Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Perilous Dead End

Sweat had broken out on Uchida Yasuya’s forehead, and it was plain to see how miserable he was. Yang Xiaolin understood what Uchida was feeling at that moment; anyone bound up like that would be deeply uncomfortable. Compared with him, Sadawi had been treated somewhat more leniently: there were no grenades hanging from his body, while Lu Mozong merely held a gun against him.

“Mozong, go see whether the carriage has come outside.”

Yang Xiaolin had asked Zai Feng to prepare a carriage for him, because being without transportation was extremely dangerous. At first he had wanted a motorcar, but there were only three in all of Beijing: one was the Dowager Empress’s vehicle, which naturally could not be given to him. The other two belonged to the legations, and Zai Feng told Yang Xiaolin that, by a coincidence, both were broken.

That was probably only an excuse. From this, it was clear that these people had no intention of letting him leave. Yang Xiaolin had no time to verify whether the cars were truly broken, so he settled for a carriage instead. Zai Feng could not refuse that request any longer; he could hardly claim that every carriage in the capital had also broken down.

After hearing this, Lu Mozong ran out and soon returned. “Captain, the carriage is ready. It’s waiting at the gate.”

Suddenly Yang Xiaolin felt as though something had pressed down hard upon his heart. He let out a long breath and steadied himself. “Fine. Gentlemen, then I’ll trouble you to escort me a little way.”

No sooner had they stepped out than a row of gun barrels was aimed at them. The sound of bolts being worked nearly merged into one long roar; it was terrifying indeed. Yet for some reason, Yang Xiaolin was calmer now than he had been a moment before. He said softly to Lu Mozong, “Ignore them. Walk to the carriage.”

They moved forward little by little. The soldiers in front and behind kept their guns trained on them, the whole formation shifting along with their movement. Yang Xiaolin lifted his hand slightly to show them the rope in his grasp, the other end of which was tied to the grenades strapped to Uchida Yasuya’s body.

Zai Feng and the British officer had already seen what was happening. Zai Feng hurriedly shouted, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Let them go! Yang the Ghost-Slayer, you’ve already taken the money. We keep our word. We’ll make sure you leave Beijing safely, so don’t hurt the two ministers.”

Yang Xiaolin smiled. “Thank you, Your Highness. I also promise that once I’m out of Beijing, I’ll release Minister Sadawi. As for Minister Uchida, I’m afraid not. You’ve set up such an imposing scene that I’m rather frightened. When I stop being frightened, I’ll naturally let him go.”

Zai Feng said nothing more and ordered the soldiers in the road to make way. When they reached the carriage, Yang Xiaolin first checked it carefully, then shoved Sadawi and Uchida Yasuya inside and set off toward Beijing’s gates.

There was, in truth, no trouble along the way. Zai Feng had long since cleared a path for him. Although they saw the armed guards standing watch, no one stopped them. The carriage did not go quickly, but it never halted.

Yet the smoother things went, the more anxious Yang Xiaolin became. Beijing’s gates were nearly in sight, and the others still had made no move. Would they really allow him to leave just like this?

Lu Mozong was no longer tense either, and a smile appeared on his face. “Captain, can we take the grenades off him now? This is really a bit frightening. Look, his face has gone white!”

Yang Xiaolin looked back. Sure enough, Uchida Yasuya’s face had gone pale, and sweat was streaming down his cheeks.

“Mr. Uchida, are you feeling unwell?”

Uchida Yasuya’s chest rose and fell violently. “If you were me, would you be comfortable? Yang the Ghost-Slayer, I assure you that you will regret this!”

Yang Xiaolin burst out laughing. “I’m telling you, before I did this I never once thought about regretting it. Mozong, take everything off Mr. Uchida. This carriage is shaking too much. If something goes wrong and it blows up, the two of us are just cheap lives, but the two ministers are precious men indeed.”

Lu Mozong nodded and removed the grenades hanging from Uchida Yasuya’s body. Since they were all in the same carriage now, if a grenade exploded none of them would escape anyway, so Yang Xiaolin was not especially worried.

With barely two hundred meters left before they would be out of Beijing, Yang Xiaolin’s heart settled. Once they were outside the city, whatever arrangements the other side had made, the danger would be greatly reduced. It seemed the Qing government truly valued the lives of these two ministers far more than face. Perhaps he had won his gamble.

He wanted to speed up a little, so he pulled the reins. “Hya!”

The two powerful horses suddenly gave a shrill whinny and reared up together, their forelegs high in the air. Yang Xiaolin had not yet reacted to what was happening when, carried by its own momentum, the carriage slammed into the horses.

Yang Xiaolin, seated on the driver’s box, was the first to be thrown out. He rolled several times on the ground before steadying himself. By the time he got up, he was battered all over, but he had no time to check where he was injured. Then he heard a loud crash: the now-uncontrolled carriage had smashed into a wall by the roadside.

The carriage was broken to pieces, and all three people inside were thrown out as well. Lu Mozong had clearly been stunned by the impact; when he struggled to his feet, he swayed unsteadily and could no longer tell directions from one another.

The accident had happened too suddenly. Yang Xiaolin looked at the two horses on the ground and saw foam frothing from their mouths while all four hooves twitched continuously. He understood at once: the horses had been tampered with in advance!

He had only checked the carriage and never examined the horses that pulled it.

Before he could regret it, Yang Xiaolin sprang toward the nearest Uchida Yasuya. The instant Uchida had just staggered upright, several bullets struck the spot where Yang Xiaolin had been standing moments before!

Lu Mozong had not yet regained his balance when a bullet pierced his chest.

Sadawi, however, reacted quickly. Though both his hands were bound, when he saw Yang Xiaolin charging toward them he did not bother to stand; instead he rolled sideways on the ground. The posture was hardly graceful, but it saved his life. More Qing soldiers immediately rushed toward him, and Yang Xiaolin dared not pursue further. He could only seize Uchida Yasuya alone.

It sounds slow in the telling, but from the moment the carriage crashed to the instant Yang Xiaolin had Uchida Yasuya back in his grasp was no more than a blink.

On the surrounding streets and the rooftops nearby, one black gun muzzle after another appeared. The British officer stood on the windowsill of a teahouse by the roadside. “Yang the Ghost-Slayer, you won’t get away. If you’re clever, release Minister Uchida now. I promise you a quick death!”

Yang Xiaolin lifted Uchida Yasuya by the collar and held him in front of himself. “Very well. Go on, then, shoot!”

The British officer shook his head slightly. “Can’t you see? This time we’re not letting you leave. If we can save even one of the two ministers, we’ll be satisfied. Don’t think our restraint is limitless.”

Yang Xiaolin could see it now. These foreigners had never intended to let him out of Beijing. Once he released the other ministers, they had already prepared themselves to sacrifice Uchida Yasuya and Sadawi. Their rescue plan had only managed to save Sadawi, but as the officer said, they were satisfied with that result.

Dragging Uchida Yasuya, Yang Xiaolin pressed him against the wall, a grenade in his hand. “Mr. Uchida, it looks as though these people have no intention of caring about your life.”

Uchida Yasuya’s forehead had split open, and a great deal of blood was flowing from it, yet a smile now appeared on his face. “You’re afraid, aren’t you?”

“Are you not?”

Uchida Yasuya gave a low chuckle. “Yang the Ghost-Slayer, do you know what I’m thinking?”

Yang Xiaolin wrapped his arm tightly around Uchida’s neck. “Shut up!”

Uchida Yasuya seemed almost mad. “Our Great Japanese Empire has never lacked men unafraid of death. This time I’ve been captured by you, and I am not afraid to die. What frightens me is that you might humiliate me. That would tarnish the honor of our Great Japanese Empire. But now it’s different. Now I have the chance to be a hero. Do you think I would let that slip away?”

Yang Xiaolin roared, “I told you to shut up!”

If he could, he would have stuffed Uchida Yasuya’s mouth at once, but now one hand had to keep hold of the man while the other held the grenade. Even though he knew what Uchida was about to shout, he had no way to stop him.

Uchida Yasuya struggled with all his strength and shouted at the same time, “Fire! I order you to fire! Don’t mind whether I live or die!”

The British officer was clearly still hesitating. Perhaps he thought there was no need to shoot immediately, and that it would be best to make one final attempt at negotiation with the Japanese representative.

The Japanese side stood nearby, two men conferring in low voices. Yang Xiaolin could not hear them, but by now he was certain that Uchida Yasuya could no longer guarantee his safety. He dragged Uchida beneath a window, and at that moment a fierce anger rose in him. “Uchida, do you really think I’ll let things go your way? You’re destined to die in my hands!”

Uchida Yasuya froze for an instant. Yang Xiaolin smashed the window and hurled the grenade inside. After the explosion, several screams followed. The soldiers surrounding him had not yet received orders, and Yang Xiaolin leapt through the window into the room. Then he heard two sharp gunshots, and Uchida Yasuya’s head was blown to pieces.

The British officer had never imagined that Yang Xiaolin would be so ferocious as to kill the hostage on his own at such a moment. Since it had come to this, there was nothing left to discuss. “Attack!”

Hearing that shout from inside the room, Yang Xiaolin drew a long breath. It seemed he truly would not get away this time. Yet this was not because his plan had been insufficiently thorough. Kidnapping was like this: if the other side no longer cared about the hostage’s safety, then success was impossible.

At that moment, for some reason, he suddenly thought of Shen Dan. Now Yang Xiaolin cared only whether she was already safe.

Footsteps outside grew closer and closer. Bullets rattled against the windows in a steady storm. Casting away his stray thoughts, Yang Xiaolin suddenly stood up and fired four more shots outward, emptying his pistol. The first three men rushing in fell at once, but more people surged forward behind them.

A bullet struck Yang Xiaolin’s arm, but he did not even feel pain. He threw away his pistol and picked up a rifle from one of the Qing soldiers lying in a pool of blood in the room. Just as he was preparing to shoot again, he suddenly heard the roar of a Maxim heavy machine gun coming from the street, along with cries of alarm.

The machine-gun fire was drawing rapidly closer to his position. He could clearly feel that the enemy surrounding him had begun to lose their composure, and the bullets striking the windows had grown much fewer.

Yang Xiaolin stared blankly. Could someone have come to rescue him?

He lifted his head slightly to look out the window and saw an automobile racing toward him from the opposite direction. The windshield in front had already been smashed, and a heavy machine gun was mounted on the hood, spraying wild bursts in both directions.

When the car reached his position, it did not stop; it only slowed slightly. Nirel’s head leaned out of the driver’s seat.

“Yang, hurry!”