling Zhang walked across the courtyard onto the winding corridor. Standing there looking inside, he saw that Yuwen Tong was standing before a wall observing various maps on the wall and thinking about something.