Chapter Thirty-Four: The Third Hapless Victim

The anti-bandit squad—Li Yun absolutely needed the authorities to assign him men. It didn’t matter how many, but the government had to send people; otherwise, if he assembled a team on his own, it would be nothing more than the old bandit gang under a different name. Without official sanction, it wouldn’t amount to anything.

With Lord Xue’s approval, a smile immediately bloomed on Li Yun’s face. He extended his hand and said cheerfully, “My lord, words alone won’t do. Would you mind writing me a note?”

Lord Xue frowned and shook his head. “How am I supposed to write such a note?”

“Nothing complicated,” the bandit chief mused for a moment and then said, “Just write: ‘Commander Li Zhao is hereby ordered to lead men in clearing out bandits and brigands within Qingyang County, for the peace of the people.’”

“That’s as routine an order as any—surely my lord can write that?”

Lord Xue furrowed his brow and thought it over carefully. After mulling it over, he couldn’t see any flaw, so he nodded, took up his brush, wrote out the order, and stamped it with the county seal.

The bandit chief, delighted as if he’d acquired a treasure, held the note in both hands, gave Lord Xue a respectful bow, and strode off without a backward glance.

Lord Xue remained seated, gazing at the two doors that still swayed on their hinges from Li Yun’s earlier show of strength, sinking into deep thought.

Something didn’t feel right.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

Still, banditry had indeed run rampant in Qingyang County—indeed, throughout the empire. As county magistrate, he had no means to solve the problem. If this Li Zhao could root out the bandits in the county, it would at least count as an achievement for his tenure.

With this in mind, Lord Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his paperwork.

Meanwhile, the bandit chief was already bustling about, gathering more than twenty subordinates on an open patch outside the county office.

Waving the official order from the magistrate, he called out in a booming voice, “Listen up!”

“On the command of our lord magistrate, I am assembling a force to wipe out every bandit in Qingyang County.”

“From now on, my main duty is to lead men against the bandits. So—”

“Who’s willing to come with me and stamp out these outlaws?”

He cast a glance over the crowd.

Every constable bowed his head, not daring to meet Li Yun’s gaze.

What kind of lousy assignment was this…?

How many years had bandits been running rampant? Generations! The county magistrate had changed so many times—had any of them solved the problem?

No!

Nothing ever changed. If all the previous magistrates couldn’t fix it, was this newcomer from out of town going to solve it with a single shout? What a joke.

Did he really think bandits were so easily cowed?

Did he really have what it took?

Of the twenty-some men, only Chen Da and Huang Yong, after a long hesitation, stepped forward. Chen Da gritted his teeth and said, “Chief, I’ll go with you!”

Huang Yong, after a moment’s struggle, also stepped to Li Yun’s side.

The reason the two of them had the courage to follow Li Yun was because they had witnessed with their own eyes, just recently, how he had single-handedly captured three bandits with ease. They had seen firsthand how formidable the new commander was.

Moreover, afterward, both Chen Da and Huang Yong had been commended by the magistrate himself, and their status among the constables had soared.

Li Yun looked them over and asked again, “Anyone else?”

No one spoke.

The bandit chief frowned inwardly.

These low-level constables had really sunk to this level.

He drew a deep breath and continued, “Anyone who joins the anti-bandit squad and comes with me to fight the bandits will get an extra string of cash each month.”

The constables looked tempted at this.

That was no small sum—much more than their usual monthly pay.

And besides, ‘anti-bandit squad’ or not, who could say if they’d really ever run into bandits?

Even so, still no one was willing to be the first to step forward.

The bandit chief was growing annoyed.

Cowards, all of them!

He stood up, looked at Chen Da with some impatience, and said, “Chen Da, this job’s yours. I just need ten men—besides you two, pick eight more for me.”

“I can’t afford to pay any more. You have three days.”

With that, the bandit chief ignored them all, dusted off his hands, and left.

All eyes turned to Chen Da, who looked back at his longtime colleagues, face grave.

“Brothers, our commander Li is a master of martial arts—one man can stand up to ten!”

“With a chief like him, what’s there to fear? An extra string of cash a month—who among us wouldn’t want that?”

“And besides…”

Chen Da’s voice trailed off.

Meanwhile, Li Yun had neither the patience nor desire to argue with them further. He left the county office, bought some wine and food, and returned to his small rented courtyard.

There, he sat down with Skinny Monkey—Li Zheng—and Old Eight—Zhang Hu. The three clinked their cups, and Li Yun downed his wine in one gulp before laughing, “In a couple of days, I’ll take you both to the county office. From now on, you’ll be part of the anti-bandit squad.”

Zhang Hu kept his head down, focused on his food, ignoring Li Yun.

Li Zheng, more quick-witted, took a bite, chewed, and asked, “Didn’t you say before we’d be constables?”

“It’s all the same,” Li replied, setting down his chopsticks. “Neither of you has household registration. Until that’s sorted out, it’s tricky to become regular constables. Besides, I checked—most of the constables’ posts are hereditary, and any new appointments need approval from the Office of Personnel, one of the six bureaus.”

“I don’t know anyone in the Office of Personnel, so that’s not easy to arrange. For now, you’ll join my anti-bandit squad.”

Li Zheng chewed on a piece of meat and, with his mouth full, asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“We’ll take them to wipe out bandits,” the chief grinned. “And when the time comes, we’ll recruit some local militia on the spot.”

Skinny Monkey’s eyes darted, and he caught on immediately.

“You mean the militia… from our old bandit gang?”

“As long as you get it,” said the chief, raising his cup with a smile. “Don’t say it out loud.”

Skinny Monkey gave another thumbs up.

“Second Brother, you’re getting more impressive by the day.”

…

The next morning, while the bandit chief was reading at the county school, Chen Da came running over, bowed his head, and said, “Chief, the magistrate wants to see you.”

Li Yun closed his book, frowned, and asked, “Where?”

“The rear office.”

Li Yun stood, returned the book to the shelf, and as they walked outside, he asked, “Do you know what it’s about?”

Chen Da nodded and whispered, “It seems… someone from the Gu family in Shidai has arrived. The magistrate is receiving them.”

At this, the chief rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Old Xue and the Gu family had long been at odds. Last time, when he’d returned that uncle and nephew pair, there had been no shortage of sarcasm. Now the Gu family had come again, and the magistrate was actually receiving them…

That meant this guest’s status was likely no lower than the magistrate’s—possibly even higher.

As he pondered this, he arrived at the rear office, where Magistrate Xue was speaking with a middle-aged man. Both wore smiles, but the atmosphere was—somewhat awkward.

When Li Yun entered, the magistrate waved him over and said to the man, “Brother Gu, this is Commander Li Zhao of our county. It was he who rescued your son and younger brother from the bandits’ lair.”

He then introduced the visitor to Li Yun.

“Commander Li, this is Gu Wen, head of the Gu family of Shidai.”

Li Yun stepped forward and gave a curt salute. “Mr. Gu.”

Gu Wen looked him up and down and exclaimed, “A true young hero, indeed.”

After this praise, he returned the salute and said, “Thanks to Commander Li’s valor, my brother and son were spared. I have nothing with which to repay you, so today I have brought a few gifts as a token of gratitude.”

The bandit chief’s eyes flickered, but he waved his hand generously. “Mr. Gu, since I serve in the county office, ridding the county of bandits and rescuing the innocent is my duty. There’s no need for thanks.”

“I really can’t accept your gifts. However—”

He smiled broadly.

“I am currently under the magistrate’s orders to form an anti-bandit squad to purge Qingyang County of all outlaws—including the very bandits who kidnapped your son at Erlong Stronghold.”

“Mr. Gu, perhaps you’d be willing…”

He flashed a bright smile.

“To make a donation to the anti-bandit fund?”