Chapter 256: The Affair Blows Up

What Tian Guang saw when he opened the door was a group of fierce-faced men holding waist knives.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard lived a life licking blood from their blades, but these salt workers were no weaker — every one of them was in a deadly trade, making their living at the edge of a knife day in and day out. Li Meng, at their head, saw the Embroidered Uniform Guard charging in and suppressed his momentary fear, bellowing loudly:

"Close the gate! Don't let a single one of them fly out!"

"Brother Meng, these are the Embroidered Uniform Guard — common folk don't fight officials. This has nothing to do with us; they're not arresting Patrol Inspector Zhang. Let's just leave!"

"Right, Brother Meng, offending the Embroidered Uniform Guard isn't worth it!"

Though the surrounding salt workers were also hardened brawlers, what they did was illegal after all. They had heard the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard often enough, but had never actually crossed blades with them. Even constables and soldiers had to play the coward when they met these men — how could they, salt workers without even a proper title, fight against such people?

In truth, Li Meng was also puzzled — how was it that these Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived so coincidentally?

They came just as he was finishing his delivery, and without a word they moved directly to arrest Wang Gongbi, the Governor of Shandong. Could they have caught wind of the affairs between the Patrol Inspectorate and the Governor's office?

Thinking this, Li Meng resolved that he absolutely could not let these Embroidered Uniform Guard go back. Since he had stumbled upon this matter, there was no room for backing down — either these Embroidered Uniform Guard stayed here, or his own head would roll.

For the Embroidered Uniform Guard to come to the Governor's office to seize someone for no reason, they must have caught hold of some clue. Even if they hadn't, once Wang Gongbi was taken back by them, that soft-boned coward from a civil official background would very likely sell out the Patrol Inspectorate — and then everything would be finished.

"Bullshit!" Li Meng kicked the salt worker who had spoken, then shouted at the top of his lungs: "What do you fools know? Now that our Patrol Inspectorate has run into this, there's no escaping it. Only by keeping every one of these Embroidered Uniform Guard here can we have a thread of hope!"

"Good! Brothers, we listen to Brother Meng!"

"Anyway, these Embroidered Uniform Guard are few — we outnumber them three to one. Cut them down and toss them up the mountain to feed the dogs!"

Most of these salt workers wore padded jackets, but every Embroidered Uniform Guard was clad in leather armor, and their blades were far sharper than the opposition's. Especially the embroidered spring knife in the hands of Centurion Tian Guang — it was a treasure these salt workers wouldn't see in several lifetimes.

Taking a rough look, Tian Guang saw the enemy numbered no fewer than a hundred men. The outer courtyard of the Governor's office, normally spacious, was now packed to overflowing.

At this moment, the other side all pulled out gauze to wrap around their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed — clearly intending to wade into this muddy water. Seeing that every one of them held his knife like a trained martial artist, Tian Guang knew this would be a hard pass. He stepped back a few paces and quietly said to a Colonel beside him:

"Hmph, these men are protecting Wang Gongbi — clearly they're connected to this affair. Once the fighting starts, you just run to the rear, break out in the chaos and report to the Chiliarch. Surely these rebels wouldn't dare openly attack a Chiliarch's station!"

"Yes, sir!"

With a great shout, the hundred-odd salt workers around them raised their waist knives and charged with murderous intent. The Embroidered Uniform Guard were no pushovers either — without a word, they drew their steel sabers and shouted as they met the charge. In an instant, the two sides were locked in bloody combat.

Though the Embroidered Uniform Guard had long since ceased to be an army, last year the Chongzhen Emperor had severely punished Luo Yangxing and promoted Li Ruolian, a man of humble origins, to be the seal-holding Guard Commander — this alone showed people the Emperor's transformation.

Following that, the Chongzhen Emperor had overridden all objections to swap the Southern and Northern Provost Offices, and had successively adjusted the Embroidered Uniform Guard's personnel and pay — more than enough to show the importance he placed on them.

With such a sagely and enlightened Emperor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had long harbored no complaints. Now more than ever they were of one heart, prepared to lay down their lives to protect the Great Ming dynasty.

At their core, the Embroidered Uniform Guard were also hardened brawlers. Though the enemy was numerous, the thought that they served the Emperor and bore heavy responsibility on their shoulders sparked boundless strength and fighting spirit — they fought the hundred-odd salt workers to a standstill.

Tian Guang summoned all his strength and brought his blade down on Li Meng's knife.

With a sharp "Clang!" Li Meng watched in shock as his own steel saber, sharp as it was, snapped like a piece of paper — while the embroidered spring knife in the other's hand still gleamed coldly, as if it had suffered not the slightest harm.

"So this is the power of the embroidered spring knife?" Li Meng had traveled far and wide and encountered all sorts of ruthless characters, but he had never met a weapon this sharp.

Having witnessed the power of the embroidered spring knife in the other's hands, Li Meng dared not clash head-on anymore. Seizing a moment, he picked up a dead Guard's steel saber from the ground and turned to meet the attack.

But this time Li Meng had grown cunning — he no longer met Centurion Tian Guang head-on in open combat, instead harassing him from east and west, now and then calling on the other salt workers to launch sneak attacks.

On the salt workers' side there was no rule that killing the enemy leader earned merit, so once Li Meng had probed out Tian Guang's situation, he was in truth using every possible means to kill Tian Guang — whether the method was vicious or honorable, his goal was only one.

Even so, when Tian Guang and Li Meng fought together, it was actually a match of equals. Tian Guang was single-mindedly set on killing this salt worker leader, and Li Meng likewise had to use all his strength.

Add to that the killing cries and clashing weapons assaulting his ears from all sides, and Li Meng had no attention left for anything else.

Though the Colonel had not yet risen to the rank where he could wear a flying-fish robe and bear an embroidered spring knife, his movements were agile and his angles of attack vicious. He cut down three or four fierce salt workers in succession, his body drenched in the blood of both sides, and under the protection of several Embroidered Uniform Guard, he vaulted over the gate and fled for his life.

Before long, Tian Guang died with resentment under the salt workers' repeated assaults. Li Meng gave a cold sneer, spat on his corpse, and said: "So what if you're Embroidered Uniform Guard? You still died at my hands."

No sooner had he spoken than five or six salt workers who had been chasing the Colonel leaped back in through the gate. The one in the lead, his face full of bushy whiskers, panted out:

"Brother Meng, one got away. What do we do?"

"What did you say? One got away!?" Li Meng hadn't expected this to happen. Suddenly remembering something, his face filled with hatred.

Just now this Embroidered Uniform Guard Centurion had been extremely aggressive, and Li Meng had thought the man was trying to drag him down as a companion in death. He never imagined the man was using his own life to draw Li Meng's attention — clearly plotting to let the others escape. He kicked the corpse on the ground and said with no small measure of admiration:

"Hmph, these Embroidered Uniform Guard are real men. This one carrying the embroidered spring knife held no small rank, yet rather than flee himself, he was scheming to let others escape. I miscalculated."

"Brother Meng, more than half our brothers are dead or wounded — this was a losing bargain, and one still got away. It's plain this shouldn't have been done!" cried the bearded man, seeming somewhat panicked.

"Right, Brother Meng — one of the Embroidered Uniform Guard got away. Now that we've failed, how could those Guards ever let us off?" said another salt worker, wiping blood from his face with some worry.

"Don't be afraid!" Li Meng waved his hand in irritation, then looked toward the house, which had remained utterly still, and said: "This Wang Gongbi is tied to our Patrol Inspectorate like grasshoppers on the same string. Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard failed to take him this time, that old bastard naturally has his own ways of escaping blame."

"As for us — these Embroidered Uniform Guard are mostly dead or wounded. For now, let's bury the corpses and leave no evidence to contradict us. Once we're back in Jiaozhou, that's our territory. We'll gather the brothers at the Patrol Inspectorate — no need to fear the Embroidered Uniform Guard sending more men to make trouble!"

"Good! We'll listen to Brother Meng!"