Episode 35

  A long corridor, a deep and serene corridor. Its top is made of fine wood, painted with colorful paintings, and carved with starry sky patterns. On both sides, one is a stone wall, with white stone as the base color, all painted with filial piety pictures, twenty-four in total. The other is a columned corridor, with pillars spaced two zhang apart, nearly thirty in number, each pillar topped with flying heavenly images, inside which are beautiful women, though naked, yet all dignified and solemn, making it difficult to harbor any licentious thoughts. But at the end of the corridor, there is no stone platform or stone chamber, only an old wooden board pavement, surrounded by four sides, four beams, eight pillars, forming a watchtower. This kind of tower is common among large households in this area, but ordinary families use earth and stone as the base, with only one pavilion on top. This old man is obviously wealthy, using thick and large wood to construct it layer by layer. The flying eaves rise up like dragon heads, its top made of eight-sided ancient wood, with green glazed tiles placed on top, each protruding corner having an iron horse, clanging in the wind. This tower is majestic and dignified, seemingly having been here for a long time, definitely not something newly built. Not having looked carefully earlier, I secretly thought to myself:

  "Alas! Their calculations are indeed so high, far surpassing the drafts of a certain family's books! What to do now?"

  He then lowered his head and remained silent.

  "Go in and search carefully, don't let a single inch of space escape!"

  Gu Zu loudly ordered. Before long, several yamen runners came out and reported back:

  "There are no dungeons, no oubliettes, no massive stone slabs. There is only a watchtower."

  "Fall back!"

  "Yes!"

  Gu's commander-in-chief gave an order, and the yamen attendants responded in unison. They then swarmed out of the courtyard. Gu's commander-in-chief said to the thousand general:

  "General, we have searched already. No suspicious place was found."

  "Which book is it? Do you still want to look for it?"

  "General, I, a certain person from a certain family... request your decision."

  Insufficient and disorganized response.

  "Sorry to trouble you, sir! Withdraw!"

  Later, all the soldiers and guards withdrew from the siege, formed a team to go back on their original route. Another three or five guards surrounded the insufficient ones who did not follow. Halfway through, the one who was walking with his head down suddenly raised his head and said resolutely:

  "General, please return to the army and investigate again, there must be something gained. If not, I am willing to accept punishment!"

  "Hmm!"

  That thousand always looked at Gu Du Tong Ling. Gu Du Tong Ling's face changed slightly, but he said calmly:

  "Please make a decision, General."

  "If this time we gain nothing, don't blame me for being ruthless with my sword!"

  Insufficient hardness of the scalp said:

  "Please give the order, General."

  "After the rear army becomes the vanguard, hurry to that mountain village, no mistakes are allowed!"

  "Got it!"

  The soldiers all shouted in unison, and the large group of people immediately turned around and rushed back towards the mountain villa.

  A journey of a thousand miles cannot be accomplished in a short time; it is too late for great regret when halfway through.

  "This gang of thieves is so powerful, their actions are as meticulous as those of high-ranking officials! They must have sentries and scouts along the way to transmit messages. Alas, now we can only rely on the speed of our troops. Otherwise..."

  Insufficient As the soldiers rushed to the entrance of the village, they led people directly into the side door. Only a few people were seen coming out of the watchtower, and several people also came running from the backyard. But they were blocked by the soldiers. Among those who came out of the tower, two men wore waist knives and saw the soldiers come again, stiffening there.

  "Halt! Don't move or you'll be shot dead! General Gu is leading a team to take you down to the tower for another search."

  "Understood, General Qian."

  Gu Du led the way, holding a knife in his hand and jumping into the air, taking several steps before landing in front of that Zhuang Ding.

  "Who are you? Why bring a deadly weapon here?"

  "The general is upstairs, and we are the guards of this manor, just coming down from the watchtower. As for this knife, it's one of our defensive weapons, not a murder weapon!"

  Although many people were amazed by the commander's excellent martial arts skills, he replied with a humble and calm tone.

  "Halt! You two! With your hands on the hilts of your swords and your fierce appearance, you must be bandits. Confess at once!"

  "General, if one's appearance could reveal whether they are a villain or not, then all the villains would have been eliminated and the world would be at peace. Why is there still so much injustice? Moreover, those who deceive the world, cause chaos, and harm the people are often refined in appearance and well-versed in poetry, books, etiquette, and music! As for us, we're just a few people who have learned some knife skills and fist techniques, trying to make a living on Old Man Zhou's estate. How can we be considered thieves?"

  "Hum! Search thoroughly! Take a few men and search that tower!"

  "Yes!"

  Those yamen runners answered in unison and rushed into the tower like a swarm of flies. Before long, they came out and said:

  "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, we have searched and everything is normal."

  The governor-general again issued several orders. Several pairs of yamen runners rushed into the villa and searched carefully for half a day, but found nothing and came to report to Governor-General Gu. The qianzong said:

  "Lord Guo, have you discovered anything?"

  "Returning to General Qian, there isn't."

  "Good! Withdraw troops! Return to barracks and report!"

  "Roger!"

  The soldiers all shouted in unison. The troops retreated from the village in an orderly manner. Not a single person dared to utter half a sentence, knowing that the enemy was well-prepared and they had no one else to rely on, so it would be disadvantageous to fight. That general had previously said that if there were no actual results, he would take responsibility for punishment, so they remained silent all along. Until the soldiers retreated halfway back to the barracks, the battalion commander did not mention the words "punishment" again! He only glanced at him with a hint of disdain when they returned. Not enough to be surprised, but later seeing him bid farewell to General Gu and leave, he also felt relieved in his heart.

  "Even if the defenders of this place do not know the enemy's secrets, they must have heard some rumors. It is likely that it is an unspoken rule for officials to prioritize self-preservation and avoid trouble. Even if the people are suffering, what does it have to do with them? That's why the general can just ignore it and leave!"

  Insufficient followed Gu Douchun to the county town. All the way, Gu Douchun did not say a word and didn't respond to Insufficient's words, but just rode his horse towards the county government office. When they arrived at the county government office, the county magistrate ascended the hall and asked questions. The various officials all reported the truth and there was no false statement. The county magistrate said:

  "That scholar, regardless of the truth or falsehood of what you said, has involved the imperial court's military in a major matter. This is no longer something that can be decided by this humble official. I can only report the facts to the imperial court and await its decree. In the meantime, I'm afraid I can only trouble you all to temporarily stay here under detention. Do you have any objections?"

  The insufficient response was seen by the county magistrate, who stood beside him and whispered to the county magistrate. The county magistrate frowned slightly but nodded repeatedly, thinking for a moment before finally not daring to reveal the whole story about the county commander. He then hung his head and said:

  "Your orders, sir!"

  Yuanshu and Jin Chan'er were both detained in the county prison.

  In the small county's great prison, there weren't many cells, but there were too many prisoners. Moreover, Commander Gu intentionally arranged for Xie to be locked in a cell with an old lunatic prisoner who was not even worthy of being called human. At first, the madman just stared foolishly at Xie, drooling from the corner of his mouth, with a runny nose and dirty face. His prison clothes were tattered and filthy, revealing his skin, and even his private parts would occasionally be exposed. Later, after living together for some time, it was discovered that despite being able to use the toilet properly, he would often forget afterwards, leaving his body smelling foul. Xie had no choice but to take out the toilet every morning and bring it back in every evening. Although he helped the old madman wash his body, within a few days, the cell smelled just as bad as before. Xie was a very clean person, but there was nothing he could do about it. In the prison cells, they were only allowed to bathe once a month, which was barely better than not bathing at all.

  Insufficient was detained in this place, but unlike the other prisoners who labored every day, he was only locked in his cell and allowed to leave for washing the toilet morning and evening. The rest of the time, he could not go out or chat with others. That girl, too, was like that, seeing insufficient every day, unable to speak with others to relieve boredom. After a long time, Insufficient could no longer bear the loneliness and often talked to himself about various things: poetry, books, rituals, music, divination... He just didn't mention anything about his cultivation or the mountain bandits. That girl would often sneak around to find Insufficient, not speaking to him, but quietly watching him with a mixture of emotions, then returning to her room to meditate and rest. Insufficient often looked at this person, feeling great pity, and sighed:

  "Prisons are truly the darkest places in the world, and they trample people like this!"

  "Have you gone through official circles?"

  "Oh no! You, you, you........"

  Insufficiently frightened, he retreated several steps, leaned against the wall, and stared at him with two eyes, as if he were a stranger, and couldn't close his mouth for a long time.