Chapter 113: I Am the Wolf King

Yang Yaozong and Ayi entered the mountain stronghold. They heard Liao Qiniang say, “Fourth Brother, lock them up first. No need to tie them anymore. Once they’re inside our village, even if we give them wings, they won’t be able to fly out. I’ll visit them when I have time.”

So Fourth Brother took Yang Yaozong and Ayi into a dilapidated room, untied them, and barked, “Behave yourselves! Don’t even think about escaping!” Then he glanced at Ayi with a lecherous grin and said, “Especially you, little barbarian girl! If it weren’t for the big boss’s orders, you’d have been torn apart by the men on the mountain by now. So you’d better not anger the big boss! Just behave and don’t make things difficult for yourselves!”

After scanning Ayi a few more times with lingering eyes, Fourth Brother finally withdrew his gaze reluctantly, locked the door on his way out, and instructed the guards at the entrance to keep a close watch.

With his eyes no longer blindfolded, Yang Yaozong saw that the dim room contained only a bed, a table, and two long benches. Peering out the window, he noticed many torches lit outside, and numerous people moving about the village. Turning back, he looked at Ayi standing behind him and recalled what had happened in the secret compartment, feeling too embarrassed to meet her gaze. Clearing his throat, he forced down his shame and said, “This time, I’ve dragged you into trouble.”

Ayi said nothing, too shy to look at Yang Yaozong. Locked together in the same room, both felt nervous and bashful.

Yang Yaozong worried about how long they’d be detained here. Yet he knew as long as he survived, Zhang Lie would report his kidnapping to the capital if no news of his release came after a while. Then the secret police would surely know, and since both his wives were no ordinary women, they would find a way to rescue him. He wasn’t afraid of being trapped in the mountains; his concern was only about the delay in his affairs in the capital. Sighing softly, he said, “We don’t know when we’ll get out. After two days of rough travel with no rest... The hour is late. You sleep on the bed; I’ll take the bench. Rest early. Only with spirit and strength can we devise a way to escape.”

Ayi nodded, also weary, and without apology, lay down facing Yang Yaozong on the bed.

Yang Yaozong pushed the two benches together and curled up on his side.

Ayi looked at him and whispered, “Yang Guo?”

He softly responded, “Hmm?”

She said, “Don’t worry, we will get out.”

He thought to himself, That’s what I wanted to say to comfort you. Then he nodded firmly.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the mountain stronghold, Liao Qiniang sat majestically on the high seat, exuding a commanding presence. On either side stood several formidable women, their faces stern and eyes sharp. Each held a gleaming steel knife crossed over their chests, the blades shining coldly.

Below the main seat, orderly rows of tables were surrounded by people standing according to their ranks.

Liao Qiniang waved her hand, and those men took their seats.

“How was the big boss’s venture down the mountain this time?” asked the second-in-command, known as the Judge, a shrewd and capable man who had always been Liao’s trusted aide.

Liao frowned. “I’ve already told you brothers the main purpose was to check if business on land and water was viable. They followed with all kinds of boats, but the docks were swarming with Cold Sea officials. Every section of the canal is controlled by our brothers from Hezi Shangtong. If we suddenly insert ourselves, the business won’t go well.”

“Then what do we do? That new Cold Sea official from Jining Prefecture is too greedy! We risk our lives to gather silver, and he wants seventy percent! Worse, he orders us to wipe out entire families. He treats us like mere tools. We are poor men forced to the mountains by the government’s oppression. Though we follow the big boss in risky business, even when robbing and kidnapping, we never kill recklessly. We have our rules here in the mountains. We can’t just discard them because of one cold official! But if we keep our rules, he’ll turn against us. Who can we complain to? Winter is coming soon. If we don’t prepare enough grain, how will the thousand-odd brothers and the old, young, women, and children atop the mountain survive?” said the fifth brother, nicknamed the Clumsy Bear, honest and loyal to Liao.

“Hmph! We don’t know water business well anyway. Forget it! Let’s just break with that Cold Sea official! If we kill him, whoever comes next won’t be so greedy. Let them come and besiege us! We’ve survived sieges before,” said the third brother, known as the Madman because of his unmatched horsemanship and ruthless killings. The gang never calls each other by their true names outside, so he was just called Third Brother. His nickname in the gang was “Wind,” the slang for horse.

“I agree with Third Brother. With that Cold Sea official’s help, land business is easier, but fewer dare travel by land. We’re still the ones who do the kidnappings, but he makes us do the dirty work. When have we ever suffered such humiliation?” said Fourth Brother.

“Hmph! Break ties? Easy for you to say, Third Brother. Don’t you remember how the brothers and the old, young, women, and children on the mountain suffer during every siege? If we break with that Cold Sea official, we won’t get grain even if we have money. That makes money useless! You weren’t here recently, but Second Brother went down and saw that the county and prefecture have assigned more guards to the granaries than before, clearly targeting us. Even if we rob rich households, it’s not enough to feed everyone here for two days,” said the sixth brother, known as the White Ghost due to his pale complexion and fierce loyalty to Second Brother.

Liao Qiniang frowned, listening to their arguments. Each had valid points. She felt guilty for returning empty-handed and sympathized with her brothers’ plight. Everyone thought bandits were ruthless demons, but who knew their hardships? Officials turned bandit leaders were even fiercer and crueler than true bandits. She sighed and said, “Let me discuss this again with Second Brother to find a good solution. Even if we break with the Cold Sea official, we must prepare for a siege and never let the old, young, women, children, and the thousand-odd brothers starve or freeze!”

The meeting continued while Yang Yaozong tossed and turned on the bench. Eventually, exhaustion overcame him, and he slowly fell asleep.

The autumn wind from outside blew through the window frames and door cracks, penetrating Yang Yaozong’s clothes. He shivered awake, rose slowly, tightened his robe, and walked to the window. In the dim light and faint torch glow, he observed the mountain stronghold shrouded in mist, the occasional barking of dogs and crowing of roosters. He felt the increasingly cold autumn breeze and murmured, “Autumn dawn still faintly bright, fallen leaves and chilly wind. The sun rises beyond cold mountains, the river flows through lingering mist. It’s already September.”

Turning to Ayi, he saw her sitting on the bed, softly blowing a delicate silver whistle. The sound was low. Yang Yaozong recognized it as an ultrasonic whistle used for training animals. Curious, he approached and whispered, “What are you summoning?”

Ayi stopped blowing, surprised he knew the whistle’s purpose, and whispered back, “You actually know this whistle is for calling something?”

Yang Yaozong wasn’t sure if the Great Zhou had such whistles, but the Turks did, so he nodded.

Ayi didn’t press further and smiled, “Listen.”

Yang Yaozong frowned and listened carefully. He heard dogs barking and cats meowing in the courtyard and asked, “You’re summoning cats? Dogs?”

Ayi pointed above the room, giving him a sharp look, “I said, listen above!”

Embarrassed, Yang Yaozong smiled awkwardly and perked his ears to hear the sounds above. Suddenly, a few sharp eagle cries rang out. His eyes widened in delight as he whispered, “Eagles? Are those yours?”

Ayi nodded proudly, “Yes! I’ve raised those two since they were young; they’ve always followed me. Now that my location is confirmed, I’m sure Jie Zhilue will soon bring people to find us. I told you, we will definitely get out.”

Yang Yaozong stared intently at Ayi. Flushed, she looked away, avoiding his gaze.

Realizing his own loss of composure, Yang cleared his throat twice, steadied his excitement, and walked back to the window to think. After a moment, he whispered, “Come look at their guards. When we came up, I felt they circled around, avoiding some traps they set up. So Jie Zhilue might not easily reach this place, especially with us needing to escape. If we can find a way out of the stronghold first and have support outside, we might succeed.”

Ayi stood beside him, looking out. The stronghold had tall gates and thick walls, with many patrolling guards. The sides without walls were steep cliffs. She recalled the path up the mountain—though blindfolded, it seemed they had deliberately avoided hidden traps, just as Yang said. She furrowed her brow.

Peeking through the door crack, Yang saw the guard outside had fallen asleep. He whispered to Ayi, “We should warn Jie Zhilue not to climb the mountain recklessly, to avoid the traps. Let him find a hidden spot to observe for a few days. If anything happens, your eagle should be able to deliver a message upon hearing your whistle.”

Ayi nodded confidently, “My eagles obey better than your Great Zhou’s carrier pigeons!”

Yang Yaozong chuckled at her pride. Then he loosened his robe.

Seeing this, Ayi stepped back, blushing and scolding softly, “What are you doing?”

Yang quickly tore a piece of white cloth from his robe lining and, embarrassed, said, “The guard outside is asleep, and the watch isn’t tight. I’ll write a letter and have your eagle deliver it to Jie Zhilue.”

Ayi nodded, feeling a bit guilty for overreacting.

Yang spread the white cloth on the table and took out a dagger from his boot—a finely crafted blade gifted by the virtuous prince. The dagger’s tip gently touched his finger, slicing it deeply until blood flowed freely. He was about to write.

Ayi hurriedly stopped him, “Jie Zhilue doesn’t understand Great Zhou script.”

Yang froze, then held out his bleeding finger, “I don’t understand Turkic script either, so don’t waste it. You write.”

Blushing but determined, Ayi dipped her finger in the blood and carefully wrote several lines in Turkic on the cloth.

When finished, she summoned an eagle. The bird, with bright eyes and gray-brown feathers, a yellow hooked beak, strong legs, and sharp talons, obediently perched outside the window, awaiting the cloth tied to its leg. After binding the message, Ayi stroked its feathers and whispered in Turkic. The eagle spread its wings and flew off.

Yang sucked his finger, stopping the bleeding, and whispered, “Can your eagle deliver messages to strangers?”

Ayi glanced at him, “No. My eagles only recognize me, Jie Zhilue, and Sewu. We all have these whistles. When the eagle is nearby, even unseen, it can find us and only delivers messages among the three of us.”

Yang nodded and handed the dagger to Ayi, “Here, use this for self-defense for now.”

Ayi looked at the dagger but didn’t reach for it. Instead, she lifted her foot and drew a curved knife from her boot. The sheath was intricately carved with a wolf standing atop a mountain howling at the full moon. A green gem inlaid as the wolf’s eye sparkled like its eerie nighttime gaze. She unsheathed the blade, revealing a shiny, sharp edge—a rare fine weapon.

Yang frowned and asked, “The maid who took you up here reached out several times. With this dagger, you could have killed her by surprise and escaped, hiding somewhere. They wouldn’t waste time chasing you. Why didn’t you run?”

Ayi’s bright eyes locked on his, and she retorted, “What about you? Why didn’t you run? Hei Yao could have taken you away many times, but you chose to stay.”

Annoyed, Yang snapped, “I’m not like you. If you ran, I could find a chance to escape! But you — a young girl — going into the mountain fortress is like walking into a wolf’s den!”

Ayi snorted defiantly, “Wherever I go, I’m not afraid. Especially entering a wolf’s den—because I am the wolf king!”