Chapter 13: Jue Xing and Zong Kong Both Recommend Hired Killers — Ye Sheng and Jian Dang Suffer a Crushing Defeat

When Ling Shi and the others heard that Ling Gui Xing had come, they were thoroughly alarmed and hesitated for a long while, looking at one another, unable to think of what to do. Ling Shi said, "Very well — open the door and let him in. I want to question him myself: why has he kept making trouble for us? After all, he is my nephew; he would hardly dare harm me. Daughters-in-law, you had best withdraw. Qi Fu, go and open the gate quickly!" Tian Lai and his brother, hearing their mother's instructions, dared not stop her. They watched as Qi Fu went out. Before long, Qi Fu came flying back, shouting, "Old Mistress! Master! This is terrible — bandits have come!" Ling Shi and her sons were greatly alarmed, and then they saw Gui Xing come striding in behind Qi Fu, grinning and laughing all the way, with a great mob of people behind him — how many it was hard to say. They could barely recognize Zong Kong, Mei Xian, Yue Wen, Yue Wu, and a few others; the rest were a noisy rabble impossible to sort out on the spot.

Ling Gui Xing walked into the reception hall, and when he saw Tian Lai, his conscience gave him a momentary twinge and his face reddened slightly. He awkwardly cupped his hands and said, "Good day, elder cousin!" Glancing aside and seeing Ling Shi seated at the head of the hall, he bent his waist in a bow: "New Year's greetings to Honored Aunt!" Ling Shi began to speak: "Gui Xing! Our family has always been on peaceful terms with yours. Why have you been making so much trouble for us of late? You should know..." But before her words were done, Gui Xing had made no reply — and suddenly Zong Kong let out a great roar: "Uncle-Nephew-Father! Why do you keep talking to him? You'll ruin everything! Come, come, come — I have something to say to you!" Hearing this, Gui Xing used it as cover and slipped away to the courtyard. Zong Kong marched forward, grabbed Ling Shi with one hand, and roared, "You old hag! You've occupied the stone hall and blocked your nephew-father's path to fame and fortune..." Before he could finish, he swung up his fist — a fist the size of a bowl — and was about to bring it down. Tian Lai rushed forward to protect her. Ling Shi was enraged and terrified at once, shaking uncontrollably. The mob of ruffians surged in and swept away all twenty-four jade and stone flower pots and the huali wood tables and chairs in an instant. Zong Kong let his wild eyes roam over the room until he saw everyone had gone, then released Ling Shi, turned his hand, and seized Tian Lai: "Come along, dear nephew — see me out!" Without any further ado, he dragged him off. Tian Lai had no choice but to follow. When they reached the main gate, the mob of ruffians had already scattered without a trace.

Zong Kong let go of him and said, "I'll spare you this time." He gave him a shove that nearly knocked Tian Lai down, then strode away without looking back, heading straight to Gui Xing's house.

There he found everyone busy arranging tables and chairs. The cups and dishes were reset, and the feasting and cheering resumed. Gui Xing suddenly put down his cup again and gave a long sigh. Zong Kong said, "Uncle-Nephew-Father! Just now you sighed over the jade pots — now we have them. What more can there be to feel unhappy about?" Gui Xing said, "Uncle doesn't know my mind! Just now I suddenly thought: our household has lost two lives in succession. Though they brought it on themselves, when I think it over, it all traces back to Liang Tian Lai. If there had been no trouble with Liang Tian Lai, I would not have fallen out with my sister; if I had not fallen out with my sister, she would not have hanged herself; and if she had not hanged herself, my wife would not have swallowed poison either. Aren't both those lives to be laid at Liang Tian Lai's door? How can I rest until I have killed him and his brother as payback?" Zong Kong said, "Uncle-Nephew-Father, rest easy — I'll take it on myself to avenge you."

Qu Jue Xing said, "What plan does my elder cousin have in mind?" Zong Kong said, "Uncle-Nephew-Father has plenty of money, and the rivers and lakes have plenty of bold men. As the old saying goes, 'Under great reward, brave men will emerge.' We'll find two fellows, one for one target — won't they finish them off?" Jue Xing heard this, bowed his head, and said nothing. Gui Xing said, "Uncle's reckoning is sound. But where would one find such men of the rivers and lakes?" Zong Kong said, "Where would you find them right away? This needs to be kept in mind and watched for — when the right opportunity comes and we encounter someone, we can invite him along. Even then, we can't tell him the purpose straight away; we must slowly win his trust, and the thing will naturally be arranged." Gui Xing nodded in agreement. The drinking party ended, and the assorted ruffians scattered like birds and beasts.

After a few days, Qu Jue Xing brought a man along to visit Gui Xing and said, "My worthy nephew mentioned wanting to make friends among the bold men of the world, so I have specially brought this Brother Xiong to meet you." Gui Xing was greatly pleased and asked his name. The man said, "I am surnamed Xiong, and have no given name. I am seventh in my family by birth order, so people all call me Xiong A-Qi." Gui Xing at once called for wine and food to welcome him. Xiong A-Qi then spoke at length of various techniques with knife and staff, and Gui Xing was practically dancing with excitement. Jue Xing said, "That's not A-Qi's real specialty. His true skill is leaping walls and scaling eaves — taking a man's head at dead of night as easily as reaching into a bag." Gui Xing was even more delighted. A-Qi said, "I am nothing special! My friend Li A-Tian has the strength of ten thousand men — he is a true hero. Since you, sir, are so respectful of talent, I will bring him to meet you before long." Gui Xing said, "When might he come?" A-Qi said, "He is nearby. If you do not mind, I can bring him tomorrow for certain." Gui Xing said, "Nothing would be better — you must not break your word!" When the food and wine were done, A-Qi wanted to smoke opium. Gui Xing had a liang (unit of weight, roughly 37 grams) bought for him; A-Qi smoked it all down to the last bit before taking his leave.

The following day, he did indeed bring Li A-Tian. Two others came as well: one called Gan A-Ding, and one called You A-Mei — all of them with powerful builds and ferocious faces. Gui Xing received them one by one and set out wine and food to welcome them. In the midst of the drinking, Zong Kong arrived, met everyone in turn, and sat down to eat. When the guests had finally dispersed, Zong Kong asked Gui Xing, "Who are those people who were here just now?" Gui Xing said, "They were introduced by Cousin-Uncle Qu — the plan is to send them to carry out that business." Zong Kong said, "These are all new acquaintances — one cannot entrust a serious matter to them right away. I have two trusted friends I have known for many years, but I have not seen them for quite some time. The other day I found out they were in Chencun, so I went and invited them back. That is why I haven't been here for a few days. One is surnamed Jian, given name Dang; the other is surnamed Ye, given name Sheng. Both are bold men of the rivers and lakes, who kill without blinking. They are staying at my house now — if you wish to meet them, I will invite them over." Gui Xing said, "If that is so, why didn't you say so earlier? Invite them to meet everyone. The more people there are, the easier it is to discuss things." Zong Kong said, "Uncle-Nephew-Father! You are wise in all things — why this momentary foolishness? This is a matter of great secrecy; only one or two people should know, and that is what makes it manageable. If too many know, and word gets out, everything will be ruined!" Gui Xing suddenly understood: "In that case, Uncle, go and invite those two gentlemen." Zong Kong said, "When they come, what then?" Gui Xing said, "We will entrust the task to them at once." Zong Kong said, "What about the four brought by Jue Xing?" Gui Xing said, "Don't worry, Uncle — I'll make sure they don't know about it. I'll keep them here for some other purpose." Hearing this, Zong Kong rose and took his leave.

Before long he returned with Jian Dang and Ye Sheng. Gui Xing was greatly pleased and met them one by one. Zong Kong said to the two men, "My nephew-father has an unsettled feud with Liang Tian Lai and his brother, and he wishes to trouble you two gentlemen to see to finishing off those brothers. A handsome reward will follow." Gui Xing added, "If you two truly have the courage to carry out this task — no matter whether by beating or by killing, so long as one of them is dead — I will give five hundred taels of silver in thanks; for both of them dead, one thousand taels. If it comes to a lawsuit, I will manage everything here, and you will have nothing to worry about." Zong Kong jumped in again, "As for any lawsuit, rest completely easy — my nephew-father will have it all in hand. An opportunity like this to make your fortune — if you two pass it up, you will have thrown away a rare chance!" Jian Dang said, "Since you command us, we will naturally do our best."

Gui Xing was overjoyed: "I place this great trust in you two gentlemen. But how do you plan to go about it?" Jian Dang said, "That cannot be determined in advance. As it happens, those brothers have a shop in the provincial capital but live here — they must travel back and forth regularly. The best way is to watch for an opportunity and strike on the road." Gui Xing was delighted and at once produced fifty taels of silver for the two men: "Take this as pocket money; when the business is done, there will be more." They received it with grateful thanks. Zong Kong gave the two men a meaningful look; they understood and rose to take their leave. Zong Kong followed them out, brought them to his own house, and demanded a twenty percent kickback. The two had no choice. From the fifty taels they counted out ten and handed them to Zong Kong, then divided the remaining forty into two equal parts and each took twenty before parting ways.

Ye Sheng pulled Jian Dang to a secluded spot outside the village and said, "Today it was you who agreed to this — I never opened my mouth. Killing people means paying with your life, that is certain. I can't get involved in this business. Right now he says that if it comes to a lawsuit, he will manage everything — but what if, when that moment comes, he simply denies all knowledge? What then?" Jian Dang said, "You are a fool. When the killing is done, we take his payment and run. If we can't run, and it comes to a lawsuit, he will have no choice but to step in. If he refuses, we will name him as the one who hired us — let's see what he does then." Ye Sheng said, "It's you who are the fool! By then you can name him all you like. He has silver and gold to burn — he'll spend ten or twenty thousand taels at the yamen and wash himself clean as a whistle, without taking a scratch. At that point we would have no way to escape either. And consider this: those dog officials — when a murder case occurs in their district and the killer has fled, they often drag in some completely innocent person, beat a confession out of him, and pin the crime on him to close the case. How much worse for the actual killer when he's in custody?" Jian Dang listened and paused: "According to what you say, if we do the deed and can't run — even if he is willing to intervene, it would be useless." Ye Sheng said, "Exactly." Jian Dang said, "But the silver has already been accepted. Such bright, shining money — having finally gotten our hands on it, could we possibly give it back?" Ye Sheng said, "Let us go to the provincial capital for a time and try our luck at the fan-tan tables. If our luck turns, we can take our money and go far away — wouldn't that be better?" Jian Dang clapped his hands: "Excellent plan!" The two at once hired a boat and set off for the provincial capital. For four or five days their luck was splendid: starting with twenty taels apiece, within a few days each man had over a hundred taels on his person. Ye Sheng then said, "Now that we have some capital, I have heard that dealing in contraband salt is extremely profitable. Shall we try that business?" Jian Dang said, "Contraband salt is too cumbersome. I think dealing in opium is better. And right here there is Lin Da-You at the Gathering Immortals Hall — he is a head figure in the private opium trade. We could buy opium from him and sell it to the country districts — wouldn't that be convenient?" Ye Sheng said, "Then let's set it up!" Jian Dang said, "Wait a moment — our capital is still too little. Tomorrow let's each go and press our luck once more; when we each have two hundred taels, we can start the business in earnest."

The next day, both went off to gamble separately. But as fate would have it, from that day on neither had any luck, and within three days they had lost everything they had won, principal and all. They even stripped the clothes from their own backs and staked those — until nothing remained but two naked, destitute wretches. And Ling Gui Xing waited and waited at home, his eyes nearly worn through with looking, with no news at all.

What happened next? Read on to the next chapter.