Chapter 655: Rescuing the Rebel, Part Four

"Tian Daxiong! Deputy Lord Tian sent your little brother to see you!"

The moment Xiao Guan shouted these words, the air inside and outside the cell seemed to freeze. Both Xiao Guan and Bao the Jailer, standing silently behind with hands clasped behind his back, held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

After several dozen breaths, just as Xiao Guan was growing anxious and about to shout again, he finally noticed movement: in the dim light, the figure leaning against the wall on the left seemed to stir slightly.

The other one, lying flat on the straw mat, remained utterly motionless.

One was enough.

Seeing that this one had reacted, Xiao Guan hurriedly called into the cell again: "Brother Tian, are you alright?"

After this, a few more breaths passed before the clanking of shackles finally rang out. Though the backlight made it hard to see clearly, Xiao Guan soon made it out: a dark silhouette moved from far to near, slowly shuffling until it stopped right in front of him.

The moment the man came face to face, he sat down cross-legged and raised a hand to shield his face — the sunlight streaming through the door would take time to adjust to.

After waiting patiently a while longer, as the fellow slowly lowered his arm, the two finally faced each other through the bars.

The image that met Xiao Guan's eyes was not unexpected. The man across the bars, at a glance, had a broad face, thick brows, and a large frame — a solid physical foundation, the makings of a good rebel.

But after spending some time in Death Row, this brave fellow now wore tattered prison garb, his complexion deathly pale, his eye sockets deeply sunken, his hair disheveled, his frame gaunt and swaying — long stripped of his former might.

Were it not for the iron chains on his hands and feet, this man's appearance would actually bear some resemblance to the one who sells the Buddha's Palm.

The next moment, a hoarse voice thick with a strong Shaanxi accent spoke: "I'm Tian Da. Who's there?"

Xiao Guan was a broker at the Horse and Mule Market; he had dealt with countless horse traders from the Gan-Shaan Merchant Gang and could communicate without any barrier: "So it is Tian Daxiong in person. Allow me to inform Brother Tian: I am a middleman, surname Guan, given name Cai... This trip, your brother here was entrusted by Deputy Lord Tian of Shaan-Luo to come pay a visit."

"Deputy Lord Tian?"

At these words, Tian Da, originally weary and exhausted, flashed a gleam in his eyes. He abruptly raised his head and scrutinized Xiao Guan carefully.

In that instant, Tian Da's Qi-Blood Spirit transformed — nothing like his earlier appearance of simply waiting to die.

Yet the next moment, seeing the round-faced, harmlessly smiling and nodding middleman Xiao Guan before him, and then realizing his own predicament, Tian Da dejectedly withdrew his expression, slowly lowered his head, and hid his face in the tangled hair hanging down.

At this point, Xiao Guan was in no hurry. He shifted his posture as well, sitting cross-legged right in front of the bars.

After another half a cup of tea's worth of time, Tian Da seemed to have figured something out. He finally raised his head slowly, and a voice emerged from his hoarse throat: "What crap Deputy Lord Tian, I don't know him. Who knows what kind of bastard that is — tell him to piss off."

Xiao Guan's reaction to this was mild; he merely let out a meaningful "Ohhh..."

He knew there would be more.

Sure enough. Immediately after, Tian Da chuckled twice, and an expression actually appeared on his pale, bony face: "Still, our old home has plenty of Tians. Who knows which branch of distant relatives suddenly remembered a condemned man like me."

At this, Tian Da jerked his chin toward the side: "That in there — is it food? Little brother, I don't care whose man you are. If you've got wine and dishes, send them over. You've got an honest face."

"Of course, of course! This trip is precisely to treat Tian Daxiong to a good meal."

The exchange seemed disjointed, but by this point, the two had reached a tacit understanding. As for anything more... the jailer was standing three meters behind them — not one extra word could be spoken.

What followed became an ordinary scene of family visiting a prisoner. Xiao Guan opened the food box beside him and took out several plates of dishes, along with a flask of fine liquor.

Passing the wine and food through the bars, Tian Da wasted no words. He grabbed a plate of cooked mutton and wolfed it down in a few fierce bites.

Chewing with bulging cheeks for a long while, Tian Da forcefully swallowed the mouthful, then seized the wine flask and sucked down a large gulp. Only then did he exhale deeply: "Satisfying! Satisfying! Son of a bitch, even a last meal couldn't be better than this!"

After saying this, Tian Da grabbed another plate and buried his head in it, eating ravenously.

Seeing this, the smiling Xiao Guan across from him bent down, reached through the bars, picked up the wine flask, and filled the two cups beside it.

Then, as if casually, Xiao Guan asked offhandedly: "That must be Third Brother Tian over there. Why not invite him to share a couple of drinks?"

"Him?"

Having violently swept clean the second plate, Tian Da wiped his mouth, turned his head to glance at Tian San lying in the darkness, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Your Third Brother Tian is about to kick the bucket. He can't make it for this fine wine."

"Oh?" Xiao Guan was somewhat surprised. "Brother Tian San is...?"

"That bastard's shoulder wound flared up. Came down with a fever a few days ago. These past two days, he can't keep water or food down — looks like he's about to breathe his last."

"Oh..." Xiao Guan nodded slowly.

"It's a good thing, too."

Tian Da had probably eaten too fiercely and needed a rest. He set down his chopsticks and seemed to grow talkative: "Better to die of illness like this and keep a whole corpse than to suffer through the days until a blade chops your head off."

Xiao Guan, helpless at this, quickly offered consolation: "Tian Daxiong needn't speak so."

"Hah, a man dies with his prick pointing at the sky — what's there to be hung up about?" Perhaps it was the fine wine, but at this moment, Tian Da's rebel spirit surged forth: "This godforsaken world. When we brothers first rose up in revolt, we stopped treating our lives as worth a damn long ago."

At words like these, Xiao Guan couldn't help but feel a measure of respect for this rebel who regarded life and death so lightly. He filled the cups again, reached through the bars, and clinked with Tian Da: "Brother Tian, such gallantry! Your little brother toasts you!"

"Good, good, good!"

Disheveled and grimy, Tian Da boldly drained his cup.

After this shared drink, Xiao Guan urged Tian Da to keep eating while reaching for the wine flask again.

No one noticed that when Xiao Guan poured for himself this time, his pinky finger blocked a small hole on the flask's handle.

At the same time, as if casually, his second question slipped out: "I wonder, is Brother Tian versed in letters?"

... In their earlier planning, the rescue team had concluded that among the three rebels, at least one, or perhaps all three, must possess a certain level of literacy: those sent out to purchase provisions couldn't possibly all be illiterate. Men like that couldn't even read an account ledger.

Sure enough. Hearing this completely incongruous question, Tian Da first froze for a moment.

In that instant of his daze, Bao the Jailer, who had been standing silently behind Xiao Guan like an invisible man the whole time, suddenly sharpened his gaze. Hands still clasped behind his back, watching coldly, he seemed to shift his feet casually, taking two steps closer behind Xiao Guan.

Xiao Guan couldn't see Bao the Jailer's movements, but Tian Da did. He first cast a disgusted glance at Old Bao, then turned to Xiao Guan with a rueful smile and a shake of his head, nodding in acknowledgment: "Letters, not really. As a child, I spent a couple of years at the village private school — just enough to recognize a few big characters."

"Heh heh, knowing characters is good, knowing characters is good."

Having received the best possible answer he'd hoped for, Xiao Guan felt relieved: thank goodness the one who could still speak understood writing.

"Drink, drink." After asking this strange question, Xiao Guan seemed to forget everything they'd just discussed. He reached out, raised his cup, and cheerfully moved to clink with Tian Da again.

Tian Da, a rebel who drank from big bowls, had been locked in this cell for so long that at the sight of fine wine, he certainly wasn't about to refuse. He eagerly clinked cups with Xiao Guan and threw his head back to drink.

Having drained his cup, the brave Tian Da flipped his hand to show the empty vessel, meeting Xiao Guan's eyes out of habit to prove he'd finished every drop.

... Traditional Chinese robes, whether wrapped left over right or right over left, always have two overlapping bands across the chest.

Those who often watch period dramas should know that these two crossed chest lapels are not necessarily the same color as the robe overall.

Xiao Guan was wearing just such a garment today. The robe was a light gray overall, but one of the crossed lapel bands on his chest was moon-white.

Just as Tian Da flipped his hand to show the empty cup, Xiao Guan first made a face at him, signaling with his eyes for him to pay attention. Then, tilting his head back slightly, he slowly poured the wine already raised to his lips onto his own chest.

And as the "wine" spread, eight blue Chinese characters slowly appeared on Xiao Guan's moon-white chest lapel, about three fingers wide: "Reinforcements have arrived — rest quietly and await change!"

In that moment, Tian Da's pupils, hidden within his matted hair, instantly contracted to pinpoints.

Seeing Tian Da's reaction, Xiao Guan gently set down his wine cup, then reached up and brushed twice at his chest. "Spilled some wine — forgive me, forgive me."

Brother Tian was a rebel who had rolled through countless life-and-death battlefields; his nerves had long been tempered thick as cable. Faced with Xiao Guan's little act, he merely blanked for an instant before quickly regaining his composure. He set down his cup, picked up his chopsticks again, and sighed, "Fine wine, a fine brother, fine loyalty!"

Bao the Jailer, who had been watching the situation unfold with intense focus from the side, now seemed to sense something amiss. Yet for the moment he could not figure out exactly what trickery had passed between the two of them… Everything Xiao Guan had done had been right under his nose, with nothing out of bounds.

Still, Bao the Jailer was an old fox after all. His instincts told him something must have just happened. So after mulling it over for a brief minute or two, he strode forward quickly, cut off the exchange between the two, and said with a beaming smile, "Brother Guan, the hour grows late — don't make things difficult for old Bao here."

"Of course, of course!" Xiao Guan turned around at these words, his face all smiles as he rose and gave Bao the Jailer a bow with clasped hands. "Jailer-in-Chief, you work hard — I'll take my leave now."

By this time, as Xiao Guan faced Bao the Jailer directly, the pale blue writing on his moon-white chest band had long since vanished as the alcohol evaporated.

And so, today's prison visit concluded perfectly.

The next moment, under Bao Shinan's scrutinizing gaze, Xiao Guan packed up the food box, then said to Tian Da, "Take care, brother — I'll come again tomorrow."

With that, Xiao Guan turned and walked out of the prison.

At the doorway, seeing the two duty jailers standing there, Xiao Guan fished out a few pieces of broken silver from his bosom, all smiles. "Trouble you two to get the Tian brothers a change of clean clothes and straw mats, and fetch some clean water… The man is ill — he needs water to drink and wipe himself down… And have the evening meal ready as well… I'll come again tomorrow."

Watching the broken silver dancing in Xiao Guan's palm, the two low-ranking jailers beamed with delight and agreed to all of Xiao Guan's requests without a moment's hesitation.

Bao the Jailer stood to the side wearing a faint smile, saying nothing: he had no reason to stop his subordinates from the most reasonable of side-earning activities. If he stopped them, he would face rebellion from all his men.

Yet Bao Shinan, Bao the Jailer, a man of deep stratagems, had long since incorporated this Xiao Guan before him into his entire scheme: just as Xiao Guan was leaving the Prefectural Yamen, two idlers in straw hats at the street entrance had already begun tailing his carriage.

These two were clearly street toughs who knew the terrain well — a slow-moving carriage on the narrow old streets could not possibly shake them off.

As if completely unaware, Xiao Guan's carriage eventually docked at the entrance of a wine house.