Chapter Forty-Five: Beat You to Death!
“Are you Li Zhao?”
At the entrance of the Shidai County yamen, a rugged-looking middle-aged man in a shabby official’s robe sized up Li Yun from head to toe.
Li Yun, in turn, was observing the man. He replied, “I am indeed Li. And you are?”
“I am Guo Han, the constable of Shidai.”
He lifted his chin slightly, looking at Li Yun. “By protocol, you should address me as your superior.”
Li Yun frowned, taking a closer look at Guo, the constable. Back in Qingyang, he’d never called even the assistant magistrate or the magistrate “superior.” Now he had come all the way here to help, and this fourth-ranking lackey wanted to throw his weight around!
Seeing Li Yun’s expressionless silence, Guo Han coughed and continued, “I’ve heard that during your time in Qingyang, you’ve already wiped out two bandit strongholds—quite the display of valor.”
Li Yun still gave no answer, simply gazing at him.
Guo Han scowled, “Why won’t you speak, Captain Li?”
Li Yun replied calmly, “I was waiting for you to finish, sir.”
Guo Han thought Li Yun had given in, and his mood brightened. “Very well, then let me explain the situation.”
He cleared his throat. “In Hexi Village, Daqiao Town, a group of unruly villagers have gathered to cause trouble. They assaulted and killed our yamen officers. Now they’re resisting arrest, refusing to let officials into the village to apprehend anyone. It’s been a standoff for several days.”
“Since you, Captain Li, can capture vicious bandits, dealing with a few unruly peasants should be no problem. Head to Hexi Village at once and arrest all those causing trouble. Bring them all to the county for questioning!”
Captain Li asked mildly, “May I ask, how many households are there in Hexi Village?”
“About a hundred,” Guo replied.
Li Yun pressed, “All to be arrested?”
“Well, not all, of course. We can’t hold that many in the jail,” Guo said carelessly. “Identify the culprits, arrest them all, and bring their accomplices to the yamen as well.”
“I’ll send someone to guide you to Hexi Village.”
Li Yun shook his head slowly. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll find our own way.”
Guo thought for a moment and agreed, waving his hand. “Get to it, then.”
Li Yun exchanged glances with his men. Without further conflict with Guo Han, he turned and left.
After a dozen steps, Li Zheng clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “That bastard, talking to you like that, second brother!”
“We came all this way to help, and he puts on such airs!”
After cursing a couple more times, he looked back at the county yamen, shouting angrily, “And after we’ve come so far, they send out some nobody to meet us—they won’t even offer us a drink!”
Li Yun patted Li Zheng’s shoulder and said quietly, “This is normal. It would be unusual to meet the magistrate himself.”
“But that Guo fellow…” The chief of the bandits rolled his shoulders and said coldly, “What arrogance, Skinny Monkey.”
Li Zheng nodded eagerly. “What do you want to do?”
“When we get back, have the men make me a mask.”
A fire flickered in the chief’s eyes as he spat out, “Damn it, does he really think I don’t have a temper?”
Now, Li Yun was no longer just a schemer—he had, unwittingly, acquired a boldness too.
In fact, had it been the old chief Li, he might have lost patience and started a brawl right then and there, consequences be damned. Now, mindful of his official status, Li Yun could only bear it for the moment.
One day, when he put on a mask, the reckless Li Yun of the past would resurface.
Skinny Monkey nodded, then asked in a low voice, “Second brother, what now?”
“It’s nearly dark. Find us a place to rest for the night—we’ll handle everything tomorrow.”
Li Yun curled his lip. “With that kind of attitude, they really expect us to solve their problems?”
Li Zheng grinned. “Alright, I’ll find an inn.”
Li Yun stretched. “You’re not used to towns. Take Chen Da with you. Find a decent place—I’ll pay.”
“Got it.”
Li Zheng turned, spoke a few words to Chen Da, and the two went off together.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, they returned, and soon the group of more than a dozen men settled into an inn in the county town.
After days on the road, Li Yun was weary. He ordered two tables’ worth of food, dined with his men, then retired to his room. After a quick wash, he lay down, and sleep soon claimed him.
He slept until the moon was high. In a daze, Li Yun heard someone calling him.
“Second brother… second brother…”
The voice was low, accompanied by a gentle knocking.
Li Yun shook off his drowsiness in a few breaths, snapped awake, and strode to the door. He opened it to find Skinny Monkey Li Zheng outside.
He pulled Li Zheng in, closed the door, and frowned. “What is it?”
Li Zheng led him to the window, opened it, and whispered, “Second brother, look.”
He pointed into the distance.
Even without his gesture, the flicker of several fires was visible in the darkness outside.
“A fire?” Li Yun asked.
Li Zheng shook his head. “Second brother, fires have broken out in several places, far apart from each other. It’s almost certainly arson.”
As the brothers spoke, a commotion erupted outside. People ran through the streets, shouting loudly.
“Rebels are in the city! The rebels are here!”
Immediately after, panicked voices cried out, “The rebels are heading for the yamen!”
The noise woke the nearby residents. Windows opened, peering out at the chaos, then quickly slammed shut again.
Li Zheng closed the window and turned to Li Yun. “Second brother, these folks in Shidai have a real temper. They said they’d rebel, and now they really have.”
Li Yun shook his head. “There are two possibilities. First, someone is stirring things up behind the scenes, leading the charge. Second, that Guo fellow wasn’t telling the truth—there might have been more deaths in Hexi Village than just yamen officers.”
He looked at Li Zheng, his voice low. “The first possibility is unlikely. A village is small—if someone truly ambitious were behind this, they wouldn’t do something so foolish.”
Li Zheng drew a deep breath. “Then people must have died in Hexi Village—a lot of people…”
He looked up at Li Yun and whispered, “Second brother, what do we do now? If they really storm the yamen and things get out of hand, we won’t be able to leave the city tomorrow.”
“This has already gotten out of hand,” Li Yun replied, opening the window a crack and gazing at the chaos in the city. “This will surely alarm the prefecture, perhaps even the court itself. The proper troops from the province will come to suppress the rebellion.”
“What a pity,” Li Yun added.
Skinny Monkey glanced at him. “What’s a pity, second brother?”
Li Yun grinned at the fires outside. “It’s a shame our entire band isn’t here—otherwise, tonight, we could pay a visit to the richest family in Shidai, the Gus, and see how the other half lives.”
Li Zheng chuckled. “That is a shame.”
“Listen,” Li Yun said, standing. “A village’s people aren’t enough to control the city gate. Wake the others, take them out of the city toward Hexi Village, and keep going until stopped by the authorities. That way, we’ll clear ourselves of blame.”
Li Zheng nodded, then looked at Li Yun. “What about you?”
Li Yun glanced at the fires. “I’ll stay in the city and observe.”
“Let’s leave together, second brother,” Li Zheng urged. “It’s safer.”
“No need,” Li Yun said, pulling on his clothes and heading for the door. “Don’t worry about me.”
The innkeeper was already hiding. Li Yun rummaged around the front desk, found their lodging record, tore out the page, and, with his sword at his waist, strode out into the firelit streets, heading for the county yamen.
By now, the streets of Shidai were deserted, save for the occasional cry of alarm.
Sticking to the alleys, Li Yun soon reached the vicinity of the yamen.
The yamen itself was ablaze.
Li Yun peered around the corner.
At the entrance, a fat official in his robes, caught as he tried to escape, was now pinned down by four or five ragged youths, unable to move.
A child of thirteen or fourteen picked up a stick and brought it down hard on the fat man’s head.
“Kill him!”
The blow wasn’t strong enough to break the skin, but it made the man howl in pain, pleading for mercy.
Tears streamed down the boy’s face as he gritted his teeth. Though his whole body trembled, the stick in his hand fell again and again, relentless.
“Kill him! Kill him!”
“Kill him…!”