Chapter 115: Night Rescue of Pingle

Night fell like a black cloth draping down; the walls of Beiping City turned into a blurry silhouette. Li Ping'an used the night to crouch and climb over the wall, landing as lightly as a leaf. His heart felt like he'd caught a rabbit—Pingle being alone in the city for even an extra moment meant extra danger.

The alley was eerily quiet, not even a stray cat meowed. Li Ping'an slipped along the wall to the front gate, finding it ajar. His heart skipped a beat, and he darted behind the opposite old locust tree.

The courtyard was pitch dark, but a tear in the west wing's window paper let a sliver of light through. Li Ping'an narrowed his eyes to see—two dark figures were rummaging through chests and cabinets inside.

Damn it, where could that girl have hidden the stuff? a rough voice complained.

Keep it down! another voice warned, the boss said the embroidery definitely contains cat's eye.

Li Ping'an's blood ran cold. Pingle had indeed run into trouble!

He suppressed his anger and scanned the surroundings. He spotted a sentry on the opposite roof, yawning. It seemed this lot were lying in wait for him.

Li Ping'an silently circled to the rear and slipped in through the kitchen's broken window. Under the stove was a hidden compartment where he used to stash cash. He reached in, his heart sinking—the compartment was empty, but a note lay inside.

By the moonlight he made out Pingle's childish scrawl: 'Brother, I went to find Master Su.'

That foolish girl! Li Ping'an was both anxious and angry. Master Su could barely protect himself—she was practically jumping into a fire pit!

Just as he was about to slip away, he heard two people arguing in the front room: 'Why does the boss insist on that embroidery?'

He heard that higher-ups had issued a death order, saying the embroidery hid a list of communists...

Li Ping'an's heart jolted. It turned out Pingle's innocent act had been mistaken for vital intelligence!

At that moment, the sentry on the roof suddenly barked:

Li Ping'an immediately held his breath. He saw a dark shadow dart from the neighbor's roof; the sentry rushed after it. What a perfect ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain! He seized the chance to slip out of the kitchen.

He recalled the places Pingle often visited: the embroidery workshop, the sky bridge, the moat's edge... the workshop seemed most likely. Master Su treated her best, so in trouble she'd surely go to him first.

The embroidery workshop's front gate was shut, but a ladder leaned against the rear wall. Li Ping'an's heart tightened—this was clearly a trap to lure him in.

He looped around to the front street and indeed saw several agents squatting in the tea house, their eyes constantly flicking toward the embroidery workshop.

'Boss, a pot of high-grade liquor.' Li Ping'an lowered his cap and entered the tea house, sitting at a table near those agents.

One agent was bragging: '…once we nab that kid, the boss said he'll reward five hundred silver dollars!'

Another scoffed: 'Give me a break! With your puny skills, you'll get your teeth knocked out!'

Li Ping'an sipped his tea slowly, but his ears were pricked. From their chatter he gathered that Pingle had indeed been arrested and was being held in the Police Station's basement, though the exact spot remained unclear.

After finishing his tea, he tailed the two agents out. In a secluded alley, he struck like lightning, clapping a hand over the last agent's mouth and dragging him into the shadows.

'If you want to live, be honest.' Li Ping'an pressed his dagger to the man's throat—'Where is the girl being held?'

The agent trembled with fear: 'The... the innermost cell of the basement...'

How many guards are there?

Eight... eight men... plus a machine gun...

Li Ping'an's heart sank. This show of force was clearly a trap set for him to storm the prison!

But thinking of Pingle possibly trembling with fear, he gritted his teeth and still decided to take the risk.

At midnight, outside the rear wall of the Police Station. Li Ping'an climbed the wall like a gecko, only to see the courtyard ablaze with light, patrol squads marching back and forth—three times the usual manpower.

He sneaked to the basement vent and suddenly heard voices below: '…that girl's tongue is tough; they've beaten her half a day and she still won't talk.'

The boss had ordered that if she didn't confess by tomorrow's rehearing, they'd just… the speaker made a throat‑slitting gesture.

Li Ping'an burned with rage, almost charging down—but reason told him that would not only fail to rescue her, it would also get himself killed.

He forced himself to calm down, recalling what Section Chief Sun had once said: sometimes a frontal assault is worse than a clever stratagem.

Early the next morning, a weeping old woman showed up at the Police Station gate, claiming she'd come to bring food to her imprisoned granddaughter.

'Scram, scram, scram!' the guard barked impatiently, 'There's no granddaughter of yours here!'

The old woman suddenly burst into tears: 'Ping'an! You can't just ignore your sister!'

That shout drew a crowd of onlookers. From the shadows, Li Ping'an saw clearly that the old woman was actually Old Yang in disguise!

Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Ping'an scaled the side wall into the compound. He knew the layout cold—just a couple of turns and he was at the basement entrance.

Two guards were dozing. Li Ping'an approached soundlessly, two precise chops to the nape dropping them limp to the ground.

The basement was dank and reeked of blood. The inner iron door was bolted shut. He fished a key from the guards, but his hand trembled uncontrollably.

'Pingle?' he whispered.

A weak reply came from within: 'Brother… is that you?'

The iron door swung open; Pingle was curled in the corner, her small face covered in wounds, yet her eyes shone astonishingly: 'Brother! I knew you'd come!'

Li Ping'an painfully gathered his sister into his arms: 'Don't be scared, brother will take you home.'

Just then, an alarm suddenly blared outside. A confused rush of footsteps surged toward the basement!

'Hahaha! Finally got you!' the bespectacled man brought a horde of agents to block the door—'Li Ping'an, you really walked right into the net!'

Pingle clung terrified to her brother's cuff. Li Ping'an, however, smiled: 'Chief Dai, how did you know I'd come?'

Chief Dai smugly pushed up his glasses: 'That old woman's acting was terrible—obviously one of yours.'

'Is that so?' Li Ping'an suddenly whistled.

With a deafening boom, the ground shook violently. Outside came a shout: 'Chief! The arsenal has exploded!'

Taking advantage of the agents' panic, Li Ping'an grabbed Pingle and bolted from the cell. Chief Dai raised his gun to fire, but a stone flung from nowhere struck his wrist.

'Spring a leak! Run!' Old Yang yelled outside. In an instant the whole Police Station descended into chaos.

Li Ping'an seized the moment, leading Pingle out through the secret passage. By the time Chief Dai reacted, the siblings had vanished without a trace.

In a ruined temple outside the city, Pingle sipped hot porridge while asking curiously, 'Brother, did you really blow up the arsenal?'

Li Ping'an laughed and shook his head: 'It was Old Yang's idea. He'd already planted explosives in the arsenal, just waiting for today.'

And the stone?

Li San threw it. Though his wound hadn't healed well, he insisted on coming to help.

Pingle's eyes lit up: 'Everyone came to rescue us?'

Yeah. Li Ping'an ruffled her hair, because in this world good people always outnumber the bad.

At that moment, a three-long-two-short knock came from outside the temple. Lao Yang ushered in a visitor—it was Su Shifu, whom he hadn't seen in days!

Master! Ping Le flung himself into the old man's arms, glad you're unharmed!

Su Shifu burst into tears: Thanks to Li Ping'an sending word, I managed to escape disaster.

Lao Yang said grimly: The whole city is after you now. Chief Dai Ju Zhang has issued a kill-on-sight order—any suspicious person is to be shot on sight.

Li Ping'an clenched his fists: If they're inhumane, don't blame us for being unjust.

In the dead of night, Li Ping'an went alone to the hill behind the temple. Gazing at the lights of Beiping City in the distance, he recalled everything he had endured: his parents' tragic deaths, his sister's disappearance, his comrades' sacrifices...

Perhaps it's time to put an end to it.

The next day, Chief Dai Ju Zhang received a letter: Tonight at midnight, at View Mountain Eternal Spring Pavilion, Shang Ding awaits.

Chief Dai Ju Zhang snorted: Petty tricks! I'll set up a net of heaven and earth!

At midnight, ambushes lay thick on View Mountain. Chief Dai Ju Zhang, with his trusted aides, stood guard at Eternal Spring Pavilion, his eyes fixed on the road up the mountain.

Just as he grew impatient, a messenger ran up the hill, panting: Chief! Disaster! The Military Statistics building has been robbed—all important documents are gone!

Chief Dai Ju Zhang's face darkened: What?!

Almost at the same moment, countless torches flared up in the city below as ordinary folk took to the streets with lanterns, walls plastered with notices exposing Chief Dai Ju Zhang's crimes, each stamped with a bright red swallow seal.

Yanzi Li San! Chief Dai Ju Zhang trembled with rage, vowing to tear you to pieces!

Little did he know, Li Ping'an and his sister were already aboard the train leaving Beiping. Ping Le leaned against his brother's shoulder, asleep, clutching the painting 'Double Swallows Bring Spring' to his chest.

Outside the window, the morning sun rose, lighting the road ahead.