Chapter 78: To Hell With It — Let's All Die Together

The teahouse waiter was still hawking for customers.

The storyteller was in full flow: "Now it is told, on that day the Sage Emperor was born and a crimson glow filled the heavens, Marshal Hong mistakenly released the demons, one hundred and eight Demon Lords descended to the world, black qi surged straight to the clouds..."

Cao Yao lifted a bowl of coarse tea-leaf broth and drank it down slowly.

Not far away, Liu Chengyun pulled his bamboo hat down low, pushed a wooden cart laden with dry hay over, turned into the narrow lane to the right of the city gate tunnel near the steps up to the wall, and stopped.

"Hey, don't leave your cart here!"

A gate guard sitting barefoot on the stone steps sheltering from the sun barked orders imperiously.

Liu Chengyun put on an appeasing smile, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Don't be hasty, good soldier, just resting my feet a moment."

A dozen paces away, Cao Yao fished out a dozen-odd copper coins from his bosom and tossed them onto the table, leaving behind the half-bowl of tea he hadn't finished. Everyone rose to their feet.

Liu Chengyun abandoned the hay cart and headed toward the teahouse; Cao Yao abandoned his tea bowl and headed toward the hay cart.

Both men quickened their pace with every step.

Seeing a crowd of men bearing down with murderous intent, the gate guard sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to rise and call out—

Cao Yao bounded up the stone steps in two strides, felled him with a single punch, and sent him tumbling down the steps, where Feng Rang, who had drawn a blade from the cart, stabbed it straight into his heart.

The blade was white, the blood was red. For a moment the teahouse waiter stood dumbstruck, mouth agape, and before he could cry out, Chengyun grabbed him: "Don't scream. Go boil your tea. Mind your own business!"

The waiter didn't scream, but right after, a band of soldiers pulled swords, bows, staves, and shields from the cart, and in moments the barbican wall-top erupted into a tangled brawl — and some militia conscript was lifted by Feng Rang and hurled off the wall.

Such a brazen commotion could not be hidden. A woman across the street screamed, a piercing shriek.

Chengyun, helpless, let go and patted the waiter. "Forget it. Scream, go on and scream."

The waiter took the advice readily, his face white with terror, opened his mouth wide, and yelled.

"Murder!!!"

At the far end of the long street, Liu Chengzong had just reached the county yamen. Hearing the hysterical shouts from the city gate, he stopped in his tracks.

Cai Zhongpan asked, "What do we do? We're still a ways from Battalion Commander Zhang's residence."

The county yamen, however, was close. If they could hear the chaotic shouting from the city gate, so could those inside the yamen.

"Let him off for now. First, into the county yamen to rescue my father."

No sooner had he spoken than they could already hear the disorderly sounds of yamen runners mustering inside.

In the blink of an eye, the mounted Chief Clerk came flying out with a dozen-odd runners dragging cudgels and iron rulers, bearing chains and waist sabers, shouting as they went: "Out of the way! Out of the way!"

Cai Zhongpan called to them: "There's killing at the city gate!"

Hearing in the rush that there was killing at the city gate, the runners didn't even have the presence of mind to make out who this man in an official robe was.

People only registered the official robe.

By instinct, they would never take him for a bandit.

Just as the two groups brushed past each other, Liu Chengzong let his arms drop, and from the wide sleeves of his official robe slid out a blade and a hatchet.

With sharp steel in hand, he exploded forward on both feet, crashing into the crowd like a tiger among sheep, blade and hatchet hacking and smashing in tandem.

In that moment, Guo Zhashi, Gao Xian, and the others behind him also charged into the crowd with their weapons, and in the blink of an eye the slaughter was like chopping melons and slicing vegetables — the runners instantly broke and scattered.

The Chief Clerk of Fushi County, caught in the ambush and seeing his runners overwhelmed, yanked the reins to wheel his horse and bolt back into the yamen compound, only to be blocked by Cai Zhongpan, who had earlier been standing on the yamen threshold.

Cai Zhongpan had gone looking for a torch. He lit the matchcord, had just tamped down the hand cannon, when he heard the clatter of horseshoes on the blue flagstones behind him — without even aiming, he turned and fired a shot over his shoulder.

Bang!

The thunderous report of the hand cannon spooked the Chief Clerk's mount. The nag reared straight up, and for a moment he lost control and was thrown to the ground.

Before the Chief Clerk could scramble to his feet, Cai Zhongpan was already on him. Two or three paces away, one hand grabbing the reins, the other pressing the hand cannon point-blank against his back, he fired and finished him off on the spot.

In that brief span, Gao Xian and the other frontier soldiers, each with a steel saber in hand, had already gone berserk, chasing the scattered yamen runners down the main street and hacking wildly.

Cai Zhongpan hurriedly shouted: "Shizi, forget them! Save our brother-in-law first!"

Even as he shouted, Liu Chengzong had already chased several runners clear across the street. The common folk all around, caught in the sudden chaos, were fleeing in every direction.

Strangely enough, someone actually came darting out from the side to help him by tackling a runner.

"Benefactor, run!"

Run, his mother's what?

No time to make out who it was — Liu Chengzong stepped forward and gave the runner a finishing slash.

Only then did he recognize him: it was the nameless old soldier he had given a little relief to several months ago.

"You want to push a cart for people your whole life? If you can't grip a bow, you can still hold a blade. Come with me!"

Liu Chengzong didn't wait for an answer. He kicked a runner's waist saber over to him, turned, cut past the tangled mass of brawling men, and charged into the county yamen.

The old soldier's face was spattered with blood. He looked down at his left hand, missing its thumb, for a long moment, then gritted his teeth, picked up the blade from the ground, and chased after Liu Chengzong into the yamen.

Inside the yamen, Zhang Pan, the clerical aide from the Revenue Office, heard the great commotion and came running out of his office, just in time to see Cai Zhongpan shoot the Chief Clerk dead in front of the yamen gate.

Before he could swallow his shock, Liu Chengzong had already vaulted through the gate, blade in hand.

Zhang Pan hurriedly cried out: "Chengzong? Have you gone mad? This is the county yamen!"

"Clerk Zhang, this doesn't concern you people. All of you, back inside."

Liu Chengzong raised his blade and pointed it at the Six Offices, forcing the clerks and petty officials back into their rooms one by one.

Only Zhang Pan, relying on their familiarity, ventured to remonstrate: "Whatever the problem, surely it can be talked through without going this far. If you'd told me earlier, I could have helped get Old Fourth Master released.

If you run now, you can still make it. Any later and you won't get out of the city. No matter how fierce you are, can you possibly fight off the Yan'an Guard?"

Liu Chengzong shook his head and laughed. "Where were you before? The law-abiding Liu Chengzong wouldn't dare strike anyone, but do I look law-abiding to you today? Damned officials — did he really think that official robe could protect him?"

As he finished speaking, the old soldier was the first to charge through the gate, and then Gao Xian entered as well, a blade in each hand.

Liu Chengzong shot Gao Xian a look. "Subdue the county magistrate."

Gao Xian, his clothes soaked in blood, acknowledged the order and headed straight for the yamen's main hall, blades raised.

Cai Zhongpan was about to head to the west wing, but the jailers were bracing the courtyard gate with all their might, refusing to let him in. He had no choice but to retreat to one side, fuming, and reload his hand cannon.

Liu Chengzong did not try to push the gate. Seeing shadows shifting behind the crack of the door, he raised his hand and thrust his short blade straight through the gap.

From behind the door came a miserable scream.

He retreated two more steps, spun around and kicked the door bolt apart with one foot, then charged into the west office, blade and axe in hand.

Seeing him like this, the remaining jailers dared not block his way and scattered in all directions.

One man was just about to climb the wall when he grabbed him and flung him to the ground. Expecting certain death once caught, the man shrieked wildly, but then he heard Liu Chengzong press a blade against him and say, "Open the cell doors, and I'll spare your life."

As if granted a great pardon, the jailer kowtowed twice on the ground with loud thuds, then tremblingly took the keys and led him into the cells.

There were no more jailers left in the gloomy prison.

Dozens of prisoners were clamoring and shouting, some straining to break the wooden bars of their cells, when they saw Liu Chengzong, drenched in blood like a gourd, escorting the jailer inside. For a moment, none dared speak, all watching with anticipation.

Only Liu Xiangyu's face was ashen as death.

He had a premonition — ever since the chaos erupted outside, he had felt it in his heart.

Now, watching his son direct the jailer to open cell after cell, his lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

Only when the cells were wide open did he grasp Liu Chengzong's arm and say, "Shiwa, your father has ruined you!"

"Father, in times like these, this day was bound to come. Let's go."

Liu Xiangyu also knew this was no place for talk. He nodded and said, "Right, we must leave the city quickly. Go."

The prisoners each picked up the chains and clubs the jailers had dropped on the ground; even Liu Xiangyu dragged along a short cudgel and gripped it in his hand.

The crowd followed Liu Chengzong, clamoring as they charged out of the west office. They were about to fight their way out of the yamen when Liu Chengzong stopped in his tracks and would not move.

"Shizi, let's go, what's wrong?"

Liu Chengzong cocked his neck, raised his blade toward the yamen's great hall, and said, "Father, if the county magistrate won't let our family live, then I won't let him live either. None of us will live!"