CHAPTER 593: CHAPTER 593: TRANSACTION

The soldiers on the city wall, seeing the strange movements of the group, became vigilant.

A soldier shouted from atop the wall, "The city gates are closed. Come back tomorrow."

A soldier hurried to report to the duty city defense officer.

This hefty man was fair-skinned with a round, rotund belly, and a face equally round and plump with flesh, squinting eyes paired with a smile, resembling a Laughing Buddha.

With a smile on his face, he spoke politely, "Honorable officials, we have urgent matters to attend to, please kindly open the gate."

As he spoke, he pulled out a token from his chest and held it high for all to see.

In the darkness of night, the details of the token were not clear, but the shouting soldier knew that anyone with a token coming in and out of the Capital at this hour was no ordinary person. He dared not waste more words, and promptly lowered the basket, telling the plump man to dismount to place the token inside for verification before being allowed entry.

At that moment, the city defense officer, having received the report, rushed over and glanced down from the wall. Hu Miaomiao’s fair and chubby appearance was quite visible in the firelight.

He was shocked, then looked at the token. Glimpsing its shape, he immediately ordered the city gates to be opened, constantly apologizing to Hu Miaomiao outside the gate for not recognizing his importance.

The city defense officer personally descended the wall, and as the gate was half-opened, he went out to welcome Hu Miaomiao and his party inside. He dared not ask what matter brought them or who was involved, merely going through the formalities to verify the token before letting them pass through the gates.

Hu Miaomiao thanked the officer, took back the token, and hurried with his group toward the Imperial Palace.

In the southwest of the Capital, where chaos thrived with a mix of fish and dragons, it was the most disorderly area.

Here, the dwellings were dilapidated, haphazardly arranged in chaos. Ordinary people could easily get lost upon entering, inhabited mostly by the likes of beggars, petty thieves, and cunning rogues. The poorest citizens, having no choice, also lived here, leaving for work during the day and returning at night.

The black market and various unsavory transactions were most common here, due to the complex terrain and numerous dwellings available for cover, offering easy escape routes—a place mired in filth and corruption.

The Shuntian Prefecture, under orders, had rectified this place several times. The situation had improved from the past, with fewer lives taken and cases for the government to deal with, but they could not eradicate the area’s vices from their roots.

Lian Bao, having disguised his appearance, led his people, slowly pushing two large carts toward the agreed rendezvous.

Busy with these matters all day, the meeting place was his suggestion, prepared well in advance. Once Uncle Ma was rescued, they would immediately withdraw and leave, prioritizing safety above all else.

Wang San had been moved back to the city to recover from his injuries, and the rest had returned. The silver, hidden in hemp sacks filled with chaff, was also transported back.

Together with the Guo family guards who had followed Skinny Monkey, they were knocked out, bound, and stuffed into the hemp sacks.

The transaction involved the silver extorted from the Guo family and those guards, exchanging these for the return of Uncle Ma.

In the letter to Guo Neng, Lian Bao threatened him, stating in the letter that they were bandits, only after wealth, and did not wish to deal with the government. They were uninterested in Guo Neng’s heinous deeds and would stay silent on those matters, provided Guo Neng returned the person. They would return the silver, and the whole affair would be written off. Otherwise, it would be a fight to the death.

In this deal, Lian Bao and his group only wanted Uncle Ma back, while Guo Neng would recover the silver, his guards, and their silence. No matter how one looked at it, Guo Neng stood to gain.

Lian Bao and his men pushed the two carts to an open space, with a series of houses and intertwined roads ahead and behind them.

When the appointed shichen arrived, the Guo family’s people, late to the scene, appeared from the other end of the open space, two men leading the way.

Lian Bao’s face was frosty as he squinted his peach blossom eyes toward the newcomers and signaled Skinny Monkey with his gaze.

Immediately understanding, Skinny Monkey raised his voice and asked, "The letter said for this transaction, you would release our man while we set free your taels of silver and these few people. We’ve brought the silver and the people as agreed, where is our man?"

From the other side of the darkness, a voice emerged: "Your man is here."

In the light of the torches, a few people from the Guo family came out, one of them being Lai Liang, the head guard of the Guo family.

Behind him, two guards escorted a man with tied hands in reverse, and walked him over to the other side of the clearing and stopped.

The escorted man’s mouth was gagged, his hair disheveled and his face smeared with blood. At that moment, he was pushed to the ground, his tattered clothes revealing the wounds underneath. Clearly visible were raw, bloody injuries that made it obvious he had been tortured.

This person was dressed in Uncle Ma’s clothing, and his stature as well as his facial features under the blood were strikingly similar to Uncle Ma.

Skinny Monkey and the others quickly turned to look at Lian Bao in alarm.

Lian Bao had a grim expression and examined the man being escorted carefully.

In principle, during an exchange, both the exchanged person and items should be placed under the illumination of torches for both parties to see clearly. However, the Guo family guards deliberately placed the escorted man at the very back, giving only a cursory sweep with the torch, and considered it done.

Lian Bao whispered a few words to Skinny Monkey and the others, who suddenly became hesitant and doubtful. They all looked towards Guo Neng’s side, their minds cooling down.

Lai Liang spoke coldly: "You bandits, the trade can happen now, right?"

Lian Bao’s gaze fell on the man lying on the ground, but he remained silent.

Skinny Monkey glanced at Lian Bao and, after noticing an almost imperceptible nod, said directly: "No rush, let’s chat a bit, shall we?"

"What?" Lai Liang was startled, thinking to himself that these bandits must be out of their minds—they seemed so eager just a moment ago.

Skinny Monkey continued: "Where’s your young master, huh? Why have only you few rats shown up? He isn’t scared and hiding like a coward, is he? Hahaha."

Rash Ge and others also burst into loud laughter.

Lai Liang replied with a cold tone: "Such trivial matters are not worth our young master’s presence."

Skinny Monkey scoffed: "Tsk tsk, even the lives of you guards are trivial matters? What about those heinous deeds he’s done? Surely they aren’t trivial, right?"

As he spoke, he kicked the person on the sack and said nonchalantly: "If you ask me, your young master doesn’t consider you as human. He’s treating you too poorly. Why don’t you join us? We treat our brothers well. See for yourself, we’re not even asking for all these taels of silver to save our brother."

These words were extremely grating to Lai Liang, especially because Skinny Monkey had hit the nail on the head.

Lai Liang knew these words were sapping the morale of his soldiers, and to avoid any trouble, he yelled: "Enough with the nonsense. Are we trading or not?"

With a flash of coldness in his peach blossom eyes, Lian Bao slowly let out a smile: "Of course we will trade, but first, you’ll need to return our man," Lian Bao said.

Lai Liang felt a surge of alarm and glanced at the person they brought: "What do you mean?"

Skinny Monkey’s demeanor changed, and no longer nonchalant, his gaze was ferocious, as if he could eat people. He spat out viciously: "You damn dog, can’t understand human speech, is that it? It means you think Grandpa here is an idiot, trying to trick me. Grandpa has been around the block more times than you dogs have eaten crap!"

Rash Ge and the others began to clench their fists, eyeing Lai Liang’s side with predatory eagerness.

Lai Liang couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. In the darkness, that band of thieves couldn’t have seen clearly, and they even went as far as altering the old crook’s appearance, making him look at least fifty to sixty percent like the real deal. Without close inspection, one surely wouldn’t notice the difference.