Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
During these two days, aside from the Taiping Bandits’ governmental officers and the Xia Family’s Martial Artists repeatedly sweeping through the area, Willow Alley had been peaceful. There was also still no word from his father, Fang Baicao.
However, when it came to a matter like taking a city by deception, no news was good news, so Fang Rui wasn’t anxious.
「That afternoon.」
Jiang Ping’an came to visit, bringing scarce supplies he had purchased—things like meat, eggs, and oil. He then stayed for a meal, drinking with Fang Rui.
Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, Third Lady, Fang Ling, and Nannan—all the womenfolk and the child—ate in the inner room.
Fang Rui and Jiang Ping’an sat opposite each other at a stone table in the courtyard, under the willow tree.
Under the cool shade of the tree, a gentle breeze drifted past. Sunlight, filtered through the willow leaves, scattered like flecks of gold, dappled and shimmering.
On the stone table was a lavish spread: a large pot of stewed hen, steamed egg custard, stir-fried soybeans... and two pounds of cooked beef, its fine grain clearly visible. The meat was pleasantly chewy and savory—perfect to accompany the wine.
GLUG! GLUG!
Fang Rui lifted the wine jug and poured Jiang Ping’an a cup of aged yellow wine. The liquid was clear and the aroma was mellow, its surface rippling in the sun and breeze.
"I’ve seen the Xia Family’s Martial Artists and the Rebel Army’s governmental officers searching over and over these past two days. Are they looking for the last of the Lin Family?" he asked deliberately.
"Not quite."
Jiang Ping’an lifted his wine bowl, savoring the drink as if it were a treasure. "The last of the Lin Family were more or less wiped out that night," he answered. "Only a few from the second branch escaped, but they’ve long since fled Changshan City."
"But speaking of which, the Lin Family truly deserved its reputation as one of the two top families in Changshan City. They were absolutely rolling in it! After sacking the Lin estate, the Rebel Army made a killing. They were so generous they handed out another bonus to the men. For the past two days, business in the city’s brothels and taverns has been booming..."
"I’m getting off topic! As for who they’re really looking for,"
Jiang Ping’an glanced around and lowered his voice. "The Xia Family, together with the Rebel Army, is searching for the killer who struck that night—the one who killed three of the Xia Family’s Sixth Grade experts. I hear the killer is a Fifth Grade master!"
"A Fifth Grade?!"
Fang Rui asked, feigning shock. "Have they found him?"
"How could they?"
Jiang Ping’an waved his hand dismissively. "They’ve combed through all of Changshan City, but they haven’t found so much as a shadow. I heard the Old Master of the Xia Family threw a massive fit over it and had several incompetent servants beaten to death!"
"After that, the Xia Family turned around and complained that our Rebel Army was just going through the motions, not putting in any real effort. They even suspected that the killer, the one who took out their three Sixth Grade Martial Artists, was hiding right here in the Rebel Army... Brother Fang, isn’t that ridiculous?"
"Absolutely ridiculous!"
Fang Rui hadn’t expected that he, the hidden hand behind the scenes, had actually managed to intensify the conflict between the Xia Family and the Taiping Bandits.
In truth, given the investigative methods available in Changshan City, it was practically impossible for them to find him.
’Following my scent or something?’
Fang Rui was exceptionally cautious. Every time he acted, he would check himself over and over before returning, using his Dark Force—which could extend three inches from his body—to give himself a thorough ’cleansing.’
Without any solid clues, a large-scale search like this was even less likely to find him. After all, his public-facing identity was simply unassailable.
The only way to catch him would have been to stop him on the spot. But given his strength, only a Fourth Grade Martial Artist could have done so. Right now, in all of Changshan City, there were only two such individuals: the Old Master of the Xia Family and the Rebel Army’s Zuo Boyang.
And Fang Rui wasn’t foolish enough to make a move in front of either of them.
It was no wonder, then, that the Xia Family’s search was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and their Old Master could only fly into an impotent rage.
’It’s not our fault we’re incompetent; the enemy is just too cunning!’
Without letting anything show on his face, Fang Rui asked, "Brother Jiang, what happened after that?"
"After that? The Xia Family and the Rebel Army parted on bad terms. The Rebel Army doesn’t have the patience to keep wasting time on this—there’s too much to be done in the city. As of yesterday, they’ve started ignoring the Xia Family, leaving them to their own devices. The Xia Family wouldn’t give up and searched for another whole day, but still... not a single clue."
Jiang Ping’an added casually, "If you ask me, it’s better that they don’t find him. If they actually tracked down such a ferocious killer and he got desperate, the first people to suffer would be us grunts on the front lines—the governmental officers and constables..."
If he knew that the very person the entire city was desperately searching for was sitting right across from him, one wonders what he would think.
"Ferocious? Surely not, surely not."
This feeling of being unrecognized right in front of someone was strangely amusing. Fang Rui raised an eyebrow. "I heard a rumor, though... that the mighty figure who killed the three Sixth Grade Martial Artists from the Xia Family was actually a hero..."
"Heh, Brother Fang, you’re being naive. A killer like that is never an easy person to deal with. Even if he were a true hero, he wouldn’t show any mercy to the people sent to arrest him, like us!" Jiang Ping’an shook his head emphatically.
After a bit more back-and-forth, they dropped the subject.
Jiang Ping’an suddenly said, "Over the past two days, some of the Rebel Army men have come down with something. Fever, headaches, non-stop vomiting... and it’s not just one person. I wonder if it’s just them not being accustomed to the city after coming down from the mountains..."
He said it jokingly, not paying it much mind, and was about to move on.
"Oh?"
Fang Rui seemed to have an overly sensitive reaction, his brow furrowing as he subconsciously asked, "Could it be a plague?"
"It couldn’t... be, could it?!"
The wine bowl Jiang Ping’an had raised to his lips froze in place, his eyes wide. "Brother Fang, you’re joking. A plague isn’t something that just happens, is it? I’ve lived my whole life and only ever heard stories; I’ve never actually seen one!"
"Besides, so many people died when the city fell, and nothing happened. How could it possibly start now? Haha!" He gave a dry laugh. His words said it was impossible, but a chill crept into his heart.