Chapter 59: My Heart Is Filthy

Feng Siniang’s inn had already been closed for some time.

The “aunties” were gone, while the little Red Whisk Girls were still in training. Having them receive customers now would be like using a famous painting to wipe your ass.

On top of that, Xue San the storyteller and A’Ming the brewer were both away.

Naturally, the inn had shut its doors.

Fortunately, Tiger Head City still had plenty of restaurants.

After all, merchant traffic through the city was heavy.

When Zheng Fan arrived at the restaurant entrance in full armor, the proprietor personally came out to welcome him, bowing and scraping as he escorted Zheng Fan upstairs to a private room.

Ding Hao pushed open the door for him.

Inside stood a round table.

Five men sat around it.

Interestingly enough, all five wore armor rather than ordinary clothes.

Cold dishes had already been served.

Yet their chopsticks and bowls remained neatly arranged and untouched.

One could say these five Centurions had given Zheng Fan more than enough face.

They had arrived early and sat upright waiting for him.

Zheng Fan knew perfectly well that this was not because he would become their commander tomorrow and lead them in escorting the birthday tribute convoy to the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

First, there had been the matter of Mei Clan Fort.

Then there was the performance he and Xu Wenzu had put on outside the Pacification Commissioner’s hall that day.

Together, those incidents had raised Zheng Fan’s posture and background into something increasingly unfathomable.

Officials on Xu Wenzu’s or the county magistrate’s level could still cautiously watch which way the wind blew, hedge their bets, or wait until the price was right.

But for these senior grunts who did not even qualify as Lieutenant Commanders, they had no right to stand on the sidelines.

Especially when the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei loomed over all of Beifeng Commandery indeed, over the entire military establishment of the State of Yan like a colossal mountain.

They could not afford not to take it seriously.

The instant Zheng Fan entered the private room, all five Centurions stood and left the table.

Then they dropped to one knee together.

“Greetings, Lieutenant Commander Zheng!”

Zheng Fan was quite satisfied with their attitude.

Had this happened before, he might have floated off into the clouds or felt at a loss.

But after spending every day at home being flattered in endlessly inventive ways by six Demon Kings, he had developed some antibodies.

And according to Ding Hao’s advice, there was no longer enough time to calmly imitate Liu Bei and build relationships through warmth.

So they might as well establish authority all the way to the end.

Zheng Fan offered no polite formalities.

Nor did he immediately tell them to stand.

Ding Hao stepped forward of his own accord and pulled out a chair.

Zheng Fan sat down without ceremony.

He leaned slightly against the chair back.

One hand stroked his chin.

The other hung loosely over the armrest.

Had Xue San and the others been here to see that posture, they would probably have cried out inwardly:

Nine-Thousand-Year Lord!

Was it arrogant?

Absolutely.

Did it look as though he regarded everyone beneath him as air?

That too.

Yet none of the five men kneeling below dared show the slightest resentment.

The less face Zheng Fan gave them, the more they elevated their guesses about his background, and the more obediently they bowed their heads.

People were cheap creatures.

“Today, I’m the one inviting all of you to eat.

“Get up.

“Sit.

“This general is nothing more than a household slave and hound of the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

“I truly cannot accept such a grand salute from you gentlemen.

“If my Young Lady heard of it... sigh.

“She’d probably tug my ear again and scold me for behaving too wildly outside.”

Young Lady.

Tugging his ear.

Behaving wildly.

Taste it.

Savor it.

Savor it carefully!

As the five Centurions stood, their gazes crossed.

Every one of them could see the excitement in the others’ eyes.

People at the top might care whether the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei could survive the current wave of weakening the feudal lords.

These men did not concern themselves with such distant matters.

The first priority was grabbing hold of the enormous thigh in front of them!

Their reactions all fell into Zheng Fan’s eyes.

He was very satisfied.

He needed to win these men over.

At least for the journey from Tiger Head City to the Marquis’s residence, these five men and the soldiers beneath them absolutely had to obey his orders.

Only then would Zheng Fan possess enough room to maneuver.

If he needed to secretly kill Xu Wenzu, for example, wouldn’t things be far easier?

More importantly, these five Centurions exercised extremely strong control over their soldiers.

Because nearly all those soldiers were their own clan’s private troops!

One could say that throughout Beifeng Commandery, aside from the Zhenbei Army—which possessed its own independent and formal military hierarchy the garrison troops of every other city had been heavily infiltrated by local aristocratic clans.

Grassroots officers like Wang Li and Ding Hao, who had climbed upward through their own efforts, were only a minority.

Part of the reason was that the State of Yan had always operated under a political system in which the monarch and powerful clans ruled together.

The Emperor of Yan simply could not reach many local affairs.

The other reason was that defense of Yan’s entire northern frontier was essentially handled by the Zhenbei Army.

The local forces inside the various cities naturally grew increasingly lax until they resembled little more than security militias.

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng, allow this subordinate to introduce everyone.

“This is Zhao Shuanhu.

“This is Qian Dacai.

“This is Yang Wenzhi.

“This is Meng Changyuan.

“And this subordinate is Wang Duan.”

The five corresponded to five small clans around Tiger Head City: the Zhao Clan, Qian Clan, Yang Clan, Meng Clan, and Wang Clan.

Introducing themselves in this fashion was somewhat like Zhang Fei constantly calling himself “Zhang Yide of Yan.”

It implicitly announced their family backgrounds.

None of the five clans possessed much influence.

They had some standing around Tiger Head City.

But in Tuman City, they would barely register.

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan lazily reached out and raised the wine cup before him.

The five men immediately raised theirs as well.

“I am a straightforward man.

“When I do things, I dislike excessive ceremony.

“But I’ve always remembered something my Marquis often taught us.

“When you command troops, everyone drinks together, carries trouble together, and shares merit together!

“Gentlemen—let us drink this cup together!”

All six raised their cups and drained them in one go.

Then

Zheng Fan placed his cup on the table.

He folded his hands before his chest.

Once again, he adopted a lazy posture.

“You all know tomorrow’s assignment.

“This is my first time being posted outside.

“Don’t laugh at me for saying this, but back then my Young Lady always thought I wasn’t material for accomplishing great things.

“And honestly, she was right.

“I’ve spent all this time eating and drinking and muddling along.

“Now I just happened to catch this assignment.

“So I’m counting on you brothers to help this youngster put on a proper show when the time comes.

“So long as you treat me sincerely, I will certainly recommend all of you to my Young Lady.

“In the future—we’ll share wealth and honor together!”

The five cupped their hands in unison.

“We await the Lieutenant Commander’s orders!”

Mm.

Everything was proceeding exceptionally smoothly.

These five Centurions from minor clans had softened from the very beginning.

And now they were practically melting into water.

That actually made it rather difficult to continue the plan Zheng Fan and Ding Hao had arranged in advance you glow first, then I glow.

They could hardly suddenly act like two idiots:

...

“Hahahaha!

“What wonderful weather today!

“Master, allow this Ding Hao to glow!”

“Good!

“The weather really is wonderful!

“Now that you’ve finished glowing, I’ll glow too!

“Hahahaha!”

...

Their original plan had been to find some troublesome thorn, kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, and conveniently display their strength.

Perfect.

But these five little darlings were so obedient that Zheng Fan genuinely could not bear to close his eyes, pick one at random, and use him as the monkey.

Yet after getting stabbed by a zombie and then spending so many days frantically accelerating his cultivation, he had finally entered the grades.

If he did not show off in front of someone, Zheng Fan genuinely felt a little uncomfortable.

He was, after all, only a vulgar mortal.

He could not endure wearing brocade at night where nobody could see it.

Just as sleepiness arrived, someone delivered a pillow.

At that exact moment, a woman’s scream suddenly came from the private room next door.

“AAAAAHHHHH!”

Then, SMACK!

It sounded like a slap.

Immediately afterward came a man’s furious curse:

“Bitch!”

Zheng Fan’s hand trembled.

His blood began to boil.

Fuck!

Heaven itself has decreed that I’m going to glow today!

There is no more politically correct setup for showing off and slapping someone’s face than this!

Zheng Fan immediately stood.

After all, they had spent so much time together as teacher and student.

Ding Hao instantly understood Zheng Fan’s intention.

He moved ahead and opened the door for him.

The five Centurions behind them rose as well and followed Zheng Fan out.

When they reached the neighboring private room, Ding Hao had enough sense not to open that door first.

He waited until Zheng Fan personally walked over and kicked it open!

BANG!

There was another table of food and drink inside.

At the far corner, a somewhat thin man in brocade robes was tearing at a woman’s clothing.

Blood stained the corner of the woman’s mouth.

Her hair had fallen loose.

Her clothes were in complete disarray.

“It’s you?”

“It’s you?”

Zheng Fan and Ding Hao spoke almost simultaneously.

Zheng Fan recognized the man.

Wasn’t this Registrar Chen the fellow whose brush had once marked people for conscription like an imperial death warrant?

Ding Hao recognized the woman.

She was Wang Li’s wife!

“Xiaocui.”

“Mm?

“Registrar Chen’s childhood name is Xiaocui?”

Zheng Fan asked curiously.

“The woman.

“She’s the wife of my brother Wang Li.”

“Oh.”

So this was the woman the Blind Man had been giving talisman-water to?

At that moment, Registrar Chen was stunned by the sudden arrival of so many armored men.

Tiger Head City, however, was only so large.

Although Registrar Chen was not the true Registrar and could only be considered a clerk beneath Registrar Liu, he was still someone with status and reputation in the city.

“Impudent!

“Do you know who this official is?!”

Having been caught in the act, Registrar Chen was furious from embarrassment.

He immediately threw around his official authority.

He did not remember Zheng Fan.

Even though Zheng Fan had once been personally marked by him on the conscription register.

Later, when Zheng Fan first came to the yamen to collect his identity token, Registrar Chen had been sitting in the administrative office amusing himself with his own affairs.

He had paid little attention to this lucky wild-pheasant Lieutenant Commander.

After Zheng Fan’s supposed confrontation with Xu Wenzu exploded throughout the city, Registrar Chen finally learned Zheng Fan’s name.

But from that day onward, Zheng Fan shut himself at home and gave himself a long vacation.

So in Registrar Chen’s mind, Zheng Fan’s name and face had still never been joined together.

In truth, the scene before them required little explanation.

This was simply a man trying to force himself on a woman.

And the woman still wore a white flower in her hair, plain mourning clothes, and a black strip wrapped around her arm.

She was plainly in mourning for her husband.

Beast.

The five Centurions knew Registrar Chen.

But they simply stood behind Zheng Fan.

Without his command, they would do nothing.

Zheng Fan, meanwhile, curiously reached out and poked Ding Hao.

Ding Hao’s eyes were already bloodshot with rage.

Yet he still stood motionless beside Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan asked, “You’re not angry?”

Wang Li died protecting you.

His wife nearly got violated.

Shouldn’t you be going berserk?

“I’m angry.”

Ding Hao forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“Then why aren’t you doing anything?”

Ding Hao drew a deep breath.

“He’s... an official.”

He could go to the man’s home at night and kill him.

But this was broad daylight, in full public view.

Zheng Fan understood.

Ding Hao was afraid that forcing the issue now would cause trouble for Zheng Fan.

So he had been restraining his fury.

But truthfully, Zheng Fan had never intended to leave Registrar Chen any face at all.

Even if Ding Hao did not act, Zheng Fan would have personally done it himself.

First, basic public morality demanded it.

Second fuck.

Who knew whether the Blind Man had genuinely only delivered talisman-water and not something else as well?

If the Blind Man really had “delivered” something more intimate, wouldn’t this woman count as half his woman too?

Feng Siniang had once told Zheng Fan that a large part of the inn’s startup capital had come from the Blind Man conning money out of this foolish woman.

The Blind Man was not currently in Tiger Head City.

But if he and this woman had genuinely once sparked thunder and fire together, and she was nearly violated right in front of Zheng Fan while he, the Master, did not make a sound would that be acceptable?

At the end of the day, Zheng Fan understood one thing very clearly.

Official rank.

Identity.

Status.

Wealth.

Borrowed tiger skins.

To him, all of those were floating clouds.

What he truly cared about what was genuinely tied to his immediate survival and interests was his relationship with the Seven Demon Kings beneath him!

That was the true foundation allowing him to establish himself in this world.

And Zheng Fan believed that even if this incident genuinely cost him his office, the Seven Demon Kings would not care.

At worst, everyone could happily hold hands, run into the desert together, and sing:

“Let us roam the mortal world together, free and unfettered!”

“What am I to you?”

Ding Hao looked at Zheng Fan in confusion.

He answered, “Master.”

“What are you to me?”

“Servant.”

“No.

“You’re my hound.”

Ding Hao drew a deep breath.

Clearly, he was still desperately suppressing his fury.

“My hound has no reason to swallow humiliation.”

Zheng Fan habitually reached out and patted Ding Hao’s shoulder.

Then continued, “If you want to bite someone, go bite him.

“If you bite him to death, I’ll take responsibility.”

Ding Hao’s body trembled.

The way he looked at Zheng Fan gained something difficult to describe.

Clearly, he had been deeply moved.

Zheng Fan, however, slightly avoided that grateful gaze.

Inside, he sighed:

My heart really is filthy.

---

(End of Chapter)