Chapter 116

The train puffed white smoke as it slowly pulled away from Baoding Station. Ping Le clung to the train window, eyes red-rimmed, shouting: Brother! You must be careful!

Li Ping'an stood on the platform until the train became a tiny black dot. He took a deep breath, turned to Li San and said: Third Uncle, please take care of Le'er.

Li San leaned on his crutch, his chest still wrapped in bandages: Don't worry, brother. But you, are you really going back to that dragon's pool and tiger's den?

If Dai Ju Zhang doesn't die, more comrades will suffer. Li Ping'an's eyes were firm; besides, the most dangerous place is the safest.

That night, Li Ping'an returned to Beiping City again. The garrison on the city walls had doubled, but he still slipped over like a clever civet cat, soundlessly.

The tension in the city was as taut as a fully drawn bow. Patrol Squads came one after another on the streets, plainclothes agents were everywhere. Li Ping'an lowered his cap brim and blended into the evening crowd.

He first went to the sugar figurine stall of Lao Sun Tou under the bridge. Seeing him, Lao Sun Tou was so startled his sugar spoon dropped: 'Oh my little ancestor! How dare you come back?'

Uncle Sun, where has Dai Ju Zhang been going lately? Li Ping'an asked in a low voice while pretending to look at the sugar figurines.

Lao Sun Tou looked around, his voice lowered to a whisper: 'That Old Fox is very sly, his whereabouts unpredictable. But I heard he's recently become enamored with the martial female role at Guanghe Building...'

Just then, a Patrol Squad came over. Lao Sun Tou hurriedly shouted loudly: 'Sugar figurines! Sweet and pretty sugar figurines!'

After the Patrol Squad had gone, he continued: 'Every night after the performance, Dai Ju Zhang's car always passes through Coal Market Street. That's a narrow alley...'

Li Ping'an had figured it out. He bought a Sugar Swallow and vanished into the crowd.

Over the next three days, Li Ping'an moved about the city like a shadow. By day he crouched at the teahouse opposite Guanghe Building observing; by night he scouted Dai Ju Zhang's travel route. Whenever danger arose, he would slip into that mysterious space, leaving the pursuing agents' efforts futile.

On the evening of the fourth day, a sudden downpour struck. Pedestrians hurried for shelter, but Li Ping'an secretly rejoiced—rainy days provided the best cover.

He arrived early at Coal Market Street, climbing onto a roof eave like a gecko. Rainwater pattered down, striking the blue tiles with a crackling sound.

In the distance, an automobile engine sounded. Dai Ju Zhang's black sedan slowly entered the alley, its wheels churning through standing water and kicking up a spray.

Li Ping'an held his breath, gripping three silver needles soaked in poison. This was something he learned from an old hunter in Dongbei, using juice extracted from mountain poison herbs that seals the throat upon contact with blood.

The sedan drew nearer. Through the rain curtain, the outline of Dai Ju Zhang in the rear seat could be seen. Just as Li Ping'an prepared to strike, the car suddenly accelerated!

An ambush! A cry of alarm came from Dai Ju Zhang inside the car.

As it turned out, the cunning Dai Ju Zhang had placed Secret Sentries in the rain! Over a dozen agents surged from all directions, gunfire instantly tearing through the rain curtain.

Li Ping'an silently cursed, hastily flipping down from the roof. Bullets chased his footsteps, splashing water flowers on the blue stone slabs. Seeing no escape, he shifted his mind and instantly vanished into the space.

The agents rushed into the alley, staring at each other: 'Where is he? We clearly saw him jump down!'

Search! He must be hiding in some corner!

After the agents had gone far, Li Ping'an emerged from the space, soaked but unharmed. He gave a cold snort: Since Dai Ju Zhang wants to play like this, I'll play along to the end.

That night, Li Ping'an began his reckoning. The first target was the agent who had beaten students at the Police Station gate. That fellow was boasting in a tavern; Li Ping'an posed as a waiter and slipped medicine into his drink. The next day, people found him in an alley.

The second was the executioner who had tortured Ping Le with severe punishment. Li Ping'an, taking advantage of the man's return home at midnight, lightly pricked his neck with a poison‑coated needle. Three days later, the man rotted all over and died.

The agents began to panic. They discovered that no matter where they hid, it was unsafe—the mysterious one could always find them. Some dared not sleep at night; others made someone else test their drink before they drank.

Dai Ju Zhang was even more terrified, his soul unsettled. He tripled his bodyguards and changed sleeping locations three times, but Li Ping'an was everywhere like a shadow.

One week later, on a rainy night, Li Ping'an finally got his chance. Dai Ju Zhang was going to bathe at Clear Splendor Pool again, this time having rented the entire bathhouse.

Li Ping'an hid in advance in the bathhouse's ventilation duct. When Dai Ju Zhang soaked in the pool, he lightly scattered a handful of specially prepared powder. This powder evaporates on contact with water, leaving people weak all over.

Watching Dai Ju Zhang and his bodyguards slump helplessly at the pool's edge, Li Ping'an calmly descended from the ventilation duct. He walked up to Dai Ju Zhang and coldly gazed at this unparalleled agent chief.

You... who exactly are you? Dai Ju Zhang asked with difficulty.

I am Yanzi. Li Ping'an whispered, coming to collect debts for those wronged souls.

He took out the last poison needle, lightly piercing Dai Ju Zhang's neck: This needle is for Sun Kezhang.

The next day, news of Dai Ju Zhang's sudden death spread throughout the city. The agents were leaderless and fell into chaos.

But Li Ping'an's work was not finished. He continued to appear and disappear in Beiping City, specifically cleaning up those agents who had committed countless evils—sometimes in the alleys where they returned home, sometimes in their places of revelry. Each time he left behind a paper swallow.

The common folk secretly applauded, saying this was Yanzi Punishes Evil. The agents, hearing the news, were terrified and dared no longer to act recklessly.

One month later, the agents of Beiping City were either dead or fled, and the remainder had become honest. Only then did Li Ping'an prepare to leave.

Before departing, he visited the embroidery workshop. Su Shifu had already returned and was busy repairing the smashed embroidery frames.

Ping'an? Su Shifu saw him, both startled and delighted, 'You're still alive!'

Li Ping'an handed over a Cloth Bag: 'Master, this is the forehead band that Le'er embroidered for you; wear it to keep warm when it's cold.'

Su Shifu opened the Cloth Bag; besides the forehead band there was a gold bar. The old man's eyes welled up: 'This...'

Just consider it payment for repairing the embroidery workshop. Li Ping'an bowed deeply: 'Thank you these past days for looking after Le'er.'

As he left the embroidery workshop, the morning sun was just right. Li Ping'an for the last time walked down the familiar Alley, passed the tea house he often visited, glanced at the freight station.

At the city gate, he met Lao Yang carrying a pole of bean‑juice. The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and merely nodded slightly.

The moment he stepped out of the city gate, Li Ping'an looked back at this ancient city. Here lay too many of his memories, too many of his concerns.

On the distant fields, a flock of swallows soared freely in the blue sky. Li Ping'an drew a deep breath of fresh air and strode forward.

His silhouette gradually faded at the end of the official road, like a drop of water merging into a river. No one knew where he was headed, but the legend of Yanzi would forever be told in Beiping City.

And at this very moment, Li Ping'an had only one thought in his mind: Hurry to Baoding, Ping Le must be waiting anxiously.