Burning the Tianqi Gang

Let us return to midnight. Sun Yixie and Chun Kong made their way toward the courtyard gate, one after the other. Outside the gate, three Tianqi Gang guards were whispering about Sun Yixie's "taste for men" to pass the time, never expecting the man himself to emerge carrying a lantern. They had been deep in lively gossip, but the moment they saw Sun Yixie, they clamped their mouths shut and plastered smiles all over their faces. Sun Yixie had already caught wind of their conversation, of course, and naturally turned it to his advantage. "Gentlemen... what's so funny? Mind sharing?" As he spoke, he took a few casual paces forward, naturally stepping toward the side opposite the courtyard gate and drawing their eyes with him. The three guards had guilty consciences. Having just badmouthed him behind his back, being caught and questioned to their faces made them distinctly nervous... Yet their jitters did not last long. While their attention was fixed on Sun Yixie, Chun Kong had slipped silently behind them. Two swift palm strikes from the rear knocked two of them unconscious, and the third had only managed to turn around, still utterly bewildered, before another palm strike sent him sprawling. Just like that, all four guards assigned to this courtyard were dealt with before any of them could sound an alarm. Here, Sun Yixie and Chun Kong parted ways for the moment, splitting their forces: one headed to the storeroom to steal the shackle keys, while the other set out to rescue captives and launch surprise attacks on the other four courtyards holding hostages. Naturally, even though Sun Yixie now had all four keys to the four rows of rooms in this courtyard, he had no intention of releasing everyone right away. When a crowd grew too large, things easily went awry; you couldn't count on everyone having Chun Kong's sharp wits, high awareness, and willing cooperation... Thus, he intended to neutralize the guards across all the courtyards before opening any doors. As for the second person to be released, however, he had made up his mind long ago. In fact, while he was still in Chun Kong's cell earlier, he had already asked who else was imprisoned in this courtyard and where their rooms were situated. Sun Yixie could not have known this himself, since he hadn't been present when the prisoners were locked away. Chun Kong, on the other hand, had been there... As mentioned earlier, Chun Kong was clever and had an exceptional memory. Anything he laid eyes on left an impression, so before being shut in his own cell, he had seen and memorized where some of the captives were placed. Sure enough, when Sun Yixie asked, a moment of reflection brought back quite a bit. Most importantly... he remembered which room belonged to Lei Buji. As the saying goes, coincidence makes the story. As luck would have it, Lei Buji was imprisoned in this very courtyard. Better yet, because he had been unconscious and carried in first in full view of everyone, it was hard not to remember his room... With such a martial arts powerhouse of an obedient little brother available, Sun Yixie naturally looked no further. Once Chun Kong left, Sun Yixie headed straight for Lei Buji's room. After two tries, he found the right key and pushed the door open. Lei Buji had a solid martial foundation, so the knockout powder couldn't keep him under all night; he was already awake. Seeing the door swing open, Lei Buji leaped up at once, intending to ambush whoever stepped inside. Sun Yixie's caution in moments like this has been noted more than once. It was always him hitting his teammates, never his teammates hitting him, so naturally he was prepared for this exact trick. "Buji, are you awake?" Having pushed the door open, Sun Yixie stood outside without leaning in. Lei Buji was lurking beside the door with his back against the wall. Hearing Sun Yixie's voice, he stepped right to the doorway with a foolish grin, never once considering whether it might be a trap. "Brother Sun! You're all right?" Overjoyed, Lei Buji raised his voice and blurted out. Some might wonder: why would he react like this after being jumped and taken out by Sun and Huang earlier? The answer was simple: he had never seen who intercepted him. At the time, all of Lei Buji's attention had been focused on Shen Youran and Gu Qiying. Sun Yixie's waist tackle, seamlessly followed by Huang Donglai slapping knockout powder across his face, had been so fast and so flawlessly coordinated that Lei Buji had blacked out before seeing a damn thing. "Shut up! Get back inside!" One look at Lei Buji's face told Sun Yixie everything. He shoved and dragged Lei Buji back into the room, hissing in a low voice as he pushed, "What the hell are you yelling for? Afraid you won't attract enough guards?" Long story short, after taking a tongue-lashing from Sun Yixie and listening to his brief rundown of what had transpired, Lei Buji finally grasped the situation. Having heard the whole story, Lei Buji naturally didn't mind being knocked out by Brother Sun and Brother Huang earlier. He was no fool; he knew it had been to save him. While explaining, Sun Yixie didn't idle either, seizing the time to corrode through the shackles on Lei Buji's hands and feet. He then instructed Lei Buji, just as he had Chun Kong, to secure the broken chains with strips of cloth so he wouldn't go jingle-belling like a pair of chimes when he walked. Stepping out of the room, the first thing the two did was haul the four unconscious Tianqi Gang guards into Lei Buji's room and lock the door behind them. Sun Yixie didn't silence them permanently, as he had an inkling that these men were likely risking their lives for Shen Youran under the threat of the Bliss Gu as well. But he wasn't about to waste time trying to turn them, either. There were far too many variables—if any among them were genuinely loyal to Shen Youran, or had committed too much evil to turn back, trying to win them over would be like planting a ticking time bomb in his own camp. Next, Sun Yixie took Lei Buji to the neighboring courtyard. The process of ambushing the guards needs no detailed recount; it followed roughly the same routine as the first. Sun Yixie would step forward to draw their attention while the other launched a surprise assault from the shadows, sometimes using knockout powder and sometimes not, adapting on the fly to each situation. In about a quarter of an hour, all twenty guards across the five courtyards were lying unconscious. Only then did the two return to the first courtyard and begin unlocking doors to free the captives. Sun Yixie had already coordinated with Lei Buji. The very first thing to make clear upon opening each door was: "Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai only pretended to defect to Shen Youran earlier, which is why we can get you out right now." This message had to be conveyed; otherwise, if someone stepped out confused and tried to take a swing at Brother Sun, it would be an absolute nightmare. The second point to communicate was: keys to the shackles would arrive shortly, so no one stepping out of a room should act on their own. Any reckless move would ruin the escape for everyone. If anyone attempted to slip off alone, the rest were kindly requested to swarm in and beat them to death. Sun Yixie and Lei Buji each unlocked a row of doors, releasing twenty-odd people. Those freed first were tasked with explaining the two points to the people let out after them, sparing those with the keys from wasting time. By the time the people in the first courtyard were mostly out of their rooms and had a general grasp of the situation, Chun Kong finally returned. His martial arts were formidable to begin with, and with Sun Yixie's detailed map and sentry intel, the trip had been uneventful and undetected. The storeroom key had also played an essential role, making Chun Kong's entry and exit all the smoother. At this moment, Chun Kong had brought back as many as ten shackle keys. But a closer look revealed... all ten keys were identical. Naturally, this made sense. It was much like modern handcuff keys—one key could open an entire batch... After all, when shackles were mass-produced, it was impossible to match a unique key to every single pair. Losing one would be a disaster. Forging ten identical keys was simply to speed up the unlocking process. If you forged only one, then assuming it took two minutes to unlock one pair of shackles, freeing two hundred people would take nearly seven hours—which would be absurdly foolish. "Once you've unlocked your shackles, pass the key to someone who hasn't. Everyone who passes their key on should scale the northern wall to get out. There are only two guards over that way; deal with them yourselves as you pass... You are all martial experts, so I shouldn't need to teach you how to put guards down before they can call for help," Sun Yixie said, raising his voice slightly from amid the crowd once most were unshackled. "Once outside, wait near the street behind the oil and salt shop in the western part of the city. Barring any accidents, Huang Donglai will soon rendezvous with you carrying the antidote for 'that thing' you swallowed." Without realizing it, Sun Yixie had become the commander-in-chief of everyone present. Even the seniors of the martial world were taking orders from him. Yet this was only natural. On a grand scale, Sun and Huang were their saviors. On a practical level, only Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai had drawn up a contingency plan for this crisis in advance. At least until the Bliss Gu was neutralized, following Sun Yixie's directions was vastly more reliable than flailing about on their own. "Oh, right. Once you escape, absolutely do not run around aimlessly, and do not approach the city walls under any circumstances... Shen Youran and that Venerable Master have deep roots in Luoyang. Even if they haven't colluded with the authorities, there may well be their informants among the city guards. If a single person gets spotted running, every last one of us is done for." Before seeing off these heavyweights of the jianghu, Sun Yixie did not forget to issue repeated warnings and reminders, hammering home the word "everyone." He knew all too well how fickle human nature was. Only by tying their fates together so they would monitor and restrain one another could he effectively prevent anyone from acting rogue. By three quarters into the Zi hour, the people in the first courtyard had mostly departed, leaving behind only Sun Yixie, Chun Kong, Lei Buji, and Liu Yikong. Why did Liu Yikong stay behind? Because he said he deeply admired Sun Yixie, felt profoundly ashamed of having misunderstood Brother Sun earlier, and wished to lend what little strength he had to help rescue the rest. And so, following the same routine as the first courtyard, the four headed to the second. Having familiarized themselves with the routine, repeating the process took much less time. They cleared the second courtyard in just ten minutes, and several more seniors and peers successively joined the effort of freeing prisoners and explaining the situation. In the end... there were good people in the jianghu after all, and not just a few. Those who could set life and death aside in moments of crisis to do their utmost to help others truly existed. With more hands available, they could split into multiple groups and act simultaneously. Thus, the captives in the third, fourth, and fifth courtyards were freed almost at the same time. It was worth noting that Bai Ruhong was also imprisoned in one of the courtyards. However, he had no shackles on him, only ropes binding him. Until several fellow martial artists carried him out on their shoulders, he remained as unresponsive as a vegetable. As the Zi hour drew to a close, the nearly two hundred prisoners had mostly evacuated. They were all masters proficient in lightness skill, and with Sun Yixie's intelligence backing them, the Tianqi Gang's security measures proved completely useless, breached with effortless ease. Meanwhile, Shen Youran and Gu Qiying were still sipping tea and chatting in the study, dreaming of the future. They hadn't the faintest inkling that the martial figures they had gone to such trouble to assemble had already escaped the range of the gu bell—let alone that Bugui Tower had suffered a backdoor raid, its innermost secrets and treasures thoroughly cleaned out by Huang Donglai. Worse yet, their misfortune tonight was far from over... After sending off all the hostages, including those who had stayed to help, Sun Yixie still had one more thing to do: return to his room to fetch his luggage. His and Huang Donglai's personal bags, along with his trident, were still in the room. Luggage was one thing, but there was no way he would abandon his heirloom weapon. Going back to his room was no problem; Sun Yixie carried an access token, and every underling in the Tianqi Gang knew what this fellow had supposedly gone off to do. Walking boldly back to his room would arouse no suspicion whatsoever. The trouble lay in how he was supposed to slip away carrying luggage and a trident. No matter how valid your token was, if you tried to leave in the dead of night slinging two bundles over your back and carrying a weapon, people were bound to stop you. Even if they didn't turn hostile on the spot, they'd stall you and report to the gang leader, wouldn't they? To solve this problem, there was actually a very straightforward method: Sun Yixie could have simply enlisted a few of the fighters who had just helped free the prisoners, forced his way back with them, grabbed the luggage, and broken through the perimeter. However... that choice carried a definite risk. If anything went slightly awry along the way and alerted Shen Youran, Sun Yixie might manage to slip away in the confusion, but once Shen Youran shook the gu bell, not one of the people who helped him would make it out. Thus, Sun Yixie ultimately settled on a safer method—one that only required him alone to take a bit of a risk: arson. He waited alone in the shadows for a while. Once those afflicted by the Bliss Gu had fled far enough, he began setting fires all over the place. For Sun Yixie, setting fires inside the Tianqi Gang was as easy as pissing in his own backyard. He and Brother Huang had stayed here for nearly half a month with the express purpose of casing the joint. They knew every nook and cranny of the layout—the woodshed, kitchen, fodder storehouse, granary... everything that could catch fire, every room packed with combustibles, they knew like the back of their hands. And what, did you think Sun and Huang had only forged a single key to the storeroom? If they could steal and make impressions for one lock, how could they have stopped at just one place? Right now, Brother Sun unfastened his belt to reveal seven keys jingling at his hip. He could go wherever he pleased; there wasn't a single locked door in the Tianqi Gang he couldn't open. And so, right when the Chou hour arrived and the Tianqi Gang's sentries were preparing to change shifts, flames burst out in one spot after another across the gang's grounds... As for the firefighting efficiency of that era, the less said the better. Sometimes a single bolt of lightning could burn a wealthy estate to ash, let alone such highly systematic arson. While the Tianqi Gang erupted into utter chaos and disciples abandoned their posts to scurry about fighting the blaze, Sun Yixie sneaked back into his room, scooped up the luggage and weapon, and slipped out. In conditions like these, even if someone spotted him, it wouldn't matter. Knowing his character, if he claimed he was rescuing valuables, eight out of ten people would find it perfectly reasonable. ...... At that very moment, atop a roof just across the street from the Tianqi Gang headquarters. Two figures stood there, gazing leisurely into the distance at the growing flames and billowing smoke among the cluster of buildings ahead. Both were dressed in dark flying fish robes with embroidered spring blades at their waists, sharply and neatly attired, their postures vigorous and upright. "Tonight's play is truly magnificent," the shorter one finally remarked after watching the flames for a long while. "A good play indeed. A pity, though, that the Justice Sect's vast foundation is likely to be reduced to ashes," the tall man beside him replied. "Heh... Isn't its destruction a good thing for us?" the shorter one asked. "Eliminating Shen Youran and Gu Qiying, and seizing all the wealth and secret treasures they've amassed over the years—now that is the best outcome," the tall man said. "Even if they're seized... they won't belong to you," the shorter one countered. "But the merit of seizing them will belong to me..." The tall man paused. "...and to you as well." "Hahaha..." The shorter one laughed. "You can have all the credit. I'm only here to complete the mission." "No. You talk flippantly and act lighthearted... but I know you. You don't want credit, and you don't care about the mission..." At this point, the tall man glanced at his companion. "What you care about is justice." "Heh... listen to you..." The shorter one kept chuckling with teasing irreverence, though seemingly covering something up. "Giving me a bit too much credit, aren't you?" "It doesn't matter if you won't admit it. I'm more candid than you..." the tall man continued. "I want the merit, and I intend to trade that merit for glory, rank, and riches." "Then how about leaving the rest to you?" the shorter one asked. "Fine by me," the tall man agreed readily. "As it happens, you can make a run over to the Regional Military Commission garrison right now to fetch them to put out the fire and mop up the mess so it doesn't spread to the local commoners. As for me... I'll go pay a visit to Sect Leader Shen and Venerable Master Gu." "Mm..." As the shorter one answered, he had already turned away. "Watch your back."