Chapter 22: A Rainy Day for a Vampire

A mule cart was pulled out from the inn. A mule stood at the front, but instead of a carriage behind it, there was only a flatbed covered with canvas.

The inn normally used it to go out and buy vegetables.

The Blind Man Bei sat steadily in the “driver’s seat,” holding a small leather whip in his left hand and the reins in the other.

It was a shabby little mule pulling a broken-down cart, yet somehow the Blind Man Bei “drove” it with the air of a Cadillac.

A blind man driving did not surprise A’Ming in the slightest, nor did he see anything wrong with it. Dressed in a fresh set of clothes, he simply sat calmly beside the Blind Man Bei.

The cart was small. Unless one of them lay down in the back, two grown men sitting up front inevitably had to press close together.

The little mule cart ambled forward. From time to time, the bell around the mule’s neck gave a slow, crisp chime.

The rain was still falling, though not heavily. It could not compare with the soft, pastry-flake-fine drizzle of Jiangnan in the interior, but it was just enough to suppress the dust and grit that usually filled the frontier air.

Out here, that counted as a rare kind of gentleness.

The mule trudged along, so naturally the flatbed moved no faster.

Every now and then, the Blind Man Bei listlessly flicked the mule ahead with his whip. For the sake of preserving the blind man’s dignity, the mule would give a perfunctory bray in response.

Its hooves, however, did not accelerate in the slightest.

Man and mule had reached a peculiar understanding beneath the curtain of rain.

“Not only did you change into new clothes, you even washed your hair?”

The Blind Man Bei teased him.

“Shame there’s no hair dryer or mousse.”

“Mousse. Now that’s a word I haven’t heard in ages.” The Blind Man Bei yawned and continued, “The Fourth Lady really spared no expense. That outfit of yours wasn’t cheap, was it?”

“You have one too.”

“New clothes?”

“An instrument suited to you. It’s under the canvas in the back.”

At that, the Blind Man Bei involuntarily stretched both hands forward, his ten fingers dancing nimbly in the air.

“Ah, the Fourth Lady must have worked hard. Making a piano in this era couldn’t have been easy.”

“It’s an erhu.”

“…”

The Blind Man Bei fell silent.

“Let’s talk business,” A’Ming reminded him.

“There are four gangs in Tiger Head City that can be considered significant.” The Blind Man Bei began explaining the city’s underworld situation.

Tiger Head City’s permanent population was not large, only around twenty thousand. That number included plenty of elderly people, children, and other dependents. So after the recent conscription of civilian laborers, the city—which was usually fairly lively—had suddenly become desolate.

The departure of able-bodied men as conscripted laborers was one reason, but the main cause was the sudden outbreak of a local conflict. Merchant caravans that normally passed through had all stopped at the previous way station. Everyone was watching and waiting.

Once the caravans stopped flowing in, Tiger Head City—a small town whose economy was fundamentally dependent on outside trade—naturally found it difficult to remain bustling.

At the same time, the constant movement of merchant caravans had not only stimulated the local economy, but inevitably brought all sorts of people into the city.

An ordinary frontier town could never have supported this many restaurants, brothels, gambling houses, or gangs. Ultimately, once the pie grew larger, more people came to carve off a slice.

The strangest part was that, because the State of Yan was filled with powerful aristocratic clans, the ruler’s control over the localities was extremely weak. This created countless loopholes in household registration. There were plenty of people living in the city, but fewer than half were actually registered subjects of Yan. Naturally, the gang members were not listed in Tiger Head City’s household registers either.

The officials of Tiger Head City simply turned a blind eye. If they truly tried to conduct a strict census and clean up the household registers, the powerful clans would be the first to object.

“The Hyena Gang in the east of the city, the Three Gods Society in the west, the Brotherhood Gang in the center, and the Cart Gang in the outskirts. Those are the four gangs in Tiger Head City worth mentioning.

“The Hyena Gang specializes in human trafficking. The desert barbarian tribes frequently fight private wars among themselves. Some of their prisoners are sent here, then sold by the Hyena Gang into the interior of Yan. Meanwhile, barbarian nobles have a taste for women from the interior of Yan, especially Jiangnan women from the states of Qian and Jin. The Hyena Gang handles that trade in the other direction as well.

“The Three Gods Society is an out-and-out organization of charlatans. They worship local deities from Yan, the barbarian god of the tribes, and even a few gods from the West. They gather believers, collect offerings, and keep a group of hired thugs.

“The Brotherhood Gang openly collects protection money. Besides operating its own brothels, gambling houses, and restaurants, it makes businesses throughout Tiger Head City—including our inn—pay them a sum every month.

“The Cart Gang is somewhat like the canal transport guilds of the interior. Its main business is carts, horses, and transport. Any porter or carter who wants to earn his living through physical labor within Tiger Head City has to hand over a cut of his wages to the Cart Gang. Otherwise, they won’t allow him to make a living here.”

“We’re in the eastern part of the city now, so we’re starting with the Hyena Gang?”

“When people set out to do something, they usually squeeze the softest persimmon first. That’s only human nature. But for us—no, more precisely, for you—you’ve been holding yourself back for half a year. You need a target you can really cut loose on without having to worry much about the consequences.

“There aren’t many things in this world you can do with less guilt than killing human traffickers.”

“Guilt? You never used to consider things like that. No—none of us did.”

“But now we have Master. We have to learn to take Master’s feelings into account. Master hasn’t completely turned dark yet. I only know that he’s growing quickly; I can’t guarantee that he’ll truly go all the way into darkness. For the moment, we need to adjust the way we do things toward methods Master will approve of.”

A’Ming said nothing.

“Angry?” the Blind Man Bei asked with a smile.

A’Ming shook his head.

The Blind Man Bei smiled and consoled him.

“Today is a fine day for killing. Your first chance to let loose in half a year, and it’s even raining. Cheer up.”

The Blind Man Bei pulled on the reins, and the mule obediently stopped.

Ahead lay an alley. Inside it stood two courtyards—the Hyena Gang’s headquarters.

“Oh, right. Nearly forgot. Trade has been badly disrupted lately because of the fighting. There should still be quite a few human captives stuck inside those two courtyards.”

“I know where to draw the line.”

“Tsk, tsk. I’m nagging, then.”

A’Ming jumped down from the mule cart. He did not immediately walk forward. Instead, he looked back.

“Say it one more time.”

The Blind Man Bei nodded. “I already know the order for what comes next and how we’ll deal with the other three gangs. As for this first target—just enjoy yourself.”

“Good.”

A’Ming started toward the courtyards.

Behind him, a long, mournful melody drifted through the rain.

A’Ming stopped again.

“This tune sounds familiar.”

From the mule cart, the Blind Man Bei had pulled an erhu out from beneath the canvas and begun to play.

“Moon Reflected on Second Spring.”

A’Ming shrugged. “Isn’t that a little inauspicious?”

“It isn’t for you. I’m playing it for them.”

A’Ming thought about that.

“Fair enough.”

The curtain of rain, accompanied by the erhu’s lament, became especially desolate and sorrowful. A’Ming’s leather boots stepped through puddles, sending splashes of water up around him.

When he reached the courtyard gate, A’Ming suddenly felt that the Blind Man Bei had been right.

Today really was a good day for killing.

Unfortunately, he did not kill with a sword.

Still why not give one a try?

Two guards stood at the courtyard entrance, both huddled in the corners. Even after A’Ming reached the gate, neither could be bothered to move.

They even joked about him in teasing voices.

“Those clothes look pretty flashy.”

“Probably came with some troupe following a caravan in from the Western Regions. I saw one last year. The fellows doing magic tricks dressed just like that.”

A’Ming smiled when he heard them.

He did not hurry to act.

He felt he needed a moment to cultivate the proper mood.

Just as a proper meal required careful plating beforehand, he needed to prepare himself to dine.

“No! Don’t sell me! Don’t sell me! No!”

At that moment, a girl’s shrill scream came from behind A’Ming.

A’Ming turned and looked back.

A ragged middle-aged man was forcibly dragging a girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

The girl’s clothes were equally worn and tattered. She planted herself on the ground with all her strength, but she was a young girl who had not yet grown into her body. She could not possibly match the man’s strength. The middle-aged man simply dragged her onward while she rolled and struggled through the muddy puddles.

The two gate guards saw the scene and realized business had arrived. Only then did they slowly get to their feet.

“Don’t sell me! Don’t sell me!”

“I’m your father! If I don’t sell you, we’ll both starve to death! You worthless money-losing brat! Do you want both of us to starve?”

“You bastard! You son of a bitch! You’re no father of mine! You sold Mother for gambling money, and now you want to sell me too!”

Smack!

The man slapped the girl across the face.

She was knocked flat onto the ground. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

More than anything else, her eyes held despair.

“Bah! Shameless little money pit!”

The man walked around A’Ming and reached the steps. He bent at the waist before the two gatekeepers, his face turning ingratiating.

“Please trouble yourself to call the steward.”

One of the gatekeepers grinned, pushed open the door, and went inside to fetch someone.

The other planted his hands on his hips and looked the girl lying on the ground up and down. He shook his head.

“This little wench is worth five taels of silver at most.”

“Hey, how can that be?” the man cried. “I sold her mother to you people for four taels! Whatever else she is, this one’s still an untouched maiden. Surely she’s worth more than a woman who’s already borne a child?”

“Heh. A young girl only fetches a good price if she comes from the interior of Yan. Better still if she’s from Qian, and if she knows a little music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, then the price can really climb.

“Girls from our northern lands don’t fetch much to begin with. Look at yours. One glance and you can tell she wasn’t raised soft and pampered. That skin is rough as hell. Tsk, tsk. You think those big lords out in the desert are going to like that?

“They buy her, take one look, and—damn it—her skin’s no different from the girls in their own tribe. You think they’re idiots?

“Besides, your wife may have been older and already had a child, but she could carry loads, haul things, and warm a bed. She was good for half a man when it came to work. What can this daughter of yours do? Can she handle heavy labor?

“Most importantly, who knows what madness got into people lately, but suddenly there’s a war. The trade routes are cut off. We already have plenty of human stock sitting in this courtyard eating our food for nothing. Food, drink, piss, shit—which one of those doesn’t cost money?”

“This… no, no, that won’t do. Eight taels at the very least. I need five to pay my debt, and three left over to win it back.”

“Tch. Then negotiate with the accountant yourself when he comes.”

The girl lay on the ground without moving, her eyes empty.

Then, she saw a man in strange black clothing walk over and crouch in front of her.

His face was so pale.

A’Ming lowered his head and looked at her.

She looked back at him.

After a moment, A’Ming asked, “Do you want me to help you… kill your father?”

The girl’s body suddenly trembled.

Then, hatred began to fill her eyes.

Through clenched teeth, she forced out one word:

“Yes…”

A’Ming nodded.

“All right.”