Chapter Twenty: Steward of the Duty Hall, an Unexpected Delight (Seeking Support and Votes)

The time had slipped into the latter half of the night.

When darkness hung heaviest and sinister spirits roamed most freely, an empty courtyard was suddenly visited by two unexpected guests—one old, one young.

"How strange!" said the youth, whose lively gaze belied the murderous intent in his words. "Earlier, I used the Six-Yao Golden Coin Divination and tracked those fishermen-turned-tycoons to this very spot. But now, not a soul remains. Since the great families have already made their move against Moon Harbor, coming out just to kill a single Water Bureau envoy and a handful of tax clerks hardly satisfies me."

He tore through the courtyard, leaving no stone unturned. Even the freshly buried earth, placed there by Wang Cheng, was dug up again, yet no trace could be found.

The white-haired elder, who had stood aside all this time, his eyes briefly flashing golden, coughed twice and called to his disciple, "No need to search. We've crossed paths with a 'colleague'—those fisherman bosses all died before midnight last night."

The old man wore plain blue cloth and black shoes. His skin was waxy and sickly, his arms gnarled like old branches, yet his eyes shone with an uncanny brilliance, glimmering faintly like colored glass. He was exceptionally tall and carried an innate, majestic presence; standing there, he exuded authority. This inner charisma eclipsed his outward frailty—no one who saw him would mistake him for a feeble elder. Yet after speaking, he was seized by a fit of coughs, revealing an underlying chronic illness.

"Master, are you alright?" The youth hurried to his side, patting his back, but his mind was still troubled. "You are the Direct Supervisor of our Water Gathering branch, with authority to discipline the thirty-six offices and official lineages. Whether they're government officials or not, anyone from the water guild who breaks the rules can be punished by you without fear of backlash from their official aura. In Moon Harbor, the name of Old Shen is universally known. Yesterday, the Water Bureau stormed in, and even Commander Huang Yuanzhou of the Five Peaks Banner hesitated to confront them directly. He had to ask you to deal with these traitors who broke the law and custom. Moon Harbor is your jurisdiction; the other Direct Supervisors of the Water Gathering branch shouldn't break protocol and show off here, should they?"

Old Shen waved his hand dismissively. "It's not another Direct Supervisor. The one who acted was likely just an ordinary official—perhaps not even that. Zheng Qian, you still have much to learn about discerning objects."

The youth, Zheng Qian, trusted his master implicitly, and praised him, thumbs up: "Master, you truly have divine insight! Whoever it was cleaned the spiritual traces here so thoroughly, I couldn’t detect a thing, yet you know he’s not an official."

Old Shen, pleased by the compliment, allowed himself a trace of pride. "This 'Returning Soul Incense at the Fifth Watch'—I can tell which recipe was used just by smelling it. Even after half a night’s breeze, the scent lingers, and my nose misses nothing. The recipe’s good, but the hand that mixed it is inexperienced—clearly hasn’t received formal initiation."

Zheng Qian, a bit skeptical, edged away and whispered, "You can tell just by smelling? Master, how many knockout powders did you personally concoct to accumulate such expertise? Is there some shady business from your youth?"

Old Shen flew into a rage, knocking Zheng Qian sharply on the head. "Prejudice is a mountain in the heart! Incense is neither good nor evil—it takes on the nature of its use. When facing enemies, lime, knockout powder, spiked clubs, firelocks, seduction... whatever works, you use it. If you can’t adapt, how can you be a competent Direct Supervisor? Such stubbornness at your age!"

Zheng Qian clutched his head, grumbling inwardly, 'To speak so righteously about using lime, knockout powder, and seduction... no wonder you possess such majestic presence. If cultivating thick skin is an art, I’m still far behind.'

At this point, the elder took three sticks of green thread incense from his pouch, surveyed the area, and planted them where Wang Cheng had last sold Xue Da. With a flick of his fingers, the incense ignited. The night wind made the flames flicker, and they burned swiftly. Soon, the three sticks stood: the right bent leftward, the others upright.

The old man calculated silently, reciting the incense omen:
"Incense of fortune and prosperity brings peace to the heart,
A thousand ways to count blessings, fortune comes naturally.
Kindness aligns with Heaven, no disaster nor harm in store.
Phoenix pavilions and dragon towers admired by all,
Spring departs, yet autumn moon will always round again."
"Hmm, this 'colleague' bears fortune and prosperity—perhaps we shall meet again. Fascinating, fascinating... cough, cough, cough..."

Zheng Qian patted his master’s back once more, unimpressed by the omen. "Most spiritual traces have faded already. This 'Golden Oracle of the Three Sovereigns Temple' reveals little—good only for hindsight. If we never meet this man, the omen remains inscrutable, just like those old talismanic artifacts: the sixty 'Back-Pushing Diagrams.' To this day, only the thirtieth has been solved, about the fortress uprising:
'Missing one, cannot succeed, but still gains the lead,
Six dragons personally drive to the border,
Heaven’s will meets human accord,
Opposition and harmony, yet the horses do not advance.'
I’ve memorized the last thirty diagrams, but still don’t understand their meaning, nor what the future holds for the Great Zhao."

His expression turned serious, reminding his master, "Never mind fortune and prosperity—we killed the Water Bureau envoy, that fortunate 'colleague' killed the traitorous fisherman bosses, but none of this solves the root problem. You should focus on how we’ll handle those coastal gentry and magnates. They’re determined to seize Moon Harbor, monopolize maritime trade and smuggling, oppress the lower ranks, deceive the central government, and sow chaos. This Water Bureau visit was just a test; soon, harsher measures will follow, revealing their true intent against the Market Faction. The imperial navy’s equipment is inferior to the armed merchants—no concern. But those sea merchants and pirates allied with the gentry will inevitably clash with the Market Faction and Five Peaks Banner, an upheaval is unavoidable. Our 'Mountain and Sea Society' has many descendants of the treasure fleet from a century ago, with ties to the court, merchants, and pirates. We maintain neutrality, but must prepare ahead."

Old Shen grew solemn. "We’ll discuss this back home."

Master and disciple moved swiftly, vanishing toward the beacon tower at the port’s edge.

...

At dawn, Moon Harbor stirred from its slumber.

Wang Cheng, accompanied by his men, once again set foot on the pier. Though he knew where 'Wang Fugui' once lived, years of study away had led him to rent out the house, and it was impossible to evict the tenants. He simply brought gifts to visit old neighbors and distant relatives, proving 'Wang Fugui' had returned.

After their work last night, the group had rested aboard the 'Zhang Fushun.' The giant clams in the anchorage still released iridescent mist, dazzling under the sunlight, unchanged from yesterday.

But as soon as they landed, they noticed that the once swaggering Water Bureau tax clerks were now running about like headless flies, ignoring the loaded fishing vessels and merchant ships coming and going. The more important officials had vanished. Some outsiders even jumped onto their own official boats and fled Moon Harbor in haste.

"Strange, why have these scoundrels bolted?"

Feeling invigorated from yesterday's gains, Zhang Wen grabbed the vendor at the breakfast stall by the pier, slipping a few copper coins into his hand.

The vendor, practiced and discreet, pocketed the coins and whispered, "Haven’t you heard, gentlemen? The Water Bureau envoy and several tax clerks... all disappeared last night!"