Chapter 12: Silencing the Witnesses Forever

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After the shopkeeper arrived at the back courtyard, he thought Master Li had some instructions for him. Instead, he saw Master Li pull him aside and whisper in his ear:

“The big man outside is Li Gui, the murderer of the Yishui magistrate, a wanted criminal by the imperial court. I’ll stall him here; you must hurry to the government office and secretly inform the county magistrate to dispatch officers to apprehend him quickly.”

The shopkeeper was startled and nodded hurriedly in agreement. Yet, as he turned around, he saw Li Gui standing behind them with a faint, inscrutable smile.

Both men shuddered instantly. Master Li forced a smile, about to make excuses, but Li Gui drew his sword and struck immediately.

“Scoundrel!” he shouted.

“You look like no good at all, seeking your own death but blaming me!”

Amid the screams, the two men fell dead on the spot, sinking into a pool of blood.

It wasn’t that Li Gui was overly suspicious; rather, Master Li’s overly humble demeanor was unlike that of a steward from a local influential family.

Before coming, Li Gui had learned from Old Li Qi and others that these stewards generally looked down on the mountain heroes. Every time they met, their noses were raised in disdain. Even the chief of the bandits, Zhao Blackhead, was never granted a single friendly expression.

This man had entered with such an appearance: smiling broadly but standing tall and proud, with a hint of contempt in his eyes—his attitude was arrogant.

His initial arrogance followed by feigned humility began when Old Li Qi introduced him and mentioned Li Gui’s name.

Unlike the illiterate Old Li Qi and others, this steward definitely knew Li Gui’s identity.

Li Gui’s bounty was three thousand strings of cash, and even a tip-off would earn one thousand strings—a far more lucrative business than any other!

Even the “brothers” in the mountain stronghold didn’t fully trust Li Gui; how could they trust this stranger?

Moreover, his repeated attempts to slip away clearly showed ill intent, so Li Gui kept a close watch on him.

Had it not been for the need to purchase weapons and armor, Li Gui would have slain him outright.

Along the way, Li Gui kept his eyes fixed on Master Li. Whether or not the officers arrived to seize him, Li Gui would certainly kill this man with one swift stroke.

Now, inside the shop, where the goods were visible, Master Li was useless.

Li Gui appeared to be inspecting the goods carefully but was actually focused mostly on Master Li. The moment Master Li moved toward the back courtyard, Li Gui noticed immediately.

He instructed Old Li Qi and the others to stop the accompanying servants, then tiptoed into the back courtyard, just in time to overhear their secret plotting.

He had brought death upon himself; Li Gui bore no blame.

It was the perfect moment to kill witnesses and prevent the news from leaking, which would bring the imperial army down upon them.

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Unfortunately, the others in the shop suffered through no fault of their own, caught up by Master Li’s actions alone.

Those in the front yard, hearing the noise, hurried over to investigate but were each cut down by Li Gui’s blade.

Old Li Qi and the others were stunned, frozen in place until Li Gui waved his hand and commanded:

“Block the doors and kill everyone inside!”

The remaining few blacksmiths and servants scrambled to arm themselves in resistance, but how could they stand against Li Gui? In moments, all were dead.

“Brother, why do you draw your sword and kill without explanation?” Old Li Qi’s voice trembled, his hands and feet weak.

Li Gui certainly would not reveal his “great achievements” to these disunited followers. He cursed loudly:

“Scoundrel!”

“This steward Li knows nothing, trying to fool me with worthless scrap metal!”

“Ordinary kitchen knives cost only thirty cash each. If this steel sword were truly good steel, that would be another matter, but these rubbish blades are only worth three to five strings of cash, how dare he ask for ten?”

“If I don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll think my nickname, ‘Heavenly Killer,’ is just empty talk!”

“Enough talk! Search this shop thoroughly. Anything you can carry, pack it up and take it.”

Everyone saw the shop turned into a carnage, blood spilling everywhere. They dared not speak further and worked carefully.

After rummaging through the boxes and cabinets, each person carried a large package on their back. Besides gold, silver, and fine goods, there were nearly a hundred iron spearheads, eleven sets of worn paper armor, dozens of broken iron and steel swords, and dozens of prepared long spears.

“Such a pity, we brought too few men down from the mountain!”

“These long spears are too conspicuous and hard to carry; we have to leave them behind.”

With a sigh, Li Gui reluctantly abandoned the broken iron swords and long spears, choosing only steel swords and iron spearheads to bundle for the men to carry.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Gui led the group back immediately. After leaving, he carefully locked the shop’s door to prevent accidental entry.

They hurried steadily until they passed the city gate, then finally relaxed.

Had Li Gui not struck first, waiting for Master Li to report to the authorities, they might all have been trapped in this small town.

Even if Master Li didn’t immediately report, he would likely do so eventually, and by then the government would know Li Gui was in Yushan. The summons for a punitive military expedition might have been issued that very night to the Yizhou prefectural city.

Even the corrupt officials, slow as they were, would dispatch the imperial army within a month or two.

As for hoping that Master Li would act with chivalry and protect him—that was foolish beyond measure.

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This world is not filled with righteous heroes like Song Gongming!

Ah?

Thinking this over, the nickname “Timely Rain” for Song Jiang was truly well-earned; figures in the martial world all admired such men.

Indeed, there may be wrong names, but never wrong nicknames.

Frankly, before Song Jiang became the leader of Liangshan, his deeds fully matched his nickname.

He was accepted and revered not without reason, but because he had spent over ten years steadily cultivating favor.

But after becoming the chief of Liangshan...

One can only say people change!

Previously, as a minor official, he traded favors within the imperial court freely whenever possible.

But once he became the leader, all benefits belonged to himself—he could no longer give them away freely; he had to sell them at a good price!

And in today’s world, only the Zhao-Song government could pay such a price.

Unfortunately, his position was too low, and he was too oblivious, believing that loyal service to the great Song dynasty would earn him a lifetime of rewards.

He did not realize that he had never even been to the East Hua Gate, so how could the court favor him?

In the eyes of the entire imperial bureaucracy, he was no different from other bandits, and perhaps even more despised than those rebels who had crowned themselves kings.

After all, only he and his Liangshan bandits had been recruited with meager gifts.

Such a grand force, yet in the end, all he earned was a low fifth-rank official position—truly unworthy.

From Li Gui’s perspective, surrendering to the government was only for those who could not win or needed respite; only fools surrendered when victorious!

Even if they accepted amnesty, they must preserve their strength and never allow themselves to be split apart.

Only with troops and generals in hand could they negotiate; without anything, they were at the mercy of others.

The group hurried on and finally returned to Yushan before nightfall.