Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 173 Let's Play Cuju Together

"Young Master Zhou! Is there really a pig demon in the city that eats people?"

The Zhou residence was not far from the Court of Justice. Zhou Zhao walked slowly along the road, the golden sunlight shining on him, making him instantly understand what it meant to have a clear and refreshing autumn day.

An old woman was selling freshly picked osmanthus branches by the roadside. The tender yellow petals were scattered on them, and you could smell their fragrance from a distance.

Just as Zhou Zhao squatted down and picked up a branch, he heard the old woman chuckle and come closer.

"These flowers were picked from a tree in my yard, they're worthless. If you like them, Master Zhou, feel free to take them. Sigh, I didn't sleep well all night after hearing about the pig demon's mischief yesterday. I came to the Court of Justice this morning to inquire, but I forgot that today is a day off. Wu Wenshu is going to play Cuju (an ancient Chinese football game), so there's no one to tell us."

Zhou Zhao took out some copper coins from his sleeve pocket and stuffed them into the old woman's hand.

Wu Qingshan, that big mouth, just how much does he love to talk about cases? Listen to this old lady talking about him, it's like she's talking about an old sister she's known for eighty years.

"If there were pig demons in this world, I would become a Taoist priest to exorcise them. How could I let my grandmother toss and turn in fear? And Wu Wenshu goes to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) on his day off?"

The old woman clearly knew everything about the Court of Justice.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao was unaware, she instantly perked up. She enthusiastically threw the copper coins into the earthenware pot next to her, opened her eyes wide, and leaned close to Zhou Zhao's ear, as if she wanted to tell her some incredible secret.

"Young Master Zhou, you're new here and don't know. Recently, a simpleton has arrived at the Imperial Household Department. He's covered in gold, and quite a few people around here secretly follow him, just waiting for him to accidentally drop some gold! It's said that someone once found a ten-tael gold ingot, immediately turned around and bought a big house, and even got wives for all eight of his sons."

Cuju (ancient Chinese football)...golden and gleaming...

The image of Ji Yun instantly flashed into Zhou Zhao's mind. He had also participated in the Court of Justice Grand Competition, but he came to check if Zhang Ruoqing had listed him as a promising young talent, which was quite extravagant.

"Originally, both the Court of Justice and the Imperial Household Department had their own Cuju (ancient Chinese football) teams. Wu Wenshu was known as the Little Whirlwind. He once scored three goals in a row, making those people from the Imperial Household Department look utterly defeated," the old woman said, her eyes sparkling.

"The old ladies around here used to go every time to cheer on Wu Wenshu! But after that Jin Cancan came, she brought her own team, and I don't know where she found all those experts. Sigh... the ladies don't dare to go anymore, they can't bear to see Wu Wenshu suffer."

Zhou Zhao quickly looked away, worried that the old woman would shed tears of maternal love in the next quarter of an hour.

Heaven knows, she just wanted to buy a few osmanthus flowers and didn't want to become Wu Qingshan's "old mother" entourage.

She cleared her throat, stood up, bid farewell to the old woman, and with lightning speed, landed in front of the Tingwei Temple.

Zhou Zhao wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from her forehead. It was still better to look at the case files; they were the most comfortable thing to do. She had been investigating cases these past few days and hadn't looked at the case files much.

"Sister Zhao! Sister Zhao! Shall we go play Cuju (ancient Chinese football)?"

Hearing Chen Jiyuan's enthusiastic voice, Zhou Zhao felt a chill run down her spine. She looked up at the newcomer and saw that the group of frail scholars from the Court of Justice seemed to have been reborn and were now exceptionally energetic.

The one standing in the very center of the group was none other than Li Youdao, who was usually dead drunk.

His hair was still messy, and his nose was a little red from years of drinking, but his back and legs no longer ached, and he was no longer sleepy. He looked energetic and spirited. He was dressed in white with a red headband tied around his forehead, and he walked with a swagger.

Standing to his left was the handsome and expressionless Wu Qingshan, while standing to his right was the subordinate official named Jingyi whom Zhou Zhao had met before, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old. Zhou Zhao remembered that he had a sword beside him at the time.

Beside Wu Qingshan was Chen Jiyuan, who was waving enthusiastically at her, standing on tiptoe.

Without careful observation, you wouldn't even recognize him as the poor little guy who gave Xu Jinna the thousand-layer soles. In the Great Qi Dynasty's Cuju (ancient Chinese football), a team has six players kicking the ball and six goalkeepers. Besides these four, there are eight other players wearing the same uniforms, clearly indicating that one of them is a substitute.

Of the remaining eight people, Zhou Zhao only recognized one: Qin Lang from the Right Courtyard, who had disguised himself as a woman and defeated her, a real woman.

As for the others, they look familiar yet unfamiliar.

There's no other reason than that he spends his days and nights reviewing case files, each one looking like it could die at any moment, unlike now, when he's radiant on his day off...

As they spoke, the group approached. Li Youdao sized Zhou Zhao up and down, tossed the ball in his hand, and glanced at Zhou Zhao. "Do you have money?"

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, his eyes flickered, and he replied speechlessly, "Naturally, it's not as good as Ji Yun's family having mines."

Li Youdao snorted, "They're all newly accepted disciples. Why are other people's disciples so rich, while you're just causing trouble? Our Court of Justice has already lost three matches in a row, we absolutely cannot lose today! Wu Fang's leg is injured, don't tell me you can't fill in? What, you have neither money nor strength?"

Zhou Zhao's lips twitched. Other people's masters even teach their disciples!

My master only treats his disciples like cattle and horses!

She cupped her hands in a respectful gesture, "I still have some more..."

Before he could even finish saying the word "file," he was met with angry glares from everyone he knew and didn't know, especially those people from the right courtyard, whose eyes were practically spitting fire!
Heaven knows how many times they've been forced to watch the sunrise at Tingwei Temple since Zhou Zhao came there.

In the dead of night, the Court of Justice is not filled with stars, but with endless case files to review and countless corpses to examine.

Zhou Zhao blinked, and Li Youdao had already pulled her along without saying a word. "We'll look at the files tomorrow. Otherwise, if you read them all, won't people find out if I'm slacking off in the future?"

Hearing Li Youdao's shameless words, everyone turned their heads away.

Li Youdao was slacking off, and even a blind man within an 800-mile radius could see it!

Seeing Zhou Zhao forced to follow, Chen Jiyuan excitedly shouted, "Sister Zhao! Let me tell you, that Ji Yun is too arrogant! How can our Court of Justice lose to the Imperial Household Department? We must avenge this humiliation! They have no martial ethics at all. They're not gatekeepers, they're just blocking the gate..."

Zhou Zhao, carrying osmanthus flowers, mingled with the crowd and walked outwards. Between the Court of Justice and the Imperial Household Department, there was a football field.

This football field is rectangular, with six goals on each side. Because it was close to his home, Zhou Zhao used to play football here often when he was a child.

Speaking of which, Zhou Buhai punished her countless times because of Cuju (ancient Chinese football).

The people from the Imperial Household Department have arrived.

Zhou Zhao looked over and instantly understood what Chen Jiyuan meant by the goal-blockers! In front of the Shaofu's goal, six burly men, each with a powerful build and the appearance of someone who could easily kill two weaklings from the Tingwei Temple with a single punch, stood there, blocking the goal completely.

The twelve servants of the Imperial Household Department wore brightly colored rose-red robes and had green ribbons tied around their foreheads.

Standing in the center of the crowd, Ji Yun held up a glittering golden ball.

Zhou Zhao took a step back, thinking it would be better to go back and look at the case files, as it wouldn't strain her eyes.