Volume Two, Chapter One: Waking with a Start at Midnight as Bandits Besiege the City

Wang Jiaojiao, who was fast asleep, was suddenly jolted awake from her dream.

A chaotic clamor came from outside the house: the crying of the neighbor's child, the panicked shouts of men and women in the alley, and—seemingly originating from the direction of the city gate—roars and battle cries. All these sounds blended together, making the deep night as bustling as a daytime county market.

In the pitch-black room, lying on her soft bed, a newly awakened Wang Jiaojiao, still dazed, wondered if she was still dreaming.

It was not until she heard her father's anxious shouts from outside, followed immediately by her mother calling her name and pushing the door open, that she fully woke up. She realized she was not dreaming; she had indeed been shaken awake by the commotion.

She hurriedly sat up, answering her mother's call, "Mother, what is it?"

"Quickly put on your clothes! Bandits have broken into the city!"

Wang Jiaojiao asked in astonishment, "What bandits?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get your clothes on!" Her mother said, fumbling in the dark to the bedside and pulling her up.

With her mother's help, Wang Jiaojiao frantically threw on her dress and skirt, stepped onto the floor, and slipped into her shoes. Only then did she remember she had forgotten to put on her silk stockings, but there was no time to care about that now. Pulled toward the door by her mother, Wang Jiaojiao asked again, "Mother, which bandits?"

"Don't ask! Your mother doesn't know what kind of bandits they are either. Listen! Is that the sound of bandits entering the city from the gate?" As she spoke, with a dull thud, her mother clutched her head and let out an "Ouch"—in her haste to pull her daughter out without watching the path, she had bumped straight into the doorframe.

For some reason, the image of Li Shandong suddenly floated into Wang Jiaojiao's mind. She subconsciously blurted out, "The Wagang bandits!"

"What Wagang bandits?"

Suddenly, a bright light flashed before their eyes as the mother and daughter stepped out of the room and into the courtyard.

Torches were lit in the courtyard, and outside the walls, the shadows of flickering fires danced everywhere.

The clamor inside the alley could be heard even more clearly now.

These were all voices Wang Jiaojiao knew well: men, women, and the elderly, all residents of their neighborhood.

A booming voice rang out not far outside the courtyard, shouting: "Stop making a fuss! Listen to me! Women, children, and the elderly, go back to your respective homes! Able-bodied men, pick up your weapons and follow me! We'll guard the alley entrance! If the bandits try to loot us, we'll fight to the death to hold them off!"

Two men stood in the courtyard: one in his forties, who was Wang Jiaojiao's father, and one in his fifties, an old servant of the Wang family.

Wang Jiaojiao's father was named Wang Xingde.

He held a wooden club with a saber hanging from his waist. Seeing Wang Jiaojiao and her mother come out, and trying to keep his voice steady so as not to frighten his daughter, he said, "You two hide in the woodshed later. No matter what commotion you hear, do not come out!" He glanced at Wang Jiaojiao. His daughter was fair and beautiful, which was usually a source of pride for him, but at a time like this, being too pretty was a trouble. He added, "Jiaojiao, find some mud and smear it on your face." Then he instructed the old servant, who was also holding a club, "You go to the woodshed too and protect them well."

The old servant acknowledged the order.

Wang Jiaojiao's mother scooped up two handfuls of mud by the well, smeared one on her own face, and slapped the other onto Wang Jiaojiao's. The mud was wet and stinky; Wang Jiaojiao almost vomited, but she forced down the nausea and asked with a trembling voice, "Father, is it that scoundrel Li Shandong?"

"What? Li Erlang?" Wang Xingde was stunned for a moment, then immediately guessed why Wang Jiaojiao would ask this. He said, "It could be the heroes of Wagang, but it's not necessarily Li Erlang. Jiaojiao, don't be afraid. If it really is Li Erlang, it might actually turn out for the better."

"He... he, Father, is he here to kidnap me?"

His wife asked, "And you?"

Wang Xingde hefted his club and said, "Didn't you hear the Fifteenth Master calling people in the alley to guard the entrance? I'm going to guard the alley gate!"

"You... you must be careful."

"You two women, why don't you understand the severity of the situation? Listen! The shouting from the city gate is moving deeper into the city. The main body of bandits may have already entered. Don't dawdle any longer; hurry to the woodshed and hide."

The old servant guarded Wang Jiaojiao and her mother—who were reluctant to leave and kept looking back every few steps—as they hurried to the woodshed in the corner of the courtyard to hide.

Wang Xingde scooped a ladle of well water and drank several large gulps. The cool water entering his stomach slightly eased his tense and panicked state. He wiped the water from his chin, picked up his club again, and stepped out of the courtyard.

A score of men, carrying torches and armed with clubs and sabers, had already gathered in the alley.

The able-bodied men from most of the households in the alley were already present here.

A robust man in his forties, holding a white-shafted spear, stood on higher ground in the alley, counted the heads, and said, "The men from a few households haven't arrived yet, but we won't wait for them. Let's go secure the alley gate first!" This man was none other than "Fifteenth Master," the bailiff of their ward.

With Fifteenth Master leading the way, followed closely by several ward corporals each leading the able-bodied men of their respective units, the group of men rushed anxiously toward the alley entrance.

The alley gate had been closed since nightfall. Fifteenth Master directed the men to haul heavy objects and pile them behind the door. After a flurry of activity, a huge stack had accumulated behind the gate, and everyone was drenched in sweat. Fifteenth Master climbed up the alley wall to peer outside.

The rest of the men stood under the wall, all looking up at him with tilted heads, occasionally asking him what he saw and whether the bandits had entered the city yet.

Just outside the wall was the street of Weinan County City.

Wang Jiaojiao's ward was located in the northwestern area of Weinan County, adjacent to the north-south main thoroughfare and not far from the North City Gate. There was no attack by bandits at the North City Gate. The sounds of battle and shouting between the bandits and the city guards were coming primarily from the West City Gate and the South City Gate. At this moment, the street outside the alley wall was shrouded in deep night, gloomy and dark, with not a single person in sight.

Fifteenth Master strained his eyes to look toward the closer West City Gate and the distant North City Gate.

Nothing could be seen in the direction of the North City Gate except for fires shooting up into the sky; toward the West City Gate, there were also towering flames, along with clusters of moving figures. After scrutinizing the scene for a moment, he replied to those asking, "The city gate looks like it has been opened!"

Wang Xingde and the others were struck dumb with terror.

Someone asked in panic, "How could the city gate be opened? How long has the fighting even lasted? Where are the bandits? Have the bandits slaughtered their way in?"

There is no such thing as an airtight wall. After Li Shandong broke off his engagement with Wang Xingde's family, he had disappeared from the county. Moreover, more than a dozen people, including Qin Jingsi, had vanished along with him. Among the residents of Wang Xingde's ward, some had long suspected whether Li Shandong had taken Qin Jingsi and others to join Wagang. Consequently, some people turned their gaze toward Wang Xingde and asked him, "Fourth Brother Wang, are those coming the Wagang bandits?"

Wang Xingde said, "You're asking me, but who should I ask? How would I know!"

"After Li's second son broke off your engagement, didn't he go join Wagang? Didn't he send you any word?"

Wang Xingde was startled and said, "Eleventh Brother, stop talking nonsense! Don't cast false accusations! Whether Li's second son has turned bandit at Wagang or not, I don't know, and it's even less likely that he would send me any message."

"If they really are Wagang bandits, Fourth Brother Wang, our entire ward will have to depend on you to keep us safe!"

Wang Xingde said, "Stop talking nonsense, stop talking nonsense!"

Though he retorted verbally, his heart was in a turmoil.

In truth, he had already concluded that the gang of bandits attacking the county city was undoubtedly the outlaws of Wagang. Judging by what Fifteenth Master said, the West City Gate had already fallen; thus, there was a very real possibility that Weinan County City would fall into the hands of the bandits tonight. When the defense truly failed and the bandits slaughtered their way into the city—whether his ward could rely on him for protection, he did not know, but if his family wanted to escape harm from the bandits, he might actually have to resort to shouting out Li Shandong's name! He just didn't know whether Li Shandong had any reputation in Wagang by now, or if shouting his name would be of any use.

A thunderous cheer erupted from the direction of the West City Gate, followed immediately by Fifteenth Master on the wall crying out "Ah!" and "Ah!" several times.

The crowd stopped talking, raised their heads in unison, and looked up at Fifteenth Master once again.

Wang Xingde asked, "Fifteenth Master, what is it?"

"Bandits! Damn their mothers! Bandits, so many bandits! The bandits have entered the city! Quick, quick, catch me!" Fifteenth Master shouted.

The men hurriedly reached out and caught Fifteenth Master, helping him down from the wall.

Before he had even steadied his footing, Fifteenth Master urged them repeatedly: "Hold onto your weapons! Gentlemen, we must defend this alley gate with our lives! We absolutely cannot let the bandits into the ward. If the bandits get into the ward, the women, children, and elderly of all twenty-some households will be doomed!"

Wang Xingde mustered his courage and responded loudly, "We will defend the alley gate to the death!"

Fifteenth Master rallied the men, saying, "Our ward in the county isn't the only one. As long as we fight to the death to defend it, the bandits might see it's too hard to crack and, in their eagerness to plunder, turn to attack another ward instead. When the bandits arrive, follow me and don't be afraid. In battle, the more afraid you are, the faster you die!" This Fifteenth Master had served as a garrison soldier at the frontier back in the day and had genuine battlefield experience.

Wang Xingde and the others shouted their assent in unison.

Three or four more men hurried over.

Organized by their ward units, the crowd was divided into five groups: some guarding behind the alley gate, others stationed along the alley walls on both sides of the gate. The flickering light of the torches cast shifting shadows on everyone's faces, and at this moment, every single expression was one of terror and panic!

The shouting spread rapidly from the direction of the West City Gate toward the interior of the city.

The men pricked up their ears, listening as the roars swept along the county's main thoroughfare eastward, drawing closer and closer.

Finally, like a tributary branching off from a mighty river, a wave of the clamor broke away from the roaring tide and surged right outside the gate of their ward.

Fifteenth Master roared, "Don't be afraid! Hold the line!"

Wang Xingde was drenched in sweat, his palms so slippery he could barely keep his grip on the club.

From outside the alley gate came a muffled voice: "This general is Gao Chou奴. Is Elder Wang present?"