Chapter 289: Affairs of the Jianghu

Even at the hour of Zi, Lushun Port remained brightly lit.

Large smuggling ships, unable to enter the harbor during the day, anchored outside the port, waiting. As night fell, the sailors hung rows of lanterns, illuminating the port as if it were daytime.

There was a specific way to hang the lanterns.

Normally, official ships would hang three lanterns in a row, called "San Deng Lian Zhu," which meant they could enter during the day and leave at night, moving freely.

Smuggling ships had to hang lanterns according to the daily notification. Someone would row a small boat out to the sea to inform each ship individually. After collecting protection fees, they would give you the secret code for that night. Hanging the right lanterns allowed you to enter the harbor, and this was called "Shui Xiang Deng Long"!

As the double-masted ship that Lao Tou Yao was on entered the port, dozens of smuggling ships were just sailing out!

Like ghosts, they came quietly and left quietly!

Sailors on board were bare-chested as they raised the sails. There were even bed crossbows mounted on the ships, though it was unclear who they were defending against!

Zhu Yunxi stood on the deck, silently watching those large ships. Even their "boat copper plates" had been removed, and the inscribed markings under the masts had been erased!

On the deck, Lao Tou Yao said calmly, "These are all merchant ships from our Ning Dynasty that are smuggling. Half are going back to Yingkou, and half are going east!"

Liang Mao'er asked in a daze, "Isn't anyone managing this?"

Lao Tou Yao stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent, saying, "The soldiers on the frontier are fighting life and death battles, but behind them, people are colluding with the Jing Dynasty and doing business. I don't know what the point of this war is!"

Liang Gou'er appeared on the deck at some point, the sleeve of his right arm empty. "The Chen family and the Xu family deserve to die!"

Lao Tou Yao chuckled, "Little Gou'er is quite naive, but if you go to the Jing Dynasty with such a simple mind, I'm afraid you won't live long! Do you really think only the Chen family and the Xu family are doing this business in the Ning Dynasty? In the fourteenth year of Jialing, the Jing Dynasty suffered a locust plague. To smuggle grain by land to the Jing Dynasty, the Eight Great Jin Merchants even colluded with the Hu family to move the Datong frontier army... The roots of the Ning Dynasty are rotten!"

Liang Gou'er wondered, "Does the Emperor know about these things?"

Lao Tou Yao laughed, "What's the use of knowing? Can he manage it?"

With that, Lao Tou Yao glanced at everyone and calmly instructed, "After we disembark, if you meet someone wearing a scarlet painted changdao at their waist, don't speak. Just follow them! The Jing Dynasty's travel passes and fire permits are very strict. Without the Military Strategy Bureau's escort, it will be impossible to move!"

Zhu Yunxi looked at the undulating black waves of the sea. "Understood!"

At this moment, as the large ship approached the shore, a hoarse cry of a crow was heard!

Lao Tou Yao frowned and looked back, only to see a crow standing on the highest point of the double-masted ship, gazing at the port!

He looked back again, and saw among the coming and going sailors and shipworkers on the shore, more than ten people wearing scarlet painted changdao, waiting for something!

Further away, someone was holding torches and approaching quickly!

After disembarking, Liang Gou'er was about to go and meet up with the Military Strategy Bureau personnel, but Lao Tou Yao stopped them and said in a low voice, "Something's wrong. We'll mix in with the crowd and go!"

With that, the few of them mingled among the shipworkers, keeping their heads down as they passed by the Military Strategy Bureau personnel, with no intention of acknowledging them!

They hadn't gone far when they saw dozens of young armored soldiers, wearing dark pheasant tail feathers on their helmets, holding torches, and carrying changdao, rushing into Lushun Port and shouting angrily: "The Privy Council's Yuan Cheng, the Military Strategy Bureau's Jiang Tan, and the Military Intelligence Bureau's Lu Guanwu, are deceiving the heavens and the emperor, disrupting the social order, forming cliques for private gain, and obstructing the path of the worthy."

"Today, we, following the orders of Masters Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin, shall execute the treacherous officials in the court, eliminate the three evils, save the common people, and kill anyone who resists without mercy."

Amidst the shouting, dozens of young armored soldiers charged towards the Military Strategy Bureau personnel!

Liang Gou'er grumbled, "Why did they have to be here, just as we got off the ship, and they're cutting down our contacts? What the hell do we do now, Old Man? Should we save them?"

Lao Tou Yao, while walking out with the shipworkers, frowned and said, "With Zhong Shu Ping Zhang Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin joining forces, the Jing Dynasty is about to change. What's the use of us saving a few small fries?"

Liang Gou'er was confused. "What kind of official is Zhong Shu Ping Zhang?"

Lao Tou Yao snapped, "Are you usually drinking fake wine? That's the Prime Minister of the Jing Dynasty, equivalent to our Grand Secretary of the Cabinet."

Liang Gou'er said, "Oh." He then asked, "What's the name of the person we were supposed to turn to?"

Lao Tou Yao said calmly, "Military Strategy Bureau, Jiang Tan!"

Liang Gou'er recalled the young armored soldiers' slogan for eliminating traitors. "He's probably in danger himself right now."

Leaving Lushun Port, the killing in the city did not stop!

Young armored soldiers, carrying changmao, galloped back and forth in the city, hunting down the "rebels"!

Lao Tou Yao's voice was grave, "This is not what the Prince planned. I didn't expect Lu Jin to recover so quickly! It's likely not just Lushun, but Zhongjing Dao, Xijing Dao, Dongjing Dao, and Shangjing Dao are probably all in conflict. We can't go look for the Military Strategy Bureau anymore. We have to wait until the dust settles!"

Liang Gou'er thought for a moment. "Why can't we go to Lu Jin and Yuan Han?"

Lao Tou Yao sneered, "How do you know they're the winners? Throughout thousands of years, there have been many successful military coups, but also many failures. If we choose the wrong side, the Prince's plan will be wasted!"

With that, he turned and walked into Lushun City, sticking to the shadows under the eaves, carefully following the crow's guidance to avoid the soldiers!

Passing by an inn, they couldn't stay even if they had money in their pockets!

The Jing Dynasty's household registration system was much stricter than the Ning Dynasty's. You needed a travel pass to stay at an inn, a travel pass to leave the city, and a travel pass to enter the city!

Without a Jing Dynasty travel pass, no inns could be stayed in, and you couldn't leave the city!

They could try to force their way out, but what then? They came to the Jing Dynasty for more than just survival!

At this moment, Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, and Zhu Yunxi all looked at Lao Tou Yao helplessly. Lao Tou Yao chuckled, "What are you panicking about, a bunch of greenhorns? Let's just make do in a small alley for the night, and we'll talk about everything tomorrow!"

Liang Gou'er said carelessly, "Compared to your age, who isn't a greenhorn?"

The four found a secluded alley and hid in its shadows!

Zhu Yunxi found several broken baskets and stacked them together, giving them to Lao Tou Yao. "You can sit on the baskets so you don't catch a cold!"

Lao Tou Yao glanced at him. "You have some sense!"

He lifted his robe and sat on the baskets, closing his eyes to rest. Zhu Yunxi leaned against the wall, looking up at the sky above the alley!

In the narrow alley, the walls on both sides squeezed his view of the sky into a slit!

Zhu Yunxi said, "Imperial Physician Yao..."

Lao Tou Yao opened his eyes and looked at him. "Still calling me Imperial Physician Yao? You want to harm me? Just call me Old Man, like Little Gou'er. I'm old and broad-minded, I won't quibble with you!"

Zhu Yunxi quickly said, "How about I call you Master too? You've taught me a lot along the way!"

Lao Tou Yao shook his head. "No, I don't acknowledge such a poor apprentice!"

Zhu Yunxi opened his mouth and was left speechless for a long time!

Liang Gou'er, who was listening nearby, couldn't stand it and sneered, "How good can your precious apprentice be? He also has two eyes and one mouth. Do you really expect him to enter the Divine Realm?"

Lao Tou Yao glanced at him. "You don't know anything!"

He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes and didn't argue further!

The sky gradually brightened!

Lao Tou Yao got up and slowly walked out. "Follow me, but don't get too close!"

Zhu Yunxi quickly helped Liang Gou'er up and followed Lao Tou Yao from a distance, not knowing what he was up to!

Lushun Port was already bustling again. The sky wasn't fully bright yet, but shipworkers and sailors were squatting by the roadside, silently eating from their bowls!

Unlike Ning Dynasty, everyone here seemed to be silent!

Lao Tou Yao took out a money bag and tied it to his waist. As he walked, the silver coins inside clinked, making a heavy sound!

By the roadside, a young man dressed as a shipworker stared at his waist, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and followed.

Zhu Yunxi, not far away, watched as the young man deliberately bumped into Lao Tou Yao. With just a touch, the money bag fell into the young man's hand!

Liang Mao'er was about to go and get the money bag back, but Liang Gou'er lazily said, "Don't move. The Old Man did it on purpose."

The next moment, Lao Tou Yao turned and followed the young man!

The young man turned left and right, happily rushing towards the market outside the port, and then disappeared into a small alley!

Lao Tou Yao stood still with his hands behind his back in front of the alley!

Zhu Yunxi walked up. "What are you doing?"

"Following him to find someone." Lao Tou Yao lifted his leg and walked in, slowly explaining, "We usually call this kind of thief, in the jargon, 'Xiao Liu Zi' or 'Lao Rong'!"

"Those who sleep during the day and work at night, stealing things by entering houses, are called 'Hei Qian'. Those who sleep at night and work during the day, stealing from passersby, are called 'Bai Qian'."

"All Xiao Liu Zi must pay respects to the 'Zong Piao Ba Zi' and are managed by them!"

"They can't sell the stolen goods immediately. They have to keep them with the Zong Piao Ba Zi for three days, then sell them, and give seven parts to the Zong Piao Ba Zi!"

Zhu Yunxi was hearing this rule for the first time and asked curiously, "Why do they have to put it with the Zong Piao Ba Zi for three days?"

"Because it's for saving their lives."

Lao Tou Yao said casually, "Leaving the stolen goods for three days is waiting for people to come looking for them! If they steal from a very important person, the officials will come to the Zong Piao Ba Zi to demand the goods, and the Piao Ba Zi must give them! If they can't produce the goods, then many people will die!"

Zhu Yunxi asked again, "Then why give seven parts to the Zong Piao Ba Zi? That's too much!"

Lao Tou Yao sneered, "If you don't hand it over, the Zong Piao Ba Zi doesn't need to do it themselves. They can directly call the yamen's constables to arrest you! You don't really think that these seven parts are all eaten by the Zong Piao Ba Zi alone, do you?"

At this moment, Lao Tou Yao arrived at the door of a house and politely knocked on the door!

With a creak, the wooden door opened a crack from the inside, and a middle-aged man showed half of his face, asking warily, "Who are you looking for?"

Lao Tou Yao smiled. "Looking for your Zong Piao Ba Zi, to discuss some business!"

Before the person inside could react, he had already pushed open the door and walked in on his own!

In the courtyard, several people with bare backs were lifting stone locks to strengthen their bodies!

A middle-aged man with well-defined muscles was sitting on a lounge chair, with the young Xiao Liu Zi who had just entered the courtyard standing in front of him!

The middle-aged man asked the Xiao Liu Zi, "So much silver, you probably robbed some official or noble. Who did you steal this from?"

Seeing the door pushed open, the Xiao Liu Zi was startled and pointed at Lao Tou Yao. "I stole it from him!"

The middle-aged man was also startled, then narrowed his eyes and stood up, rotating two iron balls in his hands. "Who is this 'crossing river dragon' looking for me, Jiang?"

Lao Tou Yao didn't waste words with him and got straight to the point. "I want four travel passes to Liaoyang Prefecture, Dongjing Dao! The silver in your hand is the money for the travel passes!"

The middle-aged man weighed the silver and sneered, "The silver is enough, and I have travel passes! But you can't just come to my door and say you want to buy, and I'll sell them immediately. You coming directly to my door has broken the rules!"

Lao Tou Yao's eyebrows twitched slightly!

In an instant, he used the tip of his foot to pick up a stone lock from the ground and kicked it towards a martial arts practitioner in the courtyard!

The martial arts practitioner heard the stone lock whistling towards him and still wanted to catch it head-on, but was struck in the chest, collapsing his rib cage, and spitting a mouthful of blood a zhang high! The middle-aged man's face changed, and he turned to run, but was hit in the leg by another stone lock!

After three breaths, when he looked back again, there were only corpses on the ground in the courtyard. Only he was still alive. Liang Gou'er's face changed, and he looked at Lao Tou Yao in astonishment!

Lao Tou Yao stood with his hands behind his back, his back hunched, and stopped in front of the Zong Piao Ba Zi. "Can you speak properly now?"

The middle-aged man said in a panic, "All the travel passes are in the second box from the left in the house. You can take them yourself. It was my mistake earlier, please don't hold it against me."

Lao Tou Yao waved at Liang Mao'er and Zhu Yunxi. "Go get the travel passes and find four that go to Liaoyang Prefecture, Dongjing Dao. Remember to find ones that match our ages!"

The so-called travel passes stated the holder's identity, age, where they lived, where they came from, and where they were going. They could not wander around in between! Anyone without a permit who illegally crossed checkpoints would be caned eighty times! If they crossed the border passes, they would be caned one hundred times and sentenced to three years of penal servitude!

After one joss stick's time, Zhu Yunxi came out with four travel passes. "Found them. It was hard to find ones that match your age, so I could only find one that says sixty-four years old!"

Lao Tou Yao sighed. "It will have to do!"

Liang Gou'er joked, "Won't we be exposed?"

Lao Tou Yao glared at him, and Liang Gou'er quickly shrank his neck!

Lao Tou Yao then looked at Zhu Yunxi, pointed at the Zong Piao Ba Zi lying on the ground, and said calmly, "Kill him!"

Zhu Yunxi was startled. "We've already gotten..."

Lao Tou Yao slanted a look at him. "After we leave, if he reports to the officials, won't we have gotten these travel passes for nothing? If you still have womanly kindness, I advise you to find three chi of white silk now and hang yourself. Don't waste my time anymore!"

Zhu Yunxi knew that he would have to kill eventually! But when the moment to kill arrived, he still hesitated!

Lao Tou Yao stared at him and then said slowly, "Shizi, this is the Jianghu!"

Zhu Yunxi was startled. So the Jianghu was not beautiful at all!

Unlike the storyteller's tales, there were no lovers fighting side-by-side with matching swords, no romantic scenes of wind and moon galloping across the land in this Jianghu. In this Jianghu, there were only those who could not return!

Lao Tou Yao turned and walked towards the door. "If you can kill, we continue forward. If you can't, I'll go alone!"

The next moment, Zhu Yunxi picked up a simple knife from the courtyard. With a flick of his wrist, the knife fell, striking the Zong Piao Ba Zi's neck!

Blood spurted, the bloodstains on his face like fallen plum blossoms, scattered dots!

Zhu Yunxi looked up and asked, "Old Man, where to next?"

Lao Tou Yao said lightly, "Wumiao, to find an old acquaintance!"