“Sister-in-law——”
Li Que walked in from outside the main hall.
Shen Zhuxi stood up, her mind in complete disarray as she looked at him.
“In a moment, Li Kun will clear the path while I get you out. The situation is urgent — if your younger brother does anything improper, please bear with him, Sister-in-law.”
“What about Si’ya?” Shen Zhuxi asked.
Li Que thought for a brief moment, then said, “The rice jar in the kitchen can just fit one child. Have her hide inside the jar. Du Yanlong’s target is us — he won’t search the other people in the house.”
Shen Zhuxi also felt this plan was workable. She personally brought Si’ya to the kitchen and watched as she climbed inside the rice jar, which was large enough to hold her.
Si’ya was very sensible for her young age. Even faced with such a situation, she didn’t cry or make a fuss, and obediently crouched inside the jar without making a sound.
With Si’ya settled, Shen Zhuxi felt a great weight lift from her heart. She gripped the golden hairpin tightly in her hand, and it was as though Li Wu’s fearless courage had been pressed into her palm as well. She gradually began to calm down.
She dashed back into the inner room and grabbed the bed sheet, bundling it up.
“What are you doing, Sister-in-law?” Li Que followed her in.
“Du Yanlong has concentrated his men mainly at the front gate — the rear courtyard must have weaker defenses. We can use a feint: have Li Kun carry this on his back and break out from the rear courtyard. They’ll surely think we’re trying to escape from behind and rush reinforcements there. The moment the front defenses let their guard slip, we can leave by the front gate and head straight for the town——” Shen Zhuxi paused, seeing the look of surprise on Li Que’s face, and her confidence slowly began to waver. “I… I thought of it this way — I’m not sure if it’ll work…”
“It will work, it absolutely will work. Sister-in-law, you’re a true master strategist.” Li Que said.
“I’m not that brilliant…” Shen Zhuxi’s face turned red.
“A feint — this plan is excellent.” Li Que said. “Let them think we’re breaking out from the rear courtyard, when our real target is the front gate. Once we’ve broken through, we won’t go to the town — we have one more option.”
“What option?”
“There are too many variables in running away. Rather than having enemies at our backs, we should make a do-or-die stand. Since we’ve chosen to break through the front gate, why not seize the opportunity and take Du Yanlong hostage?”
The two of them immediately agreed. Li Que helped Shen Zhuxi stuff the quilt into a human shape, while Shen Zhuxi found some thin rope and bound out a waist and a neck, making the quilt figure look all the more convincing at first glance.
Li Que called Li Kun over and, after explaining everything clearly, strapped the human-shaped quilt onto his back.
“Weapons…” Li Kun said.
Li Que turned and walked out.
“There are knives in the kitchen, you could…” Before Shen Zhuxi could finish, she saw Li Que return just as quickly, tossing over a hoe.
Li Kun caught it deftly and stepped out of the main hall.
Shen Zhuxi didn’t understand what the two brothers were up to and chased after them in bewilderment.
Li Kun and Li Que each took a hoe and started digging under the osmanthus tree.
“What are you two doing…” Shen Zhuxi said in surprise.
In a moment, her bewilderment was answered.
Shen Zhuxi watched, dumbfounded, as the two brothers dragged out a rectangular wooden crate. After knocking off the iron lock, the two of them picked out their respective weapons from an array of swords, spears, and halberds with practiced ease.
For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be more astonished at the small arsenal hidden in the house, or at Li Wu for having made such preparations in advance.
What did he think this place was — some dragon’s den or tiger’s lair? He really was prepared for everything!
Li Que selected a sharp dagger and hid it on his person. Li Kun, meanwhile, pulled from the very bottom of the crate a large iron axe that had to be seven or eight inches long, swung it a couple of times with a fierce rush of air, and held it in his hand with satisfaction.
Shen Zhuxi hunched her shoulders and stepped back two paces — never mind the weight of the axe, the terrifying whoosh of air alone was enough to make her stagger.
“Is everyone ready?” Li Que said, his gaze falling on Shen Zhuxi.
Shen Zhuxi nodded nervously.
“Sister-in-law, close your eyes first.”
Shen Zhuxi didn’t understand why, but she did as she was told and closed her eyes.
A moment later, Li Que’s voice rang out again: “You can open them.”
She opened her eyes. She saw Li Que holding two long sandbags. Beside him, Li Kun was holding three larger ones, muttering quietly all the while as he pulled one final sandbag out from under his shirt where it had been wrapped around his waist.
Li Que let go, and the two sandbags in his hands dropped to the ground together with the four in Li Kun’s hands, landing with a dull, thunderous thud.
“Let’s go.”
Outside the burning bamboo fence, several ruffians of varying builds, hastily gathered from the neighbouring county, poked at the swaying fence with wooden clubs and turned back to say: “Brother Huang, the fence is burned through — we can push it right down.”
Du Yanlong’s trusted henchmen were all stationed around him as a close guard, while those wearing patched commoners’ cloth, with trouser legs rolled up or going barefoot — some even wearing battered straw hats — the ragtag rabble was arranged on the outer perimeter.
He raised his eyes toward the fence gate and called out: “One incense stick of time has passed. Have you made up your minds? I’ll say it once more: hand over Shen Zhuxi and I’ll spare your lives. If you’re sensible about it, I can also take you in to work under me — whatever Li Wu gave you, I’ll give you double.”
After Du Yanlong spoke, in the night there was only the crackling sound of the fence burning.
He darkened his expression and said: “Push down the wall!”
His followers shouted in unison and were about to push together, when a cry suddenly rang out from the direction of the rear courtyard: “Brother Huang! They’re running from the back!”
“Surround them! Don’t let them run!” Du Yanlong bellowed.
The men who had been surrounding the front gate immediately ran toward the back. Du Yanlong was about to follow when a figure burst out from behind the burning fence gate. Alarm bells rang in Du Yanlong’s heart, and he roared: “It’s a trap! Everyone get back!”
The warning came too late. Li Que was already upon him. Du Yanlong was a man who had licked blood from a knife’s edge for years, and though he had the advantage in strength, Li Que was too fast. Before Du Yanlong could react, Li Que had already slipped behind him, and an icy blade of a dagger pressed against his neck.
“Tell your men to back off.” Li Que said coldly.
Du Yanlong’s expression soured. “Do you know what you’re doing? The prefect of Xiangzhou won’t let you off…”
“What does it matter if the Emperor himself stands behind you?” Li Que said. “Besides, you’re only a dog kept by a petty prefect. I’m not even afraid of your master — why would I fear you?”
“You——”
Li Que’s dagger pressed in another inch, and a thin line of blood appeared on Du Yanlong’s neck.
“Tell them to back off, or we both go down together.” Li Que said.
Du Yanlong clenched his jaw. A moment later, he had just opened his mouth when an urgent voice rang out from the direction of the rear courtyard.
“Brother Huang, don’t!” Zhou Zhuang ran out clutching a crossbow, his face flushed with the triumphant delight of someone who had just scored a great success, shouting loudly: “All of you, let Brother Huang go! Or your precious older brother is finished!”
Hiding behind the bamboo fence, Shen Zhuxi was startled. She couldn’t believe that Li Kun — the one she had placed the most hope in — was the first to be captured.
Li Kun was enormously strong. How could he have been captured so easily?
She pressed herself against a charred hole in the fence, held her breath, and looked out——
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Zhou Zhuang. He seemed to relish the attention and, growing more boastful, called out: “Brother Huang has real foresight, giving me the crossbow for self-defense in advance. The arrow is coated with poison. If you dare not release him, your sworn brother is done for! Bring him out!”
At Zhou Zhuang’s command, two burly men dragged Li Kun forward. He was too weak to resist as they pulled him along. An arrow from the crossbow was still lodged in his arm, and both his lips and complexion had turned a frightening bluish-purple. Catching sight of Li Que holding Du Yanlong hostage, he looked like a child who had made a mistake — his voice came out small and guilty: “I thought… the pig was really on my back, so I… dodged…”
A flash of disappointment and exasperation crossed Li Que’s face.
He pressed the dagger even closer to the artery beneath the skin, his expression grim. “No tricks. Produce the antidote, or you’re finished.”
“Let me go first, and I’ll naturally give you the antidote.” Du Yanlong said.
“You have no room to negotiate with me.”
Du Yanlong smiled coldly. “And your brother — don’t you care about him?”
Shen Zhuxi had thought the answer was obvious, but Li Que’s response went entirely against what she had imagined.
Li Que’s blade continued pressing downward, and a fresh rush of glaring blood stained the cold gleaming dagger.
Du Yanlong’s expression changed drastically.
Li Que said without expression, slowly: “Then let’s find out exactly who can threaten whom.”
“Have you lost your mind?!” Zhou Zhuang shouted, then quickly corrected himself: “Does your foolish brother’s life mean nothing to you?!”
Li Kun could no longer stand on his own.
Two thugs gripped him by the arms, one on each side, forcing him to stand. He was still clutching that iron axe tightly, and though his gaze had gone unfocused, upon hearing Zhou Zhuang’s words, he instinctively tried to swing it feebly a couple of times.
“Even if he has no life left, it is his own carelessness that brought it upon him. What does that have to do with me?” Li Que said. “But you — when you’re dead, who do you think brought this upon yourself? Me, or that brazen lust of yours?”
“Fine——” Du Yanlong sneered coldly. “Then let us see who dies first.”
Neither side would yield, and they fell into a standoff.
Perhaps things might have turned around in time, but Shen Zhuxi could wait no longer — and neither could Li Kun.
His ordinarily strong and powerful legs were bending at the knees, barely a fraction away from hitting the ground. His half-open, half-closed eyes had lost their bright sharpness, their light scattered and dim.
Shen Zhuxi didn’t know Du Yanlong well enough to tell whether the cold smile on his face was merely a show of composure, but she knew Li Que — she knew the expression on his face was genuine. He truly could sacrifice Li Kun to secure the final victory.
Now she understood why Li Kun’s top three favorite people didn’t include Li Que.
She had been foolish — even a fool could see it more clearly than she had.
“Li Que…” Shen Zhuxi walked out from behind the charred and crumbling gate. “Exchange for the antidote.”
“Sister-in-law——”
“Exchange for the antidote first!” Shen Zhuxi said in a stern tone.
Beneath the shadow of the moon and the starlight, her spine stood straight and her gaze was resolute. With such upright, commanding dignity, she looked every bit like someone of imperial blood — a princess too noble to be profaned.
“Sister-in-law! Even if I release him, there’s no guarantee he’ll give me the antidote!” Li Que was still unwilling, and argued back.
“But I cannot watch Li Kun die!”
Even if it all came to nothing, she couldn’t stand by and watch Li Kun die of poison right before her eyes!
Li Que looked into her eyes, and his expression shifted through several changes. After a long, silent standoff, he turned his stern gaze toward Zhou Zhuang:
“I can release him. But first let me see the antidote.”
Zhou Zhuang glanced at Du Yanlong, and after receiving the latter’s nod, pulled a small paper packet from his pocket.
“Throw it over.” Li Que said.
Zhou Zhuang pulled his hand back and held the packet tightly: “That won’t do. What if you go back on your word? I’ll put the antidote on this fool and exchange the fool for Brother Huang.”
Li Que narrowed his eyes and looked at him coldly. Shen Zhuxi held her breath, terrified he would refuse again — but to her relief, he relented quickly:
“…Alright.”
Li Que watched as Zhou Zhuang tucked the paper packet inside Li Kun’s collar, then pushed Du Yanlong forward.
Zhou Zhuang gave a look, and two burly men dragged Li Kun over. The two sides probed each step cautiously, on the verge of eruption at any moment — until finally, in the tense atmosphere, the hostage exchange was completed.
Li Que gripped Li Kun’s shoulder with one hand, keeping a wary eye on the opposite side while carefully dragging him backward, step by step.
Shen Zhuxi hurried forward to receive him, supporting Li Kun’s collapsing body. She reached inside his collar for the antidote pills, and with trembling hands tipped the black pills into the half-unconscious Li Kun’s mouth, repeatedly pinching his lips and pressing his throat, helping him swallow the few dark pellets.
Du Yanlong, now free, had returned to the center of his protective circle. More bodyguards than she could count on two hands hemmed him in without a gap. The rest of the thugs, ferocious and menacing, began closing in on Shen Zhuxi and the two brothers.
Li Que’s struggling gaze moved back and forth between Shen Zhuxi and Li Kun.
Shen Zhuxi’s face was deathly pale, and she instinctively tightened her grip on Li Kun’s arm. As though sensing her unease, the barely-conscious Li Kun struggled to rise. Blood surged from the spot where the arrow had struck, soaking Shen Zhuxi’s five fingers.
She swallowed her urge to cry, gently pressed down on Li Kun’s body, and murmured: “It’s alright, it’s alright…”
“Let’s see what tricks you have left now.” Du Yanlong touched the blood on his neck and broke into a cold, savage smile. “You refused a toast only to drink a forfeit — seize them!”
A sharp gleam of cold light flashed through the night.
A blade thin as cicada wings pressed against the thickest vein on Du Yanlong’s neck.
“Caught the target,” said Li Wu, removing the straw hat from his head. “How does Brother Huang plan to reward me?”