Deep, How Deep Are the Crimson Leaves: Chapter 26: Escaping in Secret

Tang Haiqiu took immense pleasure in watching Fang Wei’s expression. He sprang into the air, and a sharp hiss split the darkness. A feathered arrow shot straight toward his throat. Hearing that something was amiss, Tang twisted his body in midair and barely managed to evade it. Just as he began to congratulate himself, a second arrow struck him with the force of thunder. The feathered shaft had pierced his abdomen.

It was a paired arrow: the second had been concealed behind the first, each aimed at a different part of the body.

With nowhere to evade in midair, Tang Haiqiu took the blow squarely. His body plunged downward in an extraordinarily bizarre headfirst dive.

Fang Wei turned back in delighted surprise and saw Dong Xinwu emerge from a shadowed alley. Dong handed the pear-blossom bow to a constable beside him, then drew a key from his waist and tossed it to Fang Wei.

“Open the ward gate!”

That very morning, Dong Xinwu had explained the situation to the ward head. To guard against unforeseen circumstances, he had had a duplicate key made. At last, it had come in useful.

Fang Wei caught the key and opened the copper lock in a few swift movements. The ward gate swung wide. The street beyond lay pitch-black, and Tang Haiqiu was nowhere to be seen. The constables behind them raised their storm lanterns and searched in every direction outside the gate.

“Chief Fang!”

A constable brought his lantern close to a drainage ditch. Two drops of blood stained the flagstones beside it. Fang Wei crouched down and touched them with his fingers. The blood had not yet congealed.

Dong Xinwu hurried over, and Fang Wei held up the blood on his fingertips.

“Tang Haiqiu went that way.”

Dong Xinwu nodded. “Do you remember how we dealt with him five years ago?”

Fang Wei froze. He could not imagine why Dong would bring up old matters at such a critical moment, but he obediently recalled the past.

“Driving sheep.”

“Exactly. Driving sheep. Tang Haiqiu’s martial skill was forged from childhood. To our shame, there is hardly a man in our prefectural office who can match him. Back then, however, we played to our strengths and avoided our weaknesses. We never fought him alone. We used our advantage in numbers, surrounding him wherever he appeared and giving him no chance to catch his breath. That was how we forced him into a corner.”

He fixed his gaze on Fang Wei and explained the plan he had already worked out.

“Master, I understand…”

“Where is that bastard Tang?!” a roar came from behind them.

Liu Yongji came hurrying over amid a cluster of soldiers. He had already learned that four of his men had died at Tang Haiqiu’s hands, and grief and fury had overwhelmed him.

Dong Xinwu seized Liu Yongji by both arms. “Commander Liu, calm yourself!”

Tears glimmered in the corners of Liu Yongji’s eyes. “How am I supposed to answer to their parents?”

Dong Xinwu had no reply. As the head of a department whose duties were much the same as those of the Five-City Military Command, he understood Liu’s feelings all too well. But the criminal had yet to be apprehended, and all he could do was offer consolation.

“Men are wounded and killed in my rapid-response detail every year as well. I understand how you feel. But Tang Haiqiu is still at large. You and I must put the larger cause first.”

Liu Yongji clenched his teeth. “Where is that bastard?”

Fang Wei answered from the side, “The criminal has been wounded by Constable Dong. He cannot have gone far. We know the direction in which he fled. Our next step is to drive him out and deny him every opportunity to rest. Once exhaustion sets in, that will be our chance to bring him down.”

Liu Yongji drew a deep breath and looked at Old Dong.

“Old Dong, give the orders. Every man under my command is at your disposal.”

After exchanging a few polite words, Dong Xinwu gave the matter a brief consideration, then explained the division of duties and deployment of personnel to Fang Wei and Liu Yongji.

Because Fang Wei had fought Tang Haiqiu face-to-face five years before, he was more familiar with Tang’s habits and patterns of movement. Dong Xinwu therefore placed him in command of the main pursuit, while Liu Yongji made use of his advantage in manpower to help Fang Wei control the perimeter.

Fang Wei led his men along the intermittent trail of blood. They pursued it as far as the vicinity of Jade Resonance Ward, where it suddenly vanished. A young constable led Fang to the side of a wall and pointed out a fresh drop of blood.

Fang Wei nodded. “Knock on the gate!”

Liu Yongji stepped forward. “Constable Fang, allow me.”

He walked to the tall ward gate, raised a fist as large as a vinegar bowl, and pounded on the panels until the sound echoed like thunder.

“Old Yang! Wake up! Old Yang, open the gate at once!”

While waiting, he ordered his men, “Surround the other gates of Jade Resonance Ward. Post a man every ten paces along the streets. Stretch out the encirclement and leave no gaps.”

A middle-aged soldier behind him acknowledged the order, then hurried away to summon his men.

Before long, footsteps sounded from within. Then an old man’s voice cursed, “Which blind son of a bastard is out there wailing for the dead in the middle of the night?”

Liu Yongji cursed back, “Shut your filthy mouth! It’s Liu Yongji!”

“Oh! Commander Liu!”

The footsteps inside suddenly quickened. As the lock was opened, the ward gate slowly swung inward, revealing a withered old man in ragged clothes standing deferentially to one side.

Liu Yongji approached and jabbed a finger at him. A string of curses nearly burst from his mouth, but seeing the old man’s cringing, obsequious manner, he could not bring himself to say them.

“Stand aside!”

Fang Wei stared at the pitch-black crossroads and could not help drawing a sharp breath. Jade Resonance Ward contained a hundred households. If they searched every home one by one, they might still be at it by dawn.

A constable stood behind him with a storm lantern held high. After a brief moment of thought, Fang Wei said, “Do this: first search the nearby area for blood drops. Once we have a clear objective, proceed. Gradually force Tang Haiqiu into a corner. Even if it takes longer, it will be worth it.”

The constables acknowledged the order and spread out before the ward gate in a loose skirmish line. Their storm lanterns moved slowly forward, close to the ground.

Before long, a constable shouted from a corner, “There’s blood here!”

Fang Wei was overjoyed. The blood had not yet congealed and clearly appeared to have been left only recently. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a cramped alley not far ahead.

He called to Liu Yongji, then led the men after the trail.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a dark figure suddenly appeared at the far end of the alley. Hearing the footsteps behind him, he turned with astonishing speed and darted into another lane.

Fang Wei’s spirits lifted. He made a hand signal, and the constables swiftly pursued along both walls, keeping close to the roots of the buildings in the direction the shadow had vanished.

Hearing the pursuit behind him, the dark figure ran faster. Yet because of his injury, his movements were far slower than before. He seemed intimately familiar with the ward’s layout, darting and leaping between the houses and narrow lanes.

Fang Wei had gone to great lengths to pick up his trail again. How could he allow him to escape a second time? Gritting his teeth, he pursued relentlessly. The shadow’s pace grew slower and slower, and soon they were less than fifteen yards apart.

Suddenly, the figure vaulted over a low courtyard wall and disappeared into a resident’s home.

Fang Wei’s heart tightened. He feared the man might be driven into desperate action. Yet moments later, the shadow emerged over the wall on the opposite side and slipped into the alley beyond.