Section 080: The Matchmaker of East A

At that very moment, a prefectural soldier hidden in the dense forest sprang out, drew his bow, and loosed an arrow at the mounted giant in black.

Terrible!

Li Dong was startled.

Silencing the witness!

In a flash of insight, he immediately understood that this was a plot arranged in advance by the magistrate of Dong'e County.

If the bandit leader were shot dead on the spot, then even if they routed the whole gang and captured them all alive, it would not compare to a single word from that black-clad giant.

At this critical instant, an arrow suddenly shot out from the woods on the right, faster than the first, and cleanly snapped the incoming shaft in two.

Driven by the force of the second arrow, the first lost its power and veered aside, forming an inverted V as it skimmed past the bandits' right flank.

The black-clad giant broke out in a cold sweat.

Grinding his teeth and glaring furiously, he roared, "Kill them!"

He charged forward at the head of the pack, raging with fury.

More than a thousand bandits followed close behind like rolling thunder, surging like a whirlwind toward the prefectural soldier who had fired the black arrow.

That soldier had not expected his arrow to be split in two. Seeing that matters had gone badly, he turned and fled.

Nearly a thousand bandits on horseback rode straight into the trap Li Dong had laid in advance.

Thud!

Hooves plunged into the deep pits dug with green bamboo.

Neighing in agony, the horses buckled at the forelegs and hurled the riders over their heads into the dirt.

The other mounts, trying to skirt the fallen men, did not escape the fate of broken legs beneath flying hooves.

In an instant, men and horses tumbled in chaos, and screams of pain rose without end.

Fortune had turned in Li Dong's favor. His face brightened at once, and with great delight he gave the order: "Loose!"

A storm of arrows filled the sky, surging forth like a mass of crimson clouds.

In a breath, the battlefield became a burial ground. Hundreds of bandits had not even understood what had happened before they were already dead and gone.

Horses and bandits alike were bristling with arrows. The ground several zhang ahead was likewise packed with shafts, each one thrusting straight up toward the heavens as if rooted there.

Seeing the formation ahead fall into complete disorder, the county lieutenant led five hundred prefectural soldiers wheeling back around to kill, blocking the mouth of the ravine with iron resolve. They then finished off or captured the bandits who had been wounded by arrows and, though not yet dead, were trying to retreat.

The bandit leader's own mount had also had its legs broken, pinning them beneath its belly. When the arrows swept through the air, he had crouched low behind the horse's body. The horse had been shot into a giant porcupine, but he himself had suffered only minor injuries and was still far from death.

Was there anything more miserable than this?

With his own eyes, he watched the force he had carefully gathered be wiped out in the blink of an eye.

He still wanted to rise and fight to the death, but once the horse was dead, its bulk became crushingly heavy. No matter how he struggled, he could not budge even an inch. Furious and desperate, tears actually spilled down his face as he lifted his head and lamented to heaven, "Heaven above, you mean to destroy me, Xu Lang!"

At that moment the county lieutenant came to stand beside him, wearing the benevolent, after-the-fact air of a smooth-tongued old schemer. Sighing, he tried to comfort him. "The one destroying you is not Heaven. Heaven does not have that power. It is the young hero from Jizhou who defeated Zhi Shilang at Zhangqiu, Li Dong. Accept your fate. Do not keep blaming and mourning yourself."

Xu Lang went rigid at once. Almost unable to believe his ears, he asked, "Who did you say it was?"

"Li Dong. Li Dong of Zhangqiu! Do you still have questions?" the county lieutenant asked in surprise.

"He is not in Zhangqiu? When did he come to Dong'e?" Xu Lang pressed urgently, paying no heed to the searing pain where his legs were pinned under the horse.

The county lieutenant chuckled. "People are alive; they can move about. Besides, he only arrived today."

"Xu Qing didn't tell me a word about this! What is going on here..." Xu Lang blurted out, then realized at once he had misspoken. He wanted to correct himself, but it was already too late.

Li Dong was already standing before him, imposing and commanding, and had heard every word clearly.

Li Dong did not yet know much about who Xu Qing was, but the county lieutenant knew the name like thunder in his ears.

Xu Qing was the magistrate of Dong'e County.

The magistrate was named Xu Qing, and the bandit leader was named Xu Lang. What secret connection lay between them?

The county lieutenant hurriedly ordered several prefectural soldiers to carry the horses away, bind Xu Lang, and take him aside as well.

After the soldiers had led Xu Lang away, the county lieutenant dragged Li Dong to a deserted spot and said mysteriously, "There is certainly collusion between the magistrate and Xu Lang..."

Li Dong had already known this before entering the county offices of Dong'e, but hearing it spoken aloud by the county lieutenant still carried weight. He quickly asked, "How do you know?"

Glancing around to make sure no one was near, the county lieutenant lowered his voice. "The magistrate is called Xu Qing, and the bandit leader is called Xu Lang. Qing and lang, clear and bright. If they are not brothers, then they must be cousins."

At last the fog in Li Dong's heart cleared, and he had finally found the motive behind their secret cooperation. So the two men were blood relatives.

Since he could not openly reveal that he had known this beforehand, Li Dong feigned shock and exclaimed, "Ah! What should we do then? If Xu Lang is taken back, won't Xu Qing simply set him free?"

The county lieutenant immediately broke into a fawning smile. "Let me strike a bargain with you. Once this is done, it will benefit both of us. What do you think?"

"What sort of bargain?"

"We will pretend that we did not defeat Xu Lang. After we return, you should hurry back to Qi Commandery and report this to the provincial governor. I will guard Xu Qing closely here. Once you have sent men to take Xu Qing away, then this post of magistrate... what do you say..."

"Oh..." Li Dong pointed a finger at the county lieutenant's nose and grinned wickedly on purpose. "I understand... I understand."

The county lieutenant's meaning was obvious: he wanted to replace Xu Qing as the magistrate of Dong'e County.

With the bandit Xu Lang captured, Magistrate Xu Qing would surely be taken down as well. Li Dong could not overstep his bounds and act before reporting, so he would certainly have to rush back to Qi Commandery and send men here again.

If no one were sent to keep watch over the magistrate, and he managed to slip away, then amid the vast sea of people, finding him again would be like searching for a needle in the ocean. Besides, before long the realm would fall into chaos, and in such an age of disorder he would be even harder to track down.

This sorry tangle before them did indeed require a capable man to take charge. The county lieutenant was truly capable of handling the aftermath with speed and precision. It was only unfortunate that Xu Qing had monopolized the post for too long, leaving him perpetually stifled. Now, at this once-in-a-millennium chance, his abilities were finally coming to light.

Li Dong had already begun to feel a certain fondness for the county lieutenant. The man had a sharp mind and handled affairs with seasoned decisiveness and skill. If he were to govern Dong'e, he would be far superior to Xu Qing in office.

Still, there were two matters that first had to be settled. I must guide him and lead him onto my path.

Li Dong asked, "That arrow that was shot at Xu Lang just now must have been sent by Xu Qing. The one who fired it has already slipped away under our very eyes. I'm afraid we can no longer hide this from Xu Qing."

The county lieutenant answered carelessly, "I saw clearly who it was. My own men—I know them well enough. The one whose arrow I split was the one I shot. Leave this man to me. It will be no trouble."

Li Dong nodded. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local serpent. He was indeed utterly ignorant of Dong'e's affairs and simply could not compare to someone like the county lieutenant, who had long been steeped in them.

Thinking of this, Li Dong went on, "There is a hero and bold fellow at Pigeon Inn, surnamed Cheng and given the name Yaojin. He is over twenty, generous and forthright, an exceptionally useful man. I wonder whether you have heard of him?"

Li Dong had meant to hint that the county lieutenant should deal more often with Cheng Yaojin in the future. Unexpectedly, the county lieutenant misunderstood him completely. His expression suddenly became awkward. Glancing at Li Dong, he said sheepishly:

"Anyone you introduce must surely be a very fine person. My own daughter is already over twenty and still not married..."

Li Dong was stunned. He took half a step back and stared at him wide-eyed. "I'm only sixteen..."

The county lieutenant's face turned even redder. Stammering, he said, "I didn't mean that. What I meant was, if that young man surnamed Cheng is not yet married, then my daughter could be given to him as his wife..."

Li Dong covered his mouth and laughed.

In the late Sui years, remaining unmarried after the age of twenty was against the law. What sort of oddity could have reached twenty without being wed?

So Li Dong asked, "Up to now, I have not yet had the honor of learning the county lieutenant's respected name."

The county lieutenant sighed. "No need to mention it. My surname is Cui, and my humble name is Boling. I am a collateral branch of the Cui clan of Zhangqiu..."

One of the Five Great Families and Seven Eminent Clans?!!!

Li Dong was greatly startled. He scrutinized Cui Boling again and again, thinking, I have actually encountered one of the great aristocratic clans that have been renowned since the Jin dynasties, the Cui family?