EBE Chapter 107: Rescuing An Daoquan
Chapter 107: Rescuing An Daoquan
Shi Qian leaped and landed lightly in the northwest corner of the prison. The moment he landed, he quickly crouched down, held his breath, and observed the surrounding movements.
Although there were relatively few guards here, a tense and oppressive atmosphere still permeated the air. Shi Qian carefully moved forward along the base of the wall, his feet on the uneven stone path, where even the slightest misstep would make a sound.
He crept closer to a cell and peered through the window. It was dark and damp, reeking of decay. Several prisoners, their faces haggard and listless, leaned against the wall, their prison uniforms tattered, their eyes filled with despair and numbness.
Shi Qian continued walking, and as he rounded a corner, he suddenly heard a low murmur of conversation. He quickly hid behind a nearby pillar and listened intently.
"I heard that the person locked up this time is a big shot who has offended powerful figures. The higher-ups specifically ordered that he be kept under strict guard. If anything goes wrong, we'll all lose our heads," one of the guards said.
"That's right, these past few days the brothers haven't even had a drink, working shifts day and night, it's been tough," another guard replied.
Shi Qian's heart tightened, wondering if the important person they were talking about was the one he was trying to save.
After the guards had gone some distance, Shi Qian continued to grope his way forward. He discovered that the prison had many interconnected passages, like a maze. Dim oil lamps hung on the walls along the passages, their flames flickering in the breeze.
As Shi Qian passed a cell, he heard a faint cough coming from inside. He peeked through the crack in the door and saw a figure huddled in a corner, his clothes stained with blood.
Just as Shi Qian was about to take a closer look, he heard the sound of orderly footsteps coming from not far away. It was another patrol of guards coming.
He quickly hid in a nearby storage room, barely daring to breathe. The storage room was filled with all sorts of old tools and odds and ends, covered in cobwebs. Shi Qian tightly covered his mouth and nose in the darkness to avoid making a sound.
The footsteps grew closer and then stopped outside the storage room.
"Check this area carefully, don't miss any corner. The higher-ups said that if anything goes wrong, we'll all be in deep trouble." A guard's voice came, tinged with tension and fear.
Shi Qian's heart was in his throat, and he gripped the dagger tightly in his hand, ready to fight to the death if he were discovered.
Fortunately, the guards did not notice anything unusual about the storeroom, and the footsteps gradually faded away.
Shi Qian breathed a sigh of relief, came out of the storage room, and continued his investigation.
He arrived at a place that resembled a warehouse and found it filled with rusty weapons and chilling instruments of torture, including shackles, fetters, and whips.
Just then, Shi Qian heard a commotion in the distance, as if some prisoners were causing trouble. He decided to return to the northwest corner first, check the situation, and then make a decision.
When he returned to the northwest corner, he found that there were several more guards there for some reason. They all looked serious, held long spears, and were ready for battle.
Shi Qian moved through the prison like a ghost, his eyes keenly observing every detail, silently calculating the distribution of the cells and the patrol patterns of the guards.
A nauseating stench permeated the prison, and the dim lighting made the environment even more eerie and terrifying. Shi Qian, with his exceptional lightness skills and agility, skillfully evaded wave after wave of patrolling guards.
He walked along the narrow passage, the sighs of the prisoners ringing in his ears. Suddenly, he heard a familiar cough, a sound that seemed to belong to An Daoquan.
Shi Qian was overjoyed and quickened his pace toward the direction of the sound. However, as he approached the cell, he found two jailers guarding the door vigilantly.
Shi Qian hid in the shadows, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to get close to the cell. He noticed that one of the guards seemed impatient and kept yawning.
Shi Qian had an idea. He took out a piece of silver from his pocket and deliberately made a slight noise on the ground not far away.
Hearing the noise, the impatient jailer turned to his companion and said, "You stay here and watch, I'll go see what's going on."
Taking advantage of the prison guard's departure, Shi Qian quickly approached the cell door. Another prison guard was looking in the direction his companion had left and did not notice Shi Qian's approach.
With lightning speed, Shi Qian pulled out a pre-prepared slip of paper from his sleeve and, taking advantage of the jailer's inattention, quickly stuffed it into the gap in the cell.
After doing all this, he quietly retreated back into the shadows, waiting for the departing jailer to return.
A short while later, the jailer returned, cursing, "There's nothing here. It's unbelievable."
Shi Qian continued to lurk in the shadows, observing the movements inside the cell, silently praying that An Daoquan would receive the note and understand his plan.
At that moment, An Daoquan, inside the cell, found the note in a corner. He quickly picked it up, unfolded it, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.
After successfully delivering the message, Shi Qian quickly left the prison and rushed to Zhao Tianming's restaurant.
Inside the private room of the restaurant, Zhao Tianming, Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Wu Song, Lu Zhishen, Yan Qing, Li Kui, and Shi Xiu had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Shi Qian entered, everyone's eager eyes focused on him.
"Brother Shiqian, how is the situation?" Song Jiang asked first.
Shi Qian took a breath and said, "Brothers, I have already handed the note to Brother An Daoquan and figured out the general layout of the prison."
Lu Junyi immediately followed up, saying, "Tell me in detail quickly."
Shi Qian took a sip of water and began to recount: "The prison had three checkpoints, with more than ten guards at the entrance. Every half hour, a patrol of jailers would pass through the prison area. The An Daoquan brothers were locked in the innermost cell, where the guards were quite tight."
Wu Song frowned: "It seems that forcing our way in will not be easy."
Yan Qing pondered for a moment and said, "We can send someone to disguise themselves as a messenger delivering food and infiltrate the prison, taking the opportunity to eliminate some of the guards."
Li Kui shouted, "I'll charge straight in and slaughter them all!"
Lu Zhishen slapped Li Kui on the head: "You black rascal, all you know is to act recklessly. You'll only alert the enemy if you do this."
Shi Xiu said, "I think we can create some chaos outside the prison first to attract the guards' attention, and then send people to break in from the inside."
Song Jiang nodded: "This plan is feasible, but it needs to be arranged properly. Yan Qing, you are very good at light footwork, so you can disguise yourself as a constable and infiltrate them."
Yan Qing cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "Don't worry, brother."
Song Jiang then looked at Wu Song and Lu Zhishen: "Brothers, you two should provide backup outside the prison and act according to the situation."
Wu Song and Lu Zhishen replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Song Jiang continued, "Li Kui and Shi Xiu, you take some of the brothers and lie in ambush near the prison. Be ready to provide support if anything happens."
Li Kui and Shi Xiu clasped their hands in a fist salute: "Understood!"
Lu Junyi added, "Zhao Tianming and I observed from a distance to coordinate the overall situation."
The group reached a decision and began preparing for action.
As night fell, Yan Qing changed into the clothes of a constable, picked up some food, and walked toward the prison with his head down.
The guard at the gate stopped him: "Stop! What are you doing here?"
Yan Qing lowered his voice and said, "To deliver food to the prisoners."
The guards inspected the food and, finding nothing amiss, let him in.
After entering the prison, Yan Qing quietly eliminated several guards according to his pre-arranged plan.
Meanwhile, outside the prison, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song deliberately stirred up trouble, arguing with several passersby and attracting a crowd of onlookers.
Hearing the commotion, some of the guards at the prison gate went to investigate.
Seeing that the time was right, Yan Qing gave the signal.
Li Kui and Shi Xiu, who had been lying in ambush nearby, led the group into the prison.
In an instant, shouts of killing erupted throughout the prison.
Yan Qing quickly located the cell where An Daoquan was being held and unlocked the door.
An Daoquan walked out of the cell and said, "Thank you, brothers!"
The crowd protected An Daoquan and rushed out, engaging in a fierce battle with the arriving guards.
Li Kui wielded his double axes with unparalleled ferocity, and wherever he went, enemies would flee in terror.
Shi Xiu was agile, weaving among the enemies and waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Wu Song and Lu Zhishen waited outside the prison to meet them and repelled the enemies who rushed out one by one.
With everyone's concerted efforts, An Daoquan was finally rescued.
They then quickly withdrew and disappeared into the night.
The prefect sat in his study, his face as grim as an impending storm. When he learned that An Daoquan had been rescued from prison, his anger burned like a raging fire.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings! They actually let a prisoner be kidnapped right under our noses!" The prefect angrily smashed his teacup on the ground, shards flying everywhere.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and think of a solution. "Guards!" the prefect shouted.
A trusted aide rushed over, bowing his head and awaiting instructions.
"Immediately summon all constables and launch a city-wide manhunt for An Daoquan and the prison breakers! Seal off all city gates and thoroughly check all passersby." The prefect's voice was filled with authority and anger.
"Yes, sir!" The trusted aide acknowledged the order and left.
The prefect frowned, pacing back and forth in his study. He knew that if this matter wasn't handled properly, his official position would be in jeopardy. Thinking of this, he decided to seek help from a higher-ranking official.
He quickly wrote a secret letter detailing the circumstances of An Daoquan's rescue and the possible consequences, requesting his superiors to allocate more troops to assist in the pursuit.
Meanwhile, the prefect dispatched his trusted confidants to secretly investigate those who might have been involved in the prison break. He suspected that a powerful force was pulling the strings behind the scenes and that he had to find the mastermind.
To prevent the news from leaking out, the prefect conducted a rigorous interrogation of the prison guards involved in the defense. The guards trembled with fear, terrified of being implicated.
"Speak! Who kidnapped An Daoquan? Did you see any suspicious people?" The prefect glared angrily.
The jailers were so frightened that they all knelt down and begged for mercy, but none of them could explain why.
The prefect was furious and ordered the jailers to be temporarily detained and punished for dereliction of duty.
During the citywide search, the prefect ordered a focused investigation of suspicious locations, especially those places associated with江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people from the martial arts world).
He also posted a reward notice, promising a hefty reward to anyone providing valuable clues. Immediately, the entire city was gripped by fear, and the people were abuzz with discussion.
The prefect personally oversaw the large-scale manhunt at the yamen. He secretly vowed to bring An Daoquan back to justice and bring the prison breakers to justice, in order to salvage his reputation and honor.