Punish the Heavens and Punish the Gods - Chapter 14
Old Master Hu lived in a large mansion with nearly two hundred rooms.
The house originally belonged to a wealthy businessman who had once been one of the most prominent figures in Golden City. But after he was caught colluding with desert bandits, his entire family was arrested and all their property was confiscated.
Later, when Old Master Hu arrived, the City Lord—who happened to be the former owner’s cousin—assigned the mansion to him.
Since Old Master Hu was unmarried and didn’t need such a big place, he chose a small building in the back garden and settled there.
When Li Wei and his men reached the mansion, one of the burly guards kicked open the front gate with a single blow—it nearly flew off its hinges.
Surrounded by his entourage, Li Wei strode straight toward the back garden.
The old maid who served Old Master Hu had never seen such a scene before. Terrified, she didn’t dare to stop them. She tried to slip away, but the guards grabbed her and shoved her into a corner, where she crouched, trembling.
Li Wei didn’t enter the small building right away.
At his command, Zuo An had the men bring out a reclining chair—Old Master Hu’s favorite—and placed it under a large tree beside a white marble table.
On the table, they arranged a plate of delicate pastries, some fresh fruit, and a pot of fragrant tea.
Li Wei lounged back in the recliner, sipping tea, nibbling snacks, and half-closing his eyes in contentment.
After about half an hour, he waved to Zuo An, didn’t speak, just pointed toward the small building.
Zuo An nodded. “Please wait a moment, young master.” Then he hurried inside.
A short while later, he returned with a huge, broad-shouldered man who looked like a walking fortress—but right now, that “fortress” looked nervous and small.
Li Wei picked up a slice of mille-feuille, took a sip of tea, and glanced lazily at him. “Iron Eagle, how’s the search going?”
Tie Ying hesitated, then spoke carefully. “Reporting to the young master… I’ve failed to find the target.”
“Didn’t find it?” Li Wei frowned slightly, watching as Tie Ying’s once-straight back began to hunch. Then he waved his hand. “If you didn’t find it, keep looking. I’ll give you another quarter of an hour. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Yes, young master. I’ll urge them to hurry.”
As Tie Ying retreated—almost fleeing—Li Wei watched him go and murmured, “Looks like Old Man Hu really didn’t lie.”
Zuo An nodded. “I think so too, young master. He did hide the Pleasure Scrolls somewhere very secret.”
“Oh?”
“I saw Iron Eagle’s men search thoroughly. They even broke open parts of the walls that looked suspicious—but they found nothing.”
Li Wei said nothing more. He lifted his teacup, took a small sip, frowned thoughtfully, and fell silent.
A quarter of an hour passed quickly.
Tie Ying appeared again at the door, his steps heavy as though he were dragging a mountain behind him.
He had served at the Marquis’s mansion for years, rarely leaving its grounds. That meant he knew Li Wei all too well—knew that the young master was temperamental, dangerous, and impossible to predict.
Worse still, Li Wei was the only male heir of his generation, spoiled beyond measure. No one ever knew what absurd or ruthless thing he might do next.
“Found anything?” Li Wei asked.
“Reporting to the young master… still nothing.” Tie Ying’s voice trembled despite himself. For a man who had faced bl00d and death countless times without flinching, the shame stung bitterly.
“What a useless bunch,” Li Wei said coldly. He hurled his teacup to the ground.
Crash!
The fine porcelain—worth a hundred taels of silver—shattered instantly.
“I tell you to find something, and you fail. What’s the point of keeping you?”
Tie Ying didn’t dare to speak. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, a mix of fear and humiliation welling inside him.
“Zuo An,” Li Wei said calmly, “record this—dock their pay for three months. And if they fail again next time, throw them out.”
Hearing that, Tie Ying finally exhaled in relief. The punishment sounded harsh, but compared to what he’d feared, it was mercy.
“Still kneeling?” Li Wei snapped. “What are you, made of jelly? How does the Marquis’s mansion raise such spineless men?”
He wasn’t scolding out of cruelty—he needed to reestablish authority. If he was going to build something of his own in the future, he couldn’t do it alone. He needed capable men—and they needed to know who was in charge.
Li Wei turned to Zuo An. “You and Tie Ying—go find me some buckets.”
“Buckets?” Zuo An and Tie Ying exchanged puzzled looks. But neither dared to ask why.
Soon, they returned, each carrying two large wooden buckets.
Li Wei nodded toward a nearby well. “Fill them with water.”
They did as told without hesitation.
When they came back, Li Wei waved for them to follow him into the small building.
Zuo An had a faint guess about what Li Wei was planning—that it had something to do with finding Old Master Hu’s hidden Pleasure Scrolls—but he had no idea how water would help. Still, he kept silent and followed.
Inside, the men who had been searching quickly stood aside and saluted. Li Wei waved them away.
He knew this place well—the original Li Wei had visited Old Master Hu several times—so he went straight to the study.
But the room looked completely different from what he remembered. The shelves that had once held rows of books were now bare, the walls full of holes where people had already chiseled away parts of the plaster. The only part left untouched was the floor.
“Why didn’t you check under the floor?” Li Wei asked.
“We did, young master,” Tie Ying said quickly.
“How?”
“We tapped every inch of the ground—no hollow sounds, no sign of a cavity.”
“Just by tapping?” Li Wei snorted. “That’s your idea of a thorough search?”
He motioned to Zuo An and Tie Ying. “Pour the water evenly across the floor.”
They obeyed.
Li Wei watched quietly as the water spread, soaking into the cracks. After a moment, he shook his head and turned to leave.
Zuo An and Tie Ying glanced at each other, still confused, and followed him out.
Next, Li Wei entered Old Master Hu’s bedroom. The bed, table, and chairs had all been moved out, leaving the room bare.
He told the two men to fetch more water while he slowly paced around, observing the layout.
A few minutes later, they returned with four buckets filled to the brim.
“Do the same thing,” Li Wei ordered.
They splashed the water across the floor.
Li Wei’s eyes swept back and forth, scanning carefully. Zuo An and Tie Ying saw nothing unusual. But after about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Wei’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He pointed at a spot on the ground. “Dig here.”
Though still unsure, Tie Ying didn’t hesitate. Even without tools, he could crush stone with his bare hands if needed.
Within moments, a pit two feet deep appeared—but it was only filled with damp soil.
Li Wei frowned. “Slow down—be careful not to damage it.”
Damage what? Tie Ying thought, puzzled. But then, his fingers brushed something that didn’t feel like mud.
Could it be…?
His pulse quickened. He dug faster, carefully clearing away the dirt until something wrapped in oiled paper appeared—about the size of a book, two inches thick.
He cleaned the mud off but didn’t hand it over immediately.
Li Wei seemed to know why. “Relax,” he said. “It’s not poisoned.”
“Allow me to open it for you, young master,” Tie Ying said.
Li Wei nodded.
Despite his thick, calloused fingers, Tie Ying worked with surprising precision. Within moments, he had peeled away the layers of oiled paper without tearing a single one.
Inside were three things:
a picture book the size of a palm,
a stack of silver notes,
and a small token, about half the size of a palm.
Zuo An quickly examined them.
The silver notes weren’t many—fewer than twenty—but their combined value exceeded ten million taels.
Then there was the token. Its material was strange—neither quite gold nor jade—and engraved on it was a lifelike bee, its antennae tinted blue.
“Bee Spy!” Tie Ying blurted before he could stop himself, eyes widening.
Li Wei’s gaze sharpened. “What did you say?”
“N-Nothing, young master. I’ve just never seen such a realistic carving before—it startled me.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Tie Ying said quickly, though his eyes darted away, unable to meet Li Wei’s.
Of course it wasn’t true.
Li Wei sneered inwardly, because he had already noticed the hidden inscription carved on the back of the bee token.