Chapter 1: The Young X Captures the Thief

  "After the rain, the sun shines through the thin smoke of the golden threads. The tender clouds support the new sunshine, and the old green searches for the fragrance of the grass. The secluded path is still small with orchid buds. It's strange that this year spring has returned too early. In the willow pond and flower garden, ten thousand red lotus flowers have bloomed overnight. Plum blossoms are falling from the sky, and I'm reluctant to let the gentle east wind blow them away. The fragrance of the powder surrounds the poet, driving away the cold of spring. Music and songs fill the air at dawn. Guests gather for a feast, laughing together in harmony. As I return home drunk, the moon passes over the jade tower, and the constellations stretch across the island."

  This poem describes the beautiful scene of plum blossoms in full bloom in front of the hall, but in the backyard of the old and dilapidated county government office in Dongling, there are also a few branches of plum blossoms, which have already bloomed and withered, leaving no beauty. Under the withered branches, a group of yamen runners sat together, surrounded by a man in his forties who was telling a story, holding a teapot in one hand and stepping on a long stool with one leg, speaking fluently and spitting white foam as he told the popular story "Jianghu Enchou Lu" that had been circulating in the tea house recently. The old man's eloquence was not bad, and he told the story vividly, bringing it to life. The expressions on the faces of the yamen runners changed with the plot of the story, and when he reached the exciting part, they all cheered together, causing the already sparse tiles on the roof of the old county government office to loosen further.

  "When the leader falls, the rivers and lakes are in chaos..."

  "Then, heroes emerged in large numbers and contended for dominance..."

  ……………

  …………

  Dongling, one of the countless lower counties in the Great Tang Empire, was originally the location of the Eastern Mausoleum of a previous dynasty. A garrison was stationed here to guard it, but after the fall of that dynasty and the subsequent chaos, the Eastern Mausoleum gradually became a burial ground for the disorderly dead. The original garrison escaped the disaster and settled down in this place, multiplying and thriving until they formed a small town over a hundred years later. Another hundred-odd years passed, and with the establishment of a new dynasty, the government recruited refugees and set up a county here, naming it Dongling County after the old Eastern Mausoleum. Now, more than 800 years have passed since the founding of the Great Tang Empire, and it is an era of peace and prosperity. In a lower county like Dongling, the yamen's runners and constables have hardly anything to do, usually just handling trivial matters such as a household losing a chicken or another household's dog getting loose, plus occasionally going to market at fixed times to strike the bamboo clappers of merchants and collect some "oil and water" (bribes). In this kind of place, even if a cow is lost, it would be considered a major case. Therefore, these runners and constables all feel that their workload is not heavy, and even when they are on duty, they can still take it easy. They have simply become lazy and slack from habit.

  The old constable only saw that one sentence was finished, and heard the surrounding applause, also quite pleased, a pot of tea poured down his throat, moistening his throat.

  "Alright, that's all for now. The new joke from Biehe Tower ends here this morning, and there is no more below!!"

  "Qin Tou'er, who's lost their bottom!!" One of the bailiffs, a slick and oily-looking fellow, seemed to have struck gold as he loudly shouted out.

  "Who else has lost their bottom apart from you?" Qin Tou'er chuckled and pointed at the guy, "Hu Gouzi, it seems like it's your turn today, hurry up and roll out! If Officer Ban finds out that you're slacking off here again, who knows how many kicks you'll get!!"

  The crowd of officials burst out laughing again.

  That naughty dog also smiled awkwardly and ran out with a water fire extinguisher.

  "Right, where's Junzi? Still practicing in the back!!"

  "Yes, every day at noon, he must be practicing qigong in the backyard, I don't know where his interest comes from!!" A yamen runner laughed and said, "If Tie Tou had half of his diligence, he probably wouldn't have lost so much face!"

  "You little rascal, your skin is itching again, isn't it!" Qin Tou'er's face turned stern, and he scolded, "If Iron Head wasn't thinking of his brothers, how could he have gotten hurt? I'm telling you, now that Junzi has entered this yamen, you all need to take better care of him from now on. Think about it, which one of you hasn't received Iron Head's kindness?"

  "Yes, yes, yes, it's settled!" The bailiffs all nodded in agreement and dispersed with a murmur.

  Qin shook his head, put down the teapot, and turned into the inner courtyard.

  Dongling is a lower county, and its financial income is not affluent. Therefore, the county government office is not large, and it has been neglected for many years. Except for the inner house where the county magistrate's family lives, all other places are in disrepair. The dormitories where the yamen (government officials) usually rest are also old and dilapidated, but no one pays attention to this. Anyway, they only live here twice a month.

  The room was not small, with a large kang bed, the roof had several holes, the largest one was as big as a bowl mouth, and the smallest one was as big as a finger tip. At noon, sunlight passed through the roof, forming beam after beam of light pillars. A 16 or 17-year-old boy sat cross-legged on a gray-black bed, practicing qigong.

  All he saw was that with each inhalation and exhalation, there was a deep, fine, long, and continuous breathing technique. Every time he inhaled, he drew in the surrounding air into his abdomen, and then exhaled, leaving behind a thread of invisible vital energy within his body. This energy flowed through several meridians, circulating around his body before finally returning to his lower abdomen, forming a small whirlpool of energy. The young man couldn't see this whirlpool, but he could distinctly feel it.

  "It's Qi, this is Qi, there really is Qi, there really is internal Qi!!"

  Every time, according to the method taught by his father, he could feel the air vortex in his dantian turning into a warm air that spread throughout his body. With this airflow, his strength would be more than double what it was when he wasn't circulating his Qi. This was the power of internal energy. Although he was still very weak and the small flow of air was not yet proficient enough to be used at will, it truly existed, which made him eager to practice.

  His name is Tie Jun, 16 years old this year, the only son of Tie Dan, the former head catcher of Dongling County. Because Tie Dan was seriously injured in an operation three months ago and had to retire from the county government, he took over his father's position and became a member of the Dongling County government who eats dry rations. Of course, he is too young to be the head catcher like his old man, so he can only start as a small catcher.

  "How's it going, Junzi? Still getting used to things these past two days?"

  Laoqintou stepped into the back courtyard when Tie Jian had just finished practicing his qigong and opened his eyes, seeing him come in, a faint smile flashed across his face, "It's good, everyone has been taking care of me!"

  "Of course, we've watched you grow up, and now that you're eating this bowl of rice, we won't let you lose out!" Qin Tou'er said with a smile, sitting down beside Tie Jian. "You little scamp, in the past you were always so lazy, your father would beat you but you still wouldn't work hard, what made you suddenly come around?"

  "It's not that I'm reckless, but there's a lesson to be learned from my father's past experiences. Since I've taken this path, I must take risks. If I don't master my skills, who knows what kind of ending I'll have? It might even be worse than my father's!"

  "Hahaha, if your dad heard you say that, who knows, your butt might be blooming flowers tonight!" Qin Tou'er burst out laughing. This iron gall guy was able to become the captain because of his excellent martial arts skills, but unfortunately, he met a master. Fortunately, his injuries had stabilized and he wouldn't have to worry about his life anymore. However, the kung fu he had practiced for decades had dissipated by more than half, so he could only let his son take his place, which was also helpless. Now, hearing Tie Jian's words that were half sarcastic and half self-deprecating, Qin Tou'er couldn't help but laugh.

  "Oh no, oh no, Qin Tou'er, Qin Tou'er, something's wrong!"

  Just as Lao Qin was about to utter a few words, a shout of surprise came from outside the door. A catcher burst through the gate and rushed in.

  "What's wrong, don't panic, speak slowly!"

  Lao Qin supported the rushing catcher with one hand and asked in a low voice, "Have a drink of water first!"

  "No, no, no more drinking, Qin Tou'er, Lu, something's happened at Old Master Lu's house, the boss wants you to take people and go there immediately!"

  Something has happened at Mr. Lu's home.

  Lao Qin's expression changed, Dongling County only had one Lu Boss, who was the largest grain merchant in the county, Lu Hecheng. He was one of the top two rich households in the county and had a very unusual background. He also had a good relationship with the county magistrate, and he wasn't an ordinary person.

  "What's going on at Mr. Lu's house?" Qin asked in a low voice.

  But this little catcher had never been to Mr. Lu's house, he was only sent by the catcher head to report the message, and didn't know the specific situation, just said "I just heard that someone seemed to have died!"

  "He's dead!" Old Qin furrowed his brow, "Alright, got it, Junzi, come with me to take a look. Dali, you rest for half an hour, if no one has returned by then, it's really big trouble! You go directly to Mr. Lu's house!"

  After finishing, he took the iron token and strode out of the county government office. As he passed by the front gate, he called up a few more captors who were still inside, totaling seven or eight people, and rushed straight to the Lu Mansion.

  ※※※

  The Lu Mansion has indeed encountered a major event.

  When several people arrived, the gate of Lu's mansion had already hung white lanterns, and inside was a burst of wailing sounds. Qin Tou'er led his men into the Lu Mansion and rushed straight to the inner hall, where they saw a shocking scene.

  Lu Boss lay straight on the ground, his face shrouded in a dark greenish-black color, already dead. But that's not all, a large pool of blood had soaked through his body, and following the direction of the blood flow, only to see a 17 or 18-year-old young woman hiding under the bed, her belly cut open with a sharp object, the blood on her body flowing out along the bed.

  "Ugh..."

  Iron Gong had never seen such a scene before. As soon as he entered the house, he saw this terrifying sight and was hit by the bloody smell, his stomach suddenly churned up. He turned his head and rushed out of the door, holding onto the corridor railing to vomit violently.

  The person who vomited was not just him, several young catchers like him also vomited. In a quiet and remote county like Dongling County, it's rare to encounter such a bloody case in years.

  A group of inexperienced young catchers were vomiting outside, while several experienced catchers and the catcher head were carefully investigating inside. After about half an hour, Dongling County Catcher Head Lei Dong led Old Qin and others out from the inner room, "Junzi, you all go back first, take a good rest, after today, there will be plenty of work to do!"

  Lei Dong is the newly appointed captain after his father's serious injury, in his 30s, in his prime, and was a trusted subordinate of Tie Dan. After Tie Dan retired, he also relied on Tie Dan's influence to become the captain, so he has always been grateful to Tie Dan and naturally favors Tie Jian, taking good care of him.