Year 1627 AD. Tianqi Era, Year 7.
Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province.
Gao Chuwu led three other young men from Gaojia Village through the massive wooden gates of the county town.
The four of them were genuine country bumpkins who had never traveled more than ten li from their village. Making the journey of over thirty li had been a miserable experience, especially since none of them knew the way. They had relied entirely on their ability to sweet-talk strangers, stopping almost everyone they passed to ask for directions.
They had taken the wrong road several times and were forced to turn back, wandering around until sweat had soaked through their tunics. After a long and frustrating journey, they finally managed to find the correct route.
By the time they stepped through the city gates and entered the county town, the sun was already directly overhead.
Noon. The most brutal hour of the day.
The temperature soared past forty degrees Celsius. The heat radiated from the stone streets in shimmering waves, turning the air into an invisible furnace. The four young men were wilted, heads hanging low, spirits crushed by the oppressive glare. Their legs felt like jelly, light-headed and dizzy.
"Brother Chuwu," one of them whispered, wiping sweat from his brow. "To find the Advisor, we have to go to the Yamen, right?"
He shuddered. "I'm scared of that place."
"I heard the Magistrate eats people without spitting out the bones," another added, eyes wide.
"And the runners are worse. Way worse."
They all looked terrified.
Gao Chuwu was no braver. He had never left the village before, and the county town was nothing like he imagined. The walls were too tall. The streets were too crowded. Everyone moved too fast, talked too loud, looked at him like he did not belong.
His stomach twisted. His mouth went dry.
He reached into his travel sack without thinking. His fingers found the hard, uneven chunks. Broken pieces of divine rice. The Village Chief had stuffed five pieces into each of their bags before they left. Just in case.
The moment his fingers touched them, something in his chest loosened. He could breathe again.
"What's there to be scared of?" he muttered. "We have Tianzun backing us."
The other three glanced at each other. Then something shifted in their faces.
"Right. Tianzun fed us. Tianzun saved us."
"What's a county town compared to that?"
"Let's go. I want to see what this Advisor looks like."
Gao Chuwu grinned. Now they sounded like men again.
With renewed determination, the four young men made their way through the crowded streets, politely stopping passersby whenever they needed directions. Eventually, they arrived at the imposing entrance of the County Yamen.
What greeted them was not the stern atmosphere they expected, but the sound of wailing.
A middle-aged man stood on the steps, dressed in a scholar's long gown. His face was pale and clean-shaven, his figure slightly plump, giving him the look of a well-fed scholar. Yet at that moment, he was sobbing uncontrollably, beating his chest in despair.
"Your Excellency!" he cried, his voice breaking. "Please, do not cast aside this humble servant! I have bowed my head and exhausted every ounce of my strength for you, working myself to death! How can you discard me so coldly? This is truly..."
He paused, as though searching for the perfect words, then struck a dramatic pose.
"...boiling the hound after the hare is dead!"
He delivered the final phrase with exaggerated solemnity, making the entire display look utterly ridiculous.
A guard nearby shook his head. "Master Shan, stop making a scene. The Magistrate has already made his decision. Crying here will not change anything. If you anger Him further, He might have you thrown into prison. That would be worse, wouldn't it?"
Gao Chuwu's eyes immediately lit up.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered to the others. "They called him Master Shan. That has to be the Advisor. The one Grandpa mentioned. Shan Shi'er."
The other three exchanged confused looks.
"But why is the Advisor crying?"
"Did the Magistrate fire him?"
Gao Chuwu tightened his grip on the thick wooden club strapped across his back, a sturdy stick he had picked up along the road.
"That makes things easier for us," he said in a low voice. "Keep an eye on him. Once he leaves the Yamen and enters an alley, we will invite him."
Shan Shi'er kept wailing, but Zhang Yaocai remained completely unmoved.
Eventually, two guards came out and gave him a good beating, leaving his face bruised and his lips swollen. Realizing his fate was sealed, Shan Shi'er let out a deep sigh, straightened his disheveled robes, and staggered away.
Intending to take a shortcut home, he walked down the main street and turned sharply into a narrow alley.
He had barely taken three steps when a figure blocked his path.
It was Gao Chuwu, holding the large wooden club.
Shan Shi'er froze. He spun around to flee, only to find three other young men blocking the exit behind him.
Panic surged through him. He scanned them quickly. Ragged clothes, sun-darkened skin, calloused hands.
Poor peasants.
He immediately raised both hands in surrender.
"Hey, hey, don't hit me!" he blurted out, his words coming in a frantic rush. "I'm on your side! It was the Magistrate who imposed those crushing taxes! It had nothing to do with me! In fact, I repeatedly advised him to ease the burden on the people. This is what you call..."
He struck another dramatic pose.
"...pleading on behalf of the people!"
Gao Chuwu blinked in confusion.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Shan Shi'er hurriedly assured him, sweat pouring down his face. "I was dismissed precisely because I spoke up for people like you! I sacrificed myself for righteousness! As they say..."
He paused for effect.
"...sacrificing oneself for a righteous cause!"
Gao Chuwu scratched his head.
"I don't understand half of what you're saying, but you certainly sound like an educated man."
Relief washed over Shan Shi'er, and he immediately straightened his posture.
"Exactly! I am a learned man. You must treat me with respect. Put down that weapon, and let us discuss this peacefully. What is it they say..."
He paused again, clearly searching for another impressive phrase.
"...ceasing hostilities and disbanding the troops!"
Gao Chuwu's face broke into a broad grin.
"Perfect. We're looking for an educated man. Please come with us to Gaojia Village."
Shan Shi'er's smile vanished.
"Gaojia Village? What kind of place is that? No! I refuse! I'm not going! This is what you call..."
THWACK.
The wooden club slammed into the back of his skull.
Shan Shi'er did not even have time to grunt. He collapsed unconscious before his body even reached the ground.
The young man who had swung the club lowered his weapon with a frown.
"I don't know why," he muttered, "but listening to him talk made me want to smash his head in. Those last four words were unbelievably annoying. I just couldn't take it anymore."
Gao Chuwu gave an awkward laugh.
"Honestly, I was thinking the same thing."
The four young men chuckled as they hoisted Shan Shi'er's limp body onto their shoulders. They hurried toward the city gates, hoping to get out before anyone noticed what they had done.
Unfortunately, trouble found them before they could make it that far.
Halfway through the city, a squad of five Yamen runners approached from the opposite direction. From a distance, they spotted four rugged-looking peasants carrying an unconscious man dressed in fine scholar's robes.
To anyone watching, it looked exactly like a kidnapping.
"You four!" the lead runner shouted, one hand already gripping the hilt of his saber. "What are you doing?"
Whatever confidence Gao Chuwu had managed to muster vanished on the spot. His legs went weak, and every instinct in his body screamed at him to run.
But before they could bolt, the lead bailiff squinted. Recognition dawned on his face, followed immediately by sheer horror.
"You... You're from Gaojia Village!"
Gao Chuwu looked closer. "Wait... aren't you the officials from yesterday?"
It was indeed the same man Li Daoxuan had lifted into the air with two fingers.
That incident had traumatized him. He had not slept all night, terrified that Tianzun would punish him for speaking out. He had dragged his four colleagues, who had also been blown away by the divine breath, to stick together for safety whenever they went outside.
Now, seeing villagers from Gaojia Village...
Is this a trap?
Did Tianzun send them to kill us for breaking our oath?
The five bailiffs turned pale, trembling visibly.
Gao Chuwu, equally terrified, stammered, "Our... our friend here... he got heatstroke. We're taking him to the river to wash his face."
The lead bailiff nodded so fast his neck cracked.
"Yes! Yes! Heatstroke! Very common! Very dangerous! Please proceed!"
He swallowed hard, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
"And about yesterday... we didn't say a word. Not one. Not a single syllable. We swore on our ancestors. Our mothers. Our dead grandparents. Everyone."
One of the other bailiffs nodded vigorously. "I even told my wife nothing. And she tells me everything. That's how serious we are."
"Shut up," the lead bailiff hissed.
Both groups stood frozen, shaking like leaves in a storm. Then, inch by agonizing inch, they began to shuffle past each other. Nobody blinked. Nobody breathed. It was like watching two groups of cats trying to sneak past a dog.
The moment they were out of arm's reach, the bailiffs bolted.
Gao Chuwu and his companions bolted in the opposite direction.
Four peasants carrying an unconscious scholar. Five bailiffs fleeing for their lives. Both sides running as if the gates of hell had opened behind them.
Neither dared look back.