Chapter 1586 - Parting
That evening, the sunset's glow faded gradually as the new moon rose.
Zhuo Yifan had met with Sima Qiudao again today. Sima Qiudao had produced another letter from Old Man Shi. After reading it, Zhuo Yifan felt deeply vexed. Even Sima Qiudao thought Old Man Shi was pushing them too far.
Yet shouldering such grave responsibility while surrounded by unpredictable dangers, they could devise no clever alternative. They had no choice but to follow Old Man Shi's arrangements.
Still, this manner of drifting with the current—though there were "unavoidable" aspects—ran entirely contrary to the principles Zhuo Yifan had always upheld. His mood soured. After dinner, he left the inn alone to clear his head.
He had only meant to walk by himself and calm down. Yet guided as if by ghosts and gods, he found himself near the East Gate Police Station once more.
In recent days, gathering intelligence had required frequent contact with Lian Nishang. Though they rarely agreed on ideas, over time, feelings had quietly developed between them.
Since they would act within the next few days, Zhuo Yifan had avoided seeing her. Yet here he was again, walking to this place without thinking.
He gazed at the police carriages parked before the East Gate Police Station and could not help laughing at himself: he was behaving like some lovesick youth. Lian Nishang had probably finished work and gone home long ago—yet here he stood, foolishly staring.
He thought of what would happen once they struck. He and Lian Nishang would become enemies. Whether they met face to face or not, they would never see each other again in this life. At this thought, an unconscious ache spread through his heart. He had encountered many women of the martial world before—different backgrounds, different temperaments—but none had left a mark on his soul like Lian Nishang.
He wanted to bid her farewell properly but feared accidentally revealing something. He steeled his heart and resolved not to seek her out.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, someone called: "Yifan!"
Zhuo Yifan froze. That voice—it was Lian Nishang. He looked back. She had changed into a casual skirt outfit. Her formerly brisk short hair had grown slightly longer, clipped with a black hairpin decorated with tiny diamonds that gleamed faintly under the street lamp.
She was clearly more particular about her appearance than before. Zhuo Yifan understood well the saying "a woman dresses for the one who pleases her." Now he could not help feeling faintly bittersweet.
Zhuo Yifan and Lian Nishang walked slowly side by side, from the police station toward the river embankment. They had often strolled and chatted in this area.
Zhuo Yifan had tried Kvass here, eaten ice cream, tasted skewers for the first time—all in this neighborhood. Now, walking along familiar streets, he felt an almost unbearable melancholy.
Lian Nishang leaned slightly toward him, her gaze drifting. Suddenly she brushed a strand of cloud-like hair from her temple, hesitating as if to speak. Zhuo Yifan caught the orchid fragrance of her breath, his heart and soul unsteady. He hurriedly stepped aside.
Lian Nishang laughed. "Are you still afraid of me?"
Zhuo Yifan said: "I don't know why you would want to make anyone afraid of you."
Lian Nishang said: "Didn't you say I was cultivated by Australians? I don't set out to frighten people. It's probably because I don't follow Great Ming's rules—so you're afraid of me."
Zhuo Yifan sighed suddenly, thinking to himself that Lian Nishang was beautiful and intelligent, like natural fine jade. Tragically, no one had ever guided her to the "Right Path."
Lian Nishang asked: "Why do you sigh for no reason?"
Zhuo Yifan said: "With your talents and intelligence, why serve under Australians?"
Lian Nishang's expression changed. "What's wrong with Australians? Lingao is far cleaner than Great Ming!"
Zhuo Yifan lowered his head and said nothing.
Lian Nishang spoke again: "Your manner today is strange—you look as if you're full of worries. Is something the matter?"
Zhuo Yifan knew he could not hide it. "I received a letter from home. I must return to the mainland."
Lian Nishang frowned slightly. "Didn't your whole family move here? Why go back?"
"I came here to settle my mother. My father still holds an official post on the mainland. Naturally, I must return." Zhuo Yifan recited the prepared script.
Lian Nishang was silent for a long time, then asked: "Will you come back?"
"I don't know..." Zhuo Yifan's heart churned. Lies upon lies, yet speaking them as though they were truth. He could not help cursing himself: Zhuo Yifan, oh Zhuo Yifan—when did you fall so deeply into this role?
"Is this place not good? Why must you leave?"
"Though this place is good, it is not my native land." Zhuo Yifan admitted that Lingao was wonderful in every way, worthy of being called "paradise on earth." No wonder wealthy people would rather endure the Bandits' harsh treatment to move here.
Yet this paradise made him feel profoundly strange and fearful. What the Bandits had built in Lingao was a world entirely foreign to him—one he could not comprehend.
Those common people who cared only about eating their fill and staying warm naturally wouldn't mind. But he understood what this gang of Bandits truly intended.
Not to change dynasties. Not to become emperors. It was to change Xia with Yi!
"What do you plan to do afterward? Do you still want to be an official—like your father, selling your life to the Emperor to serve in office?"
Though the reason for returning was fabricated, Zhuo Yifan's father was indeed a "Court Official." Hearing Lian Nishang speak this way, he could not suppress a flash of anger: "Being an official is not something just anyone can do. I don't have such ability."
Lian Nishang sneered: "I think being an official in Great Ming is the easiest thing there is. Just bully and exploit the poor, and keep the Emperor happy."
Zhuo Yifan shook his head: "Your words are excessive. Among officials, there are also true sages who worry for country and people..."
Lian Nishang sneered: "Even if such men exist, they are pitifully few. As they say, touch pitch and you'll be defiled. Can anyone who survives in that system be any good?"
Zhuo Yifan said resolutely: "I will never become an official in this life. But neither will I become a robber or thief."
Lian Nishang was furious at heart. Had anyone but Zhuo Yifan spoken those words, she would have struck them down with a palm. She sneered: "Is your father not a robber?"
Zhuo Yifan said angrily: "How could they be robbers?"
Lian Nishang said: "Officials rob the poor to help the rich. Chiefs rob the rich to help the poor. Both are robbers! But our kind of robber is far better than yours!"
She paused, then said: "My father was a Confucian scholar who owned a bit of thin land, making his living through teaching and farming. Unexpectedly, a local powerful family took a fancy to our property—and had designs on me as well. They colluded with officials and schemed our land away. My father was upright by nature and was angered to death. I fled to Guangzhou Prefecture with my elderly mother. By chance, we encountered the Chiefs doing charity work in Guangzhou, and my whole family was taken in. Even the name Nishang was given to me by a Chief. Despite my difficult temperament, there were still Chiefs willing to make me a constable. My life now is far better than it ever was in Great Ming."
Zhuo Yifan said: "I have heard of corrupt officials harming people, but such cases are few. The current Emperor is making great efforts to govern—"
Lian Nishang sneered: "A few? Just look at the poor people flooding into Lingao from all over the world. Look at what they've endured! Every last one crawled out of the eighteen layers of hell."
Zhuo Yifan said: "Very well—say what you will! But everyone has their own aspirations. There is no need to force each other!"
Lian Nishang's body trembled slightly with grief. Zhuo Yifan saw her eyes redden, tears threatening to fall. A feeling of tenderness stirred within him. He could not help gently taking her fingers and saying: "Though our aspirations may differ, our friendship will endure."
Lian Nishang asked sadly: "When do you leave?"
Zhuo Yifan said: "Tomorrow."
Nishang sighed and spoke no more.
After a long while, Zhuo Yifan changed the subject, asking Lian Nishang to share anecdotes from Lingao. He, in turn, described the scenery of the Capital. The two walked and talked beneath the moon like old friends. Though neither dared reveal the depths of their souls, they came to understand each other far better than before.
They talked until late into the night. Seeing it was nearly ten o'clock, Zhuo Yifan bid Lian Nishang farewell. Lian Nishang knew his determination to leave was firm and did not try to stop him. At last, they wished each other well and parted with tears in their eyes.
"This situation is a hundred times more complicated than we anticipated." Li Yayang stood anxiously in the "East Gate Market Emergency Situation Countermeasure Headquarters" on the top floor of the "Fire Prevention Command Tower," gazing through the large glass window at the surging crowds heading toward the gymnasium. "Today isn't a rest day. Why are there so many idlers?"
This five-story tower, primarily of red brick with stone-strip borders, rose thirty meters high—the tallest building in all of East Gate Market and Lingao County. Positioned centrally, its main purpose was to conduct round-the-clock fire and public security surveillance over the entire East Gate Market. Reporting and resource allocation were carried out through telephone, light, and semaphore signals. It could be called the public security nerve center of the entire district.
"You've forgotten that most naturalized citizens and indigenous people don't rest on Sundays, but on the 1st and 15th of each month." Mu Min leaned over a large-caliber telescope, observing the distant streets. "Today happens to be the 15th. Many enterprises are on holiday. Besides, commercial establishments implement rotating rest schedules."
"The crowd entering the warning zone has exceeded ten thousand. The streets approaching the warning threshold are Gymnasium Avenue, Competition Street, Friendship Street, and Championship Street."
As the communicator reported the latest crowd-monitoring data, a police officer operating on a transparent glass chart marked out orange indicators.
"What do we do? The event hasn't even started, and we've already far exceeded projections." Li Yayang was already wiping sweat. His Garrison Battalion had canceled all leave. Except for the sick who couldn't move, even the cooking squad had been deployed.
The strength of the Garrison Battalion under his command was only "adequate" on ordinary days—and this "adequate" required supplementing with the National Army Company and Public Security Army Company under the Garrison Command. There was little surplus. In recent years, as Senator dispatches and business trips had increased, large numbers of Guard Company personnel had been "precipitated" in "travel duty." Personnel remaining in camp stood at less than fifty percent of authorized strength, causing a severe shortage of guards for Senators. This time, with so many Senators participating in activities outside, he had been forced to temporarily transfer personnel from the Garrison Company to guard posts.
Selection standards for the Guard Company were the strictest, with many hard requirements and regulations. The Garrison Company's military and political quality did not match that standard. Li Yayang had been worried about mistakes. But he could hardly use Public Security Army personnel who couldn't even speak Mandarin fluently to serve as personal guards for Senators.