Nightfall

It was deep in the night. Many shadows flew, jumped, and climbed over the wall, sneaking into the garden.

He Mingchi had met plenty of loyal subordinates in the South School of Haotian and the Imperial Center Administration in these years. These cultivators, who hated to be neglected or overlooked, were small in number but fearsome in power.

Li Huiyuan became so angry after the assassination that he gave his ID token of the Imperial Center Administration to He Mingchi, and told him to do it boldly. Ten more officials fell over a pool of their own blood that night, and even more innocent common people died from the rioting.

Those officials and soldiers sent to watch the Qing He County Guild by the government also were confounded by the riot. They didn’t even notice that some of the Qinghe County warlords’ children had taken the advantage of this and sneaked out of the Guild.

After leaving the Guild, they quickly met up with the officials supported by Qinghe County. According to the investigation done later, these people were partly the cause of the riot in Chang’an on that night.

The Zeng’s were brought to the Chao Mansion on the Spring Breeze Pavilion Street No. 2. The servants were well arranged. The injured were treated by the doctor of the Fish-dragon Gang. Zeng Jing and his wife left to visit the Old Master Chao.

The central hall of the house was ablaze with lights.

The Old Lord Chao waved his hand to stop Zeng Jing before he could express his sincere appreciation.

The Old Lord’s only two hobbies were enjoying opera and playing with his grandchild. He looked at Linzi, who seemed worried, and he said impatiently, “My daughter-in-law, you don’t need to worry too much. Nobody would dare to mess with us as long as your man is living. Those who have the guts to break into our house must have broken into the palace by now.”

Zeng Jing felt awe-inspired after he heard what the Old Lord said. He was sure that the Old Lord was a veteran. And it was not until someone else saluted that Zeng Jing realized there were other people in the room.

The Old Lord Chao looked at Chang Siwei and denounced, “The sister and brother in the imperial palace are idiots. Are you an idiot, too? You didn’t follow the Yulin Royal Guards to the north to resist the barbarians, now you have to keep Chang’an City in peace! What are you waiting for! Just kill all the wanderers on the streets now! And converge your arrows to kill all cultivators that show up!”

Chang Siwei accepted the order and left in a hurry.

Mr. Qi was in the hall, too.

The Fish-dragon Gang was the dominant local villain. And they could deal with all messed-up situations. They did not suffer many losses except for a few members killed by cultivators at the Zeng’s gates.

Mr. Qi was irritated, but he wouldn’t dare to show it to Old Lord Qi. He asked, “Uncle, what should our brothers in the Gang do? They should at least do something.”

The Old Lord Chao stroke his beard and before he could give his opinion, he heard the steward coming in to report. His eyes lit up upon hearing that the prefectural magistrate Shangguan was coming to visit.

“Here’s your job.”

Shangguan Yangyu entered the hall in a hurry, and he kowtowed to the Old Lord Chao because he was a nephew of his. When he found that Zeng Jing was also in the hall, he turned serious.

“You’re much foxier than me, and I suppose you have nothing special to ask. You can go and talk to Mr. Qi if you want. I’ll leave with Lord Zeng and show him the garden in the back.”

The Old Lord Chao left the central hall with Zengjing after finishing the talk.

Shangguan Yangyu stared at the back of the Old Lord Chao, and a foxy light flashed in his narrow eyes. He saluted respectfully and said, “You’re too kind, Your Excellency.”

The Old Lord Chao didn’t turn back, and he said, “You’re the kind one.”

…

…

When the Old Lord Chao and Zeng Jing were totally out of the hall, Shangguan Yangyu stood straight and looked to Mr. Qi. After a short silent moment, he asked, “I guess you’re going to stand on the Empress’ side, aren’t you?”

Mr. Qi smiled and said, “Where did that come from, Your Excellency? We’re no more than mobsters struggling to live in the Jianghu World. We don’t have the right to make a choice on such a big event. We do what the royal court wants us to do.”

Shangguan Qingyu sneered. He thought it to himself that these people were far better than mobsters, but he didn’t say it out. He knew the time was limited, so he said, “Mr. Qi, I’m here to ask you for more people.”

Mr. Qi paused because he wasn’t sure what Shangguan Yangyu meant. He asked with uneasiness, “You’re joking, Your Excellency. You’re the magistrate of Chang’an…”

“I’m not going to beat around the bush for this very situation.”

Shangguan Yangyu looked serious and said, “The Yulin Royal Guards are suppressing the riot, and the bodyguards are securing the palace. My government runners are dealing with the follow-up work of the homicide cases and keeping the peace. My hands are tied now, so I am asking you for reinforcement, are you going to help me or not?”

Mr. Qi had made contact with Shangguan Yangyu several times but never had he saw him being so serious. His foxy face now turned somehow righteous, which made Mr. Qi feel serious, too.

“To serve the royal court is my duty, but firstly I have to know what are you going to do with my reinforcement.”

“Many people have escaped from the Qinghe County Guild.”

Two cold rays flashed in the narrow eyes of Shangguan Yangyu, and he said, “Those monks with hair, their temples are in the south. We’ll lose everything if they go back to the south. Now that the city gate of Chang’an is closed because of the enemy, they are temporarily trapped in the city. We have three hours before the city gate opens.”

Mr. Qi understood what Shangguan Yangyu was saying. He thought it for a moment and said, “No problem, the Gang will provide you as many people as you want. And we’ll send our servants if necessary.”

“It’s better if they’re all living, and the dead will be okay if it doesn’t work.”

Shangguan Yangyu said, “You should send more servants for the mission, and as for those subordinates of yours who are armed and who dare to kill, I have a bigger mission for them.”

Mr. Qi then asked, “What is it?”

Shangguan Yangyu answered after a moment of silence, “The riot in Chang’an tonight was mainly caused by cultivators. The Yulin Royal Guards may be able to suppress the riot on streets, but they can’t find the cultivators who initiated the riot.”

Mr. Qi was surprised after hearing those words, and he said, “My brothers in the Gang are no match for those cultivators, either.”

Shangguan Qingyu said, “I don’t expect your men to kill or capture those cultivators, I just need them to stop the cultivators from attacking common people.”

Mr. Qi frowned and said, “The cultivators are either in the Imperial Center Administration or in the Southern Gate Temple. With your governmental permission, your runners can go there, but they can’t do anything to those cultivators, let alone my brothers in the Gang.”

“There are lots of things that your Gang can do while the Chang’an government cannot.”

“These are papers I stole out from the Military Ministry last year. These are the family addresses of the officials and deacons of the Imperial Administration, including those married Taoists in the Southern Gate Temple. Their elderly parents, their wife and young children must be at home.”

His Excellency Shangguan took out the pile of paper graciously, and he said, “The Fish-dragon Gang is the local villain of Chang’an. And it should be easy to locate these places. Also, to invite the old and young, women and children there to some secret places.”

Mr. Qi took over those papers and for a moment he was dazed. The he felt a chill and looked at the gracious face of His Excellency, and said in shaking voice, “This… It’s too ruthless.”

Shangguan Yangyu then sighed, “I don’t want to do it, either. But you know that to live is to be ruthless.”

Finally Mr. Qi understood the talk between the Old Lord Chao and Shangguan Yangyu. He admired the two but at the same time, he felt worried.

“The Qinghe County Guild, the Imperial Administration and the Southern Gate Temple, they are not in your charge.”

Mr.Qi asked with confusion, “Why would you take such a high risk to do that?”

Shangguan Yangyu stroked his beard and was about to talk.

Mr.Qi had read his mind as soon as he saw the face. Then Mr.Qi said, “No one on the royal court would believe Your Excellency is a selfless man, so you can drop this excuse.”

“I was timid, and I may have perverted justice for a bribe. And that won’t make any sense if I claim how much I love the country. But without the Empire of Tang, how could an ugly man like me be an official, and even get promoted to the position of the prefectural magistrate of the capital city?”

Shangguan Yangyu then sighed, “Where can I get bribed if the Empire dies? The reason is simple enough for me to understand, but it’s strange that there’s a lot of people who do get it.”

Li Yu walked slowly into the hall.

She was tired, so were her feet. The news of Qinghe County’s betrayal, like hailstone hitting after more than ten days worth of pouring rain.

Just afterwards, what she just heard was like a thunder in the hailstone sky.

She walked to the couch and watched his pale panicked brother. Her heart ached, but later she laughed as if she was mocking at herself. Then she asked in a gentle voice, “Did you do it?”

Li Huiyuan felt such a relief when heard her voice which was as gentle and soft as it used to. He smiled and said, “Yes, those traitors were trying to kill me, so I killed them all.”

Li Yu sat by the couch, and after a moment of silence she said, “Was General Xu Shi trying to kill you, too?”

The smile on Li Huiyuan’s face was frozen, and he asked, “What are you talking about, sister?”

Li Yu then said in low voice, “Wang Jinglue arrived in Chang’an yesterday, and he came to see me in the palace tonight after examing the information in the Military Ministry. So I am here to ask you.”

Li Huiyuan’s voice was shaking. He forced a smile and said, “What are you asking me for?”

Li Yu still looked calm, and she simply said, “Qinghe County betrayed us, and the Hierarch Lord of the Divine Hall made a detour from Xiao Mountain to enter our Tang realm. The secret guards of the Imperial Center Administration and informers of the Military Ministry didn’t find it, which was understandable, but how did the Hierarch Lord know that the general was encamping at the foot of Xiao Mountian?”

“Even I didn’t know the general was in the Xiao Mountain on that night. How was the Divine Hall informed?”

Li Yu looked at him in the eyes and kept asking, “General Xu Shi was a confident and proud man, but he could be quite careful and cautious when getting on the battlefield. So I want to know, how did you find out?”

Li Huiyuan’s smile was getting stiffer and stiffer, no better than crying.

Then a cold voice came from the quiet hall gate.

“Many cultivators of the South School of Haotian Taoism joined the army these years. Now that I am the master of the South School, those people would be honest with me. The Imperial Center Administration and the Military Ministry was tightly related, and I obeyed the late Emperor’s order to take charge of the Administration, so I was lucky enough to be informed of the route of his return.”

The door opened and He Mingchi walked into the hall.

With a distorted yellow oiled-paper umbrella under his arm, he bent slightly to salute to the brother and his sister sitting by the couch.