The Longest Day in Chang'an

Chapter 62: Youzheng (18:00-18:59) Part 5

Translator: DragonRider

The enemies entered the range of bolts. The vanguard in the front quickly moved to the door with a forward roll. The four people behind him aimed their crossbows at the window on this side of the prison. Anyone who peeked out would be shot in the head.

The vanguard pushed the door but it didn’t open, which he had expected. The four people behind him fired at the window simultaneously and then ran to the door together. Yao Runeng and Cui Qi, who were hiding behind the door, soon smelled a pungent odor which both of them were very familiar with –Yanzhou mountain tallow, which had nearly caused a disaster in Chang’an.

“Shit! They never planned to burst the door open!” Cui Qi’s face dropped. “They want to burn this place down!”

Once the tallow was on fire, flames wouldn’t burn out until the whole woodshed was down. They were trying to force the people inside to open the door on their own account. Yao Runeng and Cui Qi exchanged eye contact and realized that their only choice was to fight their way out.

They and the prison guards moved the blockage aside and the door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang. A man in black in the front instantly stormed inside, knocking down the prison guard and Yao Runeng who had been trying to hold the door. The man in black lowered his crossbow and reached out his hand to draw his saber.

It took only an instant to switch weapons, and veteran Cui Qi, who had been waiting for this opportunity, pounced on the man like a ferocious tiger.

His Zhang-saber, already aimed at the target, instantly went through the man’s body, and Cui Qi twisted the blade. A second person rushed inside. No time to pull the saber out, Cui Qi threw his head towards the man. Bewildered by Cui Qi’s suicidal fighting style, the man in black drew a step back.

Without any hesitation, Cui Qi came at the target and started punching him. His boxing techniques were not conventional, but his fist power was unbridled and daring. Under huge pressure, he let go of all pressure that Chang’an imposed on him, fighting in an untrammeled manner like he used to in Longshan.

“I am Cui Qi of Longshan! I am Cui Qi of Longshan!” At first his voice was low, but as he threw more punches, his voice grew louder and louder. Eventually, he started yelling like a crazy tiger. The second person failed to defend against the fierce attack and was knocked down. Cui Qi stomped on his chest and broke it with a snap.

It was at this moment that a third man in black rushed inside, but Cui Qi held him at the doorway. The door of the prison was so narrow that other men in black were unable to pass their companion to attack Cui Qi.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yao Runeng and three prison guards picked themselves up and came to Cui Qi’s aid. The situation temporarily became four-versus-one.

At this moment, the sound of a bolt going into someone’s body was heard, but the person who fell was not inside the prison but a man in black standing at the doorway. They were unable to fight their way in and also unwilling to draw back, the assistant captain fired his crossbow. The bolt went through both his companion and Cui Qi.

Nobody had expected that he would be so ruthless to his own companion, and neither had anybody had the time to react. Cui Qi let out a roar in fury and fell to the ground along with the man in black.

Now there was not a single obstacle between prison guards, Yao Runeng and those men in black outside the prison. The assistant captain and another man in black immediately fell back to create space. Cui Qi, who had fallen to the ground, raised his head and yelled “Watch out! That’s a repeating crossbow!”

But it was too late.

Without the shelter of the prison, even if their number was doubled, they still wouldn’t be able to defend against the enemies’ bolts once the men in black gained distance. Bolts shot down all three prison. Yao Runeng clenched his teeth trying to launch an attack, but was his left shoulder was instantly nailed to the threshold and he fell sideways. Though injured, Cui Qi was still able to move his upper body. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he picked up the saber on the ground and hurled it forward. The assistant captain deflected the saber with his crossbow and then sent him flying with a kick.

Thus, this counter-attack in the prison was over, with three people killed and two people injured. They had completely lost their fighting capability.

The assistant captain’s face behind a mask was dark with rage. This was merely a small, shabby prison, but it cost him three elite subordinates. He had his only surviving subordinate drag Yao Runeng and Cui Qi into the room and toss them before a cell. Then he whipped out his saber.

“You’re going to regret not dying during the fight,” the assistant captain said ferociously.

Puff.

The sound of a steel saber going into someone’s body.

The assistant captain was surprised. He had not made any moves yet. Where did that sound come from?’ He looked at Yao Runeng and Cui Qi but there was nothing peculiar about them. Taken aback, the assistant captain turned his head aside only to find that his only subordinate was standing on the spot, trembling, a blood-stained knife tip stuck out his chest.

It was not until now that the assistant captain discovered that this subordinate was standing with his back to the cell, and they hadn’t checked whether there was anybody inside.

The knife tip slowly retreated. The man in black went limp and fell to the ground with a thud, revealing a flustered Wen Ran, who was standing behind the bars with Yao Runeng’s family knife, handed down from older generations.

Nobody had expected this attack. His pupils abruptly contracted, Yao Runeng yelled at her to draw back.

But it was too late. The assistant captain strode over and grabbed Wen Ran’s wrist. In a sharp pain, Wen Ran let out a screech and the knife dropped to theground. Yao Runeng gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to help her. The assistant captain kicked him and sent him flying, and thundered, “There’s no hurry. Every one of you is getting a miserable death!”

The assistant captain whipped out a leather belt from his waist, tied Wen Ran to the bars of the cell, stooped down and took a water-canister from the body of his companion. With a couple of soft pushes, he sprayed viscous mountain tallow all over the three of them.

After everything was ready, with an evil grin, the assistant captain fished out a steel and flint and started clicking it, and sparks flew out..

Yao Runeng knew what kind of misfortune was going to happen to them, but he was powerless to stop it. Desperately, he looked at Wen Ran. She was still unaware of the situation. He then moved his eyes to Cui Qi. Cui Qi’s face was covered in blood and his expression was indistinguishable.

Yao Runeng stared emptily at the ceiling for a while. Suddenly, the look in his eyes became determined, and with that he turned his upper body aside and said to Cui Qi in an undertone, “Commandant Cui, I’ll pounce on him and hold him the moment the fire is started. When I do, you leave immediately.”

Cui Qi opened his eyes and watched him.

“You’re not a member of Jing’an Department, so there’s no need for you to die for it, but I hope you can get this girl out of here. She’s innocent.”

Cui Qi snorted. Yao Runeng had no idea what that was about, but he didn’t ask. This young man, who was determined to sacrifice his own life, bent his left leg, enduring the pain in his shoulder, and hoped that he would have enough strength to spring out the moment he was set afire.

His hands were quivering, and so were his teeth. Some kind of liquid flowed uncontrollably out of the corners of his eyes. Cui Qi stretched out his arm and laid it on Yao Runeng’s shoulder, saying, “Your legs are unharmed and you still have a chance to run out. Why are you doing this?”

“Everybody has to be responsible for their own choice.” Yao Runeng didn’t even turn his head back. Cui Qi’s shoulders briefly quivered as he heard this sentence.

At this moment, the assistant captain finally made a fire, a small blue flare burnt on the moxa wool in his hand. His eyes swept through the three blackened people like a hunter looking his prey. Then he said in a venomous and cruel tone, “Enjoy your last Huxuan Dance (A dance originated from Hu ethnic minority). Your deaths are going to be very long.”

The assistant captain took a few steps backwards leaning against another cell lest he get hurt by the fire. He calculated the distance and believed that he was in a safe position. Then he raised his arm and was just about to throw the moxa wool forward when suddenly somebody stretched out a long arm from between the cell bars behind him, gently snatched the moxa wool and tossed it into his water-canister.

There was still a generous amount of mountain tallow left in the water-canister. The moment the burning moxa wool went inside, a glaring flare surged out of the water-canister with a whoosh and instantly shrouded the assistant captain in it.

The assistant captain turned into a torch, brightening up the dark prison. He was screeching with anguish but the heat soon toasted his vocal cords, leaving only his legs kicking desperately, as if he was dancing a Huxuan Dance himself. Before long, the assistant captain thudded onto the ground and turned into a block of charcoal still ablaze.

“Did all of you forget Cen Shen from Xianzhou?” a young man angrily yelled in the cell.

It was not until now that Yao Runeng recalled that there was another prisoner here. Because he ruined Jing’an Department’s plan in Huaiyuan Fang, this guy named Cen Shen was arrested and had been imprisoned here the whole time. Hardly anybody remembered him. He had been huddling in the depths of his cell, and it was also dark in here, so all people, including the assistant captain, failed to notice him.

Nobody expected this hapless guy who became their savior eventually.

All five intruders had been killed. Yao Runeng, who had narrowly escaped death, deeply exhaled, turned his head around and said to Cui Qi in a delighted tone, “Commandant Cui, this place is safe for the moment. Let’s go to the main hall right now!”

“I’m afraid there’s also grave danger in the main hall, so I think I’ll pass,” Cui Qi said apathetically. Yao Runeng was a little annoyed. ‘He fought side by side with me a short while ago. How come he reverted to his old self so soon?’

“If potential embarrassment is what you’re worrying about, I’ll tell Sicheng that you didn’t escape the fight,” said Yao Runeng.

Cui Qi didn’t answer but smiled bitterly. He moved his hand off his lower abdomen, revealing a bolt shaft. Most of it gone into his body, and the whole lower part of his clothes was soaked with blood.