Fang Ke was a very capable man.
After leaving Yang Ge’s house, he turned around and engraved Yang Ge’s words into a stone tablet without changing a single word. He personally escorted it in his commander uniform to the east city gate, where he carefully set it up.
After setting up the stone tablet, he didn’t rush to leave, but stayed by the stone tablet, tirelessly reading the inscription aloud to the onlookers again and again.
The passersby entering and leaving the city gate naturally didn’t know that a large group of Jianghu people would soon surge into Luting County.
But that didn’t stop them from discerning the determination of Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards to maintain peace from the powerful and resounding words of the inscription, immediately drawing rounds of applause.
To be honest, the reputation of Wei’s Imperial Guards among the lower classes wasn’t good!
Half of this was because of the natural fear the common folk had towards the governmental authority’s violent institutions.
The other half was because there indeed were many scoundrels within the Imperial Guards who would seize any opportunity to exploit and act unscrupulously.
However, the reputation of Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards in Luting was generally quite good.
This was partly because Yang Ge strictly controlled them, and Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards seldom harassed the common people.
It was also because last December when there was a raid for grains, Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards stood on the side of the people of Luting.
Don’t think the common folk are ignorant just because they can’t read; they can discuss and understand the underlying reasons even if they didn’t grasp it at the moment...
Take last year’s grain raid for example, if Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards had decisively sided with the three major grain depots, they could have sealed the doors and searched house by house for the grains the people had looted from these depots!
Would they dare to confront the Imperial Guards openly?
Their courage to loot grains was already quite reluctant...
But Lu Ting’s Imperial Guards not only did not order them to hand over the looted grains but also directly suppressed the people from the three major grain depots, strictly forbidding them to leave their homes or go out on the streets!
The common folk weren’t blind; how could they not understand such blatant favoritism?
Often, the common people, more than the higher classes, acted more reasonably and remembered the good deeds of others more vividly...
"Such audacity!"
Amidst the applause, a sneering laugh broke through.
The surrounding commoners all turned towards the source of the sound, only to see a group of robust men with tiger-like statures and bear-like waists. They wore bamboo hats and masks, and on their backs, they all carried uniformly shaped large saber blades. They stood outside the crowd, laughing scornfully, "Do you really think all the heroes in the world are mere thieves on the beams, for you to manipulate at will?"
Ordinary people feared the Imperial Guards.
These men of the Jianghu, however, did not fear them... at least, not openly!
Not only could they not show fear, but they also had to demonstrate the courage and boldness of treating the Imperial Guards as nothing but dogs or hunting falcons, to deserve the Jianghu’s recognition as "true heroes!"
Fang Ke looked from afar at the large sabers on their backs, and after thinking for a while, he could not figure out which mountain den these brutes had sprung from.
However, he didn’t need to recognize these brutes; he believed they surely recognized the uniform he wore.
Since they recognized it and still dared to provoke him so brazenly and recklessly, this was enough to prove two points.
The first point, these brutes’ martial arts skills, were definitely strong.
The second point, these brutes’ brains, were definitely not good.
"If you don’t believe, you’re free to test the law with your own body!"
Even though he knew these brutes definitely had strong martial arts skills, Fang Ke did not indulge them, but coldly scoffed back, "I would like to see if fools like you, who stumble into Lu Ting and cause trouble, can leave Lu Ting alive!"
We dared to confront even the imperial envoy, who do you think you are?
The group of Jianghu brutes were furious upon hearing this and unanimously took a step forward, grasping their swords.
The next second, from behind Fang Ke at the city gate, suddenly about thirty to forty crossbows appeared, with dark, ominous arrows pointing directly at these Jianghu men.
Behind the arrows were pairs of merciless, mocking eyes, as if looking forward to them taking another step forward so they could shoot and turn them into porcupines!
Seeing this, the hearts of the Jianghu brutes chilled, and their impassioned blood cooled down slightly.
If it really came to a fight...
They were not afraid.
But to clash to the death with the Imperial Guards over a squabble which wasn’t even a real argument, wouldn’t that indeed make them foolish idiots?
They became calm...
But Fang Ke was fired up.
He glared fiercely, his face turning red and his neck bulging as he suddenly burst out shouting, "You fools, didn’t you want to fight? I’m standing right here, why don’t you draw your swords... and kill me!"
"You..."
The Jianghu brutes were furious, and those who had just relaxed their grip on their blades tightened their hold again, drawing their swords a few inches.
Seeing this, the leading brute quickly shouted, "Brothers, don’t fall for this official’s treachery! He’s setting a trap for us to jump in, to arrest us and throw us in the dungeon, preventing us from entering the city to seek justice for our folks back in Huainan..."
The crowd of burly men, upon hearing this, all acted as if they had just realized something and hastily sheathed their swords, which had been drawn a few inches. They looked as if they were thinking, "That was a close one, nearly fell for that corrupt official’s trap."
Fang Ke looked at this group of big, foolish men and felt exceedingly delighted.
Is this what adults find amusing?
Indeed, the pleasures of adulthood are beyond imagination!
"Don’t assume everyone is so depraved!"
Fang Ke crossed his arms, adding disdainfully, "If you want to enter the city and appeal to the imperial envoy for justice, we people of Lu Ting have absolutely no objections!"
"But, the prerequisite is that you must abide by the rules of Lu Ting and not cause any trouble in our town!"
"Just because your hometown faced adversity, it doesn’t mean you can disrupt our peace and pollute our atmosphere, does it?"
"That logic wouldn’t hold up anywhere, would it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a Lu Ting local, enjoying the spectacle, loudly praised, "Shopkeeper speaks well! We don’t mind if you file a complaint, but you can’t just act recklessly in Luting County just because you’ve practiced some martial arts!"
"Right, we from Lu Ting aren’t the ones who harmed you. You shouldn’t take your anger out on us."
"We’d actually be glad if you could bring down those vile, wealth-hoarding families..."
The burly men, not being articulate, couldn’t retort and their faces turned red with embarrassment.
Seeing that his purpose had been achieved, Fang Ke did not continue to provoke these simpletons further and, with a smile, he gestured towards the city gate saying, "I wish you a smooth journey and may you achieve your desires!"
The burly men, their faces still red, clasped their fists towards Fang Ke in gratitude, and hastened their step into the city gate.
Fang Ke then, smiling, gestured a greeting with his fists to the onlookers from Lu Ting.
The local people of Lu Ting, too, warmly returned his gesture and gave him thumbs up, their eyes still harboring fear but gradually warming up with a familiar glow.
Fang Ke had been in the imperial guards for nearly three years and had seen grand spectacles.
But such a scene was indeed a first for him!
The feeling...was truly not bad!
...
It was lively on Fang Ke’s side.
It was just as lively on Yang Ge’s side; he ignited a string of firecrackers to announce the opening of the Yuelai Inn.
At the sound of the festive firecrackers, the neighboring locals all rushed over to congratulate Shopkeeper Liu.
Shopkeeper Liu stood on the steps outside the inn, his old face blossoming like a chrysanthemum with continuous bows and greetings.
Yet, as time passed, the crowd surrounding Shopkeeper Liu not only did not thin out, it actually grew bigger and bigger, enclosing the old man in multiple layers, all speaking auspicious words to him.
Some even started to cry while speaking those lucky words, insisting on kneeling and kowtowing to Shopkeeper Liu...
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The old man, his eyes also brimming with tears, circled around pulling up neighbors who insisted on kneeling, offering comforting words such as, "It’s all in the past," and, "Don’t mention it or it’ll be awkward."
Many others, brought buckets of water and cleaning cloths from their homes, and cleaned the tables, chairs, and benches in the inn as if tidying their own homes. Even when Yang Ge stepped forward to help, they insistently pushed him outside the doors.
He could only stand idly on the steps outside the inn’s main entrance, watching the old shopkeeper beaming amid the crowd with his old neighbors and locals, feeling joy and warmth in his heart.
Who says good deeds don’t pay off?
Who says that mending bridges and roads leads to no good?
Look...
So many people still remember!
The world is in tatters.
Some people patch it up...
"Old Shopkeeper, may your business prosper!"
A voice, booming with joy, came from afar. Yang Ge turned around and saw Wang Dezhu pushing a handcart full of firewood, running towards them.
Yang Ge, laughing, waved to Wang Dezhu, "Uncle Wang, slow down, watch out for the people!"
Wang Dezhu, laughing heartily, came closer and, like performing a magic trick, produced a large basket from under the firewood and handed it to Yang Ge, "You’re in luck, boy! I found these on the mountain today!"
Yang Ge, at a loss, looked down and saw a nest of rabbit kits, about the size of apples, in the basket and immediately pushed it back, "I can’t take this, Wang. Your child just turned a year old, right? He needs it for growing... "
Wang Dezhu pretended to be upset and stuffed the basket into his arms, "What are you being so formal with your uncle for!"
After saying this, he turned to unload a bundle of firewood from the cart and hurried towards the inn’s backyard.
Yang Ge looked at the nest of little rabbits in his arms, then at Wang Dezhu humming a tune and briskly walking away, a slow smile spreading from his lips to his eyes.
The storm had passed!