Chapter Ninety-Four: Paying Tribute to the Dead

Having resolved the crisis most likely to arise in the days ahead, Miao Cuihua finally emerged from the shadow cast by the deaths of her thirteen escorts. Only Li Shan at her side still seemed somewhat unsettled. For quite some time, Ding Li was the one answering most of Miao Cuihua’s questions about the escort bureau and Fuxu Town, while Li Shan, with his mind elsewhere, only offered an occasional remark here and there. But that did nothing to spoil Miao Cuihua’s good mood after closing such a large deal, nor Ding Li’s fresh curiosity about the profession of an escort.

When the heart is light and there is conversation to be had, time naturally seems to pass in a flash. Just as Ding Li still felt there were many questions left unanswered, Scarface Wei returned with the two escorts who had gone out with him—and it seemed they had done quite well.

There were two nests of bird eggs, several sea fish that looked fairly heavy, and, most importantly, behind Scarface Wei’s mount were dragging two things. Only after driving the mount closer did the firelight reveal them clearly to the others: two red-furred wolves, the sort people usually called jackals. And when they saw the blood-soaked wound across Scarface Wei’s chest after he dismounted, everyone drew in a sharp breath.

Li Shan, his old partner, hurried forward at once. Taking Scarface Wei by the arm, he looked him over again and again, then asked in a low, anxious voice, “Scarface! How did you end up tangling with that sort of thing? Where else are you hurt? Is it serious?”

As everyone knew, jackals were vicious beyond measure. More importantly, they lived in packs—usually no fewer than a dozen, often several dozen. Even seasoned hunters, when traveling together, did not wish to provoke them.

“We’ve got honored guests, and fine wine—how could we not have proper meat?” Faced with his friend’s concern, Scarface Wei first gave Ding Li, standing nearby, a friendly smile. He showed no concern at all for his own injuries, then shoved Li Shan aside and laughed curses at him in mild annoyance. “Look all you want, but stop poking at me! I’m not some woman! Get the hell out of the way—I need to clean up this wound. These two beasts, you deal with them!”

“Fine!” Li Shan did not demur. He had none of the airs of a chief escort. But just as he walked over and reached for the rope binding the red-furred wolves, he suddenly sprang back several steps, yanking the blade from his waist in a flash. At once, a dying howl rose from one of the wolves that had not yet quite breathed its last.

“You idiot! Trying to get me killed!” Li Shan shouted angrily after Scarface Wei’s back. But when the other man merely turned and flashed an indifferent grin, he could only mutter a few more words under his breath and let it go with a resentful snort. Weapon in hand, he strode forward, and with swift, practiced motions put an end to the two beasts. Then he dragged them by the hind legs toward the stream, muttering all the while.

While tending to his wound, Scarface Wei and the others also heard Miao Cuihua introduce Ding Li’s identity anew. Instantly, they forgot all about the wound. With excitement written across their faces, they tugged at Ding Li and demanded to know how he had swept away Hu Laowu’s forces in Xiaonanhai. The other escorts soon crowded around him as well, their faces full of curiosity, all of them looking as though they would not rest until they had heard the whole thing.

Under the repeated questions of this group of mostly straightforward, blunt men, Ding Li felt no irritation at all. Instead, he felt a warm, intimate kind of comfort. Especially after the fierce slaughter earlier that day, he could not help recalling the scenes from his previous life, when he and his comrades would complete a mission and then sit together afterward.

He embellished nothing. In fact, he deliberately understated his own contribution to the destruction of Hu Laowu’s men. Yet as he spoke, the escorts gradually felt the blood in their veins begin to boil. Because Ding Li had simplified the matter on purpose, the whole affair did not take long to recount. Meanwhile, Li Shan and several others had already cleaned the game and set it over the fire. Thus, with some reluctance, everyone returned to their own campfires. Even so, they still carried on from Ding Li’s account, each trading with his companions the wildly imaginative scenes he had formed in his own mind.

Ding Li sat with Miao Cuihua, Li Shan, and Scarface Wei and chatted a while longer, mostly about Ding Li’s deeds and about some of his curiosity regarding the escort trade. Before long, the game roasting over the fire began to give off a tempting fragrance. Since Li Shan and the others had spent years doing precisely this sort of work, they had brought along every kind of seasoning one could want. Li Shan in particular could almost be called a master of the grill. After he walked once through the circle of campfires with several small cloth packets in his hands, the aroma in the air grew even richer. Coupled with the sausage-and-bird-egg soup already simmering in the iron pot, no one could resist their stomachs’ protests any longer.

But at that moment, Li Shan, who had just poured himself a bowl of wine, suddenly darkened in the face. As he rose, everyone immediately understood. Several escorts who had nearly raised their bowls to their lips gave awkward smiles, turning their gazes toward the carriage nearby and muttering apologies under their breath, as though speaking to companions who had already gone into eternal rest.

Seeing Scarface Wei rise as well, his face solemn, and follow Li Shan toward the carriage, Ding Li instantly understood. He hurriedly nudged Miao Cuihua, who was still sitting there in a daze, and reminded her in a low voice, “Sister Miao, this is Brother Li and the others paying their respects to the fallen. You’re the boss—what are you standing there for?”

“Brothers! Drink this bowl of wine and go in peace! From this day on, your families will be our families. If there is hardship at home, we will treat it as our own and do all we can to help. Your wives, children, and elders at home, we will care for them with all our heart!”

With that, Li Shan lifted the bowl high. His eyes glistened with tears as, with a trembling arm, he slowly poured the wine out. Scarface Wei and the many escorts who followed did the same one by one. Then Li Shan drew a deep breath and cried in a deep voice, “Brothers! Walk well on your way! Everything at home, we will take care of with all our heart!”

“Brothers! Walk well on your way! Everything at home, we will take care of with all our heart!”

Following Li Shan, everyone shouted in unison. The sorrow and desolation in their voices seemed to affect everything around them. The atmosphere grew heavy and stifling. Even a night breeze passing through made Ding Li and Miao Cuihua, standing behind the crowd, feel a sudden chill.

Watching as everyone bowed deeply under Li Shan’s lead, Ding Li and Miao Cuihua also clasped their hands and returned the salute three times.

After they rose, Miao Cuihua let out a soft sigh and shook her head. Glancing at Ding Li, who showed no expression, she paused, then suddenly said, “Ali, I’ve made up my mind. The settlement payment for these brothers’ families will be doubled. After all, I bear a great deal of responsibility for this. It’s just that... I don’t know whether that will be enough to make up for their families.”

“Make up for them...” Ding Li froze at the words. He muttered the phrase under his breath, then shook his head slightly. Even so, he could only suppress his true feelings and comfort the sorrowful Miao Cuihua. “Sister Miao, this isn’t your fault. Everyone chose this road for themselves. I’m sure these brothers wouldn’t blame you either. Don’t overthink it. Everyone understands.”

“I hope so...” Miao Cuihua nodded absentmindedly, her expression utterly downcast. No one blamed her for what had happened. Not even in their hearts did they harbor the slightest complaint. Before departure, Miao Cuihua had already told everyone in advance that danger might await them. Those who came along had done so of their own free will. After all, they made their living by licking blood from the blade’s edge; their heads had long since been tied to their waistbands, and they were always prepared to die. If there was money to be earned, what reason was there not to earn it?

And yet, despite all this, Miao Cuihua still felt deeply guilty. She understood that Ding Li’s words were reasonable, but her heart remained tangled. Only after Li Shan and the others turned away did Miao Cuihua pour herself a full bowl of wine, walk to the carriage, and repeat the rites they had just taught her. Only then did she seem to settle a little, before returning once more to the campfire.

Because of the memorial, everyone’s mood was low when it came time to eat meat and drink wine in earnest. No one brought up the battle from the afternoon. Even though their side had won, no one mentioned it. They did their best to steer the conversation elsewhere. After a few drinks, people loosened up somewhat, and laughter and casual banter gradually returned, but the overall atmosphere remained heavy. Worse still, there was not a single star to be seen in the night sky. It made the endless darkness above seem like a vast, boundless net, forever draped over them, impossible to escape.

“Ali, I hear that most of your people in the South Sea Gang down at the docks are young men,” Li Shan said, perhaps to ease the atmosphere. After taking a few large swallows of wine, he cut off a strip of red-furred wolf ribs with a small dagger and handed it to Ding Li, smiling as he joked, “I’m getting on in years myself. In this line of work I probably only have a few years left. So tell me, if I can’t run escorts anymore someday and come looking for you, would you be able to arrange some easy post for me so I can make a living?”

“Brother Li, what are you saying? With your experience and ability, no matter when it is, I’d be only too eager to have you come!” Ding Li heard half jest and half sincerity in Li Shan’s words. The other man was indeed seeking a way out for himself. After all, the escort trade was not an easy road in the end. Ding Li, quick of mind, did not say so plainly. Instead, he followed the remark and turned a smiling look toward Miao Cuihua. “Besides, Brother Li belongs to the Miao Family Escort Bureau. I can’t snatch a man away from Sister Miao. At the very least, I’d need to ask Sister Miao’s opinion!”

“Hahaha! When I’m no longer able to run escorts, then I won’t be able to contribute anything to the Miao Family Escort Bureau either. Even if Sister Miao still wanted to use me, I wouldn’t dare take a haul without caution and bring disgrace to the bureau’s name!” Li Shan suddenly seemed rather moved. He had not realized that his words had already touched on what had happened that day. Lifting the skin flask filled with murky wine, he took a long drink, shook his head, and sighed before continuing, “Twenty-seven years. Ever since I was eighteen, I’ve been with the Miao Family Escort Bureau. From that time on, I’ve always regarded it as my own home. How fast these years have gone—twenty-seven of them in a flash. No matter how you look at it...”

“Brother Li, have you been drinking too much again?” Miao Cuihua shot him a displeased look, fully aware of what he was about to say—that he would speak of not wanting to tarnish the bureau’s reputation. She chided him, then sighed and lowered her head. In a softer voice, she added, “Everything Brother Li has contributed to our Miao Family Escort Bureau has been seen by everyone. Even if the day Brother Li speaks of really comes, our Miao Family Escort Bureau will still be your home! Brother Li, you don’t need to worry. By then, there will naturally be younger people to take your place. You only need to stay in our bureau and serve as our instructor! Whatever else may be said, could our Miao Family Escort Bureau really go without food for our great chief escort?”

“Ah! Even if that’s how it is, I still can’t just sit idle and take money without doing any work. I, Li Shan, can’t bring myself to do something like that!” Li Shan immediately shook his head. He knew full well that Miao Cuihua was not trying to comfort him perfunctorily, but was truly and earnestly arranging his future. The so-called instructor would in truth amount to nothing more than sitting around with nothing to do, waiting for retirement. Yet Li Shan would not accept it. A trace of loneliness appeared on his face as he sighed again and again.

Then, suddenly—

A faint but clearly audible sound came from behind them.

Judging at once by what everyone present knew, Scarface Wei sprang upright. He whirled and ran straight toward the silver spear hanging from his saddle, shouting, “Bowstring! Be on guard!”

A moment later, from somewhere in the night, came the distressed cry of a horse. Then came several more crisp twangs of bowstrings. Everyone felt as though the arrows had already chosen them as their prey. In an instant, they shot to their feet, each rushing toward his mount, grabbing his weapon, and preparing to meet the enemy at any moment.