Chapter Fifty-Five: Stealing Across the City at the Grassroots Level

Inside the storeroom, aside from our furs, there are also some bolts of silk. Should we take them?
Take them!
There’s a concealed entrance to a cellar in the storeroom—do we go in?
Go in!
At the bottom of the cellar, there’s a pile of gold and silver. Should we take it?
Take it!
Beside the gold, there are some swords and knives. Take them?
Take them!
Next to the weapons is a stack of calligraphy and paintings. Take them?
Take... actually, forget it. Leave the calligraphy and paintings—we don’t have time to sell those.

The county yamen was deserted; only an old man sat at the gate as watchman.
In a corner of that compound, such a conversation was underway.
Lu Ze and Xu Wenshan were both dressed in black with their faces covered. This time, as Xu Wenshan said, they had come to retrieve what was rightfully theirs.
Yet by now, it seemed they were intent on emptying out the entire yamen.

The Spider Spirit asked, “Weren’t we only supposed to take back what belonged to us?”
Xu Wenshan flicked him on the head, saying, “Are you stupid? If we only take our own furs and ox cart, isn’t that the same as telling everyone it was us? We need to clear out everything—then the range of suspects is much wider.”
The Spider Spirit pondered for some time, unable to grasp the logic, but followed Xu Wenshan’s instructions nonetheless, winching the ox and cart out with spider silk.
For the rest, one tossed items over the wall, the other caught them on the outside, and soon the yamen’s belongings had all been loaded onto the cart.

Xu Wenshan told the Spider Spirit, “Remember, come back to pick us up on time.”
The Spider Spirit nodded, took off the black clothes to reveal peasant garb beneath, stuffed the black attire into the cart, and then drove the ox cart out of town at a leisurely pace.
Lu Ze pulled a map from his breast. “Next target: the Liu family. What are we stealing from them?”
“Not stealing—reclaiming.”
“What are we reclaiming from the Lius?”
“If they have money, we take money. Any jewels or jade, we can grab those too.”
Lu Ze said, “Xu Wenshan, I have a question.”
“Ask.”
“Are we taking money from other wealthy families just to broaden the suspect pool?”
“Of course.”
“And in the end, hitting the county marshal’s residence is for the same reason?”
“Yes.”

“Didn’t Xu Jing help you once?”
“That’s exactly why taking—reclaiming—things from her family will make me even less of a suspect.”
“But didn’t you say Xu Jing is a good person, and you’d treat her better in the future?”
“When did I say that?” Xu Wenshan exclaimed, startled.
“You said it in your sleep.”
Lu Ze stepped closer. “Do you keep your word or not?”
Xu Wenshan backed away. “I always do... but sleep-talk doesn’t count, right?”
Lu Ze pressed, “But you always keep your promises, do you not?”
Sweat beaded on Xu Wenshan’s brow. “All right, all right, I’ll revise the plan...”
After the two revised their plan, Lu Ze was finally satisfied. Xu Wenshan wiped the sweat from his face. “Is it just me, or do you seem particularly fond of Xu Jing?”
Lu Ze blushed, shaking his head, then immediately nodded.
Xu Wenshan’s mouth twitched, but then he realized he’d misunderstood something.
“Xu Jing is very beautiful, and unlike other humans, she doesn’t have so many cunning thoughts. Is it odd to like her?” Lu Ze said.
So that’s it... Lu Ze’s fondness for Xu Jing was like a person’s affection for cats or dogs—a different species, after all.
Wait—does that mean I’m full of cunning thoughts myself?
Xu Wenshan patted Lu Ze’s shoulder, once again assuring him he’d never intentionally frame Xu Jing.
As they were about to leave the yamen, Xu Wenshan suddenly called Lu Ze back, picked up a piece of charcoal from the ground, and, using it as a pen, scrawled a crooked line of large characters on the wall:
“King of Thieves: Chu Liuxiang.”
...
Xu Jing’s real name, in fact, was not Xu Jing, but Xu Jingting.
Xu Jingting sat before the candlelight, gazing at her determined reflection in the mirror, and suddenly wanted to try the rouge and powder women used.
Startled by this sudden weakness, she slapped her own cheeks and said, “What are you thinking?”
Like other girls, Xu Jingting once had a childhood filled with swings and wildflowers, but she was a clever and precocious child. As she grew, she realized that if she did nothing, eventually she would be married off to a stranger and become an ordinary woman.
“Ordinary” was the word she hated most.
So she began to change. She disguised herself as a boy and won the right to attend school. Soon, she became a leader among the children—boys listened to her orders.
She disliked these boys; most were dull and coarse, above all, ordinary.
She refused to marry a man more ordinary than herself.
So Xu Jingting became Xu Jing.
She believed that so long as she was braver and stronger than a man, she would one day escape her fate.
Over time, strength became her creed.

She must be stronger than her mother, or she would weep at night as her mother did.
She must be stronger than her father, or she would become his puppet.
She must be stronger than her classmates, or she would fall as they did.
She must be stronger than men, or else she would have to marry one.
But today, she had been weak.
She thought this weakness had come out of nowhere, but in truth, its seed had been planted yesterday.
Xu Jing believed the root of her weakness was “Xu Cong.”
That she could feel hurt by someone’s broken promise was entirely unlike her.
How ridiculous.
As if in agreement with her thoughts, she let out a self-mocking laugh.

“Young master! Young master! There’s someone at the gate asking for you!”
The maid called from outside. She had instructed them to address her as “young master,” and now they were all used to it.
“Send him away. I’m about to retire; I’ll see no one.” Xu Jing replied coolly.
“I told him, but he just won’t leave...” the maid answered, aggrieved.
“Didn’t you call for the servants to drive him off?”
“We did, but the servants... couldn’t catch him.”
A sudden premonition struck Xu Jing. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did he give his name?”
“He did. He said he’s Xu Cong, your friend.”
With a bang, the door flew open, revealing Xu Jing’s stern face. “I have no such friend,” she declared.
Yet even as she said it, she went to meet this “Xu Cong.”
“My, what a place you have! There’s a rockery in the courtyard, whoa! A pond! Whoa! And trees!” Xu Wenshan exclaimed as he entered, gawking like a country bumpkin.
No, he really was a country bumpkin.
Xu Jing’s face darkened. “Why are you here?”
It was highly improper to visit someone’s home so late at night.
Xu Wenshan showed not a hint of shame. “Don’t be so distant—we’re friends, aren’t we? Didn’t I write you a poem just today?”
Had he not mentioned the book fair, Xu Jing wouldn’t have been so irritated, but now she was even more annoyed. “What are you here for?”
Just then, a shriek rang out from the rear courtyard, and a shadow darted between them.
“Thief!”