Chapter 25: Kill! Kill! Kill, Kill, Kill

The woman was named Han Ying, the proprietress of the noodle shop. It was said she had refused her family's arranged marriage and was consequently cast out. Even in the Tang Dynasty, parental authority was as weighty as law, and few dared to defy it. Rarer still were those brave enough to open a shop accompanied only by a female assistant.

Han Ying held a cleaver, examining her fingertips, and asked casually, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"A youth, then."

"Yes."

"Try some heavy work," Han Ying said, sliding the blade across her nail and gesturing toward the back yard.

Yang Xuan picked up an axe.

Later, a pile of firewood accumulated in the yard. The assistant and Han Ying stood together by the back door, arms crossed.

"Madam Si, what a strong man," the assistant remarked.

Her name was Wang Shun. Few women bore names, and Yang Xuan thought the character "Shun" surely carried her parents' hopes.

"Call him 'youth,' 'man' sounds coarse," Han Ying replied, twisting her slender waist and speaking to Yang Xuan, "From tomorrow, come every afternoon to chop wood and do the heavy work. Also, ask about..."

She frowned, eyeing his somewhat thin figure, "Can you fight?"

Yang Xuan nodded.

"How well?"

"Well enough."

Han Ying shook her head, "Seems you're not entirely honest."

Whether he was honest or not, Yang Xuan cared little. What mattered to him was the wage.

"Um... Madam Si, how much is the pay?"

Asking for wages for food was no shame.

Han Ying looked at the firewood on the ground and kicked it, "Too rough."

"How much?" Yang Xuan sensed she was nitpicking, "I can split it finer, as fine as you wish."

Han Ying crossed her arms. Yang Xuan glanced upward but did not linger.

"Sixty coins a month."

Yang Xuan turned to leave.

Han Ying bit her red lip, "Sixty-five!"

Yang Xuan shook his head, resolutely stepping out.

Han Ying stamped her foot, "Seventy coins, no more!"

"Deal!"

There was much heavy work at the noodle shop, chopping wood just one task among many. Relieved, Wang Shun sat outside the kitchen, watching Yang Xuan carry a bucket of water, swaying as he entered.

"Need any help?" Wang Shun stood.

Yang Xuan shook his head, "You sit."

Wang Shun sat, massaging her waist, smiling as she watched Yang Xuan bustle about.

"Are there no elders at home?"

Not anymore... Yang Xuan held back the words, "They're far away."

"Oh!" Wang Shun's gaze grew sympathetic, leaving Yang Xuan a bit puzzled.

"Is it in the heavens?"

...

He returned home.

He filled the water jar by the yard, then used a ladle to bathe.

"Ah!"

He tilted his head, pouring a ladle of water over himself. Through the splash, Yang Xuan glimpsed the blurred sky, and the curious face of Zhao Sanfu peering at him.

"A bit thin, but the women in the brothels will like that."

This fellow had climbed over the wall. Yang Xuan shielded himself with the ladle, frowning, "Why?"

Zhao Sanfu replied sheepishly, "Imagine what it's like to have a big fat woman lying atop you."

He turned away, "Besides, the brothel women don't care about appearance."

Yang Xuan removed the ladle, glanced down, "That's fine, but this I can't lend you."

Zhao Sanfu grew angry, "I've conquered every brothel..."

After his tirade, Yang Xuan finished dressing.

"Speak."

Zhao Sanfu wiped the foam from his lips, "Someone from the He family has died."

"What do you mean?" Yang Xuan asked, toweling his hair as he sat.

Zhao Sanfu sat beside him, mocking, "A steward from the He family is dead."

"Good riddance," Yang Xuan smiled.

Zhao Sanfu leaned against the tree trunk, gazing up at the broad canopy.

"He killed himself at the place Yan City died, stabbed himself three times—the same as Yan City had been stabbed. All in plain sight."

Yang Xuan's hair stood on end.

"I heard He Huan was beaten by his father and won't be going out anytime soon," Zhao Sanfu stood, patting Yang Xuan's shoulder, "Know why?"

Yang Xuan shook his head.

Admiration shone in Zhao Sanfu's eyes, "Damn! It's because that night you stopped He Huan from killing Yan City. The Left Chancellor found witnesses, so He Huan was beaten by He Jin City, and the He family lost a trusted steward—wounded to the core. But you'd best keep a low profile; the He family, when enraged, will do anything."

"The last time they suffered this much was over ten years ago. Are you afraid?"

"When a man dies, his eggs face the sky!" Yang Xuan retorted fiercely.

Zhao Sanfu scowled and left.

...

"This is a warning."

The next day, Yang Xuan first went to the Imperial Academy, attending the cultivation class. Bao Dong took advantage of Zhong Hui's distraction to gossip about the affair.

"What does it mean?" someone asked.

A sneer flickered on Bao Dong's handsome face, "Everyone in Chang'an knows Yan City was murdered by four families, but Chang'an County and Wannian County remain silent, the Ministry of Justice and the Grand Court say nothing, the Golden Guards say nothing, and the Mirror Office is so quiet that even a fart would echo through Chang'an..."

Yang Xuan listened quietly.

"The Left Chancellor spoke out," Bao Dong said reverently, "Yesterday he asked the Imperial Uncle—should a murderer pay with his life?"

The Imperial Uncle was Yang Songcheng, head of the Yingchuan Yang family and master of the He family.

"The Left Chancellor truly is a pillar of the realm!"

Bao Dong was likely one of those fanatics described in the scrolls, thought Yang Xuan. He mused over the matter.

It felt exhilarating!

Forcing the enemy to kill their own was far more satisfying than secret assassinations.

Bao Dong sighed suddenly.

"Trouble?" Yang Xuan found him likable, warm-hearted. His principle was to reciprocate kindness.

Bao Dong rested his chin on his hand, "Yesterday, when I went home to practice, my father said I was acting like a woman."

After class, Bao Dong hurried out.

"Together?"

Yang Xuan also needed the latrine.

Bao Dong shook his head, "I'm going to petition the Dean."

"Changing majors?"

"Yes."

"How many students in the 'Love and Sorrow' major?"

"Just me."

"Farewell."

Soon, Bao Dong returned with a swollen left hand.

"Why not the right hand?" Yang Xuan glanced at the bruise on his own hand from last time.

Bao Dong hissed, "The Dean said to save the right hand for afternoon sweeping."

"Yang Xuan, the Dean wants you," someone called from outside.

Bao Dong immediately looked gleeful, "I'm off to buy incense."

When Yang Xuan met An Ziyu, she was reading a booklet.

Looking for Bao Dong's replacement, perhaps? The fact that only one student was willing to study in the 'Love and Sorrow' major must have made this bigwig somewhat disheartened.

An Ziyu put down the booklet and looked at him, "The Rector said that the winds lately aren't favorable—expect some cold gusts..."

Yang Xuan: "..."

An Ziyu tossed the booklet onto the desk, briskly saying, "Enough with the sour talk—annoying! To put it simply, Chang'an is not right lately. Yan City's death is just the beginning. Be careful in Wannian County. If need be, take leave."

"The Rector manages thousands of affairs, yet remembers I'm in Wannian County..." Yang Xuan was touched.

For the first time, An Ziyu looked embarrassed.

"Dean..."

Yang Xuan sensed trouble.

An Ziyu coughed, "You're the only Imperial Academy student currently working in both counties."

Emperor Wu's worries seemed justified. If the Academy kept on like this, it would soon collapse.

Yang Xuan carefully said, "Dean, I always finish what I start..."

"There are risks."

Yang Xuan fell silent.

"Out!"

Yang Xuan left the Academy and headed for Wannian County.

"Where from?"

The gatekeeper, though he had seen Yang Xuan's papers yesterday, still stopped him today.

"Yang Xuan."

Tang Xiaonian beckoned from inside.

Yang Xuan nodded to the gatekeeper and entered. The gatekeeper looked surprised.

"Why didn't you scold him?" Tang Xiaonian noted that this youth seemed too docile.

"He wasn't trying to make trouble for me."

It was as if the tiger and wolf from the mountain had stirred, other beasts fled in terror, waking you from camp; why bother with those panicked creatures?

Tang Xiaonian glanced at him, surprised, "Good."

Yang Xuan looked up to see Wen Xinshu watching Tang Xiaonian expectantly.

Inside the duty room, Tang Xiaonian produced a map.

"Yesterday it was outside the city."

He pointed to a spot on the map, then looked at Yang Xuan, "You're new here, surely you have questions. Ask away."

Yang Xuan posed a question unrelated to the task, "Why didn't my Academy peers brief me?"

"Wen Xinshu," Tang Xiaonian stretched his neck.

Wen Xinshu glanced at Tang Xiaonian, "Don't you know? You're the only Imperial Academy student to remain in Wannian County in the last five years."

Yang Xuan felt a chill, "Who was the Prefect five years ago?"

Tang Xiaonian kept his head down, "Prefect Huang."

Understood.

Yang Xuan nodded, "What do those spies come to Chang'an for?"

Wen Xinshu replied, "Never stated. We guess it's for some hidden treasure."

"Treasure?"

"Yes," Tang Xiaonian explained, "Back then, the capital of Chen was Chang'an. When Chen fell, the treasury and emperor's private wealth vanished."

"But that's not certain, is it?"

Zhao Guolin, who had been silent, spoke, "The founding emperor of Southern Zhou was the last Chen emperor's bodyguard."

Ah!

Yang Xuan asked, "If that's so, why doesn't Great Tang search?"

Zhao Guolin sat down, told Wen Xinshu, "You talk too much."

Wen Xinshu glared, retorting, "Tang did search, but Chang'an is so vast, how could they dig up the entire city? The Emperor of Filial Respect said Tang's strength lay not in external wealth but in internal virtue and policies, and in suppressing the barbarians. The Empress agreed, so the search was stopped."

The Emperor of Filial Respect!

Yang Xuan was becoming familiar with this name.

"Southern Zhou spies come every year," Tang Xiaonian looked up, "Almost always arriving in late spring."

There was something hard to define here.

"Can we catch any alive?" Yang Xuan considered torture as a possible route.

Tang Xiaonian tapped the map, his little finger showing a scar that had not faded with the years.

"We can't."

"Why?"

"The spies of the 'Lovers' Bureau' are cruel—to themselves, even more so."

Yang Xuan felt a chill, wondering if he should take the Dean's hint and retreat next time.

Tang Xiaonian pointed to a spot in Chang'an on the map, looking at the three of them.

"Southern Zhou is already wealthy. If they find Chen's treasure, even gluttonous demons would be tempted. Our duty is..."

Three arms were raised high.

Then they looked oddly at Yang Xuan, who had not.

"Oh!" Not knowing the ritual, Yang Xuan raised his hand as well.

"Kill! Kill! Kill, kill, kill!"

The three shouted, then all looked at Yang Xuan, who had not joined in.

This...

Yang Xuan recalled a term he'd learned.

Adolescent foolishness!

He raised his right arm, thrusting it skyward.

"Kill! Kill! Kill, kill, kill!"

...

Because there are no drafts saved, the update times can't be fixed. If few, two chapters a day; if more, three. Morning is always one update; midday and afternoon, one or two depending on circumstances.

Without drafts, the writing flows even smoother—a strange thing, but I hope it stays that way.