The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 37 Southern Hero
Having received the warrant, Hua Nong still had other tasks to attend to. Xiao Yi stood by the battlements, gazing into the distance, pondering how to find Guo Xin.

He had considered abandoning Guo Xin and leaving the city first; if Guo Xin hadn't acted impulsively, they might have been able to leave the city yesterday. But acting impulsively also had its advantages; protecting Guo Xin would greatly benefit his and Hua Nong's future with Guo Wei.

Besides, he had made a promise to Chai Shouyu.

Every now and then, patrolmen would come running up the city wall, panting, and run past him.

Suddenly, a sentence caught Xiao Yi's attention.

"Report! Suspicious individuals have been spotted near the South City Market. The patrol officers request our immediate support to contain them!"

South City Market?

Xiao Yi knew that it was Guo Xin.

He quickly found Hua Nong and whispered, "That's my lost guard, Zhan Zhao. I have to find him."

“Alright.” Hua Nong did not persuade Xiao Yi to sacrifice his guards, but immediately nodded and said, “Please give your instructions, my lord.”

"You volunteer to go with Chief Sun, we'll go and surround them, get a warrant, but don't bring too many people."

"Yes."

Hua Nong hurriedly ran back to the city tower, and after a while, she came out with a big man with a protruding belly.

Hidden in the shadows, Xiao Yi looked at him and saw that his face was full of scars, and he looked fierce and menacing, like a butcher.

Soon, Commander Sun selected eight soldiers to be led by Hua Nong as support, and sent people to summon more soldiers.

Xiao Yi quickly followed Hua Nong's group, dismounted from the horse track, and headed towards the market in the south of the city.

The torches illuminated the road, but the areas they didn't reach became even darker.

He kept his head down and tried to walk in the dark.

An old soldier in the ranks laughed and said, "You coward, your brother-in-law is a real taciturn fellow, he never speaks his mind."

"He's always like this, don't mind him."

"I didn't even get a good look at what he looked like."

Hua Nong didn't answer, as if she had something on her mind, then suddenly said, "Tonight, when we go out, let's not bully the innocent. Soldiers should serve to bring peace to the world..."

"Hehe, silly bird."

Several soldiers chuckled, and the conversation abruptly ended.

He hurried north along the city wall for a while, then turned west and stepped onto the streets on the south bank of the Bian River. He walked through densely packed warehouses, dilapidated houses, and sheds, the alleyways as intricate as a spider web, under a pitch-black sky.

Upon reaching the market in the south of the city, the firelight ahead grew brighter and brighter, and patrolmen carrying torches occasionally ran past.

At times, patrolmen could be seen roughly kicking open the doors of houses along the street, barging in to search, shouting, crying, and barking dogs all mixed together, creating a chaotic scene.

It's like a busy spider weaving a vast web.

Xiao Yi paid special attention and found that the patrolmen had arrested many people and plundered a lot of money and valuables, but no blood was shed.

Clearly, searching for important items is the key.

Upon arriving at the street corner, Hua Nong went to pay her respects to the patrol officer in charge of the search.

"Commander, we are the Left Wing of the Imperial Guard Infantry..."

"The seventh alley on the east side! Guard both entrances to the alley! Bring my men back, go!"

"Here."

"The thief is highly skilled in martial arts and has already killed three people. Don't get alone."

“Look…”

The seventh alley to the east is quite deep, with high earthen walls of warehouses on both sides, and the ground is piled with old and worn-out baskets.

They had eight people in their team, with four people on each side guarding the area.

Hua Nong instructed, "Everyone, stay alert and keep a close eye on things."

"Haha, look at this abscess, it looks pretty good."

"Be polite. This time, our Brother Nong is planning to make a big splash. Tell all the brothers to stop bullying the good people."

The soldiers in his team responded with a mocking laugh.

Hua Nong, unsure of what to do next, looked at Xiao Yi again.

Xiao Yi observed the surrounding situation, thought for a moment, then clutched his stomach and groaned softly.

"Brother-in-law, my stomach hurts terribly, I need to go to the toilet."

"what?"

With that, Xiao Yi headed into the alley.

"You... I told you not to be alone, you little rascal!"

Hua Nong was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and quickly followed.

The two quickly slipped into the depths of the dark alley, their figures soon swallowed by the shadows.

Having shaken off his soldiers, Xiao Yi straightened his back and headed straight for the stall where he had arranged to meet Guo Xin.

On the way, his sharp eyes scanned every corner where people might be hiding: behind stacks of firewood, under broken baskets, on the top of low walls.

He couldn't shout, and he didn't have much time. There were many patrolling soldiers nearby. How could he contact Guo Xin?
On the way here, Xiao Yi had been thinking of a solution and came up with a terrible idea.

I'll give it a try, however I can.

"Ahem, the sun is shining brightly—"

A song with a strange tune suddenly rang out in the quiet alley, startling Hua Nong.

"Ah! My...my lord?"

"The flowers smile at me, the little birds say, 'Good morning, good morning, why are you carrying a little schoolbag?'"

Xiao Yi ignored him and continued singing.

The unpleasant singing echoed eerily in the quiet, narrow alley, breaking the tense atmosphere and sounding particularly abrupt and eerie.

The search, both near and far, seemed endless. Sometimes, squads of patrolmen would run through the adjacent alleys, their torchlight briefly flashing across the alleyway entrance, their footsteps and urging voices making one's heart beat faster involuntarily.

"What ghost is howling?!"

Suddenly, a patrol of soldiers arrived at the crossroads with torches, following the sound. The junior officer in charge was hot-tempered and pointed his sword at Xiao Yi.

"Who gave you permission to sing? You've alerted the fugitive; what are we supposed to search for now?!"

Xiao Yi said, "I think it would be difficult to find him in the dark and on the road, with the enemy in the dark and us in the light. It would be better to startle him and scare him out."

The junior officer frowned, probably intimidated by the profound use of two idioms in his sentence. He didn't refute him, but looked him up and down and asked, "Which capital?"

Hua Nong hurriedly said, "This humble servant is the Third Commander and Fourth Banner Leader of the Left Wing of the Imperial Guards, under Commander Sun. This is my brother-in-law, and he is here on orders to search."

"Damn, it sounds awful."

The junior officer spat on the ground, picked at his ear, and walked to the other side.

The soldier behind him pointed at Xiao Yi, made a cutting-ear gesture, and smiled mockingly.

"Silly bird."

Xiao Yi didn't take it to heart, believing that he was still singing in tune.

He continued to walk around the stall, even raising his voice.

Time passed slowly, and Hua Nong tugged at Xiao Yi, whispering, "It's been too long, they'll become suspicious."

"Let's go back."

Xiao Yi guessed that Guo Xin was no longer there, so he made a final effort and continued singing on the way back.

"Love learning, love labor, and grow up to serve the people!"

"Cough cough... Stop singing..."

Ahead, behind a pile of broken wooden barrels emitting a fishy stench, a soft but disgusted muttering suddenly came from behind.

The wooden barrel was overturned with a "clatter," and a person, fanning their nose with their hand, staggered out.

It was Guo Xin.

"It sounds awful, I'm going to throw up..."

Guo Xin's hair was disheveled, his face covered in dirt, only his eyes gleaming in the darkness, revealing a mixture of lingering fear and the joy of finding a way out of a desperate situation. "I heard it when you went by just now, there was a patrol of dog-eat-dog soldiers, which made me afraid to come out. The tune was really strange, who was that? Oh, you're injured?"

"Hua Nong is one of us. Go out with him and change clothes with me."

Xiao Yi lowered his voice and spoke very quickly, taking off his old military robe as he spoke.

Guo Xin countered, "Then what are you going to do?"

Xiao Yi said, "They are searching you, not me. I have my own way of escaping."

"But your legs..."

"Stop talking nonsense, only I can handle this if I stay."

"No, I can't leave..."

"Shut up!" Xiao Yi grabbed Guo Xin by the collar and snapped, "If you don't behave, I won't care about any of you."

"I'll be obedient, really. I didn't do anything this time. I've been hiding here waiting for you. I've been very obedient. You must come to me alive, or I'll give you my life."

"Stop talking nonsense, I'll live on my own."

"My clothes smell really bad."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up."

"Oh."

"Where are the weapons? Where are they hidden?"

"I don't have any weapons."

"You killed three people, what did you use?"

"I didn't kill him!" Guo Xin exclaimed in astonishment, "I really did tell the truth this time..."

Xiao Yi put the bamboo hat on Guo Xin's head, gave him a push, and said, "Hua Nong, take him away. We'll leave the city tonight."

"My lord, we are waiting for you in Wapo Village..."

"No, don't wait. Take your wife and children and cross the Yellow River without stopping for a moment. Wait for me in Liyang Town for two days. If I don't come, you go to Yedu first."

After saying this, Xiao Yi wrapped himself in Guo Xin's foul-smelling outer robe and slipped into the shadows.

Looking back, two figures carrying lanterns on the other side of the alley kept turning back before gradually disappearing into the distance.

He was the only one left.

He had no luggage or sword, but fortunately he still had a jade pendant on him and some silver in his hair. If he could get through this night, he could buy new clothes tomorrow.

After hiding for a while in a corner of the warehouse at the end of the alley, Xiao Yi noticed that the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, so he walked deeper into the alley.

Suddenly, he stopped, listened intently, then hid in the corner and peered out.

Under the moonlight, a petite figure walked quietly.

He was also a fugitive.

Xiao Yi pondered in his heart that since this person was familiar with the terrain, he could follow her and find a hiding place, or use her to escape.

He followed, but after a while, he lost track of the man.

Looking around, there was a pile of firewood not far away, which was a good place to hide.

"call--"

The dagger flashed with a cold light, and Xiao Yi instinctively dodged it.

"Hush, fellow human being."

"Ulrich!"

Xiao Yi then recognized her; she was the Khitan female prisoner.

"Oh!"

She pushed over the pile of firewood with a loud bang.

The next moment, accompanied by a flurry of footsteps, the firelight instantly illuminated the alleyway entrance.

A large patrol quickly surrounded them.

Xiao Yi's heart sank, but he did not show panic; instead, his face showed joy.

"The soldiers are here!"

He casually stuffed the jade pendant from his bosom into the pile of firewood, raised his hands, and shouted, "I'm here to help the government catch the thief."

"who?!"

“I am a law-abiding citizen with a heart full of passion. This Khitan woman killed three soldiers. I came to help capture her.”

"Ulekh! He's not a good citizen, Hajiga! He's a member of the Guo family who deserves to die!"

"The Khitans are cunning; you cannot trust her, sir."

"You Han people are cunning..."

"Don't even move!"

A junior officer shouted and stepped forward, brandishing a knife, asking the Khitan woman, "Did you kill the soldiers?"

"So what?"

"Get her!"

Xiao Yi stepped aside and watched coldly as the Khitan girl was captured.

After that, the junior officer looked at him and gave him a quick and smooth answer to a series of questions.

"Who are you? State your name!"

"Zhan Zhao, courtesy name Xiongfei, was also known as the Southern Knight."

"Where are you from?"

“He wandered the world since childhood, and his ancestral home is Yujie Village, Wujin County, Changzhou Prefecture.”

What do you do for a living?

"Guard."

Who are the guards?

"The gentleman's surname is Bao, his given name is Zheng, and his courtesy name is Xiren. He is from Hefei, Luzhou."

"Bao Zheng? What is his status?"

"The son of the Vice Minister, at the age of twenty-nine, passed the imperial examination with high honors and was appointed as a judge of the Dali Temple. He was known for his brilliant judgment in solving cases and was called Bao Qingtian (Judge Bao).

"Where are people?"

"Because his parents are getting old, he resolutely resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown to take care of them. He left the city the day before yesterday."

"And why are you here?"

"He took care of chores for Bao Gong, moved out of his house and sold his belongings, intending to go out of the city to catch up, but unfortunately the city was under lockdown."

Xiao Yi answered every question without hesitation, speaking fluently and rapidly.

He played Zhan Zhao, or more accurately, he "stood in" for Zhan Zhao. Although he only appeared on screen with his back to the camera, he still wrote a very detailed character biography.

I never imagined that the lines I had memorized would be spoken in this way.

Why did she say you were a member of the Guo family?

“Half a month ago, I was walking with Bao Gong on Madao Street when we suddenly encountered soldiers shouting, ‘Don’t let the Khitan prisoners escape!’ I stepped in to help and captured her.”

"You are so kind-hearted."

"When you're out in the world, if you see injustice, you should take action."

After Xiao Yi finished speaking, even the Khitan girl believed him and spat, "Zhan Zhao, you've ruined my plans twice, you're dead."

The junior officer's vigilance eased somewhat, indicating that he no longer suspected him, but he still waved his hand and shouted.

"Take them all away!"

(End of this chapter)