Chapter 13: We're Finished

“Hah… hah…” Xu Mazi collapsed. With his windpipe severed and blood filling his mouth, he could make only the sound of broken bellows. His eyes wide, he reached out and tried to grasp something, but caught nothing. At last he pitched forward into the pool of blood.

Lin Hongxiu wiped her blade on his clothes. “Do we kill Zhou Xing next?” she asked calmly.

Gao Yuan shook his head. “He has plenty of bandits around him. Fighting our way in would be difficult. Let’s try something else.”

He called Sun Shuanghu and Fourth Ding over. “Tell Zhou Xing the Second Chief has urgent business to discuss. Bring him here.”

Fourth Ding shuddered. “I… my stomach hurts. Maybe…” A minor underling like him grew nervous at the mere sight of Zhou.

Gao smiled and waved his short blade. Ding straightened. “Oh! It’s suddenly better. I’ll go right now!” He hurried out with Sun Shuanghu.

Gao had the other two bandits carry the body from the doorway inside and clean the ground. Then they hid near the doorway and waited for Zhou Xing to walk into their trap.

……

Night lay deep over the stronghold. Under the pale moonlight, it resembled a jagged, monstrous beast crouching on the earth.

Zhou Xing followed Sun Shuanghu and Fourth Ding, accompanied by seven or eight trusted men. Drink made his steps unsteady.

“Damn Second Brother! What’s so important it can’t wait till morning? And I have to come to him!” Zhou pulled his clothes tight and rubbed his nose, cursing as he walked.

Less than ten meters from Xu Mazi’s house, he stopped and scratched his head. “Doesn’t Huzi usually follow Second Brother? Why did he send you two?”

Sun Shuanghu trembled and instinctively reached for the knife inside his clothes. Fourth Ding’s eyes darted about. Then he bowed obsequiously. “Huzi had too much to drink. He couldn’t come, so the Second Chief sent us.”

Zhou nodded. It was a victory celebration; everyone had indeed drunk plenty. He asked no more and walked on.

Sun and Ding were quietly relieved, but Zhou stopped again at the door. He sniffed the air. The drunkenness vanished from his face, replaced by a cold expression.

Blood. This was a fucking trap!

He spun around, pulled a sharp blade from his clothes, and stabbed at Fourth Ding. Ding had never faced anything like it. His legs went weak, his trousers wet, and he scrambled toward the house.

Sun Shuanghu had more courage. Seeing they had been discovered, he drew his short blade and attacked. Zhou abandoned Ding, blocked Sun’s strike, and kicked him. Sun was no match for him; with a grunt, he staggered back.

Inside, Gao Yuan saw what had happened. They could wait no longer. “This is it! Follow me and kill Zhou Xing!”

He flung open the door and charged, Lin Hongxiu close behind. The other two new followers hesitated, then followed with their weapons.

Zhou’s heart jolted at the sight. There really was a trap. Once he recognized Gao Yuan at its head, he knew Xu Mazi was probably finished.

“Rebellion! You dare attack me? Kill them! Leave none alive!” At this point words were useless. Only one of him and Gao Yuan would survive the night.

His trusted men rushed forward with long blades. Their cries shattered the stronghold’s silence.

“What’s happening?”

“Are Dangyang’s soldiers back?”

“Where’s my weapon? Who took it?”

Bandits who had just gone to bed poured from their rooms in disarray and stopped at the sight of two groups fighting fiercely. Though one side had fewer people, it was driving the other back.

“Isn’t that the chief?”

“Who’s the other one? Gao Yuan? What’s he doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He wants the chief’s place!”

……

Gao Yuan moved like a hunting leopard, his blade its claws. One stroke drew a thin red line across the neck of a bandit who came close. The man swayed and fell.

Gao sidestepped another attacker and drove his blade into the man’s chest. Blood spurted from his mouth as Gao pulled it free, and he collapsed. Two men dead in moments. The coldness in Gao’s eyes made even Sun Shuanghu shiver.

Lin Hongxiu was no less formidable. Her red figure flashed through the crowd, blood spraying wherever she passed. Every bandit who came within two paces fell to her blade; none could withstand a single exchange. Sun and the other two defectors followed behind, finishing off those their leaders had missed.

Fourth Ding, who had hidden inside, saw the fight and decided Zhou Xing might not be as frightening as he had imagined. With a shout to bolster his courage, he grabbed his weapon and rushed out. He was the sort to swagger when winning and surrender when the tide turned.

As his trusted men fell around him, Zhou panicked. He turned to the bandits gathering nearby. “What the fuck are you staring at? Kill them! Fifty taels of silver for their heads!”

The onlookers’ eyes widened. Fifty taels could buy a large courtyard in Dangyang and support several concubines. Tempted by the reward and accustomed to fearing Zhou, they took up their weapons and charged.

The pressure on Gao Yuan and Lin Hongxiu mounted at once. Their skill was enough to protect themselves, but Sun Shuanghu and the others were in trouble. At the first clash, the two men who had just joined Gao were cut down by the crowd. Sun suffered several cuts and retreated again and again.

Fourth Ding, barely out of the doorway, saw this and scurried back inside, nailing the door shut behind him. Trembling, he muttered, “We’re finished! This time we’re really finished!”