Chapter 20

"Be careful with fire, the weather is dry and the air is arid!"

The night watchman, tapping his wooden clappers, swayed as he walked by. Jiaofu, who was waiting in the small alley, shrank his neck in fear and held his breath.

Thump, thump, thump. The night watchman stepped through the snow, passing by the alley entrance. Jiaofu felt his heart might leap out of his mouth.

Finally, when the night watchman was far away, he leaned against the wall and panted heavily.

"Kege, can we not set the fire? I’m feeling really uneasy. Let’s just take the silver and leave quickly. There are so many silver ingots, more than enough to pay off our debts. We don’t even need to look for the lost items."

Qiaogui stood behind Zhang Ke, thinking that Jiaofu’s words made sense.

"If such a large mansion catches fire, it will definitely alarm the authorities. If they trace it back to us, the consequences will be unimaginable."

When they strangled the steward Niu, they were all in a rage, and even if they were torn apart by five horses, they wouldn’t have flinched. But now, calmed down, the Jiao brothers were a bit scared. They had not only killed a person but also stolen 1,200 taels of silver and a large amount of gold and silver, far more valuable than what they had brought.

With so much silver, what couldn’t they do? Why take such a risk!

Zhang Ke listened to their words and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Look at this first."

He took something out of his chest and placed it in Jiaofu’s hand.

"Isn’t this the ingot we took from Niu? What’s special about it? Is it fake?"

"Not only is it not fake, it’s as real as it gets. This is fine official silver!"

Jiaofu and Qiaogui hurriedly examined it closely. Indeed, the ingot was inscribed with 'Great Ming Ingot' in large characters, with 'Gui Chou Year' on one side and 'Fifty Taels' on the other.

"Kege, what’s so special about official silver?"

"There’s a lot to it," Zhang Ke said with a bitter smile. "Official silver is used by the government for tax collection and delivery to the national treasury. It can only be used for military pay, official salaries, and disaster relief. Ordinary people are not allowed to use official silver for transactions; it must be recast into smaller pieces to be used in the market."

Jiaofu, who had never seen much silver, let alone fine silver, slapped his thigh in frustration.

"Kege, does this mean we can’t spend the silver we worked so hard to get? Isn’t this all for nothing?"

Zhang Ke said, "Of course we can spend it, but it needs to be recast. The real trouble isn’t this."

"What else?" Qiaogui asked urgently.

"Think about it. Who is the Jin gentleman who can keep a thousand taels of official silver in a side house, help Niu buy an official position, and make all the officials in Guangning fear him? Is he an ordinary person?"

Jiaofu’s mind raced, and he broke out in a sweat.

"Kege, do you mean we’ve provoked someone we shouldn’t have?"

"There’s no one we shouldn’t provoke, but we must be careful. We have to burn the house down. No one will know about us taking the silver, and we can enjoy it in peace."

Only then did Qiaogui and Jiaofu understand Zhang Ke’s thoughts, and they couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up. Although it seemed risky, it was much better than being targeted by a powerful person.

The three of them carefully observed the road, seeing no one around. Qiaogui supported them from below, and Zhang Ke and Jiaofu jumped into the house one after the other, heading straight for the kitchen.

After a quick search, they found two large barrels of oil. Zhang Ke gritted his teeth, poured the oil over the wood, took out a flint, and lit it. A bright red flame spread.

"Quick, let’s go!"

The two brothers quickly fled, climbed over the wall, and met up with Qiaogui, running all the way to the small alley. Looking back, they saw a column of flames rise into the sky, dancing wildly with the wind, quickly engulfing half the house, and faint cries of terror could be heard.

"Serves them right!"

Zhang Ke led the Jiao brothers and ran, weaving through the streets, arriving at the alley in front of Wang Huaishui’s house, where Huizi was waiting anxiously.

"Master Zhang, you’re finally back. Wang Huaishui is about to run!"

"What?" Zhang Ke’s eyebrows shot up. The official silver couldn’t be spent immediately, and he was counting on these things to make a fortune. He couldn’t let Wang Huaishui get away.

"Quick, take me to him!"

...

"Brother, what is Niu the steward? Just because he followed a good master, he’s about to become an official. We’ve done so many good deeds, why don’t we get good rewards? The heavens are truly blind!"

Liu Er, drinking wine, shook his head and sighed.

"Stop drinking!"

Wang Huaishui suddenly slammed the table and stood up.

"Liu Er, have we been duped?"

Liu Er was startled. "Brother, don’t be so jumpy. What could happen to us?"

"You fool!" Wang Huaishui wanted to kick Liu Er. "Think about it. When Old Niu came over, why didn’t he directly ask for the official position? Why did he use the white wolf skin as a gift?"

Liu Er said dumbly, "How should I know? Maybe he didn’t want to say."

"Stupid, incredibly stupid! We all know what Old Niu has done. If we expose him, he won’t just lose his chance at an official position; he’ll spend the rest of his life in prison. He’s afraid we’ll ruin his plans!"

"But he still sent us to Jinzhou, and he’s still protecting us!"

"That’s the most sinister part!" Wang Huaishui said through gritted teeth. "If we go to Jinzhou, we’ll be under his control. I guarantee that once he becomes an official, it will be our turn to suffer. Don’t underestimate the power of a minor official; he can crush us easily. With Old Niu’s character, he’ll do anything."

Liu Er turned pale and asked urgently, "Brother, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? Pack everything up, sell it for silver, and run far away. With my brains, we’ll be fine anywhere!"

Wang Huaishui and Liu Er stopped drinking and started packing. They not only packed what they had swindled from Jiaofu but also all their previous gains, carefully wrapping them up.

Wang Huaishui had an old cart at home. They hitched the horse, loaded everything, and it was already the third watch of the night. The city gates would open before the fourth watch.

The horse market in Guangning wasn’t actually in the city. Given the ongoing conflicts between the Ming and the Mongols, no official dared to open the city gates to let the Mongols in. Therefore, the market was set up in Tuanshan Fort, about ten miles from Guangning.

Wang Huaishui planned to sell the stolen goods and then run away. They led the cart, sneaking out.

"Mr. Zhou, no wonder you’re rich, you’re up so early!"

"Ah!"

The sudden voice scared Wang Huaishui almost to the ground.

"Who, who are you?"

"Less than a day, and you’ve already forgotten!"

Jiaofu strode into the yard. Wang Huaishui finally saw him clearly and took a few steps back in fear.

"How did you find me?" Wang Huaishui’s head buzzed. He couldn’t understand how a small country bumpkin could find him in a sea of people. It was like a ghost!

"Ha ha ha, Wang Huaishui, you didn’t expect it, did you? I’m not that easy to fool!"

Jiaofu was so angry he gritted his teeth. This big swindler had almost driven him to suicide, and his carefully planned trip to Guangning had almost been ruined. Thinking of the possible consequences, Jiaofu still felt a chill. Finally, he found him! He reached out and grabbed Wang Huaishui’s chest, slapping him repeatedly, making stars dance before Wang Huaishui’s eyes.

"Brat, let go of me!" Liu Er tried to help, but a heavy punch to the back of his head knocked him out. Qiaogui carried Liu Er, and Jiaofu dragged Wang Huaishui back into the house.

By now, Zhang Ke was already sitting on the bed, playing with a short sword, a faint smile on his lips.

Wang Huaishui felt his home had turned into a hell, and the men in front of him were the judges of the underworld. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Great heroes, I’m blind, I shouldn’t have cheated you. I’ll return everything, please have mercy, treat me like a fart and let me go!"

"Ha ha ha, easy to say, but you dared to cheat us. Do you think you can live?"

Zhang Ke stood up and walked to Wang Huaishui, the cold short sword at his throat.

Jiaofu clenched his fists, sneering, "Kege, let me handle it. I’ve skinned wolves, but I’ve never skinned a person. This will be good practice!"

"Ah!"

Wang Huaishui almost screamed. He had done many bad things, but he had never seen anyone so ruthless. He wished he had slapped himself a thousand times for not checking the almanac before swindling these fierce men!

"Grandfather, my dear grandfather, I’ve fallen into your hands, I admit defeat. Please, give me a chance to live, I’ll do anything!"

With the thousand taels of silver from Niu, Zhang Ke was a bit addicted. Hearing Wang Huaishui’s words, he sneered, "Life isn’t given, it’s bought. You understand, right?"

"I understand, I understand!"

Wang Huaishui said hurriedly, "Grandfather, I truly want to atone, but I really don’t have any silver left!"

"Then pay with your life!"

Zhang Ke tore open Wang Huaishui’s clothes, the short sword pointing at his heart.

Wang Huaishui’s eyes darted around, then said, "Grandfather, over the years, I’ve saved a bit of silver, exchanged for three fifty-tael silver bills, hidden in the roof. I’ll get them for you."

Zhang Ke frowned, giving Jiaofu and Qiaogui a look. The three of them left the house, guarding the exits to prevent Wang Huaishui from escaping.

Wang Huaishui trembled as he climbed onto the roof, digging through the snow and thatch. After a while, he found a box.

"Three great grandfathers, here are the silver bills, catch them!"

Wang Huaishui threw the box to Qiaogui, who caught it instinctively. At that moment, Wang Huaishui bit his lip, jumped off the roof, and ran like a rabbit.

"Chase him!"

The sudden move caught Qiaogui off guard. By the time he realized it, Wang Huaishui had already run a dozen steps.

"Stop!"

Qiaogui’s hair stood on end as he charged forward. He was about to catch Wang Huaishui at the wall, only a few feet away, when Wang Huaishui suddenly turned and threw something.

"Ah! My eyes!"