All around him was a vast expanse of rockery arranged in elegant layers.
The setting sun slanted westward, spilling orange-yellow radiance over the overlapping peaks. A thin layer of snow covered the tips of the stones, as though half-dyed by rosy clouds, making the sight even more breathtakingly beautiful.
Li Si climbed to a high point of the rockery and looked outward. Beyond the artificial mountains was an exquisitely beautiful garden. Although it was the dead of winter and all things had withered, the garden had been planted with many red and white winter plum trees and evergreen pines, so it was still stunningly lovely.
Li Si had been born and raised in a run-down military camp and had never entered the residence of a wealthy household before. For a moment, he stared in a daze.
After looking for a while, he came back to himself and only then realized he had emerged from a hidden dry well in the middle of the rockery. The well’s location was extremely concealed; if one did not deliberately climb to the top of the rockery, it would be very difficult to discover this place.
⸻
Voices suddenly came from below the rockery.
“This county magistrate really knows how to enjoy himself. Such a small county, yet he built such a beautiful residence. Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at this rockery. These are stones from Jiangnan! Have you two ever been to Genyue? Hm? These stones are the same kind as the ones there!”
Clinging to the top of the rockery, Li Si poked his head out and looked down.
Below was a rattan lounge chair, and sprawled on it was a pig-headed brute. The bruises and swelling on his face rose and fell like the rockery itself. His once high-bulging fat belly had, for some unknown reason, deflated quite a bit and looked much flatter.
The brute looked sickly and limp, no longer possessing any of his former vigor. He lay collapsed on the rattan chair like a puddle of meat. His two subordinates waited on him from the left and right, each sitting on a wooden stool. The three of them seemed to have nothing to do and were sitting in the garden admiring the scenery.
⸻
Li Si was dressed in black night-traveling clothes, making him especially conspicuous on the snowy white rockery. The pig-headed brute squinted at him and, assuming he was a servant of the county magistrate’s residence, said, “Why is someone sweeping snow up on the mountain? Such pretty snow—what a pity to sweep it away.”
His two subordinates’ eyes were not as swollen as his, so they saw clearly and both sucked in a cold breath. “M-my lord! He looks like that—that—that plague god!”
The brute narrowed his eyes and looked more closely. “What plague—plague god! Help!”
He rolled off the rattan chair and scrambled away, half rolling and half crawling. Wrapped in black, the plague god’s figure was lean and swift, like an agile black dragon sliding over the snowy white mountains. In the blink of an eye, he slid down the rockery and chased after him without a word.
Because the two subordinates had moved into the county magistrate’s residence, their weapons had been confiscated, so as they ran, they could only pick up stones from the garden and throw them at Li Si.
Li Si’s steps were light, and in only a few strides, he caught up with the two subordinates. Without drawing his saber from its sheath, he struck each of them viciously in the abdomen with the scabbard, sending them rolling on the ground and crying out in pain, then continued chasing the brute.
⸻
The county magistrate’s residence kept several dozen sturdy household guards, even more than the county yamen had yamen runners, and its security was extremely strict. Hearing the cries for help, the guards came very quickly.
Li Si had just grabbed the brute by the back of his collar and lifted him up to punch him when he heard someone shouting curses from the distance. “You there, assassin! Stop at once!”
Li Si looked up and saw a row of archers surrounding him in the distance. Behind them hid a middle-aged man with a rat-like face, dressed in a blue official robe. He looked like a minor official and seemed somewhat familiar, but Li Si could not remember who he was.
Li Si remembered no one now, but everyone remembered him deeply, and they all faced him as if confronting a great enemy. Though the household guards present had not witnessed it themselves, they had heard the tale: two plague gods had broken into the county yamen at night. One had flown into the fire and chopped Daoist Ma’s head to pieces with a single stroke.
“It’s him! It’s him! He’s the one who killed the immortal master! Good, good! And now he dares come to this county magistrate’s own home to kill! Audacious madman!” the county magistrate cursed, trembling.
He was practically a life-claiming demon!
The household guards were all trembling with fear. When Li Si raised his fist, everyone sucked in a breath. When Li Si lowered his fist, everyone let out a great sigh of relief.
According to Li Si’s former temperament, whenever he saw this brute bullying the weak, he would beat him every time. In any case, if the archers opposite dared to shoot, he could hide behind the brute’s large, fat body and remain completely unharmed.
But for some reason, he now felt he ought to judge the situation first and remove himself from the predicament of being surrounded.
So he drew his saber and placed it against the brute’s neck.
Everyone sucked in another cold breath.
The brute trembled nonstop, begging for mercy over and over until Li Si’s ears buzzed and the wound on his head hurt even more.
He said coldly, “Shut up! Say another word and I’ll punch you flat!”
After cursing, even he froze. Huh? Since when did I know how to curse people?
Holding the brute at knifepoint, he forced him toward the edge of the garden, shoving him as they walked. “Lead the way out, or I’ll kill you.”
After saying it, he froze again. I even know how to threaten people!
He felt that after fainting once and gaining a wound on his head, he had suddenly become much more formidable. Not only was his mind clearer than before, even his tongue had become sharper, and his confidence instantly surged!
With an imposing air, he dragged the brute forward, occasionally turning back to frighten everyone by baring a row of fierce little white teeth.
⸻
The two shoved and stumbled out of the county magistrate’s residence and onto the street outside. The sky was not yet dark, and there were still some commoners passing by. When they saw him emerge from the magistrate’s residence holding a saber and taking someone hostage, they screamed and fled in all directions.
Li Si did not recognize what place this was outside. He looked around blankly, for a moment not knowing where to go.
“What is this place?” he demanded of the brute.
“This is, this is the county magistrate’s home!” the brute shivered.
“What county magistrate? What county?”
“A-Ant County.”
Li Si was startled. This was precisely the place he needed to go. Somehow, he had arrived here for no reason.
He remembered that before the Command Envoy died, he had ordered him to kill Daoist Ma, so he demanded again, “Where is Daoist Ma now?”
The brute trembled. “He’s already, already dead!” His head had been chopped to pieces! How could he still be alive?
Seeing that he was terrified to the extreme and did not seem to be lying, Li Si decided the urgent matter was still to escape, so he shouted, “Take me out of the city!”
The brute finally noticed that something was off with him and secretly glanced at the wound on his forehead. “Young sir, do you not remember? Are you… are you injured…?”
“Shut up! I’ll punch you flat!”
“Yes, yes, don’t, don’t…”
⸻
Li Si shoved the brute all the way toward the county’s southern gate. The county magistrate and the household guards followed behind, but the chase left the county magistrate panting for breath. Halfway there, he said, “You go, go! Whatever you do, you must not let anything happen to the strongman again! That assassin—if you can chase him, chase him. Capture him alive, but don’t kill him. Don’t forget there’s still another assassin!”
⸻
By the time the two reached the southern gate, the sky was half dark. Lanterns had been lit beneath the city gate. From afar, Li Si somehow felt that the place looked familiar, as though he had been here before.
The leader beneath the gate wore battle armor and had a thick beard, but Li Si did not recognize him at all.
There were several soldiers behind the leader. One of them was dressed like an ordinary yamen runner, yet Li Si found him somewhat familiar. When that young yamen runner saw Li Si’s face clearly, he was also startled, his expression clearly saying, “Why are you here?”
The young yamen runner turned to the leader and said, “He’s the assassin who took Clerk Chen hostage last time. Now he’s taken the strongman hostage too…”
The leader said in displeasure, “Shut up, Liu Wu! Last time, you were the one who let them escape! Useless blind fool! You’re not the constable anymore, so stop gesturing and giving orders here!”
⸻
While they were speaking, Li Si and the brute had already rushed up to them. This newly appointed constable drew his waist saber and walked forward to meet Li Si.
“Open the city gate!” Li Si shouted. “Otherwise, I’ll kill him!”
The new constable sneered. “Kill him if you have the ability. Let’s see how you get out then!”
Li Si made as if to draw the blade across the brute’s neck, and the brute howled like a pig. “He really will kill me! You blind fool, what’s your name? I’ll have the county magistrate strip you of your post! Strip you of your post!”
The constable’s expression turned ugly, and he hesitated indecisively. At this moment, the household guards had also chased over from a distance and shouted, “The master has ordered that the strongman must not be harmed!”
Liu Wu also took the opportunity to advise, “Constable, I’m afraid he really will do it…”
“You shut up!” the constable snapped, extremely irritated. But with all the household guards present, he could not truly injure the strongman merely to gain credit for catching a criminal, so he had no choice but to open the gate for Li Si.
⸻
Li Si pushed the brute out of the county town, then threatened the constable into closing the gate, giving himself more time to escape. He did not remember the arrangement of traps outside the gate, but he somehow felt that the turf on the ground looked strange, so he kept close to the mountain slope and ran several dozen steps. Seeing there were no pursuers behind him, he released the brute.
The brute wailed, “Don’t, don’t kill me!”
“Who wants to kill you? Hurry up and get lost!” Li Si said.
The brute had picked up his life for free and was wild with joy. He turned and ran!
Who would have thought that after only two steps, he would step onto a patch of withered grass, his foot would hit empty air, and he would fall into a horse trap!
The sharp bamboo stakes instantly stabbed into half of his large, fat buttock! The pain made him scream miserably!
Yet his falling momentum was stopped in time, sparing him the fate of being pierced through and killed. He looked up in terror and saw Li Si sprawled at the edge of the pit, gripping one of his arms.
The plague god had actually saved him!
He was both tall and fat, likely as heavy as two Li Sis. Li Si strained with all his strength to pull him up, veins bulging on his forehead. The wound had split open again, and a trickle of blood slid down to his cheek.
“Help, help…” The brute trembled nonstop, clutching Li Si’s sleeve tightly and begging him not to let go.
Li Si gritted his teeth, bloodshot veins seeping into his eyes. After several deep breaths, he finally slowly pulled him up.
The brute scrambled and crawled back from the gates of hell, kneeling on the ground and clutching his bloody buttock, panting in terror. After two breaths, he hurriedly hugged Li Si’s lower leg. “Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!”
Exhausted, Li Si panted heavily as he lowered his head to look at the brute. A drop of blood slid down his cheek and landed on the brute’s forehead.
He thought: This man is hateful, but his crime does not deserve death. He bullied commoners in the street and has already suffered two vicious beatings. If he no longer commits evil from now on, then it could barely be counted as atonement…
Wait, why two beatings? I clearly only beat him once.
—Mm! Mmm mmm mmm! Mm! Mmm mmm mmm! Mm! Mmm mmm mmm!
—Hahahaha! Alright, alright, don’t be angry. Good little colt, Big bug will take you to kill the big horse.
Whose voice was that… Who called me little colt? Who was so wicked…
A wave of panic surged through Li Si’s heart. His breathing grew rapid, and the wound on his head hurt as though someone had split his skull open with a blade.
His vision went black, his eyes closed, and he collapsed.
⸻
When he opened his eyes again, he had been awakened by cold water splashed onto him.
Li Si’s mind was muddled, and his vision was blurred. Only after a second basin of water was splashed onto him did he recognize the person before him.
It was the constable guarding the city gate.
He looked around blankly. This seemed to be some kind of dungeon, gloomy and cold, with dim lamplight. Aside from him, there was only the constable. He was tied to a torture rack, bare from the waist up, and the water splashed over him still carried shards of ice, making him shiver violently.
Seeing that he was awake, the constable sneered, tossed aside the basin, turned back, and lashed him viciously with a whip.
Li Si clenched his teeth hard and did not make a single sound.
“Talk! How did you sneak into the county magistrate’s residence? Where is your accomplice?”
Li Si could not understand what he was saying. Even if he had understood, he would not have been willing to answer.
Just then, blood welled up in his mouth, so he lifted his head and spat it onto the constable’s face.
He received another vicious lash! The wound split open, flesh torn apart, like a string of red plum blossoms blooming on snow, so red it was shocking to behold.
⸻
The constable lashed Li Si another twenty or thirty times in succession. Seeing that he had already passed out yet still had not said a single word, he grew so angry that he dumped another basin of icy water over him.
Li Si’s body was covered in bloody wounds. When the water struck him, he could not help but shiver. Yet his eyes remained tightly shut, and he did not awaken from unconsciousness.
The winter night was bitterly cold. The water on his body froze into blood-streaked frost. His head hung low, his lips had turned ashen white, and his breathing grew weaker and weaker.
A commotion arose above the dungeon. Ignoring the attempts of several yamen runners to stop him, Liu Wu barged in. “Constable! A word with you!”
The constable turned around irritably and spat at him. “What kind of thing are you? Get lost!”
Even as he was being shoved, Liu Wu struggled and said, “Just hear me out. It can only benefit you! If it brings any harm, you can punish me however you like!”
The constable shot him another impatient glare, tossed aside the whip, and walked to the doorway. “If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
Liu Wu said, “Brothers, go upstairs first. I need to speak with the constable alone.”
The yamen runners immediately turned to leave. Their action made the constable cough in annoyance. They quickly stopped and stood there awkwardly, waiting for the new constable to speak.
The constable said, “Get out!”
Only then did they leave.
The constable said again, “Speak!”
Liu Wu glanced at Li Si, who hung motionless on the torture rack. Frowning deeply, he lowered his voice and said, “You can’t go too far. Think about it. No matter what, he carries a token identifying him as an Imperial City Directorate envoy. I also heard from the yamen runners that after he killed someone, he said he did it under the Command Envoy’s orders.”
“So what? The county magistrate already said he’s just a lying assassin! The token was stolen!”
“That Daoist who was killed was the disciple of an immortal master serving at the Emperor’s side. Our county magistrate wants to curry favor with the Emperor, so he naturally sides with that Daoist in everything. The Daoist was killed, so the magistrate is unhappy and wants to make an example of this boy. But think about it—what if he really is an envoy, and this really was something the Command Envoy ordered him to do? If the Imperial City Directorate comes looking into the matter, the county magistrate can find ways to wriggle free of responsibility. But you’re the one personally harming him, and you’re only a minor constable. What will you do then? Won’t the entire blame fall on your shoulders?”
The constable’s face darkened, and he fell silent.
Liu Wu continued, “Besides, he still has an accomplice whose whereabouts are unknown. They previously said they were going to Kuiyuan to deliver a message. For all we know, they’ve already obtained a reply there and are on their way back to the capital. You’ve interfered with the delivery of that message. If his companion learns of it and goes to the capital to accuse you of delaying important business, won’t your head roll?”
The constable shuddered violently in shock and snapped, “Stop talking nonsense! I think you know them! You helped them kill people and escape before, and now you’re trying to help him again!”
Liu Wu let out a scornful laugh. “We’ve worked together in the county yamen for so many years. Since when have you ever seen me know anyone from the capital? Believe it or not, I’ve already said everything I need to say. If you kill him or seriously injure him, be careful that someone doesn’t come back later to settle the score with you!”
Having said that, Liu Wu flicked his sleeve as though he did not care in the slightest and turned to leave. “I’ve said my piece. Farewell.”
The constable was left standing there, his expression shifting uncertainly.
⸻
Liu Wu made his way out of the dungeon and said to the two yamen runners guarding the entrance, “Go downstairs. The constable wants you.”
The two exchanged glances and quietly asked, “Constable Liu—I mean, Brother Liu—could that person inside really be an envoy? We’ve beaten him like this. Nothing will happen to us, right?”
Liu Wu sighed. “Even the two of you know enough to ask that. In a little while, put some extra clothing on the envoy and treat his wounds.”
“Yes, yes, understood.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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