The Longest Day in Chang’an: A Race Against Time - Chapter 69

But Li Bi could see with half an eye that each of those four pavilion posts was five arms thick, that the expenses of transporting the logs here alone were more than enough to bankrupt over ten small-sized families.

Xuzheng, 14th of the first lunar month, Tianbao Year 3, Tang Dynasty.

Pingkang Fang, Wannian County, Chang’an.

Compared to the audience of the lantern show in other fangs, Pingkang Fang, which was the busiest and most prosperous Fang at normal times, appeared much quieter, since all girls in Pingkangli had been invited to be companions of nobles, and almost all brothels here became empty. Those girls and nobles would return in succession at around Ergeng (21:00) to have banquets.

The moment they entered the fang, Tanqi wrinkled up her nose in distaste. The street was filled with the smell of Suhe incense which came from departing incense carts after the lantern show began. This incense was unduly thick and giddy yet lingering. Once one’s sleeves were touched by it, one could not easily get rid of its smell. She didn’t want to be mistaken for a companion of some nobles.

Zhang Xiaojing said, “Rest assured. Nobody is going to misunderstand you. Tonight, all the high ranking prostitutes has gone out to the streets.” Tanqi was relieved when she heard this, but after briefly pondering over it, she realized that he was actually teasing her! She was just about to clap back when Zhang Xiaojing raised his horsewhip and said, “Prime Minister Li’s abode is there.”

Tanqi looked in the direction he was pointing. It turned out that Li Linfu’s mansion was opposite of Pingkangli, with high walls and dark green tiles. There were probably ten rows of houses in that residential compound. At the gateway were twelve halberds in a row. On each side of the gate stood a thick post with black tile cap on the top, emitting an air of extraordinariness to the mansion. Surprisingly, though there were a row of red lanterns hanging under the eaves, they only brightened a radius of around ten meters, and the areas beyond them were totally dark. Seen from a distance, the mansion looked like a giant, black beast with its fearsome mouth wide open.

‘So this is the place where that person who has always been plotting against master…’ Inexplicably, Tanqi felt a cold shiver run through her. She spurred the horse and speeded up, as if she feared that she might be devoured if she didn’t leave quick enough.

“By the way, where’s Deacon Es?” Tanqi suddenly recalled the man who had been following them. Zhang Xiaojing turned his head for look, but there was nobody on the streets. This guy disappeared after they crossed the Rosefinch Street. He probably got lost.

“Never mind. Let him go wherever he wants.”

Zhang Xiaojing was very familiar with this area. After riding past two intersections, they saw a patch of residential compounds in the northeastern corner. The tiles on the roofs of those houses were blue.

As if built by military builders, these residential compounds looked the same style and neatly arranged. Each house had three rows of seven houses in it. The only way to distinguish them from each other was to look at the animals on the flags flying high above their middle courtyards: bears, tigers, hawks, wyrms – every flag had a unique pattern. These were Auxiliary Divisions set up in Chang’an by the ten Jiedushi. All patterns on flags corresponded with the names of armies of those Jiedushi, so that people could distinguish these Auxiliary Divisions by looking at the flags.

On the street opposite of these Auxiliary Divisions were various stores selling extravagances such as pearls, gemstones, spices, gold and silver ornaments, silk fabrics, painted furniture, etc. Every year, people in Auxiliary Divisions purchased presents in large quantities in the capital city, so naturally merchants wouldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away.

But at this moment, all stores were closed, since both owners and sales clerks were out on the streets enjoying the lantern show. The whole street was almost empty. It took Zhang Xiaojing and Tanqi a while to identify the directions. After a roundabout trip, they arrived at Liu’s Bookstore located at the end of an alley. The storefront of this bookstore, which was barely wider than the combined width of two doors, was narrower than that of any store nearby. Next to it were a cart company and a silversmith. The bookstore had closed long ago, and even door planks had been placed into the groove.

According to the confession of that assassin, this Liu’s Bookstore was a fire-point of Shouzhuo Mercenary. A fire-point was one of their jargons, which was actually a liaison office where tasks were assigned. The one in charge of a fire-point was called Fire-master, who was also the key figure Zhang Xiaojing came to find this time.

Theoretically, they should have the assassin knock onthe door and tell the people inside about the situation first before they went inside to talk with the Fire-master, but before going into this alley, Zhang Xiaojing had checked with a watchtower and been told that it would take a while for the carriage to arrive.

Zhang Xiaojing was too anxious to wait. After being informed that Jing’an Department was attacked, he was in fact even more anxious than Tanqi was. The ominous premonition was getting stronger and stronger. He had to make full use of every moment.

He didn’t knock at the door plank but walked to the foot of a wall on the left side of the door plank. This was a shoddy yellow cob wall, full of holes of different sizes and depths. Zhang Xiaojing counted those holes and stretched his fingers into the tenth hole from right in the third row and found one end of a thin rope at the bottom of the hole.

The end of the rope was knotted, the other end of it went through the wall to the other side. Zhang Xiaojing put a finger into the knot, pulled the rope five times, paused briefly before pulling another three times and then quickly jerked it twice.

This was a communicating method used by the assassin. This bookstore would never show its true face if he didn’t pull this rope or pulled it the wrong way.

Before long, one of those door planks was removed from inside with a clang. A vigilant eye flashed across the gap between door planks. “Spring river?”

“A white cloud leisurely floated away.”

This was the seventeenth line of the poem Night, the Moon, Flowers and a River in Spring, and also a code to identify oneself. The one in the room kept silent for a while and then said, “You’re neither Seventeen Liu nor Mojialuo.” Zhang Xiaojing produced his copper plate, “I’m Zhang Xiaojing working for Jing’an Department. Seventeen Liu told me to come here. I have something important to talk to you.”

“Where are Seventeen Liu and the other man?”

“They’re in Yongle Fang on their way here. They’ll arrive soon.” Zhang Xiaojing turned his head back and flicked a glance at a watchtower.

People on that watchtower had just sent a series of signals to him, indicating that the carriage had just passed Yongle Fang and was just two or three intersections away from him.

“Then let’s talk after he arrives.” With that the man started closing the door. Zhang Xiaojing smacked his palm onto the door plank and said in an aggressive tone, “I’m here on behalf of the Imperial Court. This can’t wait. Either you let me in right now or the Vice County Magistrate will soon lead a team here. It’s your choice.”

It seemed as if this threat worked. The man inside stayed silent for a while and then another door plank was quickly removed, revealing a gap about half a door in width. Zhang Xiaojing, Tanqi walked sideways and entered the bookstore. A man lit a candle placed on a turtle-shaped candlestick on a table and then lifted it up.

The fire-master was a white-haired, old man with a chapped face, and they couldn’t tell where he was from. Behind him were rows of bamboo bookshelves on which various precious silk scrolls were placed. Every scroll had an ivory reel, a crystal ring buckle and a cloth label in five colors indicating the type of the scroll. There was a faint smell of camphor in the room, which was refreshing and also kept away bookworms.

These books were not for reading but gifts sent between dignitaries. This fire-point dealt with many letters and files every day, so it was perfect to use a bookstore as camouflage.

Without any usual pleasantries, Zhang Xiaojing asked directly the moment he walked inside, “I want to know who sent Seventeen Liu and Mojialuo to the Persian Temple to kill Elder Puzhe.”

The old man was holding the candlestick, and the candle shed a dim light on his wrinkled face. The shadows of his wrinkles and the candlelight overlapped, concealing his true expression.

“Commandant must know that all members of Shouzhuo Mercenary have to keep the identity of our clients secret. I’m sorry, but I can’t grant this request.”

Zhang Xiaojing coldly snorted, “This assassin mandate is related to a major case concerning the safety of all residents of Chang’an. The answer must be given to the Imperial Court. Whoever tries to hide it will be regarded as an accomplice!” The old man smiled contemptuously, “Credibility is the foundation of Shouzhuo Mercenary. Otherwise how are we supposed to gain trust of our clients? Even if the chief of Jingzhao Office is here, I won’t tell him either, not to mention a commandant.”

Anger surged through Zhang Xiaojing. He landed a heavy punch on the wall and all bookshelves in the room quivered. But the old man was still holding the candlestick steadily. “I’m the only one here. Commandant may torture me in whatever way you want. I will not resist, but please don’t count on me telling you anything.” Zhang Xiaojing abruptly drew a crossbow to point it against the old man’s forehead and said in a sepulchral voice, “Seventeen Liu said this as well.”

He made no further remarks but his movements made it very clear: he had got in here with Seventeen Liu’s access code, so he naturally had Seventeen Liu’s full confession. The old man’s right eyebrow slightly quivered. “Seventeen violated the rules. His family will have to take the consequences. I can’t save him. Shouzhuo mercenaries, Shouzhuo mercenaries, return every favor and repay every debt.”

This was a maxim of Shouzhuo mercenaries. When a Shouzhuo mercenary went out to execute a task, his family members must stay in a Shouzhuo city. Seventeen Liu revealed the location of the Fire-point. Even if he himself managed to survive, his family would surely be dead.

Zhang Xiaojing said, “If anything happens to Chang’an, not only he but also all Shouzhuo mercenaries will be killed!”

Seeing Zhang Xiaojing’s fierceness in both look and voice, the old man sighed, “Under no circumstances will I disclose the name and identity of my client, but if there’s anything else Commandant wants to know, I’ll tell you everything within my clearance to talk about.”

As expected, all those qualified to be fire-masters in Chang’an were no common persons. He knew that Zhang Xiaojing had the government at his back, that he could not offend Zhang Xiaojing too much, so he came up with this compromise. Shouzhuo Mercenary had its exclusive intelligence network in the capital city, so maybe they had some information that Jing’an Department didn’t know about.

Zhang Xiaojing gave an account of Turkish Wolf Guards and Kailu Hodo, and asked him whether he had heard of anything about it. On hearing this, the old man was astounded. “I’ve been staying indoors all day, so I didn’t know… that such big things were happening outside. Please allow me to check the reports.”

Holding the candlestick, he turned around and walked to the depths of those bookshelves.

Zhang Xiaojing put the crossbow down onto the table and waited with an impatient look. He was also extremely concerned about Jing’an Department after the attack. The reason why he threw that punch just now was more that he wanted to vent his anxiety, not that he wanted to scare the Fire-master.

At this moment, Tanqi pulled Zhang Xiaojing’s sleeve and said, “This old man has the smell of Suhe incense but no smell of camphor about him.” Zhang Xiaojing grunted “Uhuh” with no other reaction. Tanqi got more anxious, wondering why men were so slow. “He said that he’d been staying this bookstore all day, but why doesn’t he smell like camphor? Instead, he smells like Suhe incense which is everywhere outside?”

Zhang Xiaojing’s pupils abruptly contracted. He pushed aside the table before him which fell with a crash and leaped between those bookshelves only to find that the candlestick was hung from a copper hook on the side of a bamboo bookshelf. There was nobody beside it.

No. Precisely speaking, there was another person. A short-bearded, pudgy man in a fox fur in his fifties was lying between two bookshelves, a very fine slit across his throat, his eyes wide open with horror.

At the end of the bookstore, he found that the window was open. He looked out of it and saw that a black figure was leaping and rushing on rooftops in the distance, too swift for an old man.

He was just about to pursue him when suddenly somebody screamed. This time the voice came from outside the front door of the bookstore. It was Tanqi!