The lamps were just being lit.
Across Chang'an's hundred and eight wards, lantern light spread like a sea and the crowds flowed like a tide. Xu Buling brought Old Xiao along, rode into Daye Ward, and went looking for Zhu Manzhi.
The ward was thick with wealthy gentry; white horses and carved carriages streamed past without pause. Apart from the lack of neon lights in every color, it gave up nothing to the modern world in bustle — and in scenery it surpassed it.
Here, armed martial men were a rare sight on the streets; most folk carried fans, and the occasional scholar strolling with a sword at his side wore it purely as ornament.
Though he had seldom left the house since arriving in Chang'an, he had been to Daxing Ward any number of times — not for the banquets of the various princes and nobles, but mainly to buy wine.
The place was not far from the Imperial College. If he did not drown the Dragon-Locking Gu in his body with wine, it gnawed at him like ten thousand ants until he wanted to die. The Sun family shop in this ward was a century-old establishment, and its signature Broken Jade Fire was famous for its kick and worked best of all. Drinking it every day, in time he had genuinely come to like it, and now and then he came by himself.
Leading his horse, he turned into a flagstone alley. Wine drinkers came and went carrying jugs or with faces flushed red. Daxing Ward held mostly rich households, so there were no sloppy drunkards making spectacles of themselves.
The Sun family shop sat deep in the alley, a yellowed wine banner hanging out with the character 'Sun' on it. The shop was small: three square tables inside, and a dozen or so wine vats.
Because it was famous near and far, all three tables had customers. At the table toward the back sat a jianghu wanderer in black with a bamboo hat, a long sword laid on the table. Only a rather slender back could be seen — it looked like a woman, and a tall one.
Xu Buling glanced over and sensed the wanderer tilt her head slightly, on guard. He stopped looking, lifted the wine gourd down from his saddle, and said:
"A jug of wine."
"Right away — Sancai, pour a jug of wine… Oh, the young master has time to come himself today. A rare guest! Same as always?"
"Mm."
"Heh… the young master certainly can hold his liquor. A catty of Broken Jade Fire every day, rain or shine — half the wine this little shop brews in a year goes into your belly…"
Shopkeeper Sun was about sixty, white-haired, and looked the soul of amiability. He had brewed wine his whole life; his son had gone into officialdom and rarely came back, so most days he was alone in the shop. Because his craft was good, plenty of people came to learn from him, and he never turned them away — his one fear being that the family recipe would rot in his own hands.
The apprentice Sancai was probably new; Xu Buling had never seen him before. He looked honest and simple, and he opened the vat and filled a jug with great care, then handed it over respectfully.
Xu Buling smiled slightly, took a silver ingot from his sleeve, tossed it to Sancai, and led his horse out of the shop. He had not gone far when voices came from behind:
"Boss, he gave too much."
"That young master's always like this. If he gives you extra, keep it. Save it up properly, and don't go gambling again — your wife's already run off and you're still at it. One day you'll lose everything and have to pay with your life…"
"I know my limits…"
Xu Buling's brows drew together slightly. He paused, thought it over, and in the end led his horse out of the alley…
Inside the Sun family shop, Sancai's eyes lit up. He bit the silver to test it, then carefully tucked it into his coat.
Shopkeeper Sun carried peanuts and cold dishes over to the three tables, still muttering away, trading a word or two with the drinkers now and then.
All sorts drank here. Word had it that even the present Son of Heaven had come in disguise — unconfirmed, and taken as a charming bit of lore.
The wanderer with her back to the alley now raised her bamboo hat slightly, revealing thin lips and a chin: skin finer than winter snow, red lips like vermilion lacquer. Half a face was enough to make a man feel the devastating beauty of her. Her pale hand rose to take the wine bowl, and her voice came cool and clear:
"Shopkeeper, who was that just now?"
Shopkeeper Sun had run a wine shop his whole life and had seen his share of peerless beauties. He set the peanuts on the table and chuckled:
"Can't say. Must be some family's young master from the city. That fox cloak of his isn't cheap — rich or noble, that one. And handsome, truly. If you ask this old man, he's not a hair less good-looking than you, miss…"
The woman curved her lips. "His color looks hollow — I'd say wine and women have drained him dry…"
Shopkeeper Sun blinked, thought it over, and shook his head. "That young master isn't hollow at all. He's not like those painted young lords who live for pleasure. A decent sort, too…"
"Heh…"
The woman did not answer, only went on eating by herself…
On the other side, in a tavern on the small street, the banner had gone yellow. Noise spilled out of it, along with the rattle of dice; a crowd of slovenly men were gathered inside around a brazier.
Constable Zhu Manzhi hugged a wine bowl a hair bigger than her own face, brows knitted, looking worried.
After her parents disappeared, she had joined the yamen as a constable and worked from dark to dark for a long time before she was finally transferred to Chang'an and made a Wolf Guard. She had thought she might get into the Records Vault and see what had happened that year — only to find she was nowhere near qualified.
Only by catching thieves and earning merit could she be promoted. She wanted to catch them, but Chang'an was peaceful, its doors left open at night; even in the most chaotic ward, Yongning, you might not run into more than a few petty thieves in a day, and those had to be split with two teammates. The road stretched so far ahead that she felt her future was one long dark.
At the table, a towering man built like an iron pagoda, one foot up on a stool, sitting with swagger, tried to comfort her:
"Manzhi, don't fret. It takes ten years of grinding to get into the Heaven Camp normally. I know you want to find your parents' whereabouts — Liu Hou'er and I will just let you have a few more of our merits."
Skinny, tall Liu Hou'er downed a mouthful of cloudy wine and smacked his lips. "That's right. Last time, with the big Fuman Tavern salt-smuggling case, the Imperial Guard and our commander took most of the credit, but you still had a major merit recorded. Two more of those and you'll shoot straight up into the Heaven Camp. What's the hurry…"
Zhu Manzhi sipped her yellow wine and snorted. "Who gets luck like that? Last time, if I hadn't happened to run into Heir Xu, I could have known about the case and still never solved it."
"True enough…"
As he spoke, Liu Hou'er glanced out at the street. His eyes suddenly fixed, and he reached over and patted the iron-pagoda man beside him. "Wang Dazhuang, look — there's an idiot."
Zhu Manzhi and Wang Dazhuang looked out the window. On the street an old man on a cane was hobbling along, his eyes dim and vacant, now and then pounding a fist against his aching back.
Zhu Manzhi knew the old man. He often told stories at a tea shed on the back street. Today he had a coin purse hanging at his waist, bulging enough to show the shape of the silver inside; a glance suggested several dozen taels at least.
Zhu Manzhi stared. "This old fellow carries that much money out in the open? He's asking to be robbed…"
Her eyes swept the street. Sure enough, a few shifty-eyed men were drifting toward the old man — and the old man, damn his luck, walked straight into the alley beside them.
"Hey—"
Face tight with alarm, Zhu Manzhi snatched up her goose-quill saber, leapt out the window, and landed cleanly on the ground. Her two companions followed on her heels.
She dashed into the alley. A few yards in, beside a straw heap piled with odds and ends, she saw a sight that made her blood boil.
Three masked thugs stood in a ring, short blades in hand.
The old man was backed against the corner of the wall, his cane in his right hand, waving it feebly to drive them off, the coin purse clutched in his left, tears streaming down his face, grief and fury all over it:
"Help! Somebody!"
"You old bastard, if we don't teach you a lesson, you'll think my blade's a toy…"
"Stop right there!"
Zhu Manzhi flew into a rage. Her goose-quill saber rang out of its sheath, and her slight body came at them like a hunting leopard — in an instant she had closed two zhang and was on the three robbers. The saber chopped down hard at one man's arm, but the robber wore an iron bracer, and sparks flew.
Clang—
The three robbers reacted fast. The man beside the struck robber struck back at once, a pair of hardened fists slamming at Zhu Manzhi.
Caught off guard, she threw up her arm to block, and the blow sent her flying sideways into the alley wall. The last robber, short blade in hand, was already at the wall and thrust.
When martial men trade blows, the outcome is settled in the blink of an eye.
Wang Dazhuang and Liu Hou'er went white. Apart from a shout of "You thieving dogs dare!" there was nothing they could do.
And then.
A cold wind surged through the quiet alley. Three soft slaps — pap, pap, pap — and a white shape dropped out of the sky, landing behind Zhu Manzhi: sword in the right hand, left hand braced against her back to stop her from being knocked backward.
Zhu Manzhi had taken two punches and grunted; only once she landed did she catch her breath. Saber in hand, eyes wide with terror, she saw the three robbers swaying, as though they had taken heavy blows to the head.
Clatter—
The short blades fell. The three robbers toppled to the ground one after another.
Zhu Manzhi stood frozen, both hands still holding her saber, staring at the three men on the ground. It was a long while before it sank in.
She turned, startled, and saw a young gentleman in white standing beside her, a hint of a smile on his face. He said softly:
"Careful, miss."
His voice was rich and magnetic, his looks extraordinary, those peach-blossom eyes carrying a charm that could hook a soul and carry it off.
Zhu Manzhi stood rooted to the spot, staring like a fool. After a moment, her face slowly went red…
Snow drifted down over the quiet alley. The two Wolf Guards bound the three robbers.
At the mouth of the alley, Zhu Manzhi soothed a trembling old man, told him to hide his silver well, and only then let him go. She walked back down the alley with her saber. Looking up, she saw Heir Xu in his white robe, wine gourd in hand, standing where he was, back straight as a statue, not moving an inch.
She knew exactly how dangerous that had been. If Heir Xu had not stepped in, she would be dead or crippled.
Zhu Manzhi hesitated, then walked over to greet him — but Xu Buling raised a hand first:
"It was nothing. Out on the street, just call me Young Master Xu."
Zhu Manzhi glanced back at the two Wolf Guards and did not give away Xu Buling's identity. She fell in beside him as they walked out of the alley:
"Thank you, Young Master Xu."
Xu Buling sipped his wine and looked her over. "So young, and instead of staying indoors doing your embroidery, you're out here playing at men's fighting and killing. I've run into you twice now, and both times you were getting beaten. Be more careful from now on."
Zhu Manzhi gave a sheepish little laugh, tucked a strand of hair back from her ear, and stole a few glances up at him:
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master Xu… What brings you here?"
Xu Buling smiled faintly. "There's a Go match at the Dragon's Roar Pavilion — I was going to watch. Happened to pass by… What's your name? You don't look old enough to be a constable in the capital."
"My name is Zhu Manzhi — it means osmanthus blossoms filling every branch."
Zhu Manzhi walked along a step behind him, a trace of loss in her eyes. "My father gave me the name. When I was small, we had ever so many osmanthus trees at home; my mother loved them…"
Zhu Manzhi walked along a step behind him, a trace of loss in her eyes. "…The year before last, on the day I turned fourteen, my parents simply vanished. We reported it to the authorities and no one could find them, so I went to the county yamen and became a constable, and I've been searching ever since…"
"…Later I heard the Investigation Bureau in the capital knows everything, so I came running. Turns out only Wolf Guards of the Heaven Camp can get into the Records Vault to look at anything…"
"You became a constable to find your parents?"
"That's right." Zhu Manzhi had her saber slung behind her and her head down, kicking a pebble along the ground. "My father must have been a jianghu man. He left me silver — he definitely dumped me and ran off on purpose. The Investigation Bureau knows everything, so they'll definitely find where he went."
Xu Buling was silent a moment, then smiled. "You want to get into the Heaven Camp Wolf Guard?"
Zhu Manzhi nodded quickly, then sighed. "You have to catch a hundred petty thieves before you're even considered for promotion. Without the merits, ten years won't get me in."
"I'll help you."
Zhu Manzhi stopped short and looked at Xu Buling, puzzled. "Why?"
Xu Buling smiled faintly. "Nothing better to do, and you looked pitiful. If you don't want the help, forget it." He walked on toward the ward gate.
"Hey—"
Zhu Manzhi hurried after him at a little run. "Young Master Xu, someone as capable as you could surely help. One word from you would be enough."
Xu Buling shook his head. "The Investigation Bureau watches every prince and noble in the realm. I can't put in a word there. But I can help with the legwork — I've nothing else to do anyway. Tomorrow, go to the Investigation Bureau and take on a few cases, then be at the ward gate at the third quarter of the chen hour. If you're late, I won't wait."
"No problem."
Zhu Manzhi's eyes lit with delight. She watched Xu Buling go and stood there waving cheerfully…