The Longest Day in Chang'an

Chapter 61: Youzheng (18:00-18:59) Part 4

Translator: DragonRider

Gently, Long Bo walked up behind the sand table where a semicircle of screens created a small separated space. The small space had layers of wooden planks on the ground, overlooking the whole hall. On it stood a young man in a green robe, who was holding a horsetail whisk and eyeing Long Bo with an exceptionally composed look.

“Sicheng Li, I’ve long been looking forward to meeting you.” Mockingly, Long Bo cupped his hands before his chest and walked up the platform step by step.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Li Bi didn’t bother wasting his breathe on him. That was totally pointless.

“I’ve already told you. We’re the Termites.”

“I mean your real names.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re not the one who’s in charge.” Li Bi snatched the horsetail whisk from Li Bi’s hands and snapped it in two. The end of his hooknose nearly touched Li Bi’s face.

Civil officials beside the platform all exclaimed in alarm, worrying about their chief. Li Bi showed no fear, knitting his eyebrows tighter.

“Messages go in and out of Jing’an Department every moment. How long do you think you can hide this?”

Li Bi wasn’t bluffing. He was telling the truth. Jing’an Department had always stayed in close contact with other agencies. In less than a quarter, garrison outside would notice something was wrong. Jinzhao Office was right next door, and the main force of Lubi Army were stationed in Jiahui Fang, which was not far away in the south. With a single word of warning, reinforcements would arrive in no time. Though these people were elites, there was no way they could defend against an army.

It wasn’t even viable to take anybody hostage. A Tang Dynasty law expressly stipulated that: those who take hostages shall be attacked along with the hostages. Soldiers were not allowed to worry about the safety of hostages.

“There’s no need for you to worry about us, Sicheng. It won’t take the Termites long to finish the job.”

Long Bo raised his hand. He and his subordinates took off their water-canisters and started spraying liquid around. What was coming out of those water-canisters was not water, but some kind of viscous liquid, which was as black as ink and gave off pungent smell. They sprayed it over things and people alike. Civil officials, trembling, were covered in black. The sand table was their major target. Almost all of Chang’an was covered in the black liquid.

“Yanzhou mountain tallow.” Li Bi uttered these words through gritted teeth, his eyes almost burst out of their sockets.

“Just some leftover from cooking earlier. I hope you don’t mind, Sicheng Li,” Long Bo smiled, fished out a piece of fire striker and juggled it. People in the hall fixed their eyes on that thing, their hearts beating violently along with its movements.

A masked man hurried into the hall and raised his right hand, indicating that they had taken control of the right wing.

Long Bo looked at the hour copper in the corner and was pleased with this speed. Now he just had to wait for a response from the left wing.

The left wing raid carried out by those masked men went very smoothly. There were a lot of documents but barely any guards here. They didn’t leave a single survivor; a dozen bodies of civil officials lay scattered on the ground.

The team leader made a few hand signs and then started spraying mountain tallow with his men. Then he told the assistant captain to take some men to the back hall. They had one last task –clear out the prison in the back hall.

The assistant captain brought five men and walked towards the back hall along the corridor beside the left wing.

To get to the back hall through the left wing, they had to go through a small arch, past a small garden, then take a turn along a stretch of gable, and the prison was right around the corner. There were no branches.

The surprise attack went so smoothly. The renowned Jing’an Department was totally powerless to fight back, so every one of them was very relaxed. There were only a couple of cells in the back hall. They believed that they could clear this place in just a couple of tanzhi.

They went through the arch and was greeted by an open space. In the small gradern, the host had built a jagged rockery with a name “Penglai” carved on it, and there were a small pavilion, a thatch-roofed hut, a plank road, green pines and cypresses. In a secluded position on the hillside was a cave. An inscribed board engraved with the words “Immortal Cave” hung over the entrance. The rockery was small but the mountain scenery it presented was impressive, looking unique and novel in the dark.

The assistant captain was not in the mood for enjoying the scenery. They formed a single file and walked past the rockery one by one.

When the last person was passing the rockery, a Zhang-saber suddenly sprung out of the Immortal Cave and cut into the chest of the man, who screamed and fell to the ground. The other five spun around, raised their crossbows and fired, and turned the rockery instantly into a hedgehog.

After the first volley, they came to check and found that the Immortal Cave went through the rockery. The attacker had already run away to the other side and retreated to the back hall.

This was such an unexpected occurrence. The assistant captain angrily pressed his palm downwards and ordered his men to stay vigilant while progressing.

The rest of the four people switched to a triangular formation, one in front and three at the rear. They bent their arms to support their crossbows and lowered their bodies by slightly bending their knees, cautiously walking towards the back hall along the foot of the gable.

At the end of this section of the gable was a sharp corner around which there was a straight passageway, and the prison was at the end of it. Cui Qi and Yao Runeng were standing with their back against the wall beside the passageway, sweating buckets, eyes full of horror.

A moment ago, Cui Qi hid himself in the Immortal Cave trying to check the situation, just as the five people happened to walk by. Cui Qi tested them but didn’t expect these men fought back so quickly and fiercely. Had he reacted a second slower, all those bolts would have gone through his body.

Their reflexes were even quicker than the trained Lubi soldiers, and their crossbows were powerful enough to fire bolts into rocks.

‘Where did these devils come from...’ Cui Qi licked his dry lips, startled. Yao Runeng peeked over the wall when a bolt pierced the air. Cui Qi jerked Yao back. The bolt brushed by the young man’s cheek, leaving a long bloody cut.

Yao Runeng, who escaped death by a hair, paled visibly and his legs trembled uncontrollably. He did not expect those men could aim so well even in the dark.

“Idiot! They’re in a search and advance formation. The strings of their crossbows are still tight! Sticking your head our like that is suicide!” Cui Qi rebuked him as if he was rebuking a new recruit. Too horrified to answer back, Yao Runeng asked, “What should we do next?”

Cui Qi contemplated for a while. “There is nothing we can hide behind in this straight passageway. If we stay here, we’ll be dead after they turn the corner. Let’s retreat to the prison and defend behind the gate.”

Facing this formidable enemy, Cui Qi seemed to have regained the leadership that he had developed in Longshan.

Yao Runeng pulled himself together. “Okay! We just have to hold on until people in the main hall come to our rescue! These jail-breakers are not going to get away with this.” With a wry smile, Cui Qi wanted to say something but stopped himself. He was not as optimistic.

A jail-break? Even lanterns on the big watchtower were snuffed out, and that was Jing’an Department’s communication center. These people would never have done that if this was merely a jail break. Judging from their number and equipment, Cui Qi felt that they probably had already taken the main hall. He knew too well about the internal security of Jing’an Department, which could be described with one sentence: hard on the outside, soft on the inside.

There was a wide consensus among staff members that this department was located at the heart of Chang’an, and it was in charge of public security. Who dared to beard the lion in his den? Even Li Bi, as prudent as he, didn’t spend much time considering this.

However, it turned out that some people did break into the lion’s den, and they bearded the hell out of it.

If possible, he didn’t want to die for Jing’an Department at all. Right now, however, he had nowhere to flee to. Cui Qi had no choice but to collect himself, trying to figure out a way to survive this perilous situation.

‘Shit! I no longer work for Jing’an Department. I can’t die here!’ He secretly cursed angrily, resenting his luck.

They turned around and ran to the prison. This prison was actually a detention room which used to be a woodshed. There were only three small cubicles, and all window lattices were made of wood. The front door was not reinforced in any way and the two small copper hinges would break on a single kick on the gate.

Cui Qi summoned the three prison guards and briefed them of the current situation. These prison guards used to be Lubi soldiers. Though they knew about Cui Qi’s betrayal, following their former superior’s orders was the best choice, given the current circumstances. The five of them took action immediately. They moved all wooden cabinets, tables and bamboo boxes up against the door and chained them up together. Cui Qi also fished out a jar of liquor secretly hidden here by a prison guard, and poured it over those wooden window lattices.

Yao Runeng took out a smoke bomb and tossed it outside. This thing wasn’t very effective at night, but something was better than nothing.

Enemies were getting close. Given the amount of time they had, these were all they could do.

After finishing the preparations, Yao Runeng opened the cell behind him. Wen Ran was sitting on a pile of straw. She had already washed her face and combed her hair, which was coiled on top of her head. She seemed slightly better than before. With an apologetic look, Yao Runeng said, “We have to postpone the interrogation. Currently, there’s some trouble... ”

Wen Ran trusted Yao Runeng very much. She raised her head and said, “Trouble? Does it have anything to do with my benefactor?” Having no idea how to explain, Yao Runeng shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” Wen Ran looked over his shoulder and saw people outside were busy blocking the door.

“Your voice is quivering. I thought Jing’an Department was a very safe place... ” Having been through all the turmoil in the past few hours, Wen Ran had developed a sense of danger to some degree, so she could tell that the situation was not good.

With a bitter smile, Yao Runeng consoled her, “Don’t overthink it. You should move back a little. Don’t get too close to the door. Here, take this.” He handed her a exquisite dagger with an ox-horn hilt. It had been passed down in his family and he was carrying it with him everywhere.

After a brief hesitation, Wen Ran took it. She used to cut incenses very often, so knives weren’t totally alien to her. Cui Qi called him from outside; Yao Runeng stood up, about to leave.

“Um. By the way, you... ” Not knowing his name, Wen Ran had no choice but to address him as “You”. Yao Runeng turned his head around. Wen Ran asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Huh?”

“There’s no harm in having an extra helper, right? If you’re down, I won’t be able to survive either.” Wen Ran spun the dagger and her voice became firmer. “Mr. Zhang once said that one must fight for their own life.”

“Alas. Relying on a woman will be huge humiliation for Jing’an Department. Rest assured. Reinforcements from the main hall will arrive in no time.” Yao Runeng clenched his fists, not sure if he was trying to console her or himself.

Wen Ran closed her mouth in disappointment. Too worried to continue consoling her, Yao Runeng turned around and walked towards the door.

Cui Qi peeped through the crack between the door and the frame. It was dark outside and he could only see that a couple of shadows in the distance were heading this way, one in the front and three in the rear, and there seemed to be another person following them.

All crossbows were aimed at the front and none of them was guarding the rear. This mistake made Cui Qi’s heart sink – this was not a mistake but an indication that these people didn’t have to worry about any backsatb, which meant that the left wing might have already been occupied.

These people’s plot seemed bigger than previously imagined.

‘Damn it. If we have a crossbow, at least we can disarrange their deployment,’ Cui Qi thought bitterly. His crossbow was confiscated when he re-entered Jing’an Department, since he didn’t need this thing for a surveillance task.

Yao Runeng raised his head but Cui Qi pressed it down. “They will fire a volley of bolts before starting the raid. Do you want to die?” Yao Runeng lay prostrate behind the blockage and said in a low voice, “Commandant Cui... Um, thanks.”

“I’m trying to save myself.” Cui Qi stared at the crack, expressionless. Yao Runeng knew Cui Qi was telling the truth, but at this moment, he didn’t despise Cui Qi that much. He fumbled in his clothes and fished out a jade figurine shaped like a Xiezhi (A mythological creature about the size of an ox.). “If I die, can you deliver this to my family for me?”

“A jade Xiezhi? This is rare. Common people usually carry jade Pixiu (A mythological creature that is believed to turn misfortune into good fortune) or jade Qilin (A mythological creature that represents good luck)?” a prison guard asked curiously.

“Xiezhi can distinguish evil from good and punish evildoers with its horn. You’re indeed from a prestigious family. Even your divine beasts are different.” Cui Qi realized the symbolization of this figurine at first sight, and then he pushed it back and said self-deprecatingly, “Don’t give this to me. I’m a traitor. I’m afraid it might gore me with its horn.”

The look on Cui Qi’s face could not be distinguished in the dark. Yao Runeng was just about to say something when Cui Qi said urgently in a low voice, “They’re here!”