Chapter 17: The Haunting Presence

The group did not have to wait long—perhaps less than half an hour—before a grand procession came sweeping toward them. Six men led the way in two columns. The official plaque held by those on the left bore the words “Military Commissioner of Jinghu,” while the plaque on the right read “Prefect of Xiangyang.” The placards behind them displayed a host of other ranks, such as Academician of the Xianmo Pavilion, Grand Master for Palace Attendance, Acting Minister of Justice, and more.

To be honest, although Meng Gong had given him a crash course the day before, there was no way Qiu Zhiqing could actually understand all those official titles. Even the audience would never believe it!

Before long, an official in purple robes rode onto the scene. His beard was nearly three feet long, and it drifted in the wind beneath a refined yet resolute face.

The man appeared to be around fifty. Without saying a word, he merely waved his hand, and squad after squad of soldiers immediately sealed off the area. Guards were also stationed along the river.

When he approached the three men—Constable Yu, Meng Gong, and Qiu Zhiqing—Meng Gong and Constable Yu hurriedly saluted.

“Your subordinate pays his respects to Your Excellency!”

Qiu Zhiqing also bowed. “This humble Daoist is Chonghe. I pay my respects to Your Excellency.”

The Prefect Zhao studied the three of them for a moment before nodding. Turning to Constable Yu, he said, “I am already aware of your achievements. Your reward will be issued to your camp shortly. As for your offenses, I shall no longer pursue them. You may withdraw.”

Constable Yu was overjoyed. After saluting, he took his leave.

He had every reason to be delighted. Whatever happened afterward would have nothing more to do with him. Naturally, he departed with a smile on his face.

After dismissing Constable Yu in just a few words, Prefect Zhao did not spare Qiu Zhiqing another glance. Instead, he turned directly to Meng Gong and looked him up and down before nodding in satisfaction.

“Indeed, a tiger father begets no cur. If I remember correctly, you are the fourth son of Brother Defu, are you not?”

Meng Gong was visibly excited, his face flushed as though a young man had just met his idol.

“This subordinate is Meng Gong, courtesy name Puyu. I pay my respects to Commander Zhao. My father has said that had it not been for you, he and I might well have died defending Zaoyang.”

Prefect Zhao clearly took a liking to the young man. Not only was Meng Gong brave, but he also knew how to speak pleasingly. The prefect could not help laughing.

“Brother Defu is too modest. If you and your father had not defended the city for three months and kept Wanyan Eke firmly pinned down, whether Xiangyang and Fancheng could have been saved would have been anyone’s guess. And that is without even mentioning how Brother Defu still had the strength to leave the city, crush the enemy, and kill thirty thousand of them. As for you, lad, you personally led five hundred men and broke through eighteen strongholds in succession! You have the makings of a great general!”

Qiu Zhiqing watched the two men flatter each other and felt unconvinced. If they were truly so formidable, why had they not retaken the lost territories? That was, of course, rather unfair of him.

Judging from Constable Yu’s conduct earlier, one could infer the state of the Song army. Merely holding on to their cities and lands was already no easy feat. Expecting them to launch a northern expedition was utterly impossible.

While the two men continued praising each other, the officials who had been counting the supplies finished their tally and came forward to report.

Seeing the clerk approach, Prefect Zhao stopped chatting with Meng Gong and nodded for him to speak.

The clerk opened the ledger, his expression grave.

“Your Excellency, I fear this matter is not as simple as it appears. Should we report it to Lin’an and ask the court to decide?”

Prefect Zhao frowned in displeasure.

“It is merely a case of smuggling. Why would we alarm His Majesty?”

The clerk did not answer the question. Instead, he began listing the figures.

“This shipment contains three thousand hand sabers, one thousand suits of lamellar armor, twenty thousand arrows, two hundred arm-mounted crossbows, ten thousand crossbow bolts…”

The more Prefect Zhao heard, the more shocked he became. The more shocked he became, the angrier he grew—and beneath his anger lurked fear.

This was absolutely not something an ordinary smuggler could have arranged. It was enough equipment to outfit an entire garrison.

Considering the current state of affairs, Prefect Zhao seemed to have grasped at some hidden truth—or perhaps grasped nothing at all.

At that moment, Qiu Zhiqing suddenly sensed that the prefect possessed a level of internal energy not much weaker than his own. He had simply failed to notice it earlier. Perhaps, subconsciously, he had assumed that all civil officials of the Southern Song were men who could neither shoulder a burden nor wield a weapon, weaklings incapable of subduing even a chicken.

He had not expected this prefect to be a master as well.

“Have the suspects been interrogated? Did you learn anything?” Prefect Zhao asked, hoping to find some clue among them.

The clerk answered without hesitation.

“They have been questioned. These hired thugs are all ruffians from the north, and none of them knows anything. The only person who knew the truth resisted fiercely and was killed by a constable from the Guanghua Army who arrived earlier…”

Qiu Zhiqing was certain the fellow had taken a bribe. What did “resisted fiercely and was killed by the constable” mean? The man had plainly been murdered to silence him.

But this matter was already beyond the reach of a minor figure like himself.

Meng Gong had slandered him as a “jinx,” but now it seemed Meng Gong was the genuine jinx.

Qiu Zhiqing secretly resolved to leave this source of trouble at the first opportunity once the blockade was lifted. Still, he had to admit that accidentally exposing a smuggling operation involving collusion with the Jin was rather satisfying.

After all, if he could not rise up and lead the people of the Great Song in resisting foreign oppression, then exposing one or two traitorous collaborators was still enough to warm the heart.

The trouble was that the situation did not seem particularly favorable. One needed only to look at Prefect Zhao’s expression to understand that.

News of Prefect Zhao’s successful exposure of a major smuggling operation soon spread throughout Xiangyang and Fancheng.

At that moment, a group of men walking toward the docks suddenly stopped when they heard the news. The leader had a square, imposing face, and an expression of fury spread across it. His two mustaches trembled with every movement.

His broad hands clenched until they crackled. Then thunder rolled across the sky. Xiangyang and Fancheng, standing on opposite banks of the Han River, seemed to become the center of a storm. Dark clouds rapidly gathered, and without warning, torrential rain swept across the land.

The square-faced man stood tall and imposing. He raised his head and glanced at the gloomy sky before flicking his sleeve.

“Back to the inn!”

He turned around and strode toward the way they had come, leading the group.

As he walked, he ordered, “Investigate this for me! I want a full account of what happened before sunset. Not a single detail may be wrong!”

His attendants accepted the order and hurried away. The party had arrived in haste, and now they returned just as hurriedly.

It was the Ghost Festival. Families who had risen early had already lit incense and candles outside their doors. Wisps of smoke drifted upward, only to be pressed down by the oppressive air and trapped within the city.

A gust of wind sent half-burned scraps of paper whirling through the air. Against the retreating figures, they added an eerie quality to the scene.

Clouds rose over the stream as the sun sank behind the tower; the mountain rain was coming, and the wind filled the tower.

Once the thunder had sounded, the mountain wind followed, and the downpour arrived as though summoned.

This enormous arms-smuggling case was like that peal of thunder, jolting Xiangyang awake from its half-slumber. Servants hurried back and forth, while officials in green, blue, and red robes appeared one after another without end.

None of this had much to do with Qiu Zhiqing. He had intended to distance himself from this whirlpool of trouble at the first opportunity, but in the end, his excellent companion Meng Gong dragged him straight into it.

After the arms had been transported to the prefectural government office, Prefect Zhao intended to take Meng Gong back with him under the pretext of entertaining him properly. In truth, he feared that Meng Gong would be killed in retaliation while in Xiangyang, leaving him unable to answer to Meng Gong’s father. Thus, he brought the young man back to the residence for protection.

Clearly, Prefect Zhao also understood that the affair was far from ordinary.

And rightly so. To obtain such a vast quantity of weapons, pass them through layer after layer of checkpoints, load them onto a ship, and get all the way to the final stage before two reckless young men happened to uncover the operation—just thinking about the forces involved was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

How could Meng Gong not understand this? If he had not known the nature of the Great Song’s officialdom, then later, after earning earth-shaking merits, he would never have voluntarily resigned from every office and returned home to live out his days in peace, ultimately securing a good end.

That was why, when Prefect Zhao suggested that he stay at the prefectural residence, Meng Gong knew perfectly well that it was meant to protect him. Yet he still dragged Qiu Zhiqing, who had done nothing to deserve such treatment, into the arrangement.

In the end, the two of them moved into the Xiangyang prefectural offices together.

Of the entire affair, only Qiu Zhiqing remained confused and entirely in the dark.

Near the end of noon, Qiu Zhiqing finally could not hold back any longer.

“Brother Puyu, how could you drag me into this? It was obvious that Prefect Zhao does not think highly of me. If you had simply kept quiet, you could finish your report, while I could continue wandering the world. We would each get what we wanted and both go our separate ways. Would that not have been perfect?”

Meng Gong poured himself a cup of tea, then pushed the pot toward Qiu Zhiqing, indicating that he could pour his own if he wanted some.

After taking a few sips to moisten his throat, Meng Gong finally replied at his leisure.

“Let us speak plainly. You saw those people in the crowd at the docks. Some of them were clearly not ordinary civilians. I alone spotted several who were suspicious. If they take notice of you, tsk, tsk… Prefect Zhao is protecting me, and I am protecting you.”

With that, he took several more leisurely sips before continuing.

“We were indeed too impulsive this time. Alas, who knows what sort of person we may have offended? It is enough to give anyone a headache…”

“Stop right there! You were the only one being impulsive. I did nothing. You were the one who dragged me into a duel last night, you were the one who wrecked someone else’s property, and you were the one who charged out and killed people today. So…”

As he spoke, Qiu Zhiqing raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at his own chest. After a sharp little tap, he continued.

“I am innocent!”

Meng Gong spread both hands.

“Who would believe that? Just wait and see. Today is the Ghost Festival. It was destined to be a day when demons and specters emerged and fiends ran rampant.”