Chapter 79: Retreat

"Retreat!"

Just as Ding Li was about to set foot on the Haichen Pavilion pleasure boat, Zhang Wu, who had been fighting alongside him, suddenly swung his blade forward with force, grabbed Ding Li, and with a resolute look, jerked his head back, barking the command in a low, firm voice.

"Ah?" Ding Li was caught off guard, but Zhang Wu had already pulled him back two steps. Without pausing to understand what was happening, Ding Li flung his machete at the enemy before him and turned to follow Zhang Wu's retreat. At his side, Lu Dachi, as if perfectly in sync, had already begun falling back before Zhang Wu's shout had even faded.

It wasn't until they'd withdrawn from the walkway that Ding Li began to understand—the retreat was clearly something Zhang Wu and Lu Dachi had arranged in advance, or more precisely, an order long since given by Zhang Mingzhi. Despite the scale of several hundred men, they fell back with astonishing order, like a receding tide. The wounded had already been taken away by their comrades at the rear. Under the cover provided by Ding Li, Zhang Wu, and Lu Dachi, their force swiftly and safely evacuated the largest pleasure boat on Xiaonanhai, the Haichen Pavilion.

"Fifth Master, what is this about?" It was not Ding Li who was most shocked by the sudden turn of events, but Old Wolf, who had been guarding beside Old Fifth Hua. His eyes flickered with confusion as he asked in a low voice.

"I don't understand either..." Old Fifth Hua was completely at a loss as to what had just happened. His side had clearly been on the brink of defeat, and despair had already taken root in his heart. The two main agents of the Cao family in Fuxu Town, his supposed backers, were gone. He had still harbored hopes that Cao Qi, at his back, might hold the line for a while, and that his own resources would be enough to last until reinforcements from the Guangzhou Cao Chamber of Commerce arrived. At that thought, Old Fifth Hua gave a cold snort, his eyes full of dissatisfaction as he glanced at Cao Qi, who was cowering behind his subordinates.

In the blink of an eye, the attackers had melted away into the night. Not far off, in a dark alley, Ding Li, still puzzled, asked Zhang Wu, "Brother Wu, weren't we supposed to wipe out Old Fifth Hua's forces tonight? Why the sudden retreat?"

"Second Brother changed the plan at the last minute! You weren't at the manor all day, of course you don't know," Zhang Wu shook his head and shot Ding Li a reproachful look, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone at Ding Li's unannounced departure. Then, recalling his own speculations, he sighed and explained softly, "Old Fifth Hua must die tonight, but if we attack head-on, our brothers will suffer too many casualties! As luck would have it, Big Brother Yang arrived from Guangzhou today on business. At the manor this afternoon, Second Brother asked for his help. The details—you'll see for yourself in a moment!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wu poked his head out of the alley to take a look, then beckoned to Ding Li and Lu Dachi behind him without turning. "Look, here they come! Old Fifth Hua is finished!"

Obeying Zhang Wu's call, Ding Li and Lu Dachi crowded to the alley corner for a look. What they saw left them stunned, especially Lu Dachi, who drew a sharp breath, his eyes wide with shock as he turned to Zhang Wu. He, too, had only received notice of the plan change in the evening, and knew nothing of the specifics, nor did he know who this Big Brother Yang was.

Ding Li, though a bit more composed, was still shocked by the sight before him—and deeply impressed by Zhang Mingzhi's resourcefulness.

A full three hundred soldiers—properly armed, in gleaming armor, the regular army. In the vanguard, about a hundred cavalrymen cleared the way, followed by a shining mass of infantry. The only sounds were the solid thuds of hooves on the stone street and the metallic rasp of armor as the foot soldiers jogged.

Leading them was Yang Hongwen, the deputy commander from the Guangzhou Garrison. At his side rode several dozen of the garrison's elite guards, their equipment a cut above even the soldiers behind them: regulation Tang imperial armor, their warhorses equipped with crossbows, swords, and sabers, each man holding a lance upright, with a spare lance slung from the saddle.

Yang Hongwen and his cavalry reached the bank by Haichen Pavilion first, the riders fanning out to form a semicircle, encircling the pleasure boat from bow to stern. Aside from the noise of the approaching infantry, the only other sounds were the horses' uneasy snorts, as if warning each other of the blood in the air.

Old Fifth Hua was quick to act as well. The aftermath of the previous melee had been tidied up, but the bloodstains remained stark, and the mingled scent of blood and brine, even with the sea breeze blowing, was overwhelming—sharp enough to make one retch.

Old Fifth Hua and Cao Qi, along with the others behind them, were all stunned. Now they understood why Ding Li and his men had suddenly withdrawn—the plan had been in place all along. Old Fifth Hua ground his teeth in fury, but there was nothing he could do. Ding Li and his men could retreat at will; he could not. The Haichen Pavilion was his final stronghold. Even knowing it would come to this, he likely would not have abandoned it. If it were set ablaze, he could never recover.

With the arrival of the main force, a cavalry officer spurred his horse to Yang Hongwen's side. Ding Li recognized him as Fan Ying, whom he had encountered the previous day in the city. Fan Ying saluted Yang Hongwen with a fist to palm, then turned his horse and barked at his troops, "Surround the area! No one suspicious is to be let go! Anyone who resists—kill without mercy!"

At his order, panic swept the pleasure boat. If the boat was a cauldron, Yang Hongwen's arrival was the oil to the fire, and Fan Ying's command was like pouring a bowl of cold water onto the boiling oil—an instant explosion.

"This... this..." Old Fifth Hua, realizing he could no longer hide, forced himself forward from the protection of his men, eyes full of unwillingness but forced to put on a respectful air. Bowing deeply to Yang Hongwen and then to the assembled officers and soldiers, he tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "General, sirs, may I ask...what brings you here this night?"

He trailed off, at a loss for words. It was obvious Yang Hongwen had come for him—how could he pretend otherwise? No one would bring hundreds of armed men to a pleasure boat for wine and merriment.

"So, you are the 'Fifth Master Hua' the common folk speak of?" Yang Hongwen snorted coldly. He had always despised the turf wars of local gangs, and now, hearing that his brother Zhang Mingzhi had been repeatedly attacked—even though Old Fifth Hua hadn't been directly involved—he lumped him together with the Cao family. After all, Old Fifth Hua had indeed been bought by the Caos.

"I wouldn't dare, General! You're too generous!" Though Old Fifth Hua was a local tyrant with ties to the authorities in Fuxu Town—like Cao Qi behind him—he dared not posture before the murderous Yang Hongwen. His legs shook uncontrollably, sweat beading on his brow, and he wiped it away as discreetly as he could before murmuring, "I... I just run a pleasure boat, conducting honest business..."

"Honest business? Then tell me, Master Hua, how do you explain all this blood?" Yang Hongwen cut him off coldly, his left hand gripping his riding whip as he pointed to the ground, menace clear in his eyes.

Cold sweat broke out on Old Fifth Hua's forehead—he had no answer for the carnage around him. Just then, Cao Qi, whom he'd always secretly despised, stepped up to his side, offering him a way out. Old Fifth Hua could not help but sigh in relief.

"So it’s you, Brother Jingyi!" As a member of the Cao family, Cao Qi was familiar with the elite of Guangzhou. Smiling easily, he saluted Yang Hongwen, then pointed to the scuffed plate on his own shoulder guard and suddenly changed his expression, coldly challenging Yang Hongwen: "Brother Jingyi, what is the meaning of this? You think we did this to ourselves? You show up now and arrest us, instead of chasing the real killers. Are you in league with those attackers?"

"Insolence!" Yang Hongwen thundered. The guards at his side pulled tight on their reins, their lances snapping to level, cold blades pointed straight at Cao Qi. But Cao Qi remained unmoved, as if sure Yang Hongwen would not dare harm him. Facing the threat, he smiled coolly and continued, "Brother Jingyi, could it be that I’ve hit the mark? You want to silence the witnesses? Let me remind you, in this town you don’t get to act with such impunity. Perhaps in Guangzhou people fear you, but here in Fuxu Town, let me remind you: our Western Battalion is not to be trifled with!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Yang Hongwen suddenly smiled, a cunning look flashing in his eyes. He reached to his waist, pulled out a gold command token, and held it high before Cao Qi, letting it glint in the light. After a moment, he pocketed it again, casting a look of scorn at the stunned Cao Qi, then barked, "Cao Qi, Captain of the Defensive Battalion in the Western Camp, you have obstructed military operations. You are hereby detained and will be taken back to the Western Camp. Any further resistance will be dealt with under military law!"

This time, Cao Qi was truly frightened. He hadn't gotten a good look at the token, but he knew that as the nephew of Military Commissioner Li Tiao, Yang Hongwen's token, real or fake, would be treated as genuine. There were few in Guangzhou who would dare even ask to see it—certainly not Cao Qi.

"Captain Cao, my apologies." Fan Ying seized the opportunity, nodding to his trusted men behind him. He offered Cao Qi a mock salute, his tone full of biting irony. Cao Qi felt deeply uncomfortable but dared not make a rash move, for fear the wary soldiers before him would kill him on the spot under military law.