Chapter 75: The List

The clue of chopped fingers was like a lamp lit in the fog, giving everyone at the Kaifeng Prefecture a renewed sense of hope.

But Ma Bing still looked somewhat worried. “Even with this, won’t it still be very difficult to investigate?”

Although they now suspected the victim might be a gambler, how could they determine who in town was a gambler?

Xie Yu rarely indulged in suspense, but this time he did. “Cats have their ways, and rats have theirs. We’ll find out soon enough.”

Yuanpei and Huo Ping simply smiled and began assigning tasks, selecting people and heading out shortly afterward.

Roughly half an hour later, scattered individuals began gathering at the back entrance of the government office. These people wore various outfits, had different styles of dress, and varied greatly in age, but they shared one common trait—they all looked rather unsavory.

Another quarter of an hour passed before Yuanpei and Huo Ping returned on horseback. They counted the crowd.

“Are they all here?” Yuanpei asked.

A man with a thick beard stepped forward. “Reporting, sir, Old Xu from West Street had a stroke two days ago, so I brought his second-in-command and his son.”

A young man, about twenty years old, standing beside him looked quite nervous. Obviously, this was his first time in such a situation. After being nudged, he finally came to his senses and hurried forward to bow. “Greetings, sir.”

In contrast, the second-in-command appeared calm and also offered his respects.

Yuanpei, still mounted, stretched one leg over the saddle and looked the young man up and down. “Hmm, you resemble him.”

Then, he jumped down from his horse and patted the young man’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault you look like him, but don’t turn out the same inside. Avoid doing wrong, and you’ll live to ninety-nine.”

This was practically calling the young man’s father a sinner who brought on his own stroke. Everyone present winced, but no one dared to speak.

They were all too afraid of Xie Yu’s reputation.

The young man’s face flushed bright red, unsure whether to respond or not.

Huo Ping counted the heads, checked off names on a list, then waved his hand. “Alright, everyone inside. Don’t keep the officials waiting.”

One by one, they entered, heads bowed, not daring to look around.

Along the way, many officers gave them sidelong glances, as if watching a group of mice entering a cat’s den.

The thick-bearded man deliberately lagged behind, approaching Yuan and Huo only after most had passed. “Esteemed officials, I’ve been law-abiding lately. I wonder why the young marquis summoned us all of a sudden?”

“Don’t call him that inside the office,” Huo Ping grumbled. “Call him ‘sir.'”

Calling him “young marquis” sounded like favoritism or abuse of power.

“Alright,” the thick-beard complied immediately. “May I ask what service the honorable sir requires of us?”

A scar ran diagonally from his right eye across his nose to the corner of his left mouth, twisting like a crooked centipede that trembled with every word, making him appear especially menacing.

Yet at this moment, he was nothing but humble and respectful, barely straightening his back.

Yuanpei glanced at him and suddenly smiled. “Gao Laoliu, you’ve learned some manners.”

“Not at all,” Gao Laoliu kept bowing, looking like a loyal hound. “It’s all thanks to the guidance of you honorable officials that I was able to turn back from the brink.”

“Cut the flattery,” Yuanpei scoffed, not really believing him. “This time, we’re asking for your help. It’s a good thing.”

A good thing?

Gao Laoliu doubted it but dared not question it. His eyes darted as he quickly calculated his options, and the scar on his face quivered slightly, as if it had come alive.

The weather was quite nice that day—sunny, but with many white clouds, so it wasn’t too hot.

A gentle breeze brought a cool feeling.

Ma Bing and Xie Yu sat under the pavilion of the martial arts training ground, playing Go with Weiqi stones.

The Go game was fine, but strangely, both were terrible at Five-in-a-Row, a pair of equally inept rivals, neither able to claim victory.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps from outside. Ma Bing looked up and saw Huo Ping and Yuanpei leading in a group of people—how to describe them? People with the aura of those who “deserve to be behind bars.”

She roughly counted about twenty individuals, clearly not from the same faction, exchanging hostile glances as they walked. But upon seeing Xie Yu, they all fell strangely silent.

They even instinctively lined up in two rows and saluted. “Greetings, sir!”

Ma Bing raised an eyebrow. Oh?

What a commanding presence Lord Xie had.

Xie Yu glanced at her briefly: Don’t cause trouble!

“Today, I’ve invited you all here because I need your help.”

Everyone was stunned.

Gao Laoliu stepped forward. “This humble servant dares not refuse. If the honorable sir has any orders, this servant will certainly risk fire and water…”

“No need for flattery,” Xie Yu cut him off bluntly, getting straight to the point. “From within Kaifeng Prefecture to the nearby villages and towns, in the past three years, which individuals have you all chopped fingers from? I want a complete list—no omissions.”

Based on the joint analysis by Chief Zhang and Ma Bing, the wound from the finger chopping should have occurred some days ago but not too long ago. For caution, they set the timeframe at three years.

Gao Laoliu: …

Was this really a “request”?

It sounded more like a demand.

Ma Bing instantly understood their identities: loan sharks!

Although gambling was officially banned by the imperial court, underground gambling dens wouldn’t be so foolish as to confront the law directly. Thus, debt collection was usually entrusted to loan sharks, who then shared the profits.

Every trade had its territory, especially those operating in the shadows.

These must be the “bosses” of Kaifeng Prefecture, whose influence not only covered the entire city but also extended to smaller towns below.

For government officials to find a gambler with chopped fingers was like searching for a needle in the sea, but for these people, it was like revisiting old clients.

They knew who came when, what they did, where they lived, and how many family members they had—every detail.

The deceased was like a fish in the sea, while these people were the fishing nets. And Xie Yu was the one pulling in the net.

Uncertain about Xie Yu’s intentions, the crowd remained silent.

What if they complied now, only for him to later use the list for retribution?

When the government turned ruthless, even the darkest villains looked clean by comparison!

Especially the young heir who had come in place of his father, beads of sweat already rolling down his forehead. He was the first to break, his voice trembling. “R-Reporting, honorable sir, my father hasn’t engaged in that trade for quite some time. Now, now I only run legitimate businesses.”

Zhuang Peng spat toward him. “Who asked about your current business? Your father had a stroke just before the New Year, but before that, he certainly squeezed every bit of marrow from bones…”

Each leader brought men of similar character. Yuanpei, young and lively, had a handsome subordinate named Ade; Huo Ping, tall and imposing like a walking black bear, had a similarly fierce subordinate named Zhuang Peng. Together, they patrolled the streets like two fearsome ghosts at a gate, instilling dread.

The young heir was so frightened he took two steps back, nearly in tears.

However, the second-in-command behind him stepped forward. “Indeed, sir. Upon returning, this humble servant shall immediately have someone compile the records and deliver them as soon as possible.”

“No ‘as soon as possible’—today,” Xie Yu said firmly.

The second-in-command gritted his teeth. “Fine. Before nightfall.”

Seeing that matters had been decided, Gao Laoliu quickly seized the opportunity to show off. “Esteemed sir, compiling the list is not difficult. However, if we knew the name or physical description of the offender, it would greatly expedite the process. This humble servant would be more than willing to assist.”

If he could personally capture the culprit, wouldn’t that be a great honor?

Ma Bing understood his hidden motives and thought to herself, You’ll probably never find him unless you go looking underground…

However, if they could directly identify the victim’s identity, that would naturally be better.

She glanced at Xie Yu and, seeing no objection, said, “Height approximately five chi and eight cun, male between eighteen and forty years old, someone who lived rather luxuriously…”

She described the victim’s characteristics and finally emphasized, “If anyone matches these traits, please mark them separately on the list.”

When Gao Laoliu and the others entered, they had been tense, barely daring to lift their heads, completely unaware there was a woman present.

Now hearing a female voice, they couldn’t help but look up simultaneously.

In such a serious government office, how could there be a woman?

They hadn’t heard that the young marquis was fond of women, so why bring a girl along while handling a case?

Xie Yu silently placed his teacup on the table, the bottom making a crisp clink against the wood.

Everyone snapped back to reality and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look again.

After mentally going through the characteristics Ma Bing mentioned, they regretfully realized… it was barely helpful.

The most critical details—build and appearance—weren’t mentioned at all!

After they left, Ma Bing asked in surprise, “Even under the emperor’s jurisdiction, there are so many loan sharks? Why doesn’t the court intervene?”

In the countryside, countless families had been destroyed because they couldn’t repay their debts. She had thought that under the watchful eye of the capital, things would be more restrained, but she never expected there to be so many gang leaders!

“How could they possibly manage everything?” Yuanpei replied. “This kind of thing is like weeds. You burn them in winter, but once spring comes with the breeze, they grow back in full force.”

Xie Yu calmly said, “Those people aren’t good men, but they aren’t necessarily heinous criminals. It all depends on how you use them.”

In both the common folk and the court, there were always times of financial need. Fundamentally, this trade existed because of people’s demands.

As long as there were people in urgent need of money, the trade of loan sharking would never disappear.

Even if you killed all the visible ones, new ones would quickly sprout in the shadows, even more rampant than before.

You couldn’t expect everyone to be selfless. Since they couldn’t be completely eradicated, a different approach was needed. As long as the top leaders were controlled and a few examples were made, there was no need to fear them rebelling.

They were a gray area existing between black and white.

You couldn’t rely on their loyalty, but if used properly, they could become a very useful unconventional force.

Gao Laoliu and others acted quickly. Somehow, within just a few hours, lists began arriving from various locations.

Due to Kaifeng Prefecture’s recent crackdowns, the loan sharks had become more restrained. In the past three years, only thirty-seven people in the entire capital region had fingers chopped off.

Among them were three women and thirty-four men. Most were gamblers who couldn’t repay debts, with only a few exceptions.

Ma Bing glanced through the list. “Among the thirty-four men, sixteen are between eighteen and forty years old. One was scammed in business, fifteen were gamblers—eight lived in the city, and seven were scattered in surrounding villages and towns.”

What a terrifying power gambling held!

Addresses were included, but since most incidents happened long ago, details like height and weight were unclear. Instead, they noted moles and scars.

Unfortunately, these details were of little value when identifying a skeleton.

“Who would have thought it’s truly ‘every dog has its day’!” After holding it in for several days, Ma Bing finally managed a crack a smile.

This narrowed the search down to fifteen people!

Just then, the kitchen heard the commotion and, anticipating action that night, sent dinner early. “Esteemed officials, please eat well and don’t neglect your duties.”

It was a rich soup made from fish and lamb bones, thick and white like ointment. Skimming off the floating oil, a little salt and coriander were added to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor—perfect for satisfying hungry stomachs.

People from the north could manage without wine, but they couldn’t do without noodles. There were also wide noodles made from fine flour mixed with bean flour, rolled thin and briefly boiled in the rich soup.

The cooked noodles were placed in large gray porcelain bowls, with tender green vegetable shoots arranged neatly around the edges. Simple yet naturally appealing.

There was also a large plate of tender, fatty lamb slices and several pickled side dishes, very refreshing.

Yuanpei smiled upon seeing the meal. “Looks like Erliang inspired them!”

Previously, when Ma Bing arrived, the kitchen had been careful but rarely creative. Now, they were starting to experiment.

Everyone ate heartily, feeling their fatigue melt away with the warmth.

After dinner, Xie Yu divided the fifteen suspects into six groups based on their locations. Everyone set off separately.

Only after stepping outside did Ma Bing realize she was paired with Xie Yu again. She felt… completely unsurprised!