Chapter Eighty-Seven: Separate Ways

Nirel nodded. As mercenaries, they were all well acquainted with the currencies of different countries. One quick glance was enough for him to know that if the money were taken out and divided among the brothers, each man would receive something worth roughly twenty thousand pounds. That figure pleased Nirel greatly. Even if they worked as mercenaries, starving and toiling for twenty years would not earn them that much.

“Thank you. It has been a pleasure to work with you.”

Nirel held out his hand. Yang Xiaolin took it and shook it once.

“I have already made arrangements. Tomorrow a sum of money will arrive. When it does, take the remaining two dozen white men outside Beijing, and once you’ve released them, leave at once. Those ministers are still in my hands. They wouldn’t dare play any tricks.”

Nirel froze. Yang Xiaolin’s words meant that he was being told to take the money and go first, and that moved him deeply. He knew very well how dangerous it would be to remain. Especially now that his more than one hundred men were about to leave, Yang Xiaolin’s forces would suddenly look terribly thin. The danger would be even greater. Nirel had always worried that, at the final moment, Yang Xiaolin would cast him aside and make him bear the blame. He had never imagined that this Yang the Ghost-Buster would be so loyal and righteous.

“Yang, then what will you do?”

Yang Xiaolin smiled carelessly. “Don’t worry. I have a way to get out. Remember this: after you leave Beijing, if everything goes smoothly, send someone back to light a string of firecrackers on the bell tower opposite. If I do not hear them within three days, I will know something has gone wrong.”

Nirel stared at Yang Xiaolin for a long time. Only then did he turn back to Regg and say a few words. After that he called the black men over. In front of Yang Xiaolin, they divided up the money. Every pocket was stuffed to the brim. This robbery meant they would never have to be mercenaries again. So long as they could get away, they could find some place and live the life they had always wanted.

After the money had been divided, Nirel once again extended his hand.

“Yang, honesty. I can do that too.”

The two men shook hands once more, and then Nirel left.

After he was gone, Yang Xiaolin let out a long breath. “Biaozi, keep a close watch on those ministers. From today on, not one of them is allowed to step out of that room. Hang grenades all around the rooms, and have brothers standing guard inside.”

Biaozi answered, “Yes, sir.”

Yang Xiaolin sighed deeply. Up to now, everything had still been unfolding just as he had expected. But he understood that the other side would not let him leave with the money in peace. If he wanted to get away, he would still have to place his hopes in those ministers.

“Once the ransom arrives, take the brothers and the money and leave first. If Nirel and the others get out safely, the court probably won’t touch you. I’ll stay here with Lu Mozong and keep the Japanese minister and the British minister until the very end. If necessary, I’ll invite the Japanese minister for a trip to Wheel Mountain.”

Why choose the Japanese minister? The reason was simple. The cruelty of the Japanese army during the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer crisis, and the suffering they later brought upon the Chinese nation, made Yang Xiaolin feel that if he could not escape this time, the one who should die with him ought to be Japanese. Besides, Yang Xiaolin had already said that he and the Japanese were friends. At a time like this, of course he should ask his “friends” for help.

Biaozi remained loyal as ever. “Captain, let me stay. The brothers in the mountains are all waiting for you to go back.”

Yang Xiaolin smiled at him. “The foreigners won’t let me off. Only if I stay will you be safer.”

Biaozi still seemed about to say more, but Yang Xiaolin waved him down. “Enough. Remember, you must bring the brothers and the money back. And Yang Du—do not let that man run away. That fellow has been sly from the moment he came in. He has not said a single word, and no one knows what he is plotting. As for Mr. Liang, leave him be. He won’t run.”

Up to that point, Liang Qichao had been the freest man in the entire compound. He could move about as he pleased, even go as far as the gate. Yang Xiaolin had not restricted him. Because Yang Xiaolin knew that Liang Qichao did not dare leave. The moment he stepped outside that gate, Zaifeng would arrest him at once and hand him over to Cixi.

The real key was Yang Du. During the years when Yuan Shikai ruled China, Yang Du had been one of Yuan’s advisers, and in Yuan’s struggles with the revolutionaries, it was often this man who devised the strategies. In the dark days to come at Wheel Mountain, if Yang Xiaolin hoped to survive the combined pressure of the Japanese, the Russians, and the Qing court, he would need not only a force capable of fighting and winning, but also a strategist. Clearly, Adviser Kong was not up to that task.

As for what Yang Du was thinking, Yang Xiaolin had no idea at all. Whatever his attitude might be, he would be tied down and brought to Wheel Mountain first.

Biaozi nodded. “Don’t worry, Captain. I know what I’m doing.”

After speaking with Biaozi, he too left. Only the young mistress remained seated in the room. Ever since Yang Xiaolin had said those words last time, she had not paid him any attention. Now she still said nothing, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

“I have to go. The court will not spare you. All this trouble was caused by me. I want to know what you plan to do.”

Yang Xiaolin’s voice was very soft. He truly hoped that the woman would suddenly look up and say she wanted to go with him, or even that she did not know where to go. That way, he could at least try once more to persuade her.

Who would have thought that the young mistress already had a plan of her own.

“I’m going to Shanghai. I still have an older brother there working for the foreigners. You needn’t worry about me. Just send me out of Beijing, the same way you did your brothers.”

A faint, sour feeling rose in Yang Xiaolin’s chest. They were about to part. If this had been the old Yang police officer, he would have confessed his feelings without hesitation, unconcerned with any moral restraint. But the present Yang Xiaolin could not do that. Once he returned to Wheel Mountain, he could not even promise what his own life would be like. One thing was certain: it would be hard.

Morality could be ignored, but what would he be seeking her out for then? Just to suffer?

Yang Xiaolin said nothing more. He took out a wrapped parcel. “There are thirty thousand pounds in here. You should be able to use it in Shanghai. There are also some gold and silver ornaments, all of them stripped from those foreigners.”

As he said this, he glanced at the young mistress. He was a little worried that a woman like her would refuse money he had robbed. Yet once again she surprised him. She took the parcel quite readily.

“Thank you.”

Yang Xiaolin was slightly taken aback. At that moment, she seemed to realize that he was prepared to let her leave, and the guardedness in her heart eased a little.

“You think I wouldn’t take it? The foreigners stole everything from my home. Why shouldn’t I take theirs?”

Yang Xiaolin gave a small smile. “That makes sense. I’ll arrange for you to leave in a few days. I can only say this: be careful. I hope nothing happens to you.”

The young mistress nodded. “You too.”

Then she smiled again, and that smile made Yang Xiaolin feel a little better inside.

“I’ve known you all these days, and I still don’t know your name. Can you tell me?”

She hesitated for a moment, and finally said, “Shen Dan.”

Shen Dan. Yang Xiaolin remembered the name. He believed that in the days to come, he would think of this woman again. Perhaps it would become a memory etched deep into his bones, or perhaps only a faint trace of recollection.

In the days that followed, everything developed exactly according to Yang Xiaolin’s plan. Nirel and the others left first. Three days later, the firecrackers sounded. Clearly, the people outside had made him their sole target and had no wish to move against the other accomplices. Then Zaifeng delivered the ransom once more, at the price set by those ministers. This time the negotiation was far more generous, because the money had all been raised by the foreigners. In the end, the Qing government would still be the one to pay, but at least it could be left owing the debt. Moreover, the foreigners made themselves very clear: once the hostages were safe, if they could not capture Yang Xiaolin, they would extend another loan to the Qing government, with no collateral required, specifically to equip and train Qing troops in Northeast China for the campaign to encircle Wheel Mountain.

After receiving the final payment, Yang Xiaolin had Biaozi and the others take the money and leave. He also sent Yang Du, Liang Qichao, and Shen Dan out with them. Whether that route was absolutely safe, he did not know, but once Biaozi and the others were gone, the most dangerous place would be where Yang Xiaolin and Lu Mozong remained.

When Biaozi and the others sent back the signal that they had withdrawn safely, Yang Xiaolin released everyone except the British minister, Satow, and the Japanese minister, Uchida Yasuya.

The huge residence now contained only four people. Yang Xiaolin had already seen the figures of Qing soldiers entering the Zhao family compound. If the rooms had not been ringed with grenades, he suspected those men would have tried to find some other way to rescue the hostages first.

Lu Mozong’s hands were trembling slightly. When Yang Xiaolin told him to bind Satow and Uchida Yasuya, he failed several times to tie the ropes securely.

“Scared, are you?”

Yang Xiaolin asked softly, a smile on his face. Lu Mozong first nodded, then felt it was not quite proper for Yang Xiaolin to know he was afraid, and shook his head again. Yet whether he nodded or shook his head, the grave expression on his face could not conceal the terror in his heart.

In truth, Yang Xiaolin was afraid too. It is human nature. When everyone else has left, any person will feel lonely and helpless. The Qing troops and the foreign forces outside were gathering in greater and greater numbers, and Yang Xiaolin could be certain those foreigners would not simply let him walk out. He even worried that if he took Uchida Yasuya with him, those foreigners still would not care whether he lived or died.

Only, Yang Xiaolin’s nerves were stronger, and he did not show it.

“Don’t worry. Our two lives are worth very little. So long as Mr. Satow and Mr. Uchida are still in our hands, the people outside won’t dare open fire.”

At that moment Satow suddenly said, “Yang the Ghost-Buster, do you think you can get away? Tell me the truth.”

Yang Xiaolin looked at him. “That depends on how important the two of you are in the minds of those people outside. Mr. Satow, the moment I leave Beijing, I will release you. As for Mr. Uchida, I have been less than hospitable this time, and I have fallen short of a friend’s duty, so I intend to receive you properly on Wheel Mountain.”

As he spoke, he tightened the ropes around Uchida Yasuya’s body for Lu Mozong and even hung several grenades from him.

Watching this, Satow gave a bitter smile. “So this is how you treat a friend? Fortunately, we are not friends.”

Yang Xiaolin smiled. “Mr. Satow, perhaps one day we will become the best of friends.”