Chapter 55: An Qingtian Enters the Den of Thieves Alone, Seeking Only Justice for the Common People

Word of mouth spread quickly through the city, and the townspeople soon learned that the bandits of Tuo Mountain had been wiped out.

Upon hearing the news that the bodies of the bandits were strung up at the vegetable market for three days of public exposure, countless citizens rushed over to see.

For a time, the vegetable market was a bustling hub of excitement. An Xin, hailed as an upright and benevolent magistrate, rose rapidly in fame, and the Archer Camp instantly gained immense renown.

In the afternoon, at the second hall of the county yamen, An Xin was holding a council in the office with Hu Changshan and Wan Zewen.

Zhang Liang stood by, listening in.

"Sir, these are the assets escorted by the bandits and the valuables confiscated from the mountain."

An Xin took the ledger handed over by Hu Changshan, glanced through it briefly, and lost interest.

Altogether, the items listed were not even worth three thousand taels.

"Have them sold off and set up a separate account."

An Xin handed the ledger over to Zhang Liang.

Although he thought little of the sum, there were many places that required spending, so An Xin still gave the instruction.

"Understood!"

Zhang Liang put the ledger away.

"Master Wan, go draft a report on today's bandit suppression, attach the inventory, and submit it to the prefectural office. Make sure to include all the heinous crimes committed by the bandits within the county over the past two years, and be as detailed as possible!"

An Xin instructed Wan Zewen.

This was not only to report the success of the bandit suppression to the superior prefectural office and even the imperial court while requesting the execution of the bandits, but also to claim credit for their achievements.

For Master Wan, this was right up his alley.

"Understood!"

Wan Zewen nodded and turned to leave.

"Don't forget to add at the beginning that this suppression was carried out under the guidance of the prefectural office and through the united efforts of the gentry and people of Wuren."

Before Master Wan stepped out, An Xin offered a final piece of advice.

"Understood!"

Wan Zewen acknowledged the command once more.

As he walked out, he pondered the matter and realized that the County Magistrate was indeed far more astute. No wonder An Xin had ranked high in the imperial examinations as a second-class jinshi, while he himself had stopped at the level of a xiucai.

He had only thought of claiming credit for the county yamen and the magistrate himself, failing to think of adding luster to the reputation of the prefect.

He realized that compared to the County Magistrate, his own strategic vision was practically that of an inexperienced greenhorn.

"Changshan, I now give you two tasks.

First, take some men to clean up Tuo Mountain and incorporate it into the property of the county yamen.

Second, investigate which residents of Cuijia Village are members of the Tuo Mountain bandits and which are ordinary citizens coerced by them. Consult with the county丞 and the chief registrar to relocate the innocent people of Cuijia Village elsewhere; they must no longer remain at the foot of Tuo Mountain.

Third, afterwards, you, along with Wei Shuye and Zhang Qian, are to calculate the reward silver for this bandit suppression, and report back to me once the figures are settled."

An Xin instructed Hu Changshan.

Hu Changshan noted the orders carefully, cupped his fists, and accepted them.

"Sir, how should the Su family be handled specifically?"

Zhang Liang asked.

Although he had previously assured Su Daoran that the Su family would be spared, now that the time for reckoning had arrived, things might not necessarily proceed according to their previous discussion.

"The Su family..."

An Xin tapped his fingers on the table. "I have already sent men to arrest Su Daoran."

"Sir!"

Liao Guochang called out softly from outside the door.

Seeing An Xin nod slightly, Zhang Liang shouted, "Come in."

Only then did Liao Guochang step into the room, cup his fists, and report, "Reporting to the County Magistrate, Su Daoran has hanged himself at home."

"Hanged himself?"

An Xin stopped tapping his fingers on the table, then let out a cold laugh. "A sensible man after all; that way, he will suffer less."

In truth, regardless of whether An Xin intended to exterminate the Su family completely, he had never planned to help cover up Su Daoran's collusion with bandits, and the matter was bound to spread quickly anyway.

Over the years, members of the Su family had frequently used the Tuo Mountain bandits to pass along intelligence and undermine rival merchants, and the families they had wronged would certainly not let them off either.

"You may all go about your business."

An Xin waved his hand, dismissing them.

Though the bandit suppression was complete, a mountain of work still surrounded the aftermath.

The entire county yamen was so extraordinarily busy that even after closing hours in the afternoon, the departments of revenue, military, works, and punishments were still working overtime, drafting documents or holding late meetings.

Meanwhile, on Bailing Mountain in the southwest of the city, two figures returned to the mountain panting heavily.

"Big Boss, we almost didn't make it back. It's a good thing we went a quarter of an hour later, otherwise we would have been trapped right on the mountain by the government troops!"

In the clearing before the cliff, Climbing Tiger was smoking a pipe, gazing at the distant sun, which was as red as a monkey's backside.

Beneath him knelt a woman.

Listening to Third Brother's lingering fear, Climbing Tiger exhaled a puff of smoke. "How did you find the combat strength of those archers?"

Third Brother shook his head. "We didn't see the battlefield, but Tuo Mountain is definitely gone. That group of archers might not be as easy to deal with as we imagined."

"Wait a moment; the men Second Brother sent out should be returning soon."

Climbing Tiger puffed steadily on his dry tobacco, reached out, and heavily slapped the buttocks of the woman beneath him—for just as Third Brother mentioned that Tuo Mountain was gone, he felt the body beneath him tremble, a clear sign that her body was here while her heart was elsewhere.

"This woman is yours."

He stood up, leaving behind the pale-faced woman, and walked back to his quarters on his own.

Black Dragon looked at the woman with an expression of excitement.

Fear already filled the woman's eyes. Rumors on the mountain said that very few women who fell into the hands of Third Boss Black Dragon lived past a week.

Over the next few days, the weather was exceptionally fine, though the cold grew sharper by the day.

One-Ear and the dozen or so captured bandits suffered terribly.

Clanking under heavy cangues, they were locked in prisoner carts and paraded first through the various wards of the city, and the next day through the districts outside the city.

Their bodies were pelted with rotting vegetable leaves until the stench soaked deep into them, making them reek abominably.

Even the bailiffs and prison guards escorting the procession suffered along with them.

Starting on the third day, they were paraded through the various townships.

Especially when passing through villages that had once suffered under the oppression of the bandits, the villagers burned with righteous anger, grabbing stones and hurling them into the prisoner carts. The bailiffs often had to keep a safe distance away.

When passing through Mengji Township, two of the bandits were actually beaten to death on the spot!

That at least saved them a trip to the vegetable market.

"Oh, upright and benevolent magistrate!"

Following several consecutive days of the prisoner cart procession, virtually all of the hundred-and-some-thousand residents both inside and outside Wuren County City learned of the new magistrate's suppression of the bandits.

The reputation of the upright magistrate grew louder and louder.

A few days later, the storytellers in the city adopted a new repertoire.

"As the story goes, that One-Ear of Tuo Mountain possessed a ferocious countenance and a heart as venomous as a scorpion, wielding a three-edged armor-piercing awl and wearing a nine-ring ghost-head saber at his waist! He was a fierce and malevolent spirit of cruel methods where not a blade of grass grew in his wake. You all know about the Jia family village in Mengji Town...

That One-Ear brutally slashed open a pregnant woman's belly, and when the eight-month-old infant was cruelly cut out, it was still kicking its little legs...

As the saying goes, retribution eventually catches up to good and evil! The newly appointed Magistrate An, an upright official, ventured into the tiger's den before even taking office, wrapping a coarse cloth tunic around a heart of pure loyalty, and trampling the dragon's pool in worn straw sandals!

Our newly appointed Magistrate Lord An, prior to taking office, went on an undercover inspection, entering the bandit lair alone to master their secret affairs. No sooner had he taken office than he raised silver, vowing to eradicate the bandits and seek justice for the people of Wuren... By the grace of the heavens and unyielding retribution, such beasts were finally suppressed by our newly appointed Magistrate Lord An leading his troops!"

Immediately following this, theatrical acts such as *Magistrate An Enters the Bandit Lair Alone*, *Magistrate An Outwits the Tuo Mountain Bandits*, and *The Archer Camp's Campaign against Bandits* were adapted and began to be performed in teahouses, entertainment quarters, temple fairs, and theatrical stages.

Someone even spent money to hire these opera troupes to perform in the countryside, once again pushing the fervor of the bandit suppression to a new height.

Even many people in neighboring counties came to know that Wuren County was home to an upright and benevolent magistrate who loved the people like his own children, possessed immense courage, and dared to enter the bandit lair all by himself.