The idle soldiers were put to work tapping on the floor and walls for the same reason. Then, when one section rang hollow, they discovered a latch cleverly concealed inside an engraved shark’s mouth.
The soldiers called over their shízhǎng and the dūtóu to report the find.
“How would you like to handle it, sir?” Cai Shi asked.
“As you would normally,” Hong Fei replied. “I won’t interfere unless it’s necessary.”
Cai Shi nodded in response, then barked at his squad: “Volunteers! The one selected gets a share of the value.”
The soldiers cast speculative gazes at the wall, yet it was only one man who stepped forward: a portly fellow with a drooping mustache who was known for having the longest ears among all the house’s troops. It was the source of his nickname.
Seeing no one else volunteering, this Long Ears circulated his essence, reinforced his body, and then triggered the latch hidden by the shark’s mouth. A click sounded, followed by a panel swinging open.
Long Ears paused for the length of breath, yet nothing else of note happened. He peeked inside the secret compartment and, seeing no obvious traps, opened the panel.
Immediately, the scent of dream blossoms billowed out. The compartment contained jar after jar. Each was stoppered with wax, yet the smell seemed to have permeated the space in which the jars had been stored. This likely wasn’t just wine, but the more potent extract used to make it.
Long Ears wore a pleased smile as he stepped back to join the other soldiers, quite a few of whom were now obviously regretful that they hadn’t volunteered. The dream-blossom extract represented a good amount of money. It was illegal to sell, of course, but the city would provide a bounty for its confiscation.
“Twelve jars,” Cai Shi reported.
Hong Fei nodded to indicate he’d heard the shízhǎng, then turned away to let the man organize the loot’s recovery without an officer looking over his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Auntie Ling had continued her assault on the gangster with the shield, the pounding of flesh against stone echoing from the narrow passage. Hong Fei checked on her and saw she was holding up well—frustrated perhaps, but uninjured. He split his attention between this ongoing siege and the loot being recovered.
From beside him he heard Ugly Dog whistle softly. “That’ll come to a tidy sum indeed.”
Not too much later, Sun Han and Yu Yong came running into the lounge with a pot the size of a bear cub between them. That was rather promising, until they tilted the pot forward for Hong Fei to look inside—it was only a quarter full.
“This was all we could find,” Sun Han reported.
“We ordered the soldiers upstairs to collect what’s already been used to fill the lamps,” Yu Yong added.
Hong Fei glanced toward the passage, his mind estimating the size and strength of Auntie Ling’s opponent. This amount of oil won’t be enough, he decided. The other option, however… He turned his attention toward the dream-blossom extract. …is wasteful. There’s enough to disorient the gangster, but the city won’t pay for what we can’t account for. His lips pursed in thought for a moment longer, then he shook his head. Can’t be helped. We have to break this stalemate. Unless…
The passage was made from smoothed stone on all sides, including the floor, and there were no rugs to help with one’s footing.
There’d been a trick the Askalousans had used on Hong Fei once during a raid on one of their strongholds. The soldiers of his unit had laughed at him for days afterward. The incident had been a source of embarrassment for the young warrior then, perhaps the idea of it could help him now?
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He calculated the odds of things going to plan and determined that they weren’t actually good. There would, however, be no harm in trying. If the idea failed, then he’d rely on the dream-blossom extract to break the stalemate.
Hong Fei gestured for Sun Han and Yu Yong to get the pot of lamp oil ready, motioning that when ordered they would spill it out onto the passage floor.
The scholar’s face lit with understanding, then Yu Yong’s a moment later. The two of them did as they were instructed. He sent Ugly Dog to stand near them in case one or the other got into trouble.
Hong Fei also called over Cai Shi to whisper the plan to him. Then, once the shízhǎng had spread the orders to the rest of the squad, the man was positioned next to the dūtóu, while the others of his squad got their crossbows cocked and ready.
Seeing everyone prepared, Hong Fei yelled, “Hold there, Soldiers of House Yu! Bring those jars of dream-blossom extract to me! We’re going to use them on the shield bearer!”
Not a breath later, the sound of Auntie Ling’s next strike was different in tone, as if the shield had changed positions. That was followed by the scraping of rock against rock. Hong Fei had listened and watched carefully—the angle of the shield had changed. The shield had also lifted higher, the top rim scraping against the ceiling, as if its bearer had been surprised.
“Get ready!” the dūtóu yelled out, which was a message meant for Auntie Ling.
She hesitated for the blink of an eye, then struck a truly mighty blow against the shield. She roared as if preparing to renew her assault and distract its bearer from what would come next.
Whoever that Shield Bearer was, Hong Fei knew they couldn’t risk falling under the dream blossom’s influence. And presumably, they also couldn’t retreat either, or they would’ve done so already.
The Shield Bearer’s options were severely constrained, but would they do what Hong Fei hoped? A moment later, he got his answer: Auntie Ling yelped when the shield suddenly slammed into her.
The giant badger lost her footing, and the gangster pounced on this shift in the fight’s momentum, shoving Auntie Ling toward the exit. So forceful were the Shield Bearer’s steps, the stone under him cracked and the sound reverberated through the narrow passage.
“Hold them back!” Hong Fei commanded. “Don’t let them block the entrance!”
The Shield Bearer slammed Auntie Ling, causing her to fall on her side. There was no way now for her to resist being pushed across the floor. Like an ox charging, the gangster sped the pace of their steps. Hong Fei nodded toward the pot of oil, and it was spilled onto the floor inside the passage.
The soldiers tensed, prepared to fire their crossbows. A pair of breaths later, Auntie Ling came flying out, and a few of them had to dodge out of the way of her tumbling body.
The Shield Bearer also slid on the lamp oil but fought to stay upright. However, the shield itself continued past the passage’s exit, and through the gap Hong Fei saw a well-dressed man with a scar running from the top of his head, through his nose, and down to the bottom of his chin. It was exactly the same kind of old injury as was on another gangster, one that Hong Fei had killed previously who he’d called Split-Face.
The dūtóu blinked, startled by the coincidence, but this was no time for questions or bafflement. “Now,” he commanded, grabbing hold of the shield.
Cai Shi did the same, as did Sun Han and Yu Yong on the other side, and the four of them together pulled the Shield Bearer out into the open and off of his feet. They threw him to the ground shield first, which was when the rest of the soldiers fired upon his exposed back. Bolts sprouted all across the gangster’s body.
Yu Yong, Sun Han, and Cai Shi then attacked with their weapons, followed by those fighters stepping away to let the soldiers shoot again with their crossbows. After that second round of crossbow bolts, Auntie Ling leapt onto the man.
By then, the Shield Bearer had recovered from his surprise. He was attempting to turn over when the giant badger’s weight crashed unto him. The bolts embedded in the man splintered under her weight. She began to maul him in a frenzy of claws.
Hong Fei noticed that none of the attacks bit deeply into the Shield Bearer’s body. The gangster’s resilience was remarkable, even for someone at the top of the Qi Gathering realm.
Still, the man was outnumbered, surrounded, and in a disadvantageous position. He would lose eventually and most likely die afterward due to the magic that kept some Rock Knives from exposing the gang’s deepest secrets. That’d been the fate of the previous Split-Face.
Unless this one was high enough in the gang’s hierarchy to avoid the magic?
“Surrender,” Hong Fei called out, “and we’ll spare your life.”
The Shield Bearer’s reply was to redouble his efforts to get out from beneath Auntie Ling. Her qi-infused claws were beginning to shred the muscles of his shoulders and arms.
“So be it, then,” Hong Fei said. I’ll get no answers from this one, he decided, so he stepped around the melee, then jumped past where the oil covered the passage floor. “Sun Han and Yu Yong, with me,” he called out. “Ugly Dog, stay with Cai Shi for now. Help his squad as necessary.”
If the Shield Bearer couldn’t provide answers to Hong Fei’s questions, then he’d look elsewhere. The obstacle blocking the passage had been removed, and the way ahead was open.
ten chapters ahead. :)
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Auntie Ling, a summon
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Sun Han, a summon
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Cai Shi, a shízhǎng of Yu soldiers responsible for the morning gate
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Ugly Dog, a former Rock Knife recruited by Hong Fei
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Yu Yong, the brother of the Yu duchess