Third-in-command Zhou Daoshou stared coldly at second-in-command Bi Datong. He had no need to say another word—his eyes already said everything he wanted to say.
After escaping the trap on Yanshan, they had been preparing to head back to the mountain stronghold. But just as they were about to set off, Zhou Daoshou asked fourth-in-command Wu Xionqi why he had come. Wu Xionqi said that someone had told him a lieutenant under second-in-command Bi Datong, a man named Guan Shanling, had run off.
Guan Shanling hadn’t run alone—he’d taken a few of his most trusted men with him. As bad luck would have it, Guan Shanling had already left the stronghold, but then—for reasons unclear—had sent one of his men back to retrieve something.
The man who returned slipped back into the stronghold quietly, which was exactly what attracted suspicion. Had he walked in openly, no one would have questioned their own brother without cause. But he was nervous, and when he saw someone approaching he bolted—and was seized. It happened to be fourth-in-command Wu Xionqi’s men standing watch that night.
Under pressure, the man only said that Guan Shanling had sent him back to retrieve something—a wooden box hidden in Guan Shanling’s room. What the box contained, Guan Shanling hadn’t told him.
Wu Xionqi personally went to search Guan Shanling’s study, but found nothing. Only afterward, through inquiry, did he learn: the second-in-command had just been there, claiming he’d come to find Guan Shanling, saw he wasn’t in, and left without stopping.
By the time Wu Xionqi returned to the main hall to resume questioning the man they’d caught, the man had already been beaten to death. Bi Datong, white-faced with fury, explained that seeing a brother of his own stronghold attempting to flee had sent him into a rage—he hadn’t been able to hold back.
Wu Xionqi immediately sensed something was wrong. He went back, talked it over with his subordinates, and concluded that Yu Chaozong might be in danger. So he gathered his people and followed after them.
After hearing Wu Xionqi out, Zhou Daoshou flatly refused to let Yu Chaozong return directly to the stronghold—because all of the stronghold’s doctors had originally come with Bi Datong.
The third-in-command had a gambling habit, and Guan Shanling had too; the two of them often played cards together in their spare time. Zhou Daoshou recalled that Guan Shanling had mentioned having a relative in Qianlie County. He guessed that if Guan Shanling were going to run, he might head there first.
Since Qianlie County wasn’t far, they made straight for it—find a doctor to treat the wounds, and investigate Guan Shanling’s whereabouts along the way, to get to the bottom of who had ordered the attempt on their leader’s life.
They’d barely arrived in Qianlie County when, even as their wounds were still being dressed, someone came to find Yu Chaozong with word that the second-in-command had just arrived and had already caught the runaway Guan Shanling.
By the time Yu Chaozong’s group returned from the physician’s hall to the restaurant, Guan Shanling was already in that condition—all four limbs broken, unable to speak. Even the gods couldn’t have gotten anything more out of him.
Zhou Daoshou simply smiled coldly and watched Bi Datong. Bi Datong felt his gaze and began to sweat, quickly turning to Yu Chaozong: “Brother, what’s Old Third doing staring at me like that? He’s clearly suspecting me of sending people to kill you.”
Zhou Daoshou asked: “Feeling guilty?”
Yu Chaozong said: “I’ve already said it: this matter is closed. Guan Shanling is dead. No need to pursue it further. Third brother, our second brother is not that kind of man—you shouldn’t treat him this way.”
Zhou Daoshou’s face went white with fury. He stared at Yu Chaozong: “Brother, how can you still not understand? Someone wants to kill you and take your place!”
“Shut your mouth!”
Bi Datong roared. “You can call me anything you like, but you cannot question my loyalty to our brother. Let me show you today exactly what kind of man I am.”
He suddenly placed his left hand flat on the table—and brought the saber down on it, severing his own hand.
“I failed to manage my own people—I raised an animal like Guan Shanling. It’s all my fault. I should have taken my own life to atone, but my brother won’t allow me to die. Then I’ll cut off this hand instead. I tell you, Zhou Old Third—Bi Datong will never betray his brothers!”
Everyone present was startled by the sudden act. Yu Chaozong immediately called for someone to bind and dress Bi Datong’s wound.
Bi Datong crashed to his knees, his face ashen. “Brother, you know me. When I first came to serve under you, you kept offering me the position of leader—I refused to the death. I didn’t want it then. Why would I lose my head and try to seize it now?”
Yu Chaozong helped him up, his own eyes reddening slightly. “Datong, why go to such lengths… you didn’t have to—” He sighed heavily.
Bi Datong fixed Zhou Daoshou with a glare. “I need to make certain people see what kind of man Bi Datong is—so they’ll stop stabbing me in the back.”
Zhou Daoshou gave a cold snort: “Playing the wounded victim? A fine act—and merciless enough. You’re that ruthless with yourself. What is there you wouldn’t do?”
Fourth-in-command Wu Xionqi quickly pulled him aside: “Third brother, that’s enough.”
Yu Chaozong turned around in fury: “You—stop this nonsense. Get out!”
Zhou Daoshou choked back what he wanted to say, rage sending his face white. He wanted to curse—but he couldn’t bring himself to defy his brother’s order. He stomped his foot in fury and stormed out.
Wu Xionqi looked back and forth between the two, caught in the middle, and finally followed Zhou Daoshou outside as well.
The two of them reached the back courtyard. Zhou Daoshou’s fists slammed into the great tree standing there, one blow after another—hard enough that the trunk shook violently.
“Third brother, why put yourself through this.”
Wu Xionqi said: “Brother doesn’t want to suspect his own sworn kin. Looking at Bi Datong’s state, maybe he really didn’t know what was going on. Stop making things harder for our brother.”
Zhou Daoshou cursed: “Brother’s gone blind, and now you’ve turned into a blind fool too. Can’t you see—Bi Datong killed the witness, then staged a wounded-martyr performance? He’s forcing Brother to drop the whole matter.”
“Just let it go…”
Wu Xionqi said: “If you keep making trouble now, Brother won’t be happy about it either. Whether Bi Datong’s act was genuine or theater—the matter’s done. Let the two of us look into it quietly. Same point as before: you can’t make things harder for Brother, right?”
Zhou Daoshou drove his fist into the tree again. “I can’t get this rage out of my chest. It’s going to choke me to death.”
Wu Xionqi said: “You think I’m not swallowing the same thing? Endure it for now. There’ll be plenty of chances to get to the bottom of this.”
Zhou Daoshou turned to Wu Xionqi: “Guan Shanling’s relative in this county was never brought back. He might know something—Guan Shanling may well have told him things.”
Wu Xionqi’s eyes lit up. “Third brother, do you know who Guan Shanling’s relative is?”
“I do.”
Zhou Daoshou said: “Heard it back when we used to play cards. Back then, Brother said we should plant informants in the county towns below the Yanshan Mountains—that way, if the local garrison forces made any moves, they’d have advance warning to retreat to the stronghold. For Qianlie County, Guan Shanling mentioned he had a relative here, so Old Second sent Guan Shanling to handle it.”
“That relative is his cousin-by-marriage: she had married the Qianlie County deputy magistrate, Liu Sun. To win his cousin’s favor, Guan Shanling had drawn no small amount of funds from the accounts to send to her. This restaurant was opened around that time.”
Wu Xionqi grabbed his arm: “Then what are we waiting for? Guan Shanling came here because he figured his cousin’s official husband might protect him. Why else run here? He may well have already met with that Liu Sun. If we drag Liu Sun back here and confront Bi Datong in front of Brother—what’s left for Old Second to deny?”
“Right!”
Zhou Daoshou called over his trusted men and told them: if Brother asked, say the two of them had gone out for a drink.
Zhou Daoshou and Wu Xionqi took about ten of their men and slipped out through the restaurant’s back entrance, asking directions until they found Deputy Magistrate Liu Sun’s home.
They sent a man ahead, posing as someone delivering a gift, to ask whether the deputy magistrate was home. The servants in Liu Sun’s household took a few taels of silver and told them the master had gone to Pingshun Zhai restaurant for a meal.
Zhou Daoshou and Wu Xionqi took their men to Pingshun Zhai. They slipped a few coins of small change to a waiter, claiming they wanted to send a gift to Deputy Magistrate Liu Sun—the waiter would naturally have no reason to suspect a thing—and found out which private room he was in.
Once they had their answer, Wu Xionqi took a few men and climbed up to the second floor from the back. Zhou Daoshou led several men in through the front.
When they reached the second floor, Zhou Daoshou kicked the door open. These bandit lords who’d run wild in the mountains had never thought twice about killing—their only thought now was to grab Liu Sun as quickly as possible, with no concern for how much noise they made.
Zhou Daoshou kicked the door open—and immediately went blank. There were quite a few people in this room. Looking them over: county magistrate, deputy magistrate, chief clerk, chief jailer—all the power-holders in the county office were present.
Qianlie County’s magistrate, Zheng Jin, shot to his feet and bellowed: “Who the devil are you?! Get out!”
Zhou Daoshou only hesitated for a split second, then looked at Zheng Jin and brought his saber down: “None of your business!”
These men had been driven to outlawry precisely by official oppression—it had curdled into something close to a pathological hatred of anyone in office. In the moment before he swung, the thought of killing hadn’t even crossed his mind—but in that instant, his mind simply didn’t work through the consequences. The saber came down.
A fight broke out in the restaurant. The county office’s retainers were no match whatsoever for Zhou Daoshou and his men—those ferocious veteran killers cut through them all like vegetables. Everyone in the room was slaughtered except for Deputy Magistrate Liu Sun.
After the killing, Zhou Daoshou’s group dragged Liu Sun out of the restaurant and ran. They took him to a secluded spot and interrogated him.
Liu Sun heard them out and was left completely bewildered. His face ashen with fear, he said: “This official—that is—my wife passed away many years ago. Even when she was alive, I never heard her mention any relative named Guan Shanling. I know nothing of what you’re describing. I have never heard that name before in my life.”
Zhou Daoshou froze. Wu Xionqi stepped forward and kicked Liu Sun. “And you dare lie to our faces?!”
Liu Sun wailed: “You can investigate! My wife has been dead for years! You say this Guan Shanling came last year and this year—how could he possibly have come? Was he visiting a ghost?”
Wu Xionqi pulled Zhou Daoshou aside and lowered his voice: “What do we do now? If Brother finds out we’ve caused another disaster, he might punish us harshly.”
Zhou Daoshou glanced at Liu Sun and said: “Kill him first, ask questions later. Whether he really knew anything or not—once he’s dead, we go back, ask Brother to move out immediately, and tell him we happened to overhear in that restaurant that the county officers were planning to arrest Brother. That’s why we struck first.”
Wu Xionqi nodded: “It’s the only way.”
He instructed his men: “Did you all hear what I just said? That’s exactly what you tell Brother when we get back.”
With that, he didn’t wait for Liu Sun’s wailing pleas, stepped forward, and cut the man down.
The group hurried back to the restaurant and repeated the fabricated story. Yu Chaozong found it a little strange, but asked nothing further—he had never been able to suspect his own brothers. He immediately ordered everyone to leave Qianlie County.
They fled the town quickly. The county office had been wiped out entirely; there was no one left to give the order to pursue. The constables of the county were in a state of shock, staring at a room full of dead officials—not one of them knew what to do.
—