Chapter 976 - Captured Alive
His subordinates drew their weapons and charged from the woods almost simultaneously.
Some blocked the front, some cut off the rear, others drove straight into the middle of the column—swords and spears together, swift as lightning.
Min Zhanlian caught only a flash of light from horseback, then a thunderclap—they had firearms! Before the thought could fully form, one flash and thunderclap after another erupted in rapid succession.
In that lightning-fast instant, he saw Uncle He jerk as if punched hard in the chest, his saber flying from his hand, his body falling backward at an impossible angle, blood spraying everywhere.
The three scouts assigned to cut off the rear route had launched from the woods with movements fluid as startled rabbits, but after five consecutive blasts, all three collapsed. One had half his skull blown away by a single shot, brains splattering across the ground.
This was the last thing Min Zhanlian saw.
Within thirty seconds, he and his eight subordinates all lay motionless on the ground.
Ye Mengyan tucked his Glock pistol back under his robe. Thanks to the rapid-fire training that Xue Ziliang and the Americans had developed, he and his squad members had downed nine moving targets in thirty seconds. This was nothing special—by assessment standards, it didn't even qualify as passing. Distributed among them, each person had only 0.9 targets. Child's play.
"Clear!" The squad members shouted one after another. Ye Mengyan frowned:
"Secure the area! Collect the casings!"
Several squad members immediately rode to control the front and rear road approaches for security, while others went to check and process the bodies.
The attackers numbered nine—seven men, two women. The squad members briefly searched their belongings: just spare clothes, weapons, and a small amount of silver.
Of the nine, only one man and one woman were still breathing. The man had taken a bullet through the thigh—the round had passed cleanly through the flesh. The woman had also been hit once, but the bullet had only grazed her. She had simply fainted from shock.
"Probably some highway bandits. Not respectable people." The guide examined the searched items and commented. Otherwise they wouldn't be robbing travelers on the official road—that was a capital crime. Any jianghu traveler with some standing might have done killing and arson in secret, but highway robbery was the business of greenwood outlaws. Once caught, it meant losing your head.
"Zhao Kai is dead." Someone came to report, presenting a dart.
Ye Mengyan took the bloodstained dart with a look of distaste—the craftsmanship was quite fine, the surface slightly black. He caught a familiar smell.
"Arrow poison tree!" Recognition struck immediately. During their training exercises in Li territory, they had observed Li hunters searching for this substance to coat their arrowheads. Supposedly it was occasionally purchased by Han Chinese as well.
The arrow poison tree was a rare tropical plant. Unexpectedly, these highway bandits also had access to it. Apparently, demand creates markets.
"What about the prisoners?"
"Finish them off, dump them in the ditch." Ye Mengyan spoke with complete indifference. He was on the road now and couldn't take prisoners. Though this place was relatively remote and it was afternoon with few travelers, it was still the official road. People came and went—they couldn't stay long.
"Captain, look at this!" A squad member suddenly handed over a scroll of paper. Ye Mengyan casually unrolled it—and was shocked to see a portrait of Daoist Zhang!
"Tie them up and bring them!" Ye Mengyan immediately changed his mind.
The two weren't seriously wounded, and neither had bullets lodged inside. If their injuries had been too severe or bullets lodged deep, with the squad's limited medical capabilities, they would have had to send them on their way right there.
There were established procedures for transporting prisoners: bamboo hats on their heads, wrapped with face-covering cloth and eye gauze, bodies wrapped in cloaks—looking just like traveling riders.
Except the prisoners wore gags, the eye gauze was opaque, and their hands were bound using specialized restraint straps manufactured in Lingao—though made of tough, flexible rattan. Mounted on horses, the prisoners could neither shout nor move, only travel blindly with the group with no choice in the matter.
Ye Mengyan hadn't devised these methods himself, of course. These jianghu tricks had all been learned from Qiwei—though the escort agency didn't engage in dirty work directly, they dealt with dirty-work people every day and knew every trick inside and out.
The group traveled at speed and quickly reached Dadianzhang, where people were already waiting to receive them.
Zhang Yingchen's influence in Dadianzhang had expanded dramatically—though not through deliberate effort. The Nanwuliang Sect believers inside Dadianzhang, from incense masters and incense handlers down to ordinary followers, had all defected en masse. Before Zhang Yingchen could react, he had become "Patriarch Zhang" and "Immortal Zhang."
The defections weren't limited to the sect's organization inside Dadianzhang. The entire Nanwuliang Sect in the Yizhou region had begun to waver. The altar master and upper echelon's panic seemed to confirm the legends about that night's "magic duel" at the Zhuang residence.
Though orders had come down from the Yizhou altar forbidding believers from spreading this story and announcing the duel was "completely fabricated," the believers inside Dadianzhang seemed especially eager to promote the tale—perhaps to validate their choice of the "true path." They went everywhere boasting of Patriarch Zhang's "boundless powers." Zhang Yingchen had assumed they would only discuss the "thunder bathing" incident, but in less than a week, his various "miracles" had become practically divine.
Originally Zhang Yingchen had already built a modest reputation through free medical treatment in Yizhou, and now with this "magic duel," incense masters, incense handlers, and believers from villages and towns throughout Yizhou were secretly coming to Dadianzhang to "pay respects" to "True One Zhang," offering various gifts. Zhang Yingchen understood these people were ready to switch allegiances at any moment.
Even within the Zhuang household, he had made major breakthroughs among the women. Several of the Zhuang masters' female relatives had expressed willingness to convert to his "New Daoism."
Folk sects of the time often wielded greater influence among women than men. Through transmission by eunuchs, they quickly penetrated the inner palace—women in deep chambers were easily influenced by these popular, simple folk religions. Palace maids and consorts alike counted believers among them. Research on folk sects indicates that during the Chongzhen reign, legends and worship of the Nine Lotus Holy Mother circulated in the palace, closely connected to folk sects. The famous "Cudgel Strike Case" among the Three Great Cases was also linked to the contemporary folk sect Hongfeng Sect.
"The revolutionary situation advances daily by a thousand li—this poor Daoist truly can't keep up." Zhang Yingchen was both delighted and anxious about this gratifying development in the Zhuang residence. Delighted because opening such a situation in Yizhou had been completely unexpected—now not only could he easily organize emigration, but he had staked out territory here, laying groundwork for the Senate's future large-scale operations in the area. Anxious because his rising fame could easily make him a target.
When he had merely been providing free medical treatment locally, he had already suffered enemy plots. Now that he was taking food from the tiger's mouth, who knew what methods his enemies might employ? How would officials and the Zhuang family view this newly minted "charlatan"? He had certainly earned Master Zhuang Qian's appreciation, and now possessed the affection of the Zhuang children and nephews, but such scholarly farming families traditionally harbored wariness toward monks and Daoists. Too great a reputation might prompt them to deliberately distance themselves.
Once he lost the Zhuang family's protective umbrella, not only would the Nanwuliang Sect come after him with full force, but officials could make trouble for him at any time. This was his greatest worry—a single charge of "deceiving the masses with demonic words" or "White Lotus Sect remnant" would be enough to cost him his life.
Just as he was feeling anxious, the arrival of Ye Mengyan's squad greatly lifted his spirits. The missionaries Old Dai had trained from aged degree candidates certainly had their uses, but right now having a "sword arm" proved far more practical.
On a hillside stood a grove of trees. Beside the grove rose a small temple. This location was less than two li from Dadianzhang and had originally been property of an incense master inside the compound. Later, using believers' offerings, a small temple had been built here. After the incense master defected, this temple fell into Zhang Yingchen's hands, becoming another base for his activities outside the compound.
Called a temple, it was actually just a small three-sided courtyard. The buildings were modest. The main hall stood empty—Zhang Yingchen promoted New Daoism as "not worshipping idols," so the entire hall was bare except for spirit tablets for the Heavenly Emperor and the Three Pure Ones.
In the small courtyard, seven or eight riders were positioned standing or sitting at various spots, but not chatting. Instead, they alertly watched all directions and entrances—these were the Special Reconnaissance squad members Ye Mengyan had brought. After making contact with Zhang Yingchen, they had been stationed here.
Inside the wing room, prisoners were being interrogated.
The two captives had their wounds treated and had been given a bowl of glucose saline solution to revive their spirits.
The interrogators were quite thorough. The prisoners were stripped completely naked, male and female treated equally.
Two squad members pressed the prisoner kneeling on the ground, holding the shoulders to prevent any sudden violent outburst. The lead interrogator conducted the questioning.
The lead interrogator was Ye Mengyan himself, accompanied by the Qiwei escort guide who served as both translator and observer to catch any lies—the bosses were outsiders after all, unfamiliar with certain social details, and could easily be deceived.
Min Zhanlian was pulled out first for interrogation. Even without the items found on him, contemporary social knowledge was enough to determine his status was likely higher than the female prisoner's.
Min Zhanlian was only about twenty-five or twenty-six. His body was lean and strong, his bones and muscles not particularly bulky but proportioned, resilient, with smooth lines like a leopard's. The escort could tell at a glance this man was a skilled martial artist, definitely not ordinary. Even an Elder like Ye Mengyan had to admit: this person's muscle coordination was excellent—he would certainly receive great praise from Chen Sigen.
Of course, this also demonstrated that anyone in ancient times wishing to become a martial arts master had to come from a wealthy family. Otherwise, just the protein needed to build such a physique lay beyond the reach of ordinary people whose ideal was simply eating their fill.
The items from his person were all spread on the ground: several dozen taels of silver, several strings of copper coins, a few small-denomination government notes and Shanxi bank drafts—no more than two hundred taels total. Simple travel gear and a utility knife.
(End of Chapter)