Chapter 101: Killer

Lin Qian made a gesture to the men beside him.

Three crew members carrying tiger-head pliers and other tools crawled out from their hiding spot, re-laid the wooden planks, and ducked into the tent.

Two of them were responsible for removing the clay pots and pouring the molten lead into the water, while the other was tasked with cutting through the red-hot iron bars.

After about the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, two men emerged from the tent.

One of them carried a wooden tray, transporting broken pottery shards out in batches.

Each time he made a trip, he dipped the wooden tray in the water, so the shards' high heat wouldn't set it alight.

The other man used iron tongs to carry the severed iron grating, the cut ends still glowing red.

He set the iron grating on the ground and buried it with dirt.

The moment the soil touched the red-hot iron, a puff of white smoke burst up, but then more dirt was piled on, and the smoke was pressed down beneath the earth.

Afterward, the crew swiftly dismantled the tent and leaned the fake iron grating back in place, so that even if the guards patrolled nearby, in the pitch dark they wouldn't notice a hole had been cut in the water gate.

With everything done, the crew moved the planks off the water channel, restoring everything to its original state, as if nothing had happened at all.

With the planks removed, most of the birthday banquet guests had already left. The red lanterns by the main gate gave their final few flickers of struggle before finally burning out.

Heaven and earth returned to silence.

Lin Qian loosened the dirt clenched in his palm and let out a deep breath.

It was now roughly the beginning of the Hai hour—still not time to move. The crew hidden in the shadows could only wait.

On this deep autumn night, the dew grew heavy. The ground gradually leached the warmth from their bodies, and their clothes were soaked through with moisture—utterly miserable, but all they could do was endure.

As the birthday banquet wound down, the clamor of the Lin estate gradually faded.

Around the Zi hour, the lights of the Lin estate had dimmed considerably—clearly everyone inside had gone to bed.

But they had only just lain down, their sleep still shallow, and the guards, still buzzing with excitement from the banquet's revelry, were not yet drowsy. It still wasn't the right moment.

They waited until roughly the Chou hour, when even the guards' lanterns moving along the courtyard walls slowed their pace.

Lin Qian said in a low voice: "Move."

The moment the words left his mouth, Bai Qing, Bailangzai, and a dozen or so strong swimmers rose from the ground, hurried in a crouch to the water gate, moved aside the fake grating, and slipped into the channel.

In a short while, the lantern on the courtyard wall swayed, and the Lin estate's back door slowly creaked open.

Lin Qian led the rest of the men through the back door.

There lay the door bar, toppled to one side, and beside it a dead guard—a knife wound in his throat, steaming blood still gushing out.

Lin Qian called over Lei Sanxiang and Zheng Zhilong and reminded them once more: "Third Brother, after clearing the west route along the courtyard wall, come to the rear hall and link up with the middle route. Yiguan, after clearing the east route, hold the courtyard wall. Three claps of the watchman's rattle signal the withdrawal—understand?"

"Understood!" Both men clasped their fists in acknowledgment.

With that, Lin Qian drew his blade from its sheath and led the twenty men of the middle route into the service corridor.

The service corridor was narrow, forcing them to walk single file.

The two men at the front carried goose-feather sabers and shields, wearing oxhide armor as they led the way.

Behind them came Bai Qing, Xie Er, and Bailangzai, with Lin Qian following at Bailangzai's rear.

The corridor was pitch black, nearly impossible to see in, but after countless drills, everyone had long since memorized the layout of the Lin estate. Even moving in darkness, they advanced swiftly.

After covering some distance, the two men at the front halted.

A moment later, a lantern turned into the corridor.

"Who goes—... ugh..."

The lantern bearer had barely spoken when a shield smashed his throat, then a flash of cold light—a blade plunged into his belly.

The blade was pulled free, staining the gray bricks of the corridor a dark red.

The lantern fell, flames flaring up, then were stamped out in an instant.

The servant still had a breath left in him, making gurgling sounds from his throat as he stretched a bloody hand toward the crew, as if begging for mercy.

A few more stabs came down, and the servant died completely, no longer moving.

The column stepped over the servant's corpse and pressed on.

Lin Qian walked to the spot where the servant had entered and saw it was a rockery—he knew they had reached the Lin estate's garden.

The column didn't stop. As they passed this point, the last three men at the rear turned into the back garden as planned, to clear out the guards and servants there.

By now the whole household was fast asleep, and most of the night-watch servants were dozing off as well. The column moved through the corridor unimpeded.

Along the way they encountered three lantern-carrying guards, all dispatched quietly and cleanly without a sound.

After passing several more intersections, another dozen or so crew members split off to their assigned positions as planned.

At that moment, the two men at the front suddenly stopped.

There were no footsteps in their ears, nor any torchlight in sight.

Just as they were puzzled, the front of the column reported: "Shipmaster, there's a pile of wine jars up ahead—the path is blocked."

"Hm?" Lin Qian looked at Xie Er.

Bailangzai pressed his blade against Xie Er's waist.

Xie Er stammered: "The estate's birthday banquet was so busy—the servants must have been lazy and stacked the empty wine jars here."

Bai Qing stepped forward, ran his hand over the surface of the jars—no dust—then sniffed the rims. The reek of wine hit his nose.

"These were placed here recently," Bai Qing said.

Lin Qian: "Can they be moved?"

Bai Qing: "Yes, but it'll take some time."

Lin Qian turned back, looking deeper into the corridor, and saw moonlight spilling in about a zhang behind him—an exit. The estate's servants must have brought the jars in from there.

That exit led to the Lin estate's inner quarters; this wine was likely for the womenfolk's drinking at the banquet.

From this point on, the several courtyards ahead were all connected by a single central axis road, so continuing through the service corridor was pointless.

So Lin Qian said: "We go out from here."

The group exited the service corridor and emerged into a square courtyard, where the womenfolk of the main branch resided.

Just as they were about to continue onward, Lin Qian heard a woman's voice by his ear: "You brute, why have you come again?"

The courtyard was entirely without lamplight, empty and desolate, not a single shadow of a person in sight.

The voice seemed to come from nowhere.

Lin Qian hurriedly signaled the sailors to halt and listened carefully to discern the source of the sound.

After a moment, he heard the woman speak again in a coquettish anger: "You brute, didn't I feed you just this evening? Why are you craving more at this hour?"

Lin Qian listened more closely and realized the voice came from a side chamber beside him.

Then a man's voice, panting heavily, said in a low tone: "Dear Auntie, I don't know what's come over me today—my body burns something fierce."

"Keep your voice down..." the woman pleaded softly.

"Afraid of what? Everyone else has long since gone to sleep." The man's voice grew ever coarser. "Dear Auntie, I've been dying for you."

"Don't... don't call me Auntie. Just hurry up and do your business..."

Lin Qian listened by the wall for a moment, confirmed that the two inside had already gotten down to business and would be occupied for a while, then waved toward the room, signaling his men to go deal with the pair.

His men were just about to enter the room to make their move.

Suddenly, torchlight and the clamor of footsteps appeared beyond the courtyard wall.

"... This servant saw with her own eyes the eldest young master enter the courtyard."

"Men, surround the courtyard. Don't let anyone escape."

Lin Qian inwardly cried trouble, and commanded his men to retreat into the service corridor, hiding themselves temporarily in the shadows.

The footsteps outside the courtyard drew nearer.

The man inside the room also stopped his thrusting, and said between ragged breaths: "Damn it, someone's coming."

"Quick, take the service corridor!" said the auntie.

"No good—the corridor's blocked by wine jars. If I go back that way, I'm bound to be discovered."

Because the men's quarters lay at the front of the estate, that was why the man spoke of "going back."

"Then hide yourself, quickly!"

As the words fell, the door opened and a disheveled man was shoved out. Seeing no route of escape, the man gritted his teeth and ran straight toward the very spot where Lin Qian and his men were concealed.

(End of chapter)

Yahei

Pink Round

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