Chapter 2661: The Capital (Part 17)

Little Bazi hurried into the living room with a letter in hand, Wu Kaidi close behind him. The moment he crossed the threshold, he announced to Li Rufeng, "Mister Wu has brought a letter." He presented the document with both hands.

Wu Kaidi stepped out from behind Little Bazi and approached Li Rufeng. "The letter arrived around the Yin hour yesterday—between three and five in the morning. Someone shot a headless arrow into the Leng residence, carrying this message. It's addressed to me." He paused, gathering himself. "Since the Master's accident, I've been the one managing affairs inside and out. The bandits must have assumed I'm in charge. I came as soon as I received it."

Li Rufeng nodded without reply and immediately unfolded the letter, reading it in silence.

The letter was not long, but Li Rufeng studied it with meticulous care, reading through it several times. When he finished, he gently rubbed the paper between his fingers, then raised it to his nose and inhaled before passing it to Liao Sanniang.

Liao Sanniang took the letter and pinched the paper between her fingers. The texture was coarse and cheap. She noted the letter bore only a salutation—no signature. A "white-headed letter," they called it. A "life-demanding letter." The characters were written in cinnabar, red as fresh blood, startling to behold.

She focused her gaze and read carefully. The letter stated: "To Brother Wu Kaidi, personally open. We, humble servants, have suffered from the chaos of war and the invasion and violence of powerful bullies. The common people have exhausted their fat and blood to fill the jackals and tigers. Our livelihood is in dire straits, unable to bear the insults and abuse, forced into the grass and wilderness. We have long admired your Master's benevolence and joy in giving, his virtue of broadly relieving the distressed. We, humble servants, admiring your reputation, respectfully invite Lord Leng to linger and stay for a short while at our humble place. We shamelessly borrow one hundred thousand taels of full-standard fine silver to help relieve our distress. On the day the flowered silver arrives, we will respectfully send Lord Leng back intact. Brother, you should think carefully. Do not inform the officials. Absolutely do not shift the disaster to your Master, causing Lord Leng to suffer the humiliation of the axe and saw. Please be sure to heed this. As for the transaction of person and money, when and where, wait for another invitation later."

Liao Sanniang finished reading and felt a flicker of surprise. She turned to Wu Kaidi. "The style of this letter doesn't seem like the work of common bandits. The wording is remarkably polite, yet their actions are ruthless—they killed without hesitation when they struck. Strange indeed. Did anyone see the archer?"

Wu Kaidi shook his head. "Guards were posted outside the door, but only hanging lanterns lit the main gate. The alley beyond was pitch black—they saw nothing. The arrow was shot in a high arc from a surrounding rooftop, landing inside the courtyard. The arrowhead was wrapped in cotton cloth, and threaded onto the arrow shaft was a jade hair-binding ring. It's Lingao craftsmanship, bearing the mark of Purple Light Tower—Master Leng was wearing it when he left the house. When the arrow struck ground, the patrol dogs barked without end. The night watchmen came to investigate and discovered it then."

Li Rufeng retrieved the letter from Liao Sanniang's hands, examining it once more. "These brushstrokes are vigorous and powerful—the result of years of practice, not mere days. No rough fellow could produce this. It looks like the handiwork of an old scholar, someone who makes a living writing letters for others."

At this, Liao Sanniang's brow furrowed slightly. "There are countless people who earn their bread by writing—investigating that angle would be nearly impossible. For a matter this secretive, bandits would be reluctant to let an outsider pen their demands. Among their number, there must be someone educated." She studied the characters again. "The strokes show no trembling or dragging. The structure is neat, the brush movement fluid. The handwriting is undisguised, which tells us they don't fear us recognizing it and tracing it back to them. They're confident we won't know them. The paper is common market stock, nothing distinctive. And while cinnabar is expensive, writing requires very little—a pinch obtained from anywhere would suffice. From this letter alone, we can glean very few clues."

Li Rufeng paced two steps across the hall, then settled back into his chair. "The letter has arrived," he said, his voice low and measured. "They're telling us to wait for further orders. They'll certainly seek a middleman to contact us and negotiate the ransom."

Liao Sanniang's eyes glinted with sudden understanding. "Seeking a middleman means the handover is likely some distance from the capital. Could the bandits operate from a stronghold in the surrounding countryside?" She considered the implications. "This group includes educated men who can write, skilled archers who command the bow, spies embedded in the city, and riders capable of covering ground quickly. Such a fully equipped operation suggests they're accustomed to ambitious undertakings. It raises one's interest."

Li Rufeng stroked the beard at his chin. "For now, we can only speculate. Typically, such life-demanding letters arrive the day after a kidnapping. The Leng residence received this one nearly two days later. I suspect the bandits were delayed—passing the hair-ring back and forth as proof of their captive takes time. They also likely wanted to wait and observe the Leng residence's movements before making contact."

Liao Sanniang nodded, then turned to regard Wu Kaidi. "Mister Wu, can the ransom be assembled? Can we actually gather one hundred thousand taels?"

Wu Kaidi drew in a sharp breath, his expression troubled. "One hundred thousand in flowered silver is no small sum. The shop is sealed now, so we needn't worry about a run on deposits—but the pure silver on hand is limited. If we liquidated all of Delong's moveable assets, we could probably scrape together enough. However, without authorization from the Head Office, privately diverting those funds cannot be entered into the accounts. Explaining it afterward would be... difficult." He hesitated. "That's one concern. The second is this: once the Master returns and Delong reopens, we'll need tens of thousands of taels for operating capital."

Liao Sanniang lowered her head in thought. "By Australian reckoning, one hundred thousand taels of silver amounts to roughly three thousand seven hundred specified jin. That cannot be transported without heavy carts—extremely conspicuous. If large wagons begin moving, I fear it will immediately alert the government. People will notice, and that invites trouble."

Wu Kaidi nodded grimly. "This matter cannot be hidden. Judge Liu of Shuntian Prefecture visits Delong every day now—he practically wishes he could move in. However, if we intend to redeem the Master, Prefecture Yin Zhong won't oppose it. As long as the person returns, Delong reopens, and this whole affair settles down, he'll consider it resolved. If Manager Leng remains missing for too long, the pressure on him only grows."

Li Rufeng spoke in a measured tone. "I understand. In that case, we needn't do too much with Shuntian Prefecture—only clear the checkpoint for leaving the city. That's not difficult. It simply means greasing the right palms and spending more silver so that the Wardens' Office and the gate guards won't interrogate anyone from Delong or Heliansheng." He began to outline the plan. "We must not make noise. Break the shipment into small parts. Select only the most reliable people. Whether carts, horses, or men—smuggle everything out piecemeal, bit by bit, to a gathering place outside the city walls. One hundred thousand taels is substantial, but not impossible; it can be assembled in two or three days with enough effort." He paused. "When the bandits killed and captured their victims, they already alarmed the government. The instruction to 'not inform officials' means we cannot coordinate with authorities regarding the ransom or the investigation. Other matters are inconsequential."

Li Rufeng fell silent for a moment, scraping at the whiskers on his chin, worry creeping into his expression. "There is only one thing that concerns me. In Lingao, kidnapping cases often end with the hostage being killed. When the family comes to redeem their loved one, they frequently receive only a corpse."

Liao Sanniang considered this, then shook her head. "The Bureau Chief may be overthinking. The situation here differs from Lingao. The Great Song's Qiongzhou Prefecture operates under a different system than the Great Ming's realm." She spoke with the authority of experience. "Kidnapping and hostage killings occur frequently in Lingao precisely because the Political Security Bureau and the Police Bureau are swift and fierce. They possess photo-shadowing techniques. The daily newspapers publish illustrated wanted notices, and patrolmen of the Police Bureau search according to the images. Bandit strongholds outside Lingao City have long been swept away. Inside the city, household registration is everywhere—every family has a doorplate. It's extremely difficult to conceal hostages whether inside or outside the walls. Verifying the hostage, exchanging money, completing the redemption—every step carries sky-high risks. The official notes and silver dollars in Lingao all bear Australian codes, traceable to their source, making the money difficult to spend. Qiongzhou is bordered by sea on all four sides. When a case breaks, one can only flee to the miasmic wastelands, with nowhere to hide. Once caught and brought to justice, the sentence is immediate hanging or shooting—absolutely no leniency. Therefore, those who dare kidnap for ransom are all heinous and desperate individuals. Because hiding hostages is so difficult, and fearing their secret will leak, they often kill their captives. Moreover, such criminals are usually just scattered individuals working together, never forming any organized force.

"The Great Ming is different. A little distance from the capital, within the territory of North Zhili, numerous bandits establish strongholds in the mountains and gather to dominate their regions. Such men don't fear government suppression. When soldiers come, they scatter; when soldiers leave, they regroup. Ransoms are arranged through village elders who serve as go-betweens, with the exchange taking place in the stronghold itself. The concerns we face in Lingao—hiding people, evading searches—need not trouble them at all. Thus, they actually operate with certain rules. As long as the government doesn't interfere and complicate matters, they release the captive upon receiving payment. We must verify the person when paying the ransom. Before the bandits have their money in hand, they will absolutely not harm Master Leng lightly."

Li Rufeng pondered for a long moment, then gritted his teeth. "Allocate the funds. Handle it." His voice was firm. "The situation is now clear: the bandits kidnapped him for wealth, nothing more. There are only two circumstances in which they would kill the hostage. First: the family reports to officials, authorities investigate too deeply, soldiers advance to suppress the stronghold, and the bandits, cornered, murder their captive. Second: when ransom becomes hopeless and they cannot obtain their silver, they fly into a rage born of shame and kill in frustration." He leaned forward. "Right now, Master Leng's safety must be our priority. We cannot afford to haggle over the ransom amount. The heavier the ransom, the safer Master Leng will be. Bargaining back and forth only wastes time and increases uncertainty. We must not offend these bandits under any circumstances. If it comes to the worst—the responsibility for diverting these funds—I will bear it together with Mister Wu."

Wu Kaidi stood frozen, stunned by these words. Then the blood drained from his face entirely. He had no idea how he had suddenly been drafted to share this crushing responsibility with Li Rufeng. He wanted to object, to argue his case, but couldn't find where to begin. Refusing seemed wrong; agreeing seemed equally impossible. His mouth opened and closed several times, no sound emerging—like a fish gasping its last on a dry riverbank.

"There is one more scenario that leads to killing the hostage," Liao Sanniang said quietly.

Li Rufeng started. "What else?"

"Unpredictable changes," Liao Sanniang replied.

Before Li Rufeng could ask for elaboration, she continued. "If Master Leng offends them with careless words, or attempts to escape, he may provoke the bandits into striking a killing blow. Other possibilities—encountering officials during transit, or even the bandits simply feeling unhappy—any of these can trigger unexpected violence. Life and death hang on a single thought. Kidnapping for ransom is fundamentally different from murder and robbery. In murder and robbery, when the crime occurs, the victim is already dead and the goods already lost. The matter is settled; the only question is how to apprehend the culprit. In kidnapping, both we and the bandits are in constant motion. They move; we move. During Political Security Bureau training, we learned that the longer a kidnapping drags on, the more dangerous it becomes. In Lingao, if a case cannot be solved or the victim redeemed within ten days, there's a sixty percent chance the hostage will die." She paused. "Here in the capital, there is no post office, no telegraph, let alone Political Security or Police Bureau. Message transmission is painfully slow, and control over the countryside is weak. The window might extend—perhaps double. But twenty days is still critical. And the Great Ming is now mired in turmoil and chaos. Everything is unpredictable."

Li Rufeng slapped his thigh and declared loudly, "Since the incident occurred, this matter has spun beyond our control. There's no use dwelling on what cannot be predicted—we must simply adapt as circumstances change." His voice steadied. "We are weak here in the capital; there's little we can do. Now that we have news, at least we're not fumbling blind." He turned to Wu Kaidi. "Mister Wu, send an urgent message to Lingao. The pressing task is to allocate the funds. We are anxious, and the bandits are anxious too. We are anxious for Master Leng to return home; they are anxious to take the money and flee."

He rose from his seat. "We will return to Heliansheng immediately. Shuntian Prefecture bailiffs are stationed outside the Leng residence—I doubt anyone would dare come to the door to 'speak the ticket.'" His expression darkened. "But if the negotiator cannot reach us, this situation becomes truly dangerous."

With that, Li Rufeng seized the dazed Wu Kaidi—still standing wooden and motionless—and marched him out the door.

(End of Chapter)