The man leisurely sat down at the desk normally used by the jailers, looked at the constables who had been paralyzed by acupoint strikes, and began to lecture them on the greater good.
“Do you blockheads really think you can trap a young master like me with those three-legged cat skills of yours? I merely went along with it because I know how hard it is for you to run errands for the court. Since I am cooperating with you so well, you should show me some preferential treatment, should you not?”
Chief Constable Wang desperately wanted to say something, but he was unable to speak. Wary of them shouting and making a racket, the man had also sealed their mute acupoints. Seeing that the chief constable now had something to say, he unsealed the mute acupoint for him alone.
“Esteemed sir, we arrested you because there is an imperial arrest warrant issued by the court, and we did not need to specifically seek official approval documents from superiors.” Realizing this person was not someone to be trifled with, Chief Constable Wang explained softly.
“You scoundrels! Even with an arrest warrant, how many people in this world look alike? Why did you insist it was me?” The man stood up and slammed his palm angrily onto the desk, reducing the poor wooden table to fine powder.
A wave of shock rippled through the constables. If this person had resisted arrest when they captured him, their little lives would have been completely forfeited. It seemed this man was genuinely cooperating with them to clear his name, or perhaps he had alternative motives. Yet, thinking about how their tiny county yamen had nothing worth scheming over, they fell into a tangle of confusion.
Chief Constable Wang felt a bitter ache in his heart. What should they do now? The magistrate’s official dispatch had already been sent out. When the higher-ups sent someone to take the prisoner away and found him missing, what would happen then? Could they possibly keep a person like this contained?
“Esteemed sir, we must still trouble you to cooperate. Once we verify that you are truly free of suspicion, we will certainly clear your name.” Chief Constable Wang tried his utmost to keep the man here.
“I am not an unreasonable person, but this place is truly unfit for human habitation.”
“We will definitely make proper arrangements for you, but please release our acupoints.” The chief constable said earnestly. Standing like this, completely unable to move, was truly agonizing.
The man unsealed their acupoints, and Chief Constable Wang instructed a jailer to clean the cell. He then prepared to move Zhao Yu out to a different cell. The jailer opened the cell door and shouted to the person inside, “Cao Xiaohan, get out!”
The man paused, stopped the jailer, and said to the chief constable, “Thanks to you all going to such lengths, I am already deeply grateful. Do not bother changing this person’s cell, lest he be lonely by himself. Having someone to talk to will not be bad either.”
“This…” The chief constable hesitated, though inwardly he was already ready to flip a table. Good grief, does he really think this place is his home? This is a prison, in case you forgot. But turning his head to see Cao Xiaohan staring blankly and foolishly at the man, he immediately relaxed. “Very well, since the young master has spoken, it shall be as you wish.”
Reduced to a mere background spectator, Zhao Yu’s adoration for the man reached its absolute peak. This person was simply too cool. Even when going to jail, he did it with such high flair, ordering around a whole group of trembling constables. In truth, they were not being lectured; they were purely being threatened by brute force.
The little spectator was politely invited out of the cell so the jailer could clean it, and he stood right at the cell entrance to watch. He personally figured that the jailer was quite silly. Clearly, there was an idle criminal like himself who could be ordered around, yet the jailer insisted on doing all the manual labor himself. Still, being a smart person, he would not bother reminding the jailer. Thinking about how he would soon live in a clean environment and get to befriend someone with such a powerful aura made him feel immensely happy. As he thought about it, he broke into a silly, goofy grin. This silly lad completely ignored the fact that he was a death-row inmate, and completely overlooked whether the other person would even care to befriend him.
In truth, this man was none other than Bai Yiyan, who had left the valley to gain real-world experience. After leaving, he had traveled everywhere tasting fine foods, gathering rumors and information about top-quality jade, and smoothly pocketing them along the way. Now, martial arts rumors whispered that the Jade-Stealing Young Master from twenty years ago had re-entered the jianghu. When he heard that moniker, his mouth twitched involuntarily. Why does my father’s old moniker sound so much like a notorious flower-picking bandit?
When he arrived in Linyang City, he happened to cross paths with a tribute delegation from the Fudu Kingdom. Over wine, the envoys mentioned once again that their tribute items included a rare, top-quality warm jade that had not been seen in a century. After obtaining the intelligence, Bai Yiyan disguised himself and stole the warm jade. The Son of Heaven was furious. Within his own territory, someone actually dared to steal tribute presented to him by a foreign state, which was utterly preposterous. He issued a strict order for investigation and released an arrest warrant nationwide.
By that time, Bai Yiyan was already over a hundred miles away, savoring local delicacies at an inn in Ami County. While there, he overheard people at the next table discussing something.
“Hey, brothers, have you heard about that murder case recently?” a man asked mysteriously.
“I know. It has already spread all over the county town,” another person said dismissively.
“Is it that orphan adopted by the late carpenter Zhang in the east of the city, who killed someone for their wealth and seized a treasure out of greed?”
“That is the case. I hear the evidence is conclusive now, and he will be executed in twenty days.” The first man continued.
Hearing this, Bai Yiyan did not think much of it. Was it not just a murder case? Was there a single day in the jianghu without blood or loss of life? Naturally, ordinary commoners loved to gossip endlessly over a single homicide. But the three men’s next words made his ears perk up.
“That boy looks quite honest and simple-minded. He does not seem like the type to do such a thing. On the other hand, wealthy patron Niu in the east of the city repeatedly tried to buy the Zhang family’s heirloom jade from Scholar Zhang without success.”
“What do you know? You can know a person’s face, but not their heart. I heard that jade from the Zhang family has been passed down for several generations, a top-grade old-pit jade, one in ten thousand, and worth a king’s ransom.”
“The case is already closed now, so what is the use of talking about it? What is strange, though, is that nobody knows where Cao Xiaohan hid that jade. The yamen sent people to search his house from top to bottom, and they could not find a trace of it.”
Hearing this, Bai Yiyan settled his tab, went outside the city to disguise himself as he had when he stole the warm jade, swaggered into town, and was smoothly captured by the county constables and brought into the grand prison. Seeing that the constables of this small county were simple and naive, he decided to play along with them for a bit since he lacked any amusement lately. Truly, life can be as lonely as snow.
While the jailer was cleaning his cell, he finally realized that this naive child who had been staring at them with wide, innocent eyes ever since they entered was none other than the murderer he was looking for, Cao Xiaohan. Bai Yiyan’s first thought at that moment was whether someone like this could really slaughter an entire family.
When Bai Yiyan first entered, he had not paid attention to this person. It was only when he felt a burning gaze constantly following him that he looked toward the corner and saw a naive child wearing a death-row inmate’s uniform, with disheveled hair, a petite figure, and a cute appearance. The child was looking at him with eyes full of adoration and sparkling, lively pupils that fluttered constantly, instantly piquing his interest. Was this person not about to be executed? Yet he still had the leisure to stand here idolizing others. It seemed his days ahead would not be boring.
The efficiency of the jailers and constables was quite decent. Before long, they finished cleaning the cell and brought clean bedding to lay out on the stone bed inside. The jailer even thoughtfully carried in a table and chairs, setting a crude tea set upon them.
When the bailiffs went to the storage room to fetch the bedding, they quietly reported the matter to the advisor and asked for instructions on how to handle it. The advisor told them not to be flustered, to placate the prisoner first, and that he would discuss a decision with the magistrate afterward.
Although the meticulously cleaned cell still offered zero comfort, it would simply have to do for now. And thus, the only two heavy criminals in Ami County successfully joined forces.