Chapter 103 Turbulence Begins "This is precisely the time to close the ferry and lock the gates..."
Four little heads peeked furtively out the window, forming a row of horizontal "hanging" points on the window frame from left to right. They kept an eye on the few sentries on the street while using their imaginations to speculate.
Wen Yi: "Why do I have a feeling that the Gu master is planning to ambush us?"
Lian Zhao: "Maybe the Gu Master sent that coachman to the Puzhou government office to deliver a message, just to lure us to Fengling, where she had already set up an ambush."
Lin Mu: "Hmph, you think these few people can take us down?!"
Yu Heqi: "Given the methods of the Gu Master, there must be more than just these few people; there must be lurking in the shadows like Wang Xiang."
Wen Yi: "We haven't fought against the Wangxiang yet. That thing is not easy to deal with, is it?"
Lian Zhao: "According to what I've heard, it seems quite troublesome; in any case, it shouldn't be underestimated."
Lin Mu: "Tch, what's so troublesome about it? Wang Xiang is as weak as a chick. I'll crush them one by one when they come."
Lian Zhao couldn't help but pat the kid on the head: "Don't be so arrogant. When we really face off, you can't let your guard down."
Lin Mu: "Senior brother, the mere Wangxiang is really nothing to fear. When Bai Yuan killed Wangxiang at Jingguan, it was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. He peeled off a layer of skin with ease."
At that time, the Jingguan Moon Demon was collapsing, and everyone was in a chaotic frenzy trying to escape. Yu Heqi turned to look at Lin Mu suspiciously: "How did you know?"
Lin Mu: "I saw it when I was running for my life."
Lian Zhao was utterly indignant. Back in Bei Qu, if it weren't for the great array buried beneath the foundation, all of their disciples who had descended the mountain combined wouldn't have been able to defeat Bai Yuan. Moreover, Bai Yuan was only defeated after Ting Fengzhi sealed the spiritual veins. Otherwise, why didn't Liu Yun suppress this evil spirit or simply destroy it? Was it because Liu Yun didn't want to?
In front of the true master, Lian Zhao couldn't say it outright, so he could only remind this brainless junior brother: "Don't you know how deep their enemy is? Don't you know your own limitations? Before we went down the mountain, Master told you so many times not to underestimate your opponent. Have you forgotten all that?"
Lin Mu learned his lesson from his senior brother's sharp rebuke and dared not be arrogant again, obediently resting his chin on the wooden frame.
Wen Yi was already used to this kind of scene. After all, Sanmu didn't get a single slap on the head for nothing. His junior brother had suffered a great loss because he was careless. Lian Zhao had to keep urging him on to prevent him from making a mistake when he went out: "So when does Master Gu plan to make a move against us?"
Yu Heqi analyzed: "Under normal circumstances, they would definitely choose to do it in the dead of night, when everyone is asleep and they think we are all asleep, so they can take advantage of our unpreparedness."
Lin Mu perked up: "That means tonight?"
Yu Heqi nodded: "I think it's very possible."
Wen Yi also agreed with this point in time: "The Gu Master certainly didn't expect that his conspiracy had been exposed by us."
The boys immediately became smug, and so tonight became a sleepless night. The boys, who thought they had predicted the movements of the Gu Master, did not even dare to doze off. They were preparing to close the door and trap the Gu Master Wang Xiang in one fell swoop!
Although the young minds had some ideas, Bai Yuan had a vague intuition that these people outside weren't after them. While the sentries were all extremely vigilant, they weren't paying particular attention to the inn where they were located; after all, every place had its own rivals vying for power. Furthermore, Zhou Yaren had intermittently sent out her divine sense several times, but so far hadn't found any trace of the Gu Master or Lu Bing. Nevertheless, Bai Yuan decided to keep watch with the boys in the darkness.
Finally, after Lin Muyu and Wei had yawned several times, a whistle suddenly rang out in the quiet night.
It's a signal whistle!
Are they finally losing patience and about to take action?!
The boys immediately straightened their backs, gripped their sword hilts, and stared intently at the doors and windows, waiting for Wang Xiang to break in!
A series of hurried and chaotic footsteps could be heard outside, but the doors and windows of the inn remained undamaged.
At that moment, Tingfengzhi, emerging from the darkness, spoke up: "They're gone."
"What?" The boys were very surprised. They rushed to the window, cautiously pushed it open a crack, and peeked out. They saw two rows of more than a dozen people quickly disappear at the end of the alley.
"What happened?" Yu He was dumbfounded. "Why did they leave?"
"Did they realize we'd discovered them too?" Lin Mu was also confused. "So they're scared?"
There was no reason to be afraid. If it were a ghost disguised in human skin, Zhou Yaren would definitely be able to see it, so he was quite certain: "There is no ghost here."
"These people have nothing to do with the Gu Masters, and they're not here for us." Bai Yuan flipped open the window and went out, saying before leaving, "You've all stayed up most of the night, go wash up and go to sleep."
Lin Mu paused for a moment: "No, where are you going..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yaren also rushed out like the wind, followed by Li Liuyun, Lian Zhao, Wen Yi, and Yu Hewei, one after another jumping out of the window. Lin Mu, of course, had to follow behind his senior brothers.
When Bai Yuan turned around, he saw a long line of eye-catching young men in white robes following behind him, leaping across rooftops and swaggering through the city, making quite a spectacle.
Bai Yuan had no choice but to stop on a rooftop: "What are you all doing here?"
Zhou Yaren stood on the same roof ridge as her, and of course, she could hear the strong wind generated by the boys' rise and fall.
The boys landed on the roof one after another like swallows: "Let's come out and take a look."
"What are you looking at?" Bai Yuan was almost laughing in exasperation.
Lian Zhao replied, "What are these people doing in the middle of the night?"
Although the group remained where they were, Zhou Yaren's keen hearing followed the footsteps, catching several concise and stern commands: "Break down the door!" "Take them down!" "Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"
"It sounds like they're conducting a manhunt," Zhou Yaren pointed out, listening to the commotion. "About two miles to the west."
These people acted in an orderly manner, as if they had received unified training.
Bai Yuan was about to head in the direction of Xierli that he had indicated when Zhou Yaren grabbed him again.
What are you doing?
Zhou Yaren listened intently, but what she heard now was from another direction: "There was also the sound of a door being broken down from the northeast, and another hundred feet to the southwest..."
He expanded his divine sense even further, almost sweeping across half the city, when he suddenly heard some unusual noise. Zhou Yaren's expression darkened: "The ferry..."
Bai Yuan: "What's wrong?"
He heard the loud commotion of the winch turning, indicating that the ferry had opened its gates during the midnight curfew, and several large ships were breaking through the waves to reach the shore. The heavy iron anchors crashed into the water, sending waves soaring several meters high, and the thick iron chains scraped against the sides of the ships with a formidable sound.
Even more alarming was the sound of hurried yet orderly footsteps. Zhou Yaren said, "A large group of people is gathering at the ferry crossing and coming ashore, estimated to be no less than a hundred."
Lian Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Such a big commotion? What's going on? A merchant ship?"
Bai Yuan disagreed: "This is precisely the time to close the ferry and lock the gate."
No merchant ships are allowed to approach the ferry terminal during curfew. If they miss the ferry, they can only find a nearby bend in the river to anchor temporarily.
As they sailed downstream from Puzhou, they saw from the deck of Baiyuan Station that about three miles from Fenglingdu, there were twelve stone pillars on the shore, each carved with a zodiac animal image. This was probably a temporary mooring point set up for ships that could not reach the destination after the ferry gates were closed.
Li Liuyun said, "That's right. The ferry crossing has strict regulations and is guarded by patrolmen. It's impossible for them to open the gates for merchant ships." Unless the local officials have accepted bribes and disregarded the regulations, it would be easy to be discovered if they opened the gates for so many ships and people. The officials guarding the ferry would be held accountable.
Who could they be? Why would so many people be closing in on Fenglingdu under cover of night?
Zhou Yaren heard a panicked and terrified voice from the ferry crossing ask, "Who exactly are you...?"
Another voice spoke coldly: "Drag him away and gag him."
"What are you doing... um..." The person seemed to be struggling.
Wen Yi couldn't contain his curiosity: "Ting Fengzhi, what exactly happened?"
Clearly, this was a meticulously planned secret operation, and Zhou Yaren had not yet heard any definite reason: "Perhaps the one who opened the gate was not the ferryman guarding the gate, but someone who had infiltrated Fengling and was lying in wait beforehand."
Li Liuyun's expression turned serious: "Is someone trying to cause trouble?"
Lin Mu sensed something big was about to happen: "What should we do now?" They couldn't just stand on the roof in the cold wind, could they? According to what he was saying, trouble was brewing everywhere in the city, so where should they go now?
Li Liuyun made a quick decision: "Investigate separately."
Anyway, they had enough people. Lin Mu and Lian Zhao went to the west two miles away, Wen Yi and Yu Heqi went to the northeast, Ting Fengzhi and Bai Yuan went to the ferry, because according to Ting Fengzhi, the ferry was more crowded and complicated. Li Liuyun went alone to the southwest a hundred feet away.
Before parting, he reminded his fellow disciples to act according to circumstances and not to act rashly.
Lin Mu was the quickest to agree: "Don't worry, Senior Brother Liuyun."
Li Liuyun was most worried about him, but fortunately Lian Zhao was keeping an eye on this mentally challenged junior brother.
Several teenagers from Taihang Road set off separately from the scene, some to a high-class inn, others to a quiet mansion amidst the hustle and bustle.
Li Liuyun, hidden in the shadows, spotted about a dozen or twenty men dressed in black. Their collars and cuffs were decorated with intertwined floral patterns, and they wore black leather six-stitched boots. Li Liuyun was naturally familiar with this kind of everyday attire. He stared at the horizontal sword hanging at the left waist of the men in black, its scabbard lacquered. Needless to say, the blade near the guard must be engraved with the inscription "Northern Army," indicating that this was the emperor's personal guard—the Northern Army Imperial Guard.
Several men, dressed only in their underpants, were kneeling in the courtyard. They must have just been dragged out of bed. Facing the knife held to their necks, they trembled like leaves, pleading in hushed tones, "My lord, spare our lives! What have we done wrong?"
The man holding the knife remained silent with a cold and stern face, waiting for his colleagues to ransack the houses, which was no different from confiscating property.
The same scene unfolded elsewhere. The Northern Army completely surrounded the inn, and after a thorough search, they found a wooden box in the main room.
Lian Zhao and Lin Mu, who were lying on the roof, removed a piece of blue tile and, through the hole, they could see the man opening a wooden box, which contained a thick stack of papers.
Lin Mu asked quietly, "What are they doing?"
Listen to the cold, stern question from the man holding the box: "Salt merchant Wang, you used a fake permit to smuggle salt, what is your punishment?!"
Wen Yi and Yu Heqi also found fake salt permits at the place they were guarding. The leader of the black-clad imperial guards questioned, "Where did the fake permits come from?"
The salt merchant, his eyes wide and round, was already pale with fright.
A stench swept in from the ferry crossing, and Ruicheng was transformed overnight.
Five hundred soldiers landed at Fengling at midnight, escorting a certain important figure straight to the Ruicheng government office. Along the way, they captured the Fengling magistrate and the patrol officer stationed on the river, along with a group of port soldiers. Bai Yuan even saw the tax collector Cui Jin.
On the way, Zhou Yaren finally heard the important figure speak, and the voice was undeniably familiar: "The one who has come is the Censor Cao Qiushi."
Bai Yuan peered through a dark alley: "Why would the Censor-in-Chief be here?"
"Several months ago, it was discovered that salt merchants in Hedong were selling smuggled salt with fake permits, so His Majesty sent officials to Hedong to investigate secretly." At that time, Zhou Yaren was still in Chang'an.
Salt profits account for half of the nation's tax revenue, and the imperial court will never tolerate the smuggling of salt and iron.
Fenglingjin is strategically located on the southeastern wing of the "几" (ji) bend in the Yellow River, firmly controlling the salt transport on the east bank.
Now, the censor Cao Qiushi, holding a fish tally, mobilized troops to launch a night raid on Fengling, which was no small matter. Zhou Yaren's first thought was of the major salt permit case.
After months of covert investigation and surveillance, the censor finally made his move on this calm night, swiftly breaking down the gates of the Ruicheng County government office.
"Something's happened! My lord! Something terrible has happened!" The gatekeeper, seeing the dark mass of people in cold iron armor outside, ran off in a panic to report it.
The county magistrate nearly fell off his bed, stumbling and falling all the way to the feet of the censor.
A dignified voice suddenly rang out: "I am Cao Qiushi, the Censor-in-Chief, appointed by His Majesty as Imperial Commissioner to investigate the case of forged salt permits in Hedong Circuit."
The mere mention of the title of Censor-in-Chief was enough to make the county magistrate prostrate himself in submission, let alone the sight of the Imperial Sword, a symbol of imperial power and granted the authority to "execute first and report later"!
Until one after another, salt merchants and officials from various places were brought in, all of whom were tied up and gagged.
The Taihang Road youths, who had split into three groups to investigate, also followed the various Imperial Guards who had been arrested to the county government office to meet with Zhou Yaren and Bai Yuan.
Several teenagers were collectively eavesdropping over the wall when Zhou Yaren whispered to them, "It's going to rain in Ruicheng."
Lian Zhao misunderstood, staring at the major case unfolding inside: "Isn't that right? Bloodshed and chaos."
The imperial guards from Chang'an reported the stolen goods and evidence they had seized. Not only were they found to have counterfeit salt permits and smuggled salt, but they also found privately made salt permit printing blocks in a secret room in the Liao family mansion in Ruicheng!
The county magistrate was struck dumb, his mind blank and his ears ringing. Then he heard the censor shout, "Chen Heyuan, magistrate of Ruicheng County, do you know your crime!"
County Magistrate Chen Heyuan was trembling with fear, so terrified that he was out of his mind and didn't even know what crime he had committed. He had forgotten his own name.
The censor then asked, "Half a month ago, was the salt merchant surnamed Hong, who came to Fenglingdu, killed by the tax collector Cui Jin?!"
What?
What Hong family salt merchants?
What tax collector, Cui Jin?
The county magistrate listened in one ear and out the other; he was completely numb and seemed unable to understand human speech at all.
"That Hong family member was a trusted confidant of mine, disguised as a salt merchant from Hedong. He followed the clues all the way to Fenglingdu, but the tax collector discovered the flaw, so you killed him to silence him?!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuan and Zhou Yaren exchanged a glance, neither of them expecting that the Hong family member was actually a confidant of the censor in disguise.
The county magistrate finally understood human speech. Shocked, he stammered, crawling on his knees to the censor's feet, crying out for justice: "Your Honor, you are innocent! Your Honor, you are innocent! This humble official had no idea that the salt merchant, Hong, was actually Your Honor's confidant! That man, that Hong, was killed by the porter He Laishun, and He Laishun has already confessed and been brought to justice! Your Honor, please investigate thoroughly..."
His actions had long been under the surveillance of the censor, who kicked him to the ground: "You think you can get away with it by letting a porter take the blame?! Don't think I don't know how that porter confessed and how he was punished! Guards!"
The imperial guards nearby immediately presented him with several pages of letter paper.
The censor slammed the letter onto the county magistrate's face: "This is a secret letter from you conspiring with salt smugglers to forge salt permits. It has been intercepted by the Northern Imperial Guards!"
The county magistrate, clutching the irrefutable evidence of his innocence—evidence that could cost him his life—trembled as if his hands were cramping. His eyes widened in horror, his face filled with disbelief: "No! No! This is impossible! Your Honor, Your Excellency the Censor! I'm innocent..."
They won't admit their mistakes until they're faced with the truth. Even at this point, they still dare to cry foul: "Take them down!"
"No! My lord, I did not conspire with the salt smugglers, I am innocent..."
At the same time, lightning and thunder struck down from the sky, silencing the county magistrate's shouts.
A sudden storm arrived, and as the saying goes, "you can tell what's going on just by listening to the wind," it rained in Ruicheng.
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