Chapter 6: The Killer Liang Qi
An hour ago, at Wei City prison…
The air inside the prison was thick with a mix of odors. The air reeked not only of rotting vegetation but also of a sharp, acrid stench of urine, enough to make one’s stomach turn.
In a cell at the very end of the dimly lit corridor sat a prisoner with a fierce and menacing appearance, his clothes in tatters. He had a burly frame, sharp eyes, and an unmistakable air of banditry about him.
A closer look revealed that he was missing the ring and pinky fingers on his left hand, and the pinky on his right. Only seven fingers remained.
He was none other than Liang Qi, the infamous bandit who once roamed unchecked across Wei City.
Wielding his family’s signature Black Tiger Golden Fist and known for his ruthless nature, he had finally been taken down a few days ago by Zhao Wuzhu, one of Wei City's two head constables.
“Liang Qi, time to eat,” said a young prison guard as he approached, a hint of fear in his eyes.
The moment he set the food down, Liang Qi suddenly lunged forward and began devouring it in huge mouthfuls. Seeing this, the young guard jumped back, startled. The man’s vicious looks and lightning-fast movements made him truly terrifying.
When the young guard returned to the duty room, an older warden chuckled and teased, “Shuanzi, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
The young guard named Shuanzi gave a bitter smile. “Damn it, that Liang Qi is scary as hell just to look at.”
“Afraid of what? He’s just some loser who got beaten by Head Constable Zhao. Now he’s locked up in the dungeon. What trouble could he possibly stir up?” scoffed the slightly older guard.
As if that bandit could escape from prison!
“Mr. Du, don’t you feel like the cells are unusually cold tonight?” Shuanzi exhaled into his hands, rubbing them together.
The older guard, Mr. Du, nodded. “Yeah… it really is damn cold tonight.”
He reached out, poured a cup of liquor, and handed it to Shuanzi. “Here, have a drink to warm yourself up.”
Shuanzi took it and downed it in one go. “Thanks, Mr. Du.”
Over on this side, the jailers were chatting and laughing. But deep within the prison, outside one of the inner cells, a sudden burst of footsteps echoed through the darkness.
A middle-aged guard suddenly frowned and drew his blade before he stepped outside and shouted, “Who’s there!?”
But the prison was silent and empty, and the corridor held no one.
The guard surnamed Du followed him out. Seeing no one around, he let out a sigh of relief. “Mr. Hu, aren’t you being a bit jumpy?”
The middle-aged guard furrowed his brow, eyes narrowing toward the depths of the prison. In a low voice, he said, “Come on, let’s go check on Liang Qi.”
That Liang Qi was a vicious criminal, and Head Constable Zhao had given them repeated, strict orders to keep a close watch on him. A few of the guards unsheathed their blades and made their way to the cell deep in the dungeon.
Suddenly, the middle-aged guard’s expression darkened. The cell was completely empty!
“He escaped!”
Seeing this, a chill shot up the middle-aged guard’s spine. How could a convicted murderer vanish into thin air from Wei City’s heavily guarded prison? Could it be… a ghost!?
The guards immediately rushed out to spread the news of Liang Qi’s escape. After being notified, the county magistrate flew into a rage and dispatched yamen officers and local militia to comb the entire city, searching door to door.
That was the reason for the earlier scene with the blade-wielding yamen officer showing up at Li Yanchu’s door.
“Liang Qi actually broke out? And he just vanished from such a tightly guarded prison?” Li Yanchu was genuinely surprised.
A whole mob of fierce-looking officers swept through the city, led by the two head constables, Zhao Wuzhu and Wang Chongshan. Magistrate Xu ordered the city gates sealed, and no one was allowed to leave.
Panic spread across Wei City. The wealthy households, in particular, were gripped with fear; they were terrified that the bandit Liang Qi might sneak into their homes.
Rumors even began to spread that the prison was haunted. For someone to disappear without a trace… It was simply beyond belief!
***
The Kingdom of Qian enforced a strict curfew: after nightfall, commoners were forbidden from being out on the streets.
On the day after Liang Qi escaped from the Wei City prison, Zhao Wuzhu led officers in a manhunt for the fugitive.
That night, Wei City was eerily quiet and still. Apart from the occasional mating cry of cats in heat and the barking of dogs, which only added to the eerie, chilling atmosphere brought by the howling wind, the night was deathly silent. The people of Wei City had long shut their doors, extinguished their lamps, and gone to bed.
Zhao Wuzhu was a middle-aged man with a broad, muscular build. He had trained his body through body-hardening training[1] and hard qigong[2], and was a master of the blade. He once single-handedly cut down over twenty mountain bandits, earning widespread fame.
After being recruited by the Wei City county yamen as a constable, he settled down in the area. Over the years, countless murderers and robbers had fallen into his hands. And now, the very bandit he had just captured, Liang Qi, had managed to escape from prison.
Determined to bring him back to justice, Zhao Wuzhu led his men in a citywide search.
“Head Constable Zhao, something’s off about that house!” a yamen officer suddenly said.
“Hm?” Zhao Wuzhu looked over and saw what appeared to be an ordinary home, its lantern still lit. The house was located in the northern part of the city, an area mostly inhabited by the poor.
The courtyard was enclosed by a simple fence. Through the window, they could see a light on inside, and a lone figure sitting there.
“Head Constable Zhao, this house belongs to the local rascal Hu Ergou. Three days ago, he got into a fight and was stabbed to death in a dark alley. I was the one who handled the case,” the officer explained.
“Did Hu Ergou have any family?” Zhao Wuzhu asked.
“Both his parents died early. He was a street thug with no relatives in the county. He didn’t even have a wife,” the officer replied.
That was why he said something was strange about the house.
“In that case, there shouldn’t be anyone there at all,” Zhao Wuzhu said, frowning. He turned to a few officers and gave instructions, “You lot, take some men to circle around and cover the back. The rest of you, come in with me.”
The yamen officers under Zhao Wuzhu’s command obeyed and led the local militia around to take position behind the house to prevent the fugitive from escaping.
Just then, Zhao Wuzhu gently pushed the door, and to his surprise, it wasn’t locked at all. It creaked open with just a light push.
The yamen officers exchanged glances, each tightening their grip on their blades.
Confident in his skills and bold by nature, Zhao Wuzhu took the lead and stepped forward. The figure they’d seen through the window was still seated by it.
“Open up! The authorities are searching for a fugitive!” Zhao Wuzhu shouted, pounding on the door.
But the person inside remained motionless, and no one responded. The courtyard was deathly quiet as well.
Zhao Wuzhu frowned and gave the door a strong push. To his surprise, it swung open effortlessly. Just then, an eerie atmosphere immediately enveloped them, and his heart sank with a sense of unease.
Inside, the room was brightly lit, but it was completely empty.
“Huh? Where did that person go just now?” a yamen officer exclaimed in surprise.
The room was unnaturally silent, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. The stillness was so oppressive it made one's skin crawl.
Zhao Wuzhu held a razor-sharp thick-backed broadsword. His expression darkened slightly as he murmured, “What’s that smell?”
One of the officers behind him sniffed the air and said in astonishment, “Smells like rotting flesh… like a corpse.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, the room seemed to grow noticeably colder.
Zhao Wuzhu said in a low voice, “Search everything, don’t miss a single detail.”
“Yes, sir!”
The house was spacious, but sparsely furnished. Thus, it felt barren, as if stripped bare by poverty.
The yamen officers rummaged through boxes and overturned cabinets, searching for any sign of suspicious activity. They had clearly seen someone in the room just moments ago, and now that person had vanished.
The strange turn of events made everyone on edge.
Thud! One of the officers suddenly collapsed to the ground and was no longer breathing.
1. In martial arts, body-hardening training refers to a method of training in boxing techniques where specific striking parts of the body are used while adjusting one's mental state and intent to repeatedly strike hard objects. This process conditions those striking parts to develop a certain level of resistance to impact. ☜
2. [Hard qigong is a form of martial qigong. Practitioners, through long-term training and guided intention, use the strength of their own muscles and bones combined with specific breathing techniques to develop a powerful form of defense capable of withstanding external attacks. ☜
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