Though constables held a lowly status and were considered unpresentable in the County Government Office, at the end of the day, they still wore the Black Official's uniform representing the office. Now, with the Emperor of Great Zhou reigning, despite some troubles elsewhere, it had nothing to do with Pingzhang Commandery, or at least Black Mountain County. It wasn't a time of chaos. The Black Officials representing the County Government Office couldn't just die in broad daylight like this!
Previously, when the Qingshui Gang ambushed constables, they would strike suddenly, deal a heavy blow to the back of the head, and run away. The constables' lives weren't in danger; they only suffered superficial wounds. Without solid evidence against the attackers, and with County Magistrate Tian Zhenyuan backing them, the matter was always left unresolved. After all, Historian Xu Heng had suddenly caused trouble, which naturally angered County Magistrate Tian Zhenyuan. But this time was different. This time, they were caught. And the one caught wasn't just anybody—it was the Qingshui Gang Leader's wife's younger brother. How were they supposed to smooth this over?
Seeing this scene, the Incense Master, whose face was already deadly pale from blood loss, felt his scalp go numb. He had a sinking feeling that his time as an Incense Master had come to an end. He forced a smile, hastily wrapped his wound, and whispered, "Young man, let's talk this over." He then signaled a thug with a club to run back to their hall and report the situation.
"Why alert the Government Office over this? We can settle things privately. Accusing us of murdering officials and plotting a rebellion is too heavy a charge, young man," the Incense Master coaxed Zheng Jun amiably.
However, he was cursing relentlessly in his mind, "You damn dogs! Didn't they say they'd only send ordinary constables who knew nothing of Fists and Feet? How is there someone so ruthless, wielding a broken saber so masterfully? Thank goodness it was broken. If it were a whole blade, my blood would have splattered on the spot!" He wasn't cursing Zheng Jun, but the other members of the gang and the County Government Office's Historian Xu Heng.
Historian Xu Heng had failed to catch the Wave-Treading Thief Lou Wei and offended both the Qingshui Gang and County Magistrate Tian Zhenyuan. Naturally, he had to show weakness and make amends, so he sent ordinary constables without Body Tempering every day to let the Qingshui Gang beat them up and vent their anger. This had been the case for the past few days. With few in number and no Martial Arts skills, they were no match for the Qingshui Gang. They were often beaten black and blue; some even had their arms broken and needed months of bed rest. Assaulting constables like this in Lin Workshop naturally boosted the Qingshui Gang's prestige there. Unafraid of even the County Government Office and the Court, they easily intimidated ordinary citizens. But the Incense Master never expected that the tables would turn today. Even the Gang Leader's wife's younger brother, who came to vent his anger by beating people up, got captured, and there was nothing they could do. Even though he was only the younger brother of the Gang Leader's mistress, he still counted as family!
Zheng Jun turned a deaf ear to the Incense Master's words. Time passed. Before long, a middle-aged Confucian scholar in a long robe, with a short, sparse beard, walked over with a slight smile. He looked completely powerless, as if he couldn't even truss a chicken. But behind this scholar stood a massive man, tall and sturdy as an iron tower, exuding waves of dangerous aura.
Upon seeing the middle-aged scholar, the Incense Master quickly cupped his hands in a Ritual greeting. "Mr. Mu."
"Mhm." The scholar addressed as Mr. Mu gave a slight nod before looking at Zheng Jun. He immediately spoke in a pleasant tone, "Our gang was in the wrong this time. I ask the three Lord Officials to be magnanimous and let this boy off just this once. The Qingshui Gang will naturally offer generous gifts in return."
As he finished speaking, the iron-tower-like man immediately took out three coin pouches and tossed them in front of Zheng Jun.
"A small token of our sincerity," Mr. Mu said amiably. "These are for the three of you. One is for the Liu Family's eldest son, considered as our gang's apology and medical expenses. Another is for Lord Zhou; I've long heard of your reputation, Lord Zhou, so please treat yourself to some wine.
"The final share is a gift for Zheng San. You are truly a young hero. I offer my sincerest apologies to you, the Zheng Family's third son."
With that, Mr. Mu bowed respectfully to Zheng Jun in Ritual. Seeing this, Zheng Jun naturally let go of the reckless boy. As if his soul had left his body, the boy scrambled frantically to hide behind the iron-tower-like man upon being released, thoroughly terrified.
Seeing Zheng Jun release the boy so decisively, Zhou Pu was taken aback. He had wanted to tell Zheng Jun not to act rashly and to wait until someone from the Government Office arrived. Otherwise, if the other party went back on their word and beat them up, who could they complain to?
Mr. Mu was also quite surprised by Zheng Jun's decisiveness. He waved his hand, and two men immediately supported the reckless boy and took him away.
Mr. Mu then spoke again, "You possess such courage and strategy, Zheng San, and you keep your promises. You are truly a brilliant talent! To think that Black Mountain County has produced another prominent figure like you!
"In my eyes, people like Zhao Da and Wang Liu merely made a name for themselves early on because there were no true heroes at the time. Compared to you, they're nothing but filthy trash.
"With your strategy and courage, working as a lowly Official and constable in the County Government Office is rather unfair to you. My Qingshui Gang widely recruits heroes and outstanding individuals. If you ever wish to break free from the Court's restrictions, you are welcome to join us. We'll eat large chunks of meat and drink bowls of wine together—wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Before Zheng Jun could respond, Mr. Mu fired off his next words like a string of firecrackers, "I suppose you haven't begun Blood Cultivation yet, have you? Our Gang Leader is a Qi Storage Martial Artist who has achieved Mastery in the Broken Jade Pile Skill and can pass it down to you! If that doesn't suit your taste, we also have the Wave Treading Scripture and Floating Light Force within the gang, with Body Tempering experts specializing in them ready to teach you one by one.
"Three meals of meat a day, and a monthly salary of ten taels!"
Mr. Mu's voice was resolute and powerful, and upon hearing this, Zheng Jun couldn't help but be greatly tempted.
"As for your lowly Household status, you needn't worry..." Mr. Mu continued. "Our gang's relationship with the County Magistrate speaks for itself. The Magistrate has plenty of ways to change your Household registration, so rest assured."
Hearing all this, Zheng Jun was somewhat surprised. But before he could even speak, Liu Yaozu, who had a head injury, shouted from the side, "I want to go! I'm willing to join!"
Naturally, Mr. Mu ignored this outburst. The one he valued was Zheng Jun, not just any constable. He noted that at just sixteen, Zheng Jun remained unflustered in the face of danger and had achieved Great Success in his Saber Technique. While his current strength might not be much, such courage and talent were incredibly rare to find!
If the boy joined the Qingshui Gang, given a youngster's lack of worldly experience, he could most likely be won over. That way, the gang would have a worthy successor. As for the ambush, it was a harmless offense. If the boy was smart, he wouldn't mind the abrupt action. After all, interests came first. The Three Stance Skills, coupled with constant guidance from the gang's experts, far outweighed this harmless attack. Even if the recruitment failed, there was no harm done. Maintaining a good relationship was still a decent outcome.
Jianghu wasn't just about fighting and killing. When encountering such a remarkable person, and when it wasn't a matter of life and death, turning hostility into friendship was the best course of action. If they resorted to violence but failed to pull up the problem by the roots, wouldn't they be planting a disaster for themselves? It was one thing for the short-sighted subordinates not to understand the rules, but as one of the gang's top leaders at the helm, he had to clearly distinguish priorities.
Seeing that Mr. Mu hadn't paid him any attention for quite a while, Liu Yaozu resentfully shrank back.
After pondering for a moment, Zheng Jun cupped his fists again and said, "Please allow me to consider it before I give an answer. By the way, this sweet soup shop has suffered an unwarranted disaster. I hope your noble gang can compensate the owner for their losses, so as not to tarnish your gang's prestige in Lin Workshop!"
"Of course, I will cover the damages for this shop," Mr. Mu said, showing no displeasure or disappointment at Zheng Jun's words. "If you think it through, you can come find me at the hall in Lin Workshop."
Zheng Jun nodded and then prepared to support Liu Yaozu as they left. Seeing this, a gang member with quick eyes and fast hands immediately picked up the three pouches of silver and respectfully presented them to Zheng Jun. Zheng Jun wasn't polite about it. After taking the coin pouches alongside Zhou Pu and Liu, he quickly left.
As he watched Zheng Jun's departing figure, Mr. Mu's expression gradually grew calm. "Zheng San has the sharp gaze of an eagle and the vigilant stride of a wolf. He possesses seventy percent fierce aura and thirty percent courage, on top of having achieved Great Success in the Cloak and Dagger Technique in just ten days... If given twenty years, he will become another Street-Cleaning Tiger, Black Mountain Thieves, or Zhang Qingyu!" he thought.
Later that night, at the Zhao Residence.
Zhao Er was lying on his stomach on a couch while a thin, timid little girl applied medicine to his wounds. Grimacing and groaning repeatedly, Zhao Er gritted his teeth and shouted, "Kill that bastard Zheng! How dare that brat humiliate me in broad daylight? Big brother, why didn't you make a move? Why didn't you strike?"
"Shut up! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?!" Zhao Da's face was ashen. He shot a cold, dark glare at the hysterical Zhao Er.
Seeing his older brother's gaze, Zhao Er felt as though a basin of cold water had been poured over him. He immediately fell silent, not daring to speak.
After scolding Zhao Er, Zhao Da turned back to the timid, thin little girl. "Cui Niang, thank you for your trouble today. You can go back and rest now."
Hearing this, the thin little girl looked relieved. But then, thinking of something, she asked timidly, "The medicine money..."
"Today's medicine money will be deducted from your grandfather's tab," Zhao Da said without looking up. "Your grandfather still owes my family quite a bit."
"I..." The thin girl seemed to want to say something but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her wrist. Looking down, she saw Zhao Er gripping her hand so tightly that a purple bruise was forming.
He glared at her fiercely. "Get lost!"
The thin girl didn't dare to ask for the medicine money again. Coincidentally, Zhao Er released his grip at that moment, and she hurriedly ran out of the Zhao Residence without looking back.
"Why did you go looking for trouble with Zhou Pu and Zheng Jun?!" As soon as the thin girl left, Zhao Da's expression changed. He walked up to the couch, staring coldly at Zhao Er. "Don't cause any incidents for me at a time like this! If those two quit, just having Liu Yaozu is far from enough. Are you going to cover the missing quota?
"That old coot Xu Heng has been scheming for a long time. If something goes wrong, I won't be able to protect you!"
Hearing Zhao Da's reprimand, Zhao Er felt resentful and offered a weak explanation, "Brother, I was just thinking of dealing a blow to that guy Zheng to injure his bones and muscles, so he would make a mistake when the time comes..."
"Unnecessary! Lou Wei has reached Mastery in the Wave-Treading Saber, and his disciple Liang Fan is no ordinary fighter either. How could those two possibly fail? This guy Zheng might have some skills, but that's all he has—he hasn't even begun Blood Refining! If you alert them and make them suspicious, see how I'll deal with you!
"Tomorrow, go find Zhang Qingyu's wife's brother for a drink and instigate him a bit. Leave the fighting to others. If you act yourself, there will be no room to maneuver!"
With that, Zhao Da flicked his robe. Ignoring Zhao Er's wounds, he turned around to check the account books locked in the cabinet. The pages of these ledgers were densely covered in writing. Looking at them, a smile appeared on Zhao Da's face.
"Limp Wu still can't pay back the two taels of silver he owes. I, Master Zhao, am merciful and kind, so I'll give his family another three months! If they still can't pay back my loan shark money after three months, I'll sell Cui Niang to a brothel to settle the debt," he calculated in his mind.