A Clash of Gods - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Head Constable
“Do you know them?” The two people under Ten-mile Fragrance were quite conspicuous. Yang Ning took one glance and knew that Monkey was talking about them.

Monkey didn’t look back and said softly, “Not only I know them. There should be few people who don’t know them. You also know them, but you just can’t remember now.”

Yang Ning frowned, “Who are they? Why are you so afraid of them?”

Monkey approached to Yang Ning and glanced back secretly. Seeing that the two didn’t pay attention to them, he relaxed a little and then lowered his voice, saying, “The one who is taller is Head Constable Xiao, and the one who is shorter is Assistant Constable Feng, he is a crazy dog eating people with bones. Can you remember it?”

Yang Ning had no impression of the two of them.

“Head Constable Xiao…” Yang Ning groaned, “That’s the one named Xiao Yishui? I heard that Boss Fang has a good relationship with him.”

Monkey squatted at the foot of the wall, so Yang Ning could only squat down. Monkey approached to him and whispered, “Boss Fang is Xiao Yishui’s dog…” He hesitated a bit before he said, “No matter what Xiao Yishui says, Boss Fang will listen to him. We disciples of the Beggar Sect are now controlled by Xiao Yishui.”

Although Yang Ning knew that Boss Fang and Xiao Yishui had a close relationship, he didn’t expect it to be such a relationship, and he was stupefied, “Is this Xiao Yishui so powerful?”

Monkey whispered, “After staying in this city for a long time, you will know that Xiao Yishui is almighty in Huize County. I heard that even Magistrate of Huize County didn’t dare to shout at Head Constable Xiao. This Magistrate has been here for several years and then he will be promoted and leave, but Head Constable Xiao will always stay in Huize county seat. I’ve been in Huize county seat for six or seven years, and this Magistrate is the third one I have ever seen, but Head Constable is always Xiao Yishui!”

“In this way, this Head Constable Xiao is really an almighty person.” Yang Ning touched his nose and smiled slightly.

A powerful dragon couldn’t beat a local snake. Of course, Yang Ning understood this truth. The Magistrate was an official appointed by the imperial court, while Head Constable was a local servant. The Magistrate would be promoted and the Head Constable might not be replaced.

However, if Xiao Yishui could always be in the position of Head Constable when the Magistrate changed, that would be impressive.

Monkey said, “Every Assistant Constable in Huize county seat is under his control.” After a pause, he continued to whisper, “Many people say in private that the Assistant Constables in Huize county seat only listen to Head Constable Xiao. Without Head Constable Xiao’s order, even the Magistrate of Huize County couldn’t mobilize any Assistant Constables. The Magistrate should respect Head Constable Xiao while dealing with business. Do you think he is powerful now? I also heard that no matter whether it’s a big case or a small one, as long as Head Constable Xiao doesn’t mind it, the case will never be solved.”

Yang Ning just smiled slightly and asked, “Then who is that Assistant Constable Feng? Why is he called a crazy dog?”

When he mentioned Assistant Constable Feng, Monkey was at panic, and he lowered his head and asked softly, “Is he looking at us?”

“No.” Yang Ning glanced over there through the crowds on the street, and said, “Why are you so afraid of him? You are just a beggar, not a criminal. What’s to be scared of?”

The more Yang Ning asked, the more obvious the fear was in Monkey’s eyes.

Yang Ning couldn’t help but stare there, seeing that Assistant Constable Feng had finished his words and Xiao Yishui whispered in his ears, then patted his shoulder. Assistant Constable Feng saluted and seemed to be very respectful to Xiao Yishui. Then he turned around and walked into the street and hurried away.

Yang Ning did not take back his gaze. He still looked at Xiao Yishui. Xiao Yishui sorted out his clothes and glanced around the street, then he turned around and entered the Ten-mile Fragrance restaurant.

“They are all gone.” Yang Ning patted Monkey on his shoulder.

Monkey looked up and saw that the two were no longer in front of the Ten-mile Fragrance, then he took a sigh of relief and said, “I am nearly scared to death.”

Yang Ning thought that you were arrogant in the Earth Temple before, but when you came out, you were such a coward. You were really useless. But he still asked with curiosity, “You haven’t told me why Assistant Constable Feng is called a crazy dog. And why are you so afraid of them? Have you contacted them before?”

Monkey gritted his teeth and said, “The name of a crazy dog isn’t called by me. Many people in the Beggar Sect call the miscellaneous crazy dog. That man is the top Assistant Constable of Head Constable Xiao. It is said that he has followed Head Constable Xiao for many years and the two are sworn brothers.” He clenched his fist, hatefully said, “I was miserable because of him.”

Yang Ning said in surprise, “Were you arrested by him?”

“That crazy dog uses us to test the whip.” Monkey said angrily, “The servants in the government always ask Boss Fang for people to test the cane. Boss Fang… Boss Fang is a coward and he is afraid to work against the government. Every once in a while, he will send the disciples in the Beggar Sect to the government and hand them to the crazy dog. There are more than 20 people every time.”

“Try the cane with living people?” Yang Ning was astonished.

Although he hadn’t seen it before, he also knew that the ancient board in the government was not a trivial matter. When it was really going to be cruel, tens of hits would kill a life.

“They pull our pants off and beat us into bleeding flesh.” Monkey was angry and scared, “The crazy dog and his subordinates are so miscellaneous. They never treat us like human beings…” He said in a low voice, “It’s just an excuse to test the board, but their real aim is to play us like animals. The crazy dog personally beat three or four people to death…”

Yang Ning knew in his heart that the death of a few beggars during the chaotic period was a matter of insignificance. Moreover, it was done by the servants and officials in the government, so there was less chance for them to sue.

Assistant Constable Feng was so fierce to disrespect life, but it could also show that Xiao Yishui and Assistant Constable Feng and their group had been too almighty in Huize county seat.

“Since Boss Fang is the head of the Beggar Sect in Huize county seat, why does he send sheep into the tiger’s mouth when he should have protected the Beggar Sect?” Yang Ning sneered, “How can such an abusive person become a leader?”

“Boss Fang?” Monkey sneered and said, “Those officials in the government don’t treat us as humans, and Boss Fang is not much better. The crazy dog has made us suffer all these years, but Boss Fang doesn’t even dare to say anything.”

Yang Ning nodded slightly. Monkey’s words about Boss Fang were the same as those of Old Bark. Boss Fang was indeed a bastard who didn’t care about the lives of the disciples.

The sky was completely dark, and the moon arose in the sky. The lights in the restaurants and inns were lit on. If you only looked at the bright lights on this street and heard the laughter from those restaurants, it would be hard to be reminded that there were still countless refugees starving in this county.

The portals of the rich reek of flesh and wine stank while frozen bodies lay by the roadside. This was exactly the picture of this county.

As night got darker, the crowd on the street gradually disappeared. After all, this was just a small county. At 9 o’clock in the evening, pedestrians on the street were already very rare, and many stores were closed.

Yang Ning waited until there were not many pedestrians on the street, and then walked down the lane that Monkey said and reached the entrance.

“That’s the Death Lane.” Monkey pointed to the opposite side at the entrance of the lane. The two lanes faced each other, with only a deserted street in between.

Yang Ning saw that the lane was dark and the entrance was like a monster’s mouth, which was unfathomable.

He was about to walk out of the lane, but Monkey stretched his hand to grab his sleeve. Yang Ning frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Boss Ermine, do we really have to go?” The eyes of Monkey showed his scare, “Or… How about waiting longer?”

Yang Ning knew that Monkey was afraid, he said softly, “I already know the place, so you can go back to the Earth Temple first, you don’t have to follow me.” With such a timid guy following him, he might not help, instead, he might cause trouble. Since so, it would be better if he worked alone.

“Ah?” Monkey rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed, “Boss Ermine, I… I’m not afraid. I’m just… just worried about you.”

Yang Ning thought if I believed you, then I would be a fool. But he still smiled, “It won’t be good if there are too many people. I will go there alone to see whether I can meet Xiaodie. She saved my life. I need to thank her.”

Monkey asked softly, “Madam Hua’s house is surrounded by high walls. It is even impossible for us to approach, let alone to get in. Do you… Do you remember how you met Xiaodie before?”

Yang Ning remembered that they also said that he often came here to meet Xiaodie. But Yang Ning was not Ermine in the past, and he really didn’t have the impression of meeting Xiaodie here.

The memory of the original owner of this body was not only scarce, but also very fragmented. It seemed that after his soul occupied this body, the memory of the owner of the body had been swallowed or even squeezed out. Some memories were stubbornly retained because of his firm spirit, and they emerged when there was an emergency.

Monkey was still anxious. Hearing a rattling noise from the street suddenly, the two looked out from the lane, with the moonlight, they found a dark shadow appearing at the end of the deserted long street. Soon, it could be seen that it was a carriage.

Although this street was paved with bluestone, the path in the small county was still a bit bumpy. When the carriage came over, the rattling sound of the wheels rolling against the bluestone path was also quite clear.

“Is it a carriage?” Monkey whispered, “Carriages are rare in the city, so it is not easy to see. During the war, most of the horses were requisitioned, so there are few horses in the whole city.”

The carriage was moving and soon approaching. The two of them stuck their backs against the wall in the lane. The lane was dark and the walls on both sides were extremely high, but the moonlight was not easy to shine in, so the two were in darkness, and they were hard to be found.

The carriage arrived at the entrance of the lane and suddenly stopped. With the moonlight, Yang Ning saw the carriage was shabby, but the horse pulling the carriage was fat and its legs were long. The man controlling the carriage wore a rough cloth and a bamboo hat. The man’s face couldn’t be seen clearly.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the lane and didn’t move forward for a while. But the man driving the carriage raised his hand to lift his bamboo hat. Under the moonlight, he looked around.

Yang Ning looked at the groom in the dark lane quietly, and felt that the man’s figure was very familiar, he frowned slightly.

The groom glanced around for a while and shook the rein of the horse. However, the horse turned to the Death Lane on the opposite side. The groom yelled in a low voice and the carriage went into the Death Lane and was soon disappeared in the dark lane.

“Drive the carriage into the Death Lane?” Monkey saw the carriage go into the lane and whispered when he just stood steadily, “Then who is in the carriage? Ha-ha, isn’t… isn’t he going to spend time with Madam Hua?” A frivolous look appeared on his face.

Yang Ning glanced at him and asked coldly, “You say that the man is going for Madam Hua?”

Monkey’s eyes were glowing, “I heard that although Madam Hua is not young, but she maintains her beauty well. The flesh is fair and tender, as if it were able to be squeezed out water. And she is coquettish. If I can take her clothes off and spend one night with her…” Suddenly he saw Yang Ning’s expression indifferent and looked at himself with a very weird look, so he immediately stopped talking and laughed twice, a little bit embarrassed.

Yang Ning thought that how long this guy hadn’t touched a woman, so that he would think about these obscene things. He didn’t care about it and asked in a low voice, “I’m not aware who is in the carriage. But don’t you see who the groom is?”

“The groom?” Monkey wondered, “Do you know him?”

“You should really improve your vision.” Yang Ning said softly, “He is the person you hate and fear the most. We just saw him not long ago.”

Monkey was surprised and opened his mouth, and there was scare in his eyes, “You… You mean…?”

“It’s the crazy dog you said.” Yang Ning sneered, “That’s the Assistant Constable Feng!”

Monkey hadn’t gained back his consciousness yet, when Yang Ning rushed out of the lane like a leopard. He quickly crossed the long street, and when Monkey recovered, Yang Ning had disappeared in the dark Death Lane.