Departing Tonight

Zhang Laifu returned to the Old Bright Lantern Shop. The moment Yang Laoliang saw him, his whole body went numb. He sat by the door, unable to get up.

"Boss, why are you sitting here?" Zhang Laifu went over and helped him up. Yang Laoliang tried to speak, but though his mouth opened and closed, no sound came out.

Zhang Laifu asked, "Boss, I left in such a hurry that I forgot to buy you anything. What was it you wanted? Shall I go out and get it now?"

"I... I... I wouldn't dare..." Yang Laoliang shook his head again and again.

"If you don't need anything, I'll go back to my room and rest."

Zhang Laifu returned to his room. He had only been lying down a short while when Yang Laoliang came looking for him.

"Laifu, I want to discuss something with you. My shop's too small. You won't make much money here. You should find yourself a better position."

"Boss, I didn't come here for money. I came to learn the craft!"

"I've taught you everything I can. I'm not even a Craftsman myself. I've just picked up a little knowledge from doing business all these years. I've passed on every last skill I had tucked away. There's nothing more you can learn from me."

"If I can't learn from you, there's still Master Wang! I can learn plenty from him."

"Master Wang already let you..."

"What happened to him?"

"He's... fine..." Yang Laoliang hesitated. "Laifu, name your price. Can't I pay you to leave?"

Zhang Laifu shook his head. "I'm not leaving. You were the one who said that once I'd learned the craft, we'd go into business together. You said if I played any tricks, you'd make sure I couldn't earn a living in Heishakou.

"If I leave now and you take revenge later, who am I supposed to turn to? I can't just throw away my rice bowl."

"I was joking when I said that. How could I take away your livelihood? Listen to me. Just go."

No matter how Yang Laoliang tried to persuade him, Zhang Laifu refused.

Yang Laoliang went back to his room. He put on no perfume, lit no incense, and lay in bed sighing long and hard.

"You foolish boy. I'm telling you to leave for your own good. Why won't you listen?"

At eleven that night, just after the shop had put up its shutters, someone knocked on the door.

Xiao Chu opened it and saw a man walk in, chewing sugarcane.

"Sir, what... what do you want?" Xiao Chu's face went deathly pale.

"Sorry for the trouble, but show me the way. I'm looking for your boss." Shao Tiangan spat the sugarcane pulp onto the floor.

Xiao Chu led Shao Tiangan to Yang Laoliang's room. Yang Laoliang had expected him to come. Though frightened, he kept his composure as he spoke. "You're here for Old Wang, aren't you?"

"If I could find Old Wang, why would I come to you? Tell me the truth. Has something happened to him?"

Yang Laoliang shook his head. "I haven't seen Old Wang all day. If something happened to him, I wouldn't know."

"You wouldn't know? Would that Zhang Laifu know?"

Yang Laoliang gave a slight shake of his head. "Zhang Laifu isn't apprenticed here anymore. I don't know where he went."

Shao Tiangan stepped closer and touched Yang Laoliang's scalp. "Old Wang values your shop. There are certain things he doesn't want to do here.

"But now something's happened to Old Wang, and I don't have so many scruples. When I make a move, I don't care where I am."

Sweat streamed down Yang Laoliang's bald head. After a long hesitation, he said nothing. He raised his right hand and pointed toward Zhang Laifu's room.

Shao Tiangan understood. He headed for Zhang Laifu's room.

Old Liang muttered under his breath, "Laifu, don't blame me. I told you to leave. You're the one who stayed."

Shao Tiangan pushed open Zhang Laifu's door, then suddenly roared, "You won't take the easy way out, is that it?"

Old Liang thought Shao Tiangan was speaking to Zhang Laifu. Instead, Shao Tiangan came back and seized him. "There's nothing in that room! Why did you send me there?"

"That can't be! Zhang Laifu was in his room the whole time!" Old Liang went in and searched for a good while, but Zhang Laifu was nowhere to be seen.

A cold glint entered Shao Tiangan's eyes. "When did Zhang Laifu leave?"

Yang Laoliang shook his head. "I truly don't know."

Shao Tiangan held his stalk of sugarcane and stared at Old Liang.

Old Liang was drenched in sweat, but he refused to lower his head. "Old Shao, I truly don't know what I don't know. There's no use making things difficult for me.

"But there's something I'd like to ask you. Do you know why Old Wang wouldn't kill anyone in my shop?

"Do you know how much merit money I pay the Trade Guild every month? If you run wild in my shop, do you think our paper-lantern guild will let you off?"

"Trying to scare me?" Shao Tiangan bit into his sugarcane. "Since you brought up the Trade Guild, I'll tell them about this in a moment. A Master Craftsman like Old Wang has just vanished. Let's see whether they let you off!"

Shao Tiangan left, and Old Liang let out a long breath. "Where did that foolish boy Zhang Laifu go? He could've told me he was leaving!"

Xiao Chu, the shop assistant, said from beside him, "Boss, if he'd told you, you'd know when he left. And if you knew, Shao Tiangan would know too.

"If Shao Tiangan knew, he'd go after him. Now nobody knows when he left, so he won't be easy to chase."

Yang Laoliang turned to Xiao Chu. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying Zhang Laifu isn't a fool."

Yang Laoliang sighed. "I only hope he's flown far away, where no one can find him. Then this will all blow over."

Lin Shaocong rolled through the Lin Family Old Residence in his wheelchair, searching it from top to bottom several times. He found no trace of Zhang Laifu.

He had wanted to visit the Old House for some time, but his family had been keeping a close watch on him, and he had not found a chance.

Zhang Laifu had been through hardship with him. He desperately hoped Zhang Laifu would suddenly appear in some corner of the grounds.

He Shengjun, one of the guards, tried for ages to persuade him. "Young master, stop looking. That boy's gone. Come home with me. Song Yongchang's looking for you everywhere. He's been on a killing spree these past two days!"

He was not saying it just to frighten Lin Shaocong. Yesterday, Song Yongchang had fought his way into the Lin Family Mansion and killed two guards.

In Heishakou, the Lin Family and Hunlong Stronghold were the two greatest powers. They had clashed before, but neither side had ever openly broken with the other. Lin Shaocong could not understand what Old Song was trying to do.

He Shengjun sighed. "Old Song's gone mad. He's even admitted to the kidnapping now. I've no idea what grudge he holds against you."

Lin Shaocong looked at the crumbling bricks and broken tiles of the Old House. "The Ancestral Hall's doors were still intact the last time I came. How have they collapsed too?"

"Let them collapse. How many years has it been since anyone maintained this place? Give it another couple of days, and the courtyard walls will probably come down too! Young master, please go home. This place is haunted, and it gives me the creeps!"

"Home?" Lin Shaocong's expression went blank. "Do I still have a home? I disappeared, then came back alive, and now there's this business with Song Yongchang. Will my eldest brother still let me be?"

He Shengjun also thought the situation was serious. "The eldest master is doing business in Lingluo City, and the fourth master is buying land in Willow Branch Lane. While neither of them is home, why don't we go somewhere and lie low?"

Lin Shaocong thought for a moment. "Do you think we should go by water or by road?"

"By water. I'll have a boat prepared, and we'll leave tomorrow."

"If we go by water, we'll have to pass Tail-Swinging Shoal. Will the people of Hunlong Stronghold let me through? When Laifu wanted to travel by water, didn't you say it was too risky?"

He Shengjun sounded certain. "He's him, and you're you. I can escort you myself. How could it be the same?

"Yuan Kuifeng controls Tail-Swinging Shoal. We fought at the docks last time, but she should still show me some respect.

"If we go by road and Song Yongchang intercepts us, my reputation won't count for anything. I'll have to pit my strength against his, and someone could end up dead."

Lin Shaocong still could not put his mind at ease. "What if we go by water and my eldest brother intercepts us?"

He Shengjun was confident. "Young master, don't worry. I'll take your safety seriously. We won't run into the eldest master. I have several boats under my command that he's never seen. If you trust me, we can set off tonight."