332 There Is No Blood in Sangsangs Eyes (1/2)
Chapter 332: There Is No Blood in Sangsang's Eyes
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
The kinds of people who could be surrounded by runners of the Chang'an local government at the door, yet still remain calm enough to ask whether to take their quilt, were either local ruffians and hooligans who had numerous contacts within the authorities or ruthless bandits who expected to die fighting. Obviously, Sangsang was neither of these two, so Tie Ying was lost for a while before he nodded his head.
Sometimes, twists and turns could make the story more consummate. When Sangsang held a lump of quilt and followed the runners out of the Old Brush Pen Shop, a group of men wearing turquoise robes, turquoise trousers, and turquoise shoes blocked their way.
The runners got nervous all at once for they knew ordinary fellows of the Jianghu world wouldn't dare to oppose the imperial court. They realized that these turquoise-robed men were the crew of the Fish-dragon Gang, which was now well known as the hired roughnecks of the imperial court.
The Old Brush Pen Shop had been a key surveillance target of the Fish-dragon Gang these days. When the runners of the Chang'an local government brought chains to take down their suspect, they became alert to the situation. Especially when they saw Tie Ying enter the Old Brush Pen Shop, the crew responsible for watching this place didn't dare to turn a blind eye to it and notified the gang leader Mr.Qi immediately.
Sangsang saluted Mr.Qi with a half-crunching bow. It seemed a little funny when her little body was holding a large quilt.
Mr. Qi nodded his head, then looked at Tie Ying and said with a faint smile, ”Constable Tie, you should clearly be aware of who the owner of the Lin 47th Street is, the relationship between the boss of the Old Brush Pen Shop and us the Fish-dragon Gang, as well the interlude about the shop that happened in the spring of the year before last. So I'm confused, what is it that is going on right now?”
Tie Ying recalled the incident that everybody knew about, the overnight bloody massacre at the Spring Breeze Pavilion. He then replied that the local government runners had also been looking after the Old Brush Pen Shop, but today they were compelled to do so, and said embarrassedly, ”Mr. Qi, I advise you to step away from this matter for today. I will let you know one thing—the prefectural magistrate is pretending to have a high fever from last night and is refusing to get out of his bed. Even this magistrate had to resort to the trick of feigning an illness, let alone you.”
The prefectural magistrate of Chang'an City had a fever and was lying in bed? Qi IV suddenly sensed an overwhelming danger from the words intentionally disclosed by Constable Tie. However, after thinking it over for a while, he still refused to step aside. Then he signaled to order his turquoise-gowned subordinates to block both ends of the Lin 47th Street, and said, ”This is the order of brother Chao.”
Chao Xiaoshu of the Spring Breeze Pavilion was no longer the leader of the Fish-dragon Gang and had left Chang'an for nearly a year, and nobody knew whether he would ever come back to the city. But for Qi IV and the other brothers of the Fish-dragon Gang, that man would be their eldest brother and their leader forever. The words of brother Chao were more influential than even an imperial edict.
Constable Tie looked at him, came close to him, and asked to him in a low voice, ”Have you seen the guy at the street corner?”
Mr. Qi looked out the street corner and saw a young man sitting in front of a store. The man was wearing a simple cotton-padded jacket, with a thin, darkened face and slightly peeling skin. It seemed like he had been exposed to the scorching sun for many days. He was sitting there like any ordinary person, but there was some indescribable sense of somberness and desolation about him.
”Who is that guy?” Qi IV squinted his eyes.
Constable Tie replied, ”Wang Jinglue.”
Qi IV suddenly showed a stern expression, and repeated after a moment of silence, ”Wang Jinglue, the Invincible prior to Knowing Destiny?”
For the common folk in the street, the world of the cultivators was a wonderful and remote place, about which they had little knowledge. However, Wang Jinglue was different, because he was so famous that even the common folk knew that he was the hope of the younger generation of cultivators of the empire.
Staring at Qi IV's face, Constable Tie said in a low voice, ”I have no idea who reported to the Chang'an local government that this girl had sheltered an escaped criminal. I only know that there is pressure coming from the Military Ministry, and Wang Jinglue is the watcher sent by the Military Ministry.”
Mr. Qi frowned and said, ”Wang Jinglue... Is he the Prince's man?”
Constable Tie replied, ”After the bloody case the year before last, the imperial court issued an order to banish him to the battlefield of the southern border. He is the man of the hour in the Military Ministry, as well as a trusted follower of General Xu Shi.”
Qi IV wore a severe expression when he heard the name of General Xu Shi. Though he was the leader of the Chang'an underworld and had the background identity of a member of the bodyguard's office, he still couldn't confront the top man in the military of Tang Empire face-to-face.
Constable Tie shook his head and signaled the subordinate runners to take Sangsang away.
Out of everyone's expectations, Qi IV still wouldn't step aside, though he was obviously frightened. Instead, he stared at Tie Ying and said, ”I have sent a message to the imperial palace, please wait a little longer.”
Constable Tie frowned a little and said, ”Is it necessary to acknowledge the imperial palace for just a little handmaiden?”
Qi IV didn't explain, but when the runners heard the words ”imperial court”, they were frightened just like when the crew of the Fish-dragon Gang heard the words ”Military Ministry”. Now that the Fish-dragon Gang had revealed their intentions to not turn hostile and attack, and were just asking them to wait, they were more than willing to agree.
There were numerous high officials, nobles and members of the imperial house spread throughout Chang'an. Even an ordinary-looking Tea Specialist might be a cultivator. Therefore, the officials of the Chang'an local government had become good at feigning illness while they patiently waited whenever they received such high profile cases.
Tie Ying and the runners were willing to be patient, while certain others were not.
For example, Wang Jinglue.
After he left Chang'an and went to join the army at the southern border under the decree of His Majesty, he had been bathed in a life-and-death fight for almost two years. The once top expert of Tang had thinned down on his face and got tanned, his once lotus-root-like fingers became thin and vigorous like bamboo, and his temperament turned more solemn and decisive.