Inside the Fuman Tavern, having butchered the two small fry, Xu Buling walked into the back courtyard. The porters had long since hidden themselves in a corner, scared half to death.
The back courtyard served as a storeroom, its hemp sacks piled like a mountain, white powder scattered across the whole floor.
The female constable Zhu Manzhi was in no state to care about any of that. Clutching her head, she darted around Xu Buling babbling incoherently.
Thump, thump, thump...
Light footsteps and the rustle of armor rubbing together came from far off and drew near, soon ringing the entire tavern; torchlight appeared in the alleys beyond the walls, thick with figures running back and forth.
Clearly the soldiers had caught the signal fire and come running.
Zhu Manzhi was frantic beyond words. Throwing caution to the wind, she ran up to him and urged in a rush:
"Young master, I know your martial arts are strong, but this is too big a thing—whatever you do, don't fight back. When the Wolf Guard's best come, they'll be carrying crossbows and nets and ropes. If you lash out rashly and get cut down, then it's all over..."
Xu Buling did not answer. Carrying his sword, he walked into the storeroom and stabbed it into one of the sacks; gleaming white salt slid out onto the floor like sand.
Since ancient times the salt monopoly had been the lifeblood of the state, guarded with utmost strictness. The stock in this one storeroom was enough to cost ten heads.
Old Xiao had scouted all of this out ahead of time—a gift of merit, made to measure for Zhu Manzhi.
Zhu Manzhi knew this was a major case, but at a moment like this she had no mind for promotion or riches. Anxiously she said:
"Young master, never mind that for now. If your family can smooth over the killing of an officer, then I'll go out with you and we surrender meekly, and leave this place to the higher-ups.
If they can't, then run now while you still can. I have a Wolf Guard token and can get us out of the city. Whoever owns this place has to be some great official or noble—ordinary folk can't afford to cross them."
Xu Buling tilted his head and looked her over. "Hand me your token and you become an accomplice of jianghu bandits. You're sure you've thought this through?"
Flustered, Zhu Manzhi gritted her teeth, anger rising in her chest, and smacked Xu Buling on the shoulder:
"My dad always said, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a springing fountain. You've landed in terrible trouble because you helped me—how could I just stand by and watch now? Stop dawdling, or in a bit you won't even be able to run."
Xu Buling shook his head with a light laugh. He hoisted a sack of smuggled salt one-handed and walked out of the tavern, saying calmly:
"You wait here. Leave the rest to me."
With two lives sent down to the King of Hell, every brothel and gambling den on the back street had shut its doors. A dozen or so Imperial Guards arrived first, and two squads of Wolf Guard had also reached the tavern—one of them wearing bronze wolf-head tokens at their waists: Wolf Guards of the Heaven Camp.
Among the Imperial Guards stood a noble young gentleman in gorgeous robes who had just hurried over from the Dragon's Roar Pavilion, a striking, dignified figure: Deputy Commandant Gongsun Lu of the Commandant's Office.
Gongsun Lu's father, Gongsun Ming, held the post of Capital Commandant, charged with all matters of thieves and banditry in the capital—in the capital, an official of absolutely the highest rank and privilege.
Gongsun Lu's face was dark and furious as he strode through the alley. At once a commander ran up and said gravely:
"Sir, the villain is in the Fulai Tavern. Do we storm in, or—?"
Gongsun Lu narrowed his eyes slightly, hesitated a moment, then said in a low voice:
"That tavern is the property of a certain exalted person. If the men go in, they'll turn the place upside down. Surround it and wait for the rabbit to come to us."
"Yes, sir."
In the space of those two exchanges, they arrived outside the Fulai Tavern.
Two corpses lay outside the tavern. The Imperial Guard commander had been dragged under the eaves; three Heaven Camp Wolf Guards clustered around him, pressing at the wound and examining it, and said grimly:
"Wudang's White Snake Flicks Its Tongue. Not a wound anywhere on the body, just a single line at the throat—one sword, one throat. That skill takes ten years to train."
The thug's corpse lay beside him. Another Wolf Guard tore open the man's clothes, looked at the bruised, blood-dark spot on his chest, then at the smashed door panel and the cracks in the steps:
"An opening stance out of Bajiquan, but he used a knee strike—looks like Tantui Sect's Tiger Climbs the Mountain. The neck was twisted with the Eagle Claw Sect's Crane-Catching Hand. His training is a real grab bag; doesn't look like that assassin from last time, but the skill is about on par..."
Hearing this exchange, the fury on Gongsun Lu's face turned to caution.
The Heaven Camp Wolf Guards were all masters picked one in a hundred. If they rated a man this highly, the villain in the tavern was likely more than he could handle.
At that thought Gongsun Lu slowed his steps, planted himself behind the Heaven Camp Wolf Guards, and called out sharply:
"Insolent villain, surrender at once..."
The Imperial Guards and Wolf Guards all knew just how dangerous he was; nobody charged straight in. They held their weapons ready outside the doors and waited for the crossbowmen to be brought up.
Thud, thud...
Footsteps soon sounded from inside the tavern. Outside, the soldiers fell silent at once, leaving only the occasional pop of the torches.
There were no lamps burning inside; only when the figure reached the doorway could anyone make out the villain's face:
A blood-spattered white robe, a wine gourd at his waist, a long sword in his left hand—and a face of uncommon elegance, like an exiled immortal who had wandered down into the mortal world.
A man who looked like that could ruin kingdoms. If you had seen him once, you could not possibly forget it.
Gongsun Lu narrowed his eyes and ran through every prince and noble's son in the capital in his mind, but drew a complete blank. His face darkened:
"Who are you, to murder an Imperial Guard commander in the open street?"
Xu Buling tossed the sack in his hand. The smuggled salt spilled across the bluestone paving like a layer of fresh snow.
All six Wolf Guards narrowed their eyes. One crouched, pinched up a little on his fingertip, and examined it:
"It's salt. No need to panic."
Gongsun Lu's expression shifted, almost imperceptibly. He clasped his hands behind his back and glanced left and right:
"Seize him."
"At once!"
Two of the Imperial Guard's best stepped forward at once with sabers drawn, while the others moved to flank him with lassoes and fishing nets.
Xu Buling frowned slightly. He planted his long sword point-down in the ground, rested both hands on the hilt, and studied Gongsun Lu behind the crowd:
"You're not even going to ask where this salt came from before you start a fight?"
"A tavern with a sack of salt in it—what's so strange about that? Seize him. If he dares resist, kill him on the spot."
Gongsun Lu swept his hand, and the Imperial Guards closed in with their blades.
Xu Buling nodded, leaned his sword against a corridor pillar, and came down the steps empty-handed.
Seeing this, the Imperial Guards breathed a sigh of relief and were about to sheath their sabers and step up to bind him, when the Heaven Camp Wolf Guards behind them changed color:
"Watch out—"
The words were barely out.
Xu Buling's white robe snapped in the wind. Like a leopard springing in ambush, he crossed the distance to the two Imperial Guards in a single stride, and his elbows drove out, slamming into the fish-scale armor at their waists.
Bang—
The armor plates burst apart.
Before the two Imperial Guards could react, they were flung backward and crashed into their comrades behind.
Seeing this, the three Heaven Camp Wolf Guards treated him like a mortal foe. Weapons in hand, they moved in to take the place of the Imperial Guards, who could not take a hit.
The three Wolf Guards split to flank him left and right—shield and saber, hooked sickle spear, goose-quill saber—and working in concert, bore down on him at once.
Xu Buling did not stop after driving back the two. His legs bent slightly and he stamped down hard, launching himself forward.
Bang—
A knee strike slammed into the dead center of the round shield.
Before the shield-bearing Wolf Guard could bring his saber around, the shield was driven into his chest; he grunted and staggered back, stopping his retreat only by jabbing his blade into the ground.
The spear-bearing Wolf Guard beside him seized the moment to level his spear and thrust straight at the center line, but Xu Buling caught the shaft in one hand and it would go no further.
The spearman tried to pull his weapon back, only for a tremendous force to drag him and the spear forward together—and then a Mountain-Leaning Shoulder Charge of utterly savage speed crashed into his chest.
The Mountain-Leaning Shoulder Charge, a killing move of Bajiquan, was famed for its devastating power—anyone struck by it was left dead or crippled.
Caught completely off guard, the spearman flew like a sandbag more than two zhang, smashed through the window of a brothel, and set off a chorus of screams inside.
Xu Buling, spear in hand, flicked the goose-quill saber aside and set the point against the throat of the last Wolf Guard.
The spearpoint stopped dead.
The Wolf Guard with the goose-quill saber went white. His blade was raised, his whole body rigid.
They had expected this villain's martial arts to be astonishing; they had not expected him to be this formidable.
The Heaven Camp Wolf Guards were all picked men, one in a hundred; an ordinary jianghu wanderer could not hope to escape the three of them closing in.
This white-robed young master fought them bare-handed. Had he been armed, the three of them would likely be lying dead on the spot.
This level of martial skill was simply beyond belief!
The Wolf Guard glanced down at the spearpoint at his throat, carefully took one step back, lowered his saber, and then withdrew to the side:
"Fine skill."
In the blink of an eye the Heaven Camp Wolf Guards were all put out of the fight. No need to say what the rest did—they inched backward warily.
Gongsun Lu looked as though he faced a mortal foe.
Xu Buling planted the hooked spear in the ground. His eyes were flat and calm; he tilted his head and pointed at the ground:
"There's a whole storeroom of smuggled salt back there. Take your men in and seal it."
Gongsun Lu's face tightened. He frowned at Xu Buling, the hand on his saber clenching and relaxing by turns.
At this the three Heaven Camp Wolf Guards frowned. Trading in smuggled salt was a capital crime, and a whole storeroom of it...
The Wolf Guards exchanged a few looks, and one of them headed into the tavern.
Seeing this, Gongsun Lu's eyes darkened and he said urgently:
"He means to slip away while he can—don't fall for it..."
Smack—
Before he could finish, a loud slap cracked across Gongsun Lu's face.
Gongsun Lu sensed it and reached for his saber, only for Xu Buling to kick him in the hilt; the official saber tore out of his hand and stuck in the courtyard wall behind.
The slap landed on his face, and Gongsun Lu staggered. The jade pin flew from his topknot and his long hair came tumbling down.
The Imperial Guards froze. Blades in hand, they wanted to rush forward and save him, but none dared throw their lives away.
Five finger marks stood out on Gongsun Lu's cheek. Fierce light flared in his eyes; he swung a fist, but Xu Buling caught his wrist—and then another slap cracked across his face.
Gongsun Lu spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle, his face ashen, and stared hard at the man in front of him:
"You dare hit me—do you know who my father is? My father is..."
Xu Buling slapped him again:
"Do you know who my father is?"
Three slaps in, Gongsun Lu's cheek was swollen, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing ragged. He stared into Xu Buling's eyes, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, choked back what he had been about to say, and did not dare speak again.
The Wolf Guards and Imperial Guards ringing them could neither advance nor retreat. Their commanding officer had been taken alive; unable to stop the man, they certainly had no room for tough talk—so for the moment all they could do was stand there surrounding him.
The standoff held for a moment.
Footsteps came from the alley. Gongsun Lu turned his head and saw his father, Capital Commandant Gongsun Ming, arriving with a great many Imperial Guards carrying crossbows.
Gongsun Lu relaxed slightly, a touch of arrogance returning to his eyes, and said coldly:
"You've got some nerve..."
Smack—
Before he could finish, another slap cracked across his face.
Gongsun Lu crashed to the ground with a grunt, his eyes full of venomous hatred—but he no longer dared to speak.
At the same moment, the arriving Gongsun Ming bellowed furiously from a distance:
"Insolent villain, how dare you—dare to... thank you, Your Highness the Heir, for disciplining my worthless son on my behalf..."