Lin Yuchan gritted her teeth and pulled with her arms. Her strained muscles shot with pain. She couldn’t pull him up.

“Again!”

Su Minguan’s hands had a limited range of movement, and he couldn’t use full strength either. He looked up unwillingly.

Lin Yuchan knelt on the sharp tiles and stones, ignoring her aching knees, gathering strength—

“Sorry…”

Why was this man so heavy?

“Ah! Here! They’re climbing the wall! Rebels, don’t run!”

An officer spotted them, shouting excitedly while calling his companion over and loading ammunition into his musket.

Su Minguan released her hand and gestured toward the outside of the wall.

The meaning was clear: you go first, I’ll find my way.

Lin Yuchan bit her lip hard, hesitated a moment, shook her head, and suddenly raised her gun to fire!

Bang!

The bullet flew past the officer’s musket. The officer was stunned, afraid his gunpowder might explode, and quickly threw his musket several steps away, dropped low to the ground, crouching like a quail.

Su Minguan spun around and pounced, kicking him in the head. He didn’t hold back. Another officer rushed to help, but Su Minguan was much faster, circling his arms around the man’s neck with murderous intent, twisting the handcuffs with force—

A month of patience, a month of internal rage – he wanted to tear apart all these walking corpses in this living coffin, preferably burn down the entire capital to avenge her grievances!

At his feet, a third person writhed and groaned.

“Help… Miss Lin… I was wrong…”

Su Minguan crouched, his eyes bloody, calmly looking at the bannerman young master shot through the abdomen, checking his wounds.

“Does it hurt?” he asked softly.

Baoliang weakly called: “It hurts… help me…”

Su Minguan didn’t move, a cruel, cold smile appearing on his lips.

“It won’t hurt in a couple of days.”

“Xiao Bai, come here!”

Lin Yuchan’s call brought him back to clarity. Su Minguan leaped up, and as more constables poured in, once again grasped those bloodstained hands—

Lin Yuchan clenched her teeth tightly.

She felt her arms would break. Su Minguan’s wrists were bloodied by the steel handcuffs. He pressed his lips together and pushed hard—

Crash! A large section of roof tiles fell from the wall. The weak girl’s body burst with tremendous strength she couldn’t have imagined.

Lin Yuchan’s arms went numb, thrown off balance by momentum, swaying as if about to fall. Su Minguan kicked up onto the wall, swept his arms around her, and they tumbled over the wall together in a heap.

From inside the wall came several exasperated shouts: “Quick, go to the Military Police for reinforcements, chase—”

Thud! Lin Yuchan landed heavily head-first, a hand gently protecting the back of her head as she was tightly embraced in a burning embrace.

She quickly scrambled up, suddenly couldn’t help laughing. Su Minguan with his hands cuffed while holding her had become entangled in an inseparable bear hug, making it difficult to separate.

“Troublemaker, causing problems again.”

She wriggled out of his arms and quickly looked around. Most neighbors were still panicking, spreading rumors – sometimes “fire!” “Nian bandits are here!” Men, boys, girls, and young wives ran around like headless flies.

But two people jumping down from the wall here, disheveled and covered in dirt, still quickly attracted considerable attention.

She pulled Su Minguan and ran.

“Head south!”

Inner city residents were all bannermen – two Han people were too conspicuous. Only by reaching the southern city’s Han residential area could they possibly blend into the crowd.

Su Minguan was shocked instead: “You know directions?”

This person had been imprisoned in Beijing for two months, yet when giving directions, she didn’t say front, back, left, right, but started using north, south, east, west?

Who taught her that?

They hadn’t run two steps when footsteps pursued from behind. What had been a broken gong for fire alerts was seized by someone who banged it repeatedly, announcing to all: “Quick, stop those two thieves without queues!”

They dared not mention “rebels” again, fearing more rumors about Nian bandits. On such a joyous day as the Empress Dowager’s birthday, having “Nian bandits” in one’s jurisdiction would be fatal!

So “rebels” became “thieves.” The constable paused, perhaps feeling “thieves” lacked sufficient gravity, adding: “They’re the arsonists!”

Water Brigade soldiers came toward them carrying water equipment. Hearing the command, they dropped their equipment and drew clubs.

The two could only run desperately. Fortunately, Beijing’s roads were straight and orderly. Turning here and there without losing direction, they could always find southward routes.

Lin Yuchan had difficulty breathing, tasted blood. After two months without leaving the small courtyard, suddenly running at full lung capacity, after exhausting her explosive energy, her legs began weakening.

“A’Mei, this way!”

A narrow six-foot alley is nearby. Both sides had residential back doors, the road surface piled with winter coal, difficult to pass. Su Minguan gently pulled, and they slipped inside, crossing several carts. Su Minguan pushed from behind – the coal balls piled on the cart collapsed, rolling everywhere with coal dust.

Military Police constables surged in together, skating on coal balls like ice skating, lurching forward crookedly: “Here!”

A door in the alley creaked open. An enraged bannerman old lady rushed out, hands on hips, shouting angrily: “My nephew-in-law is a third-rank bright blue button colonel – who dares step on my coal?”

The Military Police were all small people, inevitably calling out “aunt” and apologizing with bows. In the blink of an eye, the two “thieves” had vanished.

The bannerman’s old lady returned to her courtyard in anger. Turning after closing the door, she got quite a shock.

The barred front door had somehow opened wide, and the two coal-dusted “thieves” swaggered right out!

“There are thieves—”

All Military Police soldiers outside West Hua Gate were mobilized. They only knew two “arsonists” were fleeing, but nobody saw which route they took.

The Empress Dowager’s birthday was paramount – all arrest operations must be kept low-key. The soldiers dared not create citywide commotion. The Military Police deputy commander ordered separate searches, alley by alley.

In a shaded alley opposite the lama temple stood a huge bamboo basket, probably used by some household for transporting miscellaneous items. This basket was now inverted. Though windless around, it suddenly trembled strangely.

Inside the basket was pitch black. Several rays of light leaked through gaps in the woven bamboo, illuminating a pair of bloody, swollen wrists.

“How is it?” Lin Yuchan asked anxiously in a whisper.

Su Minguan shook his head.

The handcuffs severely limited his movement. Just now passing through the Bannerman old lady’s house, he’d casually taken a fruit knife. Stuffed in the basket with Lin Yuchan circled in his arms, he was still stubbornly trying to pick the handcuffs.

Lin Yuchan heard her own heart pounding, the chest behind her heaving dramatically. With soldiers occasionally running past on nearby main streets, in this life-or-death situation, her heart was strangely peaceful. Suddenly coming to her senses, she touched her face and found she’d been smiling foolishly.

“How did you know I was released today?” Her voice was thin and changed pitch. “When did you arrive? Didn’t I tell you—”

Click – the fruit knife also broke, the blade tip shooting into the basket wall like a dart, embedding halfway.

Su Minguan’s first reaction was to protect the little girl’s head in his arms.

A thin line of blood appeared on his wrist as he softly cursed.

His chin touched the top of her head as he asked gently: “You don’t know how your case was resolved?”

Lin Yuchan shook her head blankly. “It shouldn’t have been just Baoliang alone…”

She hesitated slightly when mentioning Baoliang’s name, afraid of displeasing him.

Su Minguan gave a cold laugh and remained silent for a long time.

She asked: “Did you find someone…”

“We’ll talk when we get back.”

He answered quickly, asking softly: “A’Mei, do you have a handkerchief?”

Lin Yuchan shook her head, unbuttoned her clothes, and tore off a layer of inner fabric. Then she lifted his hands before her, wrapping the cloth strips around the steel handcuffs circle by circle.

Nineteenth-century British handcuffs were solid and heavy, just figure-eight-shaped steel circles connected, unable to stretch or twist, with no room for maneuvering.

Wrapping them in cloth would at least prevent excessive injury during movement. Unlocking would have to wait.

Just as she tied the final knot, suddenly urgent footsteps rushed into the alley.

Through narrow gaps between bamboo strips, Lin Yuchan saw a Military Police constable with a club, looking around.

“Nothing, nothing…” the constable complained to himself lazily. “No holiday during festivals, chasing arsonists. They say there’s reward money, but it’s just dangling a carrot before a donkey…”

He suddenly stopped. A conspicuous, large bamboo basket sat against the gray wall, somewhat blocking the path.

The constable felt mischievous and casually kicked it as he passed.

It didn’t budge. The basket swayed but settled back in place, completely defying natural law.

The constable said “huh?” and approached.

Lin Yuchan crouched in the basket, her back rigid, heart in her throat.

She couldn’t help turning slightly. Su Minguan’s gaze was steady and reassuring as he pressed half his face against her hair, then extremely slowly raised his arms, releasing her from his embrace.

Things were getting bigger and truly wouldn’t let them rest.

The Military Police constable suspected someone might be hiding under the basket. He carefully extended his club, prying under the bamboo basket, casually lifting—

Unexpectedly, the club head thrust under the basket was suddenly pressed down by someone. The lift failed, and the club couldn’t move!

“Damn! Found them! Hey, let go! Someone come quick!”

The constable gripped his club and pulled back. The person inside had much greater strength, suddenly yanking hard. The constable still clutching the club was caught off guard, lunging forward and sprawling on the bamboo basket.

From the dense bamboo gaps, half a fruit knife blade strangely protruded, piercing right into his heart.

The constable made no sound, his limbs slowly drooping as he lay motionless on the basket.

Su Minguan emerged from the bamboo basket, then pulled out the pale-faced Lin Yuchan. In no time, he covered the constable’s body back in the basket, deliberately blocking her view.

He looked around and earnestly asked: “Which way is south?”

Lin Yuchan tried not to look at the blood pool, pointed the direction, and helpfully reminded: “You’re missing a queue.”

Su Minguan’s face darkened as he touched the back of his head.

…Should have kept it.

The fake queue with the clip was already lost, and he had no hat. He suddenly felt his head rather chilly.

Not far away, the lama temple rang with tinkling bells. Three to five red-robed lamas walked out of the temple gates, chatting and strolling.

The Qing Emperor protected Lamaism – Beijing was full of lama temples. Some lamas were genuine practitioners; others were just sycophantic frauds who acted imperiously when traveling, shouting at common people, drinking, eating meat, and visiting brothels, no different from bullies.

This group of lamas belonged to the latter category. They started demanding right of way as soon as they emerged. By coincidence, they turned into the shaded alley.

Su Minguan frowned, pulling Lin Yuchan to meet them, quickly brushing past the lamas and collecting a string of curses.

As the lamas discovered blood under the bamboo basket and called for help, Su Minguan slipped into the lama temple.

Five minutes later, a young lama in red robes walked out of the temple with affected airs. Though the stubble on his head looked quite realistic, his robes were worn inside-out, and his expression was overly worldly, even more unprofessional than the previous lamas.

Despite her tension, Lin Yuchan nearly laughed herself breathless.

“Master, come with me.”

The lama and the girl walking openly side by side didn’t surprise the street people. Some even pretended not to see, frowning and moving away.

Exciting as it was, this move was too risky. They encountered other llamas trying to chat. Su Minguan feigned deafness and escaped. Later, they saw several Military Police deputies on horseback patrolling and reporting, giving him extra looks.

Fortunately, in less than a quarter hour, they reached Zhengyang Gate. Under slanting sunlight, the arrow tower stood majestically. The gate under the west watchtower was slowly closing.

The city guard had received word that rebels had infiltrated during the Empress Dowager’s birthday and must be captured without fail. Yet they couldn’t make too much noise, so they quietly closed all southern gates, leaving only Chongwen Gate as entry/exit, with intensified inspections.

Common people complained bitterly – some threw tantrums, others turned back. The arguers couldn’t argue their way through and could only curse while changing routes.

Master Su Lama frowned slightly, exchanging a glance with the girl beside him.

They could only follow the crowd.

A line over a li long formed before Chongwen Gate. Except for daily merchants familiar with the guards who could skip inspection, all other travelers were stopped for household registration checks.

If male, they’d also have their queues tugged – according to reliable intelligence, the fleeing rebel was missing his queue, likely a Taiping remnant who’d joined the Nian bandits.

Lin Yuchan felt nervous herself, but still comforted the big lama beside her: “I know the way out of the city, too. Just follow me.”

“Lama?”

Across a dozen people and a group of camels, a genuine Yonghe Palace lama was being inspected.

Lamas held high status – guards dared not slight him, saluting with joined palms before saying: “Please let us see your ordination certificate.”

The Yonghe Palace lama produced a small card written in Manchu and Tibetan.

“Please recite some sutras.”

The Yonghe Palace lama cooperated, chanting “Om mani padme hum” for two lines.

With many lama temples in Beijing, native people somewhat understood how lamas chanted. When the Yonghe Palace lama spoke, guards quickly bowed: “Master, please proceed.”

Su Minguan gently tugged Lin Yuchan’s sleeve, gestured, and turned to leave the queue.

A guard happened to see him: “Hey, Master, come over, you can go together…”

But that lama either couldn’t understand Chinese or something else – he ignored them completely, turned around, and ran!

The city gate commander frowned and suddenly shouted: “Hey, come back!”

Simultaneously, a dirty-clothed girl in the queue suddenly cried: “What, the gate’s closing? I don’t want that! I have urgent business leaving the city! Officer, please be kind, let me through first—”

She pushed through the crowd, sprinting toward the gate.

The long queue erupted on the spot. People were already impatient, waiting – hearing this, everyone exploded.

“Can’t close the gate! I’m waiting to return to Wanping before dark!”

“My mother is critically ill. Sorry, everyone, I dare not joke about this – I’m truly anxious…”

“I’m Bordered Blue Banner cavalry captain – let me through first!”

…

The black mass of people surged to Chongwen Gate. The city guard’s Green Standard infantry couldn’t stop them all at once.

“Back! Who said the gate’s closing? Everyone stop! Line up!”

They could only leave most people guarding the city while two chased the llama.

Chaos at the gate continued for quite a while. A camel caravan heading out of Beijing was trapped at the blocked gate.

The caravan transported mountain goods, furs, and coal into Beijing. When leaving, they traveled light – large boxes piled haphazardly like small mountains on camel humps, covered with waterproof tarpaulins and secured with hemp rope. Each camel looked like a wild covered wagon requiring people to make way wherever they went.

The camels had been resting lying down but gradually grew restless, shaking their heads, black nostrils snorting white mist, camel bells jingling chaotically.

Suddenly, several camels seemed to coordinate, collectively raising their rumps, startling nearby travelers.

“Everyone bear with us, bear with us, hehe…” the camel driver apologized repeatedly. “Even animals know it’s the Empress Dowager’s birthday – they’re kowtowing…”

Before finishing, plop plop – several piles of camel dung appeared on the ground.

Some people jumped and dodged, some were anxious, some cursed – even more chaos. The camel driver’s face soured like pickled vegetables, lightly slapping his mouth while ordering camel herders to shovel the dung.

Lin Yuchan had a sudden inspiration, pulling over the camel driver: “Do you have goods on these camels? I’d like to buy some.”

The camel driver smiled: “Most are empty. A few boxes have some medicinal herbs, salt, cloth. But miss, look – my goods are all bundled up for transport to Tongzhou canal market. Not selling now. If you want small items, go to Qianmen Street – they have everything.”

Lin Yuchan took out a silver ingot and quietly slipped it over: “Since we’re waiting anyway, let me pick some things for fun.”

She pointed to red and green trim showing under the tarpaulin, feigning interest.

The silver was from Cixi’s gift – ten bright, brilliant large ingots that felt hot in her hands. Better to return them to common people.

The camel driver’s eyes widened enormously. Weighing the silver, he said sincerely, “Miss has excellent taste.”

His ordinary silk cloth cost at most one and a half taels per bolt. This girl with money to burn offered a full ten-tael ingot just for fun!

He’d strip naked and run around the city wall if she asked!

Waving his hand, he called the herders: “Big Head, Second Head! Get up and work!”

With great effort, they untied the tarpaulin from one camel’s back to show her the cloth in boxes.

Lin Yuchan looked briefly and wasn’t impressed, then wanted to see medicinal herbs on another camel. The camel driver had to order another tarpaulin untied while going back to handle the first camel. After much picking and choosing, he grew less attentive, letting her look after herself.

At the nearby gate, chaos continued as several infantry officers ran back panting, reporting dejectedly: “The lama disappeared…”

Lin Yuchan saw a large half-person-high box with an open mouth. She stepped over camel dung to approach. Suddenly, two slender shackled hands reached from the box, pulling her inside.

Thud – the box lid closed. Everything went dark. Someone breathed softly beside her.

The entire world seemed to disappear, leaving only that breathing sound echoing her heartbeat, clear as thunder and lightning.

Lin Yuchan curled her knees, nervous and sweating, hands ice-cold, whispering: “Will this work?”

“Shh.”

The wooden box was for loose cargo, not precious furniture – thin walls couldn’t block outside noise. They heard gate commotion gradually return to order as people resumed passage.

The camel driver searched east and west, north and south, finally staring blankly at the ten-tael ingot.

“Miss… hey, miss, where are you? What did you finally choose?”

He’d only been distracted briefly, shoveling camel dung, and the money-spending girl had vanished!

Soldiers approached, urging the caravan: “Get up! Move quickly! Blocking the gate means fines!”

The camel driver had no choice. Feeling his pocket, the silver remained, unlike fox spirits or ghosts playing tricks. He put the episode behind him, ordering herders to quickly organize boxes and baskets, re-spread tarpaulins, hastily tie hemp ropes, and command camels to stand.

Heavy wooden boxes, hemp sacks, and bedrolls formed small mountains on camel humps. The camels honestly stood up, carrying their loads easily with measured steps.

City guards joked with the camel driver.

“All cargo? Don’t smuggle Nian bandits!”

While speaking, they routinely tapped tarpaulins with gun stocks, standing on tiptoe to randomly open a few boxes and bags for inspection.

Lin Yuchan opened her eyes wide, hugged her arms, struggling to maintain balance, imagining herself as an oblivious large ginseng root.

The box space was cramped with another large living person squeezed beside her. He held his breath, fingers firmly gripping the box lid’s inner side, a half fruit knife blade tightly clamped between his right index and middle fingers.

Lin Yuchan couldn’t help but grasp his left hand. His hand wasn’t as warm as usual – only slightly warmer than hers. Su Minguan feared she’d be cut by the blade, gently pushing her hand away.

A wooden stick was suddenly tapped on her ear. Through the thin wooden board, she got goosebumps all over.

Fortunately the stick moved away quickly. Perhaps finding this box too tightly bundled, too lazy to inspect closely.

Light from the box lid cracked dimly. They’d passed through the gate and brightened again.

Lin Yuchan had been tensing her back, but now suddenly went limp, slowly lying against Su Minguan, trembling uncontrollably with inexplicable tears.

Two months ago, when she’d hopefully entered Beijing’s gates, she never imagined she’d leave this way…

Passing Chongwen Gate didn’t mean complete safety. The caravan wound through southern city Han’s residential areas, passing bustling Xianyu Kou and Dashilan, the packed Pianyi Restaurant roast duck shop, the “Tianqiao Eight Eccentrics” performance venues…

Passing Yongding Gate brought equally strict inspection. The caravan lingered about half an hour before finally getting permission to proceed.

Surrounding voices gradually thinned. They heard rural dog barking and goose honking. Someone worked a well pulley drawing water, a flock of ducks strutted majestically down the road…

Su Minguan raised his arms, circling her shoulders, letting her head rest on his chest.

The camel driver occasionally called out. Camel pads stepped on earth roads, humps gently swaying like ships on ocean waves.