Chapter 18: The Boomerang
The battle rooster raised by Jiu Yao was undefeated in countless fights and relied entirely on it for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, earning it great fame. Such a rare bird was called the “General of Sustenance.”
This “General” had countless defeated foes under its command. Others had only witnessed one or two, but Song Ji had been utterly defeated, left with nothing but his undergarments. He was restrained in the distance, sorrowfully gazing at his second sister’s contemptuous eyes.
Underestimating the enemy like this, second sister was about to lose this round.
Song Ruozhao’s smile grew ever more disdainful. She signaled with a whistle, which sounded like the cry of a phoenix soaring high.
“Look quickly, a chicken more beautiful than the General of Sustenance has arrived at the gate!”
At the sound, everyone turned to see a chicken standing on the doorstep, exquisitely delicate. The crowd was amazed—it had a pair of double pupils, its feathers as vivid and red as maple leaves, its cry like a phoenix’s song, ethereal and refined.
Calling it a chicken seemed to belittle it.
Calling it a phoenix, even the old wooden doorstep beneath it seemed transformed into a flourishing phoenix tree.
Such a grand finale, astonishing all who beheld it.
From afar, the crowd imagined this extraordinary chicken would gracefully spread its wings like a phoenix and arrive in dazzling splendor.
But the next moment, it limped forward unsteadily.
Its rear end was held high, leaving a trail of grayish-white droppings behind.
Beneath its elegant appearance, it was actually a lame chicken. The crowd covered their mouths, bursting into laughter, realizing they had overpraised it.
Jiu Yao gradually noticed the contempt in Song’s second sister’s eyes shift to surprise.
After the surprise, only embarrassment remained in Song Ruozhao’s gaze. Her eyes seemed to ask the bird: “You’ve been raised for a thousand days but only used once. Why do you limp only now?”
The quail-sized bird eyes glared angrily at the culprit lying in the dice cup: It stole my bird feed!
The little “black-faced almond” duckling, too tired to right itself and seemingly defeated, still refused to concede: “Then tell me, what have you been dragging all along the way?”
...
Jiu Yao stifled his laughter for a long time. “Second lady, why not give up on this lame chicken and pick another?”
“If that doesn’t work, I can have Song Ji help. After all, he knows better than you!”
Song Ruozhao resolutely declined this kind offer.
The clerk who recorded the battle entries looked up and asked, “Lady Song, does this chicken have a name?”
Song Ruozhao replied, “Drooling Chicken.”
The clerk tried to remain polite but bit his lip hard, his shoulders twitching as his trembling pen hovered. He was seriously trying not to laugh.
With such confidence, the bets poured in, all favoring the General of Sustenance.
The commander training the chickens wore a white embroidered shirt and held a bell and whisk, guiding the roosters onto the battlefield in orderly fashion.
Before all those chicken eyes, the General appeared as a colossal giant. Many timid ones trembled. As the copper bell rang, wings flapped in spirals as heroes vied for dominance. Feathers flew like a storm over the central plains, and the younger contenders were swiftly defeated.
Until the General of Sustenance and the Drooling Chicken were evenly matched, their strengths balanced.
The ostrich-like chicken still held itself proudly, its comb bleeding faintly, adding to its determined spirit of rising stronger after every setback.
The surrounding bright red feathers fluttered with the battle’s rise and fall, like maple leaves scattered by the autumn wind.
The Drooling Chicken, severely injured, lamented sorrowfully: “Zhao Zhao, I’m going bald!”
Zhao Zhao replied: “You’re not bald, you still have two feathers on your head.”
Upon hearing this, the Drooling Chicken’s mournful cries echoed even louder.
Both sides cheered loudly like surging waves.
The broad-faced and round-faced men scolded with frustration: “Drooling Chicken, don’t stop! Use your sharp beak to peck it, and your raised rump to butt it!”
---
The Drooling Chicken seemed to find new courage, pressing the attack.
A stream of filth poured out like a fountain.
“...”
The stench was so strong the commander covered his face, nearly vomiting.
Taking advantage of this moment, the ostrich-like chicken leapt like an eagle, suppressing the feather-grabbing foe.
Jiu Yao rubbed his hands with glee. “Second lady, your Drooling Chicken is quite skilled at eating, drinking, and defecating.”
Song Ruozhao’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Only the owner truly understands their bird.”
Her tone was calm but carried a sudden sharpness.
The first bell rang.
The commander struck three times. While the Drooling Chicken was still suppressed and unable to counterattack, it appeared to concede defeat.
At the third bell, however, the Drooling Chicken snapped back faster than the commander’s hand.
The General of Sustenance was caught off guard, nearly losing a chunk of meat from its drumstick.
Though the Drooling Chicken’s neck seemed short, it stretched and contracted like a spring, catching the General unprepared. Their eyes glared like hungry wolves, locked in fierce combat, neither yielding.
The General, seasoned from many battles, quickly found the enemy’s weak spot and struck with sharp claws at the last two red feathers on its head...
Two red feathers fell to the ground. The Drooling Chicken’s morale collapsed, and it gave up on the spot.
Now wary, the General pressed hard on that neck, trapping the Drooling Chicken like the legendary Five Finger Mountain, unable to move.
Cheers erupted: “Victory to the General of Sustenance!”
Jiu Yao feigned modesty: “Pure luck, pure luck! Those who bet against the General owe me fifty taels.”
Suddenly, a foul stench surged upward, intensely offensive. Everyone covered their noses.
The General of Sustenance suffered the most.
While everyone else could shield their noses, it could not.
If the copper bell didn’t ring again soon, it would be unbearable...
Song Ruozhao studied the battle for a while and discovered the General’s weakness, quickly calling out: “Drooling Chicken, your opponent has a cleanliness obsession!”
Sure enough, a foolish remark. Jiu Yao rolled his eyes, rounder than the pile of chicken droppings: “As if chickens understand you!”
Strangely, the dirty, raised rump counterattacked, smearing gray-white droppings onto the General’s proud golden claws.
The General reluctantly loosened its grip, lamenting miserably: “I’m no longer clean!”
Jiu Yao shivered: “I’ll wash away your filth with goat’s milk—attack now!”
Song Ruozhao retorted: “What, your chicken understands you too?”
“...”
That comeback landed like a boomerang in Jiu Yao’s heart.
The Drooling Chicken seized the chance, pecking the opponent to the ground, and once again launched a vigorous assault, scattering filth all over the noble General.
The General of Sustenance didn’t know whether it was fainting from the stench or frustration.
Three rings of the copper bell sounded. The Drooling Chicken, head held high with the pride of a champion, limped back to its owner.
Song Ruozhao imitated it, feigning modesty: “Pure luck, pure luck! Those who lost, give me fifty taels.”
Another boomerang to the heart.
The two guards, one reading the roster and the other opening purses, collected the bet money one by one.
---
Who would have imagined that the General of Sustenance would be defeated by a lame chicken in this round?
Jiu Yao forced a faint smile. “I’ll release Song Ji. He can repay the 500-string debt within six months. Is that acceptable?”
That charming, mysterious smile: “You promised that if I won, you would come with me.”
“Is that true?” Jiu Yao was surprised but hesitant, probing, “What about my wife and daughter?”
She smiled faintly: “Don’t worry.”
Jiu Yao’s brows lifted with joy. “If you say so, even if I had ten hearts, I’d place them all with you.”
Song Ruozhao beckoned with a finger, her smile warm enough to melt winter snow. “The room is ready. Lord Jiu, please come with me.”
Her myriad charms overwhelmed the lovesick fool, who was thrilled and surprised. The young lady seemed graceful and refined, yet so eager.
Their smiles faded as they approached the ominous government office.
Dogtooth, clutching the arrest order, stormed out with troops. The moment his left foot stepped outside, he struck unexpected luck—his suspect appeared out of nowhere.
Five or six hands seized him simultaneously. Jiu Yao was thunderstruck: “!!”
“The room is in the prison. Please, come in!” Her radiant smile remained undimmed.
“...”
Because in that glance, his perilous pursuit of wealth felt like fragile straw, breaking the backs of countless families in the city. Song Ruozhao snapped her fingers and laid out the charges:
“Fifteen days ago, Jiu Yao bet on cockfights with Song Ji, hiding poisoned needles in his fingers, duping Song Ji with a sick chicken, then selling it for nine strings of cash.”
“Not only were there poisoned needles, but Jiu Yao also tampered with the stakes of Chu Pu, Lu Bo, and others. Anyone who placed bets tasted initial wins but then lost fifty strings each time!”
“Over the past year, Jiu Yao illegally profited over five hundred strings, hiding the private accounts in the outhouse eaves.”
“He purchased a residence in the southern Guiyi neighborhood, kept a concubine, and divorced his wife to remarry.”
“Now, because Song Ji cannot repay his debts, Jiu Yao threatens his family to extort money and even attempts to take his life.”
“I, Song Ruozhao, can provide physical evidence for all these crimes.”
Jiu Yao felt as if he had seen a ghost, cold sweat pouring down. Only one matter remained unknown to others but known to himself.
The underwear he wore was the embroidered pair belonging to his mistress’s husband, hastily put on in the dark during a frantic escape after a tryst.
Thinking this, Jiu Yao found her radiant smile utterly chilling.
With amusement, she whispered in a low voice to comfort him: “Lord Jiu, once inside prison, you’ll never have to worry about putting on someone else’s embroidered underwear again.”
“!!”
He suddenly felt that the figure before him was no longer human.
It was his shadow! His conscience worm! His heart, riddled with holes!
Dogtooth, gripping the arrest warrant, seethed with hatred, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces.
These crimes should have been his accomplishments, but now Song Ji had stolen them!
And Song Ji was disguised in women’s clothing!