Chapter 73: Another Encounter with Director Yu

Wen Mubai was about to step forward when Tang Banxia stopped him. “This time, let me handle it.”

There were ten in the patrol squad, plus the captain made eleven. No matter how skilled Xiaobai was at fighting, he might not escape unscathed. That wouldn’t do—if he got hurt, she would feel terrible.

Tang Banxia moved lightly, positioning herself in front of Wen Mubai. She offered a gentle smile and reached into her satchel, pulling out a bamboo tube. “Xiaobai, cover your mouth!”

She popped the lid off, waved it in a circle, and a cloud of white powder from the bamboo tube drifted straight toward the eleven patrol members.

The patrol squad was half a beat too slow. When they realized what was happening, they stumbled back in haste. But once they saw it was only white powder, they exchanged puzzled glances. After a moment, all eleven still stood there, unharmed.

The captain sneered. “Tricks and nonsense!”

Just then, Wu Meng'an crawled to the doorway and shrieked, “These two are reactionaries—arrest them!”

The captain’s expression changed. With a wave of his hand, the patrol squad closed in again.

Tang Banxia showed not the slightest fear; instead, she raised her brows with interest.

Then, before they could take more than a couple of steps, the patrol squad members collapsed one by one onto the ground, faces full of alarm.

“What’s happening to me?”
“I can’t use any strength!”
“My head feels dizzy!”

The captain, worthy of his title, was quick to catch on and glared furiously at Tang Banxia. “This is your doing.”

Tang Banxia bared her teeth in a grin. “Take a guess!”

It was at this moment that Director Yu arrived with his team and witnessed the scene: Wen Mubai and Tang Banxia standing calmly while the patrol squad stared at them in terror, shouting things like “monster” and “witch.”

“What’s going on?” Director Yu strode forward, swept his eyes across the scene, and addressed Wen Mubai.

“Director Yu, you’re here—thank goodness!” the captain exclaimed in relief. “Quick, arrest these two! They’re monsters!”

Wu Meng'an chimed in, “Yes, Director Yu, arrest them! My uncle will reward you.”

At those words, Director Yu looked him over carefully and at last recognized him as Director Jing’s nephew.

A smirk played at the corner of his lips before he composed himself. “What on earth happened here? You two comrades, please explain why you were causing trouble in the state-run restaurant.”

Wen Mubai put on a face of aggrieved innocence. “I—I don’t know them. My wife and I just came to have a meal. They threw hot soup at me and tried to hit me. I only fought back in self-defense.”

He pointed at the patrol squad. “And them—they accused me of being a reactionary and tried to arrest us. My wife only dosed them out of concern for me.”

“Dosed?” Director Yu immediately picked up on something and looked at Tang Banxia.

She nodded. “It’s not poison. It just temporarily incapacitates people—a means of self-defense, nothing more.”

Fortunately, she had brought it today.

Director Yu’s eyes flickered. With a wave of his hand he ordered, “Take them all away.”

The group was marched off to the Public Security Bureau. Wen Mubai and Tang Banxia were placed in a meeting room, with clean clothes and tea—hardly the treatment given to prisoners.

After a while, Director Yu entered, dismissed the others, and sat across from them with a smile. “We meet again.”

Wen Mubai smiled back. “Long time no see.”

After a few pleasantries, Director Yu got straight to the point. “So, what happened? Do you know Wu Meng'an?”

Otherwise, why would he have been beaten so badly? Among the group, Wu Meng'an had suffered the worst.

“We know him, you could say,” Tang Banxia replied, and began to explain—from the incident during the examination, to their run-in at the restaurant, to how Wu Meng'an and his group had deliberately provoked them, to the patrol squad’s indiscriminate actions. She hid nothing.

When she finished, Director Yu tapped the table, his mind turning over several thoughts. But what intrigued him most was, “That defensive powder of yours?”

“Oh, you mean the Numbing Powder.” Tang Banxia understood, and took out the bamboo tube. “There’s still some left. I’ll give it to you, Director Yu.”

Director Yu accepted it carefully. “Numbing Powder?”

She nodded as if it were obvious. “A combination of knockout powder and muscle relaxant—naturally, it’s called Numbing Powder.”

Director Yu didn’t dwell on the name, only asked, “What does it actually do?”

“It makes people lose all strength. Those with low resistance will fall asleep instantly,” Tang Banxia explained.

She had begun developing this powder back when she became a barefoot doctor, inspired by the ideas of martial arts novels and modern anesthetics and sleeping agents. She’d refined it into an inhalable formula.

After all, despite the relative stability of this era, dangers still lurked. With no omnipresent surveillance like in the future, she had to find ways to protect herself.

She cherished her life and believed that the cautious always made thorough preparations for peace of mind.

Perhaps she truly had a knack for pharmacy, for this wild idea of hers had actually borne fruit.

Hearing her describe the effects, Director Yu’s eyes flashed with astonishment, and his gaze toward Tang Banxia changed entirely.

Tang Banxia: ???

Wen Mubai cleared his throat. “Director Yu, may we leave now?”

“Of course.” Director Yu tucked the bamboo tube into his breast pocket, looked up, and said, “You’re free to go.”

He was almost absurdly cheerful. “Take care on your way home.”

And so, after nothing more than a cup of tea at the Public Security Bureau, Tang Banxia and Wen Mubai walked out as lightly as they had entered.

Once outside, the two looked back at Director Yu, who smiled and waved at them, leaving them somewhat amazed.

“Does Director Yu really trust us so much?” Tang Banxia asked.

Wen Mubai, however, seemed to sense something more. He chuckled, “Who can say?” He shrugged. “Let’s go home.”

Tang Banxia gathered her thoughts. “Let’s.”

Thanks to Wu Meng'an and his gang, neither had managed to eat their fill. It was clearly not appropriate to return to the state-run restaurant now, so home it was.

On the bus, Tang Banxia slapped her thigh. “We should have made them pay for the meal.”

A meal at the state-run restaurant wasn’t cheap, and they had barely touched their food—a complete waste.

Wen Mubai couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re really not afraid of driving them mad, are you!”

“They started it. Stirring up trouble unprovoked—don’t you see?” Tang Banxia declared with robust confidence.

“Don’t worry, Director Yu isn’t someone who’s easy to deal with,” Wen Mubai said. From what he knew, that Director Jing had made plenty of enemies. Now, with such an incriminating handle, there would be no shortage of people eager to thank them.

Because of their little uproar, the county’s political climate became turbulent, while the two main culprits floated back to the village without a care.

Back home, they cooked a pot of mutton soup. After a steaming bowl, they felt warmth return to their bodies.

Full and content, they sat in the main hall, basking in the fire and the sun. “What this place needs is a lounge chair,” Tang Banxia mused.

Wen Mubai took note. “I’ll visit Uncle Ying’s house this afternoon.”

“Good thinking.” Tang Banxia squinted in pleasure and gave him a thumbs-up.

Wen Mubai smiled shyly.

“Oh, right—Qixin said that the stall in the neighboring village is back up and running, and invited me to go,” Wen Mubai suddenly said.

“So soon?” Tang Banxia opened her eyes.

Previously, because of the Ma brothers, the neighboring village had shut down their operations for fear of being implicated. “Has the heat died down already?”

“Seems so,” Wen Mubai replied, though he wasn’t entirely sure. “I’ll go check it out tonight.”

“It’s your call,” Tang Banxia said, leaving the decision to him.

Wen Mubai grunted in acknowledgment and fell silent.

Tang Banxia closed her eyes to enjoy the sun, completely unaware of the deep, contemplative look in his eyes.