Outside, Black Iron PaG.o.da shouted and Wenchang snuffed out the candle with his palm and flew out of the bedroom and whispered, "Big bro, what happened?"
Black Iron PaG.o.da was already on the roof. He dropped back doan and Wenchang whispered, "Might be masters keeping a watch on us…"
"Those Zhu sacks of pus?" Black Iron PaG.o.da said.
"No. If they were Zhu"s men they wouldn"t silently spy on us. Even if they tried to lure us out because the lacked numbers, it still wouldn"t be easy to get in here and save the girl. I think it must be some fish in troubled waters come to take advantage of the situation. You go in there and hide in the corner. I"ll go tease that girl . If they"re really chivalrous people they will come out to help the victim. We can lure them out that way. Eh? Do you smell something?"
Black Iron PaG.o.da took a big whiff. "No. Ohh! Smells like perfume."
"A woman"s perfume."
Black Iron PaG.o.da smacked him. "Bah! You got that girls" smell on you, that"s all. I"ll go hide and we"ll do like you suggested. Remember, whatever you do, you mustn"t break your vows."
It was pitch-black in the room, so dark you couldn"t see your hand in front of you. The furniture was dilapidated and the walls were falling apart. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. Two dark figures were peeping in through a busted window, holding their breath and heard everything they had said. After they left, the figures flitted into the room at once and hid themselves like they were invisible apparitions.
Wenchang went into the room and listened quietly, then lit a fire stick and lit the huge candle with it and the room was illuminated once more.
Zhu Shurong was curled up on the bed, covering herself with her embroidered dress, watching with terrified eyes as Wenchang slowly approached.
"Come out!" Wenchang said viciously.
"I beg you, spare me…"
Wenchang pulled her over and sneered. "You"re a lamb in the jaws of a tiger, how come you don"t do what I say?"
"Save me…" the girl screamed as loud as she could.
Wenchang laughed. "Go on and scream, scream until your throat is raw and see if anyone comes to help you. If you don"t do as you"re told, then don"t blame me, haha!"
As he laughed, his hands started moving, beginning to help her undress. But his eyes scanned the room, searching, hoping to catch sign of something suspicious.
The girl struggled and screamed. "Thug! Bully! Before I thought you were a gentleman, but you"re just a low-down dirty thug."
Wenchang paid no attention, his head turned to the door. He blurted, "Gentlemen exist only in Heaven. They are hard to come by down here on earth. If you keep screaming you"ll only make things harder on yourself."
She kept on struggling, falling over and still trying. The more she struggled the fasted her clothes loosened. Her robe was fastened with a crisscrossing b.u.t.ton loop. Her belt slipped off and the snaps underneath pulled apart. With one simple jerk her top would come open and the b.u.t.ton loop would untie by itself and her breastband would become the first line of defense.
Wenchang didn"t plan to really undress her. But her struggling made her clothes come loose quicker. Wenchang pushed and pulled at her, pulling and pus.h.i.+ng, pulling apart her breastband, and her suppressed soft, pale b.r.e.a.s.t.s were suddenly free again and exposed.
Shurong freaked out and tried to pull her hand away to cover her chest. Wenchang thought she was pulling back to attack him. She was a martial artist herself, so he couldn"t get careless with her hands and feet. He smacked at her hand but Heavens! He hit her rising soft breast instead.
"Ai…" she screamed desperately.
Wenchang felt his hand touch something else and he flinched. He turned his head back to look at her and his heart jumped and blood rushed to his head.
A jolt of electricity shot through him, and intense, innate urges surged through him like a torrent. His breathing got heavy and his groin heated as blood rushed up. His eyes sparked with animalistic pa.s.sions, and an irresistible urge nearly flooded him. Presented before him was a beautiful pale body, with full b.r.e.a.s.t.s and scarlet nipples that tempted him to no end. She struggled helplessly and gently, her face like raindrops on a pear blossom putting wicked thoughts in his head.
A vague image of Black Succubus Gu Zhen lying there appeared before his eyes, that alluring body laying spread-eagle before him, making him lose his mind, that sweet, delicate voice next to his ear making his heart race.
Vague images of Outcast Androgyne"s maidservants appeared before him, throwing him loving smiles.
A burst of excitement, a hot flash, a jolt of electricity, a puff of brain fog.
His hands trembled as he suddenly grabbed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He let out a beastly moan, about to lose himself in a sea of desire.
Outside the door, two gray figures stood peeping through the crack, one tall, one short. The short one suddenly raised a hand to bust the door down.
The tall one grabbed the short one"s hand and whispered, "Don"t move, just wait."
Inside the room, the difference between man and beast was hanging by a hair.
Shurong moaned desperately. She was sweating and finally gave up struggling.
That moan was like a clap of thunder, shaking Wenchang back to his senses. Heavens! That was a desperate sound of suffering, not an expectant cry.
He stared at the girl"s quilt already drenched with sweat and he sobered up even more as a cold s.h.i.+ver took over his body. Dazed, he murmured to himself, "What am I doing? What"s wrong with me? Have I really become a lecher? Heavens!"
He pulled her clothes over her body and said softly, "Forgive me, forgive me, miss."
He went back to the table and downed a cup of tea and said gently, "You can get dressed and go to sleep. Bolt the bedroom door. No one will bother you. I promise you, everything will be alright. At first I was thinking of wrecking your dad"s family, but I"ve changed my mind. The 1,000 taels of gold is enough. But you must tell him that from now on he must know his place. If he tried to force someone off their property again, he will pay for it dearly. I"ll keep watch in the next room. If you need anything, just bang on the wall and call for me. Goodnight, miss."
He pulled open the door, but the two gray figures were gone.
He called downstairs to Black Iron PaG.o.da, "Big bro, anything happen?"
"It"s strange! Not a sound. f.u.c.k, maybe my eyes are really going bad."
"Big bro, take good care of that girl. I"m going to the Zhu manor to pin a note."
"Huh? We"re not going to smash our way into those sons of b.i.t.c.hes" place?"
"No need. Blackmailing 1,000 taels of gold as a light punishment is enough. There will be a lot of masters gathered around the jewelry shop tonight. We don"t need to go looking for trouble. I"d rather fight a battle of wits."
"Hurry back, I want to go to the south end and ask around for news."
"Okay, big bro, just make sure to tell those poor fellows to wait two or three months before they go trying to sell the money and valuables, so as to…"
"Haha! No worries, they"re smarter than you."
The next day, Wenchang sent someone to send a letter to the Zhu manor telling them to send two people with 1,000 taels of gold to the top of Mount Mang at the Emperor Ling Mausoleum to redeem the daughter. The whole day, every thoroughfare had their impoverished friends lying low, quickly reporting any conspicuous character who left the city.
He had said he would rather wage a battle of wits than a battle of strength, so of course he knew that Master Zhu the Fifth would never throw away 1,000 taels of gold. He was using the tactic of luring the enemy away from his base.
The Emperor Ling Mausoleum at the top of Mount Mang extended for three miles in all directions and was thirty feet high. It looked like a hill on top of the mountain. From Luoyang it was far to walk to! It would take half a day to get there.
At night, as expected, masters hurried to Mount Mang one after another. Seven Spells"s eight trigram robe and Black Zombie with his odd appearance, were already being watched.
To give those masters a bit of face, Wenchang decided to advance from two sides at once. Black Iron PaG.o.da was hiding at the foot of the mountain waiting to intercept and rob the men carrying the gold. Wenchang himself would send the girl back to the Zhu manor and make some noise there.
Black Iron PaG.o.da left at dusk. The two gray figures who had been standing watch over the deserted garden that night were Fang Song and his daughter. If Wenchang had not reined himself in that night, who knows what would have happened. Father and daughter heard all their plans the next day as well, and fell for it, hurrying early to Mount Mang to sit and wait. That old hand of the jianghu was also made a fool of by Wenchang.
The second watch neared and Wenchang changed into night traveling clothes and knocked on the door to the bedroom."
The door opened and the girl said timidly, "Please come in, Master Cai, please come in…" She saw the silk gauze sash in his hand and was afraid.
Wenchang chuckled and stepped inside. "Don"t be afraid, I didn"t come to hang you."
"Master Cai…"
"I"ve mistreated you for a day and a night, making it so you couldn"t eat or sleep well. I"m sorry. I will take you back home tonight."
"Thank you, Master Cai," she said, pleasantly surprised. She knelt down and kowtowed.
Wenchang helped her to her feet. "Your father has a cruel heart and is very wealthy, and was able to invite a lot of fiends from the jianghu to make things difficult for me and has laid many ambushes in an attempt to take my life, ah! The people bringing the gold aren"t carrying real gold. I fear he is not dependable, so I must demand the money from him myself. Get on the bed!"
"What? You…" She flinched in fright when she heard to get on the bed.
"Heheh! Relax. Stand on the bed, I will carry you on my back."
"Why can"t you just lead the way?"
"Can"t, the walls of your compound are high and there are many courtyards. You would just be a hindrance." Without further explanation, he pulled her onto the bed and said, "I have to press your mute acupoint…"
"Master Cai, I swear I won"t make a sound," she interjected anxiously.
"Haha! The Fugitive, Cai Wenchang, does not trust anyone"s promises." He pressed her mute acupoint with his finger and hoisted her onto his back, blew out the candle, and went out the door and down the stairs.
Word that Cai Wenchang headed east to Luoyang was first arrived at Tong Pa.s.s, then at King Yu Gully. Word spread surprisingly fast. The time Wenchang spend in Mianchi recuperating gave his enemies plenty of time.
News of the robbery at Gold Valley Mercery and the abduction of Zhu Shurong and the accompanying ransom of 1,000 taels of gold not only shook Luoyang, the jianghu was also rocked. The Henan prefect in Luoyang had already received an arrest warrant from Xi"an prefecture, and after Master Zhu the Fifth reported it as well, not only were official searches launched, even the Prince of Yi"s personal mounted guard went out in pursuit.
With regard to redeeming his daughter, Master Zhu the Fifth took Northwest Escort Agency"s Divine Pellet"s advice and didn"t tell the authorities about that part. He put Divine Pellet and Seven Spells in charge of that. Near the Zhu manor, government troops lay in ambush to protect against the villain from intruding and causing a disturbance.
Friends of the light path and even those unrelated felt duty-bound once the notorious bandit Cai Wenchang showed up, to surrept.i.tiously join in capturing him.
Wenchang underestimated the government"s strength, nor did he expect there would be self-named chivalrous people joining in in secret as well. He believed that luring the enemy away from his base was a flawless tactic, and so he boldly intruded and was nearly buried at Luoyang.
Soon after the drums sounded on schedule announcing the third watch, a dark figure closed in on the second door of the side compound. There were people hiding in ambush all over, and they all figured Cai Wenchang would come in from the rooftops and over the walls like it was nothing, so they concentrated their forces on the roof of each building to keep lookout. They didn"t expect would come in from ground level.
He used Lightning Bolt to force the door bar up, then poured some perfumed oil on the hinges and the foot of the door posts, then lightly pushed it open and the door opened silently.
Another dark figure entered the Zhu manor from another corner like a wisp of smoke. It was a woman.
The Zhu manor was lit up everywhere, the same as it normally was, only there were much fewer people walking about. A feeling of danger and tension emanated from every corner.
The third building was the residence for women and children; there were ambushers set up around the perimeter, but how could government troops and guards prevent a man of the jianghu from invading? Unwittingly, the great bandit had already penetrated through several layers of defense and easily entered the third building.
Wenchang realized the danger, but he was calm and unafraid, and before long he was carefully walking inside, entering the inner hall just as the third watch was about to draw to a close.
Master Zhu the Fifth had been stomping mad the last two days, irritable and restless. For arrogant, domineering man like him, who was used to bullying and tyrannizing people, staying idle was the thing he couldn"t stand the most, and he was not about to accept being humiliated by others. He had three sons and two daughters; Shurong was the eldest daughter. That daughter was dispensable, but he could not abide the insult of it, so regardless of everything else, he was willing to spend a huge some of money to send Wenchang to his death.