I Want to Report!

What followed was unremarkable. Huyan Zhao led everyone out of the city to surrender, and General Red personally dug up the foundation stone of the Xiji Kingdom. The kingdom met a swift demise. Since the Panlong army had already taken actual control of the capital, everything went on as usual, without much disturbance. Logically speaking, Zhong Shengguang was merely an official of the Xiluo Kingdom, so he naturally had no authority to bestow enfeoffments upon Huyan Zhao. It would not even be appropriate to claim he was "exercising authority on behalf of the sovereign," for the Xiluo Kingdom had never ordered him to dispatch troops against Xiji in the first place. Yet clearly no one present gave any thought to the matter. Even Huyan Zhao came asking with a shameless, ingratiating smile when he could set off for the Lugua River. "Do not be in a hurry," were General Red's exact words. "You will remain in the capital for some time longer." Only two days later did Huyan Zhao learn that the loyalist forces seeking to rescue the throne had not entirely vanished after all. Several armies within Xiji had repeatedly attempted to break through the Panlong army's blockade, though unfortunately none had succeeded. However, the news of Huyan Zhao's capture and the fall of Xiji had already been disseminated days earlier. Seeing that the realm had changed hands, and that their opponent was the mighty Panlong City, these forces quickly lost their will to fight. Moreover, alongside Panlong City's offensive, unrest broke out simultaneously in many parts of Xiji: The people of the Xiluo Kingdom who had been trapped in Xiji and subjected to years of abuse rose in rebellion. This force quickly joined with the Panlong army to encircle and suppress the remaining resistance. Two days of northward travel after leaving the ruins of Thousand Stars City brought the Shimen caravan close to the border of the Chiyan Kingdom. The journey had been peaceful throughout, and Shi Er finally regained the familiar feeling of running a merchant route. Frankly speaking, if every trading expedition were so nerve-wracking, no one would dare transport goods even if the cargo fetched several times the price. Up ahead was the checkpoint leading into Chiyan, where the queue stretched extremely long. Fu Shanyue's attendant tossed a string of cash to the base slave accompanying the carriage, dismissing him: "You're no longer needed. Scram." Base slaves were forbidden to leave the Twilight Plains and had to stop here. Daring to step one pace past the checkpoint meant beheading! "Thank you for the generous reward, masters!" The base slave picked up the string of coins, bowing and scraping to the men while darting a glance toward the carriage. In truth, these masters were generous and had given him extra. Normally he would have been overjoyed, heading off to a wine shack to buy half a flagon of cloudy wine to treat himself. Right now, however, that was the last thing on his mind. That little girl lying motionless inside the carriage, who depended entirely on others to wait on her hand and foot, was not the child of some wealthy, powerful family at all. Astonishingly, she was born a base slave just like him! Yet Young Master Fu Shan was going to take her across the border! From then on, she would break free of her wretched fate and rush toward a life of freedom. Why her? Just because she had accidentally saved Young Master Fu Shan's life? Given the same chance, he could have done it too—and done it better than her! "What are you doing?" Another guard passing by kicked him upon seeing him standing there dazed and motionless. "Scram! Why are you standing around like a wooden post?" "Yes, yes, going right away!" Turning his head, the base slave caught sight of Fu Shanyue watching him indifferently from behind to the side, and shuddered in shock. Hurriedly plastering on a fawning smile, he scurried off like a wisp of smoke. He Lingchuan came around from behind the carriage and watched his retreating back. "That fellow carries a lot of resentment." "How do you know?" Fu Shanyue uttered a surprised sound. "Can you smell it too?" "Smell what? I'm not a dog!" He Lingchuan retorted crossly. "A few days ago by the river, I saw him washing basins while slamming them frantically, screaming 'Go die, you little wench!' He probably thought no one was around." Only after venting his fury by the river had the man fetched water and returned, continuing to put on a fawning, deferential smile before Fu Shanyue and the others. "Heh, why bother paying him any mind?" Fu Shanyue dismissed it completely. "What tricks could a mere base slave pull off?" Just then, Second Master Shi returned from the front, bringing bad news: "This isn't good. Three or four official merchant caravans are cutting in line up ahead, totaling more than four thousand people. We probably won't make it across today." Official caravans held priority for crossing the checkpoint, while civilian merchant caravans like theirs had to wait. With darkness falling in another hour, crossing the border would have to wait until tomorrow. Helpless, they could only lodge at an inn for the night. As that base slave walked back, he also heard the disappointed sighs of other merchants who could not pass the checkpoint. Passing by an upscale tavern, he slowed his pace. Noticing the bangle specifically worn by base slaves on his wrist, a waiter came out and rudely shooed him away: "Shoo, get lost! Don't get in the way of our business!" Ordinary taverns and inns did not permit base slaves to set foot inside, and high-end establishments would not even let them come near unless accompanying masters they served. The only places they could patronize were food shacks and shared bunks run by other base slaves, typically tucked away in the most peripheral, dismal corners of town. Before long, he was sitting in a dim little wine shack, downing half a flagon of cloudy wine. The liquor was poor and harsh on the throat, but it made a man drunk easily. "Endure it, endure it!" he kept muttering under his breath. "Striking a rock with an egg will only get you killed." Yet spurred by the alcohol, the more he thought, the angrier and more resentful he grew. "Can't endure it, can't endure it! Why does she get to live a good life while you're treated like a pig or a dog?" He rose and sat back down several times, sobriety and reason swinging back and forth on alcohol's scales. In the end, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and charged straight into the government office without looking back. The petty clerk inside was startled to see a flushed-faced base slave barge in, and immediately snapped, "You! Yes, you! What do you think you're doing, running around in here? Get out!" The base slave did not leave. Instead, he stepped closer, a breath reeking of alcohol blowing directly into the clerk's face. "I want to report! I want to report a crime!" *** Unsurprisingly, the base slave received a vicious beating. Just as the clerk was about to call the bailiffs to throw him out, a voice suddenly called from behind: "Hold on." The speaker was very tall, with an unusual countenance. Turning around, the clerk immediately offered a respectful bow. Before he could speak, the tall man said, "He came to report an offense. Why won't you take it?" "Ah?" The clerk was taken aback. "My lord, he is a base slave, and dead drunk to boot! His words cannot be trusted." The slave's spit had sprayed right onto his face—infuriating! "You haven't verified anything, so how do you know his words cannot be trusted?" The tall man walked over to the base slave. "Hey." A bailiff promptly kicked the slave several times. "His Lordship is speaking to you! Get your ass up and stand straight!" The base slave scrambled to his feet, stooped with head hanging low, one eye swollen shut. "Follow me." Leading the way into the corridor behind the office where it was quiet and deserted, the tall man finally asked: "You said just now that the one harboring a base slave girl and intending to take her across the checkpoint is Prince Fu Shanyue of the Chiyan Kingdom?" Having endured that savage thrashing, the slave had sobered up by seventy percent and was already regretting his actions. Had he lost his mind? How could he have dared to barge into a government office! Yet it was too late now. The lord before him was an even greater power he could not afford to offend, so he could only lower his head and say, "Yes, yes!" "How do you know she is a base slave?" "This lowly one attended to her for several days. Her left hand has a mark left behind from wearing a bangle for a long time." The base slave raised his own left wrist to show him the bangle. "Just... like this. But the bangle is gone from her hand. That is a capital offense!" The bangle had bitten deep into the flesh, the hallmark of a base slave. Removing it without authorization was punishable by death, and even deliberately concealing it carried punishment. "Interesting." The tall man turned to the clerk. "Have people keep a close eye on them. Verify it when they cross the border tomorrow." Verifying it now was pointless anyway; until they actually tried to bring a base slave across the border, no crime was committed. The clerk gasped in surprise. "Ah, my lord, if that person truly is a prince of the Chiyan Kingdom..." "If a prince breaks the law, he shares the same guilt as a commoner." The tall man gave a chuckle. "You stand upon Lingxu City territory, yet you fear a Chiyan native?" The reprimand was rather sharp. Cold sweat instantly broke out over the clerk. Though he cursed the base slave eight hundred times in his heart, he bowed repeatedly and stammered, "I will see to it right away, right away!" The tall man emphasized again, "First confirm whether that little girl is there. Be smart about it, and don't let Fu Shanyue notice. Tomorrow when they cross, we catch them red-handed with the evidence!" *** He Lingchuan was drinking in a tavern, seated alone at a table. Around him, patrons came and went. Resting his chin in his hand, he gazed blankly out the window, his eyes out of focus. Footsteps approached from behind, but he paid them no mind. Someone called out, "Hey!" He Lingchuan neither answered nor turned around. Then that voice actually said, "He Lingchuan." He Lingchuan's heart jolted violently. Alone in Beijia as a stranger in a foreign land, could there really be someone here who could call out his true name in one breath? Yet with his growing experience, he managed to forcefully suppress the instinct to turn around; his back did not even twitch, as if he had heard nothing. Only he knew that the muscles in his waist and legs had already coiled taut, ready to erupt into lethal violence at any second. The next moment, however, he recognized the unique voice. The voice's owner circled around to the front, clicking his tongue twice. "It really is you! Young Master He, why didn't you answer? I thought I might have mistaken your saber!" "Shh—" He Lingchuan smiled and made a shushing gesture. "I've changed my name. Come, have a seat!" "It's rare to meet an old friend in a strange land." Raising a hand, he hailed the waiter. "Over here, bring more food!" *** That night, several bailiffs reported back to the clerk: "Their carriages are all parked together, guarded in shifts by dedicated men, making it hard to get close. But one carriage had a lamp lit the entire time. We had someone draw the coachman's attention at the front while the rest of us slipped over and peeked under the curtain. And sure enough, there's a little girl sleeping inside, about six or seven years old." "Were there marks on her hand?" "Ah, couldn't see that clearly," the bailiff said. "People came over right away to move cargo." "Why didn't you just go up and check directly?" How arrogant these ruffians usually were—when had they ever been so timid and hesitant? The bailiff scratched his head. "Didn't His Lordship instruct us to keep it covert and avoid raising an alarm?" "..." The clerk was rendered speechless. "Fine, fine! I will report it!" *** The next day, before the border checkpoint. The crowd waiting to cross once again formed a line stretching beyond sight. The checkpoint here was somewhat stricter than the ones at the Jeweled Tree Kingdom border, mainly inspecting for contraband. Such as base slaves. Base slaves were a specialty of the Twilight Plains; countless base slaves attempted escape every year. How could the imperial decree be upheld without rigorous inspections? Fortunately, the queue moved at a decent pace. No unexpected trouble arose at the checkpoint today, nor were there sudden incidents to deal with, so the Shimen caravan came up for inspection more than a quarter-hour earlier than Second Master Shi had estimated.