Chapter 1085: Within the Trap

The street ahead was the designated ambush site. It held the out-of-town estates of several local magnates. Along the entire street, there were only two gates, both perpetually shut; the rest was all high walls. The only shopfront facing the street during the day was an incense and candle shop, which saw little business. The shop assistant dozed off all day long. Such an environment had its advantages. If they all struck at once, the few people in the incense shop wouldn't pose any hindrance. At worst, they could simply silence them. For the great cause of the realm, a few sacrifices were unavoidable.

The core of Qingjiangpu was bustling because of the martial tournament. Those watching the spectacle, ogling women, or browsing the market had all gone there, leaving the surrounding streets inevitably deserted—an even better time to strike. Watching the short assistant turn unsuspectingly into that quiet street, the group here barely bothered to conceal their movements. Exchanging glances, they all followed. Others were already blocking the other end of the street. To capture this one assistant, eight men were assigned to strike, with over a dozen more serving as lookouts. Operating in this territory infested with Xuzhou bandits, they could not afford the slightest laxity. They had to adopt the attitude of a lion pouncing on a rabbit.

No matter how oblivious he was, with hardly anyone else on this street and several men approaching from both front and back, the short assistant sensed something was wrong. Clutching the bundle to his chest, he broke into a run toward the other intersection. Trying to run? It's too late for that now!

No one spoke, but everyone quickened their pace. Even in this secluded spot, they couldn't afford to delay too long. If any shouting broke out, the Xuzhou bandits in Qingjiangpu would rush over. Those patrol officers and the like were practically everywhere, far more troublesome than government runners. The ledger was critical; it could not fall into anyone else's hands. More than one person was thinking this. Martial skills came into play at this moment. Two or three men from each side surged forward, moving with extreme speed!

One of them was a step faster and had already pulled ahead of the group. He had long since made his calculations. The moment he secured the ledger, he would vault over the wall and escape. Though everyone was working together now, once that vital ledger was in hand, they would inevitably turn on each other. More than one faction in the capital wanted this crucial item.

"What are you doing? I'm an assistant from Yunshan Trading!" The short assistant had frozen in terror, clutching his bundle and shouting.

Yunshan Trading was worth nothing. Who even recognized that name outside of Shandong and the northern reaches of South Zhili? He said it with such righteous conviction. The man in the lead held a short blade in his left hand and reached for the bundle with his right, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

The short assistant seemed paralyzed with fright. The pursuer was about to close in. With a shudder, the assistant simply flung the bundle at him. This motion drew several startled cries from the street. The bundle was what mattered. The interceptors weren't even focused on silencing him; the most critical thing was the ledger inside the bundle!

The man charging at the very front had, after all, rigorously trained his body and honed his martial skills. He reached out and snatched the bundle. He had it. The moment he grabbed it, his instinct was to turn and vault the wall. But the bundle had blocked his vision for an instant. When he finally had it in hand, he saw that the short assistant had not cowered, dropped to the ground, or fled in terror—he was lunging straight at him!

The short assistant had a dagger in his left hand and a short axe in his right. In a bow stance, bent at the waist, his entire body surged forward. His left arm was crooked, his wrist held level. To hold a short blade so steady in his left hand—this assistant had martial training too! But the man who had charged forward first had opened his guard around the chest and abdomen to seize the bundle. He wanted to dodge, but it was too late!

The dagger stabbed straight into his lower abdomen at a viciously tricky angle. As the blade sank into flesh, the assistant even knew to twist his wrist. The man clutching the bundle let out a pained cry, his body doubling over involuntarily. The assistant's right-hand short axe was already swinging up, cleaving straight into the man's forehead. In that instant, as swift as a hawk's strike, someone was dead in just a few exchanges. The men on both sides had only just reacted.

"Something's wrong!"

"Kill him first, grab that bundle!" By now, there was no room left for hesitation. Taking the bundle might still yield something; failing to take it meant total defeat.

At that moment, the short assistant did not stand to fight. Abandoning even his dagger, he simply dropped and rolled straight toward the foot of the wall. As he huddled against the wall, a brass whistle was already in his mouth, and he blew it with all his might. The shrill whistle pierced the air instantly. Not just this street—people several streets away could hear it.

The men charging from one side happened to pass right by the storefront of the incense shop. No one paid any attention to the people inside. In this kind of underworld slaughter, those shopkeepers surely wouldn't dare interfere. But just as they passed the shopfront, they saw the assistants pulling something from under the counter and aiming it at them.

"Bang!" A thunderous report. One of the men charging forward seemed to be struck mid-air by a giant hammer, his body lurching sideways to the ground. The few who had just rushed past stopped dead in their tracks, immediately realizing what had happened. Someone cried out in grief and fury, "Firearms! Have you no regard for the rules of the jianghu!"

Who cared about such rules? The four assistants from the incense shop burst out the door wielding fire lances, taking aim and firing directly into the street. The street was only wide enough for three or four men to walk abreast; in such a rush, how could anyone dodge? The fire lances roared, white smoke billowing. Three more men collapsed. Over on the other side, two of the men still charging forward had already fallen with agonized screams. Arrows from the rooftops had pierced their backs and upper bodies; they were completely incapacitated.

The last remaining man was utterly terrified, his heart and gall bladder seeming to shatter. When the operation began, he had been cursing himself for lagging behind. Now he could only marvel at his luck. He skidded to a halt, turned, and bolted for the street entrance. He dared not run in a straight line, deliberately zigzagging to avoid being shot by arrows. He hadn't run more than a few steps when he heard a whooshing sound behind him. Immediately, a searing pain shot through his calf, and his leg gave out entirely. He lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Before he could push himself up, a pudao blade was already pressed against his neck. He didn't dare move. Only then did he see the short axe embedded in his calf. Half his body had already burst out of the street entrance, and he saw that the previously deserted street was now seething with activity.

Carts were positioned to block each intersection. On the walls and rooftops facing the street, men with bows and arrows stood watch. In the street itself, armored elites and plainclothes toughs were fighting and making arrests. Beyond what he could see, he could hear shouts of killing and panicked screams from the surrounding streets. By this point, even a fool would understand. They had thought they were laying an ambush, but they had been ambushed by the Zhao Battalion.

The battle was brief but fierce. The ambushed righteous heroes from various factions possessed formidable skills. Some could scale a wall with a single running step. Some could throw concealed projectiles with unerring accuracy within twenty or thirty paces. Others excelled in blade and sword techniques. In a one-on-one duel, they might indeed have been able to defeat a spear with a single saber. Unfortunately, the Zhao Battalion did not give them the chance for one-on-one combat.

Those trying to scale the walls were greeted first by arrows. After a concealed weapon wounded one man, armored household troops bearing shields would charge right up to the thrower. As for those with outstanding blade and sword skills, several long spears and axe-halberds thrust at them in unison from the front—they simply couldn't withstand it. A few individuals reacted differently. Seeing the chaos erupt, they first ducked against the wall, then pulled out waist tokens and shouted, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is apprehending bandits! There must be some misunderstanding! Let's not misunderstand each other, don't hurt anyone, let's talk this out calmly!"

However, revealing their official status was utterly useless. They were still beaten to the ground and tied up tightly. Several streets were thrown into chaos, but calm was quickly restored. Corpses were loaded onto large carts and hauled away. The seriously wounded were finished off, while the lightly wounded received simple bandaging and were tossed onto the carts along with the other captives.

The carts were lined with lime and covered with tarpaulins, sealed so tightly that no air could pass. Outsiders had no idea what was inside, nor could they smell the stench of blood from the dead and wounded. Everyone captured would be transported out of Qingjiangpu. Near the cart convoy's station, there was a warehouse—that was where the imprisonment and interrogation would take place.

Only at this moment did the Imperial Depot agents and jianghu fighters who had been lying in ambush for the Yunshan Trading ledger realize that, as it turned out, there had been no outsiders on these streets surrounding Yunshan Trading at all. Every single person was an enemy of some kind. Upon this realization, every one of them hung their heads in dejection. They had thought they were setting a trap to catch a hawk, only to have their eyes pecked blind by the hawk.

"Brother Yong, the inn has been surrounded. The two contact points in the city have both been raided and arrests made. Not a single one escaped." Someone was reporting to the short assistant. This man was Liu Yong. Liu Yong's body was stained with blood and dirt, but he paid it no mind, only listening to the reports from those around him.

In the street, men had already begun washing away the bloodstains, covering them with sand and earth. By the time everyone withdrew and others came by later, they would never discover that a life-and-death struggle had taken place here. At Liu Yong's feet lay the "ledger" bundle; inside it was nothing but an empty wooden box. Liu Yong merely nodded slightly and said, "Interrogate them harshly. Just because no one escaped doesn't mean there aren't hidden sentries outside. Someone might have been watching the whole time without moving, and thus never exposed themselves. Once the interrogation yields results, arrest them immediately. During questioning, don't be afraid of using torture that results in death."

Someone acknowledged the order and left at a brisk pace. Several men emerged from the incense shop. The one in the lead was tall and burly—it was Li Dajin, Commander of the Qingjiangpu Patrol Corps. He was dressed in a half-worn cotton-padded jacket, looking every bit the shop owner. People constantly approached him for instructions, and Li Dajin issued orders one by one. The men around him were all steady characters over thirty years of age.

"Brother Yong is far too reckless with his own safety. Someone of his standing, and he still insists on acting as bait himself. If something had really gone wrong, and Master Jin placed blame, Master Li, you wouldn't be able to bear the consequences either. You're the only one here who can speak to him. You must advise him!" someone nearby said in a low voice.

"Third Brother is right. A man of Brother Yong's status should just oversee the overall operation. How could he take up weapons and go in himself? One slip just now could have meant death or injury—that would have been a disaster!" another chimed in.

Li Dajin simply shook his head and, keeping his voice equally low, said, "Brother Yong likes blood. He likes fighting for his life. If those brothers of his hadn't fought so desperately, they wouldn't hold the positions they do today. You've all been in the jianghu too long. Don't try to apply your old habits to the Zhao Battalion's rules. Change them, and quickly."

"We're grateful for Master Li's guidance, brothers. We understand. It's you, venerable sir, who's given us all a bright road to walk. We brothers will hold on tight!" the men around him said repeatedly.

There will be a third update tonight!

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