Chapter 5 – Unlikely friends.

Yi Cheng did not resist, it would have been pointless. His skills in arms were nonexistent. Two of the guards quickly slammed him against the floor while a third grabbed his arms and pulled them together behind his back. A fourth quickly put him in irons.

While being dragged along by two of the guards Cheng noticed that one of the guards entered his living wagon. Cheng prayed that Liling Gong would not be found and consequently labeled as his accomplice.

They quickly led him towards the dungeons, located somewhere below the city lord mansion. Several guards headed in another direction, most likely keen to report that Yi Cheng had been captured.

When they had arrived at the cellblock two of the guards searched him thoroughly, but didn’t find what they were looking for. “Search his wagon again,” said the guard officer. One of the guards nodded before leaving the cellblock.

The words horrified Cheng. Liling Gong would surely have been found if they had thoroughly searched his wagon already. He could only hope that the guard had been negligent during the first search.

One of the guards removed his irons. A second later the two guards holding him shoved him face-first into a cell. Cheng pulled himself of the ground. His body was bruised and sore, but he knew he was lucky that the guards had not been more excessive.

The guards left the cellblock, leaving Yi Cheng and the other prisoners behind. When Cheng looked around he realized that most of the eight cells were empty. Beside him there were only two other prisoners. Both of them could not be older than twenty but the differences between the two were like heaven and earth. One was short, the other a giant, one was fat, the other skinny, one was tanned, the other pale, there were truly countless differences.

After confirming that the guards had truly left the short fat prisoner opened his mouth, “What gang are you from?”

“I am not in a gang,” responded Cheng.

“You must have done something incredibly stupid,” said the tall skinny man.

“Why tha-“

“Because regular crooks don’t end up here,” said the short fat man before Cheng could finish his question.

“Swindlers like you are pretty common Zokor.”

“DON’T CALL ME ZOKOR,” shouted the short fat youth angrily, “My name is Jia-long*, White Paper Fan* of The Five Rivers Gang. Do you hear me calling you sunflower?”

The tall skinny gang member resisted his laughter as Jia-long mentioned his name. “You truly look like a…. Ahh! I can’t say it,” he paused, “Dragon.” He burst into a loud, tear jerking guffaw after the word escaped his mouth.

Jia-long pretended to stay calm but the irritation was clearly visible on his face. He turned towards Cheng, “Ignore that fool over there. Zhuang Guo is just a Red Pole* of a gang not worth mentioning.”

“I am Yi Cheng.”

“The actor?” asked Jia-long in obvious surprise.

“The very same.”

“You really must have done something stupid,” said Zhuang Guo.

“Does stealing the manual of the Quintessential Spear Arts in front of the Mu clan master qualify as foolish?”

“Exceptionally so,” answered Jia-Long.

“How did you even get close enough to steal it? I heard the only copy was held by that spear expert who almost reached the martial doyen level,” voiced Zhuang Guo.

“It is complicated.”

“Stealing is pretty straight forward. You want something, you take it. How can it be complicated?” asked Zhuang Guo.

“It was gifted to me,” Cheng paused, “Sort of.”

Jia-long let out a hearty chuckle, “You actors are really something. Next you might have us believe the young mistress of the Mu clan gave it to you for ‘services’ rendered.”

“……”

“That’s a lie, right?” asked Jia-long in disbelief.

“Yes, it is. It most definitely is,” replied Cheng in a deadpan voice.

“No it isn’t,” exclaimed Zhuang Guo, “You definitely slipped your jade stalk into her fragrant mouse. Yes, you did.”

“……”

“Seriously?” asked Jia-Long still in disbelief, “You might be the most audacious person I have ever met.”

“I am not confirming anything. These are just your delusions,” said Cheng coldly.

“Don’t worry. We won’t tell the guards,” said Zhuang Guo, “Our tongues are tied.”

As the last word escaped from Zhuang Guo’s lips the door to the cell block opened. Two guards came through the door, followed by the city lord.

“Yi Cheng,” said the city lord solemnly, “I do not know why you thought it wise to steal such a precious manual in front of several witnesses.” He paused, “But crying over spilled milk is pointless. I am here to inform you that you will be beheaded at noon in three days’ time.”

Cheng gulped audibly as he heard his sentence, he had been expecting it to come, but now that it had reached him, he was still shaken. He took a deep breath before replying, “A man’s life is but fifty years. It is but a dream – an illusion in the great order of things. None given life in this world can escape destruction. So my life has come to an end, but the end of everything is only the beginning of everything.”

The city lord was surprised that Yi Cheng could respond so eloquently in this hopeless situation, thinking it was truly a shame for such a promising young actor to meet his end this soon. A smile appeared on his lips as he left through the door. Yi Cheng’s ‘last words’ had been truly received by him.

Two days passed rapidly. Under normal circumstances friendship would rarely form within the course of just a few days, but with the knowledge that there would be no opportunities in the future the three wrongdoers became friends. Even Jia-long and Zhuang Guo seemed to get along better.

At the start of the third night Cheng woke up suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the cellblock. As he squint his eyes Cheng noticed that Jia-long was awake as well.

The door of the cellblock opened and a guard holding a torch came inside. He was quickly followed by five other men. From their clothing and arms it was quite obvious that they were not part of the guards. “Quick, open his cell already,” said one of the men.

The guard moved towards Jia-long’s cell. Inserting the key into the rusty lock and turning it around. One of the unidentified men quickly opened the door.

As Jia-long exited his cell he said, “Free them too.”

“What?” the guard stammered, “That wasn’t the deal!”

“Just do it,” ordered Jia-long.

Half a minute later Yi Cheng and Zhuang Guo were outside of their cells as well. Both of them understood what was happening, but they were hesitant to believe it.

The prison break had been carefully planned. Once the escapees left the City Lord Mansion through one of the servant’s entrances they were soon greeted by the sight of seven horses. The men had been wise enough to take a spare with them, but they still came one horse short.

Jia-long quickly solved the issue, “Yi Cheng, I’ll join you. I am a poor rider anyhow.”

Cheng quickly mounted a horse and helped Jia-long get up as well. The rest of the men followed suit and the entire group quickly left the vicinity of the City Lord Mansion. Their escape would most likely not be noticed before the hour of the rabbit (05-07am) when the guards came to give them their breakfast.

Yi Cheng worried about two things, Izel and the city gates. A few minutes later he discovered that the gates would not be a problem. They weren’t heading for the gates; they were going to the harbor. His second worry was dispelled when he caught a glimpse of a green light following behind them.

The group of men traversed the city rapidly, quickly encroaching upon the harbor area. The harbor was busier than most areas at night. "Dismount. We will walk the rest," said Jia-long. The other men quickly followed the orders of the fat youth. Cheng assumed that Jia-long held a relatively high position in The Five Rivers Gang.

When they dismounted their horses a few boys between the ages of ten and fourteen ran over, taking the horses with them. Jia-long led everyone towards the docks, he clearly knew where they had to go.

The captain of the junk saw his passengers coming close and ordered his men to prepare for departure. When the group of criminals boarded the ship it was ready to depart immediately. Jia-long looked back at the dock before ordering, "Take us home captain."

It was the first time Yi Cheng had set foot on a ship. He would have loved to stay on deck, but hiding in the cargo hold with the Jia-long, Zhuang Guo and the five men which freed them was a much wiser decision.

* Jia-long – Chinese name meaning “Looks like a dragon”

* White Paper Fan – Administrator of a Triad.

* Red Pole – Enforcer of a Triad.