The Longest Day in Chang’an: A Race Against Time - Chapter 82

After saying this, Long Bo moved his eyes off this ex-Sicheng of Jing’an Department, turned around and ascended the staircase leading to the entrance of this cellar step by step. When he stepped onto level ground, he paused, looked around and then gazed into a dark corner which the light of lanterns failed to touch.

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

An unknown location in Chang’an.

“Squeak–”

The door of a wooden cage, which hadn’t been opened for a long time, was forcibly swung open with a jerky, unpleasant squeak given by the pivot. Li Bi was violently pushed inside and nearly fell to the ground, shackles on his ankles, his hands tightly tied up at the back. There was also a strip of material between his upper and lower teeth, which was tied at the back of his head, lest he commit suicide by biting his own tongue.

After enjoying that “spectacle” made with Fierceflame bombs, he was taken into a cellar near the courtyard. A giant wooden cage stood here, which probably had once been used to cage some exotic precious beast by the owner. A faint funky odor was emanating from the cracks in the wood.

Li Bi was standing bolt upright, keeping a long distance from every fence. He had no intention of sitting or lying down, since that was what a caged animal would do. He was tightly holding on to the last bit of his dignity.

The whole cellar had only a small window for letting air in, so the air inside was murky and old. Intentionally or unintentionally, the two guards was standing near the entrance of the cellar where there was a stone staircase leading upwards to the ground, and where they could breathe slightly more comfortably.

The guards appeared very relaxed. They didn’t worry that Li Bi would try to flee, since he was a frail scholar who knew nothing about fighting. Even if he managed to free himself from the shackles and ropes, he would still be trapped in the wooden cage; and even if he managed to get out of the cage, he would still be stuck in the cellar – to say the least, even if he managed to get out of the cellar, there were still a lot of guards outside in the courtyard, so by no means could he escape. As a matter of fact, their only duty was to prevent Li Bi from killing himself.

Li Bi knew very well that he probably wouldn’t be able to survive this. What he desperately wanted to do was not find a way to survive but sent out a message. At least he had to inform Zhang Xiaojing what Termite’s tactic was.

Li Bi was not afraid of death. What he was worried about was the East Palace and all residents of Chang’an.

He looked around again, trying to find even the minutest flaw, but once again, Li Bi was disappointed. The security here was too tight. Besides, this was an underground location from which he couldn’t even see the situation outside, not to mention sending out a message.

‘If Zhang Xiaojing were here, what will he do?’ Li Bi couldn’t help thinking, but he failed to find the answer no matter how hard he tried. There was no means by which someone who grew up in a rich, noble family could figure out what a veteran who cheated death in the Western Regions would do under such circumstances.

‘Your Highness, this time I might not be able to keep my word…’ an inner voice said repeatedly, and it refused to stop, despite his best efforts.

At this very instant, footsteps came from the entrance of the cellar. Li Bi raised his head and, to his surprise, found that Long Bo returned. This man was still chewing on mint leaves, his cheek muscles rippling vigorously, a ghost of subtle smile on his face.

He walked up to the wooden cage and said, “Sicheng Li, I specially came here to congratulate you.”

Li Bi remained silent. He knew this man must have brought some bad news again – but how much worse could the current situation possibly be?

“My subordinates just reported that Jing’an Department has been rebuilt. Sicheng Li has to shoulder this heavy burden no more.” Long Bo fixed Li Bi with a stare. Watching his eyebrows were gradually knitted together again, he felt very pleased. It was a pity that Li Bi had a strip of material in his mouth. Otherwise he would probably have been even more pleased after hearing whatever it was Li Bi had to say.

“It is said that your successor is a Palace Privy Censor named Ji Wen. The first thing he did after taking office was to order a citywide hunt for Zhang Xiaojing, whom he said was a mole. Jing’an Department’s triple-feather order has been circulated throughout the whole Chang’an.”

Long Bo, needless to say, knew that Li Bi surely understood the undertones of this message. Prime Minister Li had aggressively intervened. Jing’an Department’s had fallen into the hands of the opposition. And the last glimmer of hope of eliminating Termite was being cut off by his own men.

The very reason why he specially came to this cellar was that he wanted to give his prisoner the last blow. Long Bo believed that Li Bi would thoroughly give up resisting after hearing this unexpected “good” news. With a big smile on his face, he looked at Li Bi. As expected, Li Bi’s knitted eyebrows never loosened again.

Long Bo raised his finger and signaled the guards to remove the strip of material from Li Bi’s mouth. Li Bi exhaled deeply. He didn’t bite off his own tongue. Under the circumstances, suicide had become totally pointless.

“So Prime Minister Li is the one behind you Termites?” Li Bi blurted.

Long Bo burst into laugh. “Sicheng Li flattered us. We’re not worthy of the favor of a great personage like him… but though the new superior sent by Prime Minister Li is not an undercover official, he’s better than an undercover official. Thanks to his instructions, nobody is after us now. Everybody’s eyes are on Zhang Xiaojing. We should send him a thank-you plaque.”

Li Bi ignored this crack joke. “What about Zhang Xiaojing? Did he get caught as well?”

“He will be sooner or later. If Zhang Xiaojing is smart enough, he would have figured out a way and got out of the city by now,” Long Bo said, radiant with joy.

Li Bi’s lips twitched but he didn’t contradict him. Zhang Xiaojing had lost the guarantee that he’d been granted an amnesty after this thing was over, as well as the authority to investigate into this case, which meant that he had no reason to keep doing this. If he were in Zhang Xiaojing’s shoes, he would have made the same choice.

A look heavy with dejection gradually appeared on his well-featured face, and his eyes went dull. The defeat had become a sure thing. Long Bo knew this man had lost the impetus to resist, because he couldn’t see even the slimmest gleam of hope.

“So there’s no need for Sicheng Li to have any fond hope. Just have a good rest, recite some sutras and say Mass to some departed souls. Maybe you will actually ascend and become an immortal. In that case, you’ll have to thank me for giving you the chance to find your celestial destiny.”

After saying this, Long Bo moved his eyes off this ex-Sicheng of Jing’an Department, turned around and ascended the staircase leading to the entrance of this cellar step by step. When he stepped onto level ground, he paused, looked around and then gazed into a dark corner which the light of lanterns failed to touch. A figure was lurking there. He was the very person who had just brought the latest news.

Before Long Bo spoke, Fishgut’s unique hoarse voice was heard. “I’m leaving.”

“Um? All clues to Shouzhuo Mercenary have been cut off, right? Where else do you want to go?” Long Bo was stunned.

“I’m going to kill Zhang Xiaojing.” His voice was still bland, but it was heavy with killing aura.

Long Bo knew that Fishgut had always been a conceited man. This time he nearly fell into the trap Zhang Xiaojing laid for him, and he also lost an arm. This crowning humiliation must be wiped out. With a frown on his face, he said, “Zhang Xiaojing probably has already got out of the city by now. He’s not that stupid.”

“He is exactly that stupid. I saw him return to Jing’an Department. If it weren’t for that I had to come here to report, I would have pursued him,” Fishgut answered stubbornly.

“Jing’an Department?” This news greatly surprised Long Bo. “He wants to hurl himself into the net?”

No response came from the dark. Fishgut also didn’t know the reason for Zhang Xiaojing’s abnormal behavior.

Long Bo flicked a glance at the hourcopper in the courtyard and saw that it was a quarter past Haizheng(22:00). He said to Fishgut, “Don’t get distracted by this guy. Soon the last task will begin. Let’s finish the job first. As regards Zhang Xiaojing, just let him be. He’s unlikely to be a threat to us.”

“Suit yourself, but I’m doing it myself.”

Fishgut’s voice disappeared. He had left the courtyard. After standing on the spot for a while, Long Bo stretched out his hand and stroked his belt only to find that he had run out of mint leaves. He regretfully smacked his lips and bade his subordinate on the side to prepare a strong mule for him.

Standing below a lighted lantern, Long Bo mumbled something in a muted voice nobody else could hear.

On hearing the commotion outside, Li Heng, the Crown Prince, couldn’t help putting down the yak tail in his hand, craned out of a window of his four-windowed carriage and happened to see that Tanqi holding on to the cross board at the rear was yelling at the top of her voice.

Due to the darkness, he was unable to see the woman’s countenance, but her words took him aback.

“Your Highness! Jing’an Department is at stake!”

Faintly alarmed, Li Heng glanced left and right. Since she yelled so loud, the guard of honor as well as all nearby residents might have heard her words. Did she have any idea how big trouble she could have caused?

Having quick reflexes, those guards had already came at her. A couple of them gripped Tanqi and violently dragged her away from the carriage. Someone beside her even raised his saber. At the same time, the driver flapped the reins and speeded up. This was a normal response that the guard of honor was supposed to make when something unexpected happened. Li Heng hastily stood up, swung his arms and yelled, “Halt! Halt!”

On hearing the abrupt order, the driver, who had already speeded up the carriage, had no choice but to violently reined in the horses. Unfortunately, this carriage was drawn by four horses which had different reflexes. The abrupt speed-up and slowdown caused the shafts to malfunction. The wheelers had stopped but the leading horses were still running. Because of the uneven force exerted on the shafts by the four horses, they tilted to the right side and knocked down several pedestrians in a row. There was also a violent sideways movement of the carriage, which then rubbed against a fang-wall, leaving a long gash in the exquisite wall of the carriage painted with lacquer.

Crown Princess Wei, who was also on the carriage, hurriedly held on to the front railings and asked his husband in a displeased tone of voice, “What’s wrong?” Too concerned to answer her, Li Heng yelled at those guards behind the carriage, “Don’t hurt her! Bring her here!”

On hearing the The Crown Prince’s order, those soldiers, who had been taking Tanqi away from the crowd, had no choice but to turn around, grip her arms and drag her to the four-windowed carriage. To make sure that she wasn’t carrying any weapons, they also roughly frisked her. Several silk ribbon buttons were undone during the process.

By light of the lanterns hanging on the side of the four-windowed carriage, Li Heng saw Tanqi’s face and identified her as Li Bi’s personal handmaid. ‘Is her name Tanqi?’ But unlike the poised and graceful woman she usually seemed, currently she looked very undignified. Her hair bun had been pulled loose with her long black hair drooping, and her clothes was untidy.

Beneath the suspicious gaze of his wife, Li Heng got off the four-windowed carriage. He didn’t walked up to Tanqi immediately but looked around, then raised his hand and said to those soldiers, “Take her there and clear the spot. Don’t let anybody get close.”

The place he was pointing at was a tea booth. It was a temporary bamboo shack against a fang-wall, with a couple of chests covered by tarpaulin as a makeshift counter. Behind the counter was a broad cart, on which there was a small cart stove. The owner used inferior tea leaves, ginger, salt and crisp pepper to make tea. Thirsty audiences would come here to buy tea. Though the tea was bland, it was convenient.

On hearing the Crown Prince’s order, guards immediately walked up to the tea booth and had both the owner and guests clear off. Then they put up some curtain barriers and made a compartment in the booth. When there was nobody else in the space behind curtain barriers, Li Heng asked Tanqi what was going on.

On seeing that there was only surprise no anxiety on the Crown Prince’s face, Tanqi immediately realized that he didn’t know about the attack on Jing’an Department at all. She wondered whether it was because Li Heng trusted Li Bi too much or because somebody had stopped the message from being delivered to the East Palace…

She collected herself and gave him a sketchy account of the previous events. After hearing it, Li Heng uncontrollably drew a few steps back to lean against the cart, the look on his face so shocked that he seemed to have just been struck by lightning. After quite a while, he urgently asked, “Wha–What about Changyuan?”

Tanqi shook her head. She hadn’t returned to Guangde Fang, so she didn’t know what had happened, but there was no doubt that something had happened to her master. After pacing up and down for a while, Li Heng loudly summoned one of his henchmen and bade him to go to Guangde Fang immediately to figure out what had happened there as soon as possible.