Chapter 137: Undercurrents Surging

The Zhang family estate was a lively place nowadays. Ever since Wang Gemao of Anping County was stripped of his authority and reduced to a figurehead, their household had transformed into an envied and powerful clan.

The pillar of the family was Eldest Zhang. Though he held no official post—or at least, not since his father stepped down from office—he lived a life of idleness, dabbling in petty thuggery and secretly running black market businesses within Anping County. Yet, he maintained a benevolent facade before the common folk. Operating under the banner of robbing the rich to give to the poor, he would distribute a portion of his ill-gotten gains to charity, thereby laundering his reputation into that of a "good gentleman" in the mouths of the populace. Together with Zhang Jifeng, they acted in collusion, complementing each other's schemes and wielding immense influence throughout Anping County.

The second brother was an even more mysterious figure. He had been away from Anping County for a prolonged period, and no one could remember his name or what he actually did.

Aside from the third brother, Zhang Jifeng, everyone simply referred to the others by their seniority, their given names long since forgotten. Zhang Jifeng’s temperament was neither as aggressive nor as ruthless as Eldest Zhang’s, which was precisely why he had allowed Wang Gemao—a petty official dispatched from the outside—to run amok and cover the sky with a single hand for quite some time.

Now, however, the persona of the "good gentleman" had taken a darker turn. He had grown increasingly arrogant and overbearing, hurling curses at anyone who displeased him. Presumably, this was because he realized the county magistrate was currently powerless. As for Prefect Lu, ever since he received orders to depart for the capital, he had never returned for reasons unknown. Tiny Anping County remained firmly under the thumb of the Zhang family, and Eldest Zhang finally no longer had to live by reading other people's expressions.

Eldest Zhang and Zhang Jifeng walked side by side down the street, their faces beaming with delight as they watched the townspeople nod and bow in respectful greeting.

Eldest Zhang: "Ha! Third brother, look! You should have listened to me earlier. Why endure the airs of that eunuch of a magistrate?"

Emboldened by his older brother's formidable prowess, Zhang Jifeng could not help clapping in delight.

"We are letting Wang Gemao linger on the brink of death, but should we really leave him unresolved?"

Eldest Zhang: "Hmph, have you never heard of Cao Cao from the old days? Controlling the emperor to command the vassals! What does that mean? As long as you hold the emperor in your grip, does anyone in the surrounding lands dare disobey your commands?"

As a former bailiff, Zhang Jifeng’s lackey did not fully grasp the deeper implications of Eldest Zhang's underworld philosophy, understanding only half of it.

Eldest Zhang: "Let him live for now. That way, the people around us remain under our control. Yet, since he is still nominally the county magistrate, it is inconvenient for us to make a direct move against certain things. Better to act in his name; any infamy incurred will fall squarely on him."

Shorty Huang, who had hurried over from afar, dropped directly to his knees before Zhang Jifeng, who looked down at him with disdain.

Shorty Huang: "Captain Zhang is in such fine spirits! Is there any place where this humble one might offer his loyal service?"

Overjoyed, Zhang Jifeng lifted his foot, planted it squarely on Shorty Huang's head, and nonchalantly brushed the dust off his boot.

Zhang Jifeng: "Well now, if you applied half this cleverness to proper matters, you might actually amount to something!"

The two men burst into unbridled, raucous laughter in the middle of the thoroughfare, leaving the onlookers trembling in perpetual dread.

Although Wang Gemao possessed no real power, he was at least grateful that Zhang Jifeng and his cohorts had not stripped him of his yamen entirely. Having a title, however nominal, meant that a suitable opportunity might eventually arise.

On this day, he resolved to stir up Erhu once again. He still needed to observe whether this simple-minded fellow was truly exploitable; physically strong enough to take on five men at once, a commoner carrying out dirty deeds had the advantage of natural pretexts. Lost in thought, his steps carried him toward the prison cells.

In the sunless, damp environment, the few remaining prisoners struggled desperately. An old man cried out at the top of his lungs, only to be met with Wang Gemao’s cold stare. One inmate, sitting blankly in his cell, remained exceptionally quiet, making not a sound. Emaciated to the bone, he sat as though deep in meditation.

Wang Gemao instructed the jailer to go outside and take some fresh air for a while, then walked closer to inspect the prisoner.

Wang Gemao: "Do you want to get out, Bailiff Li?"

Li Bu'er raised his head. Though weak, his gaze remained fierce.

"If there were a way out, I wouldn't have been dragged down to this state."

"I was powerless before, but now that Zhang Jifeng and his gang are growing lax, the time is ripe."

Accustomed to the duplicitous faces of these men, Li Bu'er sneered.

"What are your terms?"

Wang Gemao leaned closer to Li Bu'er and whispered, "Eliminate the person neither of us can stomach."

The matter of the houses in Anping Village remained unresolved. The villagers had no choice but to accept reality, temporarily constructing thatched huts out of bricks, tiles, and wood. While these shelters could hardly be called warm, they at least prevented people from going half-naked. Seeing Erhu return in a hurried flurry, the villagers knew instantly that nothing good had come of it.

Erhu gazed in bewilderment at the secluded bamboo grove. Right now, there was not a single person left around him with whom he could confide. Among the villagers, everyone looked out only for themselves—Uncle De, Farmer Jia, and Luo Gan were all absent. A sudden sense of alienation washed over him; the very land upon which he had long yearned to sink his roots instantly lost its sense of belonging.

The villagers had never offered him anything other than relentless questioning and censure. No one had ever asked what Erhu had actually endured or how he felt. Driven to despair, Erhu turned on his heel and headed back toward Anping County, deciding to hazard a roll of the dice. Having already lost everything, he had nothing left to wager, and things could hardly get any worse.

Shouldering a long wooden club, he returned to Anping County, fully intent on finding Wang Gemao to figure out how to destroy the Zhang family. Overjoyed, Wang Gemao summoned both Li Bu'er and Erhu to the magistrate's residence.

The moment Li Bu'er laid eyes on Erhu, he took an instant dislike to him and made a threatening gesture to start a fight. Erhu possessed an equally fiery temper, and had Wang Gemao not intervened, the two would have come to blows immediately.

Wang Gemao: "I brought you two here not to let you kill each other, but to rid Anping County of tyranny and bring peace to the people."

Li Bu'er, well-acquainted with Wang Gemao’s hypocritical facade, found this earnestness entirely alien. As for Erhu, he had not perceived the full depth of the plot, caring only that there was still hope of rescuing Uncle De.

"Let's lay out the plan first. Shorty Huang is nothing more than a lapdog of the Zhang family; his fate is irrelevant. Our primary target is to eliminate Zhang Jifeng."

Li Bu'er: "The most dangerous member of the Zhang family isn't that bastard Zhang Jifeng. Shouldn't we take out his older brother first?"

Wang Gemao: "If we strike down the older brother first, Zhang Jifeng will inevitably intervene, and furthermore, he still holds the authority to dispatch the bailiffs. Therefore, we must kill Zhang Jifeng first."

Suddenly, a chilling realization dawned on Erhu: this conversation directly concerned the fates of several men in Anping County. Before long, they might all be reduced to dust, and he himself was likely stepping into mortal danger.

Wang Gemao: "Of course, I am still the magistrate of Anping County. Once the deed is done, the two of you will make a clean escape without any repercussions."

Erhu: "And if it fails?"

Wang Gemao: "Then naturally you will need to lie low for a while. I will not let you get caught—even if you are captured, you must never betray one another."

Li Bu'er: "Hmph, a backup plan as usual. Same old tricks."

Wang Gemao: "I hope even more that nothing goes awry for you."

With that, Wang Gemao reached behind him and produced two long swords, both gleaming with a chilling, exceptional sharpness.

Li Bu'er accepted his sword without a second word and concealed it. Erhu hesitated for a long time, ultimately declining on the grounds that he was unaccustomed to using a blade.

The three men struck their pact: at noon the following day, they would lure Zhang Jifeng into a trap, deliver a fatal blow, and brook no mistakes.