Outside the Yin family manor, at the Yin Gong’s outer residence, the night was deep and silent, the world sunk in pitch black.
Su Wan had a black scarf over her face and a bamboo hat pulled low. She stood close to the wall, leaning slightly forward to scan her surroundings, her eyes fixed especially on the direction of the Yin family manor. Everything was quiet. Only the chirp of insects and the croak of frogs broke the stillness now and then.
The quieter it was, the more anxious she felt, her heart pounding so hard it nearly burst from her chest. Yet beneath the nerves there was also a rush of excitement, hot enough to make her blood boil.
Robbing someone in the middle of the night. What a thrill! In her twenty years of life, she had never once done such a thing.
The little crew had divided up the work. Her job was to keep watch and provide backup. If anything went wrong inside the residence, she had to respond at once and crush the problem before it spread. So her mind spun in every direction: at one moment she wished the plan would go smoothly, at the next she secretly hoped for a little trouble, just enough to let her show off her skills.
But nothing happened after all. Stealing away a young girl with no cultivation hardly carried much risk.
Suddenly two black figures appeared on top of the wall. With one hand braced on the eaves, they flipped down soundlessly. One of them had a brocade quilt slung over his shoulder, and inside it a person was bundled up. Both wore black scarves over their faces and bamboo hats pressed low. They were Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bajhang.
Right after that, a third figure suddenly shot up from inside the courtyard, leaping nearly thirty feet. His body stretched out like a great roc spreading its wings. In midair he twisted and landed cleanly outside the wall. It was Tigerhead Dragon, and he had someone slung across his back.
The moment he touched down, Liu Xiaolou smacked him on the head, leaving him dazed.
Liu Xiaolou hissed, “I told you not to make a scene!”
Tigerhead protested, aggrieved, “I didn’t make a sound…”
Liu Xiaolou cut him off in a harsh whisper. “Jumping that high, what are you trying to do, fly? Show off for who? If someone had an arrow ready, you’d be skewered by now! How many times have I told you. Stick to the edge, stay low, keep close to the wall!”
Su Wan, having snapped out of her nerves, joined in the scolding. “Don’t blame Xiaolou for chewing you out. From where I was watching, you stood out right away. I almost drew my sword to cut you down myself!”
Tigerhead didn’t dare argue. He scratched his head and admitted fault. “Yes, yes, I’ll be careful next time.”
Su Wan glanced at the quilt bundle slung over Tan Bajhang’s shoulder, then at the figure Tigerhead Dragon was carrying, and asked in surprise, “Why are there two?”
Liu Xiaolou waved his hand. “Move!” He was the first to slip into the forest.
The others followed close behind. As they hurried along, Tigerhead leaned toward Su Wan and explained, “Pure chance. We caught this woman sneaking off with a lover.”
Deeper in the woods, they found the safe spot they had scouted earlier. Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “We slipped in right as they were tangled up under the quilt. At first I nearly jumped out of my skin. I thought it was Yin Centipede himself. Turns out it wasn’t, heh! That makes things a whole lot easier. Let’s see who we’ve got.”
Tigerhead Dragon swung the person off his back and tossed him down. Liu Xiaolou’s eyelids twitched hard, and he rushed over to check. The man had already rolled his eyes back in a faint. Liu Xiaolou bent close to feel his breath, and only then let out a sigh of relief. “For heaven’s sake… brother, could you maybe handle him a little gentler?”
Tigerhead gave a sheepish grin. “Relax. He won’t die. I know what I’m doing.”
Once they hitched the man’s pants back up, Su Wan came over for a look as well. At a glance, both she and Liu Xiaolou recognized him. The day they set fire to the tree at the outer residence, this was one of the guards who rushed out to put out the blaze. In fact, he had led them. Concubine Li had called him “Master Liu.”
Then they turned to the woman still bundled in the quilt. It was Concubine Li herself. Her hair was in disarray, and her terrified eyes darted over the masked figures in bamboo hats surrounding her.
Tan Bajhang pressed a hand against her chest. She gasped out a long, thin, sharp breath, like someone who had been left hanging too long.
Su Wan, anxious to question her, had just opened her mouth when Liu Xiaolou stopped her with a raised hand, signaling that Tan Bajhang would take the lead.
Tan Bajhang let out two low chuckles. In the dark forest his laughter sounded especially sinister, and Concubine Li shivered uncontrollably.
“Do you know why we dragged you out here?”
“Mercy, gentlemen, I beg you… if it’s money you want… I can give… I can—”
“Money? Do I look like some common thief to you?”
“Please, master, don’t strike me… I know I was wrong… I never should have shamed myself like this… wuu…”
“Stop crying. Tell me, how should we deal with you?”
“I only beg you not to kill me. I’ll do whatever you ask… anything at all… wuu…”
She wept on and on until Tan Bajhang gave a signal. Tigerhead Dragon hauled Master Liu the guard over, yanked down his trousers, and shoved him into the quilt together with Concubine Li.
Watching, Su Wan flushed with embarrassment, though she couldn’t help being curious. She suddenly noticed Liu Xiaolou looking her way, and she quickly turned her head aside.
Tan Bajhang said, “We’ll send the two of you back into the manor like this, let the Yin family see what kind of filth you’ve been up to!”
Master Liu came to, let out a long sigh, and said, “Miss Mei, don’t cry. What’s done is done. Tears won’t help. If the world laughs at us, let it laugh. To die at your side, I have no regrets.”
Concubine Li sobbed, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want you to die either. We haven’t had enough time together…”
Tan Bajhang couldn’t help but be moved. “True devotion, how rare. A pair of faithful lovers, bound unto death. In that case, perhaps you deserve a chance.”
Tan Bajhang’s words left Tigerhead Dragon stunned. He wanted to argue but Liu Xiaolou cut him off, forcing him to stand aside, huffing and stomping in frustration.
Seizing the lifeline, Concubine Li pleaded through her tears. “Master, only tell me what you want. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
Tan Bajhang asked, “When the Yin family buys supplies, especially materials used for cultivation, who handles it?”
Concubine Li wept harder. “How could I know such things? He never tells me.”
Just as expected. Yin Gong wasn’t a fool. He would never share critical matters with an outer-residence concubine. Tan Bajhang had only asked in passing. So he pressed again. “Since the start of this year, has he left the manor? I mean on long trips. Where has he gone? Tell me everything you know.”
Before Concubine Li could answer, Master Liu suddenly cut in. “Gentlemen… you’ve set your sights on the Yin family’s sacred incense, haven’t you?”
Tan Bajhang blinked, then slapped Master Liu lightly on the cheek with interest. “Oh? And how do you know that?”
Master Liu replied, “Plenty of people have their eyes on the Yin clan’s incense. I used to work as a guard inside, so I saw a few things. All of them were killed by the master of the house. Whenever outsiders came snooping, the first questions they asked were exactly those two. The master even laid down a rule: if anyone inquires about such matters, report it to him immediately.”
Liu Xiaolou and Tan Bajhang both looked a little embarrassed. So the plan they had worked out beforehand was already known to the Yin family, who had even prepared for it.
Master Liu went on. “I may be of low rank, but I’ve been in the manor a long time. Thirteen years of service. There are some things you want to know that I happen to know as well.”
Tan Bajhang crouched down, patting Master Liu’s cheek. “Good. Then let’s hear it. If you speak well, tonight I’ll spare you both.”
“I’ve had a wish buried in my heart for two years. I don’t know if you gentlemen could grant it,” Master Liu said.
Tan Bajhang grinned. “Go on. We’re listening.”
Master Liu drew a deep breath. “I was born unlucky. I’ll never be able to cultivate, so I can only chase after wealth. If you’ll grant me three thousand taels of silver, I’ll tell you everything I know. Then I’ll take Miss Mei and flee far away…”
Concubine Li cried out, “I won’t go with you!”
Tan Bajhang swung a hard slap across her face. “None of your damn business. Shut up!” She collapsed on the spot, unconscious.