Futile Devices Scans

Zhang San carried Li Si along the narrow stone-paved road, still annoyed that he had gotten drunk and made a scene in front of Elder Sister. It was even more embarrassing than making a drunken spectacle of himself in front of the Prefect and Chief Commander, and it made Zhang San feel even guiltier. So he reached down and gave Li Si’s thigh a hard pinch.

Li Si woke with a cry of pain, struggling groggily in his arms.

“Don’t move!” Zhang San barked.

Li Si immediately behaved himself. His head was still spinning, and he simply wrapped both arms around Zhang San’s neck and leaned against his shoulder in a daze.

“Just you try drinking again next time. I’ll punch you flat.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t you ‘mhm’ me!”

The two bickered quietly as they walked when Zhang San suddenly became alert and stopped in his tracks.

The alley was narrow, silent, and deserted. He thought he had heard something—a hurried sound of someone dodging away.

He turned and looked behind him. At the far end of the alley, the Zhang family had already gone back into their little courtyard. The railing of the neighboring yard was empty as well. The neighbor’s child who had been drooling over the smell of food while hanging on the fence earlier was nowhere to be seen.

“Commander!” Liu Wu’s voice called from afar.

Zhang San turned back. Liu Wu was hurrying toward him with a young clerk in tow. Zhang San carried Li Si over to meet them and no longer paid attention to the strange feeling from earlier.

⸻

Liu Wu dragged along Chen Lu, the county yamen’s junior clerk, and quickly arrived before them.

Chen Lu was the very clerk whom Zhang San and Li Si had taken hostage on the night they stormed the county yamen and killed Daoist Ma. His father, Senior Clerk Chen, had served in the county yamen for more than twenty years and was highly respected by everyone. Chen Lu was his only son, born late in life, and had been raised with extreme care by his elderly parents. They never allowed him to do any physical labor.

Before the New Year, Senior Clerk Chen had retired due to illness, and Chen Lu had inherited his father’s post, becoming a junior clerk at the county yamen. He ordinarily preferred nothing more than burying himself in books. If there was no official business, he would not take a single step outside. As a result, he was exceedingly delicate and weak. After running only a short distance, he was already gasping for breath as he clung to Liu Wu and complained.

“Brother Wuzhi, slower, slower…”

Liu Wu said, “You ought to move around more often. If those Owl Bandits come one day, even if you don’t fight them, you’ll at least need to run fast enough to escape!”

Elio’s Notes: Wuzhi is Liu Wu’s courtesy name. Owl Bandits refer to the Xiao Army. The character     枭 xiāo literally means owl but historically, it also carries meanings like fierce, ruthless, predatory, and violent.

Zhang San had said similar things to Chen Lu before. Seeing Chen Lu’s pale face and half-dead appearance, Zhang San found it amusing and let out a low chuckle.

Chen Lu had a round little face and large eyes, making him rather cute. He was also about the same age as Li Si. Brother Xiao had grabbed his topknot before, dragged him around, and “bullied” him too.

The dizzy Li Si immediately felt an inexplicable sense of tension. He tightened his arms around Zhang San’s neck and refused to let him smile at Chen Lu!

Zhang San nearly choked from being strangled. Thinking Li Si was embarrassed about being carried around in public, he set him down. Li Si widened his eyes and tried to cling to him again, but Zhang San grabbed him by the arms and forcibly made him stand upright.

Awkwardly, Zhang San explained to the two subordinates, “He drank some wine and got completely muddled.”

Liu Wu, ever the worrier, frowned. “The Envoy is still injured. He shouldn’t be drinking.”

Zhang San replied, “My oversight. He stole a few sips when I wasn’t looking. Enough about him—why were you looking for us?”

Liu Wu said, “While A’Lu was inventorying the supplies, he discovered an important map. I thought it looked extremely significant, so I hurried over to find you.”

⸻

The four of them stopped beneath the eaves of a house by the roadside. The muddle-headed Li Si was still leaning against Zhang San’s shoulder while the other three lowered their heads and carefully examined the map.

The map was made of treated hide paper. There were words written across the top, and the characters for “Jinyang” could vaguely be made out, but the rest were too faded to read. The drawing below was much clearer. It showed the approximate locations of the Fen River, Jinyang City, and Ant County. Most importantly, north of Ant County, among the mountain ridges, two branching roads were marked—one leading west and one leading north.

Zhang San traced the forked roads with his finger. One road emerged from the mountains to the north and was marked with what looked like a mountain pass. The other emerged from the mountains to the south and was marked with a city.

Zhang San asked, “Where do these lead?”

Liu Wu replied, “Judging by the terrain and the flow of the Fen River, the northern route should lead to Tianmen Pass, while the southern route should lead to Jiao County.”

Tianmen Pass lay northwest of Kuiyuan and connected to Lanzhou, Fuzhou, and Linzhou west of the Lüliang Mountains. Those three prefectures were likely still outside the Xiao Army’s control, which was why General Sun had previously been able to take a detour through Tianmen Pass and come here.

Jiao County, meanwhile, was a small county about one hundred li south of Kuiyuan, also situated on the western bank of the Fen River.

Zhang San was overjoyed. “If these roads truly connect to those places, Ant County could secretly guide reinforcements from both the west and the south into the area! No wonder this place was chosen as a military stronghold!”

Then he hesitated. “But when I was young, I went north of the city before. All I saw was mountain ridges. There wasn’t any road.”

Liu Wu replied, “I know. That’s why I came looking for you immediately. We probably need to go inspect the northern mountains at once.”

⸻

After the four of them disappeared around the corner, a figure emerged from the shadows of the alley. He was dressed like an ordinary servant, but his movements were nimble and practiced. Cautiously, he poked his head out and watched the direction in which they had left before turning away and taking another route.

The man wound his way through streets and alleys, taking shortcut after shortcut. Before long, he slipped through a side gate and returned to the county magistrate’s residence.

The magistrate was lying weakly on a couch in the main room of his inner courtyard, a medicinal compress pressed to his head.

In recent days, the magistrate had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of the Dao. He had faithfully supported Immortal Master Ma, hoping that once the immortal master returned to the capital, he would put in a good word before His Majesty and help transfer him out of this impoverished northern county—where there was no profit to be had and enemy armies were forever appearing at the gates—and back to the prosperous south. Yet his beautiful dream had been ruined by the two plagues named Zhang and Li! The pair had brutally murdered Immortal Master Ma! They had not even left a complete corpse behind! It was a tragedy beyond words!

The rage had given him splitting headaches. He could only vent his anger on Liu Wu for allowing the two men to escape. He stripped Liu Wu of his position and appointed another veteran constable—one who had always flattered and fawned over him—as the new Chief Constable. He then continued to lavish care upon the Strongman while he recovered from his injuries, hoping that once the Strongman returned to the capital, he would at least tell His Majesty about how respectfully the magistrate had handled the immortal master’s remains and given him a grand burial, thereby earning him a reputation for virtue.

And yet only a few days later, the two plagues had returned!

Not only had they returned, but Plague Zhang had somehow become a Militia Commander, and one whose “authority surpassed that of the magistrate.” He had commandeered all the county clerks and yamen runners, occupied the county yamen, and driven the magistrate himself out of office. That dog Liu Wu had even been appointed County Commandant. The moment he found a higher branch to cling to, he no longer paid any respect to the magistrate.

Plague Zhang had even seized his beloved rear garden! There were still piles of precious paintings, calligraphy, and antiques in the study there!

The magistrate had lost both power and wealth. He no longer had a place to meditate and cultivate the Dao. Even his Dao heart had shattered!

Another headache struck him. With the herbal compress pressed against his forehead, he lay flat on the heated couch and listened to his servant’s report.

The servant was the head of the household guards, a man with reasonably good martial skills. Over the past two days, the magistrate had sent him to follow Zhang San and uncover the details of the new Militia Commander, to see what exactly he was up to in Kuiyuan.

The guard captain reported, “My lord, the two plagues visited the same alley twice—once last night and again today. Both times they went to the same household. I secretly had Clerk Qian look up the household registers at the county yamen. The household belongs to a woman named Zhang Da Niang. According to the records, she once had a younger brother named Zhang Er who was conscripted and died in battle seven years ago. There is no Zhang San listed in her household. However, another family in the same alley also bears the surname Zhang, and that household had a son named Zhang San who was likewise conscripted into the army.”

The County Magistrate pressed a hand to his forehead and said, “Conscription, eh? When you can’t meet the quota, you split people from one household into another. I’ve done that myself before. Madam Zhang, Zhang Er, Zhang San—could it be any more obvious? They’re one family! No wonder that plague god killed someone and escaped so quickly. Turns out he’s a local who knows the roads!”

The head guard continued, “Clerk Qian said that according to the Zhang household registry, only Madam Zhang and her husband are listed now. But I saw a kid around ten years old living at her house too. No idea where he came from. So today I bought a braised pork knuckle…”

Seated beside the County Magistrate’s couch was his accountant, the man responsible for managing his “private accounts.” He had followed him for more than ten years, from Jiangnan to Hedong, and was one of his oldest advisers. Upon hearing this, the old adviser spoke impatiently in his Jiangnan accent. “If you’re reporting something, then report it. What’s the braised pork knuckle got to do with anything?”

The head guard explained, “I wanted to ask the neighbor’s kid about them, but the kid wanted braised pork knuckle. I said braised pork knuckle was expensive and offered to buy roast chicken instead. The kid didn’t want roast chicken—he insisted on braised pork knuckle. He smelled the pork stew cooking at Madam Zhang’s place…”

The old adviser clicked his tongue. “Don’t ramble on with nonsense! Get to the point!”

The head guard said resentfully, “The neighbor’s kid said that about twenty days ago, Madam Zhang picked up a young master from some wealthy family. Fair skin, tender flesh, pampered with good food and good treatment. She raised him like a younger brother.”

The old adviser shooed the head guard out. After checking that no one was outside, he carefully shut the door and returned to the County Magistrate’s side. “My lord, twenty-odd days ago was before Kuiyuan was surrounded. And they say he’s some delicate young master from a wealthy family. Could he have come from outside? Might that dragon-patterned jade pendant have something to do with him?”

One hand clutching his aching head, the County Magistrate drew the jade pendant from his robes and studied the dragon carved into its surface.

The day before, when that plague god Li had collapsed outside the city gates, it had been the head guard who tied him up first. Suspecting he had stolen something from the County Magistrate’s residence, the guard searched him and found this jade pendant before handing him over to the constable. As a result, the yamen runners knew nothing about the pendant.

The pendant bore a royal dragon motif. It was not something an ordinary household could possess; it could only be connected to the imperial clan. There was no telling whether that plague god Li had always carried it or had obtained it in Kuiyuan… or perhaps the plague god Li himself was a member of the imperial clan?

The County Magistrate’s muddled mind could make no sense of it all. He tossed the jade pendant into the adviser’s hands and whimpered about his headache.

“Aiyo, why don’t we just give the pendant back to him? I don’t want anything to do with those two plague gods!”

The adviser hurriedly said, “My lord, don’t be foolish! They haven’t asked you for it because they don’t know it’s in your possession. If they find out, and if there’s some imperial secret tied to this pendant, wouldn’t they silence you to keep it hidden?”

The County Magistrate shuddered from head to toe. “Th-then what should we do?”

The adviser said, “Under no circumstances can you let them know the pendant is in your hands! Keep people following them, and we’ll take things one step at a time.”

⸻

Zhang San delivered the still-dizzy Li Si back to the county yamen. By coincidence, Cook Wu and her husband had just moved over from the fort, so he instructed the couple to take good care of Li Si and let him recuperate properly. He himself hurried off to the north side of the city with Liu Wu and Chen Lu.

There had once been an old city gate in the northern part of the city, along with a city wall over ten feet high. But mountain rocks had blocked the passage behind the gate, making it unusable. It had therefore fallen into disrepair over the years. Part of the wall had collapsed, the wooden gate panels were long gone, and only sections of rammed-earth wall and scattered stones remained.

The nearby residents had built sheds against the wall and raised chickens, ducks, pigs, and cattle there. The stench was overwhelming.

The three men circled the wall once, stepping through piles of chicken and duck droppings and becoming thoroughly scented with pig and cow stink, yet found nothing.

Zhang San suggested climbing up to the top of the wall.

Liu Wu braced himself against the edge of a pigpen and let Zhang San step onto his shoulders, straining to hoist him upward. Zhang San climbed onto the pigsty roof, intending to strike a graceful, rooftop-running pose worthy of a martial hero. Instead, his very first step punched straight through the roof. Half his body dangled in midair, and he nearly fell into the foul-smelling pigpen below!

The pigs had been grunting contentedly when suddenly two long legs dropped down from above and began flailing over their heads. The pigs squealed in terror and charged about the pen in complete chaos.

Outside, Liu Wu and Chen Lu were screaming as well. “Hey! Hey! Commander! Commander!”

Zhang San barely managed to grab hold of a support beam with both hands and haul himself back up. Lying awkwardly atop the pigsty roof and inhaling several breaths of foul air, he sighed. If Sisi were here, he thought, he would probably have leapt up in a single bound and danced across the rooftops as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water.

The little flying colt really was useful at critical moments.

It was all because of that bowl of wine at lunch. No—even if he hadn’t drunk any wine, Zhang San still would not have had the heart to let Sisi climb around while injured. It was all that constable’s fault for hurting Sisi.

No, it was his own fault for letting Sisi crawl into that tunnel alone.

After indulging in a bout of silent self-reproach, he climbed to his feet dejectedly. Carefully grabbing the wall beside him, he drew in a deep breath and used all his strength to slowly pull himself upward.

Once atop the wall, he winced and clutched his left shoulder, then looked around.

Sure enough, through gaps between several large boulders, he could vaguely see trees and an overgrown path beyond them.

“There really is a road!” he shouted to the two below. “There must have been a landslide that blocked it with debris! Hurry and bring more men!”

⸻

Li Si was left behind at the county yamen. He dozed fitfully for a while and woke around dusk. After drinking a bowl of sour plum sobering soup brought by Cook Wu, he shook his head and felt mostly clear-headed again.

The moment he woke, he wanted to go find Zhang San. Cook Wu and her husband immediately stopped him, saying that the Boss had forbidden him from going out and wanted him to stay in the yamen and recover properly. They also said that Junior Clerk Chen had returned that afternoon and taken several yamen runners away because Commissioner Zhang was digging through rocks at the North Gate. What use would an injured man like Li Si be in such hard physical labor?

The couple diligently blocked his path and persuaded him, “If you go, the Boss will scold us for not taking proper care of you.”

Li Si did not want them to be scolded because of him, so he could only remain at the yamen. Sitting on the large bed in Zhang San’s main room, he hugged the fluffy tiger-fur cloak and stared blankly into space.

Junior Clerk Chen was not suited to physical labor either and returned early himself. He had originally been helping several clerks inventory supplies in a side courtyard. Upon hearing that Envoy Li had awakened, he hurried to the rear courtyard and peeked cautiously through the doorway of the main room.

“Envoy Li?”

Li Si looked up and, seeing who it was, nodded. “Please come in.”

Chen Lu entered nervously and bowed. “Envoy Li, forgive me for disturbing your recovery. I truly do have something I need to discuss with you. We’ve met several times before. I’m Chen Lu, a clerk at the county yamen.”

Li Si nodded again. “Clerk Chen, please sit.”

In Chen Lu’s eyes, although Commissioner Zhang looked fierce and had shown no mercy when whipping the constable, over the past two days he had done his utmost to arrange the county’s affairs properly and fairly. Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he willingly listened to suggestions from Brother Wuzhi and others. He treated even lowly clerks and yamen runners with respect. He had even brought Cook Wu in to prepare meals for everyone. He was completely different from the foolish, arbitrary, and selfish County Magistrate. In short, he was an exceptionally approachable superior.

As for Envoy Li, although he looked pure and upright at first glance, Chen Lu had personally witnessed him coldly splitting Daoist Ma’s head apart with a single strike. He was rather afraid of him. Combined with Li Si’s few words and perpetually indifferent expression, Chen Lu found him aloof and difficult to approach—entirely different from Commissioner Zhang, who was fierce on the outside but warm-hearted within.

Somewhat intimidated, Chen Lu found a wooden stool and sat down stiffly. Stammering, he began, “Envoy Li, i-it’s like this. The twenty-two soldiers who came with you have been staying in the squad rooms these past few days. Previously, the County Magistrate instructed me to arrange their food and lodging and send them back to the capital together once the Strongman’s injuries healed… But now Commander Zhang has had the County Magistrate removed—ah, invited away—and today I asked Commander Zhang how those soldiers should be accommodated. Commander Zhang said that you are the Envoy, and they are men who came out under your command, so he told me to wait until you woke up and ask for your opinion.”

Li Si tilted his head slightly and listened attentively. After Chen Lu finished, he asked in confusion, “Why do they need to be ‘accommodated’? Can’t they keep staying at the yamen?”

Chen Lu coughed awkwardly. “Originally, they could. It’s just that there are a lot of them, they’re all highly skilled, and they have no officer directly supervising them. County Commandant Liu has been worried they might cause trouble, so he assigned yamen runners to keep watch over them. These past few days, manpower has been needed everywhere, and there aren’t enough yamen runners to go around. Today we also brought back a large quantity of military supplies…”

He awkwardly omitted the rest. But Li Si failed to grasp the implication and simply continued looking at him attentively.

Chen Lu had no choice but to spell it out. “We’re worried these soldiers might seize military supplies or cause trouble in the yamen. Besides, the squad rooms are cramped and shabby—not a suitable place to stay long-term. They seem quite uncomfortable there as well. So I wanted to discuss moving them somewhere else.”

Li Si looked blank. If Clerk Chen thought they should be moved, then they could be moved. But where would they be moved to?

Seeing his vacant expression, Chen Lu quickly added, “Commander Zhang said there are two rows of excellent guest rooms in the County Magistrate’s rear garden where they can be housed. However, Commander Zhang said this matter requires your approval. Only you can command them.”

Li Si looked blank again. Can I command them?

Then again, that made sense. The Commissioner had ordered him to succeed as Envoy. These men had accompanied the Envoy on a secret mission. Naturally, they should be under his command. If he did not command them, were they supposed to obey that pig-headed Strongman instead? Was he supposed to let them continue living in those miserable squad rooms? Or simply allow them to cause trouble in the yamen?

Since he had succeeded to the position of Envoy, he ought to shoulder the responsibilities that came with it. Since Brother Xiao had sent Clerk Chen to ask him, perhaps it was also Brother Xiao’s way of telling him to take responsibility.

Li Si lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

Despite the winter cold, sweat was practically dripping from Chen Lu’s forehead. He deeply regretted coming. Had he known, he would have waited for Commissioner Zhang to return and speak with Envoy Li himself. Seeing that Commissioner Zhang still had not come back by nightfall and that all the yamen runners had been sent off to dig through rocks, he had been afraid the soldiers might cause trouble after dark. That was why he had come personally.

Suddenly, Li Si spoke. “All right. I’ll arrange it. I’ll keep them under control. Don’t worry.”

Delighted, Chen Lu said, “Th-that would be wonderful. Then thank you, Envoy Li. I’ll go back to inventorying supplies now…”

“Take care.”

Chen Lu returned the courtesy repeatedly, then hurried off along the wall as though fleeing for his life.

Watching his timid, shrinking figure disappear, Li Si thought to himself: Clerk Chen looks as soft and squishy as a piece of fruit, the sort of person who would be very easy to bully.

But Brother Xiao wasn’t allowed to bully him either, and even less was he allowed to smile at him.

Li Si did not know what this crumpled-up feeling inside him was. He only knew it felt unpleasant. Brother Xiao had something to say but did not come tell him himself, instead sending Clerk Chen to speak to him. That made the knot inside him tighten further and feel even worse.

He had been determined to stick to Brother Xiao all day long, yet he had failed to do so. He really should not have sneaked that bowl of sweet wine.

He buried his face in the tiger-fur cloak and sulked for a while. But the cloak carried only the musky smell of animal fur, and the fur itself was coarse and prickly, completely different from the feeling of burying his face against Brother Xiao’s shoulder. After only a short while, he irritably lifted his head again.

Forget it. Important matters came first.

He got to his feet, set down the tiger-fur cloak, and headed toward the front courtyard.

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