The Longest Day in Chang’an: A Race Against Time - Chapter 73

Compared with soldiers stationed in other fangs, patrol soldiers in Pingkang Fang had relatively cushy duty. Most residents had gone outside, so there was barely anything requiring their attention inside the fang. A couple of soldiers were sitting around an iron wok with overjoyed faces, in which a couple of camel feet were stewing. Viscous, brown soup was churning and bubbling away, filling the whole room with warm steam.

Feeling that the camel feet were almost ready, a fat soldier cautiously fished out an exquisite small silk bag, grabbed a handful of black pepper powder and, for fear of accidentally putting too much of it into the wok, carefully rubbed his fingers to scatter the powder bit by bit.

At this moment, the front door was swung open with a bang. The soldier’s hand trembled and the whole handful of pepper powder dropped into the wok. With that, strong fragrance wafted out of the wok, making the soldier’s face pale visibly.

“Who’s so bold as to intrude into a Security Station?” he reprimanded in anger and then saw that the intruder was a gloriously clothed young woman. On entering the room, the woman yelled urgently, “We work for Jing’an Department! Some thugs attacked us. My colleague is in dire need of backup.”

Those soldiers stared at one another, but none of them moved. The camel feet were almost ready, so they were all unwilling to leave.

Seeing that they were still sitting there, Tanqi was infuriated and urged loudly, “Hurry! A man’s life is at stake!” The fat soldier said languidly, “Well, you’ll have to give us a detailed indictment stating clearly where those thugs are from, what their names are and where they attacked you, so that we’ll have a good cause for action.” People around him giggled and took up their chopsticks to pick the meat in the wok.

“Think twice. The name of the man ringed outside is Zhang Xiaojing!” There was a note of aggressiveness in Tanqi’s voice.

On hearing this name, all soldiers in the room froze. The fat one asked in jitteriness, “Which Zhang Xiaojing?” Tanqi sneered, “The Five-Honored Yama. Who else do you think he is?”

As if this name was some kind of incantation, all those soldiers hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks, grabbed their forks and sabers and followed Tanqi out of the station.

Leading this bunch of indolent soldiers, Tanqi rushed towards the alley where the bookstore was located and happened to see Zhang Xiaojing was running in her direction head-on. There seemed to be a lot of fresh bloody wounds on him. Those Shouzhuo mercenaries behind him were several fewer but were still pursuing him hotly.

It was not until the two groups of people rushed to the middle of a small intersection that they abruptly stopped, confronting each other. On this side were a bunch of faintly panic-stricken patrol soldiers. On the other side were ferocious-looking Shouzhuo mercenaries. Zhang Xiaojing panting for breath was in between. Seriously injured, he lost his footing and was instantly supported by Tanqi.

For a moment, it seemed as if time stopped passing. The two sides eyed each other but nobody dared to do anything rash. The fat soldier ventured, “Chief Zhang… Come here. Hurry.”

Tanqi flicked a glance at those Shouzhuo mercenaries and guided Zhang Xiaojing towards those soldiers. Shouzhuo mercenaries started fidgeting restlessly, but those people on the other side were soldiers serving government, so they didn’t dare take any reckless action. Soldiers raised their forks and sabers high, their faces nervous. They knew how ferocious Shouzhuo mercenaries were. If these mercenaries really launched an all-out attack, by no means could they hold them back.

Suddenly, a string of distant footsteps broke the hush of the confrontation. Soon a panting young messenger ran over. On the sight of the confrontation, he was taken aback. The fat soldier bade the others to keep an eye out, drew back half a step and asked him why he came here.

The young messenger complained, “Why none of you guys is in the station? It took me such a long time to find you! Jing’an Department issued a Triple-feather order!”

Single-feather orders were common ones. Double-feather orders required quick execution. Triple-feather orders were urgent ones that must be carried out immediately. But surprisingly, this order was issued by Jing’an Department. These soldiers made no particular response to this news, but shoulders of Zhang Xiaojing in Tanqi’s arms involuntarily trembled.

The young messenger unrolled the written order in his hand and said to the fat soldier, “Listen carefully. I’ll read it to you. After this, I have somewhere else to go.” Most soldiers couldn’t read, so the government never had written orders delivered to every Security Station but usually had a messenger bring the order to Security Stations one by one and read it on site.

The young messenger cleared his throat and read aloud. “Wanted: An important criminal, Zhang Xiaojing, hatchet-faced, short-bearded, blind in the left eye, six feet two inches in height. All personnel shall kill him on sight… ”

Before the messenger finished reading, Zhang Xiaojing abruptly pushed Tanqi aside and started running along the path between Shouzhuo mercenaries and those soldiers. Before the two sides and Tanqi reacted, he had rushed far away.

“Let’s move!” It was not until this moment that the captain reacted. The group pursued the target with loud footsteps. Those soldiers stared at each other on the spot for a while and then focused their eyes on the fat one. The fat soldier intended to withdrew his subordinates and returned to the station, but he found that the messenger was still standing on the side watching all this, so he gritted his teeth and ordered, “Go after him!”

A soldier said in cowardice, “But that’s Chief Zhang… ” It was hard to tell whether he made this remark because he valued old friendship or out of fear of Yama Zhang’s ferocity. The fat soldier rounded his eyes, “We should still go after him regardless!”

Whether they could catch up with the target was a matter of capability, but whether they tried was a matter of attitude.

As a result, soldiers also started running in that direction, but they were not trying to run fast. Intentionally or unintentionally, all of them ignored Tanqi without anybody staying to query her. They just left her there.

Tenth Street stood transfixed with perplexity in the intersection which had instantly become empty. She knew that Zhang Xiaojing rushed away alone because he didn’t want her to be incriminated – after all, there was only one name mentioned in the arrest warrant.

‘But why was this arrest warrant issued? How come Zhang Xiaojing suddenly became a dangerous criminal wanted by the whole city? What’s the relation between this and the attack on Jing’an Department? If master is still in the department, this kind of thing will never have happened…’ Thinking about this, Tanqi felt the sudden clutch of fear. ‘Does this mean that master is no longer in the department?’

Tanqi looked in the direction of the distant Guangde Fang in the dark, then gazed at the street which Zhang Xiaojing’s figure had just disappeared into. These two man were the only ones she trusted, but both of them had left her, and she could no longer rely on them. Despair and numerous questions flooded into Tanqi’s mind, making her feel so dizzy that she could barely retain her footing. Slowly, Tanqi crouched down, feeling unprecedentedly lonely and afraid.

Her master was gone. Jing’an Department was burnt down. And now Zhang Xiaojing became an important criminal wanted by the whole city. There was no longer anybody caring about the fate of Chang’an.

At this moment, she felt as if she had returned to her childhood when she was abandoned by her father wandering about destitute. The fear that had been hiding in the depths of her memories for so many years suddenly emerged, making Tanqi shiver involuntarily.

She stood there with a vacant look for a while, feeling an urge to weep aloud, but the moment tears gushed out, one of Zhang Xiaojing’s remarks popped into her mind, ‘Your master agreed to let you follow me because he believed that you could do something of value greater than that of serving people.’

Tanqi raised her hand to wipe off the tears with the back of it, stood up and inhaled deeply with great force. ‘Yes. Serving master is not the only thing I can do. I’m capable of doing things of greater value! Don’t give that wastrel the chance to look down upon you. And don’t let master down.’

‘The overall situation is already difficult enough. If I give up, the last hope will be gone!’

A firm and persistent look appeared in Tanqi’s eyes. At this moment, she observed that someone on a distant watchtower was sending a signal in this direction with a purple lantern, as if a guiding star was rising in the night sky.

The signal was very simple, conveying only two words. Unfamiliar with lantern codes as Tanqi was, she could also understand the meaning of this signal:

Don’t retreat.

After being in the dark for a very long time, Li Bi was suddenly exposed to light.

It was not because of daybreak but because someone removed the hood covering his head. Li Bi was greeted by a resplendent courtyard with lanterns ablaze all around. This courtyard was extremely vast, with well-arranged rockeries and Chinese wistaria everywhere intermingled with previous exotic trees such as buckeye, golden peach, etc. All balustrades were made of sanderswood, with crimson eaglewood horizontal pieces, and even the edge of the well was paved with shiny jewelries. There were also a circle of shelves covered with wistaria installed on those winding corridors around the courtyard, making it a scene of utmost extravagance.

In the middle of the courtyard was a pavilion with curved eaves. There was nothing special about the pavilion itself, but Li Bi could see with half an eye that each of those four pavilion posts was five armfuls thick, that the expenses of transporting the logs here alone were more than enough to bankrupt over ten small-sized families.

“Sicheng Li has great discernment. This Spontaneous-Rain Pavilion is no common thing.” Standing beside the pavilion with a smile, Long Bo raised his arm like a hospitable host boasting in front of a guest. “You see. There’s a circle of adjustable water-storing groove at the edge of the pavilion roof, which keeps rainwater. In scorching summer, they adjust the groove to reveal a narrow slit, and then clean water cascades down the eaves from all sides like water curtains, which makes people feel very cool. Rich guys really know how to enjoy the life. Tsk, tsk.”

Li Bi carefully observed all this, the look in his eyes changing constantly.

This organization named Termite was probably the one behind those Turkish Wolf Guards – the mastermind must be someone of very high status in Chang’an. Otherwise by no means could he own a courtyard as vast and luxurious as this one. And no doubt he was also exceptionally wealthy. Otherwise he could never have built an army of so well-equipped and so well-trained troops.

There were not many rich merchants in Chang’an who could do this kind of thing. Who was he exactly?

Long Bo noticed that Li Bi had been scrutinizing. He stroked his hooknose and chuckled, “Sicheng Li is so dedicated to your job. You’re already on your last pins. Why think so much? Just enjoy the beautiful scenery.”

Li Bi threw his chest out with no fear on his face at all, saying in a tone of voice just as confrontational as it was when he was in the main hall, “You didn’t kill me in Jing’an Department but laboriously abducted me to this place. Surely you didn’t take me here to let me appreciate the beautify of this pavilion?”

“Alas. Sicheng really have sharp eyes. Your reputation as a child prodigy commentating the game of go was well-earned.” Li Bi awkwardly scratched his head, fished another roll of mint leaf out of the waist of his clothes and handed it to Li Bi. “You want some?”

Li Bi stayed still. “Who do you answer to?”

Long Bo raised his hand, removed bits of mint leaves from slits between his teeth and flipped them to the ground. “Why does Sicheng think that there must be a rich employer behind us?”

“No ordinary man can afford a courtyard as vast and luxurious as this.”

Long Bo gave a half smile. “Sicheng is a big shot of noble blood, so even if you’re defeated, the opponent who defeated you must be someone of similar status – a nobody of humble blood like me doesn’t deserve to defeat you, right?”

Li Bi didn’t answer. He felt that this question was too stupid and there was no need for him to answer it.

But Long Bo continued, “I don’t blame you, Sicheng. Naturally, one should keep an eye out for bears, tigers and leopards on a journey. Who lowers his head to watch out for bugs and ants?” He abruptly stamped his foot in a boot, then moved his foot aside, revealing a couple of flattened bodies of ants on the ground paved with aragonite plates. “Any big shot can kill them with a single stamp. Why would people be afraid of them?”

Li Bi didn’t turn a hair, trying to deduce his motive from these remarks of indignation.

Long Bo stretched out his hand and said, “But being stamped to death is not the fate of all bugs and ants. Among them, there’s one kind called termite. They are born lily white, about the size of a rice, pathetically small, but they have hard jaws and feed on wood. They especially like gnawing their way into pillars, beams and walls, making holes in them. They can even hollow out and bring to the ground a building several hundred meters broad and a dam a thousand miles long.

As if on cue, a couple of white termites which had wings flew out of a crack in the wall of the house behind him, chasing each other in mid-air. It was spring, which happened to be termite mating season.

Li Bi said coldly, “You were bold enough to raid Jing’an Department in the very heart of Chang’an, but you don’t have the balls to tell the truth to a prisoner?”

“This is the truth. We named ourselves Termite, so we naturally are just a bunch of nobodies, only that we’re not that willing to resign ourselves to our fate.” When Long Bo was saying the name, a faintly proud and self-deprecating look appeared on his face. “People only know that a dragon can kill millions when infuriated. What they don’t know is that the rage of termites can also destroy cities and giant trees.”

Li Bi pictured a scene in his mind: swarms of termites blotting out the sky flew to Chang’an and gnawed away at every building.

Long Bo had his subordinates untie the ropes on Li Bi and then respectfully made a gesture, “Please follow me. I’ll show you how we small termites are going to overpower this large city.”