Section 087: General Lai Hu'er

Li Dong shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to draw the mansion guards, or Zhang Xuduo himself, to the scene. So long as Zhang saw him, the truth would come to light at once, and this desperate deadlock would be broken.

The longer he tangled with Miss Zhang in the garden, the deeper the misunderstanding grew, until it became impossible to explain. She did not trust him; every word he spoke would be twisted, misread, and misunderstood.

A sharp blade cuts tangled hemp in one stroke: clean, decisive, and never dragging matters out. That was the soldier's way, and so Li Dong called out without so much as blinking.

Miss Zhang cried, "Hey! What right has the thief to cry 'stop thief'?"

Li Dong smiled helplessly. "Wait a moment, and you'll understand."

As they spoke, dense footsteps and shouts rose from outside the garden. "Do not let the assassin escape! Split left and right, and circle around!"

"The back garden is not convenient to enter..."

"This is urgent; catching the assassin comes first..."

The cries outside drew closer and closer, and the clash of blades and spearshafts rang out clearly. Yet Li Dong remained as calm as a mountain before an avalanche. Indeed, he seemed even more relaxed than before. He tucked the token back into his robe and folded his arms before his chest, composed and unhurried.

Miss Zhang grew even more puzzled and asked curiously, "Hey! Why aren't you running?"

"I came to the mansion on important business," Li Dong said, his expression unchanged. "Since it isn't finished, why should I leave? If I were going, I'd walk out through the main gate in broad daylight, not climb a wall and flee."

"Good heavens, what nerve!" Miss Zhang refused to believe it. But seeing how composed and at ease Li Dong looked, she dimly felt that he might mean no harm after all. Perhaps he really had come seeking her father on important business and had only accidentally wandered into the back garden. If so, she would be making a mountain out of a molehill, and her father would surely scold her for it: You should go at once. Do not linger here any longer.

And so she began urging Li Dong to leave, her tone suddenly far more forceful than before.

Before long, more than a dozen mansion guards flooded into the garden and surrounded Li Dong in a tight ring. They thrust their blades and spears around his body, forming a dense wall of steel to prevent any sudden move or attempt to escape.

Among the guards were men who had followed Zhang Xuduo and Li Dong in the fighting at Zhangqiu, and of course they recognized him.

"Oh, it's you!" said a middle-aged squad leader. On recognizing Li Dong, he ordered the guards to lower their weapons, then asked in confusion, "Where is the assassin? Where is the thief?"

Li Dong turned and casually pointed at a stretch of wall. "There. He just climbed over and got away. I only came after hearing the commotion."

The guards looked around and found nothing unusual. Instead, the young man and woman before them seemed rather out of the ordinary. This was the back garden of Zhang's mansion, and outsiders were not generally allowed in. Li Dong and Miss Zhang were about the same age, standing a few paces apart face-to-face, and neither of them looked the least bit like someone who had just discovered a thief.

The squad leader thought it over privately. Could it be that Zhang, the Deputy Prefect, had taken a liking to this young hero, Li Dong, and intended to betroth his daughter to him? Hmm. Then what had just happened must have been some minor squabble between young companions...

When Miss Zhang heard Li Dong's words, her eyes widened even more. This fellow was too quick-witted; with a blink he could spin a tremendous lie. What was funny was that the mansion guards actually believed him. That, at least, relieved her of future trouble. Her father had not been present then. As long as she also stuck to the same account, she could probably muddle through.

Just then, another group broke into the back garden. Walking at the front was naturally Miss Zhang's father, Zhang Xuduo. Behind him came six others, three middle-aged men and three young men, all carrying gleaming weapons and wearing very serious expressions.

Seeing that Zhang Xuduo had arrived, Li Dong gave a faint smile, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Deputy Prefect Zhang. I have disturbed your guests. However, the thief has already fled, and there is nothing more to be done here..."

He stopped halfway through, as though there were still something left unsaid, then fell silent in thought.

Zhang Xuduo looked at his daughter, then at Li Dong. The two of them were both acting awkwardly, pretending to be at ease, as if he understood something. There were too many eyes and ears here; this was no place to talk. He could not bring up the matter of Dong'e here, either. So he said, "Let me introduce you."

From Zhang Xuduo's introduction, Li Dong learned that the six men who had come with him were the Grand General of the Left Auxiliary Guard and Commander of the Pingrang Campaign Route, Lai Huer; on the left stood Fei Qingnu, a gallant guard commander; on the right, Zhou Fashang, deputy commander of the navy. The three young men behind them were his sons: Lai Kai, Lai Hong, and Lai Zheng.

Lai Huer was strongly built and tall, and when he walked, his stride had the bearing of a tiger. Standing there, he was as steady as an ancient bell. He naturally radiated an imposing air, and beneath it lingered a faint but unmistakable killing aura that compelled obedience. With his saber in hand, his face stern, tiger eyes level, he studied Li Dong without pause.

The three sons behind him were slightly older than Li Dong, around twenty or so. Though their features were not as striking as their father's, they too were brimming with martial spirit. Like father, like sons.

The two vice commanders on either side were somewhat less imposing, but compared with Zhang Xuduo, each had his own strengths. Especially Fei Qingnu on the left, who had been looking Li Dong up and down with a brisk, clipped scrutiny. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a flash of killing intent appeared, cold and sharp.

"Where is the thief?" Fei Qingnu asked suspiciously when he saw that Li Dong's expression was off.

"He got away," Li Dong replied evenly. Under the direct, pressuring stares of the others, he showed no fear at all. Instead, he met Fei Qingnu's gaze head-on. "I merely arrived a little earlier than you did."

"Oh?" Fei Qingnu's eyes flew wide open. He stepped forward and asked loudly, "You mean your skill is even faster than ours?"

"That would be too much praise. I do not know the first thing about fists and kicks. It was only a lucky coincidence," Li Dong answered clearly, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Then let me test your speed!" No sooner had Fei Qingnu spoken than he lunged forward. With a single arm, he struck downward in a sweeping blow.

Li Dong exerted his feet and pushed off lightly, his body sliding three feet away, just enough to evade Fei Qingnu's thunderous attack.

Fei Qingnu's punch went wide, the force of it lifting Li Dong's robe hem into the air, yet Li Dong did not even blink.

"Such quick footwork, and you still say you know nothing of combat?" Fei Qingnu advanced once more, both arms swinging in broad, expansive arcs, like a swarm of serpents emerging from a cave, like a fish leaping over the dragon gate, like a gale bending willow branches.

The air before Li Dong boomed with the force of it, fierce winds roiling. In an instant, he felt a sky full of arm shadows, as though arms and sleeves filled every direction.

Li Dong slid left and right, dodged left and right, his expression entirely unruffled, paying no heed whatsoever to Fei Qingnu's ferocious assault.

Suddenly, Li Dong reached out. With a light, floating motion, he pressed into the mass of arm shadows, and his body flipped upward into the air.

Before Fei Qingnu could even understand what had happened, Li Dong had vanished from directly in front of him and appeared behind him.

"I'm here!" Li Dong extended one finger and tapped lightly at the back of his robe, like a crane pecking, like a dragon at play, like the touch of a celestial hand.

Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang were secretly shocked as they watched. What exquisite movement! Qingnu was going to lose.

Even Zhang Xuduo was astonished. He had only known that Li Dong was extraordinary in strategy and ingenuity; he had not expected his martial skill to be so transcendent, far beyond Fei Qingnu's by several folds. Hastily he called out, "Everyone here is a guest. Do not let this disturb our harmony!"

After Li Dong's fingertip touched his back, Fei Qingnu felt a chill run through him, and cold sweat broke out at once. Had Li Dong not held back, if that finger had been a blade or a sword, his back would have been split open and blood would be pouring out. If things went badly, he might even have lost his life.

No wonder, despite everyone else standing by in full readiness, he had remained so calm and collected, showing not the slightest sign of weakness. So he had been concealing his strength all along.

Fei Qingnu spun around in frustration, intending to attack again and unleash his killing move.

Lai Huer coughed softly. "Qingnu, let it go. You are no match for him."