The two men’s laughter ceased. Zhou Zhenlong said, “We climbed the incense!”
Zu Ye didn’t understand what this meant. “What incense?”
Zhou Zhenlong glanced at Zhang Dancheng, silently asking whether he could continue. Zhang Dancheng nodded. “Brother Wang is our lifesaver. He gave us our lives. But—speak—without—concern.”
When Zhang Dancheng spoke those last four words, he drew out the sounds long and slow. Zu Ye frowned—he really wanted to plug his ears. This ghostly voice was truly too grating.
Zhang Dancheng noticed this detail and smiled slightly. “Young brother, do you find my voice unpleasant? Neither human nor ghost?”
Seeing he’d been found out, Zu Ye smiled and said, “No, no, I’m just not quite used to it.”
Zhang Dancheng curled his lip and said, “You’re my lifesaver. If it were anyone else, I’d have already had them slapped! Hmph, though no one else would dare anyway.” After a moment of silence, he continued, “Young brother, do you know why I sound so eerie and strange, neither male nor female?”
Zu Ye said quietly, “I don’t know.”
Zhang Dancheng said, “Because I have one testicle.”
When Zu Ye heard this, his ears nearly exploded. “One testicle” was a vulgar insult in the local area. How could this old gentleman say such a thing about himself?
As Zhang Dancheng narrated his story, Zu Ye gradually understood what was really going on. It turned out they were a gang of swindlers called the “Jiang Xiang Sect,” and this Zhang Dancheng was the local leader, also known as the “Great Master Father.” In his early years, while running scams, he swindled a Manchu prince in the palace. It was a major operation—Zhang Dancheng had set it up for three years. That prince had always treated Zhang Dancheng as a close friend, without any suspicion. Unexpectedly, when the net was finally being drawn in, someone in the middle got greedy and “turned traitor,” and the scam was exposed. After Zhang Dancheng was captured by that prince, he was prepared to die. Unexpectedly, the prince still valued their old relationship and said, “Death can be avoided, but punishment cannot escape. Since you have such audacity, I’ll just dampen your sharp edge a bit.”
As a result, Zhang Dancheng was held down by several Qing soldiers, and a young eunuch used a knife to cut off one of his testicles. Blood flowed all over the ground at the time, and he nearly died. From then on, Zhang Dancheng became a literal “one testicle,” and his speech gradually became eerie and strange. At that time it was still the Qing Dynasty’s reign, so there was no choice but to return to the countryside and live under an assumed name. After the Xinhai Revolution, when the Qing government was overthrown, Zhang Dancheng emerged again. He set off firecrackers for three days in celebration, then reorganized his team and continued swindling.
Zhang Dancheng’s team wasn’t large—he had four Batous under him. Zhou Zhenlong was Da Batou, who had started out with Zhang Dancheng. The other three were all discovered and cultivated gradually later. This time, those three Batous had joined hands to “climb the incense.” Zhang Dancheng wasn’t unaware of the scent in the air, he just acted too late.
According to Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong’s description, among those three Batous, the one who led the rebellion was Si Batou. This fellow had been dissatisfied for a long time, complaining that Zhang Dancheng wasn’t ruthless enough and that the hall’s silver was getting scarcer. Since last year, he’d been urging Zhang Dancheng to “kill the rich!”
“Killing the rich” was a major taboo in the A’Bao circle. Violating this rule would result in collective pursuit by the A’Bao community. So-called “killing the rich” meant “cutting” a fat and wealthy mark, directly robbing them of all their money.
Swindling was different from robbery and theft—it emphasized a steady stream of income. Otherwise, it would cut off the hall’s source of wealth. Even with mortal enemies, if you “cut” someone without asking for permission first, you’d receive the most severe punishment. So unless absolutely necessary, you absolutely could not “kill the rich.”
Zhang Dancheng understood that Si Batou’s talk of “killing the rich” for the hall’s benefit was all an excuse. Ultimately, it was because he was bewitched by lust. Zhang Dancheng had long seen through his petty schemes. Last year, while making a house call to adjust the feng shui for a wealthy man, Si Batou had taken a fancy to the man’s beautiful wife. After thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with any good way to get this beauty for himself, so he used the hall’s tight finances as an excuse to repeatedly request “killing the rich.” Once that wealthy man was killed, he’d have his chance.
During this period, Zhang Dancheng felt that Si Batou was becoming increasingly off. He was just about to discuss countermeasures with Zhou Zhenlong when those men joined forces with the other two Batous and struck first. They tied you up but didn’t kill you first. They made you watch helplessly as he embraced the beauty and “ascended to the throne,” and only then would they kill you, making you die in shame—that was satisfying!
Speaking of this, Zhang Dancheng gnashed his teeth in hatred, cursing continuously!
Zu Ye completely understood now. It turned out to be internal strife. Zu Ye asked, “Then the immortal children appearing in dreams and corpses against the current a few days ago…”
Zhou Zhenlong chuckled, “What immortal children in dreams? It was all fake, all a scheme we set up. This scheme was implemented by Si Batou. It was also his smokescreen—he performed well before the rebellion, and both my master and I were lulled into complacency.”
Zu Ye’s body trembled, and his heart ached faintly, but then he regained his composure. He had the clues now—Zhang Dancheng was the mastermind, and among the several Batous who rebelled under him, there must be the murderer who killed his younger siblings. Although Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong hadn’t personally done it, they were also involved. Zu Ye’s mind raced: Should I kill these two people I just saved? Right now I have no weapons, and fighting these two I’m probably no match… I can’t kill them! If I kill them, I won’t be able to find that Batou who murdered my siblings. I need to use their hands first to kill that Batou, and then deal with them later!
Various ideas collided in Zu Ye’s mind like meteors. Zu Ye fell into deep thought.
Seeing Zu Ye in a daze, Zhang Dancheng asked, “Brother Wang, what’s wrong?”
Zu Ye hurriedly replied, “This… this Si Batou is truly despicable! I’m also angry on your behalf!”
Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong looked at each other. Zhang Dancheng said, “Young brother, if you save someone, save them completely; if you escort a Buddha, escort them all the way to the west. Now the two of us can’t show our faces. Most of the hall’s brothers have been turned against us. We can’t kill our way back on our own. I’ll immediately write a letter. You take a ferry to Shanghai and deliver it to a person called Ninth Master. I’ll tell you the specific address, and he’ll help me. I’m troubling you, brother!”
At the time, Zu Ye didn’t know who Ninth Master was. Later, history answered him—Ninth Master was the famous Jianghuai hero Wang Yaqiao, who shocked China and the world. Three days later, Zu Ye met Wang Yaqiao for the first time. Zu Ye was only 15 years old at the time, while Wang Yaqiao was 31. Wang Yaqiao patted Zu Ye’s head and said, “Kid, good courage, good spirit!”
Wang Yaqiao was Zhang Dancheng’s old friend and valued jianghu loyalty above all else. He quickly dispatched more than a dozen armed subordinates to rush back with Zu Ye. After those killers secretly consulted with Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong, they decided to launch a general assault on the hall on the night of Si Batou’s “enthronement.”
After all, the A’Baos weren’t killers. The few guns the hall had were all Qing government-made imitation German Mauser 1898 rifles, with rotten stocks that always jammed. As a result, more than a dozen killers wielding revolvers climbed over the walls and opened fire. In less than half an hour, some A’Baos were dead, some were wounded, and the rest were all crouching against the wall with their heads in their hands.
Zhang Dancheng gave the order: “We must capture these Batous alive!” He wanted to personally cut down these bastards!
As a result, except for Er Batou who slit his own throat when he saw things going badly, both San Batou and Si Batou were captured alive, tied with ropes, and bound to pillars.
Zu Ye hid behind the crowd and watched. He recognized Si Batou at a glance—he was exactly the person who had tricked him and his siblings on the street that day. Although he wasn’t wearing glasses that night, that profile, that chin, and that large black mole at the corner of his mouth—even if he turned to ash, Zu Ye would recognize him.
Zu Ye’s teeth ground audibly, but he didn’t dare act rashly. He was worried that Si Batou would recognize him. Although they were fighting among themselves, they were still family after all, while he was still an outsider. If Si Batou shouted, “This is the little bastard who escaped!” who knew what variables might appear.
Zhang Dancheng sat in the hall’s courtyard and asked Si Batou, “Do you submit?”
Si Batou threw his head back and laughed loudly, “You eunuch! If you’re going to kill me, just kill me!”
Zhang Dancheng immediately got angry. Technically speaking, a man with one testicle couldn’t be called a eunuch, but he most hated hearing the word “eunuch.” Actually, the reason Si Batou was able to rebel successfully was because he’d been privately spreading the word: “The old man is a eunuch himself, yet he restricts the hall’s brothers from finding women?!” The A’Baos were mostly people driven by greed and lust. Hearing Si Batou’s incitement, they all got excited, their pants bulging, and resolutely followed Si Batou.
Zhang Dancheng waved his hand, “Da Batou, cut out his tongue for me!”
Zhou Zhenlong said “Yes” and came forward with a knife. Actually, cutting out a living person’s tongue was the most difficult. This was different from cutting a pig’s tongue. A pig’s tongue was large and long. Before a pig was slaughtered, it would squeal. After the blood was drained, the pig’s mouth was still half open. You’d remove the pig’s head, pry open the pig’s jaw, hold the pig’s tongue with one hand, and chop with the other hand—then you’d have the tongue. But a living person’s bite force was very strong. Two lackeys used all their strength but still couldn’t pry open Si Batou’s mouth. Finally, Zhou Zhenlong swung an iron rod and smashed Si Batou’s mouth open, knocking out his front teeth. Then two lackeys, one prying the upper jaw and one prying the lower jaw, allowed Zhou Zhenlong to finally cut out half his tongue. Si Batou’s mouth was full of blood, but you could tell he was still cursing, though his voice was already indistinct.
Zhang Dancheng laughed coldly, “Do you submit?”
Si Batou tilted his head, blood flowing continuously, his expression still showing defiance.
Zhang Dancheng became furious. He grabbed a gun, stood up, and aimed it at Si Batou’s head, about to shoot. Zu Ye had been silently watching all this. Thinking that the time for revenge had finally come, he walked toward Zhang Dancheng and said, “Shooting him dead would actually be letting him off easy! Right now he wants to die—he’s hoping you’ll pull the trigger!”
Zhang Dancheng was startled. “Brother, what do you mean?”
Zu Ye’s mind was full of images of his younger siblings. After a moment of silence, he viciously squeezed out a few words: “Light—the—human—candle!”
This shout startled Zhang Dancheng. How could this kid be so ruthless? How could he know that Zu Ye was acting out of hatred!
At this moment, Si Batou had already recognized Zu Ye. He opened his mouth wanting to say something, but his mouth was a bloody mess and he couldn’t say anything clearly. Finally, he shook his head and actually smiled. He accepted his fate.
“Lighting the human candle” and “death by a thousand cuts” were two of the most cruel punishments in ancient times. Death by a thousand cuts meant cutting flesh piece by piece, while lighting the human candle meant soaking a person in an oil vat, then pulling them out, tying them upside down to a pillar with their head down and feet up, and lighting them from the feet. The punished person could watch the flames burn up from the soles of their feet, hear their own skin sizzling and burning, feel their melted flesh dripping onto their face, and finally die in incomparable pain and terror.
Zu Ye wanted to light his human candle because Si Batou had personally killed his younger siblings, then burned them to ash, and mixed the ash into clay to mold clay figures. At this moment, retribution had come, not a bit off.
Soon, Si Batou was stripped naked, doused all over with oil, and tied upside down to a pillar. Due to excessive blood loss, his consciousness was already blurred. Zu Ye placed a torch against his feet, and the flames leaped up immediately. Accompanied by the sizzling sound of burning, his skin began to blister in large bubbles. Si Batou actually started laughing, then made “uh—uh—” sounds, looking very comfortable and ecstatic, as if it wasn’t him being burned.
Everyone was stunned. Zu Ye silently watched the billowing smoke and fire. Suddenly, he picked up a gun and with a bang, shot Si Batou dead. He really couldn’t watch anymore.
Putting down the gun, Zu Ye sighed toward the heavens, saying in his heart, “Little brother, little sister, rest in peace. Your brother can’t possibly kill everyone!”