Although killing Zhang Nan was a spur-of-the-moment decision, Jiang Mingxi had already come up with an escape plan in a short span of time.
Luckily, Zhang Nan often beat people to death when drunk, so now that he was drunk and had no servants attending him, it made things easier for her to get away.
She casually tossed Zhang Nan’s corpse into the lake in front of the door.
The fish flicked their tails a few times, the moonlight shattered, and the body quickly sank to the bottom.
Having spent three years in the Zhang Family in her previous life, Jiang Mingxi knew the layout of the Zhang Residence like the back of her hand.
Taking advantage of the night, Jiang Mingxi crept in the dark and pried open the door to Zhang Nan’s late father’s old room, took off her bloodstained clothes, and found an old garment inside to put on.
She then, without hesitation, used a knife to cut off her long hair.
After escaping from the brothel in her previous life, Jiang Mingxi had roamed the jianghu for many years. In order to survive, she had struggled through various trades and had picked up some barbering skills along the way.
She was tall and had learned to disguise her voice. In her previous life, she had dressed as a man and traveled the jianghu without ever being suspected.
Feeling that she had tidied herself up well enough, Jiang Mingxi silently left the old room, twisted and turned through the corridors, and slipped into a blind spot in the guards’ patrol.
She climbed over the wall and escaped from the Zhang Family, not alarming a single soul throughout the entire process.
Escaping the Zhang Family was only the first step. Now the question was, how to get out of the city.
First of all, there was a curfew in the city, so it was impossible to leave right now.
By daybreak, the Zhang Family would discover Zhang Nan’s death, and she, as the one who had disappeared, would be the prime suspect.
Her wanted notice would surely be posted at the city gates, and the Zhang Family would have people watching. Trying to leave the city at such a time would be walking straight into the muzzle of a gun.
Jiang Mingxi pondered.
If she wanted to leave the city, she either needed a clean and reliable travel pass, or she had to find someone so powerful that even the Zhang Family wouldn’t dare provoke them to take her out.
Although Jiang Mingxi had never gone to school in her previous life, she loved reading newspapers.
She remembered clearly that in the past few days, a big shot had passed through the city and was currently staying at the county magistrate’s residence.
That big shot was called Chu Wangshu, from the illustrious Chu Family.
The Chu Family was a prominent clan in Jiangnan, tracing their lineage back to the Ming Dynasty, when their ancestors had already served as officials in court.
After the dynastic change to the Qing Dynasty, the Chu Family continued serving as officials, and at their most prestigious, they even produced a Grand Councilor.
When the Republic of China was established, the Chu Family immediately adapted to the times and secured a good post in the Presidential Palace.
Now, the Chu Family was still thriving, a top-tier aristocratic family.
As the legitimate eldest son of this generation, Chu Wangshu was the future head of the Chu Family— a man of immeasurable status.
Even Zhang Nan, the richest man in the city whom she had just killed, was nothing more than a rustic country squire in Chu Wangshu’s eyes and wasn’t even qualified to speak to him.
If that was the case for the Zhang Family, then someone as lowly as her, a gutter rat, would probably be shot dead before she even appeared before the young master Chu.
How could a person as ethereal as him be someone she could even dream of approaching?
However, the snake has its own path, and so does the rat.
Jiang Mingxi’s plan was to start with someone in Chu Wangshu’s entourage and blend in with the Chu Family’s group to slip out of the city.
As long as she could get out of the city, the sky would be boundless and the sea wide for the fish to swim.
Jiang Mingxi had lived her whole previous life as a wretch, despised and trampled by everyone.
She refused to accept it!
Why, despite all her careful scheming and cautious steps, was she still treated like a beast of burden?
Why were there fools as stupid as pigs, yet they could run wild on her head?
Now that she had a second chance at life, Jiang Mingxi still refused to accept it.
She would still strive, still fight, and live like a real human being!
Jiang Mingxi took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment from her past life, and began to plan her next steps anew.
Even those close to young master Chu weren’t people she could easily approach.
As the saying goes, “Even a seventh-rank official at a prime minister’s gate is hard to deal with.” The lower the position, the trickier they could be.
Young master Chu would stay in the city for a week, and five days remained.
She still had time to make a careful plan.
The night was dark, the stars sparse, and the streets were silent. The dogs in the nearby courtyards must have heard her footsteps and started barking furiously.
Jiang Mingxi glanced around a few times and quickly came up with an idea.
She had no identity or travel pass now, so she couldn’t stay at an ordinary inn in the city.
The only place that would take in someone with no identity was the Changchun Society.
Changchun Society was a secret society spread all over the country. Since it was a brotherhood organized by jianghu people from all over, it wasn’t registered with the local authorities.
Whenever an out-of-town jianghu person arrived, the first thing to do was to affiliate with the local Changchun Society.
Any jianghu person trying to eke out a living without first paying respects to the local Changchun Society was seen as trying to steal their livelihood and would be driven out.
In her previous life, in order to make a living, she had infiltrated many secret societies, and had especially deep ties with Changchun Society, which she could now put to use.
Following her memories from her past life, Jiang Mingxi hunched over and made her way through several twists and turns, quickly slipping into a remote little alley.
At the end of the alley was a house with its door open, and above it hung a sign reading “Jixiang Old Shop.”
On either side of the door hung a couplet: “Shihuan Xingtai, Anyu Keshang.”
However, though Jixiang Old Shop posed as an inn, it never actually did business with the public.
That was because it was the local stronghold of the Changchun Society, known as the “business outpost,” and in underworld slang, called the “kiln.”
Jiang Mingxi lifted her robe and stepped through the door. Before she could speak, the Huoji behind the counter glanced at her and immediately said, “Sorry, guest, we have no vacant rooms at our inn.”
Jiang Mingxi cupped her hands and smiled at the Huoji, lowering her voice and deliberately using an out-of-town accent: “I’m here to run with the Runner of the Horse Den, specially come to the kiln to pay respects to the boss.”
Hearing the underworld slang, the Huoji immediately understood— this was also an Old Hand from the jianghu. Out-of-towners affiliating with the local Changchun Society was an old rule.
Since she was one of their own, naturally the inn had vacant rooms.
While exchanging coded slang with her, the Huoji was puzzled and started to have doubts in his mind.
This person in front of him was strange from head to toe.
But everyone in the jianghu had their secrets. The rules in the kiln were strict; prying into guests’ business was tantamount to ruining someone else’s livelihood, a grave taboo.
So the Huoji quickly arranged a room for the new guest.
Once the person went upstairs, the Huoji immediately closed the door and stopped “doing business.”
He slipped quietly into the back room like a thief and whispered to the shopkeeper, who was dozing with half-closed eyes, “An Old Hand just came in, an Old Thief, here to pay respects.”
This was also slang. Old Hand meant a jianghu person who knew the rules, and Old Thief meant a pickpocket.
Zhao Shopkeeper opened his eyes. “Tell me.”
The Huoji then recounted every odd detail he had noticed.
“He claimed to be a Runner of the Horse Den, but I could tell it was a lie. His skin is too tender, not weathered by the elements.”
“The silk clothes he’s wearing aren’t his either. The original owner was short and fat, but he’s a tall, skinny fellow, so the clothes hang loose on him.”
The Huoji then repeated their conversation word for word, and finally commented, “He’s tall, about five feet or more, but he’s not very old. His face still has some youthful immaturity, yet he talks like a seasoned veteran of the jianghu. Isn’t that strange!”
Zhao Shopkeeper pondered for a moment, seeming to realize something, then cautiously asked, “What does he look like?”
“He’s a handsome man,” the Huoji said. “Delicate features. If he tidied up, anyone would believe he was a young master from a wealthy family.”
A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Shopkeeper’s eyes.
“He’s not an Old Thief.” Stroking his goatee with a grave expression, he said, “He’s a Yanweizi, and a Master of the Goose Sect at that.”
Seeing the Huoji’s half-understanding look, Zhao Shopkeeper began to explain.
What is a Yanweizi?
It refers to someone from the “Goose” sect, one of the four great con-artist sects in the jianghu: Wind, Horse, Goose, and Sparrow.
Zhao Shopkeeper spoke with awe, unconsciously lowering his voice, “The Goose Sect is different from the others— it specializes in conning the wealthy. But how easy is it to fool the rich? So, the first requirement for a Master of the Goose Sect is good looks; the second is to be learned and talented. The third, well, is to be eloquent.”
The Huoji curled his lips, unimpressed. “He couldn’t even fool me— doesn’t seem like much of a conman.”
Zhao Shopkeeper couldn’t help but smack the kid on the head. “Blockhead!” (slang: idiot.)
“You said he spoke like an old hand, so how could he make such an obvious mistake? That’s clearly just another trick! If you could see through him, you wouldn’t be working as a little Huoji in my shop.”
Zhao Shopkeeper pushed the Huoji away impatiently. “Go on, get back to work. Whether he’s an Old Thief or a Yanweizi, as long as he’s an Old Hand from the jianghu, he’ll follow the shop’s rules. As for what else he does, what’s it got to do with us?”
Zhao Shopkeeper thought to himself, only a greenhorn would make a fuss over someone who lives off the underworld.
What is a jianghu person? It’s a mess of all sorts, the good and the bad mixed together. How can you draw a clear line between black and white?
Just like those magicians, medicine sellers, and fortune-tellers at temple fairs— they’re all conmen too!
Seeing the Huoji still a bit clueless, Zhao Shopkeeper, afraid the boy would break the rules, patiently reminded him, “Be smart. In the next couple of days, take him to pay respects as soon as possible. If he lands a job, he won’t forget to reward you. That’s an old rule of the kiln.”
The Huoji’s eyes immediately lit up.
All thoughts of cheating or stealing were instantly tossed aside, and now he was full of hope that this Yanweizi would trick a few more suckers.
–
At last, she had a temporary place to stay.
Jiang Mingxi shut the door to her room, and the smile on her face vanished instantly, exhaustion flooding over her.
Killing and dumping a body, then fleeing overnight— it was enough to wear her out.
Jiang Mingxi almost dragged herself step by step to the bed, only to be greeted by a stench so foul it made her want to retch.
The so-called bed was just a layer of dry straw on a hard wooden board, with sharp straw ends poking through the sheet.
As for the sheets and blanket, their original color was long gone. They were wrinkled like pickled vegetable leaves, gray, greasy, and covered in suspicious stains.
On such a bed, bedbugs were inevitable.
A casual glance revealed three or four of them.
Jiang Mingxi’s expression didn’t change. Forcing herself to stay alert, she patiently picked out the bedbugs one by one and squashed them.
After making sure there were none left, she took off her outer garment and lay down on the bed.
It stank and was filthy, but it was by no means the worst bed Jiang Mingxi had ever slept on.
In her previous life, at her lowest, she had fought beggars for food, slept among graves and filthy mud pits, and even squeezed into dormitories with forty people.
Now, having a single room and a bed to herself was already a luxury.
Outside, it was perfectly still.
Cool, clear moonlight shone at the edge of her bed.
She stretched out her hand, as if to grasp the unreachable moonlight in her palm.
Beneath her, the stinking bed was cold and hard, the bed curtains stained and mottled.
She closed her hand into a fist, pressing the gathered moonlight behind her head.
She thought, she would not always be this destitute.
Given a second chance at life, she wasn’t going to keep starving and suffering.
One day, she would live in a Western-style house, sleep every night in a soft, clean, carved bed, and never have to worry about what she’d eat or wear tomorrow.
She, this lowborn wretch, refused to accept her fate and was determined to rise to the top.