Chapter 42: Scheming to Kill the Lustful Bandit (Part 1)

  He hurried back to the government office and asked to see Wen Yuan outside.

  "Sir, I found a suspicious outsider in town today."

  Wen Yu Wai asked in surprise: "Brother Wu has just arrived at Shuangping Town for a few days, how can you tell who is an outsider?"

  "That person arrived in town and put up at an inn, probably not a local?"

  The secretary's face slightly sank, "Where did Wu Daxia discover this person?"

  Xiao Ziyang saw the discontent on Wen Yuan's face and smiled, saying: "This person has been circling around the Wen Mansion since he arrived in town, seemingly asking about commodity prices, but actually his eyes are constantly observing the Wen Mansion, his behavior is very suspicious."

  The clerk's face slightly improved after listening outside, "What does this person look like and where did he settle down?"

  "This man is dressed as a merchant, white and chubby, and was at the Double Peace Building Hotel this morning."

  The clerk glared at Xiao Ziyang with a bad temper, "Most of the grain shops in Ping Town are opened near the Wen Mansion. Those merchants who come to our Ping Town naturally do grain business. He doesn't move around the Wen Mansion, where does he go? The high walls and courtyards of the Wen Mansion are placed here, what's suspicious about others taking a look?"

  Xiao Ziyang said helplessly: "It's always better to be careful, so please ask Mr. Wen to add more patrols around the young lady's courtyard."

  The clerk thought for a moment, "It's better to be careful, I don't know what Wu Da Xia plans to do next."

  "I'll also go to the garden tonight and keep watch."

  The servant gave Xiao Ziyang a "you should have done this earlier" look and said, "Then Wu Da Xia will have to work hard. Tonight, you'll be guarding Miss's courtyard with the head of the guards."

  "I'm not planning to go with Wudou, I plan to hide in the woods between Miss's courtyard and the outer wall. I'm quite skilled at using hidden weapons. If that thief comes tonight, he'll probably pass by there. I'll be hiding in the dark, using my hidden weapons to surprise him."

  The secretary thought for a moment and seemed to be worried that no one would follow, Xiao Ziyang would slack off, but still agreed to Xiao Ziyang's request: "Okay, you arrange it yourself."

  As night fell, Xiao Ziyang wrapped himself in a black cloak with green stripes and shrank into the branches of a large tree about 7 or 8 zhang away from the surrounding wall.

  This branch is the densest part of the tree crown, and it is extremely difficult to see the interior obscured by the dense branches and leaves from the outside. However, looking from the inside out, under the starlight, the nearly seven or eight zhang wide open space from the wall to the tree crown can be seen at a glance.

  Xiao Ziyang crouched and waited for a whole night, but didn't see even a ghostly shadow.

  This was not beyond his expectation. He stayed there last night, on the one hand for Wen's sake, and on the other hand to be prepared for any eventuality.

  The next morning, Xiao Ziyang returned to the guest room and called Wen Jin, who was reluctant to go and ask if there were any unusual cases of servants not returning overnight.

  It wasn't long before Wen Jin returned to tell Xiao Ziyang that indeed, a servant in charge of purchasing had gone out yesterday afternoon and hadn't come back. He asked anxiously, "Wu Daxia, has the Red Guest arrived and taken him away?"

  Xiao Ziyang comforted him: "Don't worry, it's not necessarily that he was kidnapped. Maybe his family had an emergency and he went home, who knows."

  "That person is also a member of the Wen family, and should return to the Wen Manor. Don't worry, how can I not worry? My sister is Miss's personal maid, and Miss treats us siblings like her own brother and sister. She absolutely cannot come to any harm. No, I must go report to Master." With that, he rushed out of the room.

  Xiao Ziyang shook his head, but did not stop him. Although Wen Fu's actions might be too big and alert the enemy, Xiao Ziyang was neither an official nor owed anyone in the Wen family a favor. He was only here racking his brains because he didn't want to be condemned by his conscience; if things succeeded, it would be the Wen family's good fortune, but if they failed, Xiao Ziyang wouldn't need to continue wasting his time here either.

  Before long, Wen Jin rushed in from outside the door, panting and shouting: "The old master has summoned you."

  Xiao Ziyang glanced at him faintly, "Wen Jin, you'd better pretend to be as usual. If the matter is exposed and everyone knows about it, Red Silk Guest will notice the flaw, and my recent efforts will be in vain."

  Wen Jin was startled and hastily replied, "I know."

  "Just stay in the house and don't go out." He said, turning around and walking out of the door.

  Xiao Ziyang arrived at the main hall, where Wen Yuan was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot skillet. Seeing Xiao Ziyang enter, he rushed over and grabbed his hand "Is it really the Red Thread Guest? What's to be done?"

  Xiao Ziyang withdrew his hand and said, "Eight out of ten it's him. Have you told anyone else about this?"

  "Not yet, right, hurry up and call Wu Du Tou over, tell him to bring people to be on high alert."

  "Slow! If the news spreads in Fuzhong, it's inevitable that people will be alarmed and the Red Guest will definitely notice. He'll disappear again and wait for an opportunity to strike. When he comes back next time, he'll be even more secretive. By then, I won't be able to help you."

  The secretary grabbed Xiao Ziyang's hand again, like grasping a lifeline: "What to do then? Ah! Didn't you already find his trail? You should immediately lead people to catch him, if not, just drive him away!"

  "Not bad, I know where that person is now, but Master Wen overestimates me. Red Thread Guest has been wreaking havoc in Xiliang for nearly ten years, and many people have wanted his life, yet he remains at large; can this be just luck? It's not that I'm boasting, but if we were to face off directly, it would be a feat for me to keep my own life intact, let alone capture him. Moreover, given Red Thread Guest's cautious nature, once I point him out, he will surely flee without putting up a fight; according to my estimate, he is extremely skilled in disguise and deception, and he will definitely return after changing his appearance; by then, I won't have the good fortune of discovering his trail again."

  "So what should we do?" The clerk's hands were trembling slightly.

  "You have Miss secretly change her residence, and then find someone to pretend to be Miss, while I still lie in wait on the road where Red Silk Guest is most likely to walk. By the way, it's best to find a good hand at empty-handed combat to pretend to be Miss, and when he thinks he's about to succeed, his mind will be excited and suddenly rise up, maybe can kill him. This time it's best to leave him; this person is a madman, as long as the woman he stares at doesn't get her hands off, she won't give up; I heard that he stared at an official's daughter for three years, when that family thought they were safe and relaxed their vigilance, he suddenly took action again!"

  The secretary's hands shook even more fiercely: "What if we can't kill him this time? This man has been pursued by so many people and yet remains unscathed; will this time be an exception?"

  "I can only say that I'll do my best. I suggest you immediately send someone to the gate to hire a real expert with a large sum of money to come and sit in your house, just in case we fail this time, it will keep you safe for the time being, then think of a way to secretly send your daughter to another place to hide."

  "Alright, I'll do as you say. Your salary will be increased to three hundred taels per month, and from now on, you can stay here. Even if it means bankrupting my family, I must ensure my daughter's safety."