The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 49 Weicheng Post Station

The wind and snow lashed at our faces, scraping like knives and making it impossible to open our eyes.

Xiao Yi led his men on a whirlwind journey for almost an hour. Ahead, a solitary little inn stood beside the official road.

Hearing the commotion from afar, he looked over and saw merchants, travelers, and even officials being driven out of the post station. He quickly urged his horse to move faster.

"drive!"

The small inn was built against the earthen slope beside the official road. The courtyard wall was made of rammed yellow mud, and two old wooden doors without paint had a wooden sign with the three characters "Weicheng Post Station" worn so worn that they were almost illegible.

The stables were built in the adjacent courtyard, where several horses were tethered.

Xiao Yi did not dismount, but rode straight into the courtyard with its uneven ground. He saw several horses in the courtyard, and in the lobby of the inn, he could vaguely see soldiers surrounding a few people.

The conversation inside could be heard clearly.

"Commander Mu, you've really misunderstood. I'm just taking my family north to visit relatives."

"Grandpa doesn't have time to waste on you good-for-nothing, Guo Sanlang. I advise you to put down the knife."

"You only need to hunt me, Guo Xin. Let them go!"

"impossible."

"Brother-in-law, who are you to call Guo Xin?"

"Waaah! What are you doing, sir?!"

Several people were talking at the same time, chattering like a market.

Xiao Yi rode his horse to the outside of the hall and saw thirteen soldiers controlling the doors, windows and stairs of the hall. Seven people were surrounded, including Hua Nong, Guo Xin, Guo Xin, Guo Zongyi, and a woman who was holding her two children like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Guo Xin held Hua Nong's waist knife, his face showing a look of recklessness.

Guo Xin held a sword in one hand and used the other to tightly protect Guo Zongyi, whose face was pale and who was trembling all over, behind her.

She was the first to see Xiao Yi, and her eyes lit up with surprise as she was about to call out to him.

Xiao Yi made a shushing gesture and shouted, "Stop!"

At this moment, he managed to pull the reins back, and the warhorse reared up and neighed. Everyone in the inn turned to look.

"Oh! It is..."

Guo Zongyi recognized him and almost shouted out, but Guo Xin quickly covered the little guy's mouth.

Xiao Yi exchanged glances with her for a moment, then immediately said, "Xiao Yi, the Deputy Commander of the Left Wing of the Crane Control Guard, is here on official business. Which military commander are you from?!"

Hua Nong stood in front of the women and children, squinting, seemingly hesitant to recognize them. He clearly couldn't understand how Xiao Yi had suddenly become a captain, leading several fierce soldiers, after all, he had only been a flag bearer for half his life in the army. After a while, he finally let out a long sigh, a joyful smile appearing on his face.

Guo Xin was overjoyed and smiled silently.

The leading officer turned around, sized Xiao Yi up and down, and spoke in an arrogant tone.

"Mu Gong, the fifth commander of the third army of the right wing of the Imperial Guard, has been ordered to capture the imperial criminal. Please rest elsewhere."

"So it's Chief Mu."

Xiao Yi dismounted and strode inside. He gave a slight bow, glanced at Guo Xin, and asked, "May I ask, Commander Mu, are these the family members of Guo Wei, the garrison commander of Yedu?"

Mu Gong said, "So what if it is?"

Xiao Yi, expressionless, revealed the token of the Crane Control Guard and said in a cold voice, "I am here on secret orders to arrest these criminals. Please hand them over to me, Chief Mu."

"It's a beautiful thought."

"What does Chief Mu mean by this?"

"Get lost."

Xiao Yi sneered, took out the secret edict from his bosom, unfolded a corner, and let Mu Gong see the imperial seal on it.

"how about this?"

Mu Gong's expression changed, and he reached out to snatch it for a closer look.

Xiao Yi withdrew his hand, rolled up the silk, put it in his pocket, and said indifferently, "This is a secret edict, and it is not convenient for you to see it."

"I haven't seen it, so how would I know what your job is? What if you try to take the opportunity to steal our credit?"

"Can you take responsibility for delaying the official business?"

Mu Gong's expression was grim, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Finally, he resolutely declared, "I cannot simply hand over the criminal I have already captured to you based on this alone. Even if I take this to the authorities, there is no reason for me to do so!"

What if I absolutely must have it?

"Then let me tell you two principles—first come, first served, and outnumbered."

Xiao Yi chuckled.

Zhang Mantun immediately took a step closer with his knife. Fan Si drew an arrow from his quiver, and Lü You and Wei Liang also reacted, drawing their knives.

"How dare you?" Mu Gong roared.

His twelve men turned around, their hands on their sword hilts, their eyes filled with hostility.

The atmosphere was tense.

Xiao Yi quickly surveyed the environment of the inn.

Besides the front yard, there was also a back yard with a mule cart. The kitchen and woodshed could be vaguely seen in the back building, so there must be a back door.

Four square tables were arranged in the main hall. A fat postmaster and two thin postmen were huddled at the counter by the door. Many wine jars were placed in the corner. There were two large communal sleeping quarters on the east side and a staircase on the west side leading to the second floor. There were three side rooms on the east and west sides of the upper floor.

His mind raced, and he softened his tone, saying, "How about this? I only need a confession. We can temporarily detain the prisoner at this inn and allow me to interrogate him for one night. Commander Mu and the brothers can also rest for a while, and the food and drink will be on me. Tomorrow morning, you will escort the prisoner back to Kaifeng to earn merit, and I will present the confession to the officials. It's a win-win situation, so why not?"

Mu Gong's fleshy face twitched slightly as he said, "Why should you interrogate the people we arrested?"

Xiao Yi beckoned to Lü You and said, "Give a bag of yellow croaker to Chief Mu."

Lü You then took a small bag of gold from Cao Dang's saddlebag and tossed it over. Mu Gong caught it and looked at it, a look of weighing his options flashing in his eyes.

"That's not enough. Give me a copy of the interrogation results as well, and we brothers will both be credited."

"This matter involves confidential information. If Brother Mu knows too much, it might not be a good thing. Why don't you do me a favor?"

Since they were already brothers, Xiao Yi's tone became more polite, but his gaze was even colder, as if he would not be polite if Mu Gong did not agree.

Several soldiers from the Dragon Guard saw the gold and walked over to Mu Gong, whispering a few words to him.

Finally, Mu Gong nodded.

"Alright, we're all brothers here, I'll do you a favor."

"Thank you, Brother Mu."

Xiao Yi gave a slight fist salute and said to Zhang Mantun, "Put away the knife and take the prisoner away."

"Here!"

Zhang Mantun casually tucked his knife into his waistband, stretched his limbs, and walked towards Guo Xin, saying, "You scoundrel, I'll fight you bare-handed. If you lose, behave yourself..."

"Fuck your mother!"

Guo Xin stole a glance at Xiao Yi, roared, and slashed at Zhang Mantun with his sword.

With a muffled thud, he was kicked away by Zhang Mantun and crashed onto a table, his single-edged sword clattering to the ground.

Two soldiers immediately stepped forward and tied him up.

Seeing this, Mu Gong couldn't help but sneer and spat, "Damn it, I thought he was a tough guy, but he's all show and no substance."

Guo Xin retorted, "We'll see, you idiot."

Xiao Yi stepped forward, raised his hand and slapped Guo Xin across the face, and shouted, "Gag his stinking mouth and take him away."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Mantun carried the man upstairs. "Little monkey, let's go."

"Take them all into custody and lock them up in the east wing."

"Here!"

"Innkeeper, serve the brothers of the Dragon Guard the best wine and food."

"Hahaha, thanks to Chief Xiao, we'll dismount you?"

"No need, we'll do it ourselves."

The thirteen members of the Dragon Guard, though seemingly carefree, occupied the main hall and guarded the front and back gates.

Xiao Yi and Lü You settled the horses and went upstairs with their luggage.

As they climbed the stairs, they saw Wei Liang and Fan Si standing outside the east wing, whispering to each other.

"I bet half a penny that the squinty-eyed man must be the nobleman the constable was talking about. He looks educated and has four children, though his wife is a bit fierce."

Fan Si shook his head and said, "I'll bet a string of coins that Brother Tieya is no ordinary fighter."

"Silly donkey." Zhang Mantun happened to come out. "That's because I'm special."

"Iron Fang, guard the stairs and don't let anyone come up."

"Do not worry!"

Xiao Yi nodded and walked to the outside of the east wing, where he could hear the woman crying and babbling incessantly.

"It's all your fault. It's one thing to be useless in the past, but what kind of evil spirit did you fall into? You abandoned a perfectly good job to become a fugitive. Waaah, the child is still so young, and you brought him to this freezing cold. Now he might not even survive..."

Upon entering, the room was simple and chilly.

Seeing that Hua Nong looked troubled and couldn't be comforted at all, Xiao Yi said, "This must be your sister-in-law, right? Don't worry, don't worry, I'm one of your own. Not only will your lives be saved, but you'll also have a great fortune."

"You... officer, spare my life."

The woman only dared to criticize Hua Nong, and was too frightened to look up at Xiao Yi's armor, crying incessantly.

Hua Nong squinted, a smile blooming on her face, and said, "My lord has indeed come. It's a pity I'm useless. I was captured just as I arrived here with my men. I have failed my lord's trust."

"It's not your fault. You're all women and children; you couldn't escape the soldiers on horseback."

"Second Madam, this is Young Master Xiao. He is very remarkable. I want to follow him and make a great career. Young Master, this is my wife, Madam Jiang, my daughter, Awan, and my son, Aheng. Please pay your respects to Young Master."

"No need to be polite."

Xiao Yi looked around and saw that Jiang Erniang had a strong street-smart vibe and her face was weathered, which clearly showed that managing the family business was not easy; Hua Wan was two years older than Guo Xin, a girl who had just come of age, and she was not very pretty. She timidly hid behind her mother; Hua Heng looked about seven or eight years old. He was also not pretty, but his small eyes were bright and spirited, and he seemed quite clever.

"Young master, are you the brother that Yi-ge'er mentioned?" Hua Heng asked with a curious look, "Weren't you a fugitive? How did you become a soldier? You're really amazing."

“I was never a fugitive. We were going to seek refuge with the loyal officials who were persecuted by the court and to eliminate the treacherous ministers.”

"Oh, I understand now. Grandpa just couldn't explain it clearly."

Xiao Yi smiled, patted Hua Heng's head, and gestured for Lü You to take out the dry rations from his bag, saying, "You guys eat something first."

"it is good."

Seeing this, Guo Zongyi quickly squeezed next to Hua Heng, looked at Xiao Yi, and smiled happily, his eyes crinkling. Xiao Yi then patted his head as well.

Guo Xin wanted to speak, but his mouth was blocked, and he kept making "mmm" sounds.

As for Guo Xin, she sat in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, not finding a chance to speak, but her eyes were bright and full of joy.

After they had all filled their stomachs and swallowed back the joy of their reunion, Xiao Yi beckoned to his men and gave them instructions in a low voice.

"Pour Mu Gong and the others into drinking, then make their move at night, leaving no one alive."

(End of this chapter)