Ahead of Zhang Xiaojing was a cross street, where would be the most prosperous area full of shops if it were in the north. However, this cross street in Changming Fang had only scattered mud huts, and was covered by bare locust woods. The woods were littered with mobile peddlers, packhorses and carts, even more than browsers. On the right side of the woods was a soil slope, at the top of which was a small courtyard with a giant gourd hanging before the door.

It was not so much a residential fang as wild suburb.

Being such a desolate place, a fleet coming in should attract much attention. Zhang Xiaojing wanted to walk closer to ask around when the hound crouched down, growling. His single eye flashed, noticing three approaching figures.

Zhang Xiaojing quickly reached into his chest and took the crossbow half out, and every muscle of his body tightened, ready to attack. As the figures got closer, he saw that these people were dressed in shabby and old robes like beggars, with their hands in sleeves, looking sallow and emaciated.

Their sallow faces must be resulted from not eating meat for several months, definitely not their temporary disguise. Zhang Xiaojing slightly relaxed his shoulders, his finger still taut against the crossbow. These beggars stared at Zhang Xiaojing, neither approaching nor staying away from him, but keeping more than twenty steps away from him and following closely.

Zhang Xiaojing sneered, stepped up his pace, and those beggars went on with him. He suddenly stopped at a stand and bought a fern root pancake, and the beggars quickly paused pretending to look around. Zhang Xiaojing threw a few copper coins to the peddler, and then, turned down a lane between half-collapsed brick walls.

The beggars followed. When the leading beggar turned around the corner, he was surprised to find that there was only a dog on a leash left in the lane.

He looked suspiciously around, wondering where the man went. The next moment, a burst of ash suddenly overwhelmed his face, forcing him to narrow his eyes. Then a figure jumped off the wall and chopped the beggar’s back neck with his hands, so that the beggar sprawled on the ground, motionless.

The ashes, which were plant ashes, were grabbed from the stand when Zhang Xaojing bought fern root pancake. As the raw fern roots would cause stomach pain and must be cooked with plant ash to remove toxicity, the peddlers selling fern root pancakes would prepare some.

There was no need to use crossbow or steel knife to deal with these villains.

Seeing their companion attacked, the immediate reaction of the two beggars behind was to turn away. Zhang Xiaojing stooped to pick up two bricks, raised his arm and threw them, hitting the back heads of the two men, and they both fell to the ground. The hound flew over and tore at their sleeves. The beggars exclaimed, waving their bamboo poles, but in vain.

Zhang Xiaojing went over and slowly pulled steel knife against one man’s throat, as if waiting for something. Just then an eager voice came from the woods, “Please hold on!”

Zhang Xiaojing’s lips curved in a meaningful smile. He took the knife back three inches and turned his head to see a beggar standing nearby under a tree wearing a fancy woven cap with lining and watching this way.

“They are at someone’s command, not having a grudge against you. If you let them go, I, Jia Shiqi (Literally means Seventeen), will give you something in return.” The beggar leader who called himself Jia Shiqi was quite decisive that he stood out to interfere as soon as he saw something was wrong.

Had been the commandant of the Indecent for nine years, Zhang Xiaojing knew that these in-the-know bullies had snoops all over the city, even the court would ask them for information. As for his being targeted by beggars for no reason today, he believed that there was someone else working the ropes. Now that the beggar leader showed himself, things would be much easier.

Zhang Xiaojing didn’t withdraw his knife or speak, just staring at the man with his single eye. Jia Shiqi’s face slightly changed, “A look at his clothes can know that he is a public official, but ordinary officials will no longer bother them as long as they hear that there is a “return”. How come this one looks ready to kill people?”

He wanted to say more, suddenly thought he had met the man before, especially his dry eye socket on the left, which looked highly aggressive. Jia Shiqi searched in his mind and suddenly remembered a name.

“You are…Yama Zhang in Wannian County?”

Changming Fang was in the southwest of Chang’an, and belonged to Chang’an County, but the beggars’ snoops were not so limited. The five-honored Yama in Wannian County: cruel, vicious, stubborn and ruthless, did not refer to five people, but one. So, this one-eyed was a tough guy that needed to avoid.

“Who asked you to follow me?” queried Zhang Xiaojing coldly.

Jia Shiqi’s mind was racing. It was rumored that this guy had been sentenced to death, but now it seemed a false statement. He bowed, cupping his hands, “If we knew it were you, Commandant Zhang, how dare we do this? We’ll quit.”

“Who?”

Jia Shiqi forced a smile, “You know I can’t say. That’s Jinghu rule.”

Zhang Xiaojing reversed his baffle knife and stabbed it into the thigh of a beggar, and then he pulled it out. There was a cry heard, then blood began to gush from the beggar’s thigh. Jia’s mouth twitched and his face fell, “If you can let the three poor lives go, all beggars in Chang’an will never forget your kindness.”

In other words, if he didn’t let them go, all beggars in Chang’an would be his enemy.

Puchi! The knife pierced into the beggar’ body the second time. As a prisoner condemned to death, the last thing Zhang Xiaojing feared was this threat. He didn’t say a word, but kept stabbing the unfortunate beggars with his knife. The screams went on and on, forming much invisible pressure.

But none of the three unfortunate men died, and they were crying out loud. Yama Zhang deliberately pulled his punches so that the beggars outside the woods could hear the screams.

This really gave Jia Shiqi a dilemma. The most important thing between beggars was unity. They could die in jail, freeze to death, or be killed by rich people, but being killed by their own people was not acceptable. If Jia Shiqi didn’t save them, he would lose support in the future. Arrogant on the surface, this Yama Zhang knew well the ropes among the beggars.

Without much struggle, Jia Shiqi made a choice. A silver flagon was not worth beggar risking his life to keep secret. Moreover, he noticed that there was a black crossbow hanging from Yama Zhang’s waist. Seen from his military weapon, there were more powerful forces behind him.

“Okay, okay, I tell you!”

Jia Shiqi no longer insisted and walked out of the woods with his hands up. He told Zhang Xiaojing that a Hu guy gave them a silver flagon to ask them to watch the fang entrance; if someone suspicious showed up, reported to him in the house of the Ri’nan King.

“The house of the Ri’nan King?”

“Yes, it’s in the southeast corner of the fang. In Zhen’guan period, a Ri’nan King presented himself before the Emperor, and then built a huge house here. Later, he went back and the house was abandoned. It really covers a large land.”

The description really fit the Turks’ requirements for hiding place: remote, wide, and there were enough rooms. Zhang Xiaojing asked a few questions about the appearance of the person. Jia Shiqi directly told him everything, which perfectly matched Cao Poyan. Then, Zhang Xiaojing tapped him on the shoulder to motion him to lead the way.

Knowing protest was useless, Jia Shiqi had to let the three poor beggars help each other to pharmacy, and then he led Zhang Xiaojing and the hound toward the deserted house of the Ri’nan King.

The Changming Fang was really deserted, with sparse houses on both sides of the inner street, mostly bumpy slopes and woods, and even a few cornfields and pools. And because the land was worthless, this fang covered an area at least half larger than fang in north. So, walking through fang was also a long distance.

On the way, Zhang Xiaojing suddenly asked, “Did you see a lot of wagons entering fang today?”

“Are you kidding? It’s so wild here that there may not be a wagon coming in all day.” Jia Shiqi saw his face growing pale, and corrected himself, “I’m sure I didn’t see one today. Nothing happened at the fang gate can escape our snoops.”

Zhang Xiaojing frowned, saying nothing.

The two men and the hound walked for a quarter and finally arrived at the deserted house of the Ri’nan King. The walls were collapsed and the grasses were clustered. However, from the clear outline of the inner courtyard door, the closed door panels with peeling black paint, and the elaborately carved peonies on the lintel, the old extravagance was dimly visible.

Jia Shiqi said that the Hu guy required them to report to him here the time they saw suspicious people entering fang. They could simply push open the door and come in.

Zhang Xiaojing dodged behind the door, held the hound and pulled the crossbow out. Jia Shiqi ventured to the door, pushed the door panels with his hands as they had arranged before. There was no lock on the door, and a gentle push would open it. Then he heard a flop, as if something inside fell on the ground. Before Jia could take a look, a cloud of yellow smoke had risen high into the air.