Chapter 39: Han's Night Visit

  The moon is bright and the stars are sparse; the autumn sky is high and the air is refreshing.

  Zu Zhao's door was suddenly knocked urgently, the "thud thud thud" sound was very harsh. There were flickering shadows outside the door and distant voices could be heard. Inside, Zu Zhao jumped up, quickly recovering from his drowsy sleep, and rushed to the small hall without even putting on clothes, asking a question towards the outside of the door.

  A voice came from outside the door: "Young master, a rustic man has come to the back door, making a disturbance and wanting to see you."

  Zu Zhao opened the door crack and asked in confusion: "Wild boy? What time is it now, at this hour?"

  He took a glance at the sky outside the house, it was deep in the night when the moon was high up.

  I shook my head helplessly and said, "That wild man must be crazy, but the person in charge of the horse farm seems to know this wild man, so let me invite the young master over."

  Zu Zhao slightly furrowed his brow and seemed to be muttering to himself: "Recognize?"

  He didn't think much of it and let his servant wait for a moment while he went to change into another suit.

  Out of the residence, Zu Zhao followed the servant to the front of the backyard. Along the way, other courtyards were quiet, especially where his grandfather and several elders lived, which was still shrouded in darkness. It wasn't until they passed the moon gate at the back of the courtyard that many young men on night watch could be seen, most holding torches, coming and going.

  The back door was not open, only a small side door was ajar. Near the side door, there were seven or eight young men gathered together on a porch, seemingly discussing something. Someone saw Zu Chao walking over and hurriedly ran to inform the others. The seven or eight young men immediately dispersed, and behind them, another figure was sitting on the railing of the porch. Not only that, but also not far behind this person, on the other side of the railing, there was a sack. The sack occasionally moved, emitting muffled sounds, it was clear that there was a living creature inside.

  Zu Zhao walked over, and the disciples hastily greeted him. He quickly made out the figure sitting on the railing, and was taken aback - it was none other than Han Dang.

  "Big Brother Han? So late, how did you come!"

  "I'm really sorry, I came uninvited and at a bad time, I hope I didn't disturb Master Zong." Han Dang stood up, although his words were apologetic, but his face and tone were very pleasant.

  "Whether to disturb or not, this is too much. Brother Han coming so late at night must have something important, that sack inside..." Zu Zhao didn't beat around the bush, he knew that when dealing with Han Dang, one shouldn't be coy, so he got straight to the point and asked, pointing at the sack still shaking behind the fence.

  Han smiled and didn't say much, he jumped over the fence and came to the sack, easily picking it up. The sack struggled more violently in mid-air, and the voice inside became clearer.

  The people around were all staring at the sack, guessing what was inside.

  Just then, some young men rushed into the corridor of the front yard, who were Zu Ji, Zu Zhan and several young uncles.

  Han Dang carried the sack and took another big step over the fence, then slammed the sack heavily to the ground in front of everyone. The sack immediately let out a muffled cry, which soon fell silent. Han Dang squatted down, untied the rope at the mouth of the sack, lifted it up, and suddenly revealed a short figure.

  Zu Zhao and the crowd rushed forward, borrowing the firelight to take a look. The person in the sack was already bleeding profusely from the head, and after being thrown by Han Dang earlier, he was now even more unconscious. His face was covered in blood, blurry and unrecognizable, and indeed, it was impossible to tell who this person was. But based on their usual interactions, this person should not be someone they knew.

  "Brother Han, who is this... what kind of person?" Zujun, who had just arrived, asked with a puzzled and slightly worried expression. Looking at the half-dead person wrapped in a sack by Han, and considering it was the middle of the night, anyone would feel tense.

  "This man's name is Wang Zheng, and he has always been on good terms with Deng Mao. He heard that something happened at the Zhuang family's ancestral hall, which was related to Deng Mao. Han Mou had no choice but to make a special trip back to Lingzhi yesterday to find Wang Zheng and ask him about Deng Mao's whereabouts."

  Although everyone knows what happens next, anyone who has heard this far cannot help but change color.

  Even if Wang Zhengping was on good terms with Deng Mao every day, it cannot be concluded that he is related to the horse robbery case. If people are caught like this, doesn't it show that the kidnapping of Ma is blatant?

  Even Zuxiao himself felt very surprised, in his view, Handang would not be so impulsive and reckless.

  "I only intended to ask him two questions, and if I could find out about Deng Mao's whereabouts, that would be even better. But I didn't expect this Wang Zheng to be so guilty and dare to make a sneak attack on me. As soon as he made his move, I knew he must be related to the matter, and immediately caught him for interrogation. This thief confessed everything." Han Dang's tone became increasingly serious.

  "What? Is this man really connected with the case of the stolen horse?" an elder asked loudly.

  "Not bad. This thief has already confessed, if you have any doubts, you can investigate him." Han Dang nodded and said.

  "Brother Han, why didn't you take this thief to the government office?" asked Zu Ji in puzzlement.

  Han's face changed slightly, he dryly laughed twice, and didn't answer.

  Zu Zhaolong pulled at the hem of Zu Ji's sleeve, signaling him not to ask inappropriate questions. He naturally understood Han Dang's intentions, whether it was because he had learned that his family had been helped by Hong Shu and felt grateful, or simply because he wanted to help out of a sense of brotherhood. These were all matters between Han Dang and the Zu family, with no relation to the authorities. To take a step back, Han Dang was currently being pursued by the county government, how could he possibly turn himself in?

  "Brother Han has really helped us out this time. Why don't we go inside and sit for a while? The weather is so cold, let's have a cup of hot tea to warm up. As for that scoundrel Wang Zheng, since he's unconscious, let's take him to the woodshed first and interrogate him later." Zu Zhao spoke with the demeanor of a noble young master, filled with gratitude and enthusiasm towards Han Dang.

  "So, Han didn't decline and readily agreed."

  "Aji, take some men and drag this fellow to the horse fodder house. Keep a close eye on him." Zu Zhao ordered.

  "Yes, young master, don't worry." Zu Ji hastily replied.

  Then, Zu Zhao and Zu Zhan led Han Dang to a side hall in the Zhongtang Hall with several elders and ordered the servants to prepare tea.

  After drinking a few sips of hot tea, Zu Zhao finally spoke up and asked: "Brother Han, where did you hear about Deng Mao's matter?"

  Nowadays, the horse theft case is spreading in the county, and with the continuous commotion in Zujia Village for several days, it's easy for Han Dang to get wind of this. However, regarding Deng Mao's clue, in order not to alert the enemy, it has been handled in a low-key manner all along, and even no formal report has been made to the county government, so how did Han Dang know about it?

  Han put down his teacup and let out a comfortable sigh. He said without hiding anything, "To be honest, since I heard that something happened at the Zong Gongzi's house, I secretly returned to Linzhi to investigate the details of the matter. It was just the night before last that I coincidentally met the Abao brothers from your esteemed household in Xili Town, and it was because of the Abao brothers' revelation that I was able to learn about this matter."

  Abao was one of the ancestral disciples who participated in the Xihe Bridge exercise, although he didn't persist every day, but intermittently participated, so he got to know Handan.

  Zu Zhao nodded slowly and said with emotion: "Brother Han actually returned specially for this matter, taking a great risk to come back to Ling Zhuang. Such righteousness is as boundless as the sky, leaving me endlessly grateful." He could see that when Han Dang had secretly returned to his hometown to help investigate the horse theft case in Zu Family Village, he hadn't taken the opportunity to return home, truly having the style of "Great Yu controlling the waters and passing by his home without entering".

  Han said with a straight face, "Sir, to say such things is too distant. Firstly, this matter was originally about ridding evil and bringing peace, secondly, I, Han, admire you as a person, both emotionally and logically, it's only right that I should help."

  Everyone who heard Han Dang's words was deeply moved.

  Zu Zhao smiled and said: "Alright, I'll take Brother Han's words to heart from now on."

  At this time, Zu Zhan's mind was dense and he didn't forget to turn the topic back to serious matters. He kept his courtesy and asked: "Hàn Yìshì, what is the connection between Wáng Zhèng and Dèng Mào? Just now I heard Hàn Yìshì say that Wáng Zhèng and Dèng Mào are both closely related to the horse robbery case. Is there another mystery behind the horse robbery case?"

  This remark is probably the most concerning thing for the ancestors' family in the past few days, and it's likely that even the county governments of both places are also concerned.

  Han calmly said: "Yesterday evening, Han Mou heard about Wang Zheng's whereabouts from several local acquaintances, and soon found Wang Zheng in a market outside the county town. I just wanted to ask him about Deng Mao's whereabouts, but before I could ask three or two sentences, this guy took advantage of my unpreparedness and pulled out a hidden dagger to harm me. This kind of despicable trick is not something I take seriously. After subduing the thief, I interrogated him further. At first, Wang Zheng was stubborn, but in the end, he couldn't withstand the beating."