Chapter 20 Rescue (Part Two)

When Qi Jun reached the city gate, the county guards acted as though they hadn’t seen him at all, letting him enter the city without question.

“Nothing but penniless wretches coming and going; I’ve been standing here for hours and all I’ve got are a few copper coins!” the captain of the guards grumbled, glancing at Qi Jun’s receding figure.

Once inside, Qi Jun found Liu Kui waiting in a secluded corner. He gave him an “OK” gesture. Though Liu Kui didn't understand its meaning, he nodded anyway, opened his bundle, and retrieved several wooden pieces from among the rocks to hand to Qi Jun.

“Next, just follow my plan,” Qi Jun instructed.

“Right, I’ll go to the west market gate and look for them now!” With that, Liu Kui slung his bundle over his back and hurried away. Qi Jun watched him disappear into the distance, then glanced around and slipped into a narrow alley.

Cautiously surveying his surroundings to ensure he was alone, Qi Jun opened his own bundle, revealing wooden parts that had been disassembled. With deft hands, he began to assemble them. In no time at all, a crossbow took shape in his grasp.

With a soft “click,” the crossbow bolt shot out and struck a wooden board propped against the wall with a sharp “thunk.”

To prevent the crossbow from being discovered at the city gate, Qi Jun had purposefully dismantled it into pieces, splitting the parts between himself and Liu Kui. This way, even if the guards inspected their bundles, all they’d find was a heap of wood, nothing incriminating. As it happened, the guards hadn’t even bothered to look inside, and Qi Jun was surprised by how smoothly he’d made it into the city.

He had not intended to use the crossbow unless absolutely necessary, confident that the hand-to-hand combat skills honed in his previous life would be enough to subdue the petty criminals. But, considering the frailty of his current body, he decided after careful thought to bring the weapon along. As long as he could rescue the hostages quickly and escape, he could minimize unnecessary trouble and risk.

Repacking the crossbow, Qi Jun made his way toward the west market gate. On the east side of the gate stood a five-story pagoda—an ideal vantage point for observation and, if need be, for a clear shot.

By this hour, the shops in the west market were already packing up in preparation for closing. The administration of the Liang Dynasty had special officials overseeing the opening and closing of the markets: every day at dawn the market officer would sound the drum to open, and at dusk strike the gong to close.

Liu Kui had already arrived at the west market gate. He turned and looked toward the pagoda, where a small flash of light signaled twice from the top—Qi Jun’s agreed-upon signal.

With the knowledge that Qi Jun was in position, Liu Kui’s heart settled a little. He hugged his bundle tightly to his chest, scanning the crowd with the nervous vigilance of a man carrying a fortune, though the bundle held nothing valuable at all.

Zhao Dehai stood with Liu Laizi behind a stone marker, eyes locked on Liu Kui. They were waiting for Liu Qi to arrive. According to the usual rules, ransom exchanges were always done hand for hand, but only Liu Qi knew where the hostages were hidden.

“What’s Liu Qi up to? Why isn’t he here yet?” Zhao’s anxiety mounted as the bundle he assumed was stuffed with a hundred taels of silver was within sight but still out of reach.

He was sorely tempted to simply send his men to snatch the silver outright—what did the fate of the hostages have to do with him? But here, in the busy market of the county seat, he had to restrain himself.

Anqiang County was under Magistrate Song’s rule, and Zhao knew all too well how the man cherished his wealth. To say nothing of the fact that ransom kidnappings were crimes not to be exposed; should Magistrate Song get wind of this, not only would he never see the silver, he’d be lucky to escape with his skin intact.

Besides, even if he tried to grab the bundle by force, the other party was no pushover, and so near the crowded market, there was no guarantee of success. After weighing his options, Zhao could only grit his teeth and wait.

Liu Qi, meanwhile, had his own plans. He feared an ambush from Liu Kui and had long since prepared an escape route.

As he pondered how best to avoid meeting Liu Kui face-to-face, his eyes lit up at the sight of children playing nearby. He pulled out a copper coin, beckoned a child over, whispered a few words, patted the boy’s head, and sauntered away.

Liu Kui waited, tense and anxious, for the better part of a burning incense stick, but still no one approached him. He worried the rescue plan had been seen through, and fretted about his father and daughter’s fate.

At that moment, a timid boy of seven or eight approached Liu Laizi, glanced at the sores on his scalp, hesitated, and finally said, “A man told me to tell you—meet him at Xiu’an Bridge...”

Zhao Dehai immediately knew this was a message from Liu Qi. He hauled Liu Laizi out from behind the stone marker and headed toward Liu Kui.

“Let’s go, time to redeem the hostages,” Liu Laizi said, motioning for Liu Kui to follow.

“You bastard! Liu Laizi, you’re utterly despicable!” Liu Kui’s blood boiled at the sight of him. He spat on the ground and shouted, “The clan elders took pity on you, an orphan, and did all they could to help you—this is how you repay them? Do you have any conscience left?”

Liu Laizi hung his head, unable to meet Liu Kui’s fury, and endured the tirade in silence. Wiping his face, he muttered, “Uncle Kui, I had no choice! Please, let’s just go get them first.”

Knowing further words were pointless, Liu Kui swallowed his rage and followed Liu Laizi. Zhao Dehai brought up the rear, sandwiching Liu Kui between them.

He glanced nervously back at the pagoda and clutched his bundle tighter.

“You didn’t come alone, did you?” Zhao Dehai eyed Liu Kui suspiciously, detecting something off.

“Of course!” Liu Kui replied, feigning bravado though his heart pounded. “If anything happens to them, I’ll fight you to the death!”

“I don’t care about anything but my silver!” With that, Zhao Dehai suddenly lunged for Liu Kui’s bundle.

“What are you doing?!” Liu Kui hadn’t expected this move and was a second too slow to react. Zhao Dehai managed to rip the bundle open just enough to glimpse the stones inside.

“What am I doing? You think you can make a fool of me?” Outraged by the deception, Zhao Dehai felt gravely insulted.

He kicked Liu Kui hard in the stomach. Even burly Liu Kui was knocked back, clutching his belly in pain. The bundle fell, spilling its contents—stones—across the ground.

Bystanders stopped to stare, whispering and eyeing the trio with curiosity.

Liu Laizi stared in disbelief at the stones scattered at his feet. Snapping out of his daze, he pushed past the onlookers and bolted, running for his life.

He knew he was finished; if Zhao Dehai got his hands on him now, he’d wish he were dead.

“Stop right there!” Zhao Dehai roared.

Liu Laizi ducked into an alley, cringing and scurrying a few more steps before daring to look back. Seeing Zhao Dehai hadn’t followed, he let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

“Whew... Thank goodness he didn’t come after me...” He stopped, leaning against the wall, gasping for breath, one hand pressed to his chest to steady his pounding heart.

“Heh... just stones after all...” Liu Laizi slumped against the wall, a bitter smile crossing his lips.

“If it had really been silver, would you have been able to take it with a clear conscience?”

Liu Laizi opened his eyes to see a scholar standing before him, crossbow aimed squarely at his head.

Qi Jun had been watching from the pagoda, keeping a close eye on Liu Laizi and Zhao Dehai. The moment he saw Liu Kui surrounded, he realized the situation had changed, quickly descended the pagoda, and hid at the street corner to observe. When Liu Laizi ran, Qi Jun tailed him.

“Qi—Master Qi!” Liu Laizi’s eyes widened in terror as he slowly raised his hands. Cold sweat beaded on his brow and dripped from his nose; even his trousers were suddenly damp.

He knew that with the slightest movement of Qi Jun’s finger, his worthless life would end right here.

“Where are the clan elders?” Qi Jun asked coldly, giving the crossbow a menacing shake.

“I... I don’t know! Liu Qi took them away...” stammered Liu Laizi.

Qi Jun’s face remained impassive as he pulled the trigger; the bolt whistled past Liu Laizi’s cheek and embedded itself in the wall by his ear.

“Aah! Don’t kill me! Murder is a crime! Murder is a crime...” Liu Laizi crumpled to the ground, clutching his head, sobbing and wailing.

Qi Jun couldn’t help but laugh at his cowardice. He gave Liu Laizi a hard kick. “So you know what’s against the law? If you keep lying, I’ll haul you before the magistrate!”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Liu Qi told us to go to Xiu’an Bridge, I know nothing else, I swear!” Liu Laizi scrambled up, the terror of the county jail outweighing even his fear of death by crossbow.

He knew Qi Jun might not kill him, but if he were thrown into the county jail, he’d never come out alive. Many criminals, though not condemned to death, could not survive the torture within those walls.

At the head of Xiu’an Bridge, Liu Qi pulled his straw hat low, keeping his face hidden as he scanned the passing crowd. Glancing up at the sky, a vague sense of foreboding crept into his heart.