Chapter 4: 4

Chapter 4

Third Manager and Second Steward

Three days later, with Xi Family Village on tenterhooks, two uninvited guests showed up.

One of them was like a sword, and on this sword there was no place that wasn’t sharp. Though the young man was wounded, he was still more vigorous and intrepid than a leopard.

The other one was big and tall and imposing, but with a gentle, polite expression, worldly but not weary, like a dear wife and child just out of a warm bath kissing you, a young man who wanted to do some good deeds.

Nine able-bodied men could be seen guarding the main gates of Xi Family Village. Of course, there were even more that you couldn’t see or were hidden. Of the nine, eight of them wore white belts around their waists. Only the one by the threshold, his face covered with stubble, wore an orange belt.

The two men came forward and were naturally stopped by the guard. “Who are you?”

The young man answered wonderfully.

“We’re people.”

“What are you doing here?” The guard put on a mean, severe tone when questioning them. Often many little rascals were scared off by his intimidation.

“We’ve come to see your headman,” the young man said.

The eight guards were already not in a good mood and all happened to think: This pest is asking for a beating! Then they thought: Xi Family Village has a chivalrous reputation, we can’t go around beating people.

“Do you know our headman?”

“No.”

“Sorry you won’t be able to know him.”

“However,” the young man said, “are about to know him.”

The eight guards lost their tempers all at once, but the orange-belted one coughed and strolled out.

This person’s gait was steady, vigorous and imposing, every step like the stone steps were going to collapse under his feet. His big eyes roved over the two of them back and forth. After a good long while he asked, “I venture to ask your Excellencies’ honorable names.”

This time the young man answered, “I’m Tie Youxia, he’s Leng Lingqi. We’ve come especially to call on Headman Xi Xiaofeng.”1

The guard drew a blank for a moment, then sneered, “I’ve never heard of those names. Your nicknames are…”

The young man sneered, “So to see the headman we also have to give our names and nicknames?”

The guard wasn’t offended. He gave a strange laugh. “Of course. Nowadays, who has time to entertain every nondescript bored guest who comes by. Without a name, who would be willing to see you?”

The other young man moved in front and said, “How about this, let me trouble you, big brother, to notify Third Manager Xi. Tell him we’re here, how does that sound…”

The guard frowned and muttered, “These little trifles I can decide for myself, there’s no need to bother Third Manager. He’s busy…”

The young man laughed. “We’re not looking down on you, Boss, and we’re also not unfamiliar with the jianghu rules of engagement, it’s just that this trip over here is more personal than official, it’s not convenient to hand over our name cards. As for a first-meeting present… We eat the government’s rice and can’t knowingly violate the law. On this point please Boss, please pardon us this time.”

This subdued the guard. He was taken aback, understanding that these people had some background. He stamped his feet and said, “I’ll ask for you, however, Third Manager has been as busy as can be recently. He’s not necessarily going to see you.”

“Okay, okay,” the young man said. He quickly added, “As long as Boss is willing to notify him for us, that’s alright.”

The guard went inside skeptically. The remaining eight guards watched the two with their shining eyes, as if they had already taken them for thieves to be dealt with.

Not long after, the guard came back out. This time he was running. This time he was was piling it on, “Gentlemen, sorry, this humble one has eyes but failed to see, has eyes but didn’t recognize Mount Tai, I didn’t welcome you properly, I deserve death, I deserve death…”

Then a voice like a large bell laughed and said, “Xi Huo, even if you don’t deserve death you do deserve a beating. How can you not know Second Master Tie’s and Fourth Master Leng’s great names…”

A person in a long robe of dark green silk and black riding boots came out. He had gray hair, a sharp, aquiline nose. He was smiling as he saluted with a hand over his fist. “Can’t blame them, Yours Excellencies Tie and Leng, your nicknames are too famous, not many people know your real names, it’s really…” At this point he looked to the sky and laughed. Ironhands and Coldblooded and returned the greeting. They saw the man was getting on toward seventy, his back slightly stooped, but he walked with strutting steps, nowhere on him was vulnerable, and they were inwardly shocked.

The old man laughed. “This old man is Xi Family Village’s Third Manager Xi Liangwu. Come come come, let us welcome Ironhands Second Master Tie and Coldblooded Fourth Master Leng of the world-renowned ‘Four Great Constables’…”

The eight guards were astonished. They never expected that these two casually dressed people were the famed constables Ironhands the capturer and Coldblooded the annihilator, who those of the dark path feared and those of the light path revered!

Ironhands smiled. “By no means apologize. Actually, that silly title Four Great Constables was undeservedly bestowed on us by friends of the jianghu. There are who knows how many thousands of good hands who eat the government’s rice, we’re just doing our duty and have been lucky enough to be able to do all we can to help people, that’s all.”

Xi Liangwu puffed on his pipe and chuckled. “You two really are too polite. Think of when ‘Flying Blood Heir’ Liu Jiyan and ‘Extermination King’ Chu Xiangyu were subdued by you two, I didn’t see any other government officials touch a single hair on their heads…” Two two battles mentioned were Ironhands’ and Coldblooded’s battle achievements, or one could say they were famous battles among the jianghu. that made the nine guards nod in approval and they complimented them one after another.

Actually, although the group was shaken by the prestige of the two famous constables, inwardly they weren’t necessarily won over, but for those who roamed the jianghu there were some kinds of people who you absolutely must not offend, and chief among them were yamen runners and constables, let alone the favored Four Great Constables under Mister Zhuge.

Therefore, everyone put on an obedient facade, so that in the future if they were ever in trouble, they would be able to look to the two constables.

Ironhands noticed this and sighed to himself. Then he said, “Manager Xi.”

Xi Liangwu beamed with joy. “Come come come, let us go drink a cup of watery wine and then talk.”2

Ironhands became serious. “We’re on official business, we’ll have to skip the wine.”

Xi Liangwu squinted and blew out a smoke ring. “What business are you two on?”

Coldblooded said, “Recently some things have happened at Xi Family Village. Third Manager Xi, you must know more about this than us, so no need for us to go into it.”

Xi Liangwu was still smiling. “You two might as well let me hear it. Xi Family Village is a tall tree that catches wind,3 it’s normal for there to be rumors every now and then. It’s not unusual for outside rumors to go undetected here.”

Coldblooded said, “I understand that seven days ago, your headman was a little bit out of his mind and took some of your livestock, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and slaughtered them. Is that so?”

Xi Liangwu drew a blank at this. Coldblooded said, “Six days ago your headman, Xi Xiaofeng, had an unsuccessful rape attempt and hacked one of his wife’s handmaids with a knife. Did that happen?”

Xi Liangwu forced a smile. “Your Excellency Leng, where did you hear that?”

Coldblooded didn’t answer him but kept going, “Five days ago, in the middle of the night the headman climbed up onto the roof and loudly recited Tang poetry, waking up the entire village, right?”

Xi Liangwu’s wrinkled face squeezed out a thin smile. “If the headman is in a mood and recites some old poetry and annoys his family, is that a crime?”

Coldblooded ignored him and continued, “Four days ago, because of some small trivial matter, he lost his temper and beat three retainers, and on the same night there was a call from the lady of the house and your little young master for help, and since then no one has seen the madame or the little young master, is that right?”

Xi Liangwu looked around and took half a step forward and lowered his voice, “Master Leng, let’s go inside and talk.”

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Ironhands said, “Alright.”

Xi Liangwu said, “This way.”

The three of them went inside and Xi Liangwu offered them seats, then he went inside and a while later someone came out to serve tea. Coldblooded and Ironhands set their tea on the table and didn’t drink it.

A long while later, Xi Liangwu slowly walked out carrying a heavy bundle, a dubious smile on his face, and he stuffed the bundle into Ironhands’ hands.

“What’s this?” Ironhands asked.

“Just a mere trifle.” Xi Liangwu said, “This is a small trifle from our Second Steward. You two have come all this way, we can’t have you come here for nothing… Though this is just a meager gift, it’s more than enough to bribe a county magistrate.”

Ironhands smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Xi Liangwu blew out a smoke ring. “See yourselves out.”

Ironhands said, “We’re not leaving.”

Xi Liangwu squinted. “Not enough?”

Ironhands smiled. “It’s not that it’s not enough, it’s that we don’t want it.” Saying that he stuffed the bundle back in Xi Liangwu’s hands. “We want to see Headman Xi.”

Xi Liangwu was silent for a moment. “Our headman rarely sees outsiders.”

Ironhands said, “But given recent events, he can refuse to see outsiders, but he can’t refuse to see us who are here on official business.”

Xi Liangwu smiled. “However, he just slaughtered a few of the families’ animals, accidentally wounded a maid and three retainers, and was in the mood to recite poetry on the roof in the middle of the night. These surely aren’t serious enough cause for you to insist on seeing him?”

Ironhands smiled. “If that was all it was, of course it wouldn’t be that serious.”

Coldblooded continued, “However, three days ago, he sealed his young brother’s acupoints, stripped a girl naked, and threw them into the river. And he killed two women of the blue quarters. That’s the high crime of murder.”

Ironhands followed with, “Furthermore, two days ago he also drew his sabre and stormed out of Xi Family Village and hacked at anyone he saw. Let me ask, what crime is that?”

Coldblooded continued, “It’s said that a day ago that although Headman Xi had been placed under house arrest by you all, he killed four of his trusted followers, including one who had been a servant of the late headman, and he raped Madame Xi’s younger sister.”

Ironhands said, “Third Manager Xi, listen, how can we not see someone like that?”

Xi Liangwu frowned and mumbled, “If you two think it’s too little, I’ll go grab a second bundle.”

Ironhands said, “Well then, Third Manager, you might as well just bring all the bundles out.”

Xi Liangwu arched his brow. “What?”

Ironhands smiled. “To save me from having to talk so much, Third Manager, if you goes in once, we say a few words, then you go in again, and does this back and forth, then you will become a goods transport cart.”

Xi Liangwu put on a dark smile and with two fingers pulled out from the bundle an ingot of glistening yellow gold. He giggled, “Look, Master Tie, this is real gold.”

Ironhands smiled. There were two deep fingerprints in the gold, as if they had been put there when the ingot was first cast. Ironhands took the ingot in two fingers and handed it back to Xi Liangwu. “Of course it’s real gold. If it were fake, then the crimes wouldn’t end with the ones previously mentioned, would they?”

Xi Liangwu took the gold and his face sank.

Because the fingerprints on the gold had miraculously disappeared, as if the ingot had been a perfectly formed ingot of gold all along and never had any fingerprints on it at all. Now someone laughed loudly and strode out, and an oppressive aura made the sleeves and hair of the three of them flutter.

The person who had entered laughed loudly. “I say, Old Third, using gold to try to bribe Second Master Tie and Fourth Master Leng is enough to hack off the thumbs up of a an of the martial world!”

The person who entered was not yet 50, but he kept calling Xi Liangwu Old Third. “I say, Old Third, this time your eyes have sealed shut!”

He had a heavyset, muscular build and bright, piercing eyes. He was over six spans tall with a curly beard. Every move he made was imposing, but he was never rash. Ironhands looked up and cocked his brow. “Second Steward?”

The man laughed boldly. “That’s me, Xi Yingming.”

Ironhands smiled. “Second Steward came just in time. We want to pay a visit to Headman Xi and would like to ask Second Steward to convey the message.”

Xi Yingming smiled. “I presume that Second Master Tie and Fourth Master Leng must know that even if a yamen runner wants to arrest someone, they still for their higher-ups to issue a warrant… I wonder which of His Excellencies issued the order that you two have received, or who wrote the order for you two to carry this out…”

His meaning was quite clear. If a higher-up didn’t approve it, Ironhands and Coldblooded couldn’t just casually come in and search their residence even though they were constables.

Xi Yingming continued smiling. “As far as I know, the county magistrate here wouldn’t do it like this if he wanted to see our headman. As for Mister Zhuge, he’s a thousand miles away, there’s no way he could indicate that he wanted you all to investigate our village.”

“Why don’t,” Xi Yingming said, smiling, “you two go on back. The headman and I will arrange a day to come see you two.”

“We certainly don’t have an order from a higher authority, so we came today seeking an audience, not to make an arrest,” Ironhands said calmly.

Xi Yingming smiled and spread his hands. “That’s for the best.”

He was going to say something else when Ironhands continued, “However, we must get this audience we seek.”

Xi Yingming went “Oh” and said, “How can a runner not abide by the law and just barge in here and do what he wants?”

Ironhands smiled, “Because Xi Xiaofeng has already harmed several people. This kind of ironclad proof anyone can use to immediately step in and stop him.”

Xi Yingming’s eyes twinkled. “Oh? The imperial treasured sword of delegated authority, to act first and report later!” He sneered, “I know that the Four Great Constables under Mister Zhuge have the special capacity to act totally on their own, but might not your special authority be used to abuse your power and harm someone by mistake?”

Ironhands and Coldblooded heard the eight words “abuse your power and harm someone by mistake” and were slightly shaken. Xi Yingming said, “You two have handled countless cases this way already, acting first and reporting later, like when Fourth Master Leng killed 43 people in front of Liu Jiuru’s place in the pottery kiln district. Were any among them indiscriminately killed? Or like when Second Master Tie at Continuous Cloud Stronghold twice instigated Liu Yanping to kill Shopkeeper Ma and the other. Were there any innocents among them? Don’t tell me that all of them ought to have been killed, all of them ought to have died? When you all handle a case you witness friends muster their courage to kill the enemy, but according to the law, they don’t have the authority to kill anyone. Why do you all turn a blind eye instead of arresting them at once?”

In the “Murderer” case,4 when Coldblooded was investigating the true murderer, he was suddenly ambushed by a group of assassins. He fought for his life and pursued and apprehended the “Extermination King”, but they surrounded them and they had to defend themselves, so some of the Continuous Cloud Stronghold men assisting Chu Xiangyu were killed. To this day Ironhands couldn’t forget it.

Xi Yingming had a glib tongue, and his words cut to the quick. He once again smiled and said, “And those that my headman harmed were no more than a few people in our village and some close neighbors. Naturally they will all receive due compensation and won’t lodge a complaint against the headman, so we can dispel these matters. We’re indebted to you two for troubling to come here, we want to express our sincere gratitude, it’s jut that,” Xi Yingming smiled, “Second Master Tie and Fourth Master Leng are in all respects impartial and incorruptible and would never bend the law for personal interests. However, if you abuse your power, that would be the same as eunuchs and treacherous court officials usurping power and running roughshod, or corrupt officials taking advantage and bullying the people… However…”

Xi Yingming laughed boldly again. “You two are smart people. Smart people often make friends and seldom make enemies. Sometimes, one ought to act especially fast; other times, one ought to not look at things so clearly. Smart people like that usually live longer.”

“What you said makes sense,” Coldblooded said. “It’s just that we chose this profession. We don’t do this to live longer but to help others live longer.”

“Furthermore,” Ironhands said, smiling, “even though Second Steward said that those people Headman Xi harmed would not dare to lodge a complaint against ‘their own people’, yet even if the one he killed was his own son, we would still not be able to allow that…”

“Besides,” Ironhands said, watching Xi Yingming’s face gradually tightening face, “it appears that if he is continued to be allowed to commit all kinds of offenses, then not only will Madame Xi and Young Master Xi truly be in danger, Xi Family Village’s reputation, which has stood for hundreds of years, might just be destroyed in his hand.”

 

NOTES

Tie Youxia 鐵游夏 is Ironhands. His surname, Tie, means “iron”. Leng Lingqi 冷凌棄 is Coldblooded. His surname, Leng, means “cold”. Watery wine is just a way of speaking modestly about the wine one has to offer, saying it’s nothing special. In other words, they’re big shots so people talk shit about them. This is referring to the story “Murderer” from The Four Great Constables Meet in the Capital.

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